Three Immortals Walk Into A Bar...

Gregor

It’s so bad. I’ve been in storms before, obviously, but this has to be one of the worst I’ve ever experienced. The violent whirlwind, with wind speeds of incredible strength, is destroying everything it touches.

It’s a good thing that Wolk warned me and that Clyde was able to get the vault open, because it is a direct hit. Wolk is describing how the swirling storm, seeming almost malevolent in its intentions, has paused directly over the hotel, and the spiraling winds are methodically ripping the building to shreds.

The basement is not spared, and the guests would not have been safe had we remained outside the vault. Everyone can hear the banging and clattering and roaring sounds coming from the other side of the door.

Fifty people stand, shoulder to shoulder, some crouched on the bed, a few pushed back into the bathroom, waiting for death to pass overhead. Other than some gasps, and the whimpers of children, the crowd is utterly silent, stunned into speechlessness by the ferocity of the storm, and by the dire circumstances in which they find themselves.

With the emergency evacuation to the basement, and then into the vault, nobody had the time to bother with masking. I can only hope that Covid isn’t swirling around in the air here. I’d hate for all these people to end up getting sick too, on top of enduring this disaster.

I am pressed into one of the front corners, and can see Levant scowling in the back. Clyde stands at the door in the front, several feet away from me, and he cranes his head around, trying to see over the crowd to meet my eyes. He wants to know how badly the Adabelle is being damaged.

I just shake my head, sadly, meeting his eyes. There is going to be almost nothing left.

I see a flash of red, then his eyes turn blue again, blue and very, very sad.

“The tornado has stalled directly overhead, and is strengthening rather than weakening. The roof is gone, the top floor is decimated, and the entire front side of the structure is gone, taking part of the ceiling of the basement with it.”

“Will the vault hold?”

“I believe so, it is very sturdy, and shows no weaknesses. Everybody within should remain safe.”

“What about the werewolves?”

“They had tried to take shelter under the staircase, but the tornado touched almost directly there, the wind was too powerful, and they were both swept up into the gale. I will try to locate them.”

I glance over at Levant. I have felt very sorry for him throughout this day, but if the werewolves are injured or killed because of his outburst, I will find it very difficult to remain sympathetic to him. I can see he is back there trying to gather shadows to himself again, as his corner is unusually dark. I feel bad for the humans standing right next to him, that must be uncomfortable. And I suppose he’s back there growling too, although I can’t hear it from over here with the noisy storm blowing.

“Of course he’s growling,” Wolk provides.

Levant

I wish that I was still dreaming with Maria. But I have to admit, if only to myself, that I’m glad Clyde got inside the vault. I’m sure he and Gregor wouldn’t believe it, but I certainly wouldn’t want the deaths of all of these humans on my head, if they had been killed because they couldn’t get into the vault where I was sleeping. I don’t hesitate to kill when necessary, whether werewolves or vampires or humans. But there would be no point in all of these frail humans dying in the storm while I slept in peace. There would be no purpose to it. Even I can appreciate that pointless tragedy is better avoided.

So I stand pressed against the wall, at least three humans actually physically touching me, and I growl and glare and pull shadows to myself, trying to insulate myself against the unwelcome contact. Good thing I had enough sleep to heal my injuries from the earlier fight with Clyde, or I might not be able to resist drinking a little bit of this incredibly accessible blood.

Clyde is paying no attention to me, or I suppose he’d try to stop my shadows. He obviously is more powerful than I am, he has shown that his control over darkness is superior. The way that he casually wafted my shadows away from himself like an annoying insect still stings. And of course there’s Gregor, more powerful than both of us put together, and his baffling ability to dispel shadows in an instant.

So the humans aren’t even the worst part of being stuck in this box while waiting out the storm.

At least there aren’t werewolves in here.

I wonder, though, what happened to them. The wind sounds strong enough to tumble trucks, and I know I saw it lift away a part of the roof before the door closed. I’ll bet the wolves got blown away.

Well, werewolves are tough to kill. I’m sure they’ll be all right.

How much longer is this damned storm going to last?

Clyde

How long can this possibly go on? We’ve been packed in the vault for at least twenty minutes, and I still hear the full fury of the storm just on the other side of the door. Aren’t tornados supposed to blow past? This one seems settled in for the duration.

Maybe it wants to stay at the Adabelle.

I wouldn’t blame it, I think wryly, and sadly. It was a beautiful place. Past tense. I know it won’t be by the time this is over. Every second that passes, I can picture more of it being torn apart. Gregor’s expression of sympathy tells me that I am right.

I am glad the guests are safe at least. I worry about Fernando and Jacob, but they are big and strong, and if anyone could survive out there it would be them.

I meet Gregor’s eyes again, and he gives me a worried and dubious look, slightly shaking his head. Oh. His guardian angel might be telling him what I’m thinking about. Does he know I was just worrying about the wolves?

He looks straight into my eyes and nods his head solemnly.

Well, shit.

There is a slamming noise against the vault door, and a shock of concussion, as though something huge came crashing into it, making several of the people inside jump. Even me, I confess.

The storm rages on.

Gregor

“What was that?” I ask Wolk.

“A large piece of debris was blown onto the vault’s door.” He pauses a moment. “It hasn’t blown past, it appears lodged there. Unless the storm lifts it away, there may be difficulty opening the door after this is over.”

Oh, great. As if this isn’t bad enough. No, I tell myself, it isn’t that bad. These people are all safe, and surely this storm must end soon.

“Tornadoes have been known to linger in one spot for an hour or more,” Wolk mentions, less than helpfully.

I sigh.

Thankfully, this one finally seems to be dying down. I hear the roaring train noise tapering off after another several minutes.

“Yes,” Wolk says, “it finally is losing strength. Rather than moving past, it seems to be slowing down, but still in place over our location.”

The other people are noticing too. Heads are lifting into the air, ears tilting, people listening hopefully as the storm very slowly diminishes.

Finally, it has become quiet enough outside that the sounds from the humans within are audible. The rustling noises, little coughs, other movements that are a natural part of any crowd. At last it is still.

Clyde looks over at me again. “I think it’s safe to open up,” I tell him, past the heads of the people standing between us. I know the obstruction is still there, but I don’t mention it. He probably suspects, and he’s about to find out.

He disengages the security mechanism, and pushes against the door. It doesn’t budge.

“There’s something blocking the door,” he says, trying to push again.

“He is considering turning into mist and going outside to evaluate the obstruction, but he does not wish to do so in sight of all of these people. Also, he considers using his shadows to move the obstruction, but that would also appear unnatural to the watching humans, and he does not wish to expose his nature.”

“Perhaps if several people push?” I ask out loud.

Clyde looks around at the men closest to him, and says, “On the count of three, everybody try shoving the door open. One, two, three!”

Four or five men strain against the door, and it shifts a half inch or so, but it is clearly being blocked by something huge and heavy. The crowd restlessly shifts, starting to fear that a new danger has arisen.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” we all hear from the back. I am definitely not going to admonish the vampire about watching his language in front of the children. “Move aside,” Levant snarls, and starts pushing his way through the crowd, which tries to make way for him. The people seem motivated to let him pass, nobody wishing to get in the way of this snarling and terrifying man who some have been able to hear growling throughout the ordeal.

It takes him a few minutes to make his way to the front. He glares at me, a clear warning to stay back, then he looks at Clyde. They nod at each other, drop their shoulders, brace themselves against the door, and heave with all their might.

Slowly, the huge steel door begins to shift forward, until there is a gap of just a few inches, allowing Clyde’s slender form to slip outside.

We hear him gasp. “What is it?” more than one person asks.

“Um, it’s a car,” Clyde’s voice informs us. “A car blew in here and is upside down and blocking the door.”

There is a moment of stunned silence, but action is swiftly taken. Levant is able to heave against the door again, along with some of the other men, and Clyde pulls from the other side, until the gap has widened enough to allow others to exit.

“Be careful,” Clyde warns the humans, “the storm is past but it is very, um, messy in here. Keep the children close.”

One by one, people squeeze past the door. I wait until everyone else is out, and then I join them.

It is astonishing to behold. Half of the basement ceiling is gone, the hotel that had been above it is gone, the area open to the sky. Strangely, the swath of sky that is visible is clear, stars glinting overhead. The storm appears to be clearing away.

Every inch of the basement floor is covered with rubble. People could get injured just walking around. We have to start clearing a space to wait for rescue. The stairway is utterly gone, and it would be very difficult for some of these humans to get up to the surface from here. And who knows what awaits.

In the meantime, I ask Wolk, “Did you find the werewolves?”

“One moment,” he says, and after a brief pause, he goes on, “I’m afraid that they are both injured, but they are some half a mile from here. The tornado was enormous, and when they were swept away they were hurled in different directions. One of them is unconscious with a head injury. The other has cracked ribs and a broken leg, but is trying to walk and find his friend.”

I move towards Clyde, wanting to tell him this quietly, even though it might make him uncomfortable to be so close to me. I have no logical way to know this.

I relay the information to him softly. We both know that there is no reliable emergency response possible right now. “We have to go get them,” Clyde murmurs.

I nod. “I know.”

He looks at me dubiously, looking me up and down. “Is exceptional strength among your unusual abilities?”

“Um, nooooo,” I say.

“Well then we need more help.” He looks over at Levant.

Oh dear, this is going to go over well.

Levant

I’ve gotten myself away from the crowd, stepping past the rubble, and am trying to decide what to do next. Start walking back to the airport? The sun might rise before I could get there, and I have no way of knowing what obstructions might exist between here and there. Or how much damage has been done to the airport.

The only safe place is the vault for now, but that’s probably true of everyone else here as well. I won’t spend any more time locked in there with a crowd.

As I’m dithering about what to do, Clyde comes over. What now?

“Look, before you lose your head and start growling and yelling,” he warns me, “just listen to me. Please.”

I clench my jaw. “Fine. What?”

“I need your help.” He nods over to Gregor. “We need your help. His guardian angel - “ I roll my eyes at this - “told him where Fernando and Jacob are, and they’re both injured. We have to go help them. Gregor can guide us to where they are.”

“Who the fuck are Fernando and Jacob?”

He looks at me as though I am very stupid. “My guards,” he says, “the ones you didn’t want to come in with us. They are hurt because of that.”

Fucking werewolves? I growl, and glare, and start to - no, why even bother. He’d annoyingly wave my shadows away again. “You expect me to go rescue werewolves? Are you out of your mind?”

“Yes,” he huffs, “I do expect it. They could have come into the vault and been safe with the rest of us.”

How is that my problem? They are the ones who decided to stay out.

Gregor is watching, from a few feet away, and he says, “Please, Levant? Clyde and I are going, but there are two of them and I doubt I’d be able to lift one by myself. We can’t ask any of these people to do it.” He waves his hand over at the humans, starting to try to clear away some of the rubble, apparently ready to settle into the remains of the basement and wait for rescue. He moves a step closer. “I know you have had trouble with wolves in the past, but my Guardian assures me that these two men are really only Clyde’s employees, know nothing about you, and don’t mean you any harm. You’re the one who started acting hostile towards them.”

They are both looking at me expectantly. Well, shit. I see a flash of Clover, Maria’s youngest sister, looking at me with that expression, waiting for me to save the day. Trusting me to do the right thing.

“Besides,” Clyde says, “what else are you going to do right now?” He indicates the humans in the middle of the debris. “Stay here and take care of the babies while their parents try to clean up?”

I growl. But then I say, “Fine.” I glare at Gregor. “You stay here and take care of the humans.” I don’t want him anywhere near me.

He shrugs. “I have to come. Wolk will guide me. You might not find them otherwise.” What the fuck is a Wolk? Is that the name of his so-called guardian angel? Ugh. “And,” he continues with a little smile, “I might be able to heal them.”

I glare at him. “Just stay away from me.”

Gregor smiles. “Wonderful. Let’s go to the wolves.”