FOUR
The circle at Hartwell’s house was still hovering over the large area rug in the main room. The connective energy subsided and the group of eight slowly returned to the floor.
The conductive nature of the terra firma sent Blake exploding out of the front window, Garrison through the ceiling skylight and solar panel, Nicole screaming toward the kitchen window and Max toward the big- screen TV.
Daniel moved effortlessly over to head off Nicole and Hartwell grabbed his baseball mitt and Yankees hat from his room and then made a diving catch to stop Max from crashing into, and ruining, an excellent TV.
Belinda was still working the kinks out of her abilities. Blake slammed into her and they both crashed through the large bay window. Maggie tried to stop Gary’s ascension but he had already taken off like a rocket through the tinted glass in the ceiling.
Daniel glided toward the front window after setting Nicole down. “We’re okay!” Blake stated as he and Belinda stood up and brushed
the shattered glass fragments off themselves.
Garrison’s flight ended in the water behind the house, but since he was a protector the landing was made easier. Everyone was standing in the back of the house except Max, who was being held by Hartwell.
Gary changed into an Orca killer whale and then made a huge splash when he entered the water. The spray extended on all sides and was
coming at the group until Daniel spun around like a top, creating a powerful vortex that redirected the water.
“Cool!” Max said internally.
“Did everyone hear that?” Hartwell said on the inside.
Everyone else gave a thumbs up, as Gary jumped out of the water as a dolphin and then changed back into his human form, as he landed on a vacant patch of concrete adjacent to the group.
“Yes!” he said with a big smile on his face.
The people in the circle a few blocks away weren’t as fortunate because there were no catchers available. Cal was first to depart, crashing through the south end of the wood backyard fence.
Predictably, his accomplice in crime, Andrew was next to test his flying skills. It was tough to stay airborne without wings, so Drew splintered the north patch of fence.
Thaddeus was sent to his favorite spot on the roof and then fell straight through into the living room. Emily was hurled into a huge pile of dog food that was housed behind the garage. That left only Sharon, Carla, Aaron and baby Kayla still suspended in the air.
The newcomer, Aaron, wound up in the next door neighbor's yard and Sharon, the turncoat, was sent to another stretch of roof sending her crashing – ironically – into Cal’s Brewster’s bedroom.
Carla simply floated gently to the ground, and Kayla followed her and landed in her lap. She looked around and wondered why she had been spared when everyone else was treated to a rude wake-up call. Carla then looked at Kayla’s smiling face and discovered the answer to her question. But, it was only a partial answer. Kayla was all about being a peacenik,
and she would never go out of her way to inflict physical pain on others. She had the power to protect only one person, so the choice of mommy was an obvious one.
Carla snapped the white carry-arm of the baby seat in place and took Kayla around with her to see if everyone was all right. Their initial visit was to Andrew, who was also the person that got up first.
Mortals involved in such crashes would either be hospitalized or carted off in body bags, but the recuperative powers associated with special powers made healing a snap.
“It feels good to be whole again,” Drew said as he pulled a wood plank from his forearm. Carla wasn’t in the mood to kiss him, but did anyway at the bequest of her daughter.
“Are we good?” Drew asked trying not to be presumptuous.
Again, Carla’s first answer would have been a solid “No,” but peace was to be made on this ‘changing’ day. “As soon as you marry me.”
“Let’s go see how everyone else is doing and then we’ll get married.” Drew said and then kissed his smiling daughter on the forehead after taking possession of the seat from Carla.
One by one the family of hunters untangled from the rubble. Cal bounced up, reenergized by his return to his ‘special’ status.
“I’ll go inside and check on the others,” he said to Nicole and Drew. “Good to have you back,” Drew said.
“It’s good to be back!” Cal exclaimed as he opened the back door and walked into the house.
Cal then helped extricate his dad from the rubble in the living room.
“Are you all right?” Cal asked.
Thaddeus was expecting to feel achy, but that was not the case.
“I should be really, really mad at you. But I feel great!” Thad stood up and cracked his back as he straightened up.
“Mortality is definitely overrated,” he added.
“I hear you,” Cal replied and then was on his way to find Sharon.
He navigated around some errant debris in the hallway leading up to his room and the pushed aside parts of the fallen ceiling like a supercharged buzz-saw.
Sharon started to move under a pile of roof remains on Cal’s bed. Cal was not as meticulous as his enemies the vampires, but he definitely had a keen sense of order - especially as a hunter. He spun around the
15’x12’ room like an electric floor-waxer until the room was sparkling clean.
Cal’s devilish smile indicated to an upright Sharon that his work in that room was not done.
“I feel great!” she gushed.
“Hold that thought,” he replied as he closed the door and headed back toward the love of his life.
Emily woke up with a face-full of that dog food that didn’t really taste so bad, at least not to a voracious hunter.
The only person in the group that was completely unprepared for being blasted out of a cannon and then waking up without so much as a scratch was Aaron. Emily realized that about her boyfriend after finishing her initial canine kibble snack.
“Aaron,” she lightly called and tracked him down a few seconds later. She visualized his trajectory and then hunted him by his distinct scent.
He was face-down on the next-door neighbor’s front lawn. They were at work, so nobody was home to witness a man falling from the sky and on to the middle of their finely-manicured, green lawn.
Aaron was sitting with his arms folded around his bent knees, while looking toward the ground and trying to makes sense of what just happened.
“Aaron! Aaron!” Emily yelled as she ran toward him.
“Are you all right?” she said as she jumped and then skidded on her knees a good 10 feet until she was near him.
“What just happened?” he simply asked as he picked up his head and put it gently against her head.
His sense of smell had become hypersensitive.
“What’s that smell? What have you been eating?” he asked while sniffing near her mouth.
She backed up a little, “Oh, that’s dog food.” “Dog food?” he questioned. “Dog food.” “Yeah, it’s dog food.”
His mood changed, “You got any more of that?” Emily stood up and helped Aaron to his feet.
“Is it me, or are you a lot stronger than you were yesterday?” the 6’4”,
240-pound Aaron asked.
“You are, too,” she explained.
He quickly tested that theory and scooped her up and lifted her over his head, and then did a few repetitions like he was lifting free weights in a gym.
“Interesting,” he said as he set her back down on the grass.
“A lot more interesting than you know,” Emily replied as they walked back to the house.
FIVE
The eight-on-eight nature of the new-age battle took on levels previously unexplored by the participants. The goal used to be to get at Hartwell, because the only aim was to end one of his 100 lives. This time, however, there were four targets, Belinda, Daniel, Maggie and Hartwell, and only one of their deaths was ne
eded to be considered a “win” for the hunters.
“Do we attack tonight?” Andrew asked Cal as the group of eight hunters gathered in the living room.
“I’m gonna’ sit this one out,” Carla said as her daughter used her loving influence.
“All right. Carla’s staying behind with Kayla. Are the rest of you up
for a little reconnaissance mission?” a supremely-confident and relaxed Cal asked the group.
Sharon was behind her man even if it meant going after her own people. She always wondered what it would be like to go at it with Hartwell in a battle to the death.
Andrew was as game as Emily and great grandpa’ Thaddeus, and
Aaron was now the real big bear of the tribe.
“Let’s go get ‘em!” he enthusiastically said as he banged fists with
Cal.
Cal smiled and then looked at Emily, “I don’t know where you found this guy, but I like him!”
“Aaron bought your old house. Paid twice the market value,” Emily said.
“And I didn’t get half of that in the divorce?” Cal asked. “Did you even get divorced?” Emily asked.
“I thought I did?”
Sharon clarified the issue, “You officially died before she could file papers, which meant all assets became her assets.”
“So, there was no divorce?” Cal asked.
“No,” Sharon replied.
“We’ll get that money back,” he said looking at Aaron. “We should play ‘guess the vampire,'” Emily said to Cal.
“It was Belinda,” Cal said as if he held the answers to the universe in his palms.
Everyone looked for confirmation from Sharon, who finally had the full attention of the room and was about to earn her first stripe as a hunter.
“It was Daniel.”
“Daniel?” Cal exclaimed. “My son, Daniel?” “No, Hartwell’s son Daniel,” Sharon clarified. “You should all sit down for this one,” Emily said.
“Let me make some popcorn,” Carla said and then returned five seconds later with seven bowls of popcorn, refreshments, and a bottle for Kayla.
“Thank you, dear,” Emily said and then the others voiced their thanks.
“It was the early 1900s in San Francisco…” Sharon began as she recounted the story of Hartwell, Maggie and their son Nathanial, who was now the modern-day Daniel.
“I knew that kid was never mine,” a short-sighted Cal stated after Sharon finished recounting the story. “Even when I came back, I knew something was wrong.”
A few minutes later they were ready to go out, so Cal said to the group, “Let’s keep a tight formation and always remember…” he looked at his star pupil Drew for the answer.
“Always stay away from water!” Drew proudly stated.
Cal then looked at Sharon and said, “Remember Flipper, you’re not a fish anymore.”
She nodded and then replied, “I never was.”
Cal appeared confused, so Emily broke it down, “She was always a mammal.”
Cal didn’t care, but Sharon nodded in thanks to Emily, who was starting to open up to Sharon.
“You think they’ll come at us tonight?” a somewhat apprehensive
Daniel asked Hartwell.
“One can always dream!” Hartwell beamed as he sought to calm down his young charge.
Daniel was the most sensational vampire to come down the pike in some time. His capabilities were unrivaled, but his lack of experience was obvious. He had never participated in a full-scale battle before - at least not one that he had completely remembered.
There were many battles before Daniel turned 18 and became a full- fledged vampire, but he thought those were dreams and not just a training ground for things to come.
“You want to walk around and see what kind of trouble we can find?” Hartwell asked.
Daniel was an upbeat individual but the devil in him emerged, “Definitely.”
The babies stayed home with their mothers, although Max tried to convince Hartwell and Daniel that he should tag along.
“Maybe next time, Maxwell. We have to see what’s going on out there first,” Hartwell explained to a newborn that should have been crying over a full diaper, instead of preparing himself to throw down.
The eight-on-eight matchup would be reduced to six-on-six with experience squarely on the hunter’s side, as they walked in with four
veteran members - Cal, Emily Thaddeus and Sharon - while the vampire/protector group only had two warriors with experience, Hartwell and Garrison.
It was after midnight and the sleepy town of Beach Haven was deathly quiet. All of the shops were closed and the only remaining open business was the bar on Main Street, which was in the process of closing its doors.
Hartwell’s group decided to hit the park a little early to retrace the steps taken by their fallen comrade Brandon Justice.
“Mom, are you okay back there?” Daniel asked, as he knew his mother would be emotional over the loss of her second son. There was a solid sheet of ice forming behind her trail of tears, which then melted from the 50-degree temperature.
“My nephew’s gonna’ get a real spanking when I see him,” Belinda said.
“What do we do if they come after us?” Blake asked.
Before either Hartwell or Daniel could reply, Max downloaded a battle schematic to everyone’s hard drive.
“Wow, he’s good,” Daniel stated.
“I can’t imagine what he’s going to be like in a few months,” Hartwell panned.
The hunters, as usual, were a few minutes behind their targets, as a casual stroll quickly turned into a serious pursuit. While walking through town, Cal turned to Emily and Thaddeus and said, “It’s good to be able to smell him again.”
Everyone knew that Cal was referring to Hartwell. Thaddeus took the tracking lead.
“They just walked through here and…” he took a deep breath, “They are headed that way, toward the park,” Thad stated, pointing due East.
Cal’s strategy was always, “Let me at Hartwell and you guys figure out the rest.” In the early years he had a special connection with Emily - their bond as twins made them nearly impossible to stop as a seamless combination.
Thaddeus walked out front with Cal, Andrew and Sharon followed closely behind, and Emily and the mighty Aaron patrolled the rear end of the formation.
“Their coming,” Daniel said to the team after he got a personal message from Maxwell.
It was apparent that Max had the special gift of geography, topography and global positioning.
“Tight formation. Two-by-three rows,” Max stated to the group. “Alpha’s in the front, tree-trunk in the back” he added, referring to Aaron.
Thaddeus took a deep inward breath and then exhaled. “There are six of them. Four vamps and two protectors.”
Garrison was Hartwell’s protector and Blake was Belinda’s back-stop; Nicole was Daniel’s protector and Maxwell was Grandma’ Maggie’s alter- ego, meaning that Maggie and Daniel would be vulnerable and the team would have to compensate for it.
The vampire/protector group was at a disadvantage before each battle even begun. In order for each fight to end, either one vampire had to die or every hunter would have to be eliminated, which was the price the vampires had to pay for being protected.
“Bowling ball!” Max roared, as his six soldiers morphed into round rolling objects that the hunters didn’t see until they were steamrolled and splattered all over the park turf.
Being organized was definitely providing the vampire group with the early advantage.
SIX
“What the hell just happened?” Cal yelled as he came back to life in the field at the park the morning after the first fight.
His five hunter mates shook off the cob-webs and slowly rose to their feet.
“I’ve never seen that one before,” Thaddeus stated.
They all looked at Sharon for some kind of clarification on the strategy employed by the o
ther side.
“Don’t look at me! I’ve never seen that one before, either.” “They mowed us down, Emily stated.
“I didn’t even see them coming,” Aaron interjected. Andrew took it all in and then put his two cents in.
“I think they bowled us down,” almost half-believing what he just said. Cal was intrigued, but still furious, “What do you mean?”
“Like they were all bowling balls and we were pins.”
The group tried to digest Drew’s revelation, but let out a collective
“Nah!” as they began to walk home.
Meanwhile, back at the vampire’s lair - otherwise called Hartwell’s house - the euphoria of the pinpoint victory the previous night melting into the sobering thoughts that welcomed the new day.
“It’s too bad that we don’t get to count their deaths, too,” Agent Blake
Wallace observed while at the breakfast table.
“Hey, are you still working at the bureau?” Max asked. “Yeah, why?” Grandpa’ Blake internally replied.
“Can you get me one of those cool badges? You know the one’s in the wallets?” an excited Max asked.
Blake reached into his pocket, pulled out his credentials, and then flipped the wallet across the table toward a reclining Max.
Max didn’t move, primarily because he was a baby with limited motor and hand-eye coordination skills, other than playing with his ears and feet. But his mind was sharp and he stopped the wallet just before it skidded off the table, and then floated it up so he could observe it.