Monster Club (Chapter 16)

Abraham and Asher walked through the doors silently, without a word. Abraham wasn’t quite sure what to say to Asher after hearing what he had. He still knew so little about Asher…and that made him nervous, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but find Asher’s story a little comforting. He wasn’t a soulless monster, or just some beast…he did have feelings and he did care. This knowledge was somehow helpful.
“Abraham!” Michelle came walking out from the den with a smile on her face. “I see Asher found you well?”
“More or less.” Abraham answered. He looked to see Solomon standing in the far corner, looking up with a sad smile. There was something on the old mans mind, but he wasn’t letting anyone in on it.
“That’s good to hear.” Michelle commented. “Listen, Asher…we need to talk.” Abraham turned to see that the smile on Asher’s face had faded.
“Yeah, no kidding.” Asher moved forward to stand in front of Michelle. “I need to know what happened at the store. Did he mention my dad?”
“Asher, please…not here.” Michelle hissed, eyeing Abraham.

“Abraham, come with me please.” Abraham turned to see Sarah standing by the hallway, she was motioning for him to come with her. Abraham was interested in the conversation going on in front of him, but there was a look of urgency on Sarah’s face that told him that he really didn’t need to hear it. He turned on his heel and hurried over to the concerned dridder.
“What’s the deal with them?” Abraham asked. Sarah sighed and started to move to the stairs.
“Abraham, try to understand that we all trust you…but there are some secrets about this house you aren’t ready to learn yet.” Sarah explained.
“You mean like Asher’s dad?” At the sound of this question, Sarah freezed up in anticipation and anxiety.
“We…we don’t talk about that, around here Abraham.” She whimpered. Abraham was shocked to hear genuine fear in her voice. Abraham chose to drop the subject. Sarah remained silent as they walked up the stairs past Katies room and to Tamil’s room. She opened the door carefully and went in, Abraham right behind her. Tamil was sitting on the bed. His head perked up at the sound of them entering.
“Abraham, you are unharmed, yes?!” He cried.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Tamil.” Abraham said. “But I am a little confused.” Sarah and Tamil both looked very concerned now. They appeared deep in thought, as if having to make a tough decision. How much to tell…and how much not to. Sarah looked at Tamil who sighed sadly and lay back on the bed.
“His life in danger as well today…perhaps best he know now.” Tamil offered. Sarah nodded her agreement.

“Abraham, the first thing you need to know is that we’ve been pestered by the Dawn Bringers for a while now.” Sarah said solemnly. “Their organization was formed a long time ago with the sole purpose of hunting beings that they deem unworthy to live for the reason that they aren’t human.”
“I know that,” Abraham said impatiently, “what I want to know is what they have against this club.” Sarah looked to Tamil who was frowning darkly.
“Well…I suppose you could say that Asher has something to do with that.” Sarah said. “The Dawn Bringers were originally vampire hunters…only about 10 years ago did they start hunting other creatures. This means that vampires are their primary enemies. And Asher has been their target.”
“Before he was part of club, Asher feed freely on innocent people.” Tamil elaborated. “Dawn Bringers track him to us and discover us.”
“And ever since, the Dawn Bringers have been trying to catch us off guard. That’s why Asher defends us…he feels it’s his responsibility.” Sarah explained.
“So…it’s not his job or anything?”
“No…certainly, he is the strongest one of us but…he blames himself too much.” Sarah admitted sadly. “None of this is his fault…I’m certain the Dawn Bringers would have found us anyway, even if he hadn’t come to us…but he has convinced himself that he is responsible for all of this.”
“Tried to tell him he is not…did not listen.” Tamil finished for her. Abraham took in all this and turned to Sarah again.

“So they’re after all of you? What do you do about it?” Abraham asked.
“Usually they only send one or two assassins and Asher can handle them easily. But their attacks have become increasingly more frequent…and after Katie got kidnapped, we knew that action needed to be taken. After the incident at the store…I think Michelle understands that the time for waiting is over.” Sarah explained.
“So what’s the plan?” Abraham asked.
“Dunno.” Sarah admitted.
“That is what Michelle speak to Asher and Solomon about.” Tamil threw in, a smile on his face. “They are making plan.”
“I hope that doesn’t mean we’re going to war with them or anything.” Abraham said nervously.
“Oh, nothing like that!” Sarah cried. “That would be reckless and dangerous. No, we’re probably going to relocate for a little while…or Asher will leave for a while to go and lead them off our trail. They consider him and Michelle a much higher threat than the rest of us.” Sarah slowly made her way to the other side of the room and crossed her arms.

“It’s all too much.”
“Huh?” Abraham asked. He suddenly heard Sarah sniffle and sob softly.
“First Katie gets abducted…then they follow her back home…and now they attack us at the store? It’s just becoming too much for me to handle…for any of us to handle. And then, of course after what happened with Drake…”
“Drake?” Abraham asked. Tamil lurched up from the bed and shivered as Sarah covered her mouth with her hand, as if she’d uttered a bad word.
“Who…is Drake?”

“My father.” Abraham spun around to see Asher standing by the door. He looked very serious and his red eyes were fixed on Abraham.
“Asher, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to…” Sarah started to whimper, but Asher held up his hand and smiled.
“It’s okay Sarah. I understand.” Asher explained. He then turned to Abraham and gave a soft smile that seemed to make Abraham feel comforted. “I’m also sorry to you that you had to deal with the Dawn Breakers.”
“No, it’s not your fault.” Abraham assured him.
“All the same…this fight was never yours.” He continued. The room feel silent for a long moment as everyone considered the events that had taken place. Abraham felt an odd sense of conflict build up within him. This wasn’t his fight…but had it become his ever since joining the club?
“How Michelle?” Tamil asked quickly, trying to help change the subject.
“She’s fine.” Asher answered. “But she’s worried…and I can’t blame her. I am too.”
“What are we going to do Asher?” Sarah asked.
“That’s what we need to discuss. Calypso came back, so we’re all meeting in the den.” Asher turned on his heel and walked down the hallway. Tamil climbed out of bed and slowly walked to the door. Despite being blind, he moved to the door very well, obviously well acquainted with his own room. Sarah walked out with Abraham behind her. When they got downstairs, Calypso was sitting on the couch silently with Michelle beside her. Katie was coiled up by the coffee table with Solomon standing in the corner. When Katie saw Sarah, she slithered across the carpet to her and they hugged each other. Tamil found his way to the armchair and sat down. Michelle looked around at everyone and stood up. She looked to Asher who nodded solemnly.

“As you all know,” she began, “today we were attacked by a Dawn Bringer agent. This has been happening entirely too often. We tried to just ignore them and go along with our business…but I’m afraid that we can’t do that anymore. Action needs to be taken.” She shot another glance at Asher, whose expression hadn’t changed. “We’ve decided that it might be best if Asher leave for a while.”
The response to this was met with mixed feelings. Sarah and Katie both hugged each other sadly as Tamil lowered his head angrily, but unable to speak against it. Calypso gasped and jumped to her feet.
“LEAVE?! But Asher is the only thing keeping them from killing all of us!” Calypso cried. Michelle nodded sadly.
“But he’s also what’s drawing them to us. If he leaves for a while, the Dawn Bringers might pursue him and leave us alone for a while so we can think of another option.” Michelle stated.
“It’s the best idea we could come up with.” Asher said darkly.
“I have an idea.” Abraham spoke up. The entire house turned to look at him in surprise. “Well…what if we all left the house for a while? Like…take a vacation somewhere?” Abraham offered.
“They would still follow us. I’m sure they’d find ways to track us.” Michelle responded.
“You said that they were tracking Asher…but what if Asher wasn’t Asher? He could travel as Ashley or something and throw them off our trail?”
“It might confuse them for a while…but they’d still figure us out.” Asher argued.
“But a while is all we would need….we could go somewhere that they’d never expect us to…like the beach. Who ever heard of a vampire going to the beach?” The entire house fell silent for a moment.

“Abraham, I really appreciate your input but, I’m afraid that it’s just too risky.” Michelle said.
“Actually…it’s not that crazy.” Solomon spoke up. “No Dawn Bringer agent would ever expect to find a vampire at the beach…and if he’s disguised as Ashley as they travel, they won’t know it’s him until it’s too late to do anything about it.”
“Solomon, are you serious?” Michelle asked. Solomon just chuckled.
“Well why not?” Solomon asked. “I’ll stay here and take care of the house while you all are gone, and you all can take a break from all this insanity. It won’t be that bad.” Michelle groaned in frustration.
“What about the rest of you? What do you think?” The club all began to consider the option of a trip to the beach.

“Well, might be fun to feel sand on feet again.” Tamil laughed. “I’m in.” Michelle then turned to Katie and Sarah.
“What about you two? You’ll be the hardest ones to get there…what do you think?”
“I’ve never been to the beach before.” Katie admitted.
“Neither have I.” Sarah giggled. “We’d love to go!” Michelle turned to Calypso.
“I don’t even have to ask you, do I?” She asked. Calypso shook her head with a big smile on her face. She finally turned to Asher. “Well…it’s up to you Ash…what do you wanna do? The beach is a very dangerous place for a vampire…how do you feel about this plan?” Asher leaned against the wall and closed his eyes in thought. All eyes were on him now, waiting for his decision.

“My only concern is for this club’s safety. I thought that by leaving, maybe it could be safe…but I also have fear that even if I should leave, this club will still be a target of the Dawn Bringers. So, I think it is a good idea for us to stick together…and Abraham has given a very clever idea. I think we should follow through with it.”
“Even if it means turning into Ashley for a day or two? Or that you’ll be exposed to the sun a great deal?” Michelle retorted. Asher shrugged.
“Worse things could happen. Being Ashley for a little while won’t kill me…and as for the sun? I believe that sunblock and a little time in the shade should suffice. I could use a good tan.” The group laughed at his joke…even Michelle.
“Alright, it seems the decision has been made for me.” She announced. “Pack your things tonight, because tomorrow we go to the beach!”