“Please come and join us. Zagan tells me you all did exceedingly well in your first defence weapons class, which means you must all be hungry.” None of them knew what to say after this so instead they all nodded and sat down at the obvious space that was waiting for them.
Once they were settled Draven clapped his hands once, signalling that food should be brought out for everyone. Theo couldn’t have said what was on the teachers’ plates but whatever it was it looked fancy and not exactly something that Theo would have classed as ‘Teen friendly’. For starters, he knew that it had way too much green stuff on it for his liking, let alone Zane’s, who had openly declared the night before about the ‘No green rule’, stating clearly,
“If its green, then it ain’t James Dean.” Theo, along with everyone else, had needed some clarity on this but Zane only offered one word,
“Cool”.
“You’re so weird,” Ena had said, shaking her head, whilst Janie had admitted,
“I don’t get it.” But in true Janie fashion, ten minutes later she finally said,
“Oh, now I get it, James Dean is cool and green veg isn’t.” Theo had smiled down at his plate, when Zane had ruffled her hair, saying,
“If you weren’t so cute I would say something right now to take the piss but nope, one look at that wide-eyed kitten look and I just can’t do it!”
“Oi, what about me, you take the piss out of me all the time!” Ena said frowning but Zane just laughed once and said quite openly,
“Yeah but you’re cute after I do it, so it’s just the price you have to pay…besides, you love it, Streaks.” Theo looked up to gauge her reaction, wondering which it would be this time, freely expressed outrage or a hidden smile followed by a lame comeback.
“You’re a dork,” she said quickly biting her lip after. This was something Theo knew she did to try and stop herself from smiling openly, the blush however, was new.
After that their dinner continued and thankfully there wasn’t a green piece of food in sight. And Zane’s eyes lit up when platter after platter was brought out, full of burgers, hotdogs, fries, subs, burritos, and golden, crispy fried chicken…so basically Zane’s version of food heaven.
“Seriously, how are you so skinny?” Ena asked after Zane devoured his fourth piece of chicken, two hotdogs, two pints of soda, half a meatball sub and she lost count of how many handfuls of fries. She was half tempted to ask if he would have eaten the ‘partridge in the pear tree’ if there had been one.
“It’s all about the brain power Streaks, burns a lot of calories being at this level of genius.” Once more her only response to this was an eye roll and a muttered ‘geek’ under her breath, but Theo knew that inside she was laughing. He didn’t know how he knew this, as Zane most certainly didn’t, but he could just tell that Ena had a soft spot for her bantering friend. Now just how much of a soft spot that was he didn’t know but for Zane’s sake, he hoped it was one that ran deep, as he thought they would have made a good couple. She would certainly keep him on his toes that was for damn sure. And besides, it certainly hadn’t taken her long to forgive him for assuming she could speak Japanese anyway.
The rest of the meal hadn’t been as bad as the teens first thought as everyone seemed pleasant and laidback with one another. At his old school, watching the teachers having lunch which each other had looked more like a funeral wake than a bunch of co-workers eating together.
But these guys seemed more like one big family and Theo had to wonder just how many years had been spent working together. It was obvious this was their first teaching gig. Not saying they weren’t any good at it but having an epic duel, with
flaming weaponry and one of them turning into a terrifying demon just to make a point, wasn’t exactly what you would call typical first day material. But who knows, maybe that was their idea of easing them in…well the demonic disco dancing had certainly worked.
However, there were two things about the dinner that Theo couldn’t help but feel was odd and it was clearly who was missing in the room. There were two empty chairs either side their headmaster who was sat at the very top of the long table on his own. Theo couldn’t help but wonder who usually filled these seats. And from the way Draven kept glancing sideways, he could only guess that they were meant for someone important to him. In fact, Theo could easily recognise when someone was trying to hide their disappointment. Then it suddenly hit him, who else was missing from the room, which just added another reason why he had knocked on Zane’s door later that night…
Takeshi was missing.
The second the thought had entered Theo’s mind Draven looked up at him from down the end of the table, where Theo was sat opposite. There might have been a massive space between them but Theo couldn’t miss the slight shake of his head, as if telling him not to go there. Which begged another question…
Could they read their thoughts?
Theo didn’t know what came over him but once the meal was all done, it was as if he needed some answers. He didn’t know why but ever since seeing that damn book, all that he couldn’t think about were his doubts about the place. He didn’t want to think this way and even felt guilty when doing so. Especially after all the trouble people had gone to in trying to make them feel welcome.
He thought about the added personal touches Pip had gone to with their rooms. He thought about how important it had been to Sophia that they not find her terrifying. To the point of making a disco dancing fool of herself in hopes of alleviating that fear.
And then there was the way Zagan had taken Janie to one side and spent some time working one on one with her, giving her the confidence she needed when being faced with handling the weapons.
Theo looked back up to Draven and thought of how he had dealt with things when Carrick had made his demands. He’d never had anyone have his back before, not the way Draven had done. Knowing deep down that if Draven could have taken the blood oath himself, then he would have. So, why now was it that he was having doubts about being here and why was he having doubts about them?
Deep down Theo knew why and it was for that reason that when the meal had ended he lingered behind, waiting to ask the question that was almost bursting out of him. At first, he had wondered who the best person to approach would be but then it was obvious when a flash of colour caught his eye…Pip.
She was wearing what looked like a dress made up of hundreds of deflated balloons in every colour imaginable! Theo could only imagine what it sounded like every time she sat down, as he couldn’t get the image of a giant whoopie cushion out of his mind. The top part of the dress however looked like a giant pair of red lips with white fangs hanging down and piercing through the under layer of rubber balloons. He couldn’t have imagined why, but to this she decided to add knee high socks covered in little cartoon avocados talking to one another about the weather and dinosaur feet high heels. These matched the little open mouthed t-rexes she had attached to her ear lobes, making it look as if they were taking a chunk out of her.
“Uh Pip?” Theo said her name and tapped her on the shoulder quickly, not really feeling comfortable touching anyone again after Takeshi’s reaction. She jumped around, put her hands together in what looked like a prayer and said in a Japanese accent,
“Ah, master Theo, ‘of flowers, the cherry blossom, of men, the warrior.’ or ‘Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi’, depending who you’re speaking to…you don’t speak Japanese do you?” Pip asked as an afterthought.
“Uh, no,” Theo said with a half grin, surprised that someone as scatty as Pip could.
“So, the first one then,” Pip said winking a painted eye that made her look like a doll. She had drawn long cartoon lashes on with black eyeliner and on the other eye, little black cat ears and a tail peeking over her eyelid.
“What does it mean?” he asked, knowing that it would have bugged him all night if he hadn’t.
“It means as the cherry blossom is considered foremost among flowers, so the warrior is foremos
t among men…I was basically calling you a warrior, not a flower…just in case you were confused, were you confused…? I only ask because you looked confused,” Pip said, speaking at her usual pace of a hundred and one miles per hour.
“I get it,” Theo said smirking and Pip nudged him and added,
“I knew you were a smart and fizzy soda pop. I told her, I said that one is…” This was the point where she stopped suddenly and slapped her hands to her mouth but the damage had already been done. And Theo hadn’t missed it.
“Who? Who did you tell about me?” Theo asked as she started to turn away, shaking her head and murmuring over and over, “No, no, no…I didn’t say it, can’t get mad, I didn’t say it.” Theo could see that she was heading towards her husband but he had to find out who she had been talking about before she got there.
“Please, just tell me…just…” he caught up with her and touched her shoulder this time not being so cautious. She stopped but kept her back to him. She didn’t look at him but instead kept her eyes on the floor as if what she was thinking caused her pain. Theo could only think of one reason why she would feel this way, so he went out on a limb and asked,
“Is it someone beneath…is it someone in the lower levels?” Pip’s head shot up, she turned to look at him over her shoulder. Then Theo’s blood ran cold when her green eyes flashed crimson and her pupils slit for a second like a wild cat thirsty for flesh. Theo quickly pulled back, letting go of her shoulder and her eyes turned back to their original forest green colour.
She shook herself as if trying to come out of a daze, frowning as if she too didn’t understand what just happened. Theo backed up further and turned around ready to walk away but stopped when she called his name.
“Theo…”
“Yeah?” he answered frowning, knowing from just one look that the next thing out her mouth wouldn’t be something he would want to hear…and he was right. “Never go down to the lower levels…” she warned and Theo shuddered feeling the hairs on his neck stand on end when she finally finished her sentence…
“…You won’t like what you will find.”
27
Voices
After this, Theo almost ran out of the room. What was supposed to alleviate his doubts had only ended up doubling them. And now that warning about the lower levels had not only got him thinking about what was down there, but about actually being stupid enough to find out himself.
He just couldn’t seem to shake this crazy feeling that he was needed down there. Which in itself was unnerving. Because if this turned out to be true then it could only mean one thing…Afterlife wasn’t the safe haven he and the others thought it was.
He continued to think about the possibilities of what he may find down there, when he first realised that he was lost. He looked one way and then the other trying to see if he recognised anything in the long hallway, but there was nothing. There was a massive pair of double doors at one end and a single door at the other just before the corridor curved around in a dogleg. He decided that those double doors looked way too intimidating for there not to be something important behind them. So, he decided it best to stay clear of them and go the other way.
He started walking in the opposite direction, towards the single door at the other end but then stopped dead when he heard an angry woman’s voice. He didn’t recognise who it belonged to, never having heard it before but whoever they were, they didn’t sound happy about something. He slowly crept closer to the single door, all the while looking back, making sure the coast was clear.
“You can’t just keep me here forever, locked away like some princess stuck in a tower!” The voice demanded and Theo had to wonder why this girl was obviously being held against her will.
There came a murmured reply, one Theo couldn’t make out but whatever it was, the girl certainly didn’t agree with it.
“Oh no! Don’t start that again! I am not a child and I wish you would stop treating me like one!” she said louder this time and Theo could tell that things were certainly heating up. Yet again he couldn’t hear the reply but whatever it had been, it hadn’t worked in trying to calm her down, in fact, it just had the opposite effect.
“I don’t care what you say! I am leaving and you can’t stop me this time!” He saw the door handle start to move and he was ready to jump out of sight, around the corner. But then came a loud thud from behind the door and the handle suddenly snapped back upright. Theo was startled, as he wasn’t expecting it and wondered if the girl was alright. As now all there was, was an eerie silence.
Just as Theo was struggling with his inner self whether to get involved or not, there came an almighty high-pitched scream in frustration and then an angry demand,
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” The sound of glass shattering quickly followed, along with the sound of someone sobbing.
“I think you might be lost.” A cool calm voice spoke behind him and acting on instinct, he spun around and hit out, quickly finding his fist caught in someone else’s strong grasp.
“Who are you?!” Theo demanded, wrenching his hand free and finding himself staring into a pair of crystal blue eyes. Eyes that belonged to someone who could have only been an Angel.
The tall man had a halo of golden curls, pushed back in an attempt to tame them. But Theo couldn’t manage to stray far from that gaze. His eyes were incredible, like looking into a pair of topaz stones, and seeing a light shining through from the other side. Theo didn’t know how he knew but he could tell that this person was letting his power be known and it felt intense.
“I am Vincent and you must be Theo,” he said surprising him.
“Why does everyone keep saying that, was there like a news bulletin with my picture on it in the Supernatural Weekly or something?” Vincent laughed and whether it was intended or not, it instantly put Theo at ease.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” Theo said after Vincent looked to the door with a frown.
“No?” he questioned, as though he didn’t believe Theo.
“I got lost and heard shouting, so I stayed because I was concerned,” Theo said, folding his arms and showing this Vincent with his body language how he didn’t like anyone questioning his good intentions. Vincent laughed once and patted him on the back, saying,
“Relax kid, I know how easy it is to get lost in these halls. Besides, you’re not the only one with thoughts of concern,” Vincent said, looking back to the closed door once more as if trying to listen out for signs of further distress but it was silent.
“Run along now Theo, the others are wondering where you are and you don’t want them getting lost too when they come looking for you.” Theo looked over his shoulder to see that the hallway continued past the door around a small bend and then looked back to Vincent. This time he couldn’t help but ask the same question again, only doing so in a more forceful tone, letting him know the depth of what he was really asking.
“Who are you?”
“My name is…” Vincent started to say but Theo cut him off.
“I know your name.” Vincent grinned knowing what he meant and also that what he had heard about the kid was proving true. Theo had a relentless nature but at least had the bravery to back it up. Enough to turn it into his advantage at least. But it was also his heroic nature that had Vincent more intrigued and knowing that without a doubt, it was something he would definitely need in his future here. So, knowing this, Vincent gave him what he wanted…answers.
“As I was saying, my name is Vincent…” Theo rolled his eyes and Vincent nearly laughed but instead he opened up the door he really didn’t want to walk through and finished his sentence before closing it again,
“…Vincent Draven…” He paused, waiting for the penny to drop before adding the obvious,
“Dominic Draven’s brother.”
28
Eyes He Knew
“So, what you working on?” Theo asked after making that crack about Zane always eating and closing the door to his room.
“
This baby right here is a Wacom Cintiq 22HD touch screen with interactive pen display,” Zane informed him shaking a little digital stylus before going back to what he was drawing on screen.
“Cool,” Theo said, this being the only possible response given that he had no clue what Zane was talking about.
Theo had gotten back to the room and found Vincent had been right, they were all getting ready to come to look for him. They had wanted to know why it had taken him so long, so he made up some lame excuse. Of course, Ena had wanted to know the ins and outs of it, being the nosiest one of the group and all. She finally got off his back when she found out it was nothing more interesting than asking Pip if there was ever going to be any tests. Of course, this then meant he had to lie about the answer, saying he gave up waiting in the end as they were all busy having a big discussion about something he didn’t understand.
He hated lying as it wasn’t one of his strong points, but thankfully he had come up with this excuse on the way back to the common room, so he’d had time to think about his answers.
“So, what’s up?” Zane asked getting right to the point.
Theo scanned the room and admired the city loft vibe that it had going on. There was the obvious art studio thing that commanded half of the space, which Theo gathered Zane preferred to be the case. But it was the relaxing side of the room that Theo liked. It was the rustic oak used to make his low bed frame and the half iron girders that came out of the wall to create a staircase to the small space above. Theo looked up to see a comfortable reading nook there, filled with large floor cushions and a book shelf integrated into the same framework used for the bed.
“Awesome bed covers,” Theo said, never thinking he would be complimenting anyone on such a thing, but faced with a bedspread that cool, he couldn’t help but mention it. Zane finished what he was doing and turned to face him, replying,