Sanctuary's Fiend
Chapter 24

I finished scribbling in my notebook and ripped the page out. He wouldn’t be marking me on my penmanship anyway. Would he? I looked around the high school restroom, and as it was empty, I decided I had time to write a better note.

’Dear Mr. Anderton,

Despite what you’

The door opened, and I glanced in the mirror to see who it was. Ooh. My favorite and least favorite cheerleaders. If you didn’t count Bhav and Peter, obviously. I turned around to say hello but was beaten to it by Sasha rolling her eyes. She rolled her eyes so loudly that even if I had said something, it would have been drowned out.

“Oh hey!” Jessica said and smiled. “How’s it going, Rellie?”

“I’m fine. Just writing a note to get out of class.”

“Ooh, write one for me too!” she laughed. She stood next to me at the mirror and started digging through her purse. Which was completely impractical for a school bag, but that was her life as a popular person, I guess. “You’re looking better than when we last met, how are you feeling?”

“And that’s saying something, because let’s face it, no one looks good in fluorescent lights,” Sasha said.

I looked at Jessica in the mirror, and started playing with my hair to give my hands something to do. “Yeah, much better. Had a shower, at least!’ I showed her my now clean hands. ’But what about you?”

Jessica held up her hand which was bandaged up. “I had to get a shot.” She pouted and looked at Sasha who was standing at the back of the room. “But I was brave, right?”

Her facade cracked for a second, and for once I saw an actual smile from Sasha. It was a smile that I suspected only Jessica got to see. How sad. “Yeah you were.”

Jessica winked at her, and then looked back at me. “Thanks again for catching me. I mean, normally it takes ages until you’re a catcher for stunt jumps. Really important part for the cheer squad, but I guess you’re a natural. At next practice, we should see how you do at it.”

Less focus on me as an individual, and more on the team? So fewer people would be looking at me specifically. “That sounds great!”

A bunch of younger kids burst in, so I decided to make my escape before I actually felt the daggers that Sasha was trying to stare into my back.

Bhav was standing by my locker waiting for me, dressed in a rather subdued black outfit.

“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked as he finished rummaging through his own locker. Waiting for me, there because that’s where his locker was randomly allocated, same thing.

“Yeah, good. You?”

“Oh, you know, struggling through.”

“I know that feeling,” he muttered.

“What’s up with the all black? It’s not like you at all.”

“Hey, a guy can’t dress down for a single day?”

I held my hands up in surrender. That was weird. He got defensive so quick. Well, he was a bit of a fashionista. “And where’s Peter?”

“I dunno.”

I leaned against the locker and looked at him. “Hey, Bhav, what’s up?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.” He pushed away from his locker and strode off. I hurried to keep up.

“Come on. You’re there for me when I need help.” Supernatural-unrelated help. “Let me be there for you. That’s how friends work. Talk to me?”

“It’s just the usual. Every few weeks, the assholes remember.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Who was it this time?”

“Does it even matter? They’re all the same. Bunch of clones.”

“Did they… hurt you?”

“Worse. They got Peter this time. He’s an idiot, standing up to them. Should have just let them say what they wanted to say, shove us around a bit, and then they leave.”

“Really, who was it?”

“It doesn’t matter!” he shouted. After some surprised stares from passing kids, he went back to a normal voice. “Everyone has it bad, okay? You get bullied for the way you look and the way you think, the hobbies you have, the things you believe in. God help you if you have feelings, because then you’re screwed. But this time, if you must know, the ringleader was Chad.”

I marked that away for later. Chad. One of the linebackers on the football team. He’d get a dose of Draugr justice when I next saw him. I didn’t know what that was, but I hoped it hurt. Him, not me. Okay, I needed a plan for whatever I was going to do, yeah.

“You know if you ever need to talk, I’m here for you,” I said. “Peter too.”

He waved it away but thanked me for the offer. “What class have you got next?”

“English. You?”

“Theater.”

“Okay. My phone’s always on, don’t forget.”

“Yeah, yeah, have fun.” He split off, heading down another corridor. At the end of it, I could see Peter waiting for him just inside the safety of the classroom. He had a bandage over his nose.

Chad.

My phone buzzed.

Oh good, you’re here!

That was weird. Where was she?

Upstairs. Come on!

I looked up the stairwell and saw Ariel’s blonde-framed face hanging over the edge. We smiled and waved at each other and I went up to meet her. Erin was there too, leaning on the balcony rail and watching the flow of students up and down the stairs.

“Hey guys! Good weekend?”

Great weekend! After the bunker, and the hunt, I decided to practice a bit more in my backyard.

“Oh cool, and…?”

Ariel shrugged. Nothing else. It was just great. Good weather, busy, having fun, parents are away for the week so I’m living the free life. You know.

I laughed and gave her a hug. With all that had happened to me, I’d almost forgotten how unswervingly happy she could be.

What have you been up to?

“That is a very loaded question,” I admitted.

“Well before you unload on us, you should ask me what I’ve been up to first.”

I laughed. “All right. Hey, Erin, what have you been up to over the weekend?”

“Oh, thank you for asking, Rel. I have been up to a boy this weekend!”

Been up to a boy? Do tell!

“He asked me out on a date, and I said yes!”

“You wild thing, Erin! Well, who is it? What did you do?” I hadn’t realized how fun such simple distractions as friends talking about nothing relevant could be. And how much they’d help me. The three of us linked arms and started off down the corridor towards our English class.

“It’s Mike. He’s in my math class. I don’t think you know him?” We both shook our heads. “Well, he’s pretty amazing, and he took me to The Grind on Fifth, and we had a latte, and we just, you know, talked.”

“Talked?! So, when’s the wedding?”

“Don’t do this guys,” Erin groaned.

I’m thinking a June wedding, right?

“That’s a given!” I shouted. “What’s the color scheme?”

Honestly, without seeing him I couldn’t say! I wouldn’t want to clash with his eyes or skin tone!

“Let’s be adventurous. I’m going to say… underwater wedding. How are you with scuba diving, Erin?”

“Really, Rel? A ghost and a siren right next to you, and you suggest the ghost does the underwater wedding? How would that even work? I can’t cross running water, so is he going to be in the sea and I’ll be on the beach?”

She makes a fair point. Beach volleyball weddings are very in this year.

“Are they?” Erin asked skeptically. “Where? Where are beach volleyball weddings ‘in’?”

You know, beaches. I guess.

“Anyway, Mike is awesome, much cooler than both of you, and he definitely wouldn’t ever annoy me this much. I’ll keep you updated. Now, what about you, Rel? Is cheerleading everything you dreamed of and Rick has swept you off your feet and had his way with you?”

Or did you unleash your wild side and have your way with him? I mean, as long as someone ended up thoroughly swept, I’m happy.

“Umm, yeah. One of us ended up off our feet, all right.” Before their shocked faces could rattle off a thousand questions in half a second, I continued. “He fell over, and he’s in hospital. He’s okay though. I went to visit him with Johnny.”

They both stopped walking.

Erin looked to Ariel. “Would you like to?”

Ariel nodded and thumbed her phone. What the actual fudge??

Sorry. Autocorrect.

“Elaborate,” Erin said. “Hospital? Johnny?”

“Well yeah, he fell and cut his neck or something.”

We were just in front of the classroom, but they pushed me to the side of the corridor and huddled around me.

“A neck wound? Right after a very hungry supe was hanging around him?”

I thought back to what my mom would have to do if I told her the truth. The Masquerade. “Check with the hospital, guys. He fell on a knife. Nasty.”

They looked at each other through lidded eyes, and shrugged before allowing me to continue.

“And I went to see him with Johnny because… Well, there’s something you need to know about Mr. Anderton. He’s a hunter.”

Those are real? Huh, I figured they were made up boogeymen.

“And Mr. Anderton is one? No! Surely not! How did you replace out?” Erin sounded thrilled and shocked at the same time.

“Apparently they’re not made up. And Johnny’s dad is the liaison to SCIM, so my dad was talking to him, and Johnny tagged along, and apparently the whole football team knew already.”

“Uh huh. So you decided to hang out with him for the entire day then? With Johnny?”

“No. We just went to see Rick. Oh, and I’m meeting him tonight for… stuff.” Oh yeah, making a great impression on my friends right now.

Stuff? Yeah, and Erin sees Mike for the talking…

“No, it’s… hunting stuff. We’re going to look for that thing again. And, I dunno, he’s not as terrible as I first thought he was.”

“The horrible thing that kills people, or Johnny? Because I’m replaceing it hard to believe that Johnny isn’t as terrible as we thought.”

“Along with Gareth.”

Who?

“That wide guy from last time. He’s a gargoyle, apparently.”

“Hmm,” Erin thought about it. “You know, he did seem dependable. Solid as a rock…”

But he didn’t talk much. He could have been a bit boulder.

“He was very cautious. He took nothing for granite!”

At least he seemed gneiss!

I looked up from my phone and rolled my eyes. “Guys, we’re not doing rock puns. I’m pretty sure that’s racist, so shame on you.” They both nodded, conceding the point. I dragged the conversation back to what I felt was the most important issue. “Are you not at all concerned about Mr. Anderton being a hunter? You know, someone that will literally kill us.”

“We’ve got exams coming up that will literally end our lives. At least he’s being straightforward about it.”

“It’s not quite the same,” I said through gritted teeth.

Okay, okay. So he wants to kill all of us, but we’re going to his class?

“Well, no. I mean, yes, but he only knows about me.”

And how did that happen?

“Next question,” I said.

“Okay, so he wants to kill you, and you’re still going to his class?”

I grabbed the crumpled up scrap of notebook paper from my purse and held it up like a trophy. “I’ve written a note that will fix everything.”

Now, I haven’t ever met a hunter, but from the stories I’ve heard, I get the impression that a strongly worded letter isn’t going to sort things out.

“Well obviously he wouldn’t dare to attack me here in school. I guess. I mean, that sounds like a thing, right?”

An oldish, frazzled looking woman carrying a stack of books started making her way towards us from the stairs. I noticed her, because she had all the hallmarks of a substitute teacher. She looked about as prepared for this class as we were.

Her teacher instincts must have kicked in suddenly. She began shouting for everyone between the stairs and her assigned classroom to get to class, with a stern, “Move along ladies!” as she passed us.

“That’s lucky,” Erin said. “I guess the scary hunter confrontation can wait a bit longer.”

“Probably for the best,” I said. “That penmanship wasn’t convincing anyone.”

English class, and then off to hunt monsters. An idea hit me. I should visit with Rick again before I went hunting. Seeing him last night had reminded me how much I liked him. And how guilty I felt for putting him into hospital. I made a conscious effort to not swoon. Hey, I had enough time to squeeze that in before meeting Johnny and Gareth, so why not treat myself. Who knew, maybe I’d even get a good luck kiss!