Thankfully, Carter started. “Who would have thought that night we met you in the parking lot, we’d be standing here…” Carter thought out loud.
I nodded, knowing how much we had all been through that led us to this point.
“I’m sorry for everything that has happened to you guys. Whether I led things here to you or not… it was never my intention…” I was cut off.
“Don’t even start with that, Sam. You were never responsible for the things others chose to do, especially not regarding us. We are always in harm's way due to the position this family has chosen to take as hunters. You gave us an edge against rising danger that we weren’t ready for,” Eleanor assured me with a passion that I was thankful for. It really told me just how much she and Carter truly thought about me.
“Our family has changed drastically over the last few years…” Carter said, pausing before he continued the thought. “But… I am thankful for who we have right now… even if some of us are… changed.”
I nodded, accepting their words. I looked up at Carter.
“You think she’s going to be ok? She’s been through so much, and she’ll be alone for a little while.” I asked as I still smelled Autumn's scent lingering in the air around me.
They both looked at each other with a wary glance, but nodded confidently.
“I think that there is some comfort in knowing this would be new for anyone. Even if Alex was still like her, she was new to that power before she let it go. Even then, Autumn was different from her somehow. She said she knew she wasn’t exactly the same, just closer to her than anything else. But… while you’re gone at least, we’ll still have Martin to help her… grow into this whole thing.” Carter looked straight at me. “I need to talk to you about something else, though.”
I focused on him, “What is it?”
“If you’re going all the way down to Texas, I want you to have something.” Carter reached into his front right pocket on his jeans. He fished out two things: one was a set of keys, and the other was a new cell phone.
I glanced at the objects for just a second before I shifted my eyes back up to him.
“I know you move fast on your own, but if you’re taking Alex with you, you’re going to need a way to keep her out of the sun. Plus, I think this will get you where you’re going consistently faster than hopping trains and running through the woods,” Carter joked, but was genuinely trying to give me a gift.
Eleanor cut in, “We want to have a way to contact you, too. We know your cell phones have been hit or miss during your time with us. Not sure if that’s intentional or an accident caused by your… transformations.”
Carter stepped closer towards me and handed me the car keys and the telephone. It was actually a really nice one. One that I might have eyeballed back in my human days, but never had the funds to justify buying something so nice. That was not an issue for the Chasse family.
“So, you’re just giving me a vehicle? You would do that?” I really couldn’t believe it. It seemed like a lot, even for them.
“It's actually a spare car that we keep for special circumstances. We had the windows tinted with a special kind of material that blocks out UV rays. Just in case we ever had to take Martin anywhere during the daytime. Long trips, you know. Martin said he figured Alex would be leaving with you, and that she might need it now that she’s not the same as she was.” Carter explained some of the quick dealings they had in the other rooms while I met with Autumn.
I wondered how much of this might have been things Abel had told them to help me out in some way.
“We need you to be able to reach us if something happens. If you need us down there to help. In the same way, we want to be able to reach you if we have anything crazy happen and need you to come back,” Eleanor explained.
I nodded slowly, understanding the need on both sides. This was the start of something different, a departure from them once again, but not as hardcore as before. They were helping me do what I needed to do. We were a family now, and just because we weren't going to be together geographically for a little bit, nothing was going to change that fact.
“Thank you guys, for all of this… for everything,” I tried to express the deepest gratitude I could feel in my heart, but it was a struggle. It always was for me. “Can I ask something of you, too?” I asked.
“Anything,” Eleanor said quickly, reaching out to grab my arm for comfort as she saw the obvious struggle in my voice.
“Name it,” Carter said just as fast.
“I need you to know the seriousness of what I told you before. About Death… and the Primevals. I’ve only personally told you,” I said to Carter. “You, Autumn, and Alex. I assume you know Eleanor?” I asked her just to be certain.
Eleanor nodded meekly, like this subject made her cower slightly. A true testament to why I needed to say what I was about to say. The truth was powerful… and dangerous.
“I’ve come to the understanding with my… let's just call him my employer. The knowledge of who he is… what he represents, is dangerous. Just knowing the truth of his existence can be enough for you to be targeted by other entities that are out there. The other side of that coin is the monster. Those other Primevals… those ancient monsters that still exist on this world, and in others, they have their own elders. They have representatives that walk this world, and if they know about me… they may try to reach out and hurt people connected to me.”
I took a deep breath and tried to center myself as I explained the meat and potatoes of what I was getting at.
“What I need from you two, and Autumn, is to act like I didn’t tell you any of that. Never repeat what I told you. Never talk about it with the rest of your family. I don’t need to know details, but if anyone else knows, if anyone else understands even a hint of what’s really going on with me, it needs to be squashed… immediately.” I was deathly serious in my tone. “Not just for your own safety, but so that I can move and do what I need to do for my… employer, when those times come. I’m not sure what would happen exactly, but I think there may be ways to… deter me. Maybe ways to avoid me if they know who or what I am. Previously laid plans could be altered just by you knowing the truth and saying the wrong things to the right person. I think it’s best if you just move forward without that knowledge. Act like it was never spoken… to either of you,” I said to Carter and Autumn.
With those words, Carter and Eleanor looked to each other, and she slowly reached over to grab his hand. The gravity and seriousness of my words really got to her. I think it affected her more than Carter because she had actually been to that other world. She had felt the presence of Death himself arriving at our location as she and I stood there with Jon, when I made the deal to trade my life for hers. She knew that reality more than any of them.
After a brief breath of silence, Carter looked up, and as if he had almost realized something, he moved over towards the bookshelves. He moved in the same direction I had gone countless times in my studies there. He moved to a row of tall, thick black books. It was all of their bestiaries. Carter moved his hand up to the very last one in the collection and plucked it from the shelf.
There was a certain sound that old books made when you grabbed them quickly. It was the moment your fingers impacted the leather-bound exterior. Something about it was always pleasing to me. It was just an odd thought as he moved towards the table.
Carter opened this volume up to the very last entry. It wasn’t the last page; it was actually about halfway through the book, all the rest of the pages following completely blank. All of the Chasse family bestiaries were handwritten.
I had talked with them once about why this was still the case, seeing as how we had computers and shit these days. Eleanor was actually the one who told me they do it that way to keep the information secure. It wasn’t to hide it from people, but to keep the facts pure. If they put them online or used any kind of computer someone else could hack or steal from, they were afraid that the information could get out and be altered. Someone could change things to give monsters back the element of surprise.
Knowing their weaknesses and effective hunting strategies was an incredible boon for human beings. Eleanor told me it would be the equivalent of hunting for deer, studying everything you needed to know about how to track them, what weapons were effective, and what strategies to employ. But then you get to your hunting grounds and find out that what you thought was a deer was actually a tiger.
She admitted at the time that it was a rough analogy, but it got the point across. They kept them in paper form in the safety of their home, protected by all sorts of wards and who knows what other kind of safety measures. It was the safest and simplest way to ensure the truth was preserved.
As I saw the page that Carter landed on, there were pictures drawn, long lists of examples, sightings, and bullet points describing the physical characteristics of the monster in the images. It didn’t take long before I realized what this was. This was my page. This was everything he had learned about me.
I already knew that they had to have done this at some point; they were hunters after all. I didn’t take this as a bad thing or any kind of betrayal. Honestly, I expected it. I had never seen it before, though, so it was a bit of a surprise. Once I started figuring out my own answers, the things I had been searching for for so long, I tapered off scouring all their bestiaries, so I hadn’t really caught a glimpse of this yet. Especially since it was in the very last book, and I started from the very first. Also, he must have written it in after I stopped reading as much.
“Well, in that case,” Carter started. “I think we might have to redact some of this.” Carter pushed the book over towards me so I could see all of the information that was written out across the page.
I slowly gripped the borders of the black book and pulled it towards me. I gazed over the pictures and took in the two forms that were drawn out in black, shadowy lines.
The first image on the left-hand side of the page was the silhouette of a shadowy-looking human wearing boots, jeans, a dark hood, and a heavy brown jacket. Okay, the jacket was black just like the rest of the image, but I could guess where they were going with it. Carter even had some details of my face showing through the hood. I don’t know if he was trying to be all artistic or if he was just trying to get some resemblance in the face. Either way, honestly, it did look like me, so I was impressed with his drawing skills.
The form on the right side of the page was gargantuan compared to the human drawing. I will say that I have a rough idea of what I look like when I’m transformed, but to see this much detail drawn out by someone else in the way that I look to them… it was unreal. It was a massive, hulking figure. He had me drawn in a form that was standing somewhat like a human, but leaned over with two powerful arms holding an almost bipedal stance, and could stand up at a moment's notice. It kind of reminded me of a gorilla, only in stance. The arms ended in long black talons that looked oh so familiar. There was no tail, so he must have been going off of the first few iterations of my transformation that he had seen. My form now was much more… fluid. I kind of shifted into what I needed for the situation. But at the heart of my transformation was the form on the paper… it was always there, almost like the base.
“There’s another drawing on the back,” Carter said as he reached over and flipped the page quickly.
I saw the different angle he drew, and it was a fully standing version, facing straight on the page. Right beside it was a much less detailed version of the human shape. It was only there to show a size comparison from the best he could convey in the hand drawings of the bestiary. My transformed state looked three times taller than my human form, and probably with ten times more mass… if not more.
The eyes were colored even darker than the rest, like Carter had spent hours tracing over the eyes repeatedly, until they were black enough.
I flipped it back to the front pages to see the original drawings I was looking at because that’s where the information started. This entry was a lot different from all the others in that it wasn't a more descriptive biography of the creatures in a more storytelling way. Mine was more like small bits of information slapped in place and not fully processed yet. There was a title at the top, which had been written in and erased multiple times. It currently says:
Monster / Sam / Death / Primeval?
So he definitely had to have written that after I told him the truth. He had definitely edited this thing many times in many places in my time knowing them.
I moved down below the pictures and started reading some of the accounts written there.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
- Fire broke out on the high-crime side of town. A run-down building (drug den) was intentionally set on fire (confirmed arson by police investigators) after a slaughter took place. Police are going with the theory that it was gang-related. However, the destruction to the bodies that were not burnt completely points to our world. Something killed those people. But why would a creature kill and burn all its prey?
- An unknown creature is killing civilians across the city. Bodies have been discovered over the course of a few years.
- It is only now that we have discovered (with the help of Martin, Jane Talbot, and our police contacts) that missing people from around the city have been found randomly strewn across wooded areas in various forms of decay.
- Unidentified creature is not killing to feed, but is killing and leaving bodies in its wake for unknown reasons.
- Jane Talbot was the first to note how the claw marks were far too long to be a werewolf, as we had questioned.
- A vampire survivor of an unknown monster attack described to Martin the features seen on the man. Claimed this man came out of nowhere, overpowered and brutally killed two other vampires in a way that this fleeing vampire had never seen. These noted features included the absolute blackness of the entirety of his eyes, equally black talons that fit the profile of what Jane Talbot pointed out, and a strength that he could only compare to some kind of machine.
- It is only now that we have discovered (with the help of Martin, Jane Talbot, and our police contacts) that missing people from around the city have been found randomly strewn across wooded areas in various forms of decay.
- An elusive creature. It almost seems like things have slowed down now that we know about it. Maybe it knows that it's been seen, and we’re looking for it?
Carter penned in a few stray thoughts in the accounts here and there.
- Sam, our friend. Our fellow hunter. HE is the creature we’ve been searching for.
- Met Sam in a parking lot where we faced down three vampires. He seemed so normal. We invited him into our home to teach him more after he showed such promise. It all makes so much more sense now.
- New questions are arising as Sam is not affected by silver. He has carried a silver blade on his person since his first outing with us. How can a monster hold one of our blades?
- Met Sam in a parking lot where we faced down three vampires. He seemed so normal. We invited him into our home to teach him more after he showed such promise. It all makes so much more sense now.
It was hard to read that part. The underlining and the boldness in some of the words made me feel the intensity of Carter’s frustration and confusion back then.
Then, after reading a few more lines of other new blurbs, it got to something interesting. It was a section that ended the accounts from the initial time we spent together. Probably before I came back to help with the threat of Peter.
- Sam is something else. Something we have never seen before. For now, Sam is a friend. If encountering anything like him… DO NOT ENGAGE!
Then, everything that came next was just bullet points that mirrored other creatures' lists of known traits and weaknesses.
Traits
Human Form
- Blue eyes
- Brown hair
- Muscular build
- Strength level – Extreme
- Durability – Can be injured with weapons, but seems to heal almost instantly.
Monster Form
- Unknown Beast (10 to 15 feet tall)
- Dark grey flesh
- Black eyes
- Black talons
- Immense Strength
- Stronger than Charles (a vampire older than Martin) and Phineas, the Chimera.
- Extreme Durability and rapid healing
- Completely healed from apparent death inside of “hellfire.”
That was it. Simple yet a pretty effective description. It was all they had seen in that first encounter where I had to fully reveal what I had inside of me. All to save the family as a whole.
The next, even smaller section, was almost laughable. They should have just skipped over it.
Weaknesses
- Bartley Wicklow’s involvement affected his perception of time, but did not harm him.
- No known physical weakness.
- Silver is absolutely ineffective (not sure how this is possible)
I read through the section in its entirety. Carter and Eleanor gave me the time and waited patiently. While I was reading, I felt the presence of Autumn return to the study. I didn’t turn to face her, mostly because I was entranced by everything they had written about me. But I could smell her… and I was thankful she had come back.
After I was done reading everything they had on me, I turned to all three of them.
“Well… pretty impressive,” I admitted.
“I just kept writing the more we learned about you,” Carter said plainly. “I obviously left out things more… personal to you,” he assured, speaking of my family back home.
“What should we take out?” Eleanor asked.
Autumn walked up beside me, her arm grazing mine as she squared up to look at the book. I wanted to be close to her… it was nice.
“I think,” Autumn started as she grabbed the pages and ripped most of them away. She ripped everything except the two front drawings and the first few accounts that were before the revelation of learning I was the thing they hunted for. “This ought to do it!” Autumn laughed as she wadded up the paper and tossed it in the trash by the door.
“Geez, Autumn. I was going to be a little more tactful than that.” Carter said with a huff.
I nodded, “That’s good. I don’t think my name should be in it. Or any kind of identifier that it was me.”
Then I stared at the top and saw what this section was titled. It was written on paper, so I just looked around and grabbed a gigantic permanent marker from the table and got to scribbling lines and adding text. By the time I was done, my section in the bestiary was whittled down to almost one page.
Monster
- Fire broke out on the high-crime side of town. A run-down building (drug den) was intentionally set on fire (confirmed arson by police investigators) after a slaughter took place. Police are going with the theory that it was gang-related. However, the destruction to the bodies that were not burnt completely points to our world. Something killed those people. But why would a creature kill and burn all its prey?
- An unknown creature is killing civilians across the city. Bodies have been discovered over the course of a few years.
- It is only now that we have discovered (with the help of Martin, Jane Talbot, and our police contacts) that missing people from around the city have been found randomly strewn across wooded areas in various forms of decay.
- Unidentified creature is not killing to feed, but is killing and leaving bodies in its wake for unknown reasons.
- People killed were discovered to be known criminals.
- Jane Talbot was the first to note how the claw marks were far too long to be a werewolf, as we had questioned.
- It is only now that we have discovered (with the help of Martin, Jane Talbot, and our police contacts) that missing people from around the city have been found randomly strewn across wooded areas in various forms of decay.
- An elusive creature. It almost seems like things have slowed down now that we know about it. Maybe it knows that it's been seen… and we’re looking for it…
“Just… Monster?” Autumn asked, unsure how she felt about that.
“I do like what you added about the people who were killed were criminals,” Eleanor chimed in. “But why did you blot out the part where the vampire saw you?”
It was a weird thing to hear, coming from her, but she knew the type of criminal I frequented in my early days in the city. I wasn’t hunting down anyone for light shit. I went for the monsters in human flesh.
To answer her last question, I said, “Less detail, the better.”
I looked to Carter to see what he thought… and he looked disappointed. He quickly let me know why.
“Yeah… that whole section just looks like shit now,” he said as he haphazardly flipped back and forth through the shredded stubs of paper that were left after Autumn tore out pages. “How about I just rewrite a new section… I can't have our generation's pages looking like this,” Carter motioned toward all the black permanent marker scribble.
“I think it’ll help with what you guys will build here. An unknown monster lurking behind the shadows. No one will know who, what, or even where I am,” I said. “I can just be… a Monster.”
I brushed my fingers over the single word titling my section in the Chasse bestiary. It was a fitting name. I liked it. It would help me stay out of sight, and for no one to get too close to the truth of what I was, for my sake, and for the Chasse family.
They all nodded, understanding where I was coming from and more than willing to do as I asked. I think a part of them thought this was a blessing in disguise, as now they had a reason to just play dumb with their family and anyone else asking around about me. I don’t know… maybe I was wrong, and I just gave them more of a headache.
After another few hours of talking about everything with everyone, it was time for me to go. Frank and Jane weren't too vocal with me. I did speak to Jane, but she was still in obvious distress about having to accept that her family was divided. Frank had told me quietly that even now, there were some issues at the werewolf home. But nothing that time couldn’t fix. The blatant slaughter of some of their family was not taken so well by others, and it was weighing on Jane, even if she agreed with my ultimate decision.
Frank gave me his best jokes and quick goodbyes before he went back to Jane. I think he was trying to make it short so he didn’t get too bent out of shape. Frank and I were closer now more than ever, and this time it was because Frank had the secrets. I had seen him at his worst… using again. It was all to deal with Clive and the strange investigation he had going on… but I saw him that way, and I helped pull him back from his self-imposed isolation while he abused the supernatural drug. I knew he was beyond thankful, and he didn’t have to say it. I just knew that once I did get back from Texas, Frank and I were going to have a lot of beers to drink to play catch-up for the lost time.
Clara and Wayland weren’t really there much, as a lot of their focus was on how they were going to explain to Delilah that “Auti” was different now. I think they were realizing that the “talk” would come sooner rather than later. That had them rightfully distracted. Though they both still gave me their best and told me they, too, would come to assist if needed.
Wayland spoke to me off to the side before they left. He said something to me that I wouldn’t forget.
“Kids are our reason, Sam. That’s why I do all of this shit. I’m just trying to keep her safe… and treasure the time I have with her. When you go home… remember that. No matter what you’ve been through… that little girl is yours. No matter what anyone else says…” Wayland looked around at everyone. “Any of us… any of your family back home… it doesn’t matter. That is your kid… and she does need you! Remember that, man.”
With that, Wayland gave me a firm pat on the back in a loose hug, very much not like Frank, and left with Clara.
I said it once, and I’ll say it again… I liked Wayland.
My goodbyes with Carter and Eleanor were very much non-goodbyes. They both knew that I would most likely be back with Alex, so Autumn could speak with her one last time before we headed out of the city.
A few more quick hugs and assurances were made that I would stay in close contact with everyone once I did leave. Autumn was the one who actually walked me outside the front door. Eleanor kept a close watch through the window, wanting to see me all the way until I drove away in the car they had just given me. But she wanted to give Autumn a second alone with me outside, and away from everyone else.
Autumn walked beside me, not touching or anything, just walking a good two feet to my left. She was barefoot, in blue skinny jeans, and a thin pink T-shirt with her dark hair now pulled back into a ponytail to keep her tears of blood out of her hair. I almost laughed when I thought about how innocent and unassuming she looked, knowing what kind of monstrous power she held beneath the surface.
She caught me looking at her and smirked, “Definitely going to be complicated.”
We both smiled at each other, and then we stopped in our tracks. We both looked off to the horizon as we noticed at the same time the sun was breaching into the world. It was the start of a new day and a new era for our time together. It wasn’t the end, but a new beginning of what would come now that I had accepted things the way they were.
I walked up to the driver’s side door slowly, watching Autumn stare at the sun with a strange look on her face.
I stood there for a minute, waiting for her to turn and face me before I left. However, she was very mentally absorbed with the sun; so much so that it piqued my interest.
“Are you okay, Autumn?” I asked her.
She’s slowly turned her face to me, looking more inward towards herself. She cut her eyes up and connected with me, “Once you get back to Alex, send me a text or something. Let me know if she’s all right.”
She said it, barely looking at me, more staring into nothingness with a blank expression. She was really worried about Alex.
“I will,” I assured her again.
Then, in a fluid motion, Autumn walked the few feet over to the car where I was standing and wrapped me in a quick hug. It wasn’t quick in duration, but quick in the way she closed the gap between us and wrapped her arms around me. She held herself close to me and whispered in my ear.
“I know you have to leave… I want you to go and do what you have to… but I also don’t…” Autumn said honestly. “Martin’s great and all, but I feel closer to you and Alex than him. I need you guys to help teach me how to do this.” She struggled with her words, fearful of what was to come while we were away. “Promise me you’ll come back…” Autumn pleaded with me in a hushed whisper as she clutched me tightly.
I squeezed her even harder against me, feeling her body pressed up against mine in all the best and worst ways. Giving me everything I wanted to feel in that moment, but it also pained me knowing that I was splitting my focus between her, Alex, and going home. However, this was the life I had chosen. If I wanted to have everyone while I could, then this was going to become the new normal.
I just had to get back to Alex so we could begin our trip… and sort out what was going to happen between all of us. I wasn’t thinking I could have two intimate lady friends or anything like that… more like… I was bonded to them so deeply that it surpassed all that. I knew that the physical part was just a fragment of each of our relationships, but it was there. It was unavoidable. I had to figure out a way to keep them close to me… both of them, no matter what that looked like. They both just meant too much to me to let go… and I was going to start being more selfish.
“I’m always going to come back.”
We stayed like that for a few more minutes, and I could feel eyes on us from inside the house. The sun crept slowly higher into the sky, washing its light over the city once more. That light was what made me aware that it was time for me to get back to Alex. Autumn and I slowly pulled apart, and she initiated a kiss that lasted very briefly. It was a very soft and light touch of our lips, almost just a glancing blow, before she slid off me, separated herself, and moved fluidly toward the house. I could tell that she was crying again, but doing it in a very soft and silent way. The only thing that alerted me again was the smell of the bloody tears running down her face.
I started the engine of the small car. It was just big enough to fit four comfortably, five if you squeezed in. As soon as I saw Autumn return inside her parents' house, I shifted it into drive and pulled away from the Chasse family home.
As I drove away, I thought about Autumn’s words. I thought about how many times I felt her through my senses, breaking down in silence and hiding the pain that she was obviously in. She had been through so much and was forced into this new role that she never wanted. Similar to me. Similarly, she had no one to teach her at this moment, just as I didn’t back then. Martin would only get her so far, but ultimately, who she needed was Alex. Yet… Alex was in no condition to be a mentor of any kind.
I could only speculate on what was going on inside her head, but it was plain to see some things. The sacrifice she had made in saving Autumn from a true death had almost gone out the window. She did it for me… to keep the girl she knew I cared for alive when I couldn’t. The same girl she had told me to stay away from, so I wouldn’t fuck up her life. Now I was back, and I think it shook up the way she viewed what she had done. She had betrayed her promise to never turn someone, at least in her own eyes. I would never think that. She had saved her life.
But even with all that, Autumn was still on her own and living with the consequences of everything. Part of me hurt to watch her like this… to feel that way and hide her true feelings from me in the house. Not to mention the timing of everything, and now that I knew I had to go home. I wanted her with me for this… but I knew her family, and Martin had a lot to do now that the city was wiped clean of the most ancient of monsters.
But I was hopeful in the fact that this was a different kind of goodbye. It was not permanent, and it was not for an uncertain amount of time. I was going down to Texas to get back to my family, and then once they knew the truth… and I processed whatever happened after that, I could shift back and forth between the two cities to be with all of them.
And just maybe… I could merge my two families… into one.