Osiah and Komptin just came back from their fifth night of a hunt with no sense of the Infiltrators, not even a scent. Komptin walked shaking his head that there were no signs of anything. Osiah came back to the church and stopped right outside church grounds. He pulled out his flask from his coat pocket that had been damaged from the last attack. Osiah bent the metal back into place before igniting his finger to weld it back into place. He examined his work and was quite happy with it.
His office was lit by the morning sun coming into the window. He put his feet up on the desk pulling out a bottle of rum. He carefully put into his flask and tested it for leaks. It wasn’t the greatest job in the world, but it held its contents.
“Anything?” Father Joe came up to him handing him a cup of coffee.
“Nothing,” Osiah replied. He veered towards the window. “Not a frog croaking, not a cricket chirping.” Osiah took a sip of his drink. “It’s almost as if every living thing is in hiding.” Komptin who normally would rest after a hunt, sat down at Osiah’s side, on point with his ears perked. The three of them ventured to the window staring at the woods. They just stared at the forest other in complete silence. Osiah couldn’t help but think how particularly dark they seemed.
***
Sara was glad Alex and Anne weren't in school yesterday, they were still returning back from Mole’s race. Her bruise on her eye was healing rather quickly. She managed to keep Robbie calm by saying she tripped on log and fell in the woods while she was out on a walk, but she knew he didn’t believe her. She looked in the mirror and touched her eye. She winced because it was still sensitive. A tear started to form down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and started to get angry.
She looked around her room and did a quick recap of what she could take with her as soon as she graduated. She knew it would be rough, but anything would be better than living with her dad. She started to think who she could stay with while she got situated with her life. She didn’t have much money and she needed to get away far from this place. She vowed never to return.
Sara had it made up in her mind that she was going to ask Robbie what his final plans were after he graduated. She didn’t want to live with him; she just wanted to be near him. She had no ties here. She knew Alex and Mole wouldn’t stick around. She looked out her window as she could hear Alex’s music vibrating the windows. She ran downstairs and grabbed her bag. She looked everywhere for her phone hoping her dad left it there for her but it was still hidden. Sara jumped into the car and consciously tried to prevent Alex from seeing her bruise on her eye. She gave Alex a quick hug. “How was the trip?”
“So sweet,” Alex said, drinking her energy drink. “As soon as Mole crossed the finish line, he kissed Anne so…the only word I can come up with is passionately.” Alex looked over at Sara. “But enough with that, tell me about your little night of naughtiness.”
Sara could feel her face blush. “I want to say it was nothing, but it was so wonderful.” She thought back on that night being in Robbie’s arms.
Alex raised her arm to put her hand on the back of Sara’s head and Sara flinched. “Easy girl.”
“Sorry,” Sara said trying to cover her tracks. “Just caught me off guard.”
Alex just smiled at her. “Where’s daddy?” She asked as she put the car in gear and started driving away.
“I don’t know,” she said. “He took off early this morning.” The music in the car blasted as they drove to start their day.
***
Gron approached Vandor and Salamor. Vandor was drinking from a chalice. He looked down and saw he was drinking blood. He looked around for a body but didn’t see any. The Infiltrators probably devoured what was left of the carcass.
“To your command,” Gron bowed to Vandor.
Vandor picked up what seemed to be a severed finger and took a bite off from it. “Choices. Choices got to be had.” He looked to Gron. “Who’s your first choice?”
“But of course, you are. Above all else,” he looked to his master.
“Good to hear,” Vandor said. “Life is full of tests for the primates. This particular test will be difficult for you.”
Gron with a straight face looked into his dead eyes, “No choice is hard to make when it comes to you.”
Vandor stood up as Sara’s father walked into the room. “She joins us, or dies.”
Gron said, “What must I do?”
“Fulfill a desire you have wanted to do for quite a while,” Vandor said.
Gron nodded and walked out the door.
***
Osiah sat down in his office with his feet on the desk looking around on his computer. Komptin was lying down in the corner in his bed fast asleep. Osiah was on a website for a carpet cleaner he saw last night on TV that he was really interested in. He pulled out his credit card and purchased it. When he hit purchase, he found out he got a free portable steam cleaner with it. He was quite happy with his recent victory. He got up and walked out the door where Father Joe was about to knock on his door.
“That was weird,” Father Joe laughed. “What’s going on Osiah?”
“Just purchased this neat carpet cleaner that I saw on an infomercial,” Osiah said excitingly. “It takes out over 98% percent more germs and stains than the leading competitor.”
Father Joe put his hand on Osiah’s shoulder, “I’m glad you are happy with your recent finding,” he laughed.
“Please have a seat,” Osiah said sitting behind his desk.
Father Joe followed him and sat down. “I got some news,” he said.
“What’s up?”
“I got transferred to Moscow,” he said. “I’m not too happy with it but the Cardinal of the Council wants me up there to get ready to replace a priest who is getting ready to retire in Washington D.C.”
“That is ridiculous!” Osiah said. “There are very few Council Priests left in the church. Is your replacement a Council Priest?”
“Unfortunately, no, that is what I argued, but it didn’t matter to the Council,” he said. “I have to leave by the end of the week.”
“End of the week!” Osiah said louder. Osiah’s voice woke up Komptin who looked up at his friend. “Don’t they know what is about to go down here,” Osiah argued. “It’s almost as if it is the calm before the storm.” He looked at a picture of Alex and himself she made him take after one of their training sessions with Komptin between them.
“She’s a good kid,” Father Joe said. “She’s strong and she’s got one hell of a mentor. She’ll be fine with you.”
Osiah put the picture down on his desk. “Who’s your replacement?”
“Father George Hanley,” he replied. “He has no idea what’s going on here or what your roll is in the church.” He looked at the picture he took of Osiah and Alex. “As far as he knows you are the head groundskeeper and Alex is a troubled teen trying to get her life in order.”
Osiah laughed. “My little spitfire’s mouth will validate that.” Osiah got up and gave his good friend a hug. “I will come see you every chance I got.”
“I look forward to it,” Father Joe said. “Let’s go get some dinner before Alex gets here.”
***
Alex was glad it was Wednesday. Even though she didn't go to school on Monday, it seemed like it was a long week. Last night’s training session wasn’t really productive. There were no signs of Infiltrators and Osiah’s mind was off somewhere else. The only highlight of the night was that she got a piece of pizza he saved for her and saw a really neat carpet cleaner that Osiah had coming in the mail.
Robbie and Sara were talking about something serious as far as Alex could see. She saw the two of them were in deep discussion. Alex just stood there for a minute to let them finish their discussion before she brought Sara home.
Anne came up on Alex’s side. “Hey, what are you looking at?”
“Robbie and Sara.”
Anne sat there and stared at them. “Robbie got accepted to the University of Minnesota.”
“Really?” Alex said. “Good for him. It’s what he wanted.” Alex looked around. “Where’s Mole?”
Anne smiled, “He’s having dinner with my parents tonight.”
Alex raised her eyebrows at her. “And you’re not there?”
“His idea,” She said. “He wanted to go into the lion’s den alone.” Anne looked at her phone where she had a picture of the Mole on the night he earned his Iron Man medal. “He said that he wanted to clear the air about his past to them.”
“Wow. Mole doesn’t like talking about that,” Alex said, paying attention over to Sara and Robbie. She watched them hug as Sara was fighting back tears.
Alex approached the two of them with Anne at her side. “Congrats on Minnesota.”
“Thanks,” Robbie said.
“You okay Sara?” Alex said.
Sara smiled, “Couldn’t be better.”
Alex was almost afraid to ask, “Not the answer I was expecting.”
“Robbie’s sister is moving out of her apartment and her roommate said I could stay there,” Sara said. “She said not to worry about rent until I get situated with a job and get into a school of some sorts.” Sara was crying, “She is so nice. I talked to her for about an hour. Denise, that’s her name, talked to her family about my situation and they agreed.” Sara looked to Robbie. “Robbie’s dorm will only be about a 30 minute bus ride from the apartment.”
Alex screamed with happiness and hugged her. “When do you get to go?”
“I’m leaving right after we graduate. I will pack when he leaves for work,” Sara said. “He will never hit me again.”
“Excuse me,” Alex said out of shock.
“I thought you knew,” Robbie said. “When you left town last weekend he knocked the hell out of her.”
Alex had to hold back the tingling in her arm. She didn’t really feel like explaining why her fist would be glowing blue. She calmed herself down. “Just because you are getting the hell out of there, I’m not going to do anything.” She hugged Sara. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
“Is your dad going to be home tonight?” Robbie asked.
Sara shook her head no.
“Good, come over to dinner with my mom and sister,” Robbie suggested. “You could use a good meal.”
“Sounds good,” Sara said.
“I just have to go to my locker and get my keys. I’ll be right back,” Robbie said as he went over on the other side of the school to his locker.
Sara watched as he walked away, “Alex, I am so happy. First time that I ever feel like I’m free.”
Alex said, “I’m so happy for you.” The three girls hugged each other.
Anne said, “Let’s make it a point to keep in touch once graduation is over. I love you like you were my own sisters.”
Alex and Sara both said at the same time, “Agreed,” as they continued to embrace each other.
***
Mole sat across from the dinner table of Anne’s parents. The parents just stared at him. “You know, our little girl is very special to us,” Anne’s dad said, swirling his drink. Mole could tell that it was Crown Royale with ice. It was funny because Mole still could identify any form of alcohol that someone was drinking.
“Yes sir,” was all Mole could think of saying. “She is very special to me. This year hasn’t been easy and Anne helped me through a lot of it.”
“She’s all heart,” her mom said, serving up the pot roast.
Mole waited to eat until Anne’s mother sat down and was ready to eat. He was waiting for the dad and mom to start eating before he started to eat. Once they started to eat Mole went to town. A home cooked meal was something he cherished because he didn’t get it very often. He looked up and just Anne’s parents were looking at him.
“Hungry?” Anne’s dad asked laughing.
Mole looked down and he just realized he ate almost half his meal before they even put a dent in the meal. “Sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I’ve been since the race. Even my mom was telling me she couldn’t keep up with the food in the house.”
“I didn’t know the school had a race last weekend,” her mom said, dishing him more food.
“It wasn’t a school event,” Mole said. “It was something I needed to prove to myself.”
“Oh, what was that?” Her dad asked cutting into his meat.
Mole knew he wanted to address his past, but was still unsure when to bring it up. “I wanted to prove to myself I could complete an Ironman.”
“Really?” Her dad said. It looked like the first time that night he was involved in the conversation. “How’d you do?”
“Just over 17 hours,” Mole answered. For the rest of the meal Mole was actively engaged with Anne’s parents regarding the details of the race and listening to the stories of their past athletic competitions.
***
Osiah sat in the bell tower overlooking the town covered in the trees. It was so pretty at night, so peaceful, but he knew somewhere out there were Infiltrators waiting to pounce. He looked down at Komptin, “What do you think?” Komptin flashed his eyes blue and looked at Celestial as she joined Osiah.
“Osiah, training is going well. He is quite satisfied with everything,” she said. Ariel and Devine sat outside the doorway. They both were wearing jeans and the same style shirts but different colors. The color of their shirts was the color of the other’s hair. Celestial was what Osiah would say as a woman’s power suit of some sort. Osiah thought the new steam cleaner he bought could remove any wrinkles she may have gotten.
“It is,” Osiah agreed. “When she graduates high school, I was hoping to follow her to her choice in college to continue to help in the fight.”
“If that is what you wish but you have kept yourself here long enough, I was really hoping you would come home,” Celestial grabbed his hands.
Osiah looked at Celestial and could see she was serious. She wanted him to go home with her. She truly felt it was time. He nodded and smiled as he kissed her.
Ariel and Devine walked into the room. Ariel was the first to speak, “Now I am not happy, I bet against you…”
Devine finished her sentence, “and now she owes us dinner.”
Celestial smiled, “Will you be able to join us?”
Osiah so wished he could, “I am expecting Alex. I will have to tell her the news. She will not be too happy.”
Celestial kissed Osiah. “That is why I love you.” She turned around kneeling down to Komptin who laid his head on her lap. “You two have earned the right to come home and rest.”
After Celestial left, he walked downstairs to a bench outside the church. Komptin followed and jumped on the bench next to him. Osiah scratched his longtime companion’s head. “My old friend, you have been with me for a long time. You saved my life, and I the same to you. I know you are tired, but there is something I must ask of you.”
***
Mole was invited into the basement of the McClure’s house. Anne’s parents had converted their basement into a type of game room. In the middle was a pool table and what Mole could see was a nice stereo and theatre station.
“This is my relaxation,” Anne’s dad said. “How about a couple of games of 301?”
Mole agreed. He looked at the darts and chose his set. Anne’s dad picked his out of a nice case. “I play in a league every year.” He showed Mole where the mark was. “Now the point of the game is to hit points down to 301 without busting. The outer markings are double and the middle of the numbers are triple. The outer bull is 25 and the inner bull is 50. Any questions?”
Mole shook his head no. “I think I got it.”
“I’ll let you go first,” Anne’s dad suggested.
Mole set up his feet, “Just like this?”
“Yep, that’s good.”
Mole took the dart and put three darts straight into the triple 20. The computer deducted a quick 180 points from the score.
“Damn,” her dad said out of shock.
Mole shrugged his shoulders, “My mom owns a dinner club. I spent a lot of time there.”
Anne’s dad walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. “Do you want a drink?”
“No, I’m good,” Mole said grabbing his darts off the board.
“I know you're still in high school, so I understand,” her dad said. “It was a little test,” he smirked.
Mole stepped to the side of the dart board, “Well, a year ago I probably would have taken you up on that.”
Her dad looked at him, “Why is that?”
“Just something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” Mole said, taking a drink of his Iced Tea. “I’m sure you have heard of my past.”
“Rumors, Anne wouldn’t go into it,” he acknowledged.
Mole continued to tell him the generalization of his drinking problem and being sent to a juvenile detention center for the summer. “So, I’m legally allowed to get my license after graduation.”
“And that is why you rode your bike here today?”
“Yes sir,”
He put his hand on Mole’s shoulder. “Thank you for telling me this.”
“To tell you the truth, if I hadn’t cleaned myself up I would have never had the privilege of getting to know your daughter, who is unlike anyone I have ever met,” Mole confessed.
“She is something,” her dad said. The two of them continued to play darts for the rest of the night discussing Mole’s plans for the future.
***
Sara got dropped off at her house by Robbie. She never realized how nervous she got every time she drove up the driveway. She did a quick glance around the yard to make sure her dad wasn’t home. She wanted to stay in the truck, she felt safe in there.
“Doesn’t look like he’s around,” Robbie said, getting out of the vehicle.
Sara came out of Robbie’s truck. The two held hands as they approached the door to her house. It was quiet in the yard. “Robbie, I just want to say, I don’t know where I would be without you.”
Robbie held her hand, “Sara, no matter where life brings us, I promise you, we will remain together, even if it is just friends…which I pray will never come.” He kissed her and she returned the same.
“Do you want to come inside?” Sara said. “He won’t be home for quite a while.”
“I have to get home,” Robbie said. “There is a lot to plan for with graduation happening in a couple of weeks.”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it,” Sara said. “I just applied to a Catholic College in Minneapolis. Talking to the counselor she said that there is a good chance I could help with tuition on a track scholarship.”
“That’s great!” Robbie said. “When will you find out?”
“She said sometime in June,” Sara said. “and I got a job with my roommate’s parent’s law firm as a receptionist. They are going to work around my school schedule.”
“See, it’s all coming together,” Robbie said, sounding more excited than Sara.
Sara opened the door to the house. “I’m getting the hell out of here the day after graduation.” She hugged and kissed Robbie. “See you tomorrow in school.”
“See you tomorrow,” Robbie said, pulling slowly away.
“I love you!” Sara screamed at him.
“I love you too!” Robbie returned slapping the hood of his truck. He honked the horn and drove away.
Sara could not help herself but laugh as she turned the lights on. Her dad was standing in the dark with an expressionless face staring at her.
***
Alex and Anne pulled into Anne’s driveway from having dinner at Marty’s. Alex was happy to see Mole’s bike was still here. Dinner must have gone well if he was still here. The two girls walked into the house where all you heard was music and laughing from the basement. The two of them walked downstairs to see Mole laughing with Anne’s parents while shooting pool.
“What’s going on here?” Anne said as she walked up to Mole and gave him a hug.
“We’re just talking about life, movies, races, and different stories…” Anne’s mom said. “You picked a good one Anne.”
Alex raised her eyebrows at Mole and smirked. Mole returned with a grin.
“And who is this?” Anne’s dad asked, referring to Alex.
“This is my sister Alex,” Mole naturally said.
“Hi Alex,” Anne’s mom said. “Do you care for anything to drink?”
“No thank you,” Alex replied. “I have to get to the church. Mole, do you want a ride home?”
“Actually, I’m kind of in the mood to ride home,” Mole said. “Do you happen to have any of my riding gear in your car?”
“Surprisingly I do,” Alex said. “It’s in the trunk.”
“Do you mind if I change into my gear in your bathroom?” Mole asked Anne’s parents.
“Be our guest,” Anne’s dad said.
Alex watched Mole slowly let go of Anne’s hand as he walked upstairs.
“Seemed like that was going well,” Anne said to her parents.
Alex heard Mole coming running downstairs. Alex just threw her keys behind her as Mole caught them and walked back upstairs.
Anne’s mom said to Alex, “So Alex, are you getting ready for graduation?”
“Looking forward to it,” Alex said. “I know it will be challenging but yet rewarding.”
“College normally is,” Anne’s dad said.
Anne looked up as she heard Mole close the door to the bathroom to change upstairs. Alex watched her smile as Anne was embarrassed because her parents were staring at her. “What?” She said.
“He’s a fine young man,” Anne’s mom told her.
Anne’s dad walked up to her, “I don’t know why we even questioned your judgement, we should have known better. He is a good guy and cares for you a lot.”
Anne hugged her dad. “Thank you.” Her dad let her go. “Let’s go see him off.”
The four of them walked upstairs and out to the porch. Mole joined them getting his bike situated. “Do you mind taking my clothes?” He handed Alex his folded clothes.
“I’m not doing your laundry,” Alex told him as she threw them in the trunk slamming it shut.
Mole walked up to Anne’s dad and shook his hand. “Thank you sir for inviting me into your home.” Anne’s dad returned the handshake. Mole then turned to Anne’s mom, “Thank you for the delicious dinner.”
Anne’s mom gave him a hug, “You are always welcome.”
Mole turned to Anne as the two just stared at each other.
“Come on hun, let’s give them some privacy,” Anne’s dad said as they turned towards the door. He stopped to check the chunk of the side of the house missing. He rubbed his hands over it and looked at the pieces on the ground. Alex looked at Anne and the two smiled at each other.
“I’ll text you when I get home,” Mole said looking over at Anne.
Anne replied, “How long?”
“Should take me about just under an hour; I’m still pretty sore,” Mole said. The two of them just stared at each other. Alex turned around to give them some privacy.
Mole kissed Anne and mouthed, “I’ll talk to you soon.” Mole got on his bike and Alex approached him.
Alex teasingly mocked him, “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Shut up,” Mole teased back.
Alex lovingly punched his arm as he rode away. “He’s got it bad for you.”
Anne smiled, “It’s amazing what this year has brought. A year ago, I would have never thought Kale Moler and myself would be dating.”
“You two complement each other,” Alex said. “And I’m glad I got to know you better.” Alex looked at her phone. “I gotta go. I gotta get to the church.”
Anne looked at her watch, “At this hour?”
Alex tried to think of an excuse but all she could come up with was, “Midnight Mass prep. I gotta go. See you tomorrow.” She got into her car and drove off.