LIAM HARPER a Vampwolf Series

“Who the hell are they?” I whispered to my twin sister Kaylee as I spied through the small, black, mesh veil that hung gracefully over my ostensibly sorrowful face. There were two ladies and a gentleman standing a far distance away. They were each holding an open black umbrella above them as if they were trying to covertly hide from the evening glare. They were all sacked in white clothing from their heads all the way to their feet, with a small opening by the eyes. “Why the f**k they dressed like mom?!” Kaylee whispered back at me puzzled. The same question was actually crossing my mind. This was a strange sight indeed, as I had never seen anyone dressed like our mother before, who lies and tells everyone that her cover-up is a part of her religion. It annoys the s**t out of me when she says something like that, but who I am I to judge? I continued to stare confusedly as I monitored their every move like a detective in the dark. Strangely, even the gentleman was covered the same. I had never understood why our mother, Mrs. Adele Adams, as I prefer to call her, is always covered up as if she is hiding from the world, and she only wears white. I had never seen her face or body, as she would stay covered all day, after the sunsets she would lock herself in her room until the next day. She’s also far from religious, as she hates prayers and the usage of the word ‘God’. My sister and I immediately moved closer to console her as she sobbed bitterly over the corpse of her late asshole husband, Mr. Jack Adam who was killed while hunting Deers in the forest. Well, so she would say when anyone asked what had happened. I was more concerned about the strangers, so I tried to grasp her attention as I tried to make weird gestures so that she would look up, but her pitiful sorrow was too much for her to handle, and she ignored me as she always does. Yes, he is our father as well, but he was never around. He spent most of his days and nights in the forest hunting. When he is around, he is always tired, angry and abusive. Mrs. Adele spent hours each day scrubbing blood off his dirty clothes. He never returns home with any animals that he caught while hunting. Mr. Adams' body was found in pieces as if torn apart by a ferocious beast. After his death, Mrs. Adele lived in fear and disbelief, as though we all were in danger. Deep down I was somewhat happy his crazy ass was gone, but seeing mom so sad made me pity her. I don't think Kaylee was actually sad either, as she also expressed how much she hated his guts! (Memory Started) He was always drunk! he would curse her out about the way she dressed, calling her a w***e and a slut. He accused Kaylee of sneaking out at night to sleep around, and she never really listened to anything he had to say as she continued to stay out all night. They would sometimes yell and throw things about the house at each other when they were angry. Mrs. Adele would try to stop them, but she would end up being the punching bag as he would throw all his anger at her. (Memory ended) It had been a tumultuous couple of years gone by. I learned to keep my mouth quiet and to stay away from trouble to avoid any conflicts, as God knows I would have already stabbed him to death a million times if I had to. I quietly thank God the casket remained closed as I don't think I ever wanted to see his wretched face again, yet his memory kept playing in my head. I tried really hard to feel some kind of sympathy for him, but his angry and depleted look, his filthy breath, his abuse just turned my feelings off. One of the strangely dressed ladies slowly walked towards Mrs. Adele quickly gently placed her hands on her left shoulder and said with heavy sympathy in her voice, “Sister, I’m so sorry for your loss.” “Sister!?” I questioned my thoughts. I immediately turned to Kaylee with an alerting look. Mrs. Adele quickly spun around, and grabbed the lady in her weak arms and squeezed her. I was surprised to know that they actually knew each other. “We need to talk,” the lady whispered softly below her white niqab. I kept glimpsing at my sister Kaylee just to ensure we were on the same page. I observed Mrs. Adele looked deeply into the lady's eyes as though she knew the reason she was here but hoping it was not what she was thinking. I kept calm, but my heart accelerated. I definitely wanted to know why they were here and, moreover, who the hell they were. I ensured to stay near to hear every word that came from their covered mouth. But nothing much was said, as only tension was observed from Mrs. Adele awkward gestures and confusion. Upon arriving at the black gates of the place, we called home. To my surprise, the two ladies and gentlemen were also there standing like the Statue of Liberty. I held my breath and swallowed my spit like a student awaiting eagerly for exam results, nervousness filled my chest as something about this visitation felt serious. Mrs. Adele did not even talk or even look our way. She slowly crawled out of the vehicle which Kaylee drove us home. Both ladies gently placed their hands around her to lend support to her weak frame as she led them inside our dimly lit house. The gentleman followed behind. I looked puzzled at Kaylee as we both sped inside the house right behind them. I felt like we were invisible, as no one even acknowledged us. With a hoarse voice, Mrs. Adele finally introduced them, “I almost forgot, Kaylee and Kristie, these are your aunts Laura and Tyra, and the gentleman is Laura’s husband, Mr. Peter.” My drawer dropped as I just kept staring, I felt a sense of comfort knowing that we actually had relatives. From the jump they immediately looked at my jubilant sister Kaylee, as she had always been considered the attractive and approachable one. “You are so beautiful” Tyra stared as she stretched her hands to touch Kaylee’s bouncy, red curly hair. Trying not to appear jealous, I glimpsed Kaylee with a light smile. Tension continued to fill the air as I looked anxiously at their uptight behavior as they barely moved around. "Should I get some water?” I asked as a stimulant to break the silence, but they quickly refused, just like Mrs. Adele always does. Everyone just looked at each other awkwardly as I couldn’t really tell what expressions were being conveyed below their white disguise. Eager eyes glimpsed back and forth. Mrs. Adele looked like her chest was heavy as she suddenly sat at the dining table, clasping her hands towards her forehead. As if with a heavy heart she said “I never thought this day would come, but it came gushing in like a river that is thirsting for water,” “Mr. Adams was like our protector, he fought day and night to keep us safe. Now that he is gone, we have no one, we must move or else our bodies will be feasted upon.” Mrs. Adele's language was incomprehensible as I glanced at my other half to see if she understood. She was looking just as confused as I was, but the visitors seemed to catch on pretty well as I noticed they nodded in agreement. “We found evidence it was them”, Mr. Peter added as he unwrapped a brown cotton cloth that he pulled from his bag. It was a large, pointed tooth like that of a large dog perhaps, and a brown hand-woven necklace with an aqua blue stone knotted as a pendant. I leaned in to take a closer look but still couldn't understand a damn thing they were referring to. I looked at Mrs. Adele's melancholic face, I could see the hurt and terror as her eyes welled with water. I needed an explanation from someone, about what the f**k I was really looking at, and what was happening, but the air was so tight, I just stayed quiet and went with the flow as I usually do. So many things clustered in my thoughts! I just stood dumbfounded, trying to gather words, but nothing seemed to come out. Was it a big dog that killed Mr. Adams!? Is there something that they are not telling us!? I asked myself confusedly.