No Such Thing

Family

Cayden hated starting over. What should have been an easy ride to graduation turned into a struggle. A struggle to get re-adjusted. A struggle to fit in. A struggle with his family life. His personal life (what there was of one). And his sanity. He had finally adjusted to his last ‘new’ school/life. And, out of nowhere his Dad was transferred for work, again.

His Mom promised it wouldn’t be too hard. Nice area, great schools, all the usual expectations that worked when he was younger. It just isn’t the same now that he’s older, in high school. He knew it wasn’t going to be worth the struggle. He was told the last time, it was the last time.

His Dad was confident they would move again. Or, he sounded like he was. He was good at what he did. Of course they would place him in troubled areas. And, it was never close enough to commute. It was always across the country, continent, world.

The entire family had to get used to every relocation. Cayden’s brothers did fine. All of them were charismatic and made friends easily. His sisters were the same. His Mother always knew who to talk to and how to get in with the group of parents that allowed her to be part of all their after school activities and interests.

Cayden, 16, did not adjust well. Tall with a muscular build and fair skin, dark red hair and deep blue eyes, he had an intimidating gaze and demeanor. Making it even harder to make friends. His two older brothers, Gabriel and Zander 19, have darker almost black hair with grey eyes.. They graduated a few years previously and were currently enrolled in a local college. Gabe and Zan were able to start their first year nearby so they could still live at home.

His oldest sister, Lana 21 with her long blonde hair, grey eyes and slender build, lives in New York and is finishing her degree in fashion design.

His younger brother, Herran with the same dark red hair and blue eyes, is 12 and started middle school this year. He fit in so fast on his first day he already had two girlfriends and a couple of guys to hang out and play video games with over the weekend.

His younger sister, Abby 9, is the smallest with her blonde curls and bright blue eyes. Abby is in the 4th grade and smarter than anyone in the house. Or, she likes to think she is. It isn’t far from the truth but she has a few more years to put under her before she realizes she is just annoying. Their Mom, Nora is a captivating woman. Tall with long naturally blonde hair. Bright blue eyes that seem like they stare right through you. She’s olive skinned and built to turn heads. Or, at least that is what their dad says. Nora works from home. She’s a homemaker and a realestate agent. Makes it easier for her to move with her husband when need be.

Their Dad, Paul, is tall and muscular. His line of work requires him to stay healthy. With his dark red hair and deep grey eyes, he was very intimidating and carried himself to support the impression. When their kids' friends come over they always ask if Paul is home first. They just do not want to confront him. Or speak to him. Or be in the same room, yard, city as he is. Some ask if he’s a hitman. All the kids laugh and say no. No need to scare them anymore then they are.

Cayden and his siblings were a perfect mixture of both. Which is how it has been in their family for hundreds of years.

Cayden’s first day at school was a bomb. He sat at the back of the class. In every class. All day. And just, brooded. Beyond unapproachable. To the point of almost, scary. He even noticed some of his teachers shiver when they looked back in his direction. It didn’t bother him, but he never did it intentionally. It just turned out that way. He worked away from that at his last school. He made friends eventually and was coming out of his shell. He had a girlfriend. A best friend. And a group of people he hung with regularly. Jemma, his girlfriend, messaged him every night and every morning. They were just really getting to know one another. Hanging out on the weekends, walking home together in the afternoons. Sporting events, dances, you name it. They did it together. Then he moved.

Cayden resented his father for this. Didn’t hate him, their family was really too close for that sort of thing. They had to be. But he wasn’t happy. He just wanted to stay in one place and be….. normal.

After this move, he just kept telling himself. ‘One more year. After graduation I’m leaving for college and I won’t be back.’ His father wanted him to join the family business with his brothers and sisters. He wasn’t sure if his dad was disconnected from the family and just hadn’t noticed, but none of his siblings were going to be in the family business. They all had dreams and desires that were leading them far from what their family had done for hundreds of years. His sister, fashion. Twin brothers, architecture and contracting. Cayden has plans to be a zoologist or maybe a vet. He wasn’t sure. His younger brother wanted to be a cook and so far the youngest sister was going to be a princess or mermaid. But none were anywhere close to being what their father did, or his father, and his, etc.. over three centuries of Gaufe men did the same thing, eventually making a company that does nothing but…

Rehabilitation and/or relocation of monsters. Or as the family affectionately refers to them as not human beings.

That’s right. When they witness, wreck, break the law, cause irreversible mischief and mayhem they are relocated and in some instances, rehabilitated. They’ve done witness protection and relocation services, they’ve helped monsters change their persona so they can live more productive lives. In this business, they have been known to bring a few down but they would prefer support and bring back into society as positive additions. Proving the neh sayers wrong and providing a great service to all living beings. Some are misunderstood. Some are misplaced. Some are just simply bad. Those are the ones that are collected and handed off to someone else. Either way, his family finds them and offers the service in either direction. For over three centuries, his father and ancestor’s unique ability has supported the need to subdue, convince, support, sooth, and even heal some of the world's mythic, mystical, magical and most notorious beings. Got that picture of Bigfoot? Can’t find him? Have you seen that tall, dark, debonair man roaming around your local forest and suddenly, you can’t find him or your picture is “blurred”? Yes, Guafe, Inc. has been through. They collected Bill (Bigfoot) and his family and relocated them. For the 100th time.

In Cayden’s view point. He would never make friends with a family like his. Eccentric would be an understatement.

Last year, in the last place they lived. Which was supposed to be the last move, he thought things were going great. They were there to help clean up a UFO landing mess and it was an easy job. His dad was home a lot. He thought maybe the company was going to finally take care of itself. There were enough employees to operate smoothly and the new manager had everything under control. Out of nowhere, his granddad called and needed Paul to get out to Landsend Port, off the coast.

Paul’s Aunt, his mother’s sister, lived there for more years than anyone knew. Paul would spend summers out there while his mother and father did extra work for the company. It was a huge mansion. 13 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. Renovated in the mid 1900s to include indoor plumbing. The home was well over 300 years old, as was the town it was located outside of. One of many towns in the US that were unheard of for a very long time. Hidden from the misunderstanding eye. The unbeliever. These towns functioned on main grids, after grids were introduced, but were not part of local larger city infrastructures. They had their own magistrates, courts, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, etc. They were small and homey but larger than most communities. Not everyone knew everyone but there was always that nosey neighbor or diner waitress that liked to talk a lot and knew EVERYONE. Though it wasn’t on any map, Google seems to have found it and can be seen on the internet. Still not seen as an attractive city, more like a small back country town. Although if anyone were to see the homes and city buildings, they would be speechless. The place is grand, in every sense. Monsters knew how to live. They’ve been doing it for centuries!

Landsend Port knew the Gaufe’s were moving to town. No one knew why. Only that Paul’s aunt died and left the home to him. This is what Paul told his family too. It was a private conversation between Paul and his father and a hushed subject at home.

None of them knew Aunt Bethany. He spent time with her growing up and they were close when he was younger. He continued to check in with her periodically through the years. Nora sent cards for the holidays with photos of the kids. She said she’d met Aunt Bet a few times before the kids were born but only Paul went afterwards. He said the kids would stress her out and she was fragile. All they knew now was they were moving into her house. To Landsend Port.

That was about it. So, they all assumed it was because of work or because Aunt Bet passed and left the house to them. The family always just went with whatever the plan was and wherever Paul would guide them. They knew it was what had always been done, and what will always happen.