Forever Fearless

Chapter One He woke up screaming, as he’d done nearly every time he tried to sleep. The vivid images played in his head like a movie reel. Relentless, graphic nightmares, or more accurately, flashbacks. The doctor said he was suffering from post-traumatic stress, but she didn’t know the half of it. Local media had covered the story, labeling it a bizarre wolf attack in which eighteen campers had been killed and another two dozen injured. Issa knew the truth. They all knew, all of the witnesses. There’d been a wolf attack, all right, but those were not ordinary wolves. And in the wake of the confrontation, they’d left c*****e unlike anything Issa could have imagined. Body parts strewn everywhere, so badly that many of the victims were not even recognizable. Worse than these gruesome images were Issa’s memories of the vampire slayings. He thought he’d been prepared. He’d learned all his lessons, completed hours of target practice, and had even watched graphic videos. Sure, he knew it would be bloody, and he knew that ripping a vampire’s heart from its chest was no job for the squeamish. Yet, there was nothing that could have prepared him for seeing it all in living color. If he knew anything with certainty, it was the fact that he wasn’t cut out for the job. He had no desire to ever again see what he’d witnessed that night, and he definitely was no vampire slayer. Shockwaves had rippled through the Matarian community as word of the tragedy quickly spread. An emergency meeting had been called to assess the losses and to discuss an appropriate response. The devastation affected every Matarian family, but most significantly those who’d lost a young loved one. Issa knew all of the victims. They’d been his classmates. His sixteen year old classmates. Boot camp was a Matarian rite of passage, one every Matarian child looked forward to. This pivotal juncture provided transition from youthful fantasies of vampire slaying to the reality of actual field work. Completion of boot camp culminated with a graduation ceremony followed by the assignments of the cadets’ first hunts. But there’d been no ceremony this year. Instead, the entire community gathered for a massive memorial service. Even the successful vampire slayings, normally a cause for great celebration, hadn’t offset the tragic losses. “It’s a war,” Issa’s father calmly stated, “and people die in wars.” “Children, Ibrahim. They were but children,” his mother pointed out. Sadly, Issa knew many in the community shared his father’s sentiments. Rather than giving them pause and leading them to contemplate the senseless killings, the tragedy had enraged them and made them even more bloodthirsty. Talk of revenge already ran rampant, and now a new enemy had been added to the list. Matarians not only fought the vampires, but also the werewolves. The deaths of Issa’s brethren lay heavy on his heart, yet he did not yearn for revenge. In fact, he didn’t blame the vampires or the wolves. He knew why they’d come. They were on a rescue mission, there to free the prisoners the Matarians were heartlessly torturing. When stormed by an army of battle-ready cadets, they responded, and many lives were lost. And the tragedy had cut both ways. At least four from the other side had been mortally wounded, a wolf, two vampires, and a human. Issa had heard the jubilant cheers from his fellow Matarian warriors as the vampires were felled, and the memory sickened him. Brendan and Richard were a couple, and they’d loved each other very much. They’d been together for years—at least decades, if not centuries. To Issa, their relationship didn’t seem so different than what he shared with Dylan. According to the Matarian teachings, vampires were bloodsucking monsters, not even human, and most people didn’t think they were really even capable of love. Driven solely by their hunger, personal relationships were secondary to them. In most instances, they were solitary creatures who existed only for the purpose of feeding. Killing machines, and nothing more. But Issa knew otherwise. He knew from his conversation with Brendan. He knew because he’d seen how Richard had reacted when reunited with his lover. And he’d witnessed a similar connection between the young-looking vampire and the human— the little blond kid. Christ, he didn’t look any older than the cadets. Robbie, was it? The vampire was in love with the boy. Issa could only speculate as to what had become of them. Perhaps they’d made it to safety in time, but if so, that would imply Robbie had been converted. Surely, he wouldn’t have survived an arrow through his heart. Issa didn’t want to know. He couldn’t bear the possibility that the kid, so obviously in love, had sacrificed himself for his lover. And even if he had somehow been saved, he didn’t want to think about what that would mean. They’d be targets. Sitting ducks. The Matarian army was already planning an all-out war, a massive and sweeping retaliatory strike. They were intent upon eradicating all vampires worldwide, once and for all. But the elders didn’t even know the whole story. Only Dylan and Issa were aware of all that had transpired that night. They were the only Matarians to witness Raoul and Shadi. “You can’t tell,” Issa had pleaded. “If they find out, they’ll hunt them down and kill my brother.” “Issa, he’s no longer your brother.” Dylan tried to reason with him. “He’s a Pureblood vampire. He isn’t even human, and he has no loyalty to you or your family.” “What if it were your brother?” Dylan took a step back, then slowly nodded. Issa knew how close Dylan was to his brother Taylor. He’d never turn his back on his own flesh and blood, no matter the circumstances. Finally, he sighed. “All right, I won’t tell. But it has to end here. From this point forward, Shadi no longer exists. As far as we’re concerned, he’s gone forever.” Issa nodded his agreement, but didn’t verbalize a response. He could never make such a promise, not even to Dylan. Shadi was his brother, and Issa couldn’t just pretend he was dead. Though it might not immediately be possible, one day he’d find his brother and they’d have their reunion. In the meantime, he had to find a way to forgive himself for all that had happened. He had to somehow make the nightmares stop so he could go on with his life, so he could concentrate on his future with Dylan. As he lay alone in his dark room, he thought on these things and stared up at the ceiling. “I’ll find you again, Shadi,” he whispered. ~~~~~ “That’s bullshit!” It wasn’t like Dylan to challenge his older brother, and he could count on one hand the number of times he’d talked back, but he was pissed. As much as he loved and respected Taylor, he wasn’t going to let his older brother run his life, and he certainly wasn’t going to allow him control of his friendships. “That kid is not ready, Dylan, and he almost got himself killed. He could’ve gotten you killed. There’s no way in hell I’m gonna let them assign you two as partners.” “It’s not your decision, Taylor.” Dylan ran his fingers through his new, short-cropped haircut and turned away, heaving an exasperated sigh. “You know it’s Matarian tradition that when a cadet graduates, he gets to choose his field partner, and I choose Issa.” “You didn’t graduate, though.” “That’s a f*****g technicality and you know it!” He spun around and pointed his finger in his older brother’s face. “And if that’s really the case, then I’m not ready for field work either. You’re just trying to keep us apart.” “Damn right I’m trying to keep you apart! Dylan, that kid is nowhere close to your skill level. He’s a f*****g loose cannon, and I want you teamed up with someone stronger. Someone you can trust.” On one level, his brother’s advice was sound. He’d known all along that Issa was no warrior. He was the furthest thing from a killer that Dylan could imagine, yet that was all the more reason Dylan needed to stick close to him. Issa needed a protector, and the thought of him going off to war under the supervision of some stranger scared the hell out of him. “Bro, it’s not like we’d be out there on our own. For our first hunt, we’d be assigned a mentor.” “Yeah, and how fair would that be? Then two people’s lives would be at risk— yours and the mentor’s. Look, there are a lot of cadets who discover they aren’t cut out to be slayers. There’s no shame in that. Your friend just needs to be assigned to the right job. There are plenty of jobs—” “Issa needs to be with me, Taylor!” “He needs to be with you, or you need to be with him?” Dylan again turned away to break eye contact. A swell of emotion overtook him, but he willed himself not to cry in front of Taylor. “Why can’t you just be our mentor?” His plea was barely a whisper. Taylor shortened the distance between them, then placed a hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “I considered that, but I don’t think it’s gonna be possible. April and I have already been assigned to a top-priority mission.” “We’ll go with you!” Dylan spun around. “Taylor, that’d be perfect.” Taylor laughed and shook his head. “Uh, no. That would not be perfect. That’d be a nightmare, and April would throw a s**t fit at the mere suggestion.” “Why? There’d be four of us.” “Two kids and two babysitters.” “f**k you!” Dylan’s pulled away from his brother. “Wait, I didn’t mean it like that.” “I’m not a f*****g baby, Taylor. I’ve been preparing for this all my life.” “Yeah, you have, so why are you now willing to throw it all away for some kid you just met a few weeks ago?” At last the hot tears began to stream down Dylan’s cheeks. “Because I love him, Taylor. I f*****g love Issa!” ~~~~~ “You can’t just go deposit twenty grand into your savings account without declaring where the money came from.” Deborah hated when Wayne talked to her like she was an imbecile. That was part of the reason she’d divorced his ass. That and the fact he was a good for nothing, abusive, bum. But she’d had to contact him when Robbie disappeared, not that he even cared. “I don’t plan to deposit the money, Wayne. I’m gonna use it to find our son.” “Our son is probably dead.” His voice was flat, void of any feeling. He might as well be talking about the weather. Wayne was thin like Robbie, though taller, and he had Robbie’s blond hair. Though in his forties, Wayne looked older, his once-angelic face now etched with wrinkles that were the result of two decades of heavy drinking and smoking. “Don’t say that!” They were sitting in the living room of her trailer. She stood up from the couch and walked out to the kitchen. “Obviously, he can’t be dead. Robbie’s the one who brought me the money.” He sighed and rolled his eyes, then leaned back in the recliner. “Look, I wasn’t born yesterday. I don’t know where you got all that dough, but some teenager sure the f**k didn’t bring it to you in the middle of the night and then disappear.” “I don’t care if you believe me. All I care about is finding him!” She was so angry, she wanted to throw something at him. “Robbie is our son, goddammit! Do you have any feelings at all?” “Oh Christ.” He stood up and moved toward her. “You call me over here at six o’clock in the morning saying Robbie contacted you. I get here, and you’ve concocted some cockamamie story. Woman, if Robbie really is still alive, he probably split just to get away from your crazy ass. I’m outta here.” He turned and headed toward the door. As he was stepping through the threshold, her words stopped him in his tracks. “I’ll give you half!” He turned around and re-entered the trailer. “You’re offering me ten grand, cash?” “If we find him.” He shook his head. “Debbie, the kid might be dead.” “Well…” She bit her bottom lip in an attempt to hold back her tears. “Well, if we find that out—if we can prove it—I’ll still make good on the promise. I’ll still split the money with you.” For the first time, the corners of his mouth rose. He held out his hand. “No,” she shook her head. “When we find him, you get paid.” “Come on, you can’t expect me to head off on some wild goose chase with you like that, not without at least a partial payment up front.” “Be here to pick me up in two hours, and I’ll give you a thousand. The rest when we find him.” “Five thousand.” “You heard my offer. Take it or leave it.” “All right. All right. And just where are we headed?” “Texas.”