Supernaturals

34. Shawn agrees

SHAWN

I needed no one to tell me that the hybrid coming back had come as a big shock to Mike.

Mike let out a loud sigh. “I knew it was a mistake allowing him in here, now he knows where we stay and can come taunt us whenever he likes.”

“He's playing with the wrong people," I said. “I will tear him from limb to limp, hybrid or not, no one person can threaten our safety.”

Eve was suddenly worried about the witches. “Wasn't he unconscious when he left here? I hope he hasn't done anything to the witches?”

“For all we know he could have killed them on the road," Mike articulated. “Or even worse, he might have followed them to their camp and killed them all.”

This was scary but true. The witches had carried him with them while he shook helplessly, but now that he was here, what happened to the witches? What did he do with them? Those questions would help us in answering the most important one: why the f*ck was he here?

“Mike, don't alert anyone of the hybrid's august visit that no one asked for. Let them party, we will deal with the hybrid ourselves—just us three.”

“Don't you think we should alert—”

“No,” I cut in, “let's handle this ourselves.”

The last thing I wanted was for my people to be on their toes— on the one day they wanted to have a glimpse of normalcy.

I made my way into my room and got my vervain-poisoned spear and a locally made vervain spray can. All three of us had armed ourselves very well, especially Eve.

Eve, Mike and I made our way to the entrance gate of the territory. If the hybrid thought he was hot, we were about to show him that hell wasn't popular for no reason.

We opened the front gate to see the hybrid standing about ten feet before the gate, looking expressionlessly at us.

“Why are you all armed? You do know I mean no harm, don't you?”

Eve unsheathed her sword and took a step outside the territory. “We don't know sh*t, now leave us alone while we are still smiling.”

I looked at him directly in his clear eyes. “What she said.”

Mike threw a knife at the hybrid who immediately caught it like it was a cheese ball thrown by a toddler.

The hybrid began tearing up. “You don't get it, do you? I have to find them, dead or alive.”

He began telling us how the demons had taken him from the witches and how he managed to escape. It was a pretty long story and watching the hybrid cry made me see more than just a vampire or a demon. I saw the man in him.

“How exactly can we help you?” Eve asked, already feeling pity for the hybrid who had allegedly lost everything.

“I need to find. . . I need to search for my friends and even though I can fly, the power of numbers is something I need right now.”

“Keep talking,” Mike echoed.

“I need ten men for two days," he said, his broad chest heaving restlessly.

So he was asking me to allow him to have ten men of mine to help him find his friends.

Eve and Mike stared at me blankly to see whether I was even considering his request. As a matter of fact, I was. In fact, it now seemed cruel not to help him. We were in a world that has been overrun by deadlings, courtesy of the virus. Standing alone wasn't an option for anyone and I knew this. If I could help him, why shouldn't I?

The thing was, it was reckless, and to many, foolish, to help a total stranger— especially one who could make a hearty meal out of me at any time. But if I helped him and he was being sincere, then we have gained ourselves an ally. With all the craziness in the world, heaven knows I needed some.

“What do you say?” The hybrid asked. “Please say yes.”

“Yes, but on one condition,” I said clearly.

“Whatever, just say anything.”

I smiled at him. “You stay with us."

“What!” Mike and Eve exclaimed.

I told them to rest their minds and turned back to hybrid, who just told us his name was Declan. I guess the dude was sick of being called “hybrid”.

“The condition is that you live with us and become part of our pack," I further stunned him and myself as I hadn't planned to say this.

The idea just came to my mind.

“So the condition is that I live here?” Declan asked, almost too stunned to speak clearly.

“You have a problem with that?”

He shook his head at me. “No, it's just weird.”

I walked up to him and stretched out my hands for a handshake. “It's a weird world, isn't it?”

He shook my hands coldly without saying anything at all.

Eve took him to the room where he would be staying.

I climbed to the top of the tallest building in our territory. Mike joined me moments later.

“Sometimes I don't get why you're my best friend. You're so slow. You know, you've done many stupid things and this you did, tops it all, hands down.”

“What are you saying?” I asked, pretending to not know what he meant.

“What do you think? Why would you even think about allowing a blood-sucking creature into our territory?”

“Thought it was pretty smart,” I teased Mike.

“No, it was criminally dumb.”

“I don't think so.”

“I do think so, in fact, I know so.”

I stood so I could be at the same eye level as him. “We know the demons are coming but we don't know when. We also know they are so f*cking strong. I think we need him, never realized it till I saw him standing at the gate.”

“I still disagree and will never trust his vampire ass,” Mike said. “We don't know this Declan guy, and he will never be a part of us.”

“I don't trust his vampire ass either.”

“We don't need him to protect ourselves. Even if he's good, he's only one demon, against probably over twenty thousand. I know my numbers well and one is not one of the big ones.”

“I might not know my numbers well, but I'm sure one is bigger than zero.”

We observed silence for about ten minutes.

Breaking the silence, Mike said, “For the sake of us all, I hope you're right.”

I hope so too, I pondered.

Mike left me at the top of the building but my thoughts were ever there to entertain me. Being a leader stops being fun at the very moment you are asked to lead.

Barely thirteen minutes after Mike left, he came back with fear written on his face.

“What's it?” I inquired impatiently.

He buried his head in his shivering hands. “Maybe we really do need the hybrid.”