“I’m sure these are legitimate questions, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He laughed. “I mean, I know what you’re talking about, but then again I don’t. Do zombies even exist?”
“I don’t know. Never met one.” I chuckled.
“Well, if you don’t know then I sure as hell don’t.” He winked at me.
“Do you think it’s going to change anything?” I asked him, the smile on my face fading.
“I think that you will change the world. I know you have opened my eyes to the terrors of the night. I’ve seen demons and angels, vampires… even a magical house. Everything that I ever wished to happen in my life has,” he said, squeezing me.
“Dawn? Adam?” called my mother. “Come downstairs, please. We need to discuss tomorrow’s events.”
“Duty calls,” I said as we stood up and left the room, going carefully down the steep stairs.
We sat side by side on the couch. My mother had managed to get Adam’s father into the room as well. He was wide-eyed and confused as if he had just woken up from a drug-induced sleep.
“Dawn, your father was able to get ahold of the lady that cast the protection spell over the house. She’s going to set up a place in Harrisville so that we can stay there undetected. Well, for your father and me to be invisible.” She paused and glanced at Adam’s father. “Adam, your father has decided he would like to stay here for a while. This is still a bit much for him to take in, and the events to come might push him over the edge. We agreed that one of us would come and check on him every few days and bring supplies. He’s leaving the rest up to you. If you want to go with us, you can, or you can stay here with him.” She smiled reassuringly at Adam.
“Dad? What do you want me to do?” Adam asked, looking at his father, who was extremely pale.
“You know about this world,” he replied in a shaky voice. “I know nothing of it. I would like to keep it that way. If you wish to be with Dawn, I plead for you to be safe. I have a feeling she can keep you safe, but then again with everything happening I think that her mother is the one I trust more.”
“Then I choose to stay with Dawn. Who will stay with you?” Adam asked.
Mr. Snyder looked at my mother as if she was the one who was meant to answer this question. After a few seconds of thought, my mother made up her mind.
“We will send some Carriers to watch over the place.”
Adam’s father nodded, seemingly okay with that.
“Tomorrow morning, I will take the two of you with me to Harrisville,” my mother told us. “Dawn, your father will meet us there with your brother. Nick and Helen have already been instructed to get rooms set up for you.” She picked at her shirt. “Dawn, you will train with the white fire element. Adam, I’m going to work with you on basic combat maneuvering and show you how to reduce creatures to dust. Call it slayer-training if you want.”
Adam’s face lit up.
“In the evenings, however,” my mother went on, looking stern, “you will do your school work. Both of you.”
She turned to Adam’s dad. “Henry?” It was the first time I had heard anyone say his name; in fact, I hadn’t even known what it was until then. “I will have Kim and her parents come up first thing in the morning. That way you will have two very powerful Water Carriers here with you, just in case. After that, I will send someone down to work with Kim. That is if we can find another water element right now. It’s looking rather grim.”
“How did you get ahold of Kim’s family so fast?” I asked. “Just a second ago you said he was staying and that you would have someone here and rotate out.”
My mother glared at me. “I have my ways, Dawn. Just trust me on this.”
“Whatever you say, Mom,” I said, with a sigh. I found my mother very confusing. How could she have contacted them so quickly, unless she had already anticipated what was going to happen?
“Alright.” My mother checked her watch. “Now. You guys hungry?”
“I could eat,” Adam said, glancing at his father.
“Of course, you could eat.” I poked him, and he swatted at my hand impatiently.
Then Adam spoke again, but not to me, to my mother. “I have meant to ask this… what is the plan?” He asked it softly as if it was just an afterthought he’d had.
My mother looked surprised to be asked. “We’ll go through all of that during dinner. We all need something to eat. I don’t know about you, but my brain is far too drained to think anymore.” Mom rose and went to the kitchen. I heard her banging things around and opening and closing the refrigerator.
A part of me wanted to get up and help her, but I figured this was her time to think. My mother had a specific way of doing things to get her mind off events. She was still getting over the loss of my stepfather, and I couldn’t fathom what she must be going through now with the prospect of the impending apocalypse was on the horizon.
Chapter 25
Harrisville
Before we knew it, my mother had created a nice meal of chicken, rice, and vegetables. Adam’s dad’s appetite wasn’t very strong, and he was only able to eat a few bites before telling everyone he was going to bed. I imagine it was too much for him, especially the fact that his son was smack dab in the middle of all the fun. I couldn’t blame the guy; this world was a lot to take in. Not everyone was as prepared for the realization as Adam
