The escape from Sarah’s compound went relatively smoothly. No one attacked us. Of course, we could be traveling with some as yet undiscovered curse. The psycho in the backseat was probably the threat we should be focused on. Dad said we could trust her. Apparently, the two of them spent a lot of time together during his imprisonment. I was not sold on her new found loss of faith.

“Where are we going,” Aaron piped up from the driver seat.

“I have a friend who can help.” I relayed the address to him. We were in for a long drive, but we appeared to at least have enough gas to get us there.

~

I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until the dawn began clearing out the dark sky. After such a long night, it was nice to see daylight and feel a sense of freedom I had missing since that night at the cafe. This return to myself also made me start to reconsider my feelings towards Norman. I had heard of Stockholm Syndrome, and now I was doubting if what I, or the other me, had felt was real. It was only a few weeks, but maybe not being in my right mind for most our time together had played more of an impact that I realized. It was what Sarah wanted afterall. Ugh, too many deep feelings to contemplate right now. I needed to be focused on keeping us safe, not on whether or not I may or may not love a centuries brooding vampire.

“We are almost there,” I told Aaron upon realizing where we were. “The turn to Eden’s place is about a mile further up.”

“You’re sure this person is trustworthy,” said an annoying voice from the backseat.

“Besides my dad, I trust him the most with my life.”

“Eden’s a he?” she continued.

“Yes.” I didn’t feel further elaboration about my friend was owed to this person. Eden was my oldest friend. He was there for me when my mother died and ever since. I was actually uncomfortable bringing Rebecca to his place. Most of our operations weren’t exactly legal, and he took security seriously. Other than dumping her on the side of the road, which Aaron was vehemently against, I didn’t have another solution. He would help us get lost until we had a plan to deal with the current situation we were stuck in the middle of or stay hidden until they all inevitably killed each other.

After we turned off the main road, Aaron began looking uncertain about our surroundings. We were once again enveloped by old, creepy forest. It turns out paranoid people becoming reclusive hermits out in the middle of nowhere was a stereotype for a reason.

“Are you sure this was the right turn,” he asked as the pavement became less of a road and more an imitation of what a road might once have been before Mother Nature decided to retake it for her own means.

“I’m sure. Eden doesn’t trust outsiders. I’m hoping having her with us won't cause him to send us away."

“So we traded one nutcase for another,” Aaron sighed out.

“At least I fully know and trust this one. Ok, just up here there’s a weird looking tree with gnarled branches. Slow down to make the turn right after it.”

“We are driving into the forest?” the backseat chimed in.

“Yes.” I shortly answered again.

“Do you think it’s wise to destroy our only vehicle like this?” she continued.

I turned to face her, “Hey, if you’ve got a better plan for hiding away from a manic depressive witch hellbent on literally setting her friends and enemies alike on fire, please let yourself out and go about it.”

No surprise she shut up after that. However, her and everyone else’s discomfort grew as we drove deeper into the overgrown forest. The last time I was here it wasn’t this bad. Eden had cleared it out some to make getting back and forth easier. The fact that it was so grown up made me a little nervous. Either he hadn’t been here in a while, or he hadn’t left in a long time. Neither option was particularly helpful. He tended to get a little crazy when couped up for a long time. The emails I received at Harding’s hadn’t given anything like this away.

It had been at least eight months since I had seen Eden last. I didn’t even see him when borrowing his car for the job that got me into this mess. I picked it up from one of his satellite garages, where he kept stuff for quick getaways.

“Um, Trembley,” Aaron said, “is it much further? The van is starting to really object to the terrain. It wasn’t made for this type of off roading.”

“No, I think we are almost there. The last time I came here it looked a bit different. Less the woods are going to eat us vibes.” As I was talking I could see a clearing coming up. Thank god I was right. Now, hopefully he was here because there was no way we were getting inside otherwise.

“At least the house looks well take care of,” Rebecca said. She wasn’t wrong. Eden wasn’t just a paranoid hacker. He was also loaded, which just so happened to coincide with his chosen profession. When he had this place built, he used like seven different contractors for various parts. Each one was given different information about who it was for and its purpose. While it wasn’t as grand as Harding’s, we would be comfortable here. Again, as long as we could get inside.

We parked the car, and I cautioned to be slow and mindful of our movements walking up to the door. We needed to keep our hands visible the entire time. At the door we were immediately met with Eden’s voice on the speaker.

“Trembley, what have you brought to my door?” he asked. I knew he’d be unhappy with bringing a stranger to his hideout. It might even cause him to move.

“Eden, listen I’m sorry, but we didn’t have a choice. We needed to get away fast.”

“You know my rules. This isn’t cool. I owe you a lot, but this is a serious boundary being crossed.” What were we going to do if he sent us away?

“Eden, you’re the only one besides my dad who I can trust. We needed to go somewhere safe. There’s nowhere safer. I’m sorry I’m breaking a rule, but we had to bring her with us.”

There was a brief silence where we all stewed in impatience and a worry about what to do next. This was my fault. I led us here, and now we had a busted ride, no money, no weapons, and only unsavory options of what to do next.

“Rebecca Iyerson, daughter of Mary and Ted Iyerson out of Wisconsin. You have a mostly unremarkable past until about 10 years ago when your sister was murdered. You were the only witness and told authorities it was quote vampires. No one believed you, and you were eventually locked away for two years by your then fiance and parents. Upon your release you held a part time job at a dollar store until completely dropping off the map. Lucky me you happen to reemerge on my doorstep."

“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” I said. “Do you feel better?”

“Depends on Rebecca. What have you been doing for the last six years?”

“Devoting my life to a revenge-driven powerful witch.”

“How’d that work out for you?” the speaker asked with less apprehension than before.

“I’m here,” Rebecca answered. “ I believe that should tell you everything.”

“It doesn’t, but I have a clearer picture so I will grant you entry. You owe me, Trembley.”

“For this and so much more,” I responded with complete truthfulness.

A buzzing sound alerted us to the door unlocking. I pushed the handle down and pushed it open. We only made it as far as another door. When the first one was shut and the locks clicked back into place. A second buzz unlocked the next door. Fortunately, we were then standing in Eden’s entryway. He told me when I first visited the double doors were his last line of defence for locking someone down long enough to give him time to escape. He’d also mentioned a variety of booby traps hidden around the place. He never actually told me where they were or what they did, but there were certain areas he made clear to never go near. What can I say, I attract the crazy.

Eden met us in the entryway. Not much had changed since I last saw him. He was still slim and sporting a scruffy beard and his trademark bedhead hair. At least he was fully clothed. I couldn’t count how many times, I had popped by to find him fully lost in a project and only wearing underwear or sometimes nothing at all.

I gave him a long hug. It was nice to see a familiar face after spending the last few weeks trapped in isolation or having my life threatened. Eden has always felt like home, and with that peace of mind getting further and further away in recent years, it was like a million pounds were immediately lifted off me.

“You have no idea how good it is to see you,” I told him.

“No I do. I’ve been worried sick. Don’t ever drop off the radar for so long ever again.” His words were stern, but I could see on his face it was also relief he was feeling.

“It’s not like I had much say in the matter.”

As he walked us further into his home, I began filling Eden in on everything he had missed out on. The last thing he knew I had called him up about borrowing one of his cars. Before that, he recounted what I recently remembered. I had told him I was doing an old friend a favor. That friend being Sarah. A couple days later he received the call about the car, but when he asked about the favor job, I didn’t seem to recall what he was talking about.

“I’m sorry again. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. I didn’t know Sarah was going to gut my memory until the last minute. By then it was too late to back out, and I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought my mom would want me to.”

“Excuse me,” Rebecca butted in, “but you were actually legitimately working for Sarah. So, we were on the same side the entire time? Why then do you look down your nose at me?”

I took a deep breath to calm myself before speaking. I wasn’t always a master of my anger, but Eden was already being a welcoming host. I didn’t want to repay him by pissing off a witch of notable power.

“We were not on the same side. You were helping Sarah out of hate. You hate vampires, including myself. I was helping Sarah out of loyalty to my mother. I let her wipe my memory to act as a spy to infiltrate vampires she claimed were horrible murderers. What I discovered was these were just people, like my father or myself. Yes, things were clearly done in the past that should have been dealt with a long time ago, but this continuous war was creating useless deaths on both sides. Not to mention the number of people who have been caught in crosshairs. So, no, Rebecca, we are not the same. You aided her murders fully knowing it would not end. I don’t know why you decided to leave, but I don’t trust you.”

“So,” Eden said attempting to break the now awkward silence, “what’s the plan? You can stay here as long as you like, but I’m guessing you’ll want to leave at some point.”

I looked at Aaron, who in turn glanced at Rebecca. She was looking sullen. I don’t know what he expected. I saw what she did to that theater. What would she do to us if she decided to return to Sarah?

“I think we need to get some sleep and regroup in a few hours when everyone is rested and fed. It’s been a long few days.”

~

After days of barely sleeping, it was no surprise that I fell out the moment my head hit the pillow in one of Eden’s guest rooms. He had a few extra beds so thankfully, I didn’t have to share. The sun was just starting to set when I walked in the kitchen to make some coffee and find food. I was starving. The vampires had only fed me enough to stay alive during my imprisonment. Thinking about that made me wonder what happened to everyone. Did Norman and Harding make it out ok? How about all of the humans? The explosion most likely caused numerous casualties, and the fire might have taken out even more. Then there was still nowhere to run for safety with Sarah’s inferno still guarding the place. How long could she keep that going?

My mind was lost in these thoughts when Aaron came into the room and poured a cup of coffee. The absurdness of the act helped me to quit obsessing.

“You still drink coffee?” I asked him. “I would have guessed it wouldn’t be as pleasant anymore.”

He sat down at the table beside me. “It doesn’t taste as good as I remember, but the caffeine is welcome. At times, the addiction almost parallels the bloodlust.” I laughed at the thought. “Your friend’s place is nice but why does he live like a unibomber?” Again I laughed.

“Eden’s harmless, at least to those who aren’t making their fortunes screwing over the average man or woman. I’ve told you about him before. Just goes to show you don’t really pay attention to me.”

“That’s not true. It was more I was focused on keeping you safe. Everything else was static. I guess I didn’t do such a good job if you ended up here anyway.”

“Well, if you had listened, you would know Eden’s been a part of keeping me safe for a long time. He’s my friend, and I don’t give many people that title. And I don’t think there was really anything you could have done. Mom laid this path the moment she befriended Sarah.”

He was quiet for a few moments while he sipped on his coffee. I knew how much he missed her. He left us long before she passed, but I still saw the same pain on his face whenever she was mentioned. If anyone had a tragic love story, it was my parents.

He looked at me and smiled. “She did what she thought was best. That’s all any of us can do. Unfortunately, as we are witnessing, one person’s right doesn’t automatically line up with someone else’s. Witch, vampire, we are all still human, and humans are selfish. Our right will always line up with what is most beneficial to ourselves and our loved ones before considering anyone else.”

“So, you think Sarah is right?” I did too at one point. Man, getting to know your enemies makes everything so much more complicated.

“I think Sarah is old and tired and wants it done. Unfortunately her end plans just happen to coincide with our lifetimes. It’s not fair to us or those girls she collects. It’s also not fair to Harding’s people who had nothing to do with this feud. It’s all just circumstance, and now all we can do is play our roles.”

Our roles. What did he mean? He must have seen the puzzled expression on my face because he started to say more, but at the same time, Eden came into the room.

“Good morning or should I say evening,” he said. “You know what I love about vampires and their halfling spawn? You make me feel normal about staying up all night and sleeping all day.”

“Glad we could help,” I said. “Any sign of Rebecca? I don’t think she keeps our same hours.”

“She adjusted pretty well during our time in captivity together. She’s actually good company once you get to know her. I also think she could be an asset to helping us go into hiding, but we may need to take her with us.”

I slammed my mug on the table. “You can’t be serious. There’s no way we could really trust her.”

“Trembley,” Aaron said calmly, “you asked me to trust your friend here, and I did without question. Can’t you do the same for me? She’s just lost, and her energies were misdirected. I think if she had a real set of connections she could trust she’d be fiercely loyal. Look what she did for Sarah without even fully being committed to the witch’s cause.”

“Not fully committed,” I started to yell. “She enchanted a random group of vampires and got them to commit self-immolation in broad daylight and in a populated location.”

“That’s not completely accurate,” a voice said from behind me. Rebecca walked into the kitchen and sat down near Aaron. She looked at him, and he nudged her to continue. “They weren’t random vampires. I had been tracking them for a while. When they popped up near us, I made sure to keep an eye on them. Before I did what I did, I found their lair. They had been keeping young women tied up and were slowly draining them. Those who were still alive were in poor shape, and I’m certain some of the survivors didn’t make it to the hospital. I know you see me as blindly hateful, but I’m not a zealot. I just don’t want any more people to suffer the way I have.”