Chapter 25: The Phone Call

“What’s going on? Oskar? Who’s he talking to?” Eli took his hand.

“Dad doesn’t want us listening, Eli. It’s Jonathan. Something bad has happened.”

“What!? Is it Henry? Is he okay?” Jack stood up abruptly and disappeared around the corner.

Nils put his arm around Livia, but they could all see that she was shaking.

Hannah rushed over to her and threw her arms around her. “Mom are you okay? I’m really sorry, Mom. Jason and I will do whatever you and Dad think is best, and we won’t complain. We promise! Please don’t be upset!”

“I love you both so much,” Livia whispered to her, hoarsely. “I’d simply die if something were to happen to you. I couldn’t bear it. And for over a year now, your lives have been threatened so many times I can’t count them. If this keeps up, it’s only a matter of time before…”

“Nothing will happen to them, Livia. We’ll see to it, I promise you. And if we have to wait until they’re 18 to make the change, then we’ll deal with that. There are many options open to us. We could move to the island until they’re older. In fact that’s probably the best option. They’d be safe there, and would have great freedom.”

“That’s where Marcus found them, remember?”

“That’s no longer a problem, Livia. Jonathan bought out Maritime Maintenance. Genterapi now handles all the personnel management there. And everyone, without exception, who visits the island from now on will be Archaeogenetics’ employees. It will be completely safe now.” Elaine sat down next to Livia and took her hand. “We’ve all got your back, Livia. Please let us do this for you.”

“Is Henry okay, Jack?” Hannah put her arm around him as he stepped back into the dining room with Richard.

“He’s fine, Hannah. But there’s been a terrible accident. Marcus died in a house fire last night. The preliminary investigation has placed its origins in the kitchen, probably a grease fire or something, and they suspect he probably died of smoke inhalation. They found his remains in what was left of the living room.”

“I can’t say I’m sorry to hear that, Jack,” Nils said softly, “I might have killed him myself if I’d run into him yesterday.” Elaine was surprised to hear the tremor in his voice. Nils had always been a rock.

Hannah and Jason looked at each other. Hannah slipped into Nils’ lap and put her arms around him. “I love you, daddy.”

“You know I love you too, sweetheart.” He whispered.

Livia felt like a huge weight had just been lifted off her chest. The darkness of Den Sjätte and the others, though terrible enough, hadn’t seemed to affect her as much as Marcus’s darkness. After all, they were vampires, at least partially victims of the parasite and its mindless predation. She liked to think that it was a darkness stripping them of their humanity that had driven them to do those terrible things, but Marcus had driven home to her the reality of man’s own darkness; sometimes just as deep, black, and mindless as that of the parasite, but even more terrible because it is a choice consciously made. As old as she and Nils were, they had somehow been able to avoid this truth until now. She felt sad for her children, and especially for Hannah, who still, in spite of everything, lived in her own fairy-tale world. The fall would be terrible for her. “What do we do now, Richard?”

“We hope he hasn’t told anyone else about what he did or who we are. Jonathan is looking into that right now, and will get back to us in a few days.”

“We’ve been talking about a permanent move to the island, Rich. At least until Hannah is 18. I think we’d all be safer there and then Livia and Nils wouldn’t have to get the shot.”

“But they’d have to give up all their friends, their school activities, virtually everything they’ve grown up doing their entire lives. Eli and Oskar are used to it; especially Eli, but Hannah and Jason?”

“We’ll do whatever Mom and Dad want us to do, Dr. Dawson,” Jason said quietly. “We’re a family, and that’s what we should do.”

The phone rang again. This time, no one got up to answer it. Eli looked at Papa, who immediately slipped into the kitchen once again.

“Hello? Jonathan?”

“It’s…Ryan, Dr. Dawson. I just called to find out how Oskar is doing. And Eli.”

“They’re doing just fine, Ryan. But how about you? Elaine and I have been worried about you. The whole thing must have been a profound shock. It’s not every day a person sees something so terrible.” And you’re so young, Richard thought to himself.

“I’m fine! But it must have been awful for all of you. I thought Oskar was dead when he hit the windshield.” He hesitated a moment. “Why was that man trying to kill them? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” He added quickly.

“Because they’re different, Ryan. And some people can’t tolerate ‘different’ very well.”

“I’m not sure I understand. I know what prejudice is, but to kill someone…”

“I’m not surprised you don’t understand. Your actions yesterday showed me why you don’t understand. And they’ve earned you the right to ask any questions you wish.” Richard sat back down at the table and winked at Hannah. “You win, Hannah. It’s Ryan,” he whispered. Hannah flashed a victorious grin at Livia.

“Are…are you all …human? I mean…you have wings! And you must be strong, or else how could Eli and Oskar have survived? I know it sounds silly, but it’s like you’re all characters right out of X-Men or something. And do you live a long time? Eli said she was 250 years old. Was she kidding?”

“Slow down, Ryan. I can see this could take some time.” Richard looked questioningly at Elaine, who nodded. “How long are you going to be with your Grandparents, Ryan?”

“One week more, Dr. Dawson; then I head for home.”

“Why don’t you drop by and pay us a visit? Or, better yet, we could come by and pick you up, and introduce ourselves to your Grandparents.”

“I…don’t think that would be a good idea, sir. They’re really nice, but…I really don’t want to have to lie to them if they ask how we met. Maybe I could just take the bus. I’ve already looked up the transfers. And they trust me. I’ve already made several trips downtown since I’ve been here.”

Richard smiled to himself. “Looks like you’ve thought this through, Ryan. Would tomorrow around noon be good for you?”

“It would, Dr. Dawson! And thank you so much.”

“You’re quite welcome, Ryan.” He put the phone down. “He’s coming tomorrow at noon. Is that okay for all of you?”

Hannah was beaming. “I think it’ll be great! What can we tell him, Mr. Dawson? Or maybe I should ask you what we can’t tell him?”

“I don’t think you should mention anything about your…origins, Eli. It’s not that he may not be trustworthy; I just think it’s too much to saddle him with on the first visit. I think you should just let things flow naturally, get to know him, and let him get to know you. Remember how long it took Hannah to finally realize you weren’t a fairy.” He winked at her.

“But she is a fairy, Mr. Dawson. I haven’t changed my mind at all. And her Mom is a fairy too. And you! And now, Jack!” Jack is a fairy! Hannah especially liked that idea. A lot. She pulled out her notebook and made a note to look up what the name was for a boy who’s a fairy.

Jack laughed, “Hannah, you seem to have forgotten whose 3-meter-tall picture is not only in full display on the Archaeogenetics building, but on all their letterhead. And that picture was hand-drawn by Eli’s oldest benefactor, one whom I would ultimately trust to know who’s a fairy and who isn’t. And remember, he could see your future clearly.”

Dear Jack! He’s just so sweet! She blushed. “I…I hadn’t even thought about that.”

“Livia, you’re fighting a losing battle. Hannah’s future has been foretold by an expert.”

Livia smiled in spite of herself. “But he didn’t say when, Jack. And don’t most fairies drink nectar? As soon as Ejuice becomes nectar, Hannah can have her wings.”

§

Nils, Livia, and Jason said their goodbyes after dinner. The general consensus was that they would move to the island within the next few months, although Richard was still unconvinced that this was the best solution. Jason would be coming back tomorrow to meet Ryan, but Nils and Livia were going to begin preparations for the move.

“Hannah, I’m really sorry you’re going to have to move to the island. I wish there were some other way. Papa’s right; you shouldn’t have to do this. You and Jason are just … normal. You’re immune to the bite of a vampire, but that’s it. If he hadn’t confused you with me, your life might not have even been in danger at all. And he’s the only one that saw you! You guys aren’t in any danger at all any more.” Eli slipped into her fairy pajamas and began brushing her hair.

“It’s okay, Eli. I…I don’t really belong anywhere any more. Except with you and Oskar. I can’t talk to anyone at school about anything important any more. And it’s not their fault; its mine.” She sat down on the bed and put her arm around her.

“Here. Let me brush your hair too, Hannah.” She slid back on the bed, grabbed Hannah around the waist and pulled her up against her. “Why is your hair so much softer than mine? I’ve done everything you’ve told me, but it’s still stiff and stringy!”

“It’s not, Eli. Really it’s not!” She turned and ran her fingers through it. “It’s just as nice as mine, I promise. I’m not just saying that.”

“You’re wrong, Hannah.” She grabbed a handful of Hannah’s hair and massaged it with her fingers. See? Yours is shinier and silky smooth.”

“No it isn’t, Eli. Here, feel yours.” She grabbed a handful of Eli’s hair and shoved it into her other hand. “They’re exactly the same! See?”

“What on earth are you two doing?! Girlie stuff?” Oskar plopped down on the window seat.

“What do you mean, ‘girlie stuff?’” Hannah said, heatedly. “What’s wrong with ‘girlie stuff?’ For someone who professes to hate ‘girlie stuff,’ you sure do like to hang around with us ‘girls’ a lot. Why do you suppose that is, Oskar? Our superior intellect?”

“It’s because you’re both so cute when you’re mad at me.” He grinned at her. “I love your green fairies, Hannah. New pajamas?”

“Nooo, Oskar. I had these on the island. I got them when I got the bathing suits for Eli and me.”

“Well, excuuuse me! I haven’t seen you in your pajamas since before my birthday, remember?”

“Has it really been that long?” But Hannah knew it had. And so much had happened since then, especially last night, that she didn’t even know if it could ever be the same again between them all. And it frightened her. Those nights spent together touch-talking were really important to her, and had been ever since Eli spent the night at her house after she flew her to safety from the tree. And Oskar? Sweet Oskar had surprised her over and over again with his kindness and understanding. And she knew how lucky she had been to find not one, but two soul mates, within the space of a month.

“Hannah? Are you okay?” Oskar read the sadness on her face, slipped onto the bed beside her and grabbed her hand before she could pull it away. And he read her fears; her doubts. Oh Hannah! You couldn’t be more wrong. We love you more than ever. He shared his revelations about love with her, realized when they held hands briefly along the rutted road on their bicycles barely two days ago -- an eternity ago, she thought to herself -- and he had embarrassed himself before he understood what he had discovered.

“Oskar, how can I even pretend to be angry with you when you say something like that to me?” she smiled at him, then kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Eli and Oskar gently pulled her down onto the bed between them, folded her in their arms, and together they shared their sweetest memories with each other, until, once again, Hannah fell into a deep ,fairy-filled sleep. And in her beautiful dreams, they were flying together over the magical fairy city, Oskar on her left, Eli on her right, and her own magnificent gossamer fairy wings eclipsing their black velvety ones.

§

Eli and Hannah sat on the low fence outside the house, waiting for the bus. Ryan had called just before he left, and Hannah knew the route well enough to know which one he would likely be on. “I had a wonderful dream last night, Eli. I dreamt we were all together flying over the City of the Solar Wind, only I was the Archaeogenetics fairy, the one from the logo. You know, the one with the real fairy wings?”

“You mean, you were the only real fairy in your dream?” Eli grinned at her.

“No, no! You’re the real fairies, Eli. But everything was just so beautiful!”

“I’m glad, Hannah.” They both turned as the bus pulled up to the corner, and both Ryan and Jason stepped out, deep in conversation.

Jason spotted them immediately and waved. “Hi, Sis! Hi Eli. I found Ryan on the bus.”

“Wow! What luck! That bus is just so big he should have been almost impossible to find,” Eli said sarcastically.

Jason shot her a dirty look, and ignored her. “Ryan is into Metal, it turns out.” He said, excitedly.

“What kind of metal?” Eli was puzzled. “Gold? Silver?”

Hannah laughed. “It’s a kind of popular music, Eli. “It’s really loud and obnoxious. To me it’s just a bunch of screaming and yelling. I make Jason close his door whenever he plays it. Even Einstein runs for cover and covers his ears with his paws.”

“He does not! In fact he loves it.” Jason winked at Ryan. “Unlike you, he has good taste.”

“Whatever!!”

“Hi Ryan!” Oskar stepped out on the porch. “I thought I heard the bus. Come on in! Mom and Dad are inside.” They all followed Oskar through the house and onto the back porch. “And this is Jack Shaw. He’s been our friend for years and years, and works with Dad now. They’re both scientists.

“Hello, Ryan,” Elaine handed him a tall glass of iced tea. “Make yourself comfortable.” She gestured toward the couch. Jason and Ryan sat down across from Oskar, Eli, and Hannah.

“Jason told me your mom and dad aren’t coming, Hannah. I really wanted to talk to them too.”

“They’re kind of busy getting things ready for us to…move away.” Hannah hesitated, wondering if it was okay for her to have said anything. She looked at Elaine questioningly.

“It’s okay, Hannah. He should know. But we can’t tell you where just yet, Ryan. But be assured, you can still reach us at that phone number wherever we are.”

“Are you leaving because of what happened?”

“Yes, we are. We thought it best, since neither Jason nor his sister has… these abilities.” Dr. Dawson put his arm around Hannah.

“What!? You mean…if that man had shot Hannah instead of Eli, she’d…” Ryan couldn’t go on. He realized he didn’t really know them well enough for him to feel as strongly as he did, but for some reason, as nice as they had all been to him when they had so much else going on, he had become quite fond of them all, and felt closer to them than he had any real reason to. He couldn’t understand it himself. “But aren’t they twins?” He thought a moment, “but they can’t be can they? Eli is much older.” He scratched his head. “Would you be willing to tell me how that’s possible?”

“I would if we understood why, Ryan, but we don’t. Eli is over 250 years old for specific reasons we can’t tell you right now. Not because we don’t trust you, but out of concern for your…sensibilities. As to why Hannah, who really is just 14 years old, looks exactly like Eli and is an exact DNA match, we simply don’t know.”

“I know.” Hannah interjected, “It’s because we’re sisters who were born 250 years apart. And that’s just the way it is.” She leaned over and kissed Eli on the cheek.

“You can’t be sisters! You get along with each other too well,” Ryan kidded. “My older brother and I fight all the time, at least when he’s around. He’s actually a lot older than I am.”

“Well, we don’t.” Eli said smugly. “Now Oskar and I on the other hand…”

“Yeah, we both fight with Oskar. It’s great fun!” Hannah poked Oskar in the ribs.

“And Oskar isn’t really my brother. He’s my best friend in the world. We’ve known each other for a long, long time. And we’ve saved each other’s life many times, just like he did mine in Hannah’s field when he…almost died.” She looked down at her feet, “And I love him with all my heart,” she whispered. She laid her head on his shoulder.

Ryan tried his best to understand all this, but it was difficult. Each answer brought new questions. One thing at a time, he reminded himself. “Why do you have wings? Or at least Oskar and your mom have them. Anyone else?” He looked around the room questioningly.

“Mama, Papa, Oskar, Jack here, and myself. That’s all right now, but soon…” She smiled at Hannah.

Jason shrugged his shoulders. “Mom says we have to wait until we’re 18.”

“What?! You mean you can…do this to yourselves whenever you want to? What do you have to do? Take a bite out of the right side of the cake, like Alice in Wonderland?”

Everyone laughed. “I told you he was funny, Papa. He called us a ‘flock’ in the field.”

“Well, Ryan, you’re almost right,” Dr. Dawson said. “It takes an injection. Oskar, Jack, and I received injections. Eli and Eli’s mother were…infected in a different manner. It was because of them that we were able to discover the secret.”

This is real! It hit him for the first time. This was no tall tale, or a figment of his wishful thinking. These were real people; real scientists, who had done something amazing and had people trying to kill them because of it. “Did that man try to kill you all because he wanted the secret and you wouldn’t give it to him?”

“No, Ryan. He wanted to kill them because he was afraid of the secret. He thought it had dark religious connotations. But I’m sure there are others who would want this secret badly enough that they might be willing to kill for it.” Elaine sighed. “If only things could be…simpler. But immortality is not something that some people will be able to accept without great difficulty.”

“Immortality!” He realized that this was the only explanation for the age differences. And when they said Jack had been their friend for a long time, they really meant it. He had aged; they hadn’t. “But Eli, you and Oskar; and you Hannah, and Jason? You’re aging now, but didn’t for some time? Did you take a bite out of a different side of the cake?” He grinned at them.

“Good observation, Ryan. And you’re right. The aging process is halted with a different injection.” I can see this is going to take a while. Dr. Dawson settled back in his chair, and began.

§

They talked well into the evening. Finally, it was time for them to say their goodbyes. Elaine insisted on driving Jason and Ryan home, since it was almost dark. Especially after talking with Livia on the phone. She absolutely didn’t want Jason coming home unaccompanied on the bus in the dark, and thought Ryan, since he now could be associated with them all, needed similar protection, especially since he would be seen in public with Jason if they took the bus home together.

Jack, Oskar, and Dr. Dawson stood on the front porch as Elaine, with a squeal of tires, rounded the corner past the house and disappeared.

“What do you think, Oskar?” Jack put his hand on his shoulder. “Did we do the right thing?”

“Yeah, I think so. I really like him, and I KNOW Jason does. And he proved Jason’s point. Young people are going to be much more willing to accept new things than most old ones.”

Jack smiled at him, “I’m not sure I agree with you Oskar, but Ryan certainly fits in with Jason’s theory. But of course, you need a lot more data points before you can be that certain of its validity.”

“You sound just like Hannah, Jack. Or I guess it’s more like she sounds just like you.” He grinned at him.

“But we do have to be careful, Oskar,” Papa cautioned. “As much as I would have liked to have told him everything, it would have put too great a burden on him. We don’t know his family, and from this point on, he’ll already have to lie to them if any of this ever comes up. And he’s just 17 years old. He shouldn’t have to lie to his parents, or his grandparents at this age. When he’s 18, if he’s still interested, we’ll revisit this. As the situation worsens, as I’m sure it will, we’ll need all the friends we can get.”

§

Elaine took the long route to Buttonhole lane, and dropped Ryan off two blocks from home, at his insistence. They waited until he was out of sight before turning around and heading for Jason’s house.

“He’s a real nice guy, Mrs. Dawson. Would it be alright if I stayed in contact with him? Even after he goes home?”

“Of course, Jason. Just remember to keep the conversation away from the more sensitive topics. You and Hannah may be known to others. And under no conditions are you to e-mail or write to each other about anything we’ve talked about, or anything specific that occurred at the field. And never mention the island or its location, unless you use the code-words we selected this evening.” She smiled at him, encouragingly. “This may all be temporary, Jason. Once Jonathan finishes his investigation into how far Marcus went in his ‘holy mission,’ we might be in no immediate danger of discovery at all. When I get you home, I think we should discuss all this with your parents before I head for home, just to make sure we’re on the same page.”

As they drove away, deep in conversation, they failed to notice the dark figure who stepped out of the shadows at the end of the block, and quietly followed Ryan into the darkness down the narrow, dimly-lit cobble-stoned road.

§

The kids were already upstairs getting ready for bed, when the doorbell rang. Jack looked at Dr. Dawson. “Elaine just left the Sandstrøm’s a minute ago. And why would she ring anyway?” Richard hastily rose and headed for the door. He opened it just as it rang again.

“Good evening, Dr. Dawson. May I come in?” Sava was still buttoning up his jacket. “Such a beautiful evening to fly, don’t you think? Crystal clear sky and a full moon. Quite invigorating.”