Disclaimer:
~Big thanks to Enemyoffun for making this universe to play in.

Author's Note: Zee's story is still on hiatus, I've been stuck on what exactly to write for chapter 7, but it will be finished. If you have any ideas I will appreciate hearing them. Here's is the second chapter of my DRU tale.

A very big thanks to my editor for helping with the edits.

Please comment on this, I enjoy them reading them and learning from them immensely.

Chapter 2

7 October 2011

I pedaled as fast my legs could turn the gears on my bicycle, as I rode back to my apartment. I was very excited to be going on my first date, ever. I knew that I didn’t have much time to get cleaned up and ready to go, since she wanted me to call in less than an hour. As I pedaled, I ran down the list that I needed to do: a quick shower, a clean change of clothes, brush my teeth, new app of deodorant.

I managed to make good time riding my bike through the town’s streets, and I was grateful that I didn’t have to ride to the other side of town. My apartment was only a couple of blocks from the university campus, and if she lived on campus then I would be able to get to wherever she wanted to go quickly.

I was able to find a decent dress shirt with a pair of blue jeans. I didn’t want to look to formal to a date, figuring that it would probably embarrass her. Getting ready managed to make time pass more quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for me to call her.

“Hello?” she greeted, when I called her up.

“Hi, this is Mike from the comic shop. You wanted me to call about now?”

“Oh! Mike!” she exclaimed, realizing who it was. “Yes, I remember. Are you ready to go?”

“Uhh…,” I replied nervously, “Yeah. Where do you want me to meet you?”

“Hmm…,” she answered, “how close are you to school?”

“I live in an apartment complex across the street from the campus.”

“Great! How about you meet me at the UC, and then we’ll head over to the party, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied.

“Cool! I’ll see you in a few minutes then!”

I clicked off my cell phone and headed out the door. The place where she said she wanted to meet up was in actually really close to where I lived. The University Center was a large complex that took care of the students’ needs. It had dining facilities, the bookstore, conference rooms, a hangout where students could watch sports in a bar like environment, and a gaming center. It also served as a hub for campus get-togethers, since the UC served as a prominent university landmark.

As I left my locked apartment, I heard another caw ring out across the darkening night. I looked up and in the tree was that raven that I saw earlier. This bird was starting to really creep me out a little bit, and I was thinking about Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” for some reason now. That’s if it even was the same bird from earlier. For all I knew, there could be a whole flock of ravens in Ravencrest. All I could do was to try my best to ignore the bird and headed for the UC.

About fifteen minutes later, I was standing outside the UC. It was a large building with several dining services inside. There was a fountain just outside the front door with a bunch of water flowing out of it, day or night. While the flow of water was relaxing, the sculpture of the fountain wasn’t so much. It reminded me of some kind of Gothic architecture in Europe. There were wolves, coyotes, cougars, bears, and foxes all over it. At another part of the fountain, it looked like there was another figure there, but it was broken off for some reason. However, the fountain gave the impression that the sculptor had wanted to create a menagerie on the fountain.

I looked around outside and managed to find Jen sitting at one of the tables outside in the courtyard. She looked preoccupied with an app on her cell phone. I walked over and said, “Jen?”

“Mike!” she replied, looking up from her phone.

She clicked whatever it was she was doing off and stood up.

“I was thinking for a moment that you wouldn’t show.”

I shrugged, and then answered, “It wasn’t going be a very eventful Friday night for me anyway. So, I figured, what do I have to lose?”

She laughed. “Well, we best get going, we have quite the hike to get to the party.”

“Where are we going? The Guardian?”

“No, somewhere much more private and less rowdy than that.”

“Then, where?” I said, taking her arm.

“We’re off to the Drake’s residence. That’s where my friend, Alexandra, lives. She managed to convince her parents to give us along the lake shore to have a small party.”

“She’s a local?” I asked, a little bit confused.

“Yup. She didn’t want to leave home and go some place far for school, from what she told me. Personally, I think she cares too much about her younger brother.”

The two of us began walking towards the lake, which was located on the other side of campus, forming a natural boundary.

“That’s nice of her. Why does she care so much about him? I never had any brothers or sisters.”

“Her brother, Charlie, has been in a wheelchair ever since his accident. Since then, he’s been homeschooled and even though he’s 13, he’s a sophomore in high school.”

“A young prodigy. What was the accident that put him in the chair?”

“It was a car accident. Some of the college students were drunk when they crashed into their car. Alex came out alright, so did their parents. But, Charlie was sitting right next to where the other car collided. A piece of shrapnel pierced his spinal cord, and left him paralyzed from the waist down.”

“That’s sad,” I replied. “To have half of your body still existing but otherwise cut off. Can’t anyone do anything for him?”

“I’ve heard that they’ve taken him to some of the best spinal cord reconstructive surgeons in New York, but from what they said, it would take a miracle to reattach and reenergize the nerves.”

I winced. No one should have to suffer through that kind of ordeal.

“But, from what I’m told, Charlie has learned to adapt. He’s still pretty good on the basketball court, even in his wheelchair.”

I laughed politely. “Well, since he’s smart, he still has a bright future in front of him, even if he can’t get around very easily.”

“Yup.”

“So, tell me about yourself,” I asked her, as we left campus and began to walk along the street that led to the lake.

“There’s not much to tell. I’m from Boston from a big family with prestige. I could’ve had a full ride at Harvard, but I decided that I wanted to get away from the city for a while.”

I nodded. “That’s similar to me, except that I was trying to get out of the countryside.”

She laughed. “So, thinking about joining a frat?”

“Nah. I’m not really what you call frat material. How about you, thinking of joining a sorority?”

“Maybe. Delta Beta Zeta seems interesting. Although, I hear that they are very selective about the girls they pick.”

------------------------------

A few minutes later, we arrived at the Drake residence. It was a large house along the shore of Lake Crowley. The house looked like it could hold five people comfortably with their own room, and maybe eight with kids sharing a room. The house had a wooden porch that ran around the house on the outside. In addition to the stairs, there were a couple of ramps for Alexandra’s brother. However, the house also seemed to give off this spooky vibe to me. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but there was something strange about this place.

We walked up the front steps and Jen knocked on the door. A few seconds later, I saw the door open, but no one was there standing in front of me. I looked down and saw a young red haired teenager in a wheelchair, wearing a pair of glasses, in the doorway.

“Yes?” he asked.

Jen spoke up, “Hi, we’re here for Alex’s birthday.”

“Head around to the back. She’s been waiting for the last people to arrive.”

Charlie closed the door abruptly, and I was beginning to wonder about that kid.

“He must not get out much,” I muttered.

“C’mon,” Jen said excitedly, ignoring my comment.

She tugged me by the arm and we walked around the house to the back porch.

“What’s with him?” I asked.

“Have you ever seen the show ‘Bones?’”

“Yea…,” I replied.

“He takes a bit after the lead character, Dr. Brennan. Sharp as nail, but not too tactful.”

“Ah, okay. I thought he just doesn’t like people.”

Jen laughed, “No, he likes people just fine. He just doesn’t really know much about the social niceties.”

We arrived on the back porch and saw that it was decked out for a birthday party. There were a few garlands, some lanterns that were different colors, some music playing, and a few other people around. It looked like a typical, young adult birthday, at your parent’s house.

“This looks nice,” I observed.

“Yeah. At least we can walk along the shore, if we want to,” Jen replied.

“That would be nice,” I replied.

Jen led me over to where there were a small group of people about our age were hanging out. Predictably, it was near the food.

“Hi, everyone,” Jen said, as we drew close to them. “This is Mike, he was the helpful guy that helped us pick out your birthday present, Alex.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, extending her hand to me.

“You’re welcome,” I replied, shaking her hand.

An odd look passed over her face for a moment, but it left quickly. Before I could ask her what that look meant she kindly said, “It’s nice to meet you, Mike.”

There was an awkward silence that seemed to last for an eternity, until someone, I think it was Alex’s mom said, “So, we’ll keep the food and drink stocked, while don’t you all go hang out by the lake. It’s a very nice evening.”

“Sure, Mom,” Alex replied.

She turned to us and said, “Well, why don’t we go hang out by the lake?”

Most everyone agreed to that, except for one guy named James. He preferred to stay with Madison and hang out on the back porch. So, it was just Jen, Alex, and I walking in the moonlight along the lake shore.

‘Definitely a romantic setting,’ I thought.

I looked back at the house and saw Alex’s mom and dad placing more food out for us when we would get hungry. I could see Alex’s little brother sitting next to the couch with his nose in a book about ancient Greek myths. I realized that what Alex was studying in college as a part of her major.

“Hey, Alex,” I called.

“Yeah?” she replied, turning around and starting to walk backwards.

“Does your brother read your textbooks?”

“What?” she asked surprised. She thought for a second and replied, “Oh! Yeah, he does sometimes. It doesn’t bug me, since I can ask him for help with my homework if I get stuck on something.”

“Okay,” I replied.

We continued to walk along the lake shore until we reached the dock, near the fringe of the woods. The girls wanted to hang their feet off of the dock and play with the water, and I didn’t mind being with them. I looked back at the house and saw Alex’s mom watch us, probably making sure that we didn’t stray too far away.

I heard another caw echo through the night, and looking up at the forest, I saw a raven perched in the tree staring at us.

I thought to myself, ‘Was it my imagination or was I being followed by a bird?’

I tried to shrug it off, but I couldn’t help but think, ‘Shouldn’t that bird be sleeping right now? Ravens aren’t nocturnal….’

“Mike, you going to sit by us or between us?” Jen asked mischieviously.

“Wha…?” I replied, shaking my head and shrugging the bird off.

“Do you want to sit next to me, or between the two of us?” Jen asked again, impatiently.

“Oh. I’ll sit next to you.”

“Good,” she replied with a grin. She patted the wood next to her for me to sit down next to her.

I obliged and the three of us began to talk about school and the hassle our majors were causing. We talked about that for about a half hour before I remembered the bird.

“Alex, have birds been known to caw at night around here?”

“Caw?” Alex replied. “I don’t think so. My mom might’ve remembered a time when she heard them caw at night years ago. But, that was the first time I heard one.”

“Okay,” I replied. “I think I’m being followed around by a black bird or something.”

“Don’t worry about it. Ravens and crows have been known to come and go through town ever since it was founded. Maybe you just haven’t heard them for the first time until tonight.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I replied, brushing it off.

“Well, I don’t know about you two, but I think I want some of the Devil’s chocolate cake your mom promised us,” Jen interrupted.

“Mmmm…,” Alex replied, licking her lips. “That does sound good.”

She bolted up from her spot and yelled, “Last one back has to do the dishes!”

She took off at a run, and the two of us quickly followed behind her.

1981

Cassie and Rebecca entered the university library that afternoon. They were still a little spooked by the gunshots that were fired the other day. But, they knew if they wanted to get a good grade in their Occult Studies class, they needed to do research in the library. Rebecca went to go find the librarian, since they didn’t see him at his desk when they walked in.

Cassie figured that he was probably shelving some books or helping other students. He was really good at doing that, which is one of the reasons so many people did well in their research. The librarian knew his domain like no one else would.

Cassie walked over to a table sitting near the window, so they could enjoy the fall scenery. She liked how the various trees turned the various colors, while the pines kept the green alive. As she pulled the textbooks and binders out of her backpack she heard some of the whispering from some of her fellow students.

“Did you hear? He hasn’t been seen today,” said one guy.

“I think he went on vacation, finally,” said another.

“Maybe he fell in love,” whispered a girl.

“Mr. A falling in love? Gimme a break.”

Cassie’s interest piqued suddenly. Mr. A, or Atozota, was the school’s librarian. He never missed a day of work unless there was some emergency. He cared a lot about his books, and helping the students discover information.

She looked around to see if she could spot him to make that this wasn’t some kind of joke, but couldn’t find him anywhere. She did see Rebecca running back toward her though.

“Cass,” she said, “I can’t find Mr. A anywhere. It’s like they’re all saying, he’s gone.”

“Gone? Where would he go?”

Rebecca and Cassie sat down at the table and whispered to each other, “Do you think this has something to do with those gun shots the other day?”

“Maybe. But, I don’t think he would be spooked by something like that, would he?”

“He was more concerned about the two of us not being hit than he was.”

As the two of them talked, a hooded figure entered the room, and headed towards the periodical section. The figure caught Cassie’s attention and she whispered, “What’s with him?”

“I don’t know.”

About a minute later, another hooded figure joined the first. Both girls couldn’t get a good look at the person’s face.

“I’m going over there,” Cassie boldly whispered.

“Are you nuts?” Rebecca replied, grabbing Cassie’s blouse to hold her back.

“Maybe. But, they may know where Mr. A went.”

Cassie snuck over to where the two hooded figures were talking in hushed voices. She pretended to need the periodical section by bringing up some old newspapers from the late sixties.

“Is it done with?” a female voice whispered.

“Yes, the varlore is no more,” a male voice replied.

“Good. Do you have the item?”

“No. He didn’t have it on him when I searched the body. Someone must’ve taken it.”

The female voice growled in frustration. Cassie thought the voice sounded a little feral, but she couldn’t be too sure since they were in a low tone to avoid being overheard.

“I want that ring. I need it for my collection.”

“I’m sorry. I will employ some of my hunters to find who has taken it. Maybe someone that the varlore was close to?”

“He wasn’t close to anyone. He kept to himself and only helped students out. I’ll put out feelers to see if anyone else in town knows about a new varlore.”

“As you wish. Shall I begin the hunt for the vryklore and the wiccalore?”

“Yes, at once. I will notify you if there are others to hunt as well.”

One of the hooded figures rose and left the room. Cassie did her best to not be noticed by them. But she couldn’t get that conversation out of her head. Someone had just killed a varlore, whatever that was, and was now planning to kill two more things.

Cassie quickly turned off the periodical machine and left the periodical station to talk to Rebecca. Maybe she knew what they were talking about, although she first had to convince her to go back to her parent’s place for safety from whatever it was that was out there.