Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2023 03:47:17 -0500 From: Fang Saito Subject: Welcome to Avernus - Chapter 10 This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected under copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproduction is allowed without the author's consent. Conversations and feedback are appreciated to Greyson B. via email at hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com. I love hearing from readers. And thank you to Johnny Kape for the excellent editing assistance he has been providing me. He is a wonderful cheerleader. Thank you. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/. You can also consider buying me a coffee or two if you want to support me as well. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GreysonB Welcome to Avernus Chapter 9 Flying was not what I had expected. First, we had to drive over an hour to Burlington, Vermont. That involved a ferry across Lake Champlain. I'd seen them in movies, but somehow thought they had been phased out for bridges or something. It was kind of cool, and was the first time I'd ever been on a boat. I got to stand right up on the railing and watch the water rush up on the front of the boat, even though it was freezing. It was still fun, regardless. The airport was crazy! It was packed, with everyone running in eighty different directions. We had to check in, then go through security. They made me pour out my water bottle, but told me I could keep the bottle and fill it up at a water fountain on the other side? So stupid. I wanted to flip the lady off, but Mom was so stressed about figuring out where we were supposed to go, that I didn't want to upset her. Turns out this was her first time flying, as well. The plane wasn't what I expected, either. In the movies, you always see the giant jumbo jets, with three rows of seats, two aisles, and lots of room to stand. Turns out those are only used for the really long flights, like going overseas. Instead, we were in this little jet that only held around 60 people. There was just one aisle, with two seats on each side. We sat around on the plane for about half an hour, before we started taxiing to the runway where we would be taking off. It felt like we were driving there, we had to taxi for so long. Then the actual takeoff. Mom reached over and took my hand. I didn't mind the bit of reassurance that she was there. Neither of us knew what to expect. But for real? It wasn't bad at all. I felt a bit of vibration as we started speeding up on the runway, then the plane tilted and the vibration disappeared as the wheels left the ground. It was actually a pretty cool experience. The layover in North Carolina was annoying though, because even though it was listed as an hour and ten minutes, by the time we got off the plane, figured out where a map was, and got to the new plane, they had already begun boarding and everyone made us feel like we were late. But we made it anyway. Finally, finally, finally, we made it off the plane in Huntsville, Alabama. Aunt Susan picked us up and we went back to her place to shower and change clothes. We relaxed for a bit and I hung out with my cousins. Three brats, leaning more to the "spoiled" side. All girls, ages 17, 14, and 9, all of no interest to me. They aren't even worth hanging out with. I played nice, though, and ended up chatting more with Alen on my phone. Since we'd had such a shitty lunch right before the airport, we all went out for an early dinner. I waited for the fireworks, and was not disappointed. I'd already heard Mom and Aunt Susan get into it in the kitchen, about whether we were going to move back now. Mom had told her about "her" new job, which caused all sorts of confusion. Then at dinner, Uncle Stewart went into basically the same thing. "I know what I heard, Renee. Jeremy was all excited about that job up in New York," said Uncle Stewart. "Now suddenly we all heard wrong, and it's your job?" "I don't know what to tell you guys," said Mom. "I report back to work on Monday." She sighed and rested her face in the palms of her hands. After a moment, she looked back up at my aunt. "Look, it's been a really long and stressful week. Let's just eat, and please just help me get through tomorrow." My aunt and uncle both shook their heads at one another in frank disbelief. Finally, my Aunt Susan reached over and patted my mom's hand. "Of course, Renee. We'll help out any way we can." I was basically on lock down that night. I was sleeping on the couch in their living room, but my mom and aunt sat in the dining room, right off the living room, for most of the evening. It was nearly midnight before they quit their gossiping and went to bed. I spent most of the evening texting Alen, Lisa, and at one point, Wren. He jokingly asked me about sexting at one point, but I laughed and blew him off. Saturday we got up really early, so that we could all grab a fast breakfast and be out the door by around 8. All three of my cousins were whining about having to be up so early on a Saturday, before all seven of us were stuffed into a crappy minivan, all in suits and Sunday dresses. We were also back in Alabama weather, so I was in my suit jacket. I was sweaty and uncomfortable for the hour long drive. Now, you gotta understand. We were lucky if we made it to church once a month, maybe even once every other month. The only days you could guarantee us being there were Easter, Mother's Day, and Christmas. So it was weird when the pastor was acting like we were the church's best family ever. He pulled us all into a side room, and prayed with us, read that as "prayed at us" for about an hour. Dad had been cremated, so there was no casket, no cemetery, and no graveside service. Then the memorial service started at 11. Other than like, six church people, mostly deacons, there were two of Dad's old coworkers. That was it. Me, Mom, and Aunt Susan's family were damn near half the people there. Then 11:05 hit. Between then and 11:15, all of Dad's family came pouring into the church. Only a handful of them were dressed up worth a damn, and half of them were hung over, drunk, or both. All told, there were probably twenty adults, and about as many kids. They brought the whole clan out for this one. It was utter chaos. Half of them were fussing that there was no casket and no body. Half were yelling that Mom was the reason Dad was dead. And a few were very loudly screaming at all the others to calm down and be respectful in the church. The pastor stood there confused and angry, trying to get everyone to calm down. Mom was yelling at half of them, Aunt Susan was crying in frustration, and Uncle Stewart was laughing, along with a couple of the deacons. I was completely embarrassed, seeing the white trash I came from. I started recording some of it on my phone, because I knew nobody would believe me. What should have been over with in half an hour, took until way past noon. Since we were back in our home town, I begged mom to just let me stay with Alen overnight. His mom had already offered to drive me up to Huntsville in the morning if she said yes. I was kind of surprised when she looked around at my aunt and my three cousins, and then at all the human garbage piling back into their trucks and SUVs, and said yes. She talked Aunt Susan into us all eating lunch here, then they dropped me off at his house. Of course, stupid me didn't have my bag, so I had to borrow some clothes from Alen for the day. It wasn't that big of a deal. It was great to catch up. He even conned his older brother into letting me borrow his board, and we hooked up with Lisa and a couple of other old friends to tear up the afternoon. I told them all about some of the weirdness of the town. Of course I filled them all in on Taki and the gang. I probably spent a little too much time talking about Liam and Boots. Lisa started ragging on me about which one I was hooking up with. A couple of the others chimed in when one of them made a comment about me "knocking Boots". I let them get their digs in, because I knew none of them meant anything by it. In fairness, I think they were impressed that I had found some other skaters so quickly. I showed Lisa some of the stuff I was learning about Hammers & Hordes, because it seemed kind of her thing. She was into all sorts of nerdy games already. She thought it was interesting and promised to take a look. To my surprise, Alen showed some interest as well. It was rare that he was interested in anything that didn't require a game controller. It was nice being able to reconnect with my old friends, but even now, what, two weeks later? I was already looking to get back to Avernus. Maybe the weirdness was rubbing off on me. It was just, everything there was so big, so overpowered, so, I don't know, important. Seriously, if we moved back here, what was here for me? Knowing that Vampyre existed? Giving up contact with that world? I mean, even if their world is dangerous and horrible, at least there I know where it is. I know its borders, how to get answers if something weird happens. Here? For all I know, there are Vampyre up in Huntsville, and I would have no way of knowing. What if someone there, or over in Atlanta, or Birmingham, decided to try and take Mr. Tsui's power from me? He or Wren wouldn't be around to help me, or warn me, or protect me, or anything. I didn't really have a choice but to go back. And anyway, there was this thing, whatever it was, with Wren. I know he hit all my buttons in what I liked. But what about me? Did he just like me because of what he was? Or did he like me, for me? That was something I needed to find out. Especially after that kiss we had shared outside of my house. It had been so cold. So cold that it matched the chill of his touch. But as we kissed, as I flushed, so did he. Wren had been cold, but by the end of the kiss, he had been so warm. So... Wait, why had Wren been warm? Because he had been warm by the time the kiss ended. It was strange, too. Wren wasn't a Vampire. He didn't feed off blood. He said he was a Succubus, and fed off sexual attraction. Did Wren feed off me? I started to text him. It was 1am there. He would be up. But no, I wanted to see his face when I asked him that question. And if he did feed on me, how do I feel about that? I didn't feel like it hurt me at the time. But was there some other downside? Would he tell me the truth if I asked? Maybe I could ask Erin instead. Or would that be weirder? The next morning couldn't come quick enough. I was up and anxious for Alen's mom to drive me up to Huntsville, dressed in my suit again, but carrying my tie and jacket. Soon enough I was back in normal clothes, ready to run through the reverse process of Friday. This time our layover was in Washington, DC, which was cool in concept, but meant that the airport we were rushing through was like three times as big. We only had an hour this time, and while that ten minutes doesn't sound like much, it added that extra little level of stress. Because of that, Mom was about ready to lose it when they said there was a problem with our flight. First there was a delay in boarding our plane. Then that turned into mechanical issues, and the whole flight was delayed. We sat around for nearly two hours, waiting for them to find another flight, before they finally told us there was not going to be another flight in our direction that night. "In our direction?" That's how they wanted to word it? Something about how our tickets were purchased, and the fact that the flight issue was their problem, meant that we were put up in a hotel room. I was frustrated, but Mom was pissed. The hotel was nice, though, and was attached to the airport. Then when we were in the room barely an hour, right around when I finally got Mom calmed down, Mom's cell phone rang. It was the airline, and they had a flight for us! Have you ever seen someone get excited and angry at the same time? She started tossing items back into her carry-on bag. Who knew where our suitcase was, with all out clothes and the majority of our travel items in it. Out of nowhere, she shrieked into the phone, yelling and cussing like I haven't heard her in forever. Next thing I knew, she had thrown her phone against the wall, followed by her bag, the TV remote, my bag, and anything else in her reach. "What the hell, Momma?" I yelled. "Oh, they had a fucking flight for us all right," she yelled right back. "They were trying to put us on a flight back to Alabama!" "What? That makes no sense." I really wanted to help my mom calm down, so I walked over and gave her a hug. I made sure she saw me coming first though! "What did they say the problem was?" It took her a second to respond. At first I thought she was too upset to hear my question. But then I realized she wasn't still pissed, she was embarrassed. She started laughing softly, hiding her face in my shoulder. "I, um.. I threw the phone before I could hear why they thought we wanted to go back to Huntsville." I chuckled a little, which caused Mom to lean away, swatting my arm for laughing. "Ohhh," she sighed out, wiping her eyes and still laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Baby, get me my phone," she said, one hand on her hip, the other extended as if her phone was going to float over to her. I laughed and went and picked it up off the floor. She has thrown it enough times that I was not at all surprised that it lit right up when she turned it on. I swear, she should be a tester for the people that make phone cases. It took about an hour, but she finally got it sorted, and found out there was something with our tickets that got the system turned around between our destination and departure point. But it was now squared away, and we had a flight scheduled for 10am the next morning. Later that night, I was texting with Wren, who was disappointed I hadn't been there to meet him that night. But then as I started telling him about our day, he got quiet for a minute. J --Where did you go?-- W --Sorry. I'm here. It just sounds unusual.-- J --For real. I mean, I joked about staying in Alabama, but damn!-- W --Maybe that's what you get for joking?-- J --Keep it up and I won't let you kiss me again-- J --Nope! I didn't say that!!! :)-- W --Truly, you are a cruel, cruel man! ;-;-- J --Wtf was that supposed to be? Lol-- W --A crying face?-- J --Keep trying, old man!-- W --But you will be home tomorrow, for sure?-- J --Our new flight is in the morning at 10, Mom wants us there at 8! lol-- W --gtg. I have some things to look into. Sleep well.-- J --U2. Wait, do you sleep?-- J --Wow, gone that fast? Alright, good night then-- Next morning, we were up exactly as early as Mom wanted us. Why is her argument always that I should be used to it since I always have to be at school at 8 anyways? Do I look like I'm going to school today? If I had thought the TSA lady in the first airport on Friday had been annoying, the guy we had to deal with Monday was seriously terrible. What an ogre! He nitpicked a dozen items in out carry-on bags, stupid stuff. At one point he threatened to hold Mom because she had keys, of all things. There's no way car keys are contraband. We almost got through security, and suddenly a supervisor came over and escorted us into a pair of offices. I had some lady stay in the room with me and just stand against the door. I tried asking her what was going on, she just said something about we were going to sit and wait, since I couldn't be interrogated without my parent in the room. I was cranky, tired, annoyed, and now pissed. I started showing my ass, throwing questions at her about why we were being held, what the jerk's problem had been, trying to claim that Mom's keys were a problem? Why were they trying to stop us from getting on our flight for the second day in a row? Then I started in on why she worked her job for TSA. Was it because she wanted authority, but didn't make it into the Army or police? I congratulated her for not being enough of an asshole to get into either of those two. Really I was just taking out my frustration on her. It was kind of reminding me of being locked in Mr. Tsui's office last week. I guess that undercurrent of fear was adding to me being pissed off. Eventually there was a knock on our door. When the TSA lady opened it, she seemed surprised to see who was there. The guy was in a fancy dark suit and walked in without even addressing the lady. Instead, he looked down at me, sitting at the little table she had me sitting behind. "Jason Docker?" he asked me. When I nodded, he said, "My apologies on your delay. If you will follow me, I will get you and your mother on your plane." I was confused, but the TSA lady didn't seem to have any intention of contradicting the guy, so I stood up to follow him. But first, I had to get in a parting shot. "Sorry, ma'am. It just wouldn't work out between us. Don't worry. You'll find someone eventually!" Then I scratched the bridge of my nose with my middle finger as I passed her into the hallway. Almost immediately we were met by another guy in an identical suit escorting Mom. I gave her a look, silently asking what was going on, but she shook her head in confusion. They walked us around the entire security checkpoint area and next thing we know, we are being shown to this thing that looks like a golf cart with no top on it. The guy that picked me up sat in the back seat, which was facing backwards, and motioned for me to sit with him. My mother rode shotgun while her guy drive. I looked over, studying the guy next to me, and realized he's wearing an earpiece like you see in the movies, that had a curly chord that disappeared under his collar. At one point he adjusted his jacket, and I saw that he was wearing a gun in a shoulder holster. Who were these guys? FBI? Secret Service? We got to the gate, and our flight was already boarding, so we nearly missed it. My guy goes up and leaned in to speak quietly to the flight attendant at the gate. After a moment she nodded, and started asking everyone to be patient while we were escorted on board. They waited a minute to let the people on the walkway get onto the plane, and then they literally, personally, walked us onto the plane. It was another tiny one like last time, maybe even smaller. Again, another quiet conversation with the flight attendant on the plane, a really cute guy in his 20s, and we were seated in some of the first seats right there in the front of the plane. It was only after we were seated that they started letting the rest of the passengers onto the plane. Then the two government type guys stayed on the plane, staring down anyone who seemed to have any questions, until literally right before they closed the plane's outer door. Apparently it wasn't a completely separate section, but the front seats were first class? There was a bit more room, and even though there were only like eight of us in the cushier seats, we had out own flight attendant, while the entire back section of thirty or so people had one more for all of them. We were barely in the air before we were offered drinks, a soda for me, and Mom got a glass and two little bottles of scotch. Finally we were left alone, and I was able to turn around to try and talk to her. "What the hell happened?" I asked quietly. "I seriously don't know, baby," she said. She was still shook up, and was practically whispering to me. "They didn't have a reason they were telling me for why they were hastlin' us. It was almost like they were fishin' for something to hold us on. It was like they were stallin', holding us just to hold us." "Who were the guys that pulled us out?" "I don't know whether I believe him or not, but the guy called himself `Special Agent'. I can't even remember what he said his name was." "My guy didn't even introduce himself," I told her. "I'm just glad we got out of there. That was scary." "Creepy, more like," she muttered. She patted my hand. "Let's just get home." The flight landed on time, and we found the car right where we left it in the airport parking garage. We stopped for a late lunch before leaving Burlington, and then made it through the hour and a half drive home. This time, I stayed in the car for the ferry ride. I was too drained, both physically and emotionally. As soon as we got home, a little after three in the afternoon, I trudged upstairs and took a nap. I woke up a couple of hours later, as the last rays of the setting sun were fighting to still make it in through my bedroom window. I went downstairs and saw that Mom was asleep as well, so I went in the kitchen and started making something to eat for the both of us. It was just a can of soup and a couple of grilled cheese. But the cooking butter and garlic in the pan got Mom's attention, and by the time everything was ready, she was up. "Thanks, baby. I think that's the last time we fly. I'd rather control the direction I'm travelin'!" she laughed. I slid a sandwich and a bowl over to her, and asked, "So school and work tomorrow? Or do we both get a day to recover?" I grinned and made puppy dog eyes at her. "Oh, baby, I wish," she said with a returned grin. "Nope, tomorrow it's back to business as usual. Gotta keep the bills paid, right?" "I guess so," I said, starting in on my own food. "After I clean up, is it alright if I go up to the game store?" She looked over at me, like she was really studying me. "You're really getting' into that stuff, aren't you?" "It's pretty relaxing. And it seems pretty fun to play, too." "What do you mean, it seems fun?" she asked with a questioning look. "What are you doing, if you aren't playing?" "Mom, I just got started! I had to buy the models, and start putting them together and painting them." "Can I see them?" she asked. It was kind of weird, but she seemed interested? I told her to hold on, and I ran upstairs to grab my backpack. I handed her the rulebook, and then started pulling out the models I had already been working on. I explained a little bit about the story of the game, and a very short version of how it played. I told her a little bit about the army I had chosen. Surprisingly, she never seemed to lose interest. In fact, when she said it was okay for me to go out, she also asked if she could borrow the book to look over. "Are you trying to find excuses why it's gonna corrupt me?" I joked. "Maybe? Or maybe there's no savin' my boy!" she laughed. She got up, and as I was packing my stuff back in my bag to take with me, she swatted me playfully on the butt with my book and told me to go have fun, but to be home by 11. Half an hour and two texts from Wren later, I snapped up my board and entered LGM. I was caught completely off guard when I saw that Garrett was in the middle of a game, not with Wren, but with Liam. Damn, his mind must be as screwed with as Mom's was. At the table behind them, Wren and Erin were both in the process of unpacking some models, probably to start a game. They were both in matching outfits, charcoal grey ankle length skirts that were light enough to still be in the grey spectrum and not mistaken for black, with this pale grey sweater that had been knitted so that you could see the black long sleeve shirt underneath through all the holes. I went over to say hi to everyone. Yes, even Garrett. I hung around watching and chatting for a while, then excused myself and went over to one of the hobby tables. I had new troops that I hadn't been able to mess with yet! Since Erin had told me an average game was about two hours long, I was surprised when less than an hour later, Wren came over and sat next to me. And yes, I was sure it was Wren. I have slowly been able to figure out subtle differences between them. For one, no matter how much he might fight it, Wren is about an inch taller, and still has a slight adam's apple. And as I had noticed already, There are differences in their smiles. "So you had a busy weekend?" He asked, playfully bumping my shoulder with his. "I wouldn't say it was busy, really. But definitely fucking weird. Wanna see why I'm so embarrassed of where I come from?" Smiling, Wren said, "Other than everything you see in the news about the South?" I laughed and groaned all at once, then I showed him the video from the memorial service. He was confused at what he was watching, before I explained that it was dad's family. "Shit," he said breathlessly. "Sorry you had to deal with such a circus." "You should see them at the holidays," I muttered. "But enough about them. I have questions for you." I stared him down, locking his eyes to see what his reactions were going to be. "So serious," he said, glancing over to his sister, and then back at me. "Alright, what's on your mind?" "Did you feed on me that night we kissed?" His eyes went slightly wide. "Starting out with the big guns, I see." He looked me over for a moment, and I could tell he was trying to decide how to answer. Finally he said, "Yes, I did. Does that bother or scare you?" I nodded slightly and said, "Thanks for being honest. And that depends, is there a downside or some kind of damage to me from being your midnight snack?" "No, not at all." "Not even some kind of extra hold? No extra mental manipulation that makes me want you to come back for more or anything?" "No, nothing like that. If you really want to call it a side effect, you will always get really, really turned on any time it happens." I stared at him hard. "If I asked Erin, would she give me the same answer?" Wren chuckled, then seeing that I wasn't playing, he sobered up and said, "Let's ask her." He gave a whistle and as she looked up, Wren waved her over. "What's up with you two?" she asked when she approached. "Staying out of trouble?" "Have a seat, sis," said Wren. "Would you please tell Jason here, in detail, the different abilities that we Succubi have when we feed off a man like him?" Her eyes had widened when he mentioned Succubi, but I was able to see that she took it as the cue to the level of conversation we were having. "Well, since we feed off male attraction, our feeding kind of `enhances' that," she said hesitantly. "So you're probably going to get hard, and stay hard. You might even have a little accident in your pants, if you know what I mean," she added with a nervous smile. I jumped in before Wren could. "Yeah, but Wren was talking about it also softening me up for mesmir attempts, to bring me back for more. What about that?" She looked curiously between the two of us, particularly confused when Wren grinned slightly, nodding. "What are you talking about? Sure, we can mesmir, but our feeding doesn't make it easier somehow. There aren't any side effects from feeding, other than the heightened arousal, that I've ever heard of." "No shortened lifespan, loss of vitality, anything like that?" I asked. Erin looked at Wren in surprise. "What kind of fairy tales are you trying to scare this poor boy with? That's all folklore we've fought against for centuries!" "Thanks for telling me the truth," I said. "You said the same things that Wren told me. I just had to be sure." She looked at me with the twisted smile. "You little bugger! Good work." She laughed, then asked, "But Jason, what if he used our telepathy to tell me the answers he wanted you to hear?" My jaw opened in surprise while I went cold, realizing that could be a possibility, for all I knew. "I didn't think about that. Is that really something you two can do?" They both laughed, sharing a look of amusement between them. Then they looked back at me and Wren said, "No, that's isn't an ability Succubi have. That's Garrett's department." He gave a wider grin at the look of surprise and worry on my face.