Episode Nine: Dylan Danvers

Who knew people debating my death could be funny.

"WHAAT?!!" John yelled. "An Abomination."

Hey I'm right here, I wanted to say. But I doubted John had the slightest idea what people skills meant. I was really beginning to hate him.

"Surely we can't leave him alive" Said the lady John introduced as Catherine Grace. "I mean if people find out..."

"They won't find out because this matter doesn't leave this room." Said The Eldest calmly. "And as for the boy, we can and we will keep him alive at all costs. No one lays a finger on him."

When no one argued, he continued

"There will be another meeting tomorrow by 8am. Then we'll discuss what happens with him..." he pointed at me. "For now he stays here. John you'll take him to one of the spare rooms on the fourth floor."

Huh? I didn't say anything about spending the night. Plus that guy, (what's his weird name again?) The Eldest, kwas definitely evil. I'd barely spent two hours here and he's already dishing out the worst punishment possible—A few minutes alone with John.

"Whoa. Hold on." I said and by the look on the Eldest's face, I figured he wasn't used to been interrupted. I continued anyway. "I wasn't told anything about spending the night."

"Dylan, those people who attacked you would try again. You're safest here with us." Said The Eldest in a surprisingly calm voice

"You expect me to just stay with people I've known for barely an hour?"

"Not if your mum wasn't in danger." The Eldest said. "How much do you love your mum?"

"Very much." I blurted not sure the purpose of the question.

The Eldest nodded "And what would you do if those guys held your mum hostage?"

My eyes widened as understanding slowly dawned on me. "I would go to save her, allowing them to capture me too."

"Exactly." The Eldest said. "You need us Dylan, we're the only ones that can protect you and your mother. Don't worry, you're safe here."

Normally when someone says don't worry you're safe, it often means you're not, but I couldn't see what else I could do. I loved my mum, and these guys had proven to have firsthand knowledge of what's going on.

But I wasn't ready to leave my mum for a long period of time.

"I'm only staying a week, max." I told The Eldest

"No problem." The Eldest said almost immediately. "But if we can't eradicate the problem before then, I'm afraid you'd have to stay a little longer."

I swallowed, as I suddenly felt like a prisoner

I needed to keep my mum safe, so I didn't have any more arguments except...

"Why John? Why can't Miss Susan take me to the room?

A sudden scary fierceness appeared in The Eldest's eyes and then he said

"Because I said so"

. . . . . .

After spending a few seconds alone with John, I got the impression he hated this probably more than I did. After The Eldest had closed the meeting, John and I left the Annex, turned left and headed down a narrow and loitered corridor with a red carpet.

At the end of the corridor, there was a staircase. We climbed it and got to another narrow corridor, then another staircase. And another, and another.

All the while I was thinking, why stairs. I mean they were probably rich enough to afford Sapphire elevators, So why stairs?

We came to a narrow landing and walked to the end of the corridor. I silently swore that if I saw another staircase I would (I said some things rated Grand Parental Guidance 71).

Fortunately for my legs, there wasn't another staircase instead there was solid wall. John stood in front of the wall, probably considering if he should just kill me himself, when he started muttering.

Even with my surprisingly keen senses, I couldn't make sense of what he was saying. After about ten seconds, he told me the password to the room is outcast

What a funny joke, I was already starting to feel like one. This was just another place where I didn't fit.

"Password?" I asked

"Just say outcast." John said clearly disgusted.

"Fine, I wonder why outcast would be a…"

On 'outcast,' the wall shimmered and a door with a big black 427 appeared in its place. I silently wondered how many invisible doors I might have walked past.

"Your room." John said. "You have to be at the annex by seven forty-five for tomorrow's meeting. Try not to be late. Oh and that's the password because that's exactly what you are—an outcast"

He turned and left and I was grateful I didn't have to look at his ugly face (not true though, he was quite handsome) anymore.

I opened the door and walked into 'the room.' I wasn't ready to call it―my room yet. The room was nice. I felt like I had walked into the five star hotel of five star hotels. It had everything. I had lived in magnificent houses all my life, but this was something else.

I could get used to this. I thought. Fifteen minutes later, I was done taking a shower and I was already wondering what sort of mysteries the bed might hold.

I was fairly certain the bed would be made of some sort of diamond foam, but I was wrong. It was regular foam—at least it felt like it.

My mind drifted to the activities of the day. I used a lot of effort not to cry. It still felt a bit weird. I was lying in diamond...sorry regular foam but in a room made out of gold.

My mind drifted to the activities of the day. If someone had told me my day would turn from throwing balls at Big J to being attacked by terrorists (I prefer to call them that) then saved by my Math teacher who could teleport.

I was starting to get a headache, but I decided to ignore it. The whole Half Zarden thing explained how that ball Big J had thrown earlier hadn't hit me. It also explained my heightened senses.

I didn't know how to feel about everything. I had always felt I was something more someone more. I would have given anything to be part of a species that had amazing abilities. But the way John had acted just showed I was nothing but an abomination.

Seconds later, my thoughts shifted to my mum. She probably didn't know I was half-Zarden. I missed her already. I was wondering if she had still prepared my favorite for dinner.

Yes I won't tell you what my favorite food is. I was thinking of the smell of treacle tart and waffle flavored cookies, when I drifted to sleep.

I wish I had dreamt that night. At least the images would have kept me company. Even in my sleep I felt hollow inside. After a few hours, I woke up to the sound of an alarm ringing. I checked the bedside alarm—Seven fifteen. It was a Saturday.

~Oh my God, Mum is so going to kill me.~

I had woken up late two Saturdays in a row. Eyes closed, I got up from bed and made downstairs hoping mum would be in a good mood again. Maybe this time it would be a friend's birthday or something.

And then, I bumped into a wall where the door should have been.

What the...

I opened my eyes and I found myself in a large golden room. Then all of yesterday's memories hit me hard in the face. I staggered back to bed and choked back a sob. It hadn't been a dream. I was at the Annex and my mum didn't know where I was.

"Mom." I said to myself.

My throat felt dry. I checked my watch it was 7:23. I had to be somewhere important by eight. Umm...a meeting; with...with the council. I wiped the single tear that escaped from my right eye.

Mum always told me I had to be strong. Right now, I had to be—for her. I took a hot bath, looked into the wardrobe and found nice clothes. I tried them on: Perfect Fit. How did they know my size?

I picked my watch from the bed and put it on my wrist. Time was 7:50. Didn't John say something about me getting to the annex by 7:45?

Heck what are they going to do to me if I was late? Leave me in a room with John? But as soon as I thought of it, I hurried out the room.

Immediately I closed the door, it shimmered and turned back into solid wall.

"Late, I assume." Said a voice behind me and it was a miracle my heart didn't jump out my mouth.

"John" I said calming down.

"It's either Mr. Munroe, or Sir whenever you're addressing me."

Ok I wasn't beginning to hate him, I loathed him. What the hell was he doing in front of my room. I mean 'the room.'

"Stalk much?" I asked trying to make ―Sir‖ angry.

A ripple of anger flashed across his face for barely a second and then he smiled. "The Eldest awaits you."

If the fact that he didn't try to strangle me wasn‖t enough reason for me to run, what happened next probably was. As we walked, anyone who passed us seemed to look round to take a better look at me.

And all their faces held the same expression, as if to say

"So he's the one? He doesn't belong here. Kill him! Abomination!"

Had the news about being half Zarden—an abomination—leaked already? The elfish smile on John's face removed all doubt. The monster!

He had probably spread the news over the night. And now, everyone in the Zarden community would want to take a look at me. For God's sake. I thought. I don't have a lightning bolt scar on my forehead.

I silently wondered how we would get to the Annex with all those stairs. We rounded a corner, and John stopped. He started muttering to the wall again.

You have got to be kidding me. I thought. Maybe this time, the password would be abomination.

After john stopped muttering, the wall shimmered and a set of elevator doors appeared. Two things came into my mind.

1) Phew. I didn't need any password

2) What the hell? So when I was waking up those stairs, there had been elevators all this while!"

I was tempted to shout and ask John why he hated me so much, but I figured he was trying to get to me and I wouldn't let him. There was a ding and the doors opened. We stepped into the elevator.

John pushed a few buttons and we started moving down. We stopped, there was another ding and the elevator doors opened. This time, a man in blue suit grasping a file walked in; he pushed a few buttons and we continued our descent.

"Mr. Munroe, lovely morning." The man in blue suit said.

"Morning to you too, Mr Richard." Said John

"The vampires are getting more difficult to control." Mr Richard said.

"I'm at the Citadel to suggest that team seven gets the job."

"Hmm. Yes they will be able to handle that. But I believe you know you

have to follow protocol?"

"Absolutely Sir." Mr. Richard said.

Did he just say vampires? Mr. Richard noticed me, and then his eyes gleamed with suspicion.

"Is that him?" he asked

"Yes." John said. His nose in the air.

Mr Richard stared at me in disgust confirming my worst fears. I really was an abomination.

There wasn't another word in the elevator till the final ding. John and I walked out the elevator to a familiar corridor. I could tell we were close. In about two minutes, we stood facing the twin doors with Z and lightning bolt.

It swung open on its hinges, revealing that the décor hadn't changed a bit. This time, there were five elders present—including John.