Chapter 17

I managed to find myself in a strange restaurant in the middle of nowhere. My body was cold and sore and all I needed was some food, and a phone. With no money, all I could do was hope they'd let me use their phone. After I got in there, I was told there was no school nowhere near close. I was for sure, defeated.

"I'm sorry, did you just say ninety kilometers? That's roughly fifty-five miles right?" I could feel my legs about to break underneath me.

"Yes, ninety kilometers, I'm not sure about no fifty miles but honey, we're in the middle of nowhere. Come on over and sit down. The phones over here." She placed her hand on my shoulder and led me to a counter with barstools.

As soon as I sat on the stool, she handed me the phone and nodded her head to me as she walked into the kitchen. I dialed my dad's cell number and listened to the ring. It rang a total of five times with no answer. I bit my lip and I tried to remember Braxtons number. It rang twice before I heard his voice.

"Hello?" He sounded worried and anxious.

"Braxton, what's wrong?" I asked tucking one foot under the other.

"Renae? Is that you?"

"Yeah, who else would it be? I was trying to get ahold of my dad but he didn't answer. Can you go tell him to come and pick me up?"

"Oh, I'm with him now. Where are-" I heard muffling on the other end. I rolled my eyes knowing of course he's with my dad if he couldn't be with me.

"Braxton, are you still there?"

"Sweetie?" I heard my dad's voice.

"Dad?" I tried not to tear up finding relief in his voice.

"Where are you? We'll leave right now."

"I don't know. I'm in the middle of nowhere at the restaurant called Grammins Grub. The waitress said the closest school is like ninety kilometers away." The line went quiet "Dad?"

"You need to get out of there. NOW! That place is extremely dangerous."

"Why? They've been extremely friendly so far."

"Renae, don't question me. Get out of there. Please." Desperation rang in his voice.

"Okay. I'll try and walk at least a mile out so you can still find me."

"Just go. I'm on my way." He hung up the phone. I placed the phone back on the landline, by the time I turned around the waitress was standing there with a plate of food in her hands.

"Hey, sorry I hope you don't mind. I figured you were hungry so I got you some food." She set the plate down in front of me.

"Oh thank you, but I really should go. I don't have any money anyways." I stood my ground, my stomach growling from glancing at the food. "It does look really good tho." I tried to step away but bumped into someone else.

"I'm sorry little lady, you're not going anywhere." I felt my heart sink.

-Narrators POV-

"Sir, where is she?" Braxton asked as he caught his phone from Jarrods careless toss. "Where are we going?" He asked tucking his phone in his pocket.

"Not we, me. It's to dangerous for you to go." Jarrod started walking towards his car with haste.

"With all due respect sir, I have to go. If it's too dangerous for me then it's to dangerous for Renae and I'm not letting her go." Braxtons words forced Jarrod to stop and look at him in his puppy love.

"If anything happens, I won't be able to protect you both. These people, these... things. They're not normal, they eat any and every kind of mythical creature that comes near them, and whatever they have left, they serve to their customers. Since vampire and werewolves are natural enemies, when a vampire consumes a wolf, they go savage, and the same goes for a wolf. They use this as a test to see who their next victim will be. The council calls them feasters." Jarrods fear was evident as his hands shook even as he clenched them into fists.

"Sir, I don't need protecting, I need to find her too. Two people protecting her is better than one right?" Jarrod looked to his fists and relaxed them before nodding to Braxton. They ran to the car and Jarrod raced the car before Braxton was even able to get his seatbelt on.

"So what kind of place do these feasters have?" Braxton asked feeling the tension building.

"They named it Grammins Grub, I personally like to call it death feasts. No creature other than a human or animal has been able to walk out of this place unscathed." Braxton froze, he knew the name of the place. He remembered his parents telling him how his grandparents died there. They had been the most revered and feared vampires until they walked into that restaurant and never walked out.

"S-sir?" Braxton could barely speak through his nerves. "Th-that's where my gr-grand-"

"Where your grandparents were killed? I know. I was there." He interrupted Braxtons failed attempt to speak.

"Can you tell me what happened?" His hands were now shaking, with fear and anger.

"It was in my younger days. Our families were almost one with our friendship. Back then, no one knew about feasters. Actually we thought they were a joke, no one would be able to take down a wolf or vampire so easily, just something to scare kids into behaving. Your grandparents took me out for dinner, this was before the serum was created so we were hunting a different kind of dinner. We went to this restaurant because it was quiet and far away from the city. We went in there and your grandparents tried to lure this waitress into the bathroom so they could eat with no witnesses." Jarrods eyes focused on the road, he gulped remembering the details but refusing to share everything. "She had long curly hair, it was stained with blood. It was in that moment that your grandfather grabbed the steak out of her hand that she hand pointing towards my back since I was standing watch." He paused and looked to Braxton real quick before returning his eyes to the road.

"Before I knew it, I was being pushed out the door. They never came out. I waited outside in the car but they never came out. No one did. I waited for hours, days even. Next week, we heard that a pack of wolves went completely savage and were slaughtered on the spot. That's when I took over your grandmothers work on the serum so vampires wouldn't have to live on blood and we'd be able to reproduce like humans instead of taking our bloodlines offspring if they wanted to raise a child. This serum gives us a human life so we can live in peace. Before the accident I couldn't understand why such a strong vampire would want such a thing. I never actually understood till I met Renaes mother. She had two kids of her own but I fell in love. I knew it was my fault that your grandparents died, so I did everything I could to finish their work and fulfill their dreams. I couldn't live with myself otherwise. Your family hated me after. They forgave me for what happened to your grandparents but they couldn't even look me in the eye when I finished the serum and brought it to the council. I'm sorry Braxton, I figured your parents told you before they set up the marriage arrangement through the council." Jarrod finished his story with a long sigh.

"I'm not mad. I'm not particularly happy about it but I'm not mad at you. Shit happens right?" Braxtons eyes were fixated on his fists in his lap.

Jarrod looked at Braxton before he started laughing "Hell yeah it does. I'm really sorry tho. If I could change what happened, I would. They never would have gone into that god forsaken slaughter house." He dropped his shoulders.

"But you can't. No one can change what happened, we all just need to learn to deal with everyone else's decisions, that's apart of adapting to society isn't it? That's why war started, because people didn't know how to deal with other peoples decisions. Thank you for telling me, my parents always told me I could never understand what happened, they said since I was so young I'd either just get angry or not care about anything anyways, so thank you." Braxton patted Jarrods shoulder before he realized "Wait, why the hell is there a school for vampires and werewolves so close to feasters?" Jarrod couldn't help but chuckle at his comment.

"Well, the school's been there for as long as I've been alive. About two thousand years. Just recently we had the werewolves join about two hundred years ago after the incident happened. So we assumed that they built that restaurant around two hundred and fifty years ago, maybe even three hundred. We've managed to keep them away fairly easy. I had to change my appearance and we had to change most of the staff on a regualr basis but so far we've convinced them that we're a normal human school. The serum helps, wolves don't change on a full moon anymore, vampires can go out in the sun. That serum saved all mythical creature culture except some nymphs and gnomes of course but they learned to stay away... I think. When the wolves spoke to our council, we all agreed that in order for them to get any serum, they'd have to send their youths to the school to show trust, a higher protection and something else I'm not at liberty to discuss."

As Jarrod continued to explain, Braxton looked at him in awe. His mind was focused on Renae, and hoping her well being was alright.

-Renaes POV-

"I'm sorry little lady, you're not going anywhere." My heart sank. I looked at them both as I slowly reached my hand down for my quarterstaff until he spoke again "You're skin and bones. You need to eat something. I can hear your stomach from here, so you're not allowed to say no." He smiled placing a hand on my shoulder. I couldn't understand why my dad said this place was dangerous, they seem really nice.

"Okay, I am actually really hungry." I tried to laugh it off as I hopped onto the barstool. I looked at the plate in front of me and tried not to drool as I watched the steam come off the roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy and a bowl of fruit on the side. "Uhm, can I have some silverware please?" I asked looking for a fork but not seeing one.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, my head just must not be screwed on to tight." She laughed pulling out a set wrapped in a napkin. She placed it next to my plate as she also grabbed a cup of water.

As soon as I got the fork unwrapped I started gulping down the food. I drank some of the water before I continued to eat the rest of my food. After cleaning my plate I leaned back and felt my stomach was properly full. I stood up and walked over to the waitress.

"I can't thank you enough. I've been walking all day and I've been so emotional. so this really means a lot to me." I gave the waitress a hug.

"Awh, I'm just happy to help. You go ahead and get back home okay? Your parents are probably worried sick." She smiled back.

"Actually, can you tell me where your restrooms are?" I bit my lip as she pointed to the back. I began walking to the back and saw it wasn't a public bathroom, I saw the chef walk out of the kitchen.

"Oh, excuse me miss."

"Oh, that's no problem sir, could you point me to the restroom please?"

"There back here right before the kitchen." He leaned in close. "You need to hurry up and get out of here before they kill you."

"What?"

"I said right here." He smiled and pointed to the door.

"Thank you." I gave him a nod and went to the bathroom.

After I finished doing my business I washed my hands and started feeling very off. I felt a tingling sensation from the water, it almost burnt? Yet it was freezing cold at the same time. I started to feel extremely warm and my stomach flipped, fast. Soon after my back hit the floor, then my head, then I saw nothing but the reflection in the mirror slowly fade and a haze blocking my vision.