He walked up to a familiar cubicle with a solid cop sitting in a chair that looked too small for him. The aging man had black hair that was beginning to whiten in places. But his age had taken none of his strength or size; he was as big as he ever had been playing football at the University of San Diego. He was currently on the phone having a rather heated conversation with someone.
“I don’t give a damn what they tell you! I need that damn court order and I needed it yesterday!” He slammed the phone down onto the cradle.
He looked up at Jason, “Hey, Sparky!” he said with a smile, “What the hell brings you down to the quagmire that is “Missing persons”?”
Jason handed over the sim card, “I need your help to find the guy on that sim card.”
* * * * *
Kenneth bore the uncomfortable ride being stuffed into the back of this trailer in silence.
He had never been forced to travel this way, and he never would again if he could help it. It was necessary though, that he knew. House Dukart controlled too much of the city for him to avoid being noticed leaving the city. Nobody would ever expect one as high ranking in the Houses as him, to be crammed into the back of a family trailer, though. And so, he bore the discomfort willingly.
He could feel the air around the camper getting colder, as they moved northward. There was no air conditioning or heat in the trailer. Although he could feel the air lower in temperature it didn’t affect him at all. Being undead had its uses.
He hadn’t smelled anything but the wolves’ fur for the last nine hours. He didn’t think the drive north would have taken this long. He had been in here with these animals with nothing to do for all that time.
He folded his arms across his chest and stared blankly at the back of the trailer as his pets slept soundly around him. Even though they were his, he cared as little for them as he did his students, these animals were tools, and he intended to use them.
He finally felt the trailer slow down and make a turn. The ride became rougher but under his power the wolves stayed asleep. The trailer rocked and bounced over a gravel road. He would have to talk to Michael at some point, this was unacceptable.
Soon after that though the trailer did pull to a stop and the back of the trailer opened onto a cool crisp mountain night. Kenneth left the wolves, sleeping as he stepped out of the trailer. The moon was a fat gibbous hanging in the sky; the stars were bright and alive so far away from the city. He had gotten used to the city and its sights and sounds of the night. Being under this wide-open night sky like this made him feel small, much smaller than he had felt in a long time. He hated this sky.
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He nodded to Michael who closed the trailer doors. The two men walked around the parking area surrounded by a dense forest. Kenneth let Michael lead him up to a wooden building within the woods. The guest house, Kuan-Yin Cottage, was part of the Flower Waters retreat, a rustic looking place but nice. He couldn’t help but wonder how much the people were charging for the use of it, even though it was technically out of tourist season.
Michael opened the front door and Kenneth walked in. Michael went right back out to the trailer and began moving luggage inside the building, deftly avoiding stepping on any of the sleeping wolves.
Kenneth walked through the cottage to the back glass doors that looked out onto the balcony. He could see only a short distance into the dense trees beyond though. He told himself that he wasn’t scared of the wide-open night that was above him, and he wasn’t. Had it been so long since his youth growing up in Follonica Italy, those nights where he would look up and follow the brush strokes of stars against the blue-black canvas that was the night sky? He had always loved the night, even as a child.
But here, after all those years in L.A. the night sky suddenly felt odd, almost like it was too open. It was as if his soul stood bare and naked to whatever it was that awaited him after death. He shivered, but not from the cold.
Kenneth turned and watched Michael bring in the last of the luggage. “Are they locked up for the day?” Kenneth asked.
Michael nodded, “Yes, the trailer is locked and all the luggage is here,” he said pointing to the pile of suit cases in the front room. “Do you have a preference as to where you would like to stay?” He asked gesturing to either room off the main one.
Kenneth shook his head, “No, I don’t care just so long as my needs are met.” He turned back toward the sliding glass doors. “Why did you choose this place?”
Michael looked up as he lifted two suitcases, “It has the privacy of no one actively watching you or tracking how often you use room key cards,” he replied. “It also has the added benefit of not being too far away from the Pacific Crest Trail. It won’t take us up the mountain itself but it will get us close and it’s pretty much a straight shot from here. I thought lodging close by the mountain would serve best as I figured you’d want to spend as much time studying and searching the mountain as you could before you had to retreat before day break.”
Kenneth nodded in place, maintaining his vigil on the forest outside the guest house. Good solid reasons, he expected nothing less from his students.
The forest was quiet, but not asleep. This was when the forest was the most dangerous. He felt the quiet calm of the guest house and the serenity of the nature beyond, but under that veil was death. The predators of the night would be stalking their unsuspecting prey. As if in answer to his thoughts he heard the faint scream of a small animal nearby. If he wasn’t a vampire he would have missed it entirely. This forest was alive and the predators within it, every predator, was hungry. He licked his lips idly.
He moved back from the glass doors and moved around the house. It was cozy, not too small though nothing he could see himself living in for too long. It was early morning and soon the sun would rise.