GFD 12: Blood Ties - 28. Chapter 28

Silence.

That was all I can remember about the long walk home from the lakefront. An absolute, and indescribable, silence.

Occasionally we would look up at the sky...measuring the amount of time we had left before the dawn was ready to break. Slowing our pace down as though we half expected to see Dylan change his mind and come running to catch up to us from behind.

He didn't.

He didn't want to drag out the agonizing pain of a vampire starvation...but what about our pain? I think it hurts even worse to know that he's gone. Daylight forced us to leave our sweet Dylan behind. That was heartbreaking. And yet, he chose to stay. I can only hope to somehow find a certain level of respect for him for doing that...and hope that he would be ok...wherever a loving spirit like that ends up...after.

I imagine that the rising sun would peacefully lull him into a deep sleep first. You know, before the....'burning' began. Dylan would lay back with his eyes closed...his skin going cold...and then...

...He just wouldn't wake up again.

Yeah. That's how I'd like to picture it.

No pain. Not for baby Dylan. No pain....

We dragged on in our return to the lot, but soon, the sunlight began having an affect on us. Bryson began to give the group a subtle push to move faster before we were all caught out here and too tired to move. The last block and a half was rushed, but the gloom remained.

As we entered the lot, we hardly had the courage to look each other in the eye. Fearing that if we saw a single tear drop that it would somehow cause an unstoppable chain reaction that would have us all weak with wracking sobs in an instant. A few people attempted to say something to strengthen Dion's spirit....but he had gone completely numb. He was blank from the inside out. Not a single emotion reflected from behind those bright eyes. It must have been a struggle to keep his extra working at such an intense level, but he didn't let the mask drop. Not even for a moment. He had completely wiped out his feelings to the point where it hurt the rest of us just to look at him. Jenna moved over to hug Dion around the neck, but as she cried into his shoulder, he just reached up silently, and disconnected himself from her by pulling her arms back down and stepping away from her.

"I'm going to bed. Dawn's coming." He said flatly.

He began to walk towards his truck, and Jenna's face wrinkled up as tears began to gush from her eyes. "Dion? Please don't shut down on us."

"Goodnight, Jenna." He said. It hurt Jenna something awful, seeing him do this to himself. But Bryson gave her a gentle nod and told her to let him go.

I watched as Dion got back to his truck, so emotionally cold that not even his pal, Napolean, could get his attention. In fact, he almost kicked the dog out of his way as he reached for the door handle.

Did he still blame me for Dylan's death? Is he going to hold that grudge against me for the rest of eternity? They were both so happy. They were planning to build a future together. How does someone ever recover from a loss like that?

Dion was my best friend in this place. He has been almost from the very beginning when he first took me out of the lot. And now, I'm wondering if I'll ever see that beautiful person ever again. Without Dylan...Dion may just stay disconnected forever.

As I thought more about Dion's aching heart and the tragedy of the situation, I began to feel an ice cold sensation spreading over the back of my hand, and it started to slowly creep up past my wrist and onto my forearm. Taryn was holding me close on the other side, my hand over his shoulder as he leaned his head sadly against my chest, his arms around my waist. But as I looked down at my free hand, I noticed a small flurry of shadows surrounding it. Like wisps of swirling smoke, the shadows continued to crawl up my arm, taking that ice cold chill with them every inch of the way. I could feel the pain...the suffering...that Dion was going through, even if he had shut himself off from it. The sensation was devastating, and the inner screams that he was keeping to himself...I could hear them clear as day.

I thought back to my experience with Comicality's extra in the IceZone club. Those cold, dark, shadows. Taking them upon myself and having their blackest horrors attach themselves to me...digging in deep and refusing to let me go. Scratching, clawing, stinging me from all sides. Except...Dion's current horrors were like none that I've ever experienced before. He was truly in love. And that love had been taken away from him. The biting sorrow of it was unbearable.

I attempted to physically shake the shadows off of me, but they kept coming back. Swirling up to tighten their grip. Eventually, I let Taryn go, turning my back to him, and I used my other hand to try to scrub the invading darkness from my arm, pulling and tearing at the shadows until I was free from their nightmarish hold.

"What are you doing?" Taryn asked, drying his eyes so he could peek over my shoulder and get a better look.

"Nothing. It's fine." I said. "It's fine."

I flexed my fingers and turned my hand over to make sure the shadows were all gone. Then I raised my eyes and saw Bryson watching me from across the center of the lot. Did he see it? God, I hope not.

The sullen mood was sending everybody back to their cars with sniffles and tears. Our eyes aglow as the optrix could no longer bend the light properly. I had never seen our little rag tag family so broken. Well, everyone except for Max, who was trying his hardest to keep up a brave face. It wasn't helping that Kid was hugging him as hard as his little arms would allow, burrowing his face into Max's stomach. "Will somebody please come and get this twerp off of me? Jesus, he's getting snot all over my t-shirt." Max grabbed Kid's teddy bear, leaned the young boy's head back, and shoved the stuffed animal between Kid's crying face and his clothing. But Kid looked up at him with pleading eyes, and merely tossed the teddy bear to the ground, smashing his face even tighter into Max's middle than before. He wasn't going to be able to get rid of him so easily this time. Nor was he going to be able to push him off on Jenna, who's emotional state was already off the charts and rapidly spinning out of control. He'd just have to bite the bullet and deal with the 'twerp' on his own, as he called him.

Besides...I could see Max beginning to choke up over seeing that little boy cry. I think he took Kid with him to sleep in his car just to keep everyone else from seeing him shed tears like the rest of us. Max wasn't made of stone, even if he'd prefer us to think he was.

I felt Taryn's soft fingers take a hold of my hand, and he gave me a gentle pull to get me to come to bed. I looked around the nearly empty lot for one last melancholy moment. Only Bryson and Doc were left, making sure that everyone was accounted for and protected before turning in themselves. And then I looked at Dylan's empty car...and tears welled up in my eyes as I fought to turn away from it. I couldn't take it. It was like being hit by a wrecking ball. It hurt that much.

I lowered my head and went back to the trailer with Taryn, and we sealed it up for the night. We were undressing together when Taryn said, "I miss him already. You know?"

I hesitated for a moment, just wanting to push the idea out of my head for now. But I answered him. "Yeah. I know...."

With only a pair of boxer briefs on, I climbed into bed and watched as Taryn stripped down to a small pair of briefs to climb in with me. We always had plenty of room on the mattress, but we never slept more than an inch or two apart. He snuggled so easily into my warm embrace, leaning back against my chest as I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him softly on the cheek. His stomach was so soft. Feeling the gentle rise and fall of his steady breathing was such a soothing moment for me.

Taryn yawned as the daylight crept over the horizon, and he softly mumbled, "I think Dylan did the right thing. I don't think he wanted us to see him suffer." I didn't say anything. I just gave him another kiss on the top of his head. I didn't want to think about it. I'm not as good with Dion's extra as he is. I can't just make it all go away like he can. But it was times like this that I wish I could. "He had a lot of courage." Taryn said. "If something were to ever happen to me...I hope that I'll be able to have that kind of courage...."

The words left his lips, and I felt a horror sweep over me without mercy. It literally took my breath away. Taryn began to lose consciousness as my first few tears fell. What if he gets hurt? What if I lose my Taryn the way Dion lost Dylan? I constricted my arms around Taryn's body and began to rock back and forth, now sobbing uncontrollably. What if I can't stop it? Oh God...what if the prophecy is stronger than I am?

I felt Taryn's body go cold in my arms. Frigid and stiff. I was holding a corpse. I rocked back and forth even harder, crying out loud and cradling him with all the love and emotion that I could muster. "I'm not going to lose you, Taryn...." I wailed. "Do you hear me? I'm never going to let you go. Never."

Darkness.

Sometimes the relentless glory of daylight can take a vampire so quickly that they have no chance to resist it.

Pushed into my inner thoughts as I slept, I found myself sitting in a dark room. Surrounded by mirrors that reflected no light...but I knew they were there. I also knew...

...That I wasn't alone.

"Do you really feel that there is safety in your blindness?" He said. My other half. My other side. His presence was stronger now. I could tell. I felt it in my blood.

The two of us were sitting in the center of the darkness, back to back. There was no reason to look back at one another.

"I did everything that I could to save him."

"Won't bring Dylan back, now, will it?" It said. "Won't bring Taryn back either...once he's gone."

"Taryn's not going anywhere."

"Right. You keep believing that. But your denial won't save him anymore than the pointless tears shed over his sleeping body." I remained silent for the next minute or two. I didn't want to be talked into listening to this. I just didn't have the heart to deal with it.

I wanted to just wait the dream out. Hopefully waking up and escaping this evil place without any further insult. But the entity wouldn't let it go. "Come on, Justin....let me out. I want to play. I want to protect Taryn and the rest of your friends just as badly as you do. You'd be surprised what kind of weapons we've got lurking around in here."

"Taryn will be just fine. And 'weapons' didn't do me any good when I was trying to save Dylan, so I have no use for them."

"No use for them? Justin, if you had allowed me to bring you to your full potential when it counted, Dylan wouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place." It said. "You're WASTING all of this magnificent power. And on what? ONE boy?"

"He's worth more to me than you are..." I said calmly, attempting to balance my emotions. Just trying to focus on not letting it get to me. "You are not me. You're not even a part of me. I don't have to listen to you anymore."

"On the contrary, Justin...I knew you before you even knew yourself. I've always been here. I always will be here. And the more you avoid me, the stronger I'm going to get. I'm giving you the option to be a willing participant in our evolution into something greater. A powerful blood god unlike anything the world has never seen. We'll be feared both in daylight and in darkness. We'll be unstoppable." I closed my eyes, unmoving, doing my best to tune him out. "I'm right here in the very heart of you, Justin. And while you may think that you have me under control...it's only a matter of time before someone puts that dark pressure on you again. And when they push that button, when they force you to fight for what you care about...when you've been backed into a corner and have nowhere else to turn...I'll be right here at the gates, ready to take my rightful place. You'll need me eventually. Soon...you'll be begging me for my help." We both raised our heads at the same time, leaning back to let them collide with a gentle bump. We both exhaled simultaneously. And I heard it say, "We are all fallen angels, Justin. Wicked. Insane and condemned. Darkness exists in us all. It's light that is the illusion. The only difference between an angel and a demon...is that one has been truly tested and the other has not. You'll see in time. You'll need me...in the end..."

My eyes opened with a flutter. A calm awakening. I still had Taryn in my arms, and had to wait a moment or two for my limbs to loosen up from their daily hibernation before I could give his body a proper hug. I reached up to pet his reddish brown locks, feeling the silky texture as I lifted it with my fingers, and allowed it to cascade back down to his lovely cheeks. I cherished these moments, watching him sleep. Although, had he been awake, I'm sure he would have allowed me this same comfort without any resistance. It felt safe here. No weapons needed. No threats to protect him from. But there was no 'test' in watching my favorite boy sleeping in my arms, was there? No test in remaining still.

The test comes the second he wakes up...and we have to open that trailer door. From now until time's eternal clock stops for the both of us.

We had gotten dressed without saying much. We traded a few kisses and all, but the air between us remained tainted by the night ahead of us. I didn't hear any of the usual sounds coming from outside. Not like I was used to. I don't think that anybody really wanted to start their new lives in the lot without Dylan. None of us wanting to go on. None of us wanting to pretend that his absence was something that we could easily deal with. But I suppose we were going to have to at least try....eventually.

Taryn and I got some extra clothes and a few towels, figuring that we would head out to the old church for a shower and some peace of mind. I was surprised to see Gyro moping about, eventually sitting in the dirt next to some old wreckage and giving Napolean a rub behind his ears. I don't even think Napolean was ready for Dion's instant melt down, and went looking for affection elsewhere. For once, Gyro wasn't in the partying mood, not even for escapism's sake. I saw Jun walk past us, and Taryn mumbled a sheepish hello under his breath, but Jun barely nodded in response.

He said, "I'm going to head out to Grant Park and...practice. So...." He trailed off, and then shrugged his shoulders as he avoided any further eye contact.

I noticed Trevor and Michael sitting together on the hood of an old Volvo, and was surprised to see Trevor actually holding Michael close by keeping his arm over his shoulder. They didn't really look sad so much, as they just seemed to be sharing a tender moment with one another. It was something I hadn't really seen from them before. Lust and great deal of passion, sure. Maybe a shared love for causing mayhem and emotional torture. But nothing so intimate as this quiet display. Trevor isn't the type of guy to allow his vulnerabilities to show unless he felt he could use it to his benefit. Who knows? Even the devil has to rest some time.

Bryson put on his game face that night, trying to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. He didn't have Doc's help this time, however, as he seemed to be intensely focused on his laptop that evening. Looking at his handwritten schedule, Bryson called out to the others. "Ok, first order of business, ladies and gentlemen...this place is getting junky around here." Then he looked at all of the rusted metal and smashed up cars piled on top of one another, and added, "Well, junkier than usual. Max, I need you on clean up detail. And if you get a chance, can you go around and check on the sunproofing on some of these cars? It's almost time that we replenished the window protection again. Better safe than sorry. When Jun gets back from the lake, I'll have him help you out with that." He was being very 'professional' about it all, even though he could tell that none of us were in the mood. "Rain?" She was already in a miserable mood, but it had been drastically intensified this evening by the pain in her heart. "Rain, you've got laundry duty tonight. Doc's a little short on quarters, so just try to do as much as you can..."

Frowning up with an insulted grimace, Rain said, "Are you fucking kidding me right now? Seriously, Bryson..."

"Excuse me?"

"Dylan's GONE, Bryon. He's gone for good. And you're thinking about LAUNDRY duty, right now? Do you think we could maybe grieve for a day or two before you go back to being such a tight ass about this meaningless bullshit?"

"We ALL lost someone today, Rain. Not just you." Bryson reminded her. "But this place isn't going to fall apart because of it. I won't let it. Now, if you take the cart and collect clothes from everybody, you can hit the laundromat and get it over with. Then you can pout and throw tantrums all you like for the rest of the night...."

"You know what, Bryson? FUCK you!" She said.

There was a moment when I thought they might get into it again, but I don't think either one of them had the energy. Or perhaps they both realized that their fight had nothing to do with the laundry.

As tears began to roll down Rain's cheeks, dragging traces of freshly applied, black, mascara...she turned her back to Bryson and did all she could to keep from breaking down in front of the rest of us. All that hostility, and yet she was so very tender on the inside. I don't think I've ever seen that displayed more clearly than I did at that moment.

Bryson may have his frustrated 'daddy' moments, but he was no bully. I could tell that he was instantly weakened by Rain's tears. He slowly walked up behind her, and he put a hand on her shoulder. She appeared to be ashamed of her outburst, but she didn't pull away. "Rain?" He said.

"I'm fine. Just forget it, ok? Give me the quarters. I'll do it...." She sniffled.

"Rain...look at me, ok?"

"Don't do this, Bryson. Not now..."

"Rain?" He rubbed her shoulder slightly, and with a much softer voice, he said, "Rebecca?" It must have touched a very deep part of her past humanity, because it immediately got her attention. She turned around to face him, her make up running like mad. Bryson told her, "I know it hurts. I know. But we're going to be alright. All of us. Ok?" There was a moment of hesitation, but Rain eventually moved forward, and the two of them embraced one another with as much raw emotion as they could hold.

Taryn and I felt bad for spying on their moment, so we turned and walked away, leaving them to share whatever they could as they leaned on one another for strength in a time when we all desperately needed it.

The church showers felt soooo good that night. My muscles relaxed as the hot water washed over my shoulders, the soap suds and shampoo cleansing me of more than just physical filth, but a few emotional burdens as well. Having Taryn's naked body there for me to stare at was an added bonus. It's hard to take your eyes off of such beauty. As he washed the suds off of him, I admired their slippery journey down to the small of his back, then caressing the gentle rise of those soft round globes...sliding down between them, and tasting every delicious inch of that delicate curve before running down his legs and disappearing into the shower drain. I controlled my attractions as best as I could, but it wasn't easy. It was much too early in the evening to think that I could get away with anything 'sexy' at that moment without getting caught. But I did pour some shampoo in my hand, stand closely behind him, and slowly rub it in to the soaking wet locks of his longish hair.

Taryn closed his eyes and let out a sexy little moan as I sensually massaged the thick, slippery, liquid into his scalp. He pushed his hips back a little, and his round cheeks made contact. I got rock hard instantly, but continued to keep my cool. We were in a position to do so many things at that point. The risk of being seen was almost becoming more of an arousal than a deterrent.

Sensing how bad he wanted it and how badly I wanted to give it to him, a quiet giggle escaped my lips. One that he echoed immediately after.

"You're a bad boy...." Taryn grinned.

"And you're my boyfriend. So what's that say about you? Hehehe..."

Taryn turned to give me a lingering kiss on the lips, and we agreed that maybe I should let him wash his own hair before we got into something 'naughty'. Faith or no faith...sex in a church just seems like a bit of a 'no no' in my book.

It wasn't long before Taryn and I were both squeaky clean and back at the lot to join the others. Doc seemed to suddenly want my attention, eagerly calling me over to where he was parked so he could talk to me. But before I started in his direction, Gyro came over and asked us, "What are you guys doing here? I thought you were going to Jeremy's place."

What the heck would I be doing over there? I told him, "No. I never said anything about going to Jeremy's. What would make you think that?"

"Trevor." Gyro said. "That's where he was headed. He said he was going to keep a close eye on your friend, Richie, and that you'd probably meet him up there later."

Where the hell would Trevor get a crazy idea like that from? I could feel Taryn's grip on my hand constricting around my fingers, and we both knew that Trevor must be up to something. Trevor's always up to something. But why such a sudden interest in my best friend, Richie? He's been awfully interested in his crossover ever since we retrieved him from the hospital. Maybe I need to talk to Jeremy and see what those two are cooking up in their devious minds. Richie is still weeks from waking up and, if my own crossover is any indication of what he's about to go through, it'll be days after that until he's really able to function again. I just don't want Trevor to be the first person he wakes up to.

There's no telling what that boy will do to screw things up.

Doc seemed to get more feverish in trying to summon me to come over. His laptop was nearly sliding off of his lap from his frantic motions alone. Taryn and I approached, hand in hand, and I noticed that Bryson made his way over to join us as well.

Doc was typing enthusiastically at his keyboard, and then he fixed his glasses and gave me a partial grin. "I know this is...a weird time for everybody..." He said. "But I've got some good news."

"I could certainly use some." I said.

Bryson asked, "You've heard more from this 'Jeweler' person?"

Doc said, "Well...yes and no. I mean, he's still being extremely secretive about his methods and his intentions. What's worse is, he's getting really impatient now. He's pushing to get Justin under his supervision as soon as possible. 'Before it's too late', he says. He can be a cryptic guy when he wants to be. But I've been doing all I can to buy us some time. And it finally paid off." I started to move closer to Doc to see what was on his laptop screen, but he quickly thrust his hand up to stop me. "NO!!! Um...you stay over there. If one of your random extras wrecks my laptop, I'm gonna get out of this wheelchair and beat the shit out of you myself!" Needless to say, I kept my distance.

"What is this about?" Taryn asked.

"I've gotten word from Erick, and he says that he's cracked the codes that we were trying to decipher. This Jeweler guy has been involved in some MAJOR activity since our first contact, and Erick thinks he has an idea of what's going on. But he doesn't want to talk about it online. Leaving digital footprints concerning this kind of thing can be a virtual death wish if the Elders catch wind of it." Doc said, and he looked up at Bryson. "He says he wants to meet you guys in person. Like...tonight."

I said, "I thought he was in California?"

"He gets around more often than you would think. There's a warehouse just West of the lot. He's got a whole set up there." Doc said. "He's already here in town. And he says that it's urgent. I don't know what to think. But he made a special trip just to see you."

We all looked at one another. There was a part of me that wanted to head out to Jeremy's blood shack to find out what was going on with Richie and Trevor, but from the look on Doc's face, this seemed to be a serious priority.

Bryson asked Doc, "This 'Erick' person....do you trust him?"

"He's never given me a reason not to. I mean, even if he's only got a few theories and ideas as to what's really going on...it's more than what we've got now. And this Jeweler guy is getting more restless by the hour. I think it's worth a shot. At least we won't be running into anything blind."

Bryson looked over at me, and he said, "It's all on you, kid. Is this something you think you want to check out?"

I was already on the verge of losing control. Of my extras and my sanity. I had been for some time now. So I slowly nodded, and said, "I'm with Doc. I wanna know what this guy is talking to other vampires about before I show up at his front door."

So Bryson agreed to let me go. He said, "Listen, maybe you should wait a bit and take Dion and Jun with you. Just in case. You might need the added protection."

I could vaguely see Dion sitting on top of his truck...some soft music playing on his CD player as he tried to recover some sense of human emotion again. But at one point, the CD began to skip, and he angrily banged on his old CD player, trying to get it to work right again. But to no avail. He angrily snatched the CD out of the player, broke it in half, and threw the pieces across the yard. His eyes began to tear up, but he shut his emotions down again before they could fall. His face became void of all feeling, and he smothered himself in apathy to keep the pain from devouring him whole. Clearly, he wasn't going to go anywhere for the next few weeks. I was sure of it.

I told Bryson, "No.....that's ok. They've been through enough. If Doc trusts this Erick guy...then I guess I can trust him too. I'm sure Doc's memory would alert us to anything fishy. Besides, we're just going to talk. What danger could there be in that?"

But Bryson's concern for us never took a holiday. "Are you sure, Justin. We've all had enough surprises to know that things aren't always as safe as they seem."

"I know. But we've got to trust somebody, some time. Right?" I said. He still looked a bit suspicious, and I said, "We'll be fine. I'm the last person to worry about needing a bodyguard. Right?"

Bryson just looked me in the eye and said, "I have faith in you, Justin. But don't ever get it in your head that you're invincible. None of us are invincible. You take care of yourself, ok?"

"Don't worry. I've got Taryn. He's a badass." I said, and Taryn elbowed me in the side for the tease.

Bryson raised an eyebrow. I took that as permission to go forward with this little field trip. But when I went to give him a hug and reassure him that I'd be alright, he turned and walked away from us. Going back to his part of the lot to sit all alone. Remembering what it was like...to lose someone so close to him. I think he felt like he failed us by not being able to protect Dylan like he needed to. Don't worry, Bryson...I know the feeling.

Taryn and I geared up for the long walk West. Doc gave us exact directions, but didn't want to come with us. He said that he would only slow us down tonight, and that this meeting was important. More important that some friendly conversation and an extra companion to carry along the way. So we headed out across the city and towards our dark destination. An old burnt out warehouse that had an underground level still in tact. A level that I guess this Erick character and his partner, 'Fallen', had been using as a temporary base of operations whenever they were in town.

The whole city block was quite dark. Even the city streetlights seemed to flicker with a weak connection. The streets were covered with litter. Paper and old leaves sliding across the pavement with every random gust of evening wind. When we came upon the building itself, we entered it with a certain apprehension. It hardly looked like the kind of place that a couple of techo-wizards like Erick and Fallen would be holed up in. It wasn't much more of a sight than the rickety old building and rooftop not far from the lot. Was this where I was supposed to find my answers?

Taryn and I were all alone in the dark, looking for some kind of...sign....or some directions. An elevator or a set of steps. A light switch, maybe? Something to let us know that we were in the right place and hadn't wasted our time.

"You Doc's friend?" Came a voice from an iron scaffolding above us. Looking up, we saw a teenage boy, about our age...with his eyes glowing a bright gold as he looked down upon us.

"We were supposed to see Erick...." Taryn called out.

The boy waited for a second, speaking into the headset he was wearing on his head. Then he said, "Alright. Let's move. There's no telling how long we'll be able to stay at this location."

He vanished from the railing of the scaffolding, and even though he made no attempt to tell us whether or not we should follow him...Taryn and I hurried up the stairs and followed anyway.

He didn't wait around for us to catch up. He just kept walking into rooms that seemed to get darker and darker by degree. And soon, he led us into one of the warehouse's wide open spaces. There wasn't a single light turned on in the whole building, but this particular area was brightly lit by a cluster of computer screens, each one sitting on top of the other.

The room was illuminated with a flickering, bright blue, elegance, every screen moving rapidly as this dark figure in front of it seemed to be chatting and interacting with twenty to thirty people all at once. As he sat in his swivel chair, I noticed that he had five keyboards surrounding him in a semi-circle. And a second shelf right above them that contained seven or eight more keyboards. Each one hooked up to a different computer and monitor. Each monitor with two or three windows open. And he was in constant communication with each and every last one of them.

Fallen stopped moving forward, and Taryn and I watched the silhouette in the darkness from a safe distance behind him.

He looked young, but appeared to be much older and wiser than his features would suggest. He moved from one screen to another. I don't know how he was able to focus at all. All of his keyboards were on self made slide out trays, that he used to pull out and push back in, almost as if working a giant puzzle. His eyes moved back and forth rapidly, following every conversation, watching every forum and website update. Some of them in a multitude of other languages from around the world. And as I watched his hands swiftly move from one keyboard to the next, I could hear him faintly mumbling to himself, "First! Annnnnd, FIRST! Wait....wait.....ok! FIRST!" He would hit the 'Enter' button at just the right second, and his name would appear on a different screen. Was it a game? I wasn't sure. But he seemed to be so preoccupied with it at the time that he didn't even realize that Fallen had brought us into the room.

"Erick? They're here." Fallen said. But Erick didn't turn around right away.

"Is Doc with them?" He asked. "FIRST! Primero! Premier! First, first, FIRST!" He was slamming his finger down on those buttons, going from screen to screen. How was he doing that?

"They came alone." Fallen replied.

"They?" Erick watched the screen for a few more seconds, then he spun around in his chair to smile and give us his undivided attention. "Gentlemen. You may want to have a seat. We've got some major issues to discuss."