Chapter 9 #2
Yeah, I’m sure the humans wouldn’t find that odd at all. Honestly, I was sort of wishing I hadn’t missed it. I rarely got to see nightmares truly fight, and while I didn’t support the reason why because it was petty as hell…it probably would have been cool.
After a few minutes of everyone getting settled, I put on some light music and got into the driver’s seat, knowing it would wake me up.
We were only about an hour away from our destination, so I didn’t hesitate to get right back on the road, feeling pretty well-rested and positive.
I didn’t travel a lot…or actually, at all…
so the fact that my first trip was going so well was a big deal to me.
So of course that had to change drastically the minute I turned off the main highway for a detour.
“This does not look like a fun town,” I murmured. Cy nodded from where he sat next to me, the others talking in the back, hopefully distracted from the shit around us.
Everywhere I looked, I could see anti-monster propaganda, and it felt like the drive towards the Illinois border was taking hours instead of a few nervous minutes.
My temper built under my skin as I saw more and more hateful things around me, causing me to tap my fingers against the steering wheel as I struggled to hold back the long series of things I had to say about a town like this.
Just a little bit more and I would be able to rant as much as I wanted.
Unfortunately, that was when the sirens went off. I felt my jaw tighten as blue and red lights flashed behind us, and the sirens, demanding I pull over, had me almost putting my foot down on the gas.
The issue? I had no idea if they were able to cross the border or not. I may have known how to drive, but I had zero idea how the human legal system worked.
I cursed under my breath and pulled over to the curb, eyeing the border up ahead as my hands started to shake. I needed to make them believe that I was just a traveler going through the area into Chicago. It was that simple.
“Guys, any idea what they are going to ask me for?” I remembered briefly thinking that there had been something, I just couldn’t remember what that was.
“A license.” Razar appeared behind me. “Arabella, go in the back—”
“No way, Razar. All of you look very not human. I’ve got this. I will figure it out, and worst case gas it towards the border and hope for the best,” I promised.
“We could just kill them,” Saint rationalized.
“Maybe,” I hedged and then shook my head. “No. No, we’ve got this. Guys, please stay in the back. I’ve got this.”
I totally did not have it.
When I saw the officer get out, I let out a concerned noise, because it was clear this town didn’t mess around. On his vest was an MAM patch, which was extremely telling. Did MAM have official police support? I turned to look at all the boys, who were glaring at him through the windows.
“Get in the back, guys,” I begged. “I promise I’ve got this.”
Cy grunted and handed me a piece of paper that I realized was insurance for this massive thing… Oh! That had been the other thing.
As I rolled down the window, I offered a bright smile to the man walking up to the door, his head craning up to look at me.
I was not nervous, I was super not nervous…
and my foot was not tapping anxiously. I was very much not used to feeling like this, but my boys were possibly in danger, and I didn’t like that concept at all.
I saw the officer’s eyes widen, and I am positive he was shocked to see a girl with bright pink hair driving such a massive vehicle.
“Morning, miss.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did you know that there is a weight restriction on these roads?”
“Is there?” I winced and kept my voice calm and easy. “I had no idea, this map is always sending me on routes that do not seem like the simplest option. It’s probably my fault for trying to drive this thing into the city.”
My rambling seemed to relax him as he nodded. “I understand, I understand. Where are you coming from?”
“Northern Michigan.” I smiled.
His eyes turned darker. “Lots of monsters up there.”
My eyes went wide as I leaned forward, my head and shoulders slightly out the window as I tried my best to offer him a serious look. “Why do you think I’m going to Chicago?”
He openly smiled at that. “A young lady like you shouldn’t be in those parts, so it’s a good choice. Although, you may want to consider a smaller vehicle.”
“Honestly, I just needed something to stay in instead of hotels,” I conversed easily. “I didn’t want to have to stay at any…”—I paused for dramatic effect—“questionable hotels on the way.”
Okay, I was totally better at this than I gave myself credit for.
“Smart young lady,” he grunted and then sighed. “Alright, well you get on your way, and if you don’t find a place in the big city, you are more than welcome back here.”
“That sounds wonderful,” I offered in thanks.
After a nod, he went back towards his car, and I rolled up the tinted windows, my hands shaking as I let out a slow breath. I put the RV into drive and silently pulled past the state border, driving for about two minutes before the adrenaline came to be too much and I had to pull over.
Almost instantly, Cy was there and pulling me into an embrace as Razar grabbed the wheel and picked up on driving. I didn’t say anything about the interaction, knowing that it would only further show how freaked out I was.
If there was anything in this world that could scare me, it was the idea of my nightmares being in danger.
I understood they could have easily slaughtered the police officer, but the vibe of the entire town made me feel uneasy.
I had a feeling that the place bred an entirely new type of animosity towards monsters.
One that was unpredictable and possibly lethal.
After another thirty or so minutes, I began to see Chicago rise up before us. I exhaled sharply, the sense of dread before making way for a far more exciting feeling.
I had always wondered what it would be like to live in a big city like this. I didn’t think it was particularly comfortable for nightmares to be around so many people and not be able to spread out, but it was possible I was being completely biased.
Because I preferred them with me back at the institute.
“Where exactly is this location?” I asked. “This seems like a big city.”
“It’s a club,” Blackwell grunted, “called Eros.”
“The Greek god of Love?” I mused. “A bit on the nose.”
“It was his favorite name.” Saint sounded annoyed. “So that is what he goes by. Shit. I do not want to see this guy.”
“You can stay in the—”
“Oh no I can’t,” Saint barked out in a dark chuckle. “If this club is anything like I imagine, then he will be surrounded by humans and terrors alike that are in love with him and fairly dangerous. There will probably also be orgies.”
“It’s nine in the morning!” I exclaimed.
“Orgies know no time,” Damian mused.
I arched a brow at his amusement, and his face went completely blank as he realized his mistake. “How do you know what orgies are like, Damian?”
“It was a joke!” He pleaded with his hands out, “You know I only have eyes for one woman, cherry blossom.”
I smiled, blushing, and looked back towards the road. We were weaving down a street named Lake Shore Drive towards Eros. I looked down at what I was wearing.
I for sure needed to change.
“You are dressed perfectly,” Razar rumbled, reading my mind.
“I need to brush my teeth.” I hopped up, a bit embarrassed that I hadn’t yet, and went towards the bathroom, closing the door and finding my cosmetic bag right on the counter.
Cy had totally put it there, and I couldn’t help but smile at how sweet that was.
I opened the bag and took my medicine, then brushed my teeth before running a brush through my hair and twisting it up into a bun, leaving a few pieces to hang around my face.
Despite Razar’s words, I knew that my current outfit was not appropriate for our day trip, so I went back into the bedroom and changed into a pair of dark jeans.
I added sneakers and an oversized sweater, perfectly happy with my outfit choice despite it not being my usual.
I was comfortable, and it made me feel far better walking into a situation where I had no idea what to expect.
Dropping down on the bed, I grabbed the satchel my father had left us and flipped it open. I had wondered why exactly he had decided to hand this off to me now, but looking at what folders were included in the bag, it was becoming clearer.
The first was the official class ranking of the nightmares, followed by a list of the different types of nightmares the institute classified as well as how common or prominent they were.
I frowned, coming across something I’d never seen before.
Obviously, I was aware of Class A-D terrors.
Those were standard across the board and ranked in terms of containment difficulty and risk designation.
Where Class A terrors were labeled as ‘very hard’ in containment and ‘severe’ in risk designation, Class D terrors were labeled as ‘easy’ in containment and ‘mild/neutralized’ in risk designation.
None of that surprised me, but what did surprise me was the extensive brief and description of Class 0 that was at the very bottom of the page.
Now, I knew almost everything about the institute, and while I would admit that these documents seemed older, my father had clearly given them to me for a reason, and I wasn’t going to overlook this very obvious gap in my knowledge.
It was odd enough that I hadn’t known about Class 0, but to continue to know nothing wasn’t acceptable.
Class 0
Nightmares pose a terminal threat to all existence.
Containment Difficulty: Impossible
Risk Designation: Critical