Fortune and Fortitude Pt. 05

Chapter 5

I will begin working on the next chapter once I have 20 comments on THIS chapter! Thanks for being patient, people.

Jared did manage to get to sleep, but it was a fitful rest. Gunshots filled his dreams, and blood. Distantly, he could hear Quinn saying something, then Father Martin, warning him of something. His mother was there, her face mangled and broken. Lastly, there was his father, grinning widely.

"Jared. Jared!"

Jared shot up in bed, his hands moving to cover his face instinctively. He lowered them after a moment, peering into the dark. "Quinn?"

"Not exactly." The lamp at his bedside clicked on.

"Kiara?" Jared blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not here just to chat." Her hair was tied back into a lone braid running down her back. She was dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, along with her familiar cowboy boots. "I need your help."

Jared raised an eyebrow as he sat up. "Need my help? With what?" He was wide awake now.

She hesitated before sitting down on the edge of his bed. "You know how there are certain demons that eat different things?" When Jared nodded, she continued. "Well, I happened to learn of a heist happening later today. A harvest, really." She folded her hands in her lap. "They're planning to massacre a school bus of kids."

Jared's hair on his arms and neck stood up. "When?"

She shrugged. "At some point today. I intend to put a stop to it." She looked down. "It should be relatively safe, but it might be a bit more... difficult for me if it happens during the day."

"Wait, why?"

Kiara sighed. "Most of my gifts, especially the combative ones, rely on a dark environment. In broad daylight, all I can really manage is some party tricks."

Jared folded his arms. "So you want me to come be your meat shield?"

"Their meat shield," she corrected. "With the two of us, lowlifes like the encubix wouldn't dare to attack - daylight or not. Or even if they did, we could probably fight them off."

"Encubix?"

She snorted. "Soul tappers. They're pretty subtle, so I doubt any humans wrote myths about them." She smiled. "Basically, they are able to harvest death, and they have the ability to read minds. Mostly," she remarked drily, "just human minds. It takes much more out of them to try to read a demon. They'll probably just organize some sort of accident. Maybe a shooter or something, if they get really bold."

"So..." Jared said slowly, "You want me to help you rescue some kids? It doesn't sound too risky..." He reached for his phone. "Can I call Quinn about it?"

Kiara shrugged. "I guess. Just make sure Senguine doesn't hear about it."

Jared paused. "Er, why not?"

Kiara sighed. "She's against taking action, and I bet she'd ESPECIALLY hate to have her new pet project out in the real world." She waved her hand. "Even she admits that she's paranoid."

Jared nodded. "Alright, hold on." He hit the speed dial.

The phone rang once. Twice. On the fifth ring, he got the answering machine, a rare event with Quinn. Jared frowned. "She didn't pick up."

"She's probably still sleeping." Kiara glanced over to the clock on his dresser. "It's only 6:30. Are you coming or not?"

Jared hesitated. If Senguine was against this, maybe he shouldn't go. And something about Quinn not answering her phone had him feeling antsy. On the other hand, wasn't he supposed to help people, Kiara included?

He let out a deep breath. "All right. Let's do it."

**************

"Wait, Amber High school?"

"Yeah. They have a field trip planned for today. Why?"

Jared had an odd sense of déjà vu as he pulled into his high school's parking lot. It had been so long since he had been here... A week? Two? It felt like a lifetime.

Kiara had already arranged forged permission slips for them, and honestly, Jared felt like they could pass as high school students. Heck, he was still supposed to be one, and she was probably around that age as well.

He pulled to a stop, put it in park, and turned off the car. "Any idea what we're trying to prevent?"

Kiara shrugged. "It probably won't be anything too extreme - they'll have to be pretty close to attempt a harvest. They're pretty perceptive, so I wouldn't even be surprised if they sense our presence and don't even try to make the harvest."

That eased his nerves a bit. After more than one life-threatening experience recently, he was feeling a bit wary. But hopefully having a calm experience would make things a bit less scary.

As they got out and started walking, a thought came to him. He frowned. "Kiara, how do you know about the heist?"

She glanced at him. "I haven't spent my life just in hiding. I have contacts, spies. People who work for me. None of them are very powerful, but it makes them that more effective."

She quieted as they neared the school bus. It was a small high school, and it was only juniors and seniors who had been offered the chance. Jared distantly remembered hearing about it sometime back in January, but he hadn't thought much of it. Something about a National Park?

The bus driver didn't even blink as they boarded, handing their permission slips to him.

He surveyed the bus. A few kids seemed to recognize him, and they whispered amongst themselves quietly, but mostly he was ignored. There were few empty spots left.

He nodded to Kiara before leading the way to near the back of the bus, where the last empty two seater was.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed his arm. "Jared!"

He flinched, but quickly recovered. "Oh, hi Nasha."

She scowled, her red hair flaming in the morning light. "Don't 'Hi Nasha' me!" she hissed, tugging him down into the seat next to her. "Where is Quinn?"

Jared had rarely seen Nasha's temper, but Quinn had told him about it. She was built tall and lean, her freckles hardly affecting her intimidating nature.

Her eyes narrowed. "And who's this? I don't think I've seen her around before..."

Kiara stared down at them warily. "I'm Kiara, a friend of Jared's," she said cautiously.

Nasha flicked her gaze back to Jared. "Does Quinn know her?"

"Um... yes?" He didn't know what to do.

"Really? She never mentioned it. In fact," she snarled, "I thought Quinn was your only friend. That's what she told me."

Jared held back a wince. "Yeah, uh, we're new friends."

"Hey you in the back! Find a seat, lady!" the bus driver hollered.

Kiara looked around, wide-eyed. They had only made it halfway down the bus before Nasha had grabbed Jared, and there were no nearby empty seats.

"Up here, by me!" Zoe perked up cheerfully. "I've got a seat open!"

Kiara glanced back to Jared, who nodded. They had attracted enough attention.

Kiara had barely made her seat when the bus rumbled forward.

Nasha wasted no time. "You haven't answered me. Where. Is. Quinn?" Her nails dug into his arm.

He winced. "Look, what's the big deal? What makes you think I know?"

She stared at him flatly. "Her parents said the two of you eloped. Then you suddenly show up ON A FIELD TRIP with ANOTHER GIRL." Nasha's jaw clenched. "Oh, and to top it off, she suddenly stop answering my phone calls, doesn't show up to school, and..."

Her eyes lit up. "Give me your phone."

"What?" Jared shook his head. "Listen, I'm not about to-"

She gripped his arm again. "I can and will call the cops. Her parents have already put in a search warrant for her, with you as the perpetrator." Her gaze softened. "I just want to know that my friend's okay."

Jared sighed. "Fine. Here." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "But she didn't answer me this morning..."

A quick glance at the time on the phone said that it was nearly eight. She should be up by now.

Nasha snatched it from his hands and quickly started dialing Quinn's number from memory. She held it up to her ear as they waited.

It rang once. Twice. Then Nasha's face lit up. "Quinn?"

Jared could only hear a faint trace of Quinn's voice, not the words.

"Yes, it's Nasha. Where have you been?" she accused. "And why have you been avoiding my calls?"

The phone was silent for a long moment. "Quinn, don't you dare hang up on me!"

A response came, and Nasha sighed. "Fine. But promise me you'll tell me after." After confirming, she handed the phone back to Jared.

Jared squeezed the phone tightly. "Quinn?"

"Jared!" He let out a sigh of relief at the sound of her voice. She was okay, probably just slept in. "We were expecting you at 7:30, or maybe a little later. Where are you right now?"

Jared hesitated, glancing over at Nasha, who was glaring at him suspiciously. "Um, I decided to go on that field trip. With Kiara," he added. "Just... don't tell your mom, okay?"

Quinn fell silent for a moment. "Ah, okay. Pick me up some lemon drops while you're there, okay?"

Jared gave a small smile. So she had nearby company as well. "Yeah, will do."

"I trust you. Bring them home safe, okay?"

Jared closed his eyes and bent over slightly. "I'll try. It shouldn't be a problem, okay?"

"Good. I'll see you soon, okay? You'll come by today?"

"Yeah, for sure."

"I love you."

Jared shivered, goosebumps running up his arms. "Love you too, Quinn."

Nasha snatched the phone back. "You didn't hang up, right?"

"No, of course-"

She held up a hand to shush him as Quinn answered on the other end of the line. He sighed. Hopefully Quinn would know how to handle her friend. Any explanation he gave would've been... unsatisfactory, he was sure.

He slumped back as Nasha kept interviewing Quinn. It was going to be a looooong ride.

***************

(In ze Meantime....)

"Up here, by me!" Kiara stared as a girl with long blonde hair beckoned her. Her plan had collapsed already when a strange girl grabbed Jared and pulled him away. She had thought the movies had given her a decent education in high school culture, but she had been wrong.

She glanced to Jared. When he nodded, she hesitantly went up to sit beside the other girl. A human girl. Of course, it was like a movie theater, she told herself. Humans everywhere. They shouldn't scare her, she knew, but it was strange, being judged by a being with a soul. It just mattered that much more.

She glanced over to find the blonde girl staring at her. Had she done something wrong? She peeked down at herself to make sure she was still visible.

"So what's your name?" the girl asked bubbily.

"Kiara," she answered slowly. "Yours?"

"I'm Zoe." She popped a bubble on her chewing gum, making Kiara flinch. "I haven't really seen you around."

"I'm homeschooled." The lie came easily, having been her prepped cover story for years. "Mom doesn't like me socializing."

"You're HOMESCHOOLED?" The girl lit up. "That's SO cool! Do you have any friends?"

Kiara glanced back at Jared. "Just the one, really. Two, perhaps."

Zoe tilted her head. "Who's the other one?"

"Quinn, Jared's..." Kiara hesitated. "You know."

Zoe's cheerful face turned into a scowl. "You're friends with her?" she asked in disgust. "Why?"

Kiara suddenly felt the need to defend herself. "More in the fact that we share a mutual friend in Jared. We personally haven't talked much."

Zoe's demeanor flipped again. "Oh, okay."

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "But from what I've seen, she's not very detestable. Why the animosity?"

Zoe shifted to look at her. She was short - very short - sitting up only to Kiara's shoulder. The end of her blonde hair was dyed pink. Her physique was slim, enough so that Kiara expected she could wrap both hands around the girl's thigh.

She popped another bubble as she frowned. "She... She doesn't even try."

Kiara blinked. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Can you keep a secret?"

Kiara looked around. The bus was crowded - fortunately, no one seemed to be paying attention, though there were a few stray glances from a few of the boys. "Aren't secrets normally reserved for close friends?"

Zoe shrugged. "You actually sat by me. That's the closest friend I've got."

Kiara cocked her head. "Really? You don't seem..."

"Detestable?" Zoe popped another bubble. "I mean, I've been called 'annoying' a few times, but nah, it's not that." She spat her gum into the wrapper and pocketed it. "Most people just aren't that interesting. I like interesting people."

Kiara raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You refuse friendship?"

Zoe nodded. "People are stupid. Most people, that is."

Kiara raised her chin. "I happen to like people, actually."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Of course you would. You were homeschooled. You probably think the world is pretty good, huh?" Zoe shook her head. "Most people suck." She jutted her thumb in the direction of a group of senior boys. "You see those guys?"

Kiara looked over to them. One rather attractive one raised his eyebrows suggestively. "What about them?"

"Two of them do drugs, and one of them sells it to em." Zoe kicked her feet onto the seat in front of her. "And I don't mean weed, I mean full on narcotics."

Kiara frowned and looked at them more closely. "Really? They seem fine to me."

"Trust me. I once saw them mug a guy for money."

"Really."

"Yep." Zoe reached into her pocket for more gum.

"And how would you know this?"

Zoe popped it into her mouth. "I'm observant. I told you, I'm looking for interesting people."

Kiara stared at her. Over the course of the few minutes they had been talking, she'd gone from a peppy idiot to a forty-something year old tobacco addict with a cynical attitude. "So why are you so cheerful?"

Zoe brightened back up. "The world's an interesting place." She winked. "And it just got more interesting."

Kiara smiled. "I suppose that's a compliment."

"Now you're getting it, sister." Zoe bumped her arm. "Want some gum?"

"Ah... sure." She had never had gum before. But it looked simple enough.

Kiara placed it carefully on her tongue and started chewing. Her eyes widened. "This is... flavorful."

"Only the best. I make it myself - grape soda pop supreme flavor."

Kiara stared at her skeptically. "You make gum?"

"I'm an interesting person like that."

They fell into a comfortable silence. "So..." Kiara asked slowly, "What's your secret?"

Zoe looked at her blankly. "My secret? Oh!" She sat up. "Uh... On second thought, let's hear something about YOU. What are your hobbies? Secrets? Relationship status?"

Kiara thought for a moment. "Um..." She doubted building a secret bunker to protect a portion of humanity from the upcoming apocalypse would qualify as a "hobby." Still, what else did she do with her time?

"Well, I like to watch movies. Horror movies, especially. I don't really have any secrets," she lied. "And my relationship status is..." She glanced back at Jared. "Complicated."

When she turned back, Zoe was suddenly right in her face. "Complicated? Care to explain?"

Kiara winced. "No, not if I can help it."

"Does it have to do with Jared?"

Kiara felt a light blush cross her cheeks. "No."

"Liar." Zoe grinned. "You like Jared?"

Kiara bit back a groan. It was... much too complicated. And her feelings were irrelevant, not to mention that they hardly had met a week ago. "Zoe, he's married."

Zoe's face fell. "Oh." She fell quiet, staring at her hands in her lap. "Quinn?"

"Yeah. A couple of days ago." Kiara raised her eyebrow. "Did you like Jared?"

Zoe's frown turned into a scowl. "Duh. Since, like, first grade." She stared off into the distance. "He saved me from a sixth grader. Put him in the hospital, actually."

Kiara's eyes widened. "And that's... attractive?"

Zoe nodded. "I've been crushing on him ever since. He didn't notice back then - always busy, always angry at something. So I kept it quiet, played along..." She grinned dreamily. "And then he grew up. Became a real knight in shining armor." The smile vanished. "Until she came along."

She pulled her knees against her chest. "She won him over in less than a year. I tried to make a move once or twice, but he didn't even look at me." She sighed. "I don't even know what he LIKES about her. She's plain, nerdy, and perpetually horny." She rolled her eyes. "Like, all the time. It was so stupid."

Zoe smiled wryly. "So, how did you meet him?"

Kiara sighed. "My... step-mother gave him an interview after an interesting rescue." She gave a small smile. "We talked a bit afterward, and later he... he saved my life."

Zoe's eyes widened. "Really? That's so cool!" Zoe sighed dramatically and flopped her head into Kiara's lap. "Alas, you're like me. You'll never sleep with Mr. Jared Bertreck."

Kiara bit back a laugh. Oh, the irony. She actually would.

Zoe glared at her suspiciously. "What was that?"

"What?"

Zoe sat up and stared at her. "That reaction. You laughed." She gasped. "Did you sleep with him?"

Kiara glanced around. "Shhh! Of course not. Not yet."

She winced as Zoe sat up straight as a rod. Oops. "What do you mean, not yet?" she hissed. Her eyes went wide with wonder. "You're going to try to seduce him?"

"No," Kiara protested, "nothing like that. It was a slip of the tongue."

Zoe looked at her skeptically. "A Freudian slip, more like. Your eyes give it all away. You're planning on sleeping with Jared Bertreck!" She bit her lip and squealed quietly.

Kiara eyed her warily. "You're awfully excited considering it's not you."

Zoe waved her hand dismissively. "It's MY friend, not Quinn." She grinned and put her chin on her knees. "So how are you going to do it?"

Kiara groaned. "I already told you, I have no plans to seduce him."

Zoe eyed her suspiciously. "Uh-huh. But you plan on sleeping with him."

Kiara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. This girl's intuition was off the hook. Would it really be so bad if she told her? Presumably, she wouldn't tell anyone, and even if she did, it's not likely that anyone would listen.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Zoe smiled and nodded. "I promise." She lifted her hand, and it took Kiara a second to recognize that she wanted a pinky promise. "What are best friends for?"

Kiara opened her mouth to protest, but closed it. To be fair, she had talked more with Zoe in this short time than any individual except maybe Senguine. Strange as it may seem, Zoe really was her best friend.

Still, she hesitated. There was good reason that demons were careful with their secrets. She'd have to see how much she could say without giving away anything supernatural.

She leaned down to whisper in Zoe's ear. "Quinn knows - in fact, it was her idea."

Zoe's eyes widened as she stared at Kiara in disbelief. "No way."

Kiara nodded as Zoe tried to process it. "I should've known that Quinn was a freak. Is she going to watch?"

Kiara shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Is she going to join in?"

Kiara froze. "Uh..."

Zoe grinned wickedly. "I don't believe it. Jared is in an open marriage!" She leaned forward. "Do you think maybe I could-" Zoe frowned. "What?"

Kiara had gone pale as a sheet. She stared out the window at the desert plains. "Oh no..."

*****************

"He's a what?!"

Jared furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at Nasha. Quinn was... telling her? They had been talking for hours, when suddenly the conversation had started to sound suspiciously demonic. Then again, maybe she was spinning some tale about drug dealers or something...

Nasha glared at him. "And you're sure of it?"

More chatter. Nasha banged her head on the seat in front of her. "I guess that explains how you know about this stuff."

Jared raised an eyebrow. What?