Chapter 21: Endings

It was a rainy morning, which was surprising to the tourists. This was the first time during their stay that they'd woken up to bad weather. For the group of friends, this was their second to last day at the resort. They would leave the next day.

Despite the weather, Deuce and Cleo met with Ramses at their cottage for coffee. Jared was not present, for his blindness and muteness had not been cured, and Ramses felt it would be best for him to stay behind. However, this proved to be a poor decision.

As Cleo was right in the middle of a story about a cashier at a department store, Ramses' phone began to buzz. He held up a finger to pause her story, murmuring an apology as he answered the call. As he listened to what the caller had to say, his face grew pale and anxious.

"Are you sure?" he asked nervously, his body quivering. He paused, and he stood up quickly. "Thank you for alerting me!" with this, he shoved his phone in his pocket and hastily bid his hosts good-bye, leaving the cottage.

Cleo snorted contemptuously as he disappeared out the door. "What was that about? Careless fool,"

It was around noon that Ramses called Cleo and revealed all the details. A maid in Ramses' mansion had made it her job to clean all the windows, and this included the windows in the room Ramses had previously shared with Maggie (now, Jared). The maid tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. She tried again, and it became apparent that something was blocking the door. She fetched the cook, a strong and burly man, who managed to break the door down and push past the chairs that were blocking the entrance, and both became victims to a horrible sight. Hanging from the ceiling fan, blue-faced and choking, was Jared. The cook managed to save him, and he called both 911 and Ramses. Jared, on the other hand, gasped and sobbed that he didn't want to be saved, and he begged the cook to kill him. What The Master said would happen came true: while masked in silence and darkness, Jared mentally mended his grievances and suddenly became filled with remorse. The guilt was so painful and extreme that he felt he could not even continue living, and he decided he was finished.

Things got worse when Jared was rushed to the emergency room. Surrounded by doctors, he broke down and tried to slit his throat with a scalpel he'd snatched from a nurse, but the doctors wrestled it away from him. After this, they sedated him and promptly placed him in a room where they strapped his arms and legs to the bed. When Ramses came to see him, all Jared could talk about was how much he hated himself and how much he wanted to die. Ramses was heartbroken at seeing his lover like this, and he could do nothing but weep over the ordeal.

"It ruined him!" Ramses lamented. "He's not the same man he was! Oh, gods—all he ever does now beg me to kill him! I hate that 'Master'! I hate him with everything I have!"

Though Ramses hated what was happening to Jared, those who had suffered at his hands were actually quite relieved to see that he finally felt remorse and was being treated for his issues. Surprisingly enough, Heath admitted to Deuce that he actually felt bad for Jared.

"I don't know why, but I do," Heath confessed. "He hurt my family so much when he took my sister from us, but I feel sorry for him! Why do I, though?"

Deuce thought about this as he and Heath sat out on the balcony of the beach restaurant, looking out at the ocean. "You know," Deuce spoke up finally. "Maybe you've forgiven him subconsciously. Like, maybe you don't realize that you have, but you did. Do you think you forgive him?"

Heath bit down on his lip in thought, turning away. After a moment, he concluded, "I think part of me forgives him, but the rest of me is still angry,"

Deuce smiled weakly at him. "Well, that's okay, too,"

It was about three o' clock in the afternoon when Frankie heard a loud knock on the cottage door. She went to answer it, and she was immediately greeted by a wide-eyed and enthusiastic John.

"Oh, it's wonderful!" John exclaimed, throwing his arms around Frankie. "Frankie, the most wonderful thing has happened!"

"What is it?" Frankie inquired, a little shocked at his zeal. "What happened?"

John released her from his grip, leaping up and down excitedly as Jackson entered the room to see what all the noise was about. "It's Tessa!" John clapped his hands together. "I think her condition's been cured!"

"You do?" Jackson asked in surprise. "How?"

After taking a deep breath, John finally calmed down enough to explain. "We found out that she's pregnant again, and when we took her to the doctor's this morning, the nurse said that her body fat increased by about 10 percent! Tessa gained weight! Oh, this is so exciting!"

Jackson reached in and shook his friend's hand. "Congratulations, man! I'm really happy for you,"

John's excitement was still unquenchable. "We should celebrate! Jackson—invite your friends to my place tonight. I'll cook dinner for all of you—we'll have a party! How does that sound?"

"Wonderful!" Frankie smiled. "That's sounds great. What time?"

"How does five thirty sound?"

Jackson nodded. "That sounds fine. I'll let the others know, okay?"

When Jackson alerted John a few minutes later that everybody in the group was coming, John panicked a bit. Apparently, he'd not counted on everybody showing up, and he did not have the resources or the time to cook meals for everyone. Due to this, John contacted a local restaurant and asked them to cater for the party. However, the food was wonderful, and the children were absolutely delighted to discover that the food had even come with a large package of Fourth of July sparklers.

The adults watched amusedly as the children ran around in the backyard, sparklers ablaze. Their shrieks of laughter and excitement almost made it seem like they'd totally forgotten about being trapped in Limbo and all the intense fear they'd experienced, and that now they were children once again.

"Look, Sirscha," Abbey said softly to her newborn, holding the baby up to show her Icer, who was trying to balance the sparkler on the tip of his nose. "Look at big brother, making fool of himself. It will fall, you see?"

Sure enough, the sparkler tumbled into the grass, setting it partially ablaze. Icer yelped in alarm, stomping on the fire in attempt to put it out, but he ended just spreading it and causing more of a problem than there had previously been. Just in time, Cricket rushed in with the garden hose and put the fire out, but he hosed down Icer for good measure.

When the other children laughed at the sight of poor Icer being soaked, Icer became extremely irritated with Cricket. "Tupaya bashka!" Icer shouted, running after Cricket. "Vot pochemu my ne mozhem imet' khoroshiye veshchi !"

"I'm sorry," Cricket replied, whipping around and spraying him with the hose once more. "I don't speak monkey!"

Icer flailed his arms and sputtered as the water pummeled him. "Stop spraying me, you dumb idiot!" Icer yelled finally, losing control and rushing towards Cricket when the water stopped.

Luckily for Cricket, Heath stepped in and scooped his soaking wet son up into his arms."All right, buddy, don't kill him!" Heath chuckled, watching his son struggle around and pout.

"Come on, dad! Dad—look! I'm all wet, now!"

At this moment, John rushed over and gently cuffed Cricket's ears. "What's your problem!? You big dummy! You don't spray other kids with the hose!" When Cricket looked up innocently and dropped the hose in the grass, John groaned. "Why you gotta be like that? Oh, well," He turned to Heath and handed him a small bathrobe. "Here—take one of Tessa's bathrobes. She never wears this one, and it should be about his size,"

Icer wrinkled his nose. "I'm not wearing a girl's bathrobe!"

"Well," Heath poked Icer's cheek. "Would you rather be wet and miserable?"

Icer considered his options, and he reluctantly took the bathrobe with a sigh.

"Good man," John nodded approvingly, and he turned to Cricket. "Now—say sorry to him!"

When Cricket rolled his eyes, John reached over and tugged on his ear. "Ow! Ugh—sorry for spraying you,"

Icer didn't reply, and he stalked off with the bathrobe with Heath following close behind. When they'd disappeared inside the house, Tessa approached her husband and son.

"Hey, babe," John greeted, giving his wife a kiss. "I just let that kid wear one of your bathrobes—I hope you don't mind. How are you feeling?"

Tessa looked as though she'd seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide and she was quivering slightly. "I'm f-fine,"

John quirked an eyebrow and drew her close. "You don't seem fine,"

"There's someone hear to see you!" Tessa blurted out suddenly, gesturing to the garden.

Confused, John turned away and went to investigate. As he stepped on the green grass lining the flowers, he looked up to see the last person he expected to see.

John's mouth fell open, and he took a step back. After some time, he stepped forward again and blinked a few times to make sure he was still awake. He was, and he could not find any words to express his shock. Finally, Damien broke the silence with a laugh.

"It's good to see you again, buddy!" He grinned, grabbing John's hand and giving it a squeeze. This was all the confirmation John needed, and he tackled Damien into the grass.

"You bastard!" John sobbed, hugging Damien so tightly he might as well have been strangling him. "You stupid bastard, you! Oh, God!" he didn't ask how this was possible, for he was just overjoyed to see his friend.

Moments later, they'd calmed down, and John took Damien and Jackson inside the house for some drinks.

"I just don't understand," John shook his head as he cracked open some vodka. "How are you here? How are you alive?"

Damien just shook his head. "I'm not alive. I'm still dead,"

"But how are you here?" Jackson asked, cocking his head to the side. "Did you get resurrected like Jared?"

"No," Damien took a swig of his vodka, and he sighed at the taste. "God, I've missed this stuff," He set the glass back down and explained. "Ms. Applegate, the crazy broad who's been running my afterlife these past nine years, no longer has control of the place because she abused her power. Now, another woman named Morgana is in charge, and she's given me and some others permission to spend two weeks here on Earth. In two weeks, I have to go back,"

John processed this, and he smiled. "That's going to be the best two weeks ever, then," He squeezed Damien's hand. "I'm so glad you're here, buddy,"

Damien chuckled and drank down the rest of his vodka. "I'm glad to be back,"

"So, wait," Jackson thought about everything he'd just heard. "There's others here?"

Damien nodded. "Yep. Remember Flanagan—the werewolf priest? He's getting on the ferry tomorrow to go be with his daughter. There's a woman here who's going to find her brother—she was with me, I don't know where she went though. I, on the other hand, don't have any family I can hang out with. I only have you," he smiled at John once again, and he poured himself another glass of vodka.

Outside, Icer now wore a bright yellow bathrobe while his clothes dried, but he tried not to feel upset as he watched his baby sister nap on a blanket in the grass with Hayden, Henry's son, beside her.

"Is that your boyfriend, Sirscha?" Icer teased quietly, scooting a bit closer and stroking the heads of both babies.

"For shame!" Abbey scolded playfully. "Just born, she is, and you are already teasing! Naughty boy,"

Henry, who was sitting in a reclining lawn chair, grinned as Hayden rolled over and squeaked. "Do you like her, Hayden?" he inquired softly, scooping the tiny, skinny baby into his arms and holding him close. "You're such a sweetheart," he murmured, kissing him. "I love you so much, Hayden,"

At this moment, Chanticleer approached with a bowl of cheese potatoes and knelt down beside Henry, giving him a kiss. "Hello, love," Chanticleer greeted, gathering an abundance of cheese potatoes on a fork and lifting it to Henry's mouth. "I just heated these up for you. They're quite delicious, I think you'll like them,"

Henry grimaced at the potatoes. "I've eaten a lot today already,"

"Nonsense!" Chanticleer pushed the fork closer. "I plan to stuff you like a goose if need be! Now, eat up,"

As Henry reluctantly began to eat the potatoes, Valentine watched from a distance, startling a bit when Deuce came up behind him and tapped him lightly.

"You scared me!" Valentine pushed the gorgon away impishly, laughing when Deuce stuck out his tongue. "Stop it, you!"

"Okay, I'll stop," Deuce shook his head, exchanging a smile with the vampire. After a pause, Deuce's tone changed to a more serious one. "So, did you hear about what happened with Jared?"

Valentine nodded. "I did, yes,"

"And how do you feel?"

"How should I feel?" Valentine sighed, looking away.

Deuce shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I mean—are you glad he's being treated?"

"Yes," Valentine answered, turning back to Deuce. "I want to see him get better so he'll never hurt anyone else. I also just hope that, after his treatment, we can all just finally move on,"

Deuce nodded, understanding this. When he bushed Valentine's arm softly, Valentine retracted a bit.

"Look—Deuce," Valentine swallowed hard. "I think—have you made any efforts to leave Cleo?"

"I'm gonna try, okay?" Deuce assured. "I'm gonna try my best,"

Valentine's pink eyes glowed up at Deuce. "Promise me. Please promise me you'll try,"

"I will," Deuce's voice softened. "You don't need to worry,"

He looked out into the streets on Grand Island as the sun was setting, and he saw Esmeralda a few miles off. She was doing her usual activity, which was eating branches, but she turned her head and just stared in Deuce's direction silently. Deuce stared right back, and a strange feeling came over him.

A vision flashed before his eyes of Cladwell, his father. Cladwell looked much younger, and he stared back at Deuce with sad eyes. Neither said anything, and after several moments, Drákon slowly faded away.

Had he become his father? No, Deuce decided. Cladwell was filled with hate, though the one he hated the most was himself. Though he had flaws, Deuce knew that he could never hate himself, as Cladwell had. Yet, one thought persisted: if he left Cleo, would he become his own father to his daughters? No, of course not- that was silly.

Another thought came creeping along: was it real? Was any of what he'd experienced real? To Deuce, being in Limbo almost felt like some kind of dream, like it didn't really happen. But really- is anything real?

Deuce soon realized that Valentine had left, but he made no move to look for him. Instead, he looked towards the sunset, and he whispered one thing:

"I am real,"

...

All right, so...that's it! Well, for this story, anyway. For the series? Nah! There's another story coming!

But, to the present: how was this story in general? Did you think the ending wrapped up the loose ties or made new ones? Is there anything you're still confused about? And, finally, what do you want to see in the next story? Let me know in your review!

Update on me: I'm much better than I was before, and I'm nearly done with school! I only have about twenty or so more days, and then I came write as much as I want! (after my Regents exams, of course...ach!)

Until the next story, fellow monsters!

Epilogue:

The radiator hummed quietly to itself in the neat and tidy office as Sonata shuffled through some papers. All was quiet, until the door opened.

Sonata looked up, and she puffed on her oak pipe. "Hello, Fritz. How was your prostitute?"

The tall, dark haired vampire groaned a bit and closed the door behind him. "She was mediocre. Anyway, I got the papers you wanted,"

He dropped a clutch of papers on her desk, and one of the papers included a photograph of two younger vampires: Gory and Bram.

"What did you want with those two, anyway?" Fritz inquired with a raised eyebrow. Sonata simply grinned, picking up the photograph as her yellow eyes gleamed.

"They have something I want. Now, get Jefferey," she blew a copious amount of smoke from her pipe through her sharp teeth. "And tell him to be extra careful!"

(COMING SOON: THREE BLACK ROSES)