Averie
Theywereallsurprisingly nice. Honey was terrifying at first. His smiles never quite met his eyes, and his movements were halfway to robotic as if he had to subconsciously think about every movement. Once we started talking though, he mellowed out, and his smiles became genuine. I understood where he was coming from. I had to warm up to people, too. At this point, it was taking all of my effort to be social and not tell them I had to go so I could recuperate.
I refused to leave until I had as much info as they were willing to give me, even if it ended poorly for me and I had to stay in bed for a few extra hours to regenerate any amount of energy. I knew this book would be a winner if I could get the right information. I wanted to be known in the book world, and I believed this was how I would do it.
Honey introduced the other club members that wanted to help give me information. I wasn’t entirely sure why they were being so forthcoming. They were known to be secretive, but here they were, spilling everything as I wrote it all down in my notebook. I had pages upon pages of notes.
Some were general and about the club’s inner workings like the hierarchy and what it takes to join—which was much easier than I expected—but the common theme was being an outcast, as I had expected.
Other pages were filled with personal information for each man.
Kodiak was the VP and joined when he was eighteen, having known Grizzly, who I am told is the president, since he was a young boy. He didn’t see any other path to take than to be with the one person who accepted him. His long dark hair filtered through gray sat atop his head in a messy man-bun which only served to make his giant form much taller.
Ursus was the shortest. He didn’t have much to say other than that he followed his brother wherever he went. I couldn’t help comparing their features. Where Honey had blond hair and green eyes, Ursus had shaggy, brown hair and blue eyes. With a simple glance, you wouldn’t see the resemblance, but with all my staring, I realized they had the same eyes despite the color, and their lips were practically a copy and paste moment.
Sonny had been sweet and rather shy—I assumed his small, blond mohawk was intentionally placed to give him any semblance of an edge; too bad his soft brown eyes rebuked that image. His childhood was full of death, including his parents, which was how he ended up under Grizzly’s care. I longed to comfort him and keep talking about his past, however, Honey couldn’t help but butt in.
He clearly liked talking about himself, but I was distracted by his short golden hair and green eyes. I wrote down the snippets I could hear through the haze of adrenaline coursing through me. He claimed his story was far more interesting than the others. He had been kicked out of nearly all the MC’s in the area and the only one that would take him after the last debacle was the Grizzly Skulls. An eyebrow waggle accompanied his statement about how they accommodate his ‘very specific needs.’
I attempted to ask for clarity but Honey shot me down and said that was only for the most special of guests, and apparently, I hadn’t reached that rank yet.
One thing had been bugging me since this whole discussion started: their names.
I flipped through my notes to make sure I hadn’t simply forgotten the explanation in my information overload. Finding that there was nothing on the subject, I decided to ask. “One last question and I think I will have all I need from you. Your names, a few seem to fit, but there has to be something more to the decision, right?”
Smirks flew around me, even from the other members who weren’t in on the conversation.
“Easy,” Kodiak said as he moved back behind the bar and grabbed the taxidermied bear head from above it. Flipping it over, he showed me what looked like a zippered pocket where the brains should be. It was quickly opened, and inside were pieces of paper, only a handful though. “When Grizzly started the Grizzly Skulls, he custom ordered this and filled it with all sorts of bear related names. We each took turns, depending on when we joined, picking a name out of the ‘hat.’ Our names may seem like they fit us, but they were drawn at random. No redraws or takebacks.” Kodiak zipped the head pouch closed and placed it back where it belonged on the wall.
“Random draw? That’s… different.” My mind spun with thoughts as I copied down his words into the notebook. “And interesting, as they mostly seem to fit in some way or another. But what about Grizzly?”
“What about me?” sounded from the front of the saloon where the door had slammed opened just in time to hear me ask about the President of the Grizzly Skulls. I let out a gasp and jumped in my seat. This man exuded power even though he was only about six feet tall. He was short compared to Kodiak, but eye level or above the others that I had been talking to.
Just like the silence had taken over when I entered the saloon, so did it now. The difference was immense, however. The music stopped, everyone stared but refused to make eye contact, and the grins of the men surrounding me turned almost sinister.
“Uhh… I was wonder—” I began, but Honey cut me off.
“Our Little Bird here was asking us some questions. We were more than happy to oblige.” His voice was airy but held a level of darkness that said I made a mistake in trusting their motives. Not once did I ask what they wanted in return for the information. It never occurred to me that they would want anything besides maybe a few copies of the book and a hefty acknowledgement which I was more than willing to give.
Worry wiggled at the back of my mind, but I knew any price was worth the information they had given me. No one else had been brave enough to venture into their den and procure every last detail from the Grizzly Skulls, except for me.
“How much did you give?” Grizzly marched through the saloon, his booted feet pounding against the hardwood floors as he made his way to stand directly in front of me. I was not short, but his essence made me feel like the little bird Honey decided I was to be named.
“All of it, give or take a few details,” Kodiak responded.
“From all of us,” Honey added, his voice dropping ever lower into the dark. He was verging on salivating.
Grizzly looked at every man that surrounded me. Kodiak behind the bar, Honey on the stool in front of me, Sonny on the stool behind me, and Ursus leaning against the bartop behind Sonny. “All of you?” They all nodded in response. “Very well.” There was an edge of annoyance in his voice, but he leaned down to look me in the eyes. His were dark brown that had appeared to be black from afar.
Despite the situation I was in, I longed to run my fingers through his gray, well-trimmed beard into the perfectly styled hair on top of his head. What could I say? I had a type, and he fit it.
“They didn’t tell you everything, Little One. Do you know what we demand as payment for our information?” I shook my head slowly, eyes wide and unblinking. The look he gave me held some pity, but it seemed more like he thought I was naïve for having walked in here expecting information without suitable payment. I didn’t have much to give, but how bad could this be?
“Well, it all depends on how much was given. Give me your notebook.” Without waiting, he pulled it from my grasp and flipped through. Flip, flip, flip. There must have been ten full pages there. Grizzly sighed as he came to the end.
I had all the information I could imagine on the Grizzly Skulls, but I had missed something very important. I didn’t know what was coming except that I was royally fucked.
Grizzly’s gaze landed on Honey who looked to be shaking with anticipation. Without a word, their president nodded and turned around to head to the backroom, taking my notebook with him.
Before I could ask what was happening, Honey had grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Night night, Little Bird, ” he said and then he headbutted me. All I knew at that moment was pain and darkness as the thought, how could I have been this naïve? flitted through my mind.