"It has come to pass before," Haniel said simply without looking at Mark, but his implication was clear. Not only had Victor turned on his own family, but he had orchestrated the decimation of his entire band.
"Well, I don’t care what you say, our band is solid," Shawn said with certainty.
"Then the first part of your battle is already won," Haniel said, flashing us one of his rare smiles. "We will reconvene in the morning. Pressing matters will have me away until then," he said abruptly, walking purposefully toward the patio door.
"Wow, talk about a hit and run," Sam said, breaking the tension that Haniel's words had cast over our group.
She nailed it perfectly. Haniel had come in and steamrolled us with talk about murders, Daemons, and Mark's crazy dad, then left us to deal with how to process it all. Most of the time Haniel could almost pass as a human, but at times like this he failed miserably.
Sam's comment set off a ripple effect in our group as each of us talked over one another. Maybe it was a knee-jerk reaction to ease the tension, but it took us a few moments to calm down and listen to what each of us had to say. After a few minutes, some of the fear released its grip on us and we were finally able to discuss what we had learned somewhat rationally. Mark was quiet through most of the talking, which was understandable. His father was the Devil's spawn, and I knew the knowledge of this was disheartening for him without having to read his thoughts.
Once we had exhausted the topic, it was obvious we needed a break. There was nothing we could do about the situation at that moment.
"Anybody want to watch a movie?" Sam suggested.
"Ooh, good idea," I agreed. "Let's make it like a camp out in the living room."
The guys got to work, clearing the middle of the floor, which proved to be an easy task, even though the furniture was heavy. It definitely paid to have three crazy-strong guys around. Lynn, Sam, and I gathered the snacks and everyone's sleeping bags to the now empty floor space. Mark lit a fire in the fireplace for the s'mores, while Shawn and Robert prepared the skewers of marshmallows. Within five minutes, our camp in was ready and pj's were on.
Mark loaded the first Blu-ray into the disc player. We reluctantly let the guys pick the movie, hoping they wouldn't pick something obnoxious.
"Oooh, I love this movie," I said, plopping down on my sleeping bag to watch the latest The Fast and the Furious movie on the fifty inch flat screen.
"Who doesn't?" Shawn said, sitting next to me. "Dude, you need one of those cool 3D TV's we saw at the mall last week," Shawn said in an awful Vin Diesel impersonation.
"Wow, that totally sucked. Oh wait, were you trying for the Muppet version of Vin Diesel?" Robert said from across the room, laughing at his joke.
In typical guy fashion, Shawn chucked a pillow at him, and before I knew it, an all-out pillow fight erupted in the room as each of us tried to out-do the other. Of course as lightweights, Lynn, Sam, and I didn't stand a chance. We just could not get enough oomph behind any of our throws to compete with the guys.
Our lighthearted mood was superficial as we made an unspoken pact to place our worries on the backburner. We all knew what was expected of us, and tomorrow we would be Guides and Protectors again. Tonight though, we were just goofy kids blowing off steam.
***
Haniel woke us early the next morning to prepare for the other band's arrival. Sleeping arrangements had to be made to accommodate twenty of us. It was decided ahead of time that we would be sleeping in two shifts. But even with sleeping in shifts, we needed all the additional space we could get, including the two rooms we had avoided, his father's office and bedroom.
Mark tackled his dad's office like a madman, pushing all the furnishings against the far wall with a careless attitude, slamming each item together with bone-jarring crashes. Once the heavy furnishings were moved, he tossed the heavy leather desk chair on top of the desk with one hand, scarring the deep mahogany exterior as it journeyed the length of the desktop. We didn’t question his methods and felt his attitude was justified.
His father's room though, was another issue altogether. Mark's hand paused on the doorknob, but he couldn't seem to find the inner strength to turn the knob.
"Dude we got this. Why don't you and Krista go get the supplies we're going to need?" Shawn suggested, nudging Mark's hand away from the knob. "We got this under control," he said again with emphasis, giving Mark and me a small push down the hall.
"Yeah, let's go do the shopping," I said, grateful for my brother's suggestion. I hated seeing Mark so torn up and I felt a little alone time was exactly what we needed. "You get your keys and I'll grab my bag," I told him, skipping toward my room, lighthearted at the prospect of alone time. I loved all my friends, but at times I selfishly craved the solitude of just us.
Grabbing my small purse off the bed, I slung the long slender strap around my neck so it crisscrossed my body. Carrying a purse was not a favorite of mine so I bought the most functional purse I could find. The pretty paisley print made up for its function, giving it quite the girly look and keeping Sam's negative remarks about my fashion sense to a minimum drawl. Pausing in front of the dresser mirror, I ran the brush through my hair and swiped a quick brush of lip gloss across my lips. Grimacing at my bland appearance, I finally gave up on making my reflection something it wasn’t.
The ride to Walmart was quiet. At first I tried to fill the silence with mindless chatter as he drove, but when he remained silent during each attempt, I finally clammed up. I couldn't help feeling hurt that he wouldn't open up to me. Blinking away tears, I kept my eyes on the landscape that passed outside my window, struggling to keep my emotions at bay. I was crushed by the chasm that seemed to be growing between us.
We were different than the others by the fact that his father seemed destined to ruin the closeness Mark and I were supposed to share, I couldn't help thinking to myself, as I kept my eyes firmly turned away from his so he couldn't see the moisture I had to blink away.
Once we arrived at the crowded Walmart, all thoughts of having a decent conversation were out. We focused on maneuvering our buggies between whiney kids begging for toys, harassed parents trying to get their weekly shopping done, and elderly people scooting along on their motorized vehicles.
Our conversation strictly consisted of short sentences.
"Grab a couple extra tubes of toothpaste," I told him, while I threw several packages of toilet paper into the buggy.
By the time we loaded up one of the buggies with air mattresses, blankets, sheets, toiletry items, and extra towels, I was sick of the store.
Still needing actual food items, we headed over to the perishables section of the store. I threw soda, chips, deli lunch meat and all the fixings for sandwiches into the cart without hesitation, hoping to escape the confines of the store as quickly as I could.