DEATH OF AN IMMORTAL 12

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CHAPTER 12.

Terrill arrived at the Black Bear restaurant a few minutes late.  The skies had cleared in late afternoon, and he had to wait for the sun to fall behind the Sisters Mountains before venturing out.

He'd thought about it all day.  How much to give to Sylvie.  Too much money and she might wonder.   Too little, and she might just spend it all on other things.  He decided on an amount and wrote out the check with the Prestigious Insurance heading.  If it turned out not to be enough, he could always send more later.

Chainsaw carvings of black bears surrounded the restaurant, and paw tracks were stenciled onto the sidewalk.  The entrance was enclosed within a gift shop with kitschy plates and statues.  It was dinnertime, and the place was packed.

Sylvie was talking to friends near the front counter, still wearing her waitress smock.  She saw him and waved.  She finished her conversation and went into the back, emerging seconds later as a civilian.

She nodded to the inside of the restaurant and led him to a small table in the corner, near the swinging doors from the kitchen.

"You hungry?" she asked.  "We make some pretty good hamburgers here."

"No," he said.  He wanted to hand the check over as soon as possible.  He wanted to get out of this high desert land with its bright sun and little shade.  He needed to get back to a city, where he could blend in, where his behavior wouldn't be observed by the same people every day.  The local butcher was already looking at him askance, and if he stayed much longer he'd have to track down another source for raw meat.

He handed over the check.

She didn't look at it.  She put it face down, and stared at him.  "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?  I'm just delivering an insurance settlement."

"Why are you delivering it?  I wouldn't have even known about it until you wrote me a letter.  If you'd put up enough roadblocks, I probably wouldn't have even fought it.  You could have sent it looking like junk mail and I would’ve thrown it away.  Why didn't you?"

"At Prestigious Insurance, we don't do things that way."

"That’s another thing.  I spent an hour on Google looking for a Prestigious Insurance and couldn't find it."

"We fly under the radar," he said.

"No kidding.  But why?  Why would an insurance company not want to be known?"

He took a drink of water trying to cover up his consternation.  Why the hell was she questioning it?

The swinging doors opened and a waitress came out overloaded.  She didn't quite make it out the door; one of the plates landed upside down, mashed potatoes squirting out onto Terrill's shoes.

There was some sarcastic clapping, but Terrill rose and reassured the young waitress that it was all right, waving her away from wiping off his shoes.

"That was nice of you," Sylvie said.  "She's new.  You could've really wrecked her confidence if you'd made a scene."   She was looking at him with raw appraisal and for the first time, she didn't seem suspicious of him.

"Pick up the check," he urged.

She put her hand on the check where it lay on the table.  She hesitated, then flipped it over and looked down.

"Holy shit!"

"Yes, your sister was quite generous." 

"I could live on this for ten years.  Hell, I don't need to go to school."

"Yes, and then what?  Besides, as I've said, the insurance is predicated on your continuing your education."

"Well, Central Oregon Community College doesn't cost all that much," she said.  "I'm not leaving Bend.  I can't leave my Mom and Dad right now.  They need my help.

"I understand they have a new four year program here."

"Yeah, if you want to be in the hospitality industry, or a chef, or something like that.  Hard sciences are still over in the valley."

The restaurant was getting crowded with the dinner crowd, the swinging doors were opening more and more often, and the clanking of dishes and the shouts of cooks washing over their conversation, was making it more and more difficult to hear each other.

A table of four guys fresh from a baseball game came in and sat in the next table over.  They weren't lowering their voices from the playground level.  

"There's a nightclub next door," Sylvie said.  "It should be quieter over there this early in the evening."

The other waitresses waved to her on her way out, and the desk clerk smiled brightly.  It was obvious Sylvie was popular around here.  They checked him out, too.  A well-dressed guy in his thirties -- an obvious catch.  Then again, a girl like Sylvie probably had plenty of guys sniffing around.

The nightclub was mostly empty, it being too early for the night crowd.  They found a quiet table near the bar.  They both ordered a couple of Deschutes Ales to pay for their table.

“You old enough?”

She smiled brightly.  “Turned 21 a month ago.”

He cleared his throat after they both took a deep swig.  "You were saying that there weren't any hard science programs here but with enough money the programs will come to you.  Believe me, no school will turn you down with your grades, especially if you pay full tuition."

"How the hell do you know about my grades?'

"Well, I assumed.  I'm right, aren't I?"

She looked away.  She had stuffed the check in her pocket, and it seemed to him that she didn't even want to think about it.

"Why are you fighting it?" he asked, softly.

Tears came to her eyes, and she looked down.  "Jamie died.  It seems all wrong that I should benefit from that.“

"It's not your fault.  You had nothing to do with it."  

"I feel...guilty.  Like I caused it, or something."

"What you said last night at your house -- she got unlucky, that's all.  She met the wrong guy.  It could have happened here, or anywhere, believe me."

"But she might not have been over there in Portland at all, if it wasn't for me."  She put her face into her hands and sobbed.   "She wouldn't have been doing...what she was doing."

"Sylvie.  Listen to me."  He stared at her until she looked up and met his eyes.  "Your sister was thinking of you, and you will honor her memory by taking this money and making something of your life."

"I will?" she smiled sadly.

"Yes...you will.  It's what Jamie wanted."

They drank their beers and ordered another round, and settled into a companionable conversation about schools.  She seemed to know a lot about which colleges had the best programs, and he encouraged her to look into them.  She was easy to talk to, just as Jamie had been.  But whereas Jamie had a slightly defeated manner, Sylvie was still defiant, still hopeful the world would come through for her.

They didn't notice when the four baseball players from the restaurant came in, or when two of them walked over to their table. 

"Sylvie? Is that you?" 

The two men stood over them with big grins.

"Yeah?" she said, in a neutral voice.

"It's Peter Saunders...I dated your sister in high school."

"I remember you," she said.  She obviously didn't like the guy, but was trying to be polite.

"Hey, I heard about what happened to Jamie.  I'm sorry."

Sylvie softened a little, and her eyes became moist again.  "Thank you, Peter."

He sat down in the booth next to her suddenly, and she had to scrunch closer to the window to make room.  The other man stood directly over Terrill.  

"Scoot over man," he said, and pushed his way onto the seat.  Terrill made way reluctantly.  They both smelled of sweat, of healthy young men.  Once Terrill would have torn them to pieces for their rudeness, but he stayed silent.

"Yeah, I was sorry she moved to Portland.  She was the best piece of ass in Bend."

Sylvie stiffened.  The young man, Peter, looked over at Terrill challengingly, as if to ask, 'What are you going to do about it?'  Terrill stared back, but didn't say anything.  It wasn't the reaction Peter was looking for.  He seemed a little disconcerted.

The guy next to Terrill spoke up.  "She never would put out for me."

"No?" Peter said.  "Well, you are one ugly son of a bitch."

"Not even on the second date."

"Well, I heard she was selling herself over in Portland.  Once those bastards over there hollowed her out, maybe you could've afforded her."

"Come on, you guys," Sylvie said.  "Get out of here."  She didn't sound so much angry, as sad. 

"Why?  Jim here was wondering if you put out for free.  Or do you cost money too?"

"That's enough," Terrill said.  The tone in his voice froze both men.  They stared at each other, as if challenging the other to say something.  Peter looked Terrill up and down and seemed to decide he wasn't much of a threat.  Both men were huge, steroid inflated jocks.  Terrill was as tall as they were, but nowhere near as muscled.

"I like your duds, man.  Obviously, you can afford her.  Jamie always was a skank, ever since middle school.  Sylvie probably costs more, being that she's so much fresher."

"Stand up," Terrill said.

They looked at each other, grinning.  They were about to get what they came for.  No doubt, they didn't expect he'd put up much of fight.   They stood up and waited for him.

He took his time, wondering what he was going to do.  If he fought these two men, he doubted he would be able to control himself. Any other time, any other place, he would have taken the chance.  But not here, not in front of Jamie's little sister.

He tried to stare them down, and they backed away a step in response.  If there had just been one of them, it probably would've been over.  But the each of them was egging the other one on.

Peter took a swing at him, which he easily evaded.  But Jim came in low, from the other side, and Terrill was slammed against the edge of the table.  The air went out of his lungs, and he collapsed to the floor.

Both men started kicking him, and he put his hands over his head in protection.  He wasn't afraid.  Under the cover of his hands, he was trying to minimize the damage, taking notice of what part of his body was being struck.  Again, he hoped that was enough to satisfy the young men’s' bloodlust.

He fought the urge to tear them apart.  His fangs started to extend, but he kept his face down.  He thought he heard a gasp from Sylvie, but didn’t dare look at her.  A kick to his neck and he was gasping for breath, and his fangs and claws retracted.   That had never happened before in the face of danger.  He wondered about it as he continued to take the blows without resistance.

It was the girl, he thought.  He didn’t want to turn into a monster in front of her -- he didn’t want her to know that he was her sister’s murderer.  He wanted desperately to look like a good man in front of her.

The guys were beginning to tire.  It wasn’t any fun if their prey wasn’t going to fight back.

But Peter wasn't satisfied.  He picked Terrill up, and slammed his head down on his knee. 

That was the last thing Terrill remembered.


Hi.  This is the last chapter I'm posting.  Yes, it was a big tease.  But getting the rest of the book is easy.  All you need to do is go to smashwords (below) and sign up.  It's free.  Then you can buy the book in many formats for 2.99.

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