Well, getting back on track, here's the next chapter for Aftermath. From this point on, it's a work-in-progress. I'm writing chapter 3 right now, so you all get it fresh from this point forward. I do hope that you all enjoy this. Without further...BAH! Here's chapter 2 for Aftermath.
Spoiler
“...and as we remember the parents, father and mother, of both Thomas and Tony...” I had just done a eulogy and I wasn’t really listening as the pastor was speaking at the funeral for our parents, which was being held at an indoor funeral home in the early afternoon. Between me, Jenn, and Tony, we had all decided to keep the funeral short and sweet with very few attendees and bury our parents. The attendees were few, but were surprisingly important. Luna was there. Luna kept a winter hat on over her ears and stood at the rear of the room to disguise her true nature. What surprised me, though, was a small group of Saint Paul Police officers in attendance, as well as the Chief of Police for Saint Paul, Thomas E. Smith, who was sitting in the same row of seats as myself, Jenn and Tony, in the front.
I was trying to remain as composed as I possibly could, but it proved easier said than done. I was doubled over in my seat, looking towards the floor, but unable to see it because the tears just wouldn’t stop. It’s one thing to lose your parents to natural causes; the ones you grew up with, obviously not perfect, but definitely did their best and succeeded in raising you. The problem is I couldn’t help but feel their murder was my fault. It had to have been my fault. If I didn’t take that other route home one week before Halloween, I probably wouldn’t have hit that lycan with my car, and none of this would’ve happened. But, to regret my decision to join the Sentinels, well, let’s just say that the word “regret” in regard to the Sentinels couldn’t be further from my mind. It’s not like I could just sit idly by and wait for Adam and the rest of Entropy and let whatever his schemes are to manifest themselves and put other people in the very same situation that I’m in.
I understood that even though my parents are dead, killing Adam wouldn’t bring them back. Nothing I do will bring them back. I also know that joining the Sentinels for my parents’ sake would also be something my parents wouldn’t want for me. No. I joined the Sentinels because I don’t want others to go through what I’m going through. I joined not for the benefits or the money, or even to feel better about myself even though I live by my convictions. I want to do my best with my new lease on life to make sure that humans and the “mythical creatures” can coexist with minimal conflict. Adam and Entropy want to ultimately control the human race in, I guess, would best be described as a dystopia. That, and well, Adam just straight pisses me off, and wants me dead, so I have some initiative to go after him. Unfortunately, my people-tracking skills without the use of the internet sucks more than a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
But here at the funeral, the pastor was giving his closing statements. I just sat and stared, unable to hear him, his voice muffled against the torrent of emotions that were flowing out of me. Jenn was on my shoulder, slightly more composed than I was. I turn to look at my brother, Tony. He just sat there, stoic, motionless and speechless, and occasional tear rolling down his face. We all weren’t dressed in what you would expect to wear at a funeral. The reason why is that in Khmer culture, you wear black and white, instead of just black, to mourn a loved one. I was wearing black jeans, as per usual, and a white Khmer shirt made of some sort of thick material with white buttons and buttoned all the way up, a short collar wrapping around my neck. I was still packing my P220 and carrying my Sentinels badge, but left my 327 back at our Sentinels dorm...well, more like a condo.
The pastor steps away from the pulpit and steps up to the three of us. We stand to our feet as the pastor, an old family friend who oddly, I couldn’t remember the name of, embraced me tightly, and pats my arm. “Thomas. I don’t really know everything that happened, but continue living a life that would make your parents proud, okay?” I sniff.
“Alright. And thank you pastor.”
“You’re welcome. We’ll be leaving soon to the cemetery to bury your parents. I’ll see you there. Be blessed.” The pastor walks away. I put my arm around Jenn, who was quietly sobbing. Tony was not far behind us. Police Chief Smith walks up to us, a business card in hand.
“Agent...uh...”
“Please, just call me Tom, Chief Thomas Smith. Or...I guess Takeo, since we could be both called Tom.”
“Tom. I won’t have to introduce myself as you already know. I know this is a hard time for you. I wouldn’t do this normally, but since you work for an agency that is officially classified as law enforcement, I want to keep in contact with you and work in tandem with you in this case that killed your parents and left one of my officers dead. Are you willing to work with Saint Paul PD?” I grab the business card and look at it. It had the Saint Paul PD logo, his name, and a number I could reach him at. I check the back of the card, and see a handwritten number on it. “That would be my cellphone.” I look up at the Chief.
“Chief.” I say, clearing my throat. “I’ll keep in contact with you.” I extend my hand. He grabs and shakes it. “I hope that we can work together without incident. I’ll contact you later.”
“Thanks Agent...err, Tom. I’ll be awaiting your call.” The chief turns to walk away, but I stop him.
“Oh, Police Chief Smith!”
“Yeah?”
“Officer Barrett Manning. He’s hospitalized, r-right?”
“Yeah. You want to visit him?”
“If it isn’t too much to ask.”
“Well, you did save him. He’s at Regions Hospital in Saint Paul.”
“Thanks, Chief.” The chief walks away. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and sniff hard to clear my sinuses as best I can. Jenn steps back slightly and does the same. I look at Luna and motion for her. She struts up to us. I look between Jenn, Tony, and Luna. “Let’s head over to the cemetery. The pastor’s waiting for us. That’s when we’ll say our...last goodbyes.” With that, we walk as a single unit of four individuals to our respective cars, me and Tony being passengers in Jenn’s 335i with Luna getting into her own car, a 2006 Honda S2000 AP2 in silver. Jenn starts the 335i, puts it into gear, and leads the way to the local cemetery where we planned to bury our parents.
***
I almost forgot about the weather. Being November, the weather was downright freezing, and the winds cuts through you faster than a hot knife through warm butter. At least the sky was clear and there wasn’t any precipitation, otherwise this burial would suck a lot more. I’m wearing my tactical trenchcoat over my original black and white outfit I wore at the funeral service. The pastor is there with a cemetery technician. The graves were next to each other, and the caskets were already lowered into their six foot graves. We were all standing around the two parallel graves. Luna drops a bouquet of flowers into each grave, as Jenn and Tony each drop several roses each into the graves. Being the oldest son, I was the last to go by choice. I reach into my pockets and pull out two miniaturized Cambodian flags, and toss them into the graves. I watch them as they slowly float down and land on top of both caskets. I look at Jenn and Tony, and they give me a look of agreement. I look back at the pastor and cemetery technician. “We’re done. You can fill the graves. Be blessed, pastor.”
We turn away and make our way to the waiting parked cars. But that stupid wind is making it difficult to move. It’s just too cold. Once we reach the cars, I get the three of them to gather with me to discuss the plan for the next few minutes. “What next, Thomas?” Jenn asks.
“Jennifer. Can you take Tony and Luna back to HQ? I think Tony is inkling to get some payback on Adam, right?”
“Dude,” my brother replies, his voice a bit more lively. “you have no idea.”
“And Luna,” I turn towards Luna. “Can I borrow your car?”
“Sure. You need anything else?” She’s surprisingly eager.
“Yeah. Tony is going to be the newest member of the North Star Sentinels. He’ll be my primary spotter for missions. Let Kitty know too about his ‘acquisition.’ I’ll put a good word for him when I get back.”
“‘Kay.” Luna replies. She throws me her keys to me. I failed to catch them, so they land on the ground. I was never good at catching things...or sports in general, for that matter.
“Where are you going to go?” Jenn asks.
“I’m going to pay a visit to Officer Barrett Manning in the hospital. See you later, okay?” We lean in for a quick kiss.
“Say hi to the officer for me.” Jenn says.
She walks off to her 335 and starts the engine. I look over to Luna’s S2000 and start walking to it. “Well, I’ve never driven an S2000 before. I wonder if it’s any good?”
***
I arrive at Regions Hospital in Saint Paul. I pull into the parking garage and park Luna’s S2000. I step out, huge smile on my face.
“It’s no wonder Honda’s VTEC engines have such a strong following. That S2000 was a BLAST to drive!” I lock the car, get into an elevator, and walk up to the front desk of the hospital.
“How can I help you, sir?”
“Please, don’t call me sir. I’m here to see Officer Barrett Manning?” She starts working on the computer, apparently pulling up Officer Manning’s information.
“Sorry, he’s currently not taking public visitors. Right now, the only ones who can see him is his family and other law enforcement-” I flash my badge. “...Oh... South campus, fourth floor, room 406.”
“Thanks.” I walk towards the south campus, when the hospital gift shop catches my eye. I walk in and buy a simple round balloon that says “Get Well Soon!” I get into the elevator and ride uninterrupted to the fourth floor. I walk to the main desk, immediately getting the attention of the nurse working there. “Here to see Officer Manning?” I say as I flash my badge.
“Right there.” She says, pointing in the general direction of his room. I turn and walk down a short corridor. I arrive to the room, and knock on the door. I hear a woman’s voice.
“Who is it?” She asks.
“I guess you could say I’m a friend. Am I intruding?” I reply. The door opens, and I’m greeted by a woman, and a young boy. I look over her shoulder to see a very conscious and coherent Barrett Manning, who also sees me.
“It’s alright, baby, you can let him in.” The woman opens the door to let me in. “This gentleman and his brother saved my life. Tom, right?”
“Yeah. How are you, Officer Manning?”
“No need to call me ‘officer’. Just call ‘Barrett’ or ‘Bear’ for short. This is my wife, Allison, and my son David.” Looking at David, he’s old enough to know about the dangerous work that his father does, but is too young to be a pre-teen. He walks up to me, and extends his hand for a handshake.
“Thanks for saving my dad.” I shake his hand. Afterward, I tie the balloon in a loose knot on the nightstand next to the bed. I take a seat next to the bed.
“How ya feeling, Officer...err, Barrett?” I ask
“Much better now. Doc’s got me all patched up, but if it weren’t for your brother’s quick thinking and you arriving when you did, I probably wouldn’t be here right now...but my partner...”
“What’s his name?” Barrett has a somber look on his face.
“Jerry Enfield.” There’s an awkward silence. But, surprisingly, Barrett breaks it, almost startling me. “I heard from some of my fellow officers that you had a talk with the Chief.”
“Yeah, he talked with me about working together to find the one who’s responsible for all this...but...” I look over to Barrett’s wife and son.
“Baby, can you and David leave us alone for a bit?” Allison guides David out of the room and closes the door. “Alright, Tom, what is this about?”
“I didn’t want to scare them, or specifically, young David. Th-Thing is, you’re considered a loose end, especially since you’re not a part of the, uh, agency I work for, called the North Star Sentinels. You said you w-w-wanted answers, well, here you go. That creature you saw in the basement of my parents’ house was an orc. You know, the mythical creature. He’s essentially the common foot soldier of a group called Ent-...Entr-...ugh....Entropy. Sorry, can’t talk. Like the name suggests, they ultimately want to create chaos, eradicate the human race, and keep earth for themselves. We, as the Sentinels, are just one group of many, and together, w-we help guard the human race.” Barrett just stares at me, mouth slightly open. “Did I lose you?”
“No, you’ve still got me...but, it just all seems too...I don’t know, ‘fantasy’?”
“Trust me, I didn’t believe it at first either. Unfortunately, I also almost died from it all.” I stand up, open my jacket, and lift up my shirt, showing Barrett my scars and cyan-colored lines covering the entirety of my torso. “I-I-I have cybernetic l-lungs in my chest to help supplement my natural ones. I guess that would classify me as a ‘cyborg’.”
“Wow, now that’s even harder to believe.”
“Moving on. Entropy was led by three individuals, a werewolf whose name I can’t remember, and a vampire couple named Adam and Eve. The werewolf I accidentally hit with my car, and I was responsible for Eve’s death, but I couldn’t do it without a lot of help and almost sacrificing myself in the process. Well, since Adam is alive, he’s also very pissed that we killed his woman. So, now he’s really got nothing to lose; rule the world or die trying. I intend to oblige him with the latter. Originally, I didn’t want Saint Paul PD involved, because I was worried about reckless endangerment, but after all this, I don’t think that convincing Saint Paul PD to step down is going to get me anywhere. After all, you’re involved now too, and I kinda feel like it’s my fault.” Barrett sits up slightly, and taps my shoulder.
“You did what you had to do, Tom. I probably would’ve done the same in your shoes. And you’re right about trying to convince Saint Paul PD to step down. If what you say is true, we can’t step down. It’s our, as well as the State Troopers, duty to protect the people of Saint Paul and Minnesota. And the Sentinels...tell me about them.”
“Well, you already know the basics. O-Our jurisdiction is the entire state. There’s hundreds, possibly thousands of similar agencies located all over the world, all with the same mission: protect humankind, and promote coexistence between humans and mythical creatures.”
“Like the Men in Black?”
“Kind of. The headquarters and command center is up in Alaska somewhere, and that’s where the top brass is located. As for the command structure, it’s similar to LE. The first-in-command is a b-b-bakeneko, or cat-spirit, by the name of Kitty. Granted, explaining that I get my orders from a cat is generally grounds for a trip to the m-mental hospital, but stay with me here. Since she’s at the top, she’s also got different commanders in different g-groups under her command, me being one of them.”
“What do you do, exactly?”
“I’m a long-range specialist and overwatch commander. Basically, from the position I usually chose, it give me a good view of the mission area without being close enough to get shot and/or shot at. I use a sniper rifle and a high-powered scope.”
“Sniper or marksman, huh? What else do you do?”
“That’s mainly it, I watch, support, and command. I’m a crack shot, but a horrible hand-to-hand fighter, slow runner, and lack sufficient stamina for prolonged physical activity. My only redeeming trait, if you could call it that, is my patience, and my Asian craftiness and resourcefulness. ‘Work smarter, not harder’ and all that. This is a lot to take in, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah. Wasn’t it for you?”
“Bear, you have no idea.” We both share a short chuckle. “So, when the doctor say you’d be ready for action again?”
“Ha! Not anytime soon, that’s for sure. I’ve been hearing through the grapevine that I might be moved to a desk job...unless...”
“Unless what?”
“Tom, I owe you one. Do you think that I could be a liaison between the Sentinels and Saint Paul PD? At least, until I get better.” I lean back to think about it.
“Let me check with Kitty about it. You think you can call me in a few hours?”
“So long as I’m not in the middle of something.”
“Of course.” I open the drawer, and grab a pen from my pocket. I jot down my name and cell phone number, and set it on the nightstand next to the balloon I got him. “Call me in a few hours. I’d call you, but I’m not all that great at memorizing phone numbers, especially from hospitals. If I don’t pick up right away, call me again in ten minutes.”
“Alright.”
“Well, I gotta get going. Gotta go help get m-my brother settled in and whatnot as he’s the newest member of the Sentinels. See ya, Barrett. Have a nice day.”
“See you later.” I leave the room and enter the elevator to leave Regions. Now, all that’s left is to get my brother squared away with his equipment and his new home.
***
I had to drive around various types of construction vehicles and equipment upon return to Sentinels HQ. See, the thing is, after Entropy attacked compound, most members of the Sentinels decided that a remodel was in order, especially since a lot of the buildings were being unused. So, we decided as an agency to hire some construction contractors to repurpose the unused buildings into some fairly nice condos for the members of the Sentinels. But, until it’s done, we’re all still living in the main building, which had a lot of that 19th century style or something, I’m not all that great at spotting architecture. Victorian maybe?
Anyways, I find myself in the main foyer with the grand staircase. Markus was in a bit of a hurry, running down the stairs, some papers in hand that he was reading. “Hey Markus, what’s the hurry?”
“Your brother. I gotta go and test his hand-to-hand combat skills.” I’m still not used to his lack of accent now. “Speaking of which, does he have anything like your Tattoo Cross ring? Otherwise, it’ll be over pretty quick, and you’d be short a man, if you get what I mean.”
“Nope, he’s clean, except for an inconspicuous tongue piercing. Just don’t underestimate him...ever. He may look like a skater, but he’s tough. Actually, will Kitty be there?”
“She will, as usual. Apparently Luna said you’d vouch for your brother.”
“I’ll come with. I gotta see this.” I follow Markus towards the gym which houses a newly-finished low-level MMA-style circle fight cage. Before we reach it, however, we’re cut off by Luna. “Hey, Takeo. Right on time. Your brother is tearing up the range.” We follow Luna into the indoor range. Tony and Weyland were in the range with an AR-style rifle, while Kitty was perched on the window in cat form in the staging area watching my brother. I walk up next to her with Luna and Markus flanking me. “Nyan!”
“Hello, Takeo.” Kitty glares at the target with intensity. “You promised a good word for this guy. I’m listening.”
“Well, first off he’s my brother.”
“So he’s a loose cannon?”
“Kinda...wait, WHAT? So you think I’m a loose cannon?”
And it continues on.