Chapter 8

Travis dragged his ass out of bed on Tuesday morning feeling like he'd been on a bender the night before. He slept on the bus on the way to school too. It was really becoming a habit. He had a theory it had something to do with running for hours yesterday. But there's no way in hell he's giving in to the horrible teacher. She could run him until he drops; he won't pick up a weapon.

That afternoon in Study of Magical Creatures he was happy to hear that the pixie that had gotten caught in the mesh around one of the gardens at Golden Gate Park was well enough to go home. She'd buzzed around happily in front of the port door before slipping back to her garden home.

Travis laughed when she flew back through the port door to kiss him on the nose. He couldn't understand her buzzing language but he was sure she was thanking him for his help. He promised a slice next time he visited the park and she buzzed even more excitedly. When she flew through again, he waved goodbye.

The Manticore was feeling better too and his wounds were healing nicely. He riddled a few more times, and each time Trav's clever teacher guessed it; until she got to one she couldn't answer.

It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life, kills laughter.

When she couldn't respond the Manticore didn't gleefully tell them the answer like he normally did, instead he turned to Travis and said, "When you and your friends can answer this question then you will be one step closer to a solution for your troubles."

Travis asked Ms Murakami if she would write it down for him. He isn't a very fast writer or a particularly accurate speller either.

She looked at him funny, but did what he asked, but before she handed him the piece of paper she said with concern, "If you're in some sort of trouble, you'd tell me right?"

He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't know how to answer her without either lying to her or telling her everything and letting the cat out of the bag, and thank God he didn't have to because just at that moment the bell rang.

As he stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket he thought he'd give it to Lauren at their meet-up tomorrow night. The girl was so smart she'd probably guess it right away.

The Manticore threw him a bone though and addressed the last one to him before he was able to get out of the room.

He knew after what the beast just said it wasn't a coincidence he'd hit him up with the next riddle, but Trav had gotten it way too easily. After what he'd been through over the last few days he'd have to be pretty stupid not to get this one.

What gets harder to catch the faster you run?

He tossed his answer over his shoulder as he left the examining room.

Your breath

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Training was even more brutal than the day before le Fay hadn't forgotten about him like he'd hoped. In fact, she cornered him as soon as he entered the gym. He wasn't even allowed to train in hand to hand; he was immediately told to pick up a weapon or run.

So he ran for three hours, and by the time he was done he had done ten loops around the track and had gotten zapped five times. You didn't have to be a genius to do that math. He'd just run the Boston Marathon twice.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the training session he had collapsed on the track unable to move. His lungs were heaving like billows and his legs wouldn't support his weight. When Knight came with the troll bile Steinman and Murakami came with him to help pick him up and get him on his feet. He could tell they didn't like the situation but, like parents he guessed the teahcers had to show a united front.

Kyle helped him to the showers. He and Kyle would both have to leave straight from school to the Boy & Girls Club and the Animal Shelter. Travis couldn't stand in the stall while he was taking his shower so he sat on a plastic chair instead which made him feel like a complete dweeb for needing to do it.

After he musters up enough energy to get dressed and out of the school, he and Kyle went their separate ways. They'd have to head in opposite directions to get to their volunteer jobs.

On the bus it was a struggle to stay awake, but when he got to the shelter he finally came alive. He can't wait to get there no matter how tired he is the animal's happy greetings rejuvenated him. He feels invigorated by the wagging tails and purrs of the abandoned animals.

Travis entered the small animal clinic and shelter taking a moment to greet the receptionist and the vet on call. Dr Belinda Jones is brilliant with the animals and he just loves working with her. She's a steel haired older woman with grey eyes that can look straight into your soul. She sports deep laugh lines on her face which tells him she'd spent a lifetime smiling. If he had to guess her age he'd guess: late forties early fifties. Bonnie the receptionist looks like she might be in her late thirties early forties. She might look younger if she didn't dye her hair jet black and wear way too much makeup. It actually draws attention to every line on her face. She wears a lot of everything: jewelry, and makeup, perfume.

But not even her perfume can compete with the smell of wet dog and kennels that need cleaning.

It's his job to clean out the animals kennels and wash and feed them so he gets right to work. When Troy pulls up in the in the van Travis is elbows deep in suds. He's washing a very dirty stray that was brought in earlier. He's hoping he can get his long coat clean and un-matted or he'll have to be shaved to the skin which can be quite painful and stressful for the animals.

Unfortunately he's only halfway through the bath and it's beginning to look like they're going to have to do just that, but he doubts he has the strength to hold the dog down. That's one of his duties too. To hold scared animals when they're having procedures they hate.

He's exhausted, but he has to concede that it's inevitable, so he starts to rinse off the animal in preparation of telling the vet that they'd need to sedate the dog.

Troy caught up to him before he went to the office though and said, "Hey can you help me get the big kennels out of the back of the van.

Travis' shoulders sagged and he let out an audible sigh: big kennels meant big dogs and big dogs meant heavy lifting, and he felt as weak as a kitten, but he nodded and followed him anyway.

Troy was a bulky guy too but only half as big as Travis. He was taller though with dirty blonde hair that he buzzed in a military style. Travis though he must be a boxer because his nose looked like it had been broken several times. He fell in the category of scary looking dude, but you'd never look into a pair of kinder brown eyes and he was gentle AF with the animals and they loved him for it.

When he got to the back docking bay the door was already open and the double door on the back of the van were wide open too.

There were three extra large kennels in the back of the van. Each one had a massive dog in it. Two were out -- he hoped -- the other was growling menacingly. From what he could see from his spot on the landing of the two that were unconscious: one looked to be a bull mastiff, the other a boxer bull mix. The one that was growling at him like he was going to eat him and lunging at the door of his cage looked to be a straight up Pit Bull. He was a tawny color and had the lightest blues eyes they were almost white. And even though he was growling to beat the band he was looking straight into Travis' eyes and just begging him to be the one human he met that wasn't a complete asswipe.

He could tell these dogs were mauled which meant they must be part of a dog fighting ring. The other two animals looked like they were on deaths door, so he and troy grabbed them first letting Cojo chill for a bit.

Trav and Troy slid the unresponsive dogs out of their kennels and the Doc examined them right immediately. She ran an IV right away but he could tell from the look in her eyes that the chances of these guys making it were slim to none. She did everything she could though.

Cojo had to be sedated just to lift him out of the van, but once he was sufficiently doped Trav scooped him out and rested him as gently as he could on the exam table.

Doc Jones went to work right away running an IV and taking his vitals, but her expression was much more hopeful this time she looked at him with a sigh and a smile before she started bandaging his wounds. The poor thing looked like he'd been in dozens of fights and had barely been put back together before he was put back in the ring again.

His big thick neck was riddled with long thick scars. One of his ears was complete torn off and he didn't know if the doc would be able to save the eye. There was a huge gash running vertically down the center of it. The poor mutt whined miserably and Trav thought as he petted him gently to try and sooth him. Bullies used to be on the top of his hit list . . .

Bullies scratch that . . .

There's one thing he hates more than bullies now . . . it's the criminals that run these rings. They're the true monsters not the Pit bulls they force to fight.

Travis stayed with the bull until quitting time at 10pm petting him gently and sending all the love he could to the poor animal. He finally closed his eyes and slept but Trav refused to move. Troy was such a great guy he didn't even complain when he had to take over Travis' work. He guessed he understood. Travis had a special affinity for the animal after all he was a big bruiser that had been abused too and just like the massive dog was judged repeatedly by his size. Before when he was fat and now that he was built.

Troy took over for him when his shift was over with a look that promised he'd take care of him. That was one of the best parts about working with animals. The people who did it often times weren't talkers and eloquent speakers. Aside from the barking at his work the staff seemed to communicate in an unspoken manner that transcended speech.

By the time he caught the bus for home he was beyond exhausted. He'd fallen asleep almost immediately and didn't even wake up when he made it to the stop closest to his home. The bus driver had to yell at him to wake him because he was heading back to the yard.

When he exited the bus he groaned so loud he'd scared the timid woman in front of him. He was ten blocks off the mark. It would be a long and difficult walk home. He muttered an apology to her before he turned and started for home.

It was almost eleven and the streets were deserted. The night was quiet and lonely he wished Kyle was with him. It was never quiet when he was around: the guy never shut up. He talked enough for the both of them.

Travis ate up the distance as quickly as he could. He just wanted to get home, get showered and get to sleep. He was halfway there when he got the strange feeling like he was being watched or followed. He started looking around letting his eyes really adapt to the dark to stare into the shadows cast by buildings and posts.

When all his hairs began to stand on end he doubled his pace. His aching legs were none too happy with him but what other choice did he have. He strained his eyes and slowed his breathing like he'd been taught in training. He began to breathe through his nose to quiet his inhale and exhale. That's when he heard the quiet footfalls behind him, but when he looked to the spot the sound was coming from he could plainly see there was no one there.

Which could only mean one thing: someone was camouflaging them self with magic, but why? Why follow him? He didn't know whether to confront them or pretend he didn't know they were there. What if he brought something horrible to his door? He couldn't do that.

When he got to within eyesight of his house he started to run. He couldn't help it. Something was telling him not to take this situation lightly. He legs were screaming now, but he pumped tham as fast as he could and surprised himself with an energy reserve he didn't know was there. His heart was racing by the time he made it to his front door.

While grabbing his key from his pocket, he nearly lost the riddle in his haste, but he managed to catch it before it blew away and to thrust the key in the lock and turn it in at the same time. Yaaahhh for super fast reflexes.

He practically fell in the door and promptly slammed it behind him. The house was quiet the hallway was dark and he listened at his door for sometime before he was convinced that whatever had followed him was not lurking on the other side. He did a quick spin of the little townhouse to make sure whatever it was wasn't trying to find another entrance before he gave a sigh of relief and slumped against his bedroom door.

Travis took a quick intake of startled air when all of a sudden he was sailing through the air and careening towards the floor. Kyle had opened the door suddenly without a sound and Trav had been leaning on it so yeah he was naturally flat on his face now.

He looked up in annoyance at his brother.

Kyle laughed, "Bro what are you doing?"

Trav stuck his hand out towards his brother to get an assist on getting vertical again and said jokingly, "Oh I thought I'd just drop in."

His brother laughed again covering his mouth before he lifted him up with both hands and all his inhuman strength.

"Where've you been," he asked, "you should've been home a half hour ago?"

"I missed our stop and had to walk nearly ten blocks back." Travis groaned.

"Dude," Kyle exclaimed, "Sucks to be you."

"tell me about it. That's not even the best part. I think I was being followed for nearly half of those blocks."

Kyle's eyebrows tried to touch his hair line as he exclaimed, "No way!"

"Who was following you?"

"I don't know I couldn't see them or it."

"Why? Was it too far back or something?"

"No I mean I couldn't SEE it."

"No way it was for real invisible?"

Kyle started digging through his drawers to find a pair of pants, because he was currently in his boxers.

Travis had to wonder what he was doing. When he started throwing on a hoody and his sneakers Travis finally got the picture and grabbed Kyle in a death grip. Nope he wasn't going anywhere.

Kyle looked back in shock, "Dude what're u doing? We got to go investigate. It could be one of Liam's crew."

"And?" Travis locked his brother in a deadly serious stare.

"And if it is; we need to fuck them up. They followed you to our home, Dude. Our home," he finished.

"Kyle what do you suggest we do about it? You grant the gift of small change and I can turn to stone. That's not exactly going to be very effective against the kind of powers they're wielding."

"But it's our home dude. Bruno and Bo are here. If anything happened to them I'd never be able to live with myself. "

"I know dude, neither would I, but what part of getting ourselves killed prevents that from happening?"

Kyle ran a shaky hand through his hair in frustration and sat down on the corner of his bed.

"Besides they're safer if we stay put." Trav suggested, "I'll take the first watch."

"No way Bro you look like shit on a stick right now. You get some sleep. I'll wake you in a few hours."

Travis had to admit he felt like his brother described. So he gave in and took a shower before he dove into bed and slept so soundly that he didn't even dream. Kyle woke him at 4am so he could grab a few hours sleep before they both had to be at school.

****************** THANKS FOR READING********************

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