Chapter Twenty: Dear John

They sat in Lorraine’s living room, Cedric told them about how they found Mike’s body in the woods the night before. “I searched the entire town last night.” Bates updated them of his night. He had searched the woods along with the hideouts in the town, and even the most obvious places, but his search for John had proven itself futile. “There’s no sign of John anywhere. I asked around in The Tavern, since it’s pretty popular with the town’s people, but still nothing. No one had seen nor heard of him.”

“I don’t think he would hide in plain sight.” Lorraine said, biting her lower lip. Her eyebrows furrowed, “If he is newly turned and he killed his parents, then he must be a I don’t know… hungry?” She gave a questioning glance towards Aiden, “Rabid? I don’t know what you call it. But my point is there would have been more bodies. He wouldn’t orchestrate the attack on Judy or send that vampire that attacked me.”

Bates nodded his head then turned to Cedric, “It’s time to go to Williamsburg?” Cedric smirked, giving him a nod. It was decided then that Bates would go with Cedric to Williamsburg, while Aiden would stay with Lorraine. Before they left, Lorraine went to Bates and discretely asked him to speak privately. He nodded his head, told Aiden and Cedric to wait for him outside.

“Mr. Bright…”

“Lorraine, I think you can leave the formalities behind as long as we’re not in school.”

Lorraine nodded her head with a small smile, then her face turned serious again. Bates noted the hints of concern it showed as she asked, “Bates, can we really trust him? Cedric I mean.”

Bates took a second to answer, “Are you afraid of him right now?”

She wasn’t. It was something that she had become aware of sometime ago. “I don’t think I am. I know it’s crazy, but…”

Bates shook his head, “It’s not crazy.” He let out a sigh, shaking his head, “Cedric seems hell-bent on figuring out who’s behind what’s going on. And though his reasons aren’t clear, I think for now you’re safe.” However, Bates remembered Birmingham. Once Cedric knew that young girl was a Vancsura he killed her without giving it a single thought. *“So, why is he waiting around?”*

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Cedric and Bates arrived at Thomas Nelson community college in Williamsburg. Bates turned to Cedric, “You’ll work your magic?” Cedric only nodded his head then Bates said, “He majored in Anthropology. So, we can ask around there.” They found their way into an ongoing Archeological Anthropology lecture. They sat at the very back of the class, noticing the curious look given to them by the professor. She was a woman who looked to be in her late forties, with her hair tied in a bun, and make-up done to perfection.

“Once this is over, I’ll speak to the kids, and you take the professor.” Cedric ordered Bates under in a whisper, only for a vampire to hear. Bates gave him a short nod, and they remained silent for the upcoming thirty minutes. Cedric’s mind drifted to Lorraine, for only a fraction of the second, wondering what she was doing with Aiden. He then recalled his earlier conversation with him while they were standing outside Lorraine’s house.

*“Why are you doing this? What kind of malicious intentions do you have?” Aiden had firmly asked, his eyes narrowed in a threatening manner as he stood tall in front of Cedric. He was almost challenging him. “Lorraine is smart and beautiful. So, don't let your pitiful vengeance hurt someone that good.” It was lucky for Aiden that Bates chose that moment to come out, because Cedric couldn't have held himself back much longer.*

Once the lecture ended, Bates walked to the front of the class, where the professor was gathering her things to leave. He approached her, giving his best polite smile, “Good afternoon.”

“Hello, I’m sorry, I’m not sure I know you.” She gave him a confused, and a slightly concerned look.

“My name’s Bates Bright. I actually want to ask about one of your students, John Jonas.” The way her eyes widened gave him a pause, “I’m a family friend, and after the death of both of his parents, I have grown concerned over his well-being. Can you tell me when you last saw him?”

She gave a nervous smile, took off her glasses, and with her eyes casted down she said, “John is such a good kid, but I didn’t see him for the past two weeks or so.” She let out a sigh, “I’m no stranger to kids dropping out, or even flanking classes, but John was different. He had this passion for the subject, one I hadn’t seen in years.” She gave a small smile, before her face turned to one of worry, “A couple of days ago, two men came and asked about him as well. But something about them didn’t feel right…” She gave him an uncertain look, “I’m not sure how to describe it, really. But they seemed dangerous. Quite forceful in their question too.”

“Alright, have you maybe noticed any changes in him before he disappeared?” He wondered who could have come and asked about him. Had they been the police, she would have just said so. *“Could it be that someone is after John as well?”*

“Mr. Bates, I can’t possibly know.” She shook her head, “I have so many students, and beyond their academic life, I can’t be involved.”

At the same time, Cedric had been asking around about John, but there was nothing much to be said. He was a good kid, kept to himself, but many described him as weird. It was one girl, Sally Smith, who elaborated on that last description a little bit further. “I really liked John. He is sweet, smart, and very very kind.” Cedric decided to use his powers to look into her mind. It wasn’t his strongest ability, but he was good enough. He saw a snippet of her memory as she said the words of John Jonas hugging her sobbing form and comforting her. “Others didn’t really like him all that much. He never really went to any parties or hung out with the others.” She shook her head, “He didn’t do what college students do.” Cedric then was hit with another memory of hers. It was a bit longer than the others. John was staring at her with excited eyes as he said, *“But what if magic is real? What if there are things beyond us, sharing the same realm as us?” He moved closer and held her by the shoulder, “What if there are other realms out there? Wouldn’t that be exciting?” *

Cedric gave her his most charming smile, “Thank you, sweetheart. You’ve been a great help.”

The girl nodded timidly, but when Cedric turned to leave, she called him, “Can you please tell him to call or text me? I just want to make sure he’s okay.”