35: Odd Friends II (Flashback)

*Edward Lawson woke up with a jolt in his dorm room. He was sweating and panting. He had had the most absurd and horrifying nightmare he had ever had in his life. Edward put his hand on his face to rub his eyes. He recoiled at the pain it caused. He slowly and gently traced his hand on his face and found multiple bruises. ‘So, the beating part really happened’, he thought to himself. He looked around for his roommate and best friend who was nowhere in sight. All the walls of the room were bare and all the posters that hung on them hours ago were either rolled and placed into a cardboard box or torn to shreds. Large cardboard boxes surrounded him. Everything he and Boris owned was gathered up to move out. It was time for them to say their goodbyes to the dorm room and the college. Boris arrived with a crate of beer. He tried to read Edward’s reaction. Edward looked at him and found similar bruises in his face. He snickered. Boris was relieved to find him in a relaxed state as he had expected all sorts of panic and terror. He offered Edward a drink.

*“You look like shit!”, Edward taunted. Boris chuckled.
“That makes two of us”, Boris shot back at him. They both laughed and popped open their drinks. Boris was waiting for the barrage of questions relating to the events of the prior night.*

*“We should report Drew. He crossed the line”, Edward spoke soberly. Boris slowly nodded. He was in deep thought.
“But he was drunk, wasn’t he?”, Boris tried to calm him down. Edward didn’t look convinced. “And besides, he won’t bother us anymore”, he added. It raised several questions in Edward’s mind. Edward was about to ask why but he was cut short.
“What happened last night was entirely my fault. You kept trying to stop me but I was a total pissbrain to ignore your warnings”, Boris explained. “Even I knew that it was going bite me in the ass but it didn’t keep me away from Clara”, he added. Edward nodded in agreement. He saw an apology coming that he didn’t want. He had seen lifelong friendships deteriorate after an apology. There was a brief silence.
“But what I didn’t expect was you risking your life for me”, Boris spoke gratefully. Edward was getting worried about his bonehead friend who was known to be devoid of any emotions. “Now that you have seen my truth, it’s only fair that you hear it as well. I’m a werewolf”, he revealed. Edward took it as a joke for a second but then he remembered his nightmare. There was no way Boris could know what Edward had dreamt about. “I need you to meet some important people who can help you understand better”, Boris added. Edward stared at him bewildered. His friend was not giving him a break. *

*“What the hell are you talking about?”, Edward spoke, expecting a laugh and an admission that it was all a joke. Boris had a concerned look on his face.
“What you saw, it was no illusion. I can turn into a deadly beast on command. My entire family has that trait”, Boris explained. Edward imagined the ever-smiling and sweeter than honey Mrs. Ivanovic transforming into a mythological monster. He shuddered at the thought. “There are also other beings that common people only hear of in folklores” Boris added. Edward’s mind was running overtime. First creature that came up in his mind was a vampire. “Like monsters, angels, demons, and many more. They all live right among the people, hidden in plain sight”, Boris added as if on cue. Edward was never the one for conspiracy theories but all the information made him wonder who else in his friends could be something more than human. He wondered who the people Boris wanted him to meet were.
“We have elders that make decisions for us. They’re the ones who declare wars, make peace and settle disputes. They’re always in need for trustworthy contacts among humans”, Boris explained and Edward attentively listened. “I think you should meet them”, he added. Edward’s mind was still stuck on the part where Boris told him that Drew and his won’t be a problem anymore. *

*“The kind of a knucklehead Drew is, I’m pretty sure he’ll be back”, Edward asked the driving question. Boris shook his head.
“I told you, he won’t. I took care of it”, Boris responded. Edward wasn’t satisfied. He wanted specifics.
“How?”, he asked.
“They are all six feet fucking under, that’s how!”, Boris snapped. He wasn’t accustomed to that much questioning. Edward lacked any optimism to imagine that his friend meant anything other than what he thought he meant. He was expecting something brutal. What pushed him more to the edge was the ease with which his friend spoke about multiple murders.
“It might surprise you that each and everyone of those sons of bitches deserved it”, Boris revealed. Edward was still reconciling with the admission of murders. He gave him a questioning look. “Drew himself had raped a girl in his high school and recorded it keep her mouth shut. His goons however were involved in a wide spectrum of crimes ranging from rape to homicide”, Boris added.
“How can you be so sure?”, asked Edward.*
“I knew I was gonna cross paths with them the moment I arrived in the college. I had them checked out just to be sure. I’m surprised that it took so long”, Boris r**esponded with a shrug. Edward’s uneasiness had somehow multiplied.
“Your Elders? What should I expect?”, Edward spoke his mind.
“They don’t bite, unless provoked of course!”, Boris responded and laughed. It didn’t help Edward. “They may get a bit crampy over my disclosure to you but it’s up to you to show them that you are worth it”, Boris explained. Edward took his time and his friend didn’t mind.
“And if I say no?”, Edward hesitantly asked. Boris had expected it.
“It’s all up to you. I know you well enough to understand that you won’t snitch on me but even if you do, all the evidences placed at the scene by my people, point towards gang violence”, Boris calmly told. “But in such a scenario, I’ll need to disappear”, he added. Edward thought long and hard. He would have never snitched on Boris about the murders and there was nothing to prove that the Ivanovics were werewolves. Even if there was a way to prove it, he couldn’t think of one good reason to do so.
“I won’t say that we are the good guys because that would be a lie. Some of us would make the demons feel ashamed. But we do whatever we can to stop them. Still, being on our side, you will have the choice to accept or refuse any task as your conscience allows”, Boris stated the terms. Edward listened to him without making eye contact.
“When do we meet?”, Edward abruptly spoke and lobbed his empty beer can into the bin across the room. He had made up his mind. Boris grinned and tossed another beer at him.
“I’ll try to arrange something”, Boris responded. *