The Blainter

5...

Adele sat comfortably under the shade that his car provided from the hot sun. He had his windows shut and the air conditioner on high. He didn't mind waiting outside in the comfort of his jeep. It was part of his job, after all. Driving and waiting were his main duties and performing them had become another part of his life a couple of decades ago.

Adele wasn't like most of his driving companions. He liked different things and even looked different than the others. He had the most menacing look, with a huge muscly frame, and nearing seven feet in height. He had quite the sight. Everyone steered clear of him and did their best to look anywhere but in his eyes when he entered a room. Most of his paying passengers were frightened when they first saw him, but he never failed to make them feel at ease before the ride was over.

In actuality, his heart was just as big as his massive frame. He made his passengers feel like they were in good hands when he was their driver. Adele didn't let others' first impressions stop him from showing his true character, and he wasn't shy in the slightest. 

After giving a little information about himself, people would instantly feel bad that they even perceived him as scary in the first place. He had a soft spot for children and homeless people. Even though some of the kids cried upon seeing him. There was a candy box that he kept in the compartment in front of the passenger seat for those awkward moments.

When the night was a bit cooler than most other nights, he would give blankets to a homeless couple that lived a few blocks down from his house. The homeless couple had been living in a freight car for two months before he first spotted them. They told him about being kicked out of their home and having everything taken away from them. Their names were Ethan and Amelie.  He instantly grew a soft spot for two people that he never met a day before in his life. On that very same day, he promised to help them get back on their feet and support them with any free time and resources that he had.

It wasn't common for people to allow homeless people to move into their homes in his neighborhood, but that didn't stop him from offering the chance to get Amelie and Ethan out of the train car sooner. He met the couple a month ago, but they would still always refuse his invitations, even now, to stay in his three-bedroom house for a while. He didn't have a wife or children. He didn't even own a pet. The sense that Ethan and Amelie trusted him was deep in his heart, but he understood that they felt guilty every time they did accept his help. He was always grateful when they did though, so he felt no need to badger them. 

The art teacher had promised him an opportunity that has never been presented to him before. That was the chance to become rich, of course. He would no longer have to endure stress over finances, and he can live the life that he worked so hard on this job for. With enough money, he would be able to get Ethan and Amelie into their place in no time. He knew they would decline at first, but this time he would force them to accept his help. A life of freedom and nice things wouldn't be enjoyable to him if he had to think about the well-being of the couple. 

It wasn't his job to keep them safe, but his heart never made any mistakes, and he made it his priority to make their life fuller. No one else made him do the things he did. That was just the type of person he was. 

Adele was enjoying his thoughts while listening to some of his favorite French records. His favorite musician was singing the chorus of the song on the radio, and Adele started to sing along while swaying his stiff neck to the music. He was so into the zone that he didn't care if one of the students walked out right then and saw him. Today was a very happy day for him and nothing could stop that. He thought. He did a quick look out of his window to see if anyone was watching anyway.

"What in the-" Adele exclaimed, pausing in the middle of his sentence. In front of the art gallery where his passengers disappeared, stood a figure. It looked humanoid, but Adele didn't know for sure because of his shut windows. He let down the driver's window so that he could get a better look.