The Beached Whale

Send it Shattered to the Sea

Saving the world could wait. The boy had lost his mother.

He swore me to secrecy, not to reveal he cried every day for a week. It tore me apart to see him like that. I did my best to comfort him and give him that week to mourn.

On the eighth day, I sat the boy down. I had to help him move forward. "It's good to cry. I have never stopped crying for my wife and son. I never will. I hold them so dear to me. It is okay that you cry for your mother. But you can not let it consume you. If you just cry the rest of your life the man who turned your mother will have beat you. And I won't let you be beaten, son. You take that sadness, all that heartbreak and anger, and you do something with it. What that is, is up to you. This city needs new leadership now that the vampires are dead. Grow up and be a politician. Become a scientist. Run a factory, be a social worker. Whatever your heart desires. But don't weep for nothing. Don't fall into the pit of despair."

The boy wiped away his tears. He sniffled. He said, "I want to do what you do. I want to kill all the vampires."

I was worried he might say that. "I made a promise to your mother to keep you safe."

"Don't give me that shit!"

"Mind your language!"

"Oh, come on, please! I have to stop them! And I can help you!"

To be fair, I was caught between two sacred promises. I both had to keep the boy safely in my company, and fulfill my destiny to rid the world of vampires. I couldn't exactly protect him if I left him here in the city.

"If I'm to let you join me–"

"YES!"

"If! I said if!"

"Sorry, sir. Please continue, sir. Thank you."

Wow. He was really hamming up the manners.

"You should quell your excitement, son. The path you must take to join me will be miserable. The vampire outmatches you in every possible metric. They are faster, stronger. They can make you act against your own will. If we are out ridding the earth of this curse and you get your neck bit, I will have failed your mother. And I am not a failure, so don't make me one."

"I would never."

"We'll have to start your training. Toughen you up. Look at those scrawny arms." He held up his arms and flexed as hard as he could. "And most importantly, you will have to be smart. Your smarts will be your best weapon against a vampire. Because they will always underestimate you. They see you as prey."

The boy began shadowboxing. I allowed him to horse around. After all, it was better than the last week's bawling. I didn't even laugh at the idea of him trying to punch a vampire to death.

To truly train the boy, I would need aid from someone more familiar with human tactics.

I picked the boy up and flew to Axle's hideout. I knocked loudly on the door.

Axle opened the door, and looked me up and down. "Well well. The bloodsucker actually pulled it off. I watched all the vampires enter that mansion on the cameras. And none came out."

"Won't you invite us in?"

Axle laughed. "Please, come in."

"Thank you."

"I had my doubts," he said, "after all, I caught you pretty easily."

"Axle, this is my son, Robert."

"Son?"

"Adopted son."

Robert blurted out, "You're really a vampire slayer, huh?"

"The last one."