Hadis

Chapter Ten: Know Thy Enemy

She's a fool, Nixon told himself. Thinking she knows who I am... He snorted, smiling as he put distance between himself and the house where Amara was about to get a surprise.

What about Jeanette?

Nixon shook the thought. A little crumpled body was the least of that girl's worries. Or so he convinced himself.

"Yeah, Nixon?" Travis' voice answered through the phone Nixon forgot he dialed.

"Travis. Where are you?"

"My house."

Nixon hung up and took a sharp turn down several residental roads that would lead him to Travis.

"You did what?" Travis traveled around his kitchen, preparing himself something to eat.

"Don't go there." Nixon warned. "I'm not in the mood."

Travis scoffed. "Clearly."

Nixon shot him a look.

"Listen," Travis stopped what he was doing and watched Nixon fiddle with the glass of water he had given him. "Amara was right, this cult effects you." He pointed a slim finger for emphasis. "This is for your safety as well as the city's."

"But--"

"Don't but me. I'm taking a few days off work, there's no way I'm sticking around where you were attacked. I don't trust them in the public eye."

Nixon nodded. "I don't think they're the low profile type."

"Exactly."

"It doesn't matter anyway. Amara will be mad at me, and Jeanette is going to be afraid." Nixon pushed the glass to one side. "I'll have to go after them myself."

"You're not thinking straight." Travis muttered. "Amara is mad, you screwed up big time Nixon. But she will put this cult before your petty outbursts."

"It wasn't a petty outburst." Nixon snapped.

"Oh really? It's funny how everytime you take a seat there you're mad at your sister and just killed someone to 'get back' at her."

"Brent isn't just someone. He was a friend of Amara's way back when." Nixon explained. "He didn't give Amara any contact info because he thought I might go for him."

Travis sighed. "Looks like that didn't matter."

"I know how he thinks."

Nixon burst through the front doors, letting the school fade into the background as he ran.

"Brent!" His fist pounded on the frail door.

The door swung open and Brent's narrow eyes looked down at Nixon. "What is it? I'm busy." He grunted.

"Amara can wait." Nixon crossed his arms. He would never get used to Brent dating his sister. "I need your help."

"Nixon?" Amara called from inside.

"She can't know." Nixon pleaded.

Brent nodded. "Amara, your brother needs some guy talk. I wont be long." He directed Nixon outside to where Amara wouldn't hear them.

"Thank you." Nixon kicked at the ground.

Brent took a seat on the front stair and gestures for Nixon to follow. "What's going on?"

Nixon hesitated before joining him. "It's getting worse," he picked at his fingers nervously. "I don't know what to do."

"The cravings," Brent chuckled. "I see."

"Can you help?"

"Yeah, just as much as your sister can."

"I just don't want her to know." Nixon whispered. "She expects so much from me, I can't let her down."

"You're not perfect, none of us are."

"I know that." Nixon ran a hand through his hair, his feet tapping the old wood. "It doesn't mean I can't try."

"Nixon, it's in your nature to feed. I can show you how I do it, teach you my ways. Amara won't have to know." Brent offered.

Nixon stood up. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Yes, you can." Brent insisted.

Nixon's head shook furiously. "I can't kill people Brent. That's what I don't want to do."

"You're too innocent." Brent snickered. "The sooner you accept yourself, the sooner you'll have control."

"This was a stupid idea." Nixon muttered. "I'll find another way." He turned and headed away from Brent's house.

"You'll realize it soon enough." Brent called after him.

"He taught you to feed?" Travis looked disgusted.

"Yeah." Nixon gave a half hearted laugh. "That was the beginning of it. Everything just went down hill from there."

"I think you're wrong."

"How so?"

"It seems Brent had a point. You were afraid to feed, and when you did, you lost that fear. You can control yourself now." Travis shrugged. "You didn't hurt Jeanette, right?"

"Don't mention her." Nixon gritted his teeth. "I just know Brent is bad news. Amara isn't happy with it, but he would've gotten in the way."

"He would've tried to get your sister back."

"You know nothing about them."

"I know they were together, Amara was like you and you were like her. They split and it's like you and Amara switched." Travis thought for a moment. "There's a part of this you aren't telling me."

"That's because it doesn't matter."

"It caused two drastic changes in characters. It had to of been big."

"It wasn't." Nixon's hand slammed down on the table, causing the glass to shake.

"Alright," Travis rose his hands in defence. "When you want to tell me, you know where to find me."

"Right." Nixon dismissed the topic. "We need to get Porter. I'm sending him out of town."

Travis raised a hand. "I thought the plan was to help him."

"That was Amara's plan." Nixon stated. "I faced one of them and it nearly killed me, and I'm pretty sure he was one of the runts. Taking the whole cult on would be suicide."

"I thought you liked challenges."

"Very funny."

"Find people to help. This cult is just going to grow stronger."

Nixon slid the glass towards the sink as he stood up. "When you can't beat them, you join them."

"I don't think that applies here..."

"Travis." Nixon spoke loudly. "I know what I'm doing."

Travis grimaced. "I don't like it when you say that."