The Second Layer

Chapter 16: Ryan

Chapter 16: Ryan

Ryan stood beside Vryce as he knocked on the door. They were at a house near the outskirts of the city itself. Vryce had assured him that here they would find the man he'd told Ryan about.

A minute later Vryce had just raised his hand to knock again when the door opened to reveal a man seemingly in his mid to late sixties. Standing of a height with Ryan, with white hair and dark eyes, there was something dignified about the man, even though he did seem to be wearing pajamas.

"Lousy time of the night to come waking people up, Vryce," the man muttered grumpily as he stood in the doorway, his attention shifting back and forth between the two of them. "New blood?"

"Indeed. This is Ryan Lydon, just became a freak tonight. He was a human who'd been digging into our kind. I hit him with a darkbolt, meant to kill him, and imagine my surprise when he changes into one of us. Anyways, Ryan, this is Erik Weathers. Erik is the ripe old age of a hundred and seventy-eight. He also happens to be the most knowledgeable freak I know in this city, so he'll be able to answer your questions better than anyone," Vryce said.

"Still volunteering my services without even asking me, are we? Eh, well, it has been awhile since the last time, so I suppose it's alright. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ryan," Erik answered, offering his hand, which Ryan quickly shook. "Don't let Vryce try to impress you with my age. I've met far older freaks in my time, who looked far younger, too. Unfortunately I didn't become a freak until my mid-thirties, so I wasn't able to enjoy an extended youth the way some have, but it's alright, I'm not complaining. When I meet a human who looks as good as I do at my age, that's when I'll begin to complain."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Ryan told him.

"HA!" Vryce exclaimed, looking amused. "I'm well over a hundred myself, and yet you're the only one who gets sir'ed. That's what looking young gets you, Erik. Anyways, there are a couple errands I need to run. I should be back in a couple hours or so. Can you look after the new guy until then?"

"Sure, he and I will have a long talk. I'll try and fill in the many blanks I'm sure you've left him with. Just remember you owe me one for this, Vryce," Erik replied.

"I owe you a dozen. But you know you have to start asking for things if I'm ever going to pay you back," Vryce stated, smiling broadly.

"Eh, I'm saving them all up just in case you ever find the fountain of youth and there's only enough water for one of us," Erik remarked, smiling himself.

"Well, if that happens, it'll be all yours, I promise. Anyways, Ryan, I leave you in excellent hands," Vryce informed him, before turning and heading back to the car.

"Ryan, why don't you come in," Erik said, before disappearing back into the house. Ryan followed, carefully closing the door behind him. A long hallway later and he was standing in a room that seemed to have been transformed into a mini-library. Not only were there large bookcases side-by-side along every wall, but there were several more bookcases sitting in the center of the room. And from what he could see there wasn't an inch of empty space on any of the bookcases. It was honestly the most books he'd ever seen in a single room outside of an actual library.

"Are any of these books written by freaks?" Ryan asked as he scanned his eyes back and forth over the various titles on the bookcase nearest to him.

"A few. But none of the books are about freaks, which is an important distinction. The line on that is basically that if you want to write a book and you can manage to get published, then go right ahead. But if you put a single mention of freaks in the book, you will be dead and the manuscript will be destroyed before it ever reaches the publishers," Erik informed him. "So these books are all for my personal enjoyment. They're not part of my research."