Karras

Prepare the Coven

There was a knock at the door. Max didn't awaken from his slumber. "Max?!" Cordelia opened the door; her eyes eventually fell on the open drawer. She came into the room. "Max you chose the wrong day..." She started to slide the drawer closed but stopped when she saw a gun inside. Her mouth dropped open. Max opened his eyes and let out a yawn. "Max Theodore Karras, you have a gun?!" He sat up, eyes still squinting, "It's not a big deal. I forgot I even had the thing." Cordelia closed the box then slide the drawer closed. "Why do you even have it in the first place?" Max ran his hands through his hair, "I don't know, protection? It's what nonmagical folks do. Along with learning karate or something." "We protect you; we protect each other."

Max got out of bed and went to his closet, grabbed a shirt off a hanger. "Look, I pulled it out because this nightmare I had felt real. Those guys are coming." He put on a shirt. Cordelia let out a breath. "I've never used it mom, I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Cordelia took a seat on the corner of the bed, "I guess I understand. Today's going to be long." Max smoothed out his shirt with his hands. "Self-defense, spells and what not?" "That's how it goes."

--

Max was hunched over a legal pad copying from a spell book. Misty was tending to plants while humming "Rhiannon" to herself. Cordelia entered, observed what everyone was doing. "Maxy isn't it your birthday soon?", Misty said in her Southern accent. Max didn't look up, invested in what he was doing, "Mmhmm." Cordelia looked at the spell book in front of Max, "I don't think I asked you what you wanted." Max glanced up at his mother, "That's the last thing I want to think about right now, mom." Misty placed a hand on Max's back, "But turning twenty, it's so fun." Max nervously chuckled. Cordelia spoke up, "We don't know that the world is coming to an end when you become a God, sweetie."

Misty's eyes lit up. Max closed the spell book. "A god? That's cool. What kind? How?" Max looked at what he wrote down. "Long story we'll tell you later." Max put the pen in his shirt pocket, "Let's just focus on the threat." "You wrote down spells?" "I'm going to give them to Zoe, she'll teach them to the girls." Max walked past his mother who put a hand on his shoulder, knowing he was having a rough time. "Is he alright?" "Just a lot on his plate." Misty looked at Cordelia with kind eyes, "He'll be fine. He's strong like you." Cordelia smiled.

--

Zoe mixed a brew in a cauldron as Gwen stood beside her on a foot stool watching. "Now the mandrake." Gwen tapped Zoe's arm, "Can I do it?" Zoe handed Gwen the root. The little witch happily dropped the root into the cauldron. POOF! Max entered with a couple sheets of yellow paper. "Made lots, that's good." "Those the protection spells?" Max handed them to her, "Wrote 'em all down, in order of most effective to least effective but they all work pretty well. At least, that's what I've heard." He shrugged. "Thanks." "Max look! I made it go poof!" "Zoe's a good teacher, huh?" He tussled her hair a bit, "Yeah, she's great." Zoe smiled, "Thanks kid." Gwen smiled back, "You're welcome!" "Need me to do anything else?" Zoe started filling potion vials. She shook her head, "Not that I can think of. The girls are doing self-defense stuff in the other room. Gwen and I will make one more potion." "Well, okay. I'll get out of the way. Call me if you guys need me for anything." "Okay, will do." "Bye Max!"

--

Max walked up to the coffee shop counter, his hands in his pockets. "Can I get a black coffee, medium?" The barista nodded and poured some coffee into a cup, put a lid on it, gave it to Max. Max put a few dollars on the counter then took his coffee. Max looked for a place to sit. Mel sat in the corner of the shop by herself. She turned her head, her beauty immediately catching Max's eye. Max walked over to her, "History section." Mel smiled, "Oh, hi western civilizations." Mel took a sip of her drink. "Mel, right?" She nodded, "You can sit if you want." He blushed, "Oh... thanks." Max took a seat across from her.

"You waiting for someone?", she asked. "No, I just had to get away." Mel nodded, "I get that." Max took a sip, "You getting away from something? Someone?" Mel shrugged, "Yeah, kind of. My dad is pretty strict. He doesn't like it when I go out, but I can't stay with him all the time. It's depressing." She rolled her eyes, "Maybe he just misses you." "How can he miss me when I see him all the time?" Max nodded and took another sip. He liked her, she was mysterious, smart and she had a voice that was smooth like butter with a touch of a sexy rasp. "You like your dad?" Max cleared his throat, "I uh...don't know him that well. My mom tells me I'm just like him." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Oh, it's fine." Mel chuckled, "What?" "You're like a really nice guy." Max laughed, "Thanks." "You want to get out of here? I've just heard the same three instrumental jazz tracks about seventeen times now." "Oh...yeah of course."

--

Mel led Max into a dark bedroom. "I'm new in town so, everything's kind of plain." Max looked at his surroundings, "It's cozy." Mel sat on the bed. Max fiddled with his jacket, "Are you cold?" Max shook his head, "No, I'm good." He smiled. "My heater doesn't work. What's your place like?" Max took a seat on the opposite side of the bed. "It's a school, an academy. My mom runs the place, it's an all-girl school." "What's that like?" "What?" Mel's voice was almost seductive, "Being the only guy in a house full of women?" Max shrugged as Mel laid on the bed, propping her head up with her elbow. "I grew up there so...it's all I've known. It's like I have a bunch of sisters and friends."

Mel scooted closer to Max, "Ever get a crush on one of the girls?" Max shook his head, "No. I had a crush on the neighbor girl growing up. She liked Bobby Daniels." Max giggled, "Her loss, mister..." "Karras." "She may have liked Bobby Daniels but I like Max Karras." Both of them laugh. Max plopped on his back on the bed. They finished laughing, looked at each other and started kissing.

--

The two young adults were asleep in bed, articles of clothing missing. Mel's eyes opened, saw him asleep and kissed his forehead. She let out a breath, gave him an intense look, her eyes glowed neon blue. Max's body began to shake, he occasionally whimpered. Mel sat up in bed and looked down at him with a straight face. Max's eyes opened but he was still asleep, only the whites of his eyes visible. Max breathed deeply, he would let out a short scream every now and then. Mel looked at him concerned. Suddenly she reached for Max and started shaking him. "Karras?! Karras?! Max, wake up!" Max's eyes suddenly closed; his shaking stopped. Mel put her ear to his chest, he was barely breathing. "Karras?! Max?! I'm sorry!" She tried shaking him again. He remained still.