(Old Version) The Blood of the Covenant

Chapter Seven: Micah

Micah was shaken awake as David's car jerked to a stop. His head smacked hard against the window, and he let out a string of curses that had the former coffee shop manager tutting with teasing disapproval.

"Sorry, David," Micah muttered, rubbing his sore head. "I'll watch my language."

David chuckled a little. "No, I'm the one who should apologize. If I'd known you were asleep, I would've made that stop a bit more... gentle."

Micah smiled in his direction, trying to signal that there was no harm done. "Oh, really?"

"Really," David assured him, his voice genuine.

"I believe you, but only 'cause you're way too nice to do that on purpose."

David just laughed again. "Well, in any case, we're here. At the address you gave me."

Micah's heart skipped a beat.

"I have to admit, this place is a little nicer than I expected." David continued. "It's a suburban paradise. Everything here looks so..."

"Perfect."

"Exactly. That's just it. Perfect."

Micah sighed. "Isn't it just?"

He remembered it vividly. The immaculately cut lawns, the sturdy old oaks, the perfect brick houses with pretty shudders and flower boxes. The wide, winding streets and smooth sidewalks running parallel, the simple, perfectly identical mailboxes. Each lot looked like a clone of the next. Everything was in its place. A perfectly manicured utopia for the nuclear family.

Perhaps it had been a suburban paradise. The golden apple of Amberchase. But this golden apple had a worm at its core. Burrowed beneath the neighborhood's image of perfection.

This house wasn't a place of dreams. It was the home of his nightmares.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" David checked.

Micah flinched a bit. "Oh, yeah. It is."

He sensed David's head swivel to face him. The poor man practically radiated confusion. He didn't seem to know how to word the question that weighed heavily on the tip of his tongue.

Finally, Micah conceded and answered the unspoken inquiry. "I don't have to see it to know. They all look the same, anyways."

"That they do." David agreed, his head bobbing and turning his gaze away from Micah again. "Each and every one of them."

Silence hung in the car as Micah hesitated. He didn't want to get out. Not yet. A part of him feared that the moment he stepped out, he'd be recognized. What if Pardus still monitored this place? What if coming here was going to destroy the anonymity he'd enjoyed the past three years? Being presumed dead had its benefits.

"Are you sure about this?"

Micah stiffened. He definitely hadn't expected to be confronted so directly. But as the silence stretched on, Micah felt compelled to answer.

"Honestly? I'm never really sure about anything." He said softly. "Not anymore."

"Do you want me to come with you? To meet them, I mean? Your parents?" David asked. "If you don't feel safe... I can come with you."

"No." Micah sighed. "This is something I need to do on my own."

There was a pause. Then, David said, "I understand. Good luck, Micah. Be safe, and call me if you ever need anything. God be with you."

"Thank you." Micah murmured as he reached for the door. He felt bad about lying to David about all this. But he knew the man wouldn't have taken him here without a little lie.