In the Pursuit of Mr. Reeves

Chapter 9: And So It Begins...

The girl's boss was insistent on letting her go off, especially after she said it was to discover new book ideas. This hadn't been a complete lie, being that her first book was being sold at a steady rate. It wasn't bestseller, but for a first time published author, it was doing alright. She needed to discover a new book idea and find herself.

Peyton had packed a simple duffle bag and walked to the front lawn of the group's home.Two cars were already packed to the brim. One had been a beautiful black sports car, with bags packed in the trunk and back, with Mnemonic stuck in the back. Jack was at the wheel with Utah ready to crank the music up. The other car was a beat up pick up truck, that Shane sat in the front seat of. Thomas found himself in there, holding his own bag. Constantine stood beside a van and watched as the girl approached them. Harker smiled once he saw her and shut the trunk on his hand.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed, causing Rupert and Ted to laugh out loud and shake their heads.

"Here," she said, setting her bags down and taking his hand," Oh, Hark, this is gonna be a nasty bruise." Peyton turned to Constantine," Do you guys have a first aid kit in the house?"

"We should," he nodded," go into the bottom cabinet in the bathroom in the basement."

Peyton thanked him and led Harker inside. He was cradling his hand like a baby as they walked towards the basement. The light was flickering in the finished basement, with shining tiles and carperted stairs. Harker stood close to the girl, fear as he watched the room around him. Peyton noticed his fidgeting.

"Haven't you been in the basement before?" she asked as they entered the big bathroom.

"I've been too afraid to," he admitted as he sat on the edge of the bathtub," As you know my character has...been through a lot. I don't like to go many places alone. The others laugh at me for it, but-"

"No, no," she sighed and opened the cabinet," I understand. I've been on my own for a few years now. I haven't made many friends out here, until you guys came along, that is. It gets lonely and, honestly, scary."

"Well," Harker said," You won't be alone for the next week or two. You'll be with us! And if a vampire tried to hurt you, I would certainly fight them for you."

"I'd fight them for you too," Peyton blushed softly," Now let's fix you up."

Harker extended his hand and allowed her to take it. His soft, pale hand was bruising already. He winced as she touched his hand, rubbing it softly with her thumb. She looked through the first aid kit to find an ice pack. It was one of those that someone would crack and shake so it would get cold. Peyton did so and placed the pack on his hand. He winced as she wrapped it with some bandages. It was the least she could do.

"And for good measures," she said, then gently kissed his hand.

"Thank you, Peyton," Hark smiled," You know, I'm nervous about this trip."

"Me too, Hark," she sighed as she put the kit away,' But we'll be okay. We have each other and our crew. We're gonna be just fine."

Harker thanked the girl again, but he grew skeptical. He knew she would never steer them in the wrong direction on purpose, but he believed she had every reason to be angry. She wasn't the eleventh member. She had every reason to hate them or throw them off. But she still stayed. In fact, she made sure that they were going in the right direction. She cared and that was all that mattered to him. If only Harker could bring it to himself to tell her how much that meant to him...

"We're all packed and ready to go," Mr Wick had been in the doorway, scaring Harker," How's your hand, buddy?"

"Feeling better already!" Harker laughed.

"Glad to hear," the older man turned to Peyton," You can come in our car. It's the big van our front- I'm driving, Constantine called shotgun and Rupert and Ted got the middle. So it looks like you and Harker are sitting in the back back."

"I don't mind!" she said, then looked to Harker," I do get car sick easily- I hope you don't mind."

"I get seasick," Harker declared," I understand completely."

The crew was all ready to go when the three got out of the house. They all gathered outside on the lawn and stood together, ready for whatever John had to say. Mr Wick stood before them, Constantine to his left and Peyton to his right. They all waited for him to speak.

"Okay," he started," Our main goal is to get to California within the week. We need to be sure that we make it to Keanu on time. Even if we don't have our eleventh member. Once we convince him about the wish, we'll be ready and set. We'll unfortunately part ways with our friend...and we move on."

The group agreed, though remained quiet about the whole 'moving on' thing. They packed up in the cars and were ready to head off. The snow was light as they made their way out of North Bixbay. Peyton had her head down the entire time, nervously moving her hands. Constantine caught sight of her actions from the rearview mirror.

"Are you alright, kid?" he asked.

"I haven't traveled out of Bixbay in a long time," she admitted quietly.

"Oh really?" Constantine pondered," Are you going to be okay?"

Peyton nodded and took a deep breath. Harker watched but didn't say a word. He had to stay quiet for the sake of being teased. He could only watch as they drove down and out of Connecticut to be on their way.