Between the Cross and the Flame

Chapter 3: Mavet

Mavet's head spun. The text message rang in his ears. He'd had a feeling someone was watching him, but this? This was completely unexpected. There was an awfully sinister note to Trevor's words. Someone evil and powerful was watching them, and now they'd involved Haniel and his friends. This was beyond invasive; this was downright wrong.

"Chaya and I should go and check this out," Mavet suggested. "You guys don't need to get yourselves killed by some psycho wiping people's minds and dropping them off at people's doorsteps."

"You're not going anywhere without us," Del said firmly. "You're with us now, whether you like it or not."

"She's right," Haniel agreed. "We're not letting you wander off to a high chance of death, either."

Mavet was taken aback. "You– You're serious? But why would you risk your lives for us, especially me? I've been nothing but blunt and cold with you. I've given you no reason to help me."

"First impressions don't have to last," Irvin pointed out.

Chaya smiled shyly at the sandy blonde. "You're too kind to us," he mumbled.

"Well, since we've all agreed to walk into danger together, what do you propose we do?" Mavet asked.

"I've been wanting to skip a day of school since sixth grade," Del said. "Don't give me that look, Irvin, you know I've had perfect attendance every year! It's a Friday, and the teachers are going to be more worried about what they're wearing to the football game than keeping track of their students. I say we leave right now, call it a 'trip to Cedar Point', and get this done before Sunday."

"I like how she thinks," Mavet remarked.

"We'll see if you say the same thing after an AP Physics class with her," Irvin chortled. "I lost her at circumference force."

"Centripetal force."

"Guys, focus, please?" Haniel said. "I've got plenty of room in my car for all of us, so I'll drive. First, I'll take Chaya and Mavet back to my house, we'll each pack a bag, and then we'll meet at your house, Irvin. Del can book a hotel room from her phone on the way back. We drive there, figure out what this Trevor guy wants, and get home, all without alerting our parents that we went to Pennsylvania instead of Sandusky. That means turn off your location services, Irvin."

"That was one time!" Irvin protested.

Mavet wondered what happened there, but he kept his mouth shut. They escaped to the student parking lot unnoticed. By noon, Del, Irvin, and Haniel had successfully convinced their parents of the Cedar Point lie (with much help from Del), they'd packed their bags, and they were piling into Haniel's car. They were off before the worst of the lunch rush hour. Irvin complained for the first ten minutes about being stuck in the back seat with Del until she convinced him to sleep on her shoulder. He passed out for several hours afterwards, Del sweetly combing her fingers through his hair. Mavet wondered why his heart sank.

They made steady progress toward the eastern border of Ohio, the tires rumbling steadily along the highway. Haniel spent the majority of the afternoon hours lulling his friends to sleep with slow music, then listening to it himself in near silence. Mavet closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep to give him some alone time. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of answers they'd get from this Trevor Puck guy, assuming he didn't kill them on sight. Would he and Chaya get to go home? Would they figure out who their family is? Would they get to leave poor Haniel alone? Or had they permanently yanked his chance at a normal life out from under his feet the moment they showed up?

Normal. Mavet hated that word. He felt like he'd gotten into many arguments over its usage in the past, judging by the amount of frustration that bubbled up at its mere pronunciation. The word was too fluid, too malleable; everyone had a perfect definition of normal in their own head. The concept of normality versus abnormality had proven to be dangerous throughout history. Mavet had a sudden image of himself chucking a history textbook and ranting at dead people that clearly couldn't hear him (according to him, not because they were dead, but because their heads were too far up their butts to listen to sensible advice). Why did everyone have to fight for their own version of normal? Irvin had explained earlier that Haniel could get kicked out of his house for being gay. It was the dumbest thing Mavet had ever heard. Why couldn't this world agree to celebrate differences, especially those that made each person unique?