markdown-monster-club/chapters/chapter_13.md

# Chapter 13

Abraham walked silently with the others, careful to remember where they were going and starting to wonder how far away they had to go in order to go shopping. Michelle was in the lead, walking briskly and with purpose. Tamil was hanging back slightly. He was smiling and looking around him, clearly enjoying getting the chance to be out and about. Calypso was looking at her feet, still a little embarrassed from the incident with Asher earlier. Abraham didn’t quite know what to say or who to talk to, thankfully, Michelle took care of that for him.
“Abraham,” she said loudly, “you’re a little new to all this, so here’s how we do things. When we get to the store, we’ll split off into groups. One group will go to the food sections and pick up anything food related. The other group will go to the clothing and toiletries area and pick up anything we need from there. When we’ve gotten everything that we’ll need, you are to go to check out line 16. ONLY go to 16, you understand?” Michelle said sharply. Abraham nodded.
“Yeah, I got it…but why 16?” He asked.
“Because cashier knows us and don’t ask questions.” Tamil explained happily.
“Once you get done checking out, we’ll meet in the parking lot outside. Any questions?” Abraham looked from Calypso and Tamil and then nodded.
“Yeah, I got one…how do we explain Tamil’s bandages and Calypso’s skin to everyone?” Abraham asked. Michelle paused for a moment and looked at Calypso and Tamil.
“Show him.” She said. Tamil nodded his head with a smile and straightened up.

“I am sport athlete from foreign country who get hurt in accident. Still recovering.” He said in an impressively straightforward manner. Calypso spoke elegantly and with a slight accent herself.
“And I was born with a genetic mutation that affects the pigment of my skin making it a bluish tint.” Calypso said with a giggle. “We’ve been going off of those excuses every time anyone asks us.”
“And that’s the story you’ll tell if anyone asks you.” Michelle said sharply. “Think you can handle that?”
“Sure.” Abraham said, a little relieved. “I can remember that.” Michelle smiled and continued walking down the road with Abraham and the others following. Suddenly Tamil stopped walking, his smile replaced by a look of nervousness and uncertainty. Michelle and Calypso stopped and looked at him.
“What’s wrong?” Calypso asked. Tamil’s gaze turned to the woods, as if he could sense something in them.
“Something following us.” Tamil said.
“How can you tell that?” Abraham asked.
“Blind, but not stupid.” Tamil answered darkly. “I hear it following for last 10 minutes...do not know what is.” Michelle followed Tamil’s gaze and glared into the trees.
“Could it be Asher?” Abraham asked. “Or maybe Katie and Sarah?” Michelle shook her head.
“No. Asher can’t leave the house at this time. Plus, Sarah and Katie know better than to follow us. Whatever it is, it’s not a member of the Monster Club.” Michelle answered. Calypso hugged herself and trembled.
“I wish Asher was here…he’d take care of it.” Calypso whispered.
“Is that the only reason you want him here?” Michelle smirked. Calypso blushed and scowled Michelle.
“Oh stop it, Michelle.” She snapped. As they spoke, Tamil seemed to relax a little.
“Whatever it was…it not there now.” Tamil said. Michelle relaxed as well and nodded to the group.
“Then let’s keep going…but be cautious.”

At long last, the group made it down into a bustling suburb where there was a large Walmart not far from the road. Michelle indicated it to the team and they walked to the doors. Before they entered, Michelle stopped the group.
“Calypso, make sure your ear fins are covered, and Tamil…stay close to me.” She handed the clothing section of the list to Calypso and then turned to Abraham. “You’re going to go with Calypso to the clothing and toiletries section. I’ll take Tamil with me to get food.”
“Why can’t Calypso go with you?” Abraham asked.
“Because Calypso only get sea food and Michelle not know how to buy good food.” Tamil laughed. Michelle and Calypso both slapped the back of Tamil’s head, causing his hat to fall off as he laughed at them. Abraham laughed too. All the stress and nervousness from earlier was gone.
“Alright, I’ll go with Calypso then.” Abraham said. Michelle smiled and pat his shoulder.
“Good luck, newbie…see you out here when we’re done.” Michelle said. She then took Tamil’s hand and led him into the store. Calypso wandered into the store after them, but then took a left. Abraham followed her to the toiletries and clothing section. When they reached the isle, Abraham looked to Calypso and nudged her.

“So, what’s first on the list?” Abraham asked. Calypso pulled up the list and looked at it. Her eyes narrowed and she kept looking and staring at it as if it was a foreign object.
“I…I don’t know!” She gasped.
“Huh?”
“I can’t understand this writing!” Calypso said in a panic. “I can’t make it out! What’s wrong with me!? Did Solomon write this in some new language or code!? Am I disoriented!?”
“Calm down! I’m sure there’s an explanation. Can I see it?” Abraham asked quickly, trying to calm Calypso down. She held out the list for him to see. It took all his effort not to burst out laughing. “Calypso, it’s upside down.” Abraham laughed. Calypso pulled it back up and flipped it over. She then blushed and slapped her hand to her forehead.
“I’m so stupid.” She groaned. Abraham shook his head trying not to laugh at her.
“No offense, but you act like a fish out of water.” Abraham chuckled. “You’re always tripping and stumbling over yourself. Are you okay?” Calypso blushed and looked away, trying to focus on the list.
“Well, I…um…I’m kind of clumsy on two feet. I prefer the water.” Calypso whispered meekly. “It…doesn’t bother you does it?” She asked. Abraham shook his head.
“No, it’s just funny.” Abraham answered. Calypso picked up a container of detergent and handed it to Abraham to carry.
“Well, I feel like it bothers everyone else.” Calypso whimpered. “Especially Ash.” Abraham walked beside her as they walked down the aisle.
“Why do you say that?” Abraham asked. Calypso shook her head.
“I’m always tripping over myself around him…and he must think I’m such a loser, always having to help me.” Calypso moaned. “I mean, did you see the way he looked at me when I fell on him this morning? I was so embarrassed!”
“I don’t think he minded it that much though.” Abraham said smirking a little. He reached up and grabbed a few bars of soap and looked back at Calypso “Maybe you should ask him about it sometime?” Calypso looked down and gave a small smile.
“I don’t know…maybe…let’s just get back to the list please?” She said fast, trying to return her focus to the task at hand. Abraham was still filled with a lot of questions…and he knew that Calypso would be the perfect person to talk to. Unlike the others, Calypso wasn’t very good at keeping secrets, so all he had to do was ask the right questions and he might be able to get some real answers from her.

“Calypso, what’s the story behind the Dawn Bringers?” Abraham asked. Calypso stiffened and turned to look at him.
“W-why do you want to know that?”
“Well, if they’re dangerous, I think it might be important to know everything I can about them.” Abraham said innocently, pretending to be more focused on the shopping than the question. Calypso sighed and looked lost in thought.
“Well,” she muttered, “the Dawn Bringers are a society of monster hunters. They dedicate themselves to purging the world of all inhumane or supernatural creatures.” Calypso explained.
“Are there a lot of them?” Abraham asked.
“I’m not sure. I know that there are enough of them to be considered dangerous.” Calypso answered darkly.
“Why haven’t they attacked before?” Abraham asked. “I mean, they managed to capture Katie…so they knew where you lived.”
“No,” Calypso said. “Katie was kidnapped outside of the house…they wanted to use her to make her show them where our home was. They’ve never been able to find our home before. The only hunters that know where we live are now dead, thanks to Asher.”
“I see.” Abraham said, trying to process everything. “So Asher keeps the house safe from them.”
“Before him, all we could do was hide when the Dawn Bringers were near….it was our only choice. But then, when Asher came, we didn’t have to hide anymore.” Calypso said, continuing to pull items from the shelves.
“Does Asher normally feed on the Dawn Bringers he kills?” Abraham growled darkly, remembering the night Asher had killed Warren. Calypso shivered and closed her eyes.
“Asher is….” Calypso tried to explain, but stopped short.
“He’s what?” Abraham pressed.
“…Asher is not a monster, Abraham.” She mumbled. “Every night, Asher has to go out and feed to keep up his strength. It’s not because he wants to, it’s because he must.” Abraham paused and just watched Calypso, realizing that he’d gone too far.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.” Abraham said.
“It’s alright,” she said calmly with a weak smile, “just try not to be too harsh about him.” Abraham followed her in silence as she continued to pick up items from the list. At long last it seemed like they had collected everything that they needed.

“Do you think the others are done now?” Abraham asked.
“I’m not sure. Let’s check out and wait in the parking lot, like Michelle said.” Calypso replied. Abraham nodded and went with her to isle 16. There a young woman was waiting. She looked up to see Calypso and suddenly began looking around nervously.
“Hey, Calypso.” She whispered softly, “how ya doing?” She asked. Calypso smiled and put the goods in front of the woman.
“I’m fine, just a little tired.” Calypso said. “Michelle and Tamil didn’t come by here already did they?” The woman shook her head.
“You’re the only club member here so far. I’ll let them know you got here first.” She then looked at Abraham and frowned. “Who’s this?”
“He is Abraham, he’s new to the club…he’s a human.” Calypso explained. The woman went about checking out the items and nodded at Abraham.
“Used to these guys yet?” She asked.
“Getting there.” Abraham answered. The woman laughed.
“Believe me, they’re an interesting bunch. I’ve known them for about 10 months, and I’m still not quite used to them. Names Abbey by the way.” She answered. When she was done checking everything out she looked at Calypso. “So, who’s paying?”
“Michelle has the money…you’ll have to wait on her.” Calypso said. Abbey nodded.
“Alright, then I suggest taking your stuff and heading out…I’ll let Michelle know that you came by.”
“Thanks, Abbey.” Calypso laughed.
“Take care.” With that, Abraham and Calypso picked up their bags and walked out into the parking lot. The sun blinded them for a moment, but they kept on walking. Suddenly, Calypso stopped.

“Abraham,” she whispered, “something is wrong.”
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“I can’t place it…I feel like…”
“Excuse me!” Abraham and Calypso spun around to see a middle aged man running up to them. He looked rather fat and out of breathe. He was balding and he had on glasses. “I’m sorry for bothering you, but I was wondering if you could help me. I’m late for a meeting and I was wondering if you knew how to get to Ridge Crest Lane?” Abraham smiled.
“Yeah, it’s about 3 blocks in that direction.” He said kindly. The man smiled and held up his hand.
“Really? Oh thank you! Also, you should probably know…” he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small water pistol. “…that you’re about to get wet.” He squirted Calypso with the water pistol and she suddenly squealed as her legs fell out from under her…or rather, they vanished from under her. Her legs quickly melded together and transformed into a long mermaids tail, as she fell to the ground in a heap. She couldn’t stand! The grocery bags in her hands clattered to the ground as she had dropped them when she fell. Abraham stared in shock.

“What the hell!?” Abraham gasped.
“Mermaids are forced to return to their original form when in the presence of water.” The man said sternly, losing all of his warmth and kindness from earlier.
“No, he’s one of them!” Calypso cried, quickly trying to crawl away from him. The stranger only grinned fiercely. “He’s a Dawn Bringer agent!”
“You’re free to go, human…my business is with the mermaid.” Abraham looked around and saw that there was no one else nearby to see her, but he couldn’t risk anyone seeing Calypso like this. He ripped off his jacket and threw it over her lower half, covering her tail. The Dawn Bringer agent stared at him with a frown. “I said leave boy.”
“I…I can’t.” Abraham stuttered. “I can’t do that.” The Dawn Bringer sighed.
“Very well, then you shall die with the mermaid. When you two have been dealt with, the two in the store will die next.”
“It was you!” Abraham cried. “You’re the one that Tamil detected following us in the woods earlier!”
“Yes.” The man said. “My name is Gregory, an agent of the Dawn Bringer organization. After the loss of Warren and his partner, we couldn’t ignore your little club any longer.” Abraham felt a small spark of anger course through him.
“Warren was killed by a vampire…and he’ll kill you too if you don’t leave now!” Gregory just laughed.
“Why do you think I chose to attack you in broad daylight in the middle of a public location? You’re pet vampire isn’t here to save you…and now you all die.” Abraham felt his heart fall as he realized the truth of these words. It was all true…Asher wasn’t here now…and he had no way to protect Calypso or the others when they came out. Gregory pulled a real pistol out of his jacket and cocked it. “Any final words?”