Joan began putting out chairs for the meeting. Only a few other slayers had arrived early and most of them mingled by the snack table. Joan’s phone vibrated and she paused in setting up, grabbing it to read the message.
‘Wow, the whole town turned out, you should have come.’-Bex. Attached to the text was a picture of the filled football stadium.
Joan sighed and put her phone back in her pocket.
“Hey,” Someone coming up behind Joan caused her to flinch.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Rooney said.
“You just caught me off guard, want to help? I mean with my one good arm and your one good arm that is like an actual pair of arms.” Joan said.
“Hmm, good point. Don’t mind if I do.” Rooney moved next to her to help unstack the chairs and set them out.
Rooney’s arm was still in a full-on cast and would be for at least another month according to the doctor. It was taking a while for the break to heal. After all, Lyssa had broken her bone clean in half, it wasn’t just a simple fracture.
Joan eyed Rooney out of the corner of her eyes as they set up in silence.
“So, are you going to talk to me or just stare at me?” Rooney said.
“Oh uh, I was just… I mean I haven’t seen you since, well, you know. I kinda thought you might hate me.” Joan said honestly.
“Why would I hate you?” Rooney set another chair down.
“Well, I didn’t let you kill Lyssa. Not to mention your arm.”
“Yeah well, look at your arm. I’m over it anyway. Besides you’re still here which means you still believe in our cause. That’s good enough for me. Not to mention the word on the street is you killed one of the vampires lurking around here. The girl one.”
“Word on the street is wrong. Lyssa killed her; I couldn’t even get close.” Joan gave a frustrated sigh.
“Well you were there, and she’s dead, so that’s all that counts right?”
Joan sighed as took down another chair.
“You okay?” Rooney asked.
“I don’t know, maybe? Ask me again later.”
Rooney giggled and Joan forced herself to meet the redhead’s green eyes.
“I feel that,” Rooney smiled.
“I just have a lot I’ve been thinking about. I can’t really talk about it with my best friend, being as she’s dating a freaking vampire and wouldn’t be much help. She’d just say, do the right thing Joan, you know in your heart, blah, blah, blah.” Joan mocked Bex.
Rooney giggled again.
Joan smiled at her.
“Well you can talk to me, I’m all ears.” Rooney began to move the chairs in place.
“I just… I don’t know. Everything is so confusing now. I wish I could go back to before my best friend decided to date a vampire. Maybe then my dad might still be alive. I mean, I’ve had many chances to kill Lyssa but every time it comes down to it, I just can’t. For a freaking vampire slayer, I’d say it’s pretty pathetic that I’ve never actually slain a freaking vampire. Maybe… maybe I’m not cut out for this after all.”
“Hey, stop that. So, what if you’ve never slain a vampire, neither have I, hell neither have half the people in our guild. What you are doing is about so much more than killing vampires. You are helping to build a community. A safe haven for people to come to if they ever find themselves in trouble. It’s about brotherhood and kinship. We are teaching kids to stick up for themselves, to protect themselves. We are giving them something they’ve never had and that’s people who will always be there for them no matter what. We are like a family here, so even if you haven’t slain a vampire, you’re still one of us.” Rooney pat Joan on the shoulder with her good arm.
“Thanks, that does help a little bit.” Joan smiled.
“Good, now that will be 30$ I don’t just give out motivational speeches for free you know.”
“Hey, I didn’t agree to that.” Joan mock pouted.
“Too bad, I guess you’ll just have to make it up to me some other way.”
“And what way would that be?”
“How about a date? Friday night? You and me and maybe a movie?”
“A-a date!?”
Rooney cringed.
“God please tell me my gaydar isn’t broken, that would be so awkward.”
“No! I mean, I’m gay, I’m really freaking gay, not like, okay let me start over. You want to go on a date with me?”
“Sure do. We could be the busted arm duo, that way I won’t have to worry about you trying to steal my popcorn.”
“Wait, you don’t share popcorn on a date?”
“Hell no, I paid for it, get your own.”
Joan giggled.
“Well? Now that I know my gaydar isn’t broken, what do you say?”
“Um… Uh…” Joan looked around in panic for a way out of answering.
“Oh I get it, I’m not your type. I’m guessing you like bimbos who are into vampires.”
“What!? No, wait… how did you know that?”
“Because you’re super obvious. I knew you for like what a few minutes and I could tell you were so crushing on your bimbo friend. No offense but the girl isn’t that bright if she thinks dating a vampire will end in anything but a disaster.”
“I agree with you, but she won’t listen to me.”
“Well… if you change your mind.” Rooney turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Rooney paused mid-step for extra comical effect.
“I mean, sure I’d like to go on a date with you.”
“Really? Even I thought that motivation speech pick-up line needed work.”
“Really, I thought it was funny.”
“So it’s a date then, Friday night?”
Joan nodded, her cheeks heating up.
“Cool, here let me give you my number.”
Joan handed Rooney her phone and watched as the redhead put her number in.
“Here, now let’s finish setting up and get this show on the road.” Rooney handed Joan back her phone.
They two quickly finished setting up, with the help of a few others. Then everyone took a seat and Joan walked up to the podium. She cleared her throat and everyone got quiet to look at her. She glanced over to Rooney who gave her a thumbs up and a smile of encouragement. Joan took a deep breath and started.
“Hey everyone, um my uncle couldn’t be here today, he’s uh sick. So he sent me. We are meeting here today so I can update you all on the vampire situation. I guess I’ll start with questions.”
“Is it true you killed one of the vampires?” someone asked.
“Uh, yes one of the vampires is dead but I didn’t kill her. Lyssa did.”
Quickly murmurs broke out about how one vampire killed another.
“Is there still more?” someone asked over the murmuring.
“Well, that’s still up in the air. According to Lyssa, it looks like all vampires have left town. She’s been going on weekly scouting missions to try and find evidence that they are still here but so far nothing. That being said, Lyssa said it would only be a matter of time before the pack tries to contact her again.”
“Pack…” the word began to cause panic among the slayers.
“Everyone calm down.” Joan tried.
“So we are working with a vampire now!?” Someone said.
The panic quickly caught fire and soon everyone was shouting over each other and talking about the vampire pack and the absurdity of working with a vampire.
“Hey!” Joan shouted to get everyone’s attention.
They all got silent.
“Everyone calm down. Lyssa isn’t a threat.”
“I heard she terrorized the next town over!”
“I heard she’s wanted by her pack for multiple vampire law violations!”
“I heard she was the legendary red widow vampire!”
More panic quickly erupted.
Joan groaned and rubbed her temples.
“Hey everyone shut up and let the girl talk!” Rooney shouted.
Everyone got quiet again.
“Thank you,” Joan said, “As I was saying, Lyssa isn’t a threat. Not a real one at least. She’s been tamed by a human and has sworn off killing. She may have gone on a feeding frenzy but that was only because we tried to kill her. Not to mention no one got hurt in the end. She can control herself, we need her on our side if we want to stay in the loop on all the vampire news. Lyssa always knows even before we do when a vampire is in town. So long as we keep her trust she will keep feeding us intel. Once the pack comes we will be able to mount a surprise attack against them. We have an advantage. The vampires don’t know that Lyssa is working with us, they think she’s alone and vulnerable. They will be in for a treat when we ambush them. I know none of you like Lyssa, trust me I’m not her biggest fan either but we still need her if we want to get ahead of the pack. She is our eyes and ears with her on our side we can be ready for any threat that arises.”
“How do you know she isn’t just playing you?”
“Trust me, I know. She is bound to my best friend who can literally hear the vampire’s every thought. If she even thinks about double-crossing us, I’ll know.”
More murmurs filled the room.
“Look, I know my last plan was a complete disaster and nearly got people killed, but I won’t make the same mistake again. I called off our last attack because I thought having a whole guild face off against two vampires was overkill, but now we need to stick together if her pack decides to make its grand appearance. Lyssa hasn’t told us much about her pack, but from the little I do know, they have very selective membership. So you can bet money that these vampires won’t just be some clueless newbies. I’m talking old and very skilled. Lyssa herself is over 200 years old. They will be powerful and unlike anything we have ever seen. We need to be ready. Which is why we need to have more training classes. We need to upgrade our weapons, we need all the advantages we can get if we want to win this unscathed. We have a vampire on our side, let's use her to our advantage. If anyone tries to attack her or kill her without permission, well… you all saw what happened to my father and brother. Try at your own risk, but I wouldn’t if I were you.”
The room was silent.
“I’m nearly healed so I will once again resume training classes for all the new recruits. I’ll need volunteers to help with weapons and refresher courses. If anyone is interested in that, come see me after the meeting. We need to stick together you guys, we are a family. If we go behind people's backs and plan out separate attacks we will stand no chance against the threat that is coming. We have to trust each other and look out for one another. Just keep that in mind. Thank you all for coming, there will be food and stuff in the back. Feel free to hang around and chat, make some new friends. We all came here with the same purpose, just remember that.” Joan backed away from the mic.
People got up and mingled and several others walked over to Joan to volunteer for things.
Joan may have been new with leading a slayer guild but she had a feeling her father would be proud of her, this is what he wanted for her,
Right?
Joan’s phone vibrated and she grabbed it out of her pocket as people filled out a sign-up sheet. It was another text from Bex.
‘Just got out of the memorial, we are going to go hang out at the food court if you want to meet us there. Lyssa treat!’
Joan eyed the sign-up sheet and her phone for a moment. Then with a sigh, she ignored the text and went back to work.
She had a responsibility to her people after all.
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