Chapter 4

Eve went straight up stairs to unpack her new clothes, while Hax made a start on dinner. That night, they all enjoyed a Thai green curry on a bed of basmati rice. Eve was shocked. She had never seen such extravagant food in her entire life.

‘Hax, why must you spoil us so?’ Dylan asked.

‘He’s probably showing off for his new girlfriend.’ Snickered Seth, to which Eve grabbed him by the back of his neck and whispered something in his ear. Seth went pale for a second and then ran out of the room. Hax and Dylan were both shocked.

‘What did you threaten my brother with, Eve?’ asked Hax.

‘Oh I didn’t threaten him, I simply whispered…’ she lent in close between Hax and Dylan and whispered in a sultry voice ‘…Hax and I are just friends. Maybe I need someone stronger to make sure I'm alright tonight?’

Dylan dropped his knife and fork, stood up from the table and said ‘I’ll go make sure Seth doesn’t pull a muscle.’ Eve giggled at that line. Dylan couldn’t help but smirk.

‘I thought I told you not to torment my family.’ Hax said, continuing his dinner.

‘You said no hitting; you never specified I couldn’t break his brain.’ Eve said, with a smug smile. ‘So, did you still want to take me out to dinner?’

‘Well since you won’t let me see the dress unless I do, how about tomorrow night?’

‘Sounds good.’ Eve said, and devoured her meal in silence.

Dylan returned and continued to eat his dinner.

‘So Hax, are we going--’ Dylan started only to be interrupted by Hax.

‘Wait for the weekend. I prefer not having to get up for work after a night like last time. Plus Eve and I have a prior engagement. I am going to show her around town so she won’t have to rely on me.’

‘You’re probably right. I don’t think I could deal with kids after an all nighter.’

Dylan finished his dinner and collected the dirty plates.

‘Eve, you can go relax and watch TV. Dylan and I shall wash dishes.’ Said Hax.

The rest of the night went by quite normally. After washing dishes, Dylan watched TV with Eve. The discovered they both enjoyed watching “House, M.D.”, and found it quite enjoyable to try and guess the medical diagnosis. Seth came down to sit with them, and Eve made it a point to apologise to him. Hax went to his study, and didn’t return.

Hax and Eve worked hard the next day. They had to replace a transmission in a large 4x4 and upgraded the brakes on Volkswagen Beetle. Eve spent the day dreaming about the upcoming dinner that night, which meant she did barely did any work. Hax had to snap her out of it on a number of occasions but it seemed hopeless. They closed up shop when Dylan and Seth came home from school.

‘Seriously, if I have to deal with Michael again, I’m going to snap.’ Dylan said, walking in the front door followed by Seth.

‘All because he made a star wars reference?’ Seth asked, immediately making hi s way to the fridge.

‘It’s not just that. He interrupts my class, refuses to work on any project. He is taking his final years as a joke. I just…Pass me a beer while you’re in there, I just wish there was a way to get their attention.’ Dylan opened his beer and took a sip.

‘Why not ask Eve?’ Seth said, with a piece of ham sticking half out of his mouth.

‘Hmm? Hey Eve?’ Dylan called out. She popped her head in from the garage.

‘Yeah?’

‘You want to work as my teachers aid tomorrow?’

‘I don’t know. How is Hax going to react?’

‘Take her for the day. She didn’t do any work today anyway.’ Hax called from the backyard. This made Eve blush. She felt bad letting herself be distracted.

‘Don’t let Hax get to you. It pays $100 a day.’ Dylan said, trying to make her feel better. Eve’s mouth dropped.

‘YES!’ she said with a squeal.

‘Eve, we are leaving at 7.’ Hax said, walking in the back door. ‘Are you going to be ready by then?’

She looked at the clock. It read 5:30. She ran upstairs and into her room.

‘So what’s the plan with tonight?’ Seth asked, between taking bites of more ham.

‘Well ham-face, I was thinking we would go see the new horror movie that has come out’ Dylan said.

‘Sounds good, I'm going to get changed and we can head off.’ Seth said, making his way upstairs.

‘And now for you Hax.’ Dylan said as Hax walked inside. ‘I want to talk to you while they’re both upstairs.’

‘Seriously, you sound like mum.’ Hax said, making his way upstairs. He was stopped by Dylan in the lounge room.

‘Look, I just want you to do me a favour. Don’t lead Eve on. She obviously has feelings for you, and I know you are afraid.’ Hax opened his mouth, but was stopped by Dylan. ‘I KNOW when you feel afraid. Just be a gentleman tonight?’

Hax stormed upstairs and into his room, and Seth walked down.

‘What’s up with him?’ he asked.

‘Don’t worry. Let’s get going.’ Dylan replied. They made their way out the door and headed off to the movies.

An hour later, Hax sat on the couch waiting for Eve to finish getting ready.

Why is she taking so long?, he thought.

Hax was lost for words. He couldn’t believe the sight in front of him. Eve was dressed in a stunning black number that hugged her curves. Her hair was styled up to frame her face in a fantastic manner.

‘This is going to be difficult’ Hax said under his breath.

Eve smiled. She enjoyed the reaction she received from Hax. She was also shocked to see his outfit. He dressed in a wonderful deep purple suit with a lavender tie, and his usual scruffy hair was neatly styled and wasn’t hidden under his hat. Eve couldn’t help but to stare at his butt for a few seconds, and enjoyed seeing his eyes not hidden behind glasses. On their way to the car, she could have sworn he was checking out her arse as well.

They arrived at the restaurant on time. It was a wonderfully spectacular Greek place nestled in the heart of the city. During the meal they made small talk, mainly Eve talking about herself while Hax listened. Eve worried if she was boring him, but the look in his eyes said he was paying attention.

After dinner, they both got into the car and went for a drive. Hax noticed Eve was looking somewhat uncomfortable, like she had something on her mind.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘Hax, one thing has been playing on my mind for the past couple of days. Why did you choose to help me? And I want the honest answer.’ Eve asked. Hax was thrown through a loop. He could see the determination in her eyes.

He sighed. ‘When I was still young, I lost both my parents. They died suddenly, and being the oldest, I was in charge of taking care of everyone. I had to cook, to clean, to fix problems. Even at a young age, I had to be an adult. I couldn’t take it, so I lashed out. I blamed everyone else for my problems and hurt people who tried to help me.  But it didn’t work. I realised if I wanted to make this world better for Dylan and Seth, I had to put my childhood on the back burner.’

‘But why me, why help someone who tried to steal from you?’

‘The look in your eyes reminded me of what I was like. I felt if I could help you, then it might make up for the sins I have caused. ’He stopped the car in a large deserted parking lot. ‘Come on. Let’s go for a walk. It is such a nice night out.’

They made their way up a grassy hill; the sounds of waves crashing against rocks could be heard. When they reached the top, Eve could see they were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down into the ocean. Sharp rocks jagged the shoreline, and the sheer face of the cliff meant one thing: If you fall, you won’t come back.

‘There is something I want to talk to you about.’ Hax said.

‘The kiss?’ Eve said, looking depressed. She still remembered it; the warmth of his lips on hers.

‘I know you were lying to me again. I had warned you about that. I have to deal with this situation once and for all.’ Hax said, placing his hands on her shoulders from behind her.

‘Oh god… Are you going to kill me?’ Eve screamed. ‘Please don’t kill me Hax, I promise I will leave. You won’t have to deal with me anymore.’ Tears streamed down Eves face.

After Dylan and Seth left home, they walked down to the cinemas. The new horror flick was playing; some zombie slasher flick that every Hollywood director believes will make them millions.

‘I miss the days of psychologically killing someone.’ Said Seth, waiting in line for popcorn.

‘Yeah, I miss Alfred Hitchcock. He did some scary shit.’ Replied Dylan.

‘And Stephen king. I love watching “Cujo”.’

‘Yeah, but you have to admit he did well on “The Shawshank Redemption”.’

‘Dylan, the guy can write a fucking children’s book, and you would be the first one to buy it.’

‘Go suck a lemon.’

‘Well well well,’ said a voice behind them. Dylan and Seth both turned around to find Michael, the young student who interrupted Dylan’s physics class, standing in the lobby of the theatre with a young lady who seems to be dressed as if she had gone to a store called “Sluts-r-us”.

‘It’s is a surprise to be out here and see my favourite teacher with his boyfriend.’ He said.

‘That’s Mr Daemonia. He is my psychology teacher.’ Said the girl.

‘Always good to see you Laura. Remember to study for the test on Monday.’ Seth said.

‘So this is your brother, huh sir? I knew you were lonely, but dating your brother is quite sad.’ Michael snipped. Dylan's hands started to tremble, and Seth cold see Dylan was losing his cool. He did the only thing he could do, he cheated.

‘So, Michael is it?’ Seth said ‘ How’s the home life going for you? Still getting beaten by your dad?’

Michael was stumped ‘How do you know about my dad?’

‘The scuffs on your shoes show you tried to out run him tonight, while the bruises on your wrists that you are trying to hide show where he grabbed you. Judging by how you talk to others, you most likely deserved to be hit.’ Seth said, walking up to Michael. He placed a hand into his jacket pocket to find a hipflask. He opened it and took a smell.

‘He most likely noticed you stole his bottle of Jack Daniels which you used to fill this up, and wanted to try to get young Laura here so intoxicated, she would treat you to a visit to her bedroom. But that wasn’t enough for you, so you tried to use the bourbon as a mask for the rohypnol you laced this with. As I see it, you have I count of illegal possession for a minor, one count of supplying alcohol to a minor and one count of attempted grievous bodily harm and rape of my favourite student here.’ He turned to Laura ‘Go home dear. You are too smart to throw your life away for scum.’

She did as she was told, but not before slapping him in the face. This made Michael mad.

‘You will both pay for this.’ He said, storming off. Dylan turned to Seth and gave him a hug.

‘Thank you Seth. You knew I couldn’t control my anger when he gets my goat.’ He said.

‘I didn’t just do it for you. Laura has the brains to be a doctor, but being with such filth makes me sad. Now get off me.’ Said Seth, pushing Dylan away ‘This is why people think you’re gay.’

‘Come on. I’ll treat you to popcorn.’

‘You won’t have to deal with me anymore.’ Eve said, tears streaming down her face. Hax stopped.

‘Kill you?’ Hax said. He looked around and realised what was happening. He started to scream and swear in Russian, repeatedly saying “suka”. After a few minutes, he calmed down. Eve was at a cross-roads, she was still scared of being killed by him, but worried about what had just happened.

‘I’m sorry Eve. I guess this was a stupid idea on my part.’ He said, walking over to a bench. She followed him and sat at the other end.

‘So you aren’t going to kill me?’ she asked.

‘Why would I…never mind. As I said before, I know you were lying to me the other day.’

‘Hax, it’s alright. I know that it was a one-time thing, and I kind of guessed you didn’t share the same feelings that I have for you--’

‘Eve,’ Hax interrupted ‘I DO have feelings for you, but I don’t….I worry that when you get to know me, the REAL me, you will be afraid of who I am. That’s why I am like I am.’

‘well,’ Eve said, moving closer to Hax, ‘We will have to see, won’t we?’

‘I guess we sha—AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH’

Hax started screaming, clutching his head in pain.

Outside the movie theatre, Dylan and Seth were making their way to the taxi ranks to go home.

‘What did you think of the movie?’ Seth asked

‘too much zombies, not enough killing.’ Dylan said ‘Hold on, I have to take a slash.’

He walked into the public restrooms and was using the urinal when her heard,

‘Looks like we are alone now.’

‘Ahh Michael,’ Dylan said, not even turning around. ‘Have fun following me in here.’ He zipped up his pants and walked towards the basins to wash his hands.

‘Well I thought, why not get revenge while the idea is still fresh in my mind.’ Michael said ‘The bourbon wasn’t the only thing that I stole from my dad.’ He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a hunting knife.

‘Michael, we both know you aren’t going to stab--’ but Dylan was cut off by Michaels movements. In no time flat, he had moved across the toilets and stabbed Dylan squarely on the left side of the body.

‘This will teach you not to mess around with my life.’ Michael said.

Dylan turned slowly around, the look of fear in his eyes. He looked Michael dead in the eyes and started to laugh.

‘What the fuck you laughing at you son of a bitch?!?’

Dylan reached down to the knife and pulled it slowly out. The look on Michael’s face went from anger to sheer terror.

‘You think this piece of shit is going to stop me.’ Dylan’s words came out like a growl. In a flash, he had grabbed Michael around the throat and had him against the basins.

‘You can’t do this. YOU’RE A TEACHER!!’ Michael screamed.

‘Yes I am, but I am also 3 years older than you, and we are outside of school.’ Dylan moved closer to Michael’s face ‘There is no-one here to save you from me, no-one to stop me from breaking your frail little neck.’ He tightened his grip. Michael tried to fight back, but to no avail.

Dylan was about to land the final blow, and remove the pest from his life forever, when he felt a massive amount of pain in his head. It felt like his brain was in a vice.  But as quickly as it had come, it left. Dylan just stood there, gasping. He looked around him, and remembered what was happening. He wished Seth was here to help him out of this.

‘You called man?’ Seth said from behind him

‘Dude… don’t sneak up on me like that.’ Dylan said

‘So you faggots going to finish me off tag-team style?’ Michael struggled to get the words out.

‘You know, you could just kill him. No scales of my back.’ Seth said.

‘No. I want you to erase everything that happened from 10 minutes ago. I’ll deal with the rest.’ Dylan said. Seth shrugged and placed one hand on Michael’s head. Michael passed out for a few seconds, which was the cue for Seth to leave.

When he awoke, Michael looked around. He was sitting on the basin in a public restroom with his physics teacher lying against the wall.

‘Mr Daemonia, urgh…what happened?’ he asked, his head feeling like a car had hit it.

‘Well Michael, I had come in here to use the bathroom when I saw some drug addicts jump you. They tried to make off with your wallet, and I had to rip them off you. One pulled a knife on me and stabbed me-’ Dylan showing the massive pool of blood on his shirt ‘-and ran off. You grabbed the guy who stabbed me, but his friend must have hit you from behind.’

‘Why did you try to save me, especially after how bad I have treated you?’

‘Michael. You may be the class clown, but you have the ability to be a great student. And no one beats up my students, but me.’ Dylan said with a smile, but winced from the pain in his side. ‘Now do me a favour. My brother is most likely waiting outside for me. Run and get him.’

Michael did as he was told, and a few seconds later, returned with Seth. Seth looked at the wound and cursed.

‘Fuck…Michael, you might as well go home. You don’t want to be around any longer than you should.’ Seth said.

‘O-okay, thank you Sir.’ Michael ran out of the bathroom as fast as he could. When he was definitely out of sight, Seth turned to Dylan.

‘Alright you big faker, hurry up and heal. We don’t want people coming in here and seeing that.’

As if by magic, Dylan’s wound healed completely but left a scar.

‘Just in case he asks.’ He said, and they both walked out towards the taxi’s ‘By the way, did you feel that too?’

‘Yeah. Something big is coming.’ Seth said.

In a small alleyway in the heart of the city, two people landed on the ground with a thud. The smaller one stood up first. It was a female, about 5’8 with long black hair, and a very attractive body, and was dressed in a very provocative outfit. The other, a male, stood 6’3 and was very muscle, sported a short crew cut and looked like some kind of super soldier.

‘So this is Earth. It still smells like a shit hole after all this time, eh Tully?’ she said.

‘Come Abby, let’s find something to eat.’ Replied Tully.

‘Looking for something, my main man.’ Asked one of the residents of the alley ‘I gots blow, E’s, smack and the finest afghan Kush that money can buy.’

‘Oh I think you will do perfectly.’ Said Abby, walking towards the drug dealer.

There was a horrible scream and blood sprayed onto the walls. Abby and Tully were consuming him alive.

‘And the best part about our poison, dear human, is that it continues your brain function. You are going to feel every…last…BITE!’ Abby bit into his face and ripped it off.

Hax opened his eyes. He couldn’t remember what had just happened to him. He was lying down in the grass, and he could hear the sounds of waves crashing. Sitting next to him was Eve, and it was evident that she had been crying.

‘What happened?’ he asked, his head still a bit groggy.

‘we were talking and all of a sudden you grabbed your head and started screaming like you were is pain, and then you passed out.’ Eve said.

‘Were you really that worried?’ Eve suddenly blushed. ‘thank you Eve. I’m glad you were here for me.’ Hax got up, and tried to sit back on the bench.

‘Remind me again what we were talking about.’

‘Oh, you told me that you knew I liked you a lot, and that you felt afraid that I wouldn’t accept you. I told you we would have to wait and see, but I don’t let myself get scared that easily.’

Hax gave her a big hug and kissed her on the cheek.

‘You also said I could drive your car home.’

‘That’s it. In to the ocean bitch’ Hax said jokingly, picking her up. Holding her by her back and under her knees, he walked over to the cliffs edge. Eve screamed and laughed at the same time.

‘Noooo, don’t do this Hax. I thought I was special.’

‘Well what will you do if I promise to stop?’ she thought for a second before leaning in and kissing Hax on the lips again.

‘Yeah, that’s not good enough.’ Said Hax, and pretended to drop her. ‘Come on. Let’s go home. I have had enough excitement for today.

On the car ride home, Eve fell asleep, and Hax smiled. He didn’t know what to think of this girl, whether or not she would accept the truth about him, but he knew he wanted to try. They arrived home, and Hax carried Eve upstairs and into her bedroom. After tucking her in, he walked down stairs and out the back to have a pipe. He was shocked to find Dylan out here too.

‘You felt it too?’ Hax asked, lighting his pipe.

‘Yeah. I felt it. It hurt badly this time. Maybe something came through.’ Dylan replied.

‘Impossible. The wall is too thick. They are just wasting our time by trying.’

‘Maybe…’ Dylan took a drag from his cigarette ‘Are you sure you felt it and not just a kiss from the lovely Eve?’

‘No, that came afterwards.’ Hax said, almost smiling.

‘Oh Haxathor, you are growing up. I’m glad you didn’t break Eve’s heart, cause I would have had to break you.’

‘Dylan, you know as much as I do you can’t beat me. I am the oldest and wisest.’

‘and yet not wise enough to know when someone truly loves you.’ And with that, Dylan went inside.

Hax finished his pipe and made his way to bed. He replayed the moment over and over again in his mind, and wanted to relive it so much more. As he drifted off to sleep, he dreamt the same dream he had for most of his life.

Chapter 3

That night, Eve had the best sleep she could imagine. Finally, a soft bed to sleep in, she thought. It wasn’t until she was awoken by someone shaking her.

‘Huh…what? What? I’m awake. You don’t need to call my parents officer.’ She said, still half asleep.

‘Eve, I don’t even know your parents.’ Said Hax, opening her blinds.

‘Oh Jesus Christ! What time is it?’

‘7 AM. Get up. Breakfast is ready.’

It took her some time to get herself out of bed and dressed, and she stumbled down stairs still quite drowsy, but the smell of fresh coffee made her perk up. She rushed to the table to see that there was only one cup made, and it was sitting in Hax’s hands. Dylan and Seth were munching on some toast while Hax just read the paper.

‘Mmm…coffee smells good.’ Eve said, sitting down.

‘Yeah, Hax used to be a barista, so he brews a mean cup.’ Dylan said, ‘and lucky for him, Seth and I don’t drink coffee.’

‘If you want some, you can make it yourself.’ Hax said, placing his paper down and grabbing the cup of coffee. Eve looked at him with puppy dog eyes, those big baby blue eyes staring into his deep purple ones.

‘There’s no point in trying. Hax wouldn’t give up his coffee to anyone.’ Snickered Seth.

‘OH FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!! Here!’ Hax screamed. He slid his coffee to Eve and walked up to the coffee machine to make another.  Eve looked at Seth and poked her tongue out in a taunting fashion before taking a long sip from the coffee.

‘So, what’s on the plan for today?’ Eve asked.

‘You, young lady--’ Hax started only to be interrupted by Eve.

‘Don’t call me young lady. I’m, what, 2 years younger than you.’ Dylan and Seth both snickered at that, only to be silenced by an evil stare from Hax.

‘You are coming to work for me for the day. I need a new receptionist.’

‘Hrrrmm, fine.’ She grumbled ‘when do we leave?’

‘In about half an hour, so have a shower and get ready.’

She jumped up and ran out of the kitchen. Once she was out of ear shot, Dylan turned to Seth and grabbed him around the throat.

‘I heard everything last night. And you’re lucky Hax found you first, cos I wouldn’t be so sympathetic.’

Seth slapped his hand away and said ‘I know what I did last night was wrong, and it was a lapse in judgement, but--’

‘NO! No buts! She is a guest in this household and you shall treat her as such.’ Yelled Hax, ‘you are old enough to know better, so don’t give me this shit! If I ever get even a HINT you want to pull that kind of crap that you pulled last night, I will make it so I only have one brother left.’ Hax’s hands started to darken, and his words came out almost like a growl. ‘When she comes back down, you WILL apologise to her for everything you have done.’

‘Even then whole “murder” thing?’

Hax raised his arm back to punch Seth, but was stopped by Dylan. Hax left the table and burst into the garage.

‘You know better than to make Hax angry. Now come on. Let’s head to work.’ Dylan said, dragging Seth out of his seat.

As they walked towards the door, Eve walked back down stairs, getting prepared for a nice hot shower.

‘Umm, Dylan? I’m going to meet you outside.’ Seth said. Dylan looked at him and shrugged. ‘Eve. Can I talk to you for a minute?’

‘Seth, if this is about you wanting to watch me shower, I will make sure you never have children.’

‘No…it’s just that…’ Eve couldn’t explain it. Seth, the guy who had the balls to feel me up, is afraid?

‘It’s ok Seth, just take a deep breath and say what you want to say.’

‘I want to apologise for yesterday. I shouldn’t have treated you that way. I just push people away because I don’t want--’ but before Seth could finish his sentence, Eve had him in a very warm embrace. He didn’t know how to feel; after everything he had done to her, whether known or not, she still had it in her heart to forgive him. He wanted to cry, wanted to shed the manliest tears he could, but he just couldn’t.

‘It’s ok Seth. I forgive you.’ Eve whispered in his ear, and walked away. Seth stumbled outside to see Dylan waiting for him.

‘You, sir, are a good person. Now let’s get going. We have children to torment.’ Dylan said, with an evil grin on his face.

‘Just don’t tell Hax about this. I’d hate for him to find out I hugged his new toy before he could.’  Seth said, walking towards the garage. As if by karmic justice, something jumped from the roof of the house, and landed on Seth.

‘Don’t be so sure of that, brother.’ Said Hax, jumping up and offering Seth a hand. ‘You are a good man for doing that. I have to keep reminding myself that. But if you don’t let up on this “you want the human” joke, I'm going to have to hurt you.’

‘I think you already did. Fuck! For pure smoke, you are one fat ass mother fucker.’ Seth cried, walking up the street.

Hax entered the house just as Eve left the bathroom.

‘Ready to go?’ he asked.

‘Yeah. Let’s go.’ She replied ‘You never did tell me where you work.’

They both got in the car, and Hax started the engine. He pressed a button on the dash of his car and the garage door leading to the backyard opened. Hax drove the car in, and then parked it.

‘We’re here.’

‘What? You said you were a mechanic?’ Eve said, looking shocked.

‘Yeah, and because I live is such a small town, I work out of home. There are probably 30 cars in this town I look after.’

‘So what does my job entail? Watching day time soap operas and eating junk food? Cos I can do that, if you want.’

‘No I was serious about you working. You will answer the phone and book peoples cars in to be fixed, and in the mean time you shall learn how to fix cars.’

‘So I'm your apprentice?’ Eve said in a sultry voice ‘Do I get a sexy pair of overalls to wear?’ She stared at his face, but it was blank. Hax on the other hand was trying his hardest not to blush at the mention of sexy overalls.

It was a good day for the mechanic shop, only about 6 customers with minor problems. Hax meant what he said about getting Eve to help him fix cars. She was in it up to her elbows replacing head gaskets and doing oil changes. At one part of the day, Eve was slightly shocked. An old lady had driven her car into the drive way, and stepped out. She looked to be about 80, and shuffled her way down the drive up to Hax. Her car was an original 1960 Cadillac coupe de ville, and looked like it was brand new.

‘Ah Henry, it’s good to see you.’ Said the old lady, giving Hax a hug.

‘Granny, I missed you. How is old Betsy today?’ replied Hax.

‘Oh she is good. Just needs an oil change and such. Who’s this?’ she asked, turning to see Eve in the back corner. ‘A new girlfriend Henry?’ Eve blushed at the idea, and she notice so did Hax.

‘She is my new assistant, Eve. Eve, this is Mrs Peterson. She has known my family since… well along time now.’

‘I used to come to Henry’s father to fix my car. You look so much like him.’

‘Thanks Mrs. Peterson. How about you have a cup of tea with Eve, and I’ll get Betsy fixed up?’

‘Oh that sounds lovely dear.’ Eve walked Mrs. Peterson inside, and made her some tea while she waited.

They both sat down at the table, Eve nervous as hell. Mrs. Peterson sat across from her happily sipping her tea.

‘So dear, how long have you known Henry?’ Mrs. Peterson asked.

‘Not long. He saved me from myself and made sure I was alright. Did you really know his father?’

‘Oh, of course. Such a lovely gentleman, he always made sure I was alright even when I was younger.’

‘Did you see a lot of Ha- I mean Henry, when he was growing up?’

‘Surprisingly not. I didn’t even know he had children until about 5 years ago.’

‘What happened to his father?’ This question brought Mrs. Peterson down.

‘He was shot. I never really had the chance to say goodbye to Steven.’ Eve placed her hand on the elderly ladies.

‘But he looked so much like Henry; I was shocked when I first saw him in town. I thought he was a ghost.’

‘Can I ask you something Mrs. Peterson?’

‘Only if you call me Granny.’

‘Okay, Granny. Was Steven always as quiet and recluse as Henry is?’ This made Granny chuckle.

‘Steven was always closed off to others, but he only acted that way because he feared how people would take him. It took Steven some time to open up to me, but when we did, he was a wonderful person. Henry might just have some feelings for you that he is too scared to show.

‘What should I do then?’ Eve asked, leaning in.

‘Just give him time. You are a wonderful young lady, and I can see he knows it.’

Hax sat in the doorway, just listening to the conversation, and remembering his past.

‘Ahem. Granny, why must you talk about me when I'm not here?’ he asked.

‘Why should one stifle the truth, even if it hurts?’ she responded with a cheeky smile ‘Is Betsy all fixed up?’

‘Yep, she is as good as new. Now, about my payment.’

‘Ah yes, it’s in the car. Let me just get it for you.’ As Granny walked out to the garage, Eve looked at Hax.

‘How could you ask for money out of such a nice old lady? Especially since she knows your family?’

Hax looked at her with a confused look. ‘Money?’

Granny returned with a large box that she placed on the counter. As she opened the lid, Eve poked her head inside. The box was filled with biscuits of all sorts.

‘There you are dear. My finest baked goods.’ She gave Hax a big hug and turned to Eve, ‘Remember what I told you dear.’ And gave her one as well. This made Eve feel warm inside. She couldn’t remember a time when she had such a wonderful hug. Hax gave her back her keys, and she went on her way.

‘So…I…uh…’ Eve said, very embarrassed.

‘Apology accepted.’ Said Hax, taking a bite out of a peanut butter cookie.  ‘Now you help me enjoy these while I make us some more tea.’

‘So, “Henry”, tell me what the hell just happened.’

‘Ok, well first she would never understand that my name is Hax, so I let her call me “Henry”.’

‘And the cookies for mechanic work?’

‘It’s only for her. She doesn’t have a lot of money, but she is a master baker. She always tried to pay me in the past, but I refused. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when she left me a large box of assorted cookies. I took one bite and feel in love with them.’

‘So you stopped showing emotion to them as well?’ Eve said with a giggle.

‘Huh?’

‘Don’t worry. But how could you fix her car in such a short amount of time?’

‘Granny never drives anywhere apart from the store. She never really needs all this work done, just bits and pieces. Hence me not wanting to take money off her.’

‘Since we are talking a lot, can I tell you about a dream I had last night?’

‘Shoot.’

‘Well I dreamt you were in my room and…’ Eve started to laugh.

‘What is it?’

‘Nah, it’s too embarrassing.’

‘Just tell me.’

‘Well last night, I dreamt you came into my room, and kissed me on the forehead.’ Her face turned bright red. Hax took a long slurp from his tea, and looked at her.

‘Yeah, that sounds ridiculous.’ She was about to walk out when he said, ‘If I was going to kiss you, I would do it like this.’

He leant over and kissed Eve softly on the lips. She was in utter shock. She couldn’t move.

Across town at the local high school, Dylan was teaching his year 11 physics class about magnets, when all of a sudden he shivered.

‘What is it, sir?’ Asked one student.

‘I don’t know. I feel a disturbance, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.’

‘Help me obi wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.’ Another snickered, only to have a book smack him square in the face.

‘Should have used the force, Michael.’ Dylan said, resuming his class.

Back at home, Eve was still in shock. Hax just kissed me, She thought.

‘Wha…what was that for?’ she asked, still red as a tomato.

‘Consider it your payment for work today.’ Hax said, walking back to the garage.

‘Not that I'm ungrateful, but I would prefer if I got paid in money. Stores don’t accept kisses.’

‘Really? The ones I shop at seem to. I'm always served by the same person.’

‘Well she is probably a slut.’

‘His name tag said Carson.’ Eve snickered a bit, but had to stop when the phone rang. It was Dylan.

‘Hey Eve. Hax around?’

‘Yeah. Let me go get him.’ She passed the phone off to Hax. He stood there for a few minutes, just chatting with Dylan, and then hung up.

‘I have to go see Dylan. Can you stay here and mind the shop?’

‘Fine…’ she said. She wondered what had happened. First he shows emotion, and then he doesn’t want me around.

Hax jumped into his car, pulled out of the driveway and drove as fast as he could to the local high school. Dylan and Seth were already waiting out the front for him.

‘Did you feel it too?’ Dylan asked.

‘Feel what?’ Hax asked.

‘There was a disturbance.’ Said Seth, watching the students walk around.

‘What? When?’

‘About 5 minutes before I called. Seth and I both felt it. We were sure you would to.’ Hax tried to remember what happened 5 minutes before he spoke to Dylan.

‘I…uh….I felt something?’

‘You sound unsure?’Asked Seth ‘Do you need me to help you remember?’

‘NO! I mean, no. Just stay out of my head.’

‘Too late.’ Seth said ‘Now let’s see what… Oh my Cthulhu! DID THAT REALLY HAPPEN!?!’

‘What? What? Tell me!’ Dylan yelled.

‘Haxxy here kissed Eve at that time.’

‘BAHAHAHAHAHA!’ Dylan burst out laughing. ‘Why on earth did you do that?’

‘Well, when Seth tried to kill our guest, and I stopped him, she kind of woke up a bit.’

‘And how does this lead to you kissing her?’ Seth asked

‘After you left to cry your eyes out, I tucked her back into bed, and kind of…’ Hax became really red ‘… kissed her on the forehead goodnight.’

Dylan and Seth both laughed their arses off. Hax started to feel anger building up in his body.

‘She had had a rough day, and I felt sorry for her. After granny came and left, she asked me about a weird dream about us being in her room and me kissing her good night. I needed for her to keep her mind of that, so I did the only thing I could think of.’

‘So you thought with your penis?’Dylan asked, wiping a tear from his eye.

‘Well it was that, or have her expose us for the freaks we are!’

Dylan and Seth both stiffened like boards. They knew that Hax never wanted to hear “freak” again, let alone use it. This must be a serious matter, the both thought.

‘So back to the right matter at hand, the disturbance?’ Hax said.

‘Well it kind of felt like…us, but not us.’ Said Dylan.

‘Well we are the last of the family. You don’t think He sent some?’ Seth asked.

‘Who knows? But we better keep a look out for anything suspicious. I have to get back home, and you two need to get back to work.’ Hax said, walking away.

‘Wait, you said Granny came round. Does that mean there are cookies at home?’ Seth said, getting excited.

‘Well I don’t think you deserve them,’ Hax said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a zip lock bag filled with cookies that Granny had made. ‘But here. Don’t say I don’t do anything for you.’

‘Thanks man.’ Dylan said, taking a bite of cookie. They watched Hax drive off, and made their way back inside to teach more classes.

Eve sat in the garage, waiting for Hax. He had been gone for some time now and she was starting to worry. Why do I always scare off guys? She thought. Images of him rejecting her played in her mind constantly. She was caught off guard by the phone ringing.

‘Hello, No Emotion Mechanics.’ She answered ‘We’ll fix your care without a smile.’

‘Please tell me you didn’t answer calls like that all day.’ The voice on the other end said.

‘Hax!’ she yelled excitedly, ‘I mean, hey Hax. What’s up?’

‘Do you have any fancy clothes?’ Eve blushed. What’s going on now?

‘No, I don’t have a lot of clothes left.’

‘Okay, close up the shop, and meet me out the front of the house in 10 minutes.’

She wanted to ask why, but Hax had already hung up. She did as she was told; she shut the garage doors, and locked up. Hax showed up just as she shut the front door. As she got into the car, Eve noticed he was nervous.

‘Umm, is everything alright Hax?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, I just thought since you did such a wonderful job today, I would give you a surprise.’

Eve’s face went deep red. ‘like the one from before?’

‘I’m taking you shopping. You will have the chance to have a new wardrobe, and maybe some stuff to add to your room.’

‘oh…’

‘Oh?’

‘I mean thank you. It means a lot.’ She flashed Hax a big smile. This made Hax feel a bit better, but he still couldn’t get the thought out of his mind about the disturbance.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with a lot of laughing and excitement from Eve, while Hax stayed as nonchalant as ever. By the end of it, Eve was carrying bags from all different stores. They were about to leave when Hax stopped her.

‘We forgot one store.’

He walked her back to the middle of the shopping centre to a large store. Eve’s eyes lit up immediately. Inside sat the most beautiful dresses she has ever seen, in all different colours and sizes.

‘I was hoping you would join me for dinner tomorrow night?’

Eve was so excited that she screamed a sound that sounded guinea pig.

‘YES!’ She gave Hax a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek and ran into the store. As she looked at the most wonderful dresses that she had ever seen and most likely ever see, a shop assistant approached her.

‘Excuse me miss?’ She said.

‘Yes?’ replied Eve, examining a wonderful black number.

‘I don’t think this is the right store for you. The K-Mart is on the second floor.’

Eve felt like she had been shot in the heart. Her eyes started to well up with tears when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked around, hoping to see Hax, but was greeted by the sight of a burly security guard wearing a suit.

At 6’4”, he looked absolutely menacing, even without his shaved head. He pulled her away from the dresses, when they suddenly were stopped.

‘Excuse me. You seem to have my date by the shoulder.’ Hax said.

‘what are you going to do about it?’ replied the security guard. Hax chuckled, which confused the guard. Until he felt Hax tighten his grip on his shoulder and made him cry out in pain. Immediately the brute let go of Eve and dropped to his knees. The assistant ran to behind the counter to grab the phone, only to be stopped by Hax’s voice.

‘I suggest you call up Alice and Markov. If you don’t, I might be forced to break “Bubba’s” shoulder.’

The assistant dialled a number into the phone and whispered into it. All Eve could hear from the entire conversation was her saying “yes, he does?” and then hung up. As soon as the shop assistant dropped then phone, a door at the back of the store opened. Out walked two very well dressed people, both looking to be in their late 20’s. The woman stood 5’7 and had medium length black hair and a nose ring, which Eve liked, but what shocked her the most was she had one green eye, one blue eye. The gentleman was about 5’8” with short trimmed hair and sported a nice soul patch.

‘Hax, will you please let go of him?’ said the women

‘This gorilla here didn’t listen.’ Said Hax, letting go. The woman walked up to the guard and smacked the back of his hands.

‘Get back to work.’ She said, turning to Eve. ‘Now Hax, who is this absolutely gorgeous woman and why haven’t we been introduced.’

‘Eve, these are my greatest friends. Alice and Markov.’

‘Hello dear.’ Alice said.

Markov walked up to her and kissed her hand. ‘Good evening, Miss Eve.’ He spoke with a Russian accent, but his eyes showed much kindness.

‘Hax, should I be worried about him too?’ Eve asked, still a bit shaken.

‘You don’t have to worry. Alice and Markov are married. And even if they weren’t, Markov only has eyes for her. Always has, always will.’

‘So Hax, what do we owe the pleasure of you beating up an employee?’ Markov asked, putting his arm around Hax’s shoulders.

‘Well I sent Eve in to find herself a dress, when she was stopped and told to go to K-Mart.’

‘Eve, I am so sorry for how my employees treated you.’ Said Alice ‘Your gown shall be free of charge. Come with me this instance so I may beautify you.’ Alice dragged Eve to the back room, while she stared at Hax with fear.

Markov invited Hax into his office to talk. They both sat down, Markov pulled a bottle of Glenfiddich out of his desk draw.

‘Scotch?’ he said.

‘You know that alcohol has no effect on me.’ Hax said, with a nod.

‘Yes, but that means you can truly enjoy the Smokey flavour. So tell me about this Eve girl?’

‘There isn’t a lot to say. She needed help, and I felt sorry for her.’

‘Haxathor, I need help. You never did this stuff for me.’ Markov slammed his glass on the table.

‘Okay; First, Don’t use my full name. It’s way too weird.’

‘Sorry Haxathor, I will try not to Haxathor. Better HAXATHOR?’ Markov said laughing.

‘And secondly, so what if I am helping her.’

‘Does she know?’

‘Are you kidding me? If I told her, she might not accept me for me. She might be scared.’

‘And that you care for her more than most?’

‘I stand by my previous statement.’ Hax said, taking a sip of scotch.

There was a knock at the door, and Alice stuck her head in.

‘I need your help dear.’ She said. Hax stood up, only to be stopped ‘No Hax. I need Markov’s help. You, sir, have to wait.’

Markov left the room, and returned a few minutes later. Hax still looked grumpy as ever.

‘Don’t pout you little baby. You are older than me, act like it.’

‘Sigh, can I leave yet?’

‘Yes, Alice is just finishing up with young Eve. I’ll walk you out the front.’

Hax and Markov both walked to the front of the store and waited for Alice and Eve, both looking very happy. She was carrying a very large black box.

‘You owe us one.’ Whispered Markov to Hax as she walked out. They said their goodbyes and made their way out of the store.

‘Have fun, HAXATHOR!’ called Alice and Markov in unison.

On the car ride home, Eve finally snapped out of her trance and asked a question that Hax was dreading.

‘What did your friends call you when we left their store?’

‘Haxathor…’ Hax replied, gripping the steering wheel tightly. ‘That’s my first name.’

‘oh…its nice?’ she replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

‘I told you I don’t appreciate liars. I don’t mind my name, it just sounds long winded and I don’t like it to appear on anything but important forms. Hell, if a cop ever looked at my license, I’d most likely be arrested for a fake ID’

‘But, haven’t you been pulled over before?’ she asked, just as the car slid sideways around a traffic island.

‘Eve, this car has a 3 litre engine, and a drive shaft that is strong enough to handle the twin turbo chargers I hooked up to it, as well as Gator-mounted Pod filters to suck in massive amounts of air. If I cop had a car that’s fast or agile enough to catch my car, I’d happily throw the cuffs on myself.’

‘Oh so you have hand cuffs as well?’ Eve asked in a seductive tone. Hax pulled into their driveway and activated the garage door.

‘That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about. That kiss we had today--’

‘Hax, I know it was just a friendly kiss between friends.’ Eve interrupted ‘You made me feel a bit better about myself. I'm glad I have you as a friend.’

‘Thanks. Now let’s go inside. It’s almost dinner time, and it’s my night to cook.’

Hax could already hear Seth and Dylan inside, talking about him; the storm that was going to hit them in a few hours, and the sound of someone playing a god awful song by “Justin Bieber”; but no matter how hard his ears strained, he couldn’t hear the sound of Eve’s heart shattering into small pieces

Chapter 2

Dylan and Seth sat in the diner booth, both striking a bored look on their faces. It had been half an hour since Hax had gone outside for some air, and they were starting to get hungry.  

‘Seriously, if he isn’t back in five minutes, I'm going to order without him’ said Seth, ‘I mean he just leaves us in the fucking diner to sta…‘

Seth’s train of thought rambled off when he saw the hot waitress approach them.

‘Hey, what can I get you guys?’ she asked.

 ‘Well I can’t decide what to have off the menu, but I sure as hell know what I want now.” Seth said, eyeing up the waitress making sure to pay extra attention to her arse and breasts.

‘No thanks, we are waiting for someone.’ Dylan piped in. Seth shot him a look, begging for him to have a heart, but Dylan just shook his head.

The bell above the diner door rang out. In stepped Hax and a young lady who wore a dark grey parka and black jeans.  They both walked over, the girl obviously shy about being there, and Hax made the introductions.

‘Eve, These are my brothers Dylan-’ motioning towards him, Dylan giving a smile and a nod, ‘And Seth.’

‘Why hello there, Mon Cheri.’ Seth said, trying his hardest to look seductive.

‘Umm, Hax? Can I have a word with you?’ Dylan asked, his face obvious with confusion and fear for what had become of his brother.

‘Sure,’ replied Hax ‘Eve, get whatever you want. My treat.’

Dylan and Hax both walked outside, Dylan lighting up a cigarette while Hax preferring to go with a pipe.

‘You know you look like a complete twat with that pipe.’ Dylan said

‘Don’t change the subject, what is the matter?’ Hax replied, taking puffs from his pipe as he did.

‘What’s the big idea bringing a human back here?’ Dylan questioned, reverting back to the unknown language.

‘She seems….different. Why does it matter to you?’

‘What happens if she finds out about us? Remember what happened to Andy?’

‘First of all: We were young back then. We didn’t know better.’ Hax blew a smoke ring in Dylan’s face ‘She isn’t going to be a problem. As I said, she doesn’t seem like others. Her intelligence is high; she has the cunning of a thief. She seems perfect.’

‘Yeah, perfect for you to sleep with.’

Hax shot Dylan and evil look. Dylan just chuckled.

‘Okay, but do me one favour. Think for a moment. All those traits that made her so interesting to you, when was the last time we saw someone who had those skills at a high level.’

Hax thought for a moment, and his eyes widen. ‘Inquisitors? But you know as much as I do that they died out years ago. There is no chance that-’

Hax was cut off by the sound of blood curdling screams, coming from the inside of the diner.

They both ran in to see Seth, lying on the floor, his hands cupping his groin. And there sitting at the table was Eve, happily munching away at a chicken sandwich. Dylan helped Seth to his feet, and took him to the restrooms to clean his face of the tears.

Hax sat down opposite Eve, sighed a deep sigh and asked ‘What happened?’

‘You know how I gave you that rule about no touching?’

‘Yeeaaahh?’

‘Well, your slime ball of a brother tried hitting on me.’

‘Ok, go back. Tell me the whole story.’

Eve played it back in her own mind, making sure she remembered every single detail. After Hax and Dylan left for their talk, Eve sat down across from Seth and ordered a chicken sandwich.  While she waited, Seth made small talk.

‘So, where did my wonderful older brother pick you up from?’

‘He is just helping me out. Chances are I'm going to leave after this meal.’

‘Now don’t be that way.’ Seth said, getting up from his seat and moving next to her ‘Now why don’t you tell me a bit more about yourself. If Hax wants to pass up the opportunity to talk to such a ravishing beauty, then I shall take his place.’

The waitress returned with Eve’s chicken sandwich. Eve took a bite, and turned to Seth.

‘If you don’t get away from me in the next 5 seconds, the next word out of your mouth will be “MYBALLSMYBALLS, YOURIPPEDOFFMYBALLS”’

‘But that’s more than one word.’ Seth replied, obviously not getting the hint.

‘Good work, buttercup. Now leave.’

‘Aww, don’t be that way baby. You and I can have some fun together’ and with that, Seth placed one arm around Eve and fondled her breast.

In a flurry of movements, Eve, true to her words, punched Seth so hard in the balls; it felt like they had been removed. Seth let out a blood curdling scream…

‘… and that’s what happened.’ Eve said, taking another bite out of her sandwich.

‘Can you do me a favour? Please don’t hurt my family.’ Hax said, his face as grim as ever.

‘Don’t you ever smile?’  Eve teased. He just picked up his book and started reading again.

Dylan returned with Seth, looking a lot worse for wear.

 ‘Look, he has taken a lot of damage, and I think it best if we just go home.’ Dylan said, while Seth slumped over his shoulder.

‘How much damage are we talking here?’ Hax asked, placing his book down again.

‘You see these lumps on his chest?’ Dylan motioned to a pair of small lumps that looked like horrible bruises.

‘Yeah….’

‘Well, I'm not doctor, but I'm pretty sure those are his testicles.’

Eve snickered. ‘Chesticles’

‘Fine,’ Hax said, getting up from his seat, ‘I’ll drive us home so you can get some rest.’

Hax paid for the meal Eve ate and strolled over to the car.

‘Alright. Eve’s in the front guys.’

‘What? You can’t be serious’ Dylan yelled.  Seth groaned a few words that sounded like “bullshit”

‘Okay, whoever has to sit next to her, has to risk ending up like Seth over there; or in his case, loss of manhood completely.’

‘Sounds like a great plan Hax. I’ll keep Seth company back here.’ Dylan exclaimed with a cheerful manor, almost creepy in a sense.

Eve enjoyed riding in the front seat. It made her feel wanted, safer. It wasn’t until she noticed most of the cars were moving slower than they were, did she really feel nervous.  She leant over to look at the dashboard. This very old, very frumpy, very GREEN station wagon was doing in excess of 200km/h.

‘Umm, don’t you think we are going a bit fast?’ she asked Hax, but to her dismay, his eyes were stuck to the road in front of him. ‘Uhh, guys. Should I be freaking out about this, because I kind of am.’

‘Don’t worry about Hax. He is the most careful driver I know. Never once in all his years of driving has he had an accident.’ Dylan replied.

Eve just closed her eyes and tried to remain calm.

The trip that would normally be made in 20 minutes took just 5. Eve was impressed, if not a little scared. They stopped at the end of the street. Dylan and Seth got out, claiming they could walk the rest of the way.

‘So where can I drop you off?’ Hax asked, not even bothering to look at her.

‘Umm, the closest train station.’ Eve replied, feeling really nervous on the inside.

Another 5 minute trip, this time at regular speeds, and they were parked out the front of the station.

‘Ok, here you are.’ Hax said. Eve searched his face for any kind of emotion, but found none. Maybe he really doesn’t care…

‘Thanks for the lunch, and the lift.’ And with that, Eve was off. She walked down the underground path, and waited until she was out of sight from the road before she collapsed. She curled up into a little ball against a wall and started to cry. She cried about what had happened, the one person who actually gave a shit about you and you let him walk off, she thought.

Suddenly she felt a pair of hands grab her and pick her up. Survival Mode: Activated. She tried as hard as she could to fight off the person who grabbed her, but they were too strong.  She opened her eyes to find herself staring into a pair of deep purple eyes.

‘Hax…? But how?’

‘Little thing you should know about me. I hate people who lie to me. Now come on, I have to take you home now. We have a room set up for you already.’

‘Wait, wait, wait!’ she said, breaking loose of his grip. ‘What makes you think I’m homeless?’

‘You never got on the train, and those tears you just shed. Look me in the eye and tell me they weren’t because you felt alone after today.’

‘fine…’ she said, picking up her bag, ‘can we go now?’

Hax wondered if he was making a mistake with this girl.

‘Thanks, by the way Hax.’ She looked at him with her beautiful blue eyes ‘It really means a lot.’

‘No worries.’ He said, quickly typing a message on his mobile phone. ‘How about we go for a coffee beforehand? You look like you could use a cup.’

After Hax had dropped Dylan and Seth off at the end of the street, they slowly stumbled down until they got to their house. It wasn’t too flashy, just a small two story house surrounded by a black picket fence. Dylan dragged Seth inside, and dropped him on the couch.

‘OW! Be careful you son of a-’ Seth cried out in pain, only to be interrupted by Dylan.

‘Would you shut up? I had to drag your heavy arse all the way home. The least you could do is go to sleep so I don’t have to deal with you.’

Dylan’s phone buzzed. He picked it up and his face dropped.

‘what’s up?’ Seth asked.

‘It’s a text from Hax. “Code red! Eve is going to be living with us!” Man, I told you he had a thing for this girl.’ Another text message came through. ‘”Shut up Dylan”’

‘Wow, he’s good. All the way from across town and he still knows when you need to shut up’

‘I’ll be back in a minute. I have to make up the guest room.’ And with that, Dylan was gone. Seth tried to relax, and as he did he thought, Wait, we don’t have a guest room? And with that final thought, he drifted off into a deep slumber.

Eve sat in silence, staring at her coffee, feeling more and more uncomfortable as time went on.  Hax just sat there, indifferent to what was going on around him.

‘Why don’t you take your jacket off?’ he asked ‘It’s not raining anymore and you’ll probably catch pneumonia staying like that.’

‘And let you stare at my chest. Get stuffed. You’re probably just like Seth, a massive pervert.’

‘No-one is like Seth. And if it makes you feel better, I’ll stare at your face instead.’

Eve didn’t know what to think of this guy. He showed no emotion in his face, but his actions showed he cares a lot. She unzipped her parka and placed it on the back of her seat, revealing a very baggy black t-shirt printed with the logo of a local indie band.

‘So, you like “Formal Strait Jackets” too?’ Hax enquired.

‘Yeah, they’re alright. Not as good as “LSD Sound System” though’

‘Do you mean “LCD Sound System”?’

‘Good work. You know your stuff.’

His eyes wandered from the t-shirt logo to a tattoo on her upper left arm. It looked like a sword with a tentacle wrapped around it. Hax froze immediately, recognising the symbol. But this can’t be, He thought, She shows no sign of knowing.

‘Yeah, it’s a nice tattoo, isn’t it?’ She asked

‘huh?’

‘You have been staring at it for like, 5 minutes. It was getting kind of creepy.’

‘Sorry. Might I ask where you got it?’

‘Oh, just this little place in the city. I thought up the design in a drunken haze.’

‘I see…Well tell me about your life then?’ This threw Eve into a loop. This guy actually cares, but shows no sign of wanting to bend me over a table and have his way with me. What is his game?

‘Only if you tell me about your life too.’

‘Sounds like a plan. You first.’

‘Well, there isn’t a lot to tell really. I grew up in the north; my family loved me very much. At about 16, I started to rebel against them and at 18, I left. Legally I was an adult, so I didn’t care. Ever since, I have hitch hiked and stolen to get where I need to go.’

‘And where would that be?’

‘As far away from my parents as I can.’ Eve said with a smile, leaning in ‘Oh, and look at the time. Mr I-have-no-emotions has to tell me about his life.’

‘Okay, what do you want to know?’

‘Are you really brothers? You know, with Dylan and Seth?’

‘Yes. We are brothers. Next?’

‘Wait, you don’t look anything like them. Are you serious?’

‘It doesn’t matter how we look. I was born, and then they were. We share a mother and a father and a family history. They may act obnoxious or sleazy, but family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.’

Tears started to well up in Eve’s eyes. ‘that was the most heartfelt thing I’ve…wait a minute. Did you steal that line from “Lilo & Stitch”?’

‘It doesn’t matter where I got the line from; it’s as true today as it was when I was born.’ Hax said, placing his sunglasses back on.

‘For a second there, I actually thought you had some sort of emotionally connection to them.’ Eve said, drinking down the last part of her coffee. ‘Come on. Let’s get going.’

As she got up from the table, she noticed a single tear slide down his cheek.

As they walked to the car, Eve turned to Hax and asked ‘So how do you explain the purple eyes then?’

‘Severe genetic mutation to the pigmentation of our irises crossing albino-ism with the slight chance of having blue pigments.’

‘Huh?’ Eve’s expression said it all. Every word that left Hax’s mouth went in one ear and out the other.

‘we’re…different.’ Hax simplified.

‘so like freaks?’ Eve said, with a slight chuckle at the end. Hax stiffened his entire body. ‘Come on. Lighten up will you? Let’s go see this room you made up for me.’

Back at the house, Seth woke up from his deep sleep on the couch, and went in search for food. He found Dylan in the kitchen, rifling through the cupboard.

‘Oi, chuck us a packed of 2 minute noodles. I’m starved.’ Seth called. A small packet flew out of the cupboard, and hit him square in the face. Seth tore open the packet, and consumed the noodles without even cooking them. Outside, a car could be heard driving down the street and turning into the driveway. Dylan removed himself from the pantry.

‘Just in the nick of time, I'm going to give them a hand.’ He said, walking towards the back door, only to be stopped by Seth.

‘Umm, Dylan? How about I go give them a hand and you give yourself one as well.’ Seth said, motioning his eyes towards Dylan’s left arm.

‘Shit… damn fucking side effects.’ Dylan cried, running towards the bathroom, ‘If anyone asks, tell them I needed to take a shower or something.’

‘Sooo, this is your house, huh?’ Eve said, admiring the backyard through the garage window. It was quite extravagant, especially for such an ordinary looking house. On the dark green grass sat a boxing station fitted with punching bag and speed ball, a small brick shed in the back corner and a magnificent oak tree at least 10 metres high, fitted with a tyre swing.

‘Come on, this way.’ Hax said, opening up the side door that led into the dining room of the house.

The house was as plain and ordinary on the inside as it was on the outside. It didn’t seem that any normal person lived there. No pictures hung from the walls, no fancy extravagant decorations. The house seemed ORDINARY.

‘Welcome home guys.’ Greeted Seth, ‘what took-’. He cut himself off. He looked Hax in the eyes, and received a slight shake of the head.

‘Oh for crying out loud.’ Yelled Eve, ‘Didn’t you learn the last time not to be sleazy? Now you have the nerve to stare at my tits.’ Hax grabbed Eve’s shoulders.

 ‘Come on, I’ll show you your room, before my brother makes another mistake.’ Hax walked Eve through the lounge room and up the stairs. On the second floor of the house, there was a long hallway with 5 doors leading off.

‘Those two doors on the right are Dylan's and Seth’s.’ Hax said, leading her down the hall, ‘The one on the end is the restroom. And this is your room’ stopping in front of the second door on the left. She opened the door to find a fairly bare room filled with a single bed, and a desk with a chair. Tears started to well up in her eyes again, but she shook them off.

‘So, I assume that’s your room next to mine.’ Eve said, a sly smile growing on her face.

‘Yeah. It’s kind of important my room stays where it is.’

‘Oh really.’ Her smile growing, could Hax finally open up to me?

‘The room below is my personal study, so I had a second set of stairs put in so I could go to bed easier.’

‘Oh…’

‘Come on. Let’s go have dinner, and we can discuss the house rules.’

There was a knock at the front door as Hax and Eve walked down the stairs. Seth answered it to find the pizza guy standing there. After Seth graciously paid for the pizza, they all sat down sat down at the table just as Dylan emerged of the bathroom. 

‘So I ordered a meat lovers and a vegetarian cos I don’t know what you wanted.’ Seth said, placing the pizzas on the table.

‘Thanks,’ Eve said, and turned to Hax, ‘About these house rules?’

‘Mmm,  1. No going into my study without my permission. 2. Same goes for any of our rooms.’

‘No going into my workshop in the backyard.’ Dylan added.

‘You can come into my room anytime.’ Seth said, only to find himself kicked in the shin.

‘And you must find a job. Pull your own weight around here. Chores are divided evenly, and everyone has the chance to cook. We all eat at the dinner table, unless something comes up.’ Said Hax.

‘So, what do you guys do for jobs?’ Eve asked, taking a bite of pizza.

‘Seth and I are teachers at the local high school’ said Dylan. Eve choked on her mouthful of food.

‘WHAT?!? But you’re both like 20’

‘We excelled in school, and graduated at 15. Did a few years in university, and landed jobs at the school.’ Seth chimed in, ‘Also we have amazing fake beards.’

Eve turned to Hax. ‘so let me guess, you own a fortune five hundred company?’

‘I’m a mechanic.’ Hax said, taking a sip of water.

‘bullshit’

‘No. And on weekends I do handyman work for people in town.’

‘Well aren’t you just mister perfect.’

‘oh, thinking up pet names already.’ Seth chimed in. Eve was about to punch him, when Hax grabbed her arm.

‘Also, no hitting my family…’

‘Thanks Hax’

‘…without prior consent; which I shall now give since he involved me in this.’

WHACK!

Eve got Seth right across the head. Dylan chuckled. Hax just ate more pizza.

After dinner, Eve helped Dylan do the dishes, and decided to get to know him better.

‘So, what do you teach at school then?’

‘Well I teach maths and physics, while Seth teaches psychology.’ Eve’s mouth dropped.

‘The sleaze teaches psychology? Wouldn’t he be more suited for, I don’t know, sports. So he can stare at young girls.’

‘Despite how he acts, Seth isn’t that bad. He never really got over his first love. He just acts like this to feel better, and push others away. He is quite smart as well, sometimes smarter than Hax.’

‘oh… so what’s up with everything in this house? There is, like, no pictures or décor in here.’

‘That’s how we lived. We are the last family left, and we like it this way.’

‘And Hax? Has he always been-’

‘Not always but recently he just became more serious. He used to be happy, and I miss that about him.’ Eve chuckled. ‘What’s so funny?’

‘At first I lol’d, but then I serious’d’ Dylan obviously didn’t get the joke.

‘have you thought about where you are going to work?’ Eve’s face dropped.

‘Not…not really. I don’t know where I'm going to fit in.’

‘Well, we will help you as much as we can.’

‘Thanks Dylan. Anyway, I'm going to set up my room.’ Eve made her way upstairs. When Eve was out of sight, Dylan dropped the tea towel.

‘Okay Seth. You might as well come out.’ Seth popped up from under the kitchen table.

‘Did you see it? Did you see her tattoo?’

‘Yes.’ Dylan sighed, ‘But this doesn’t mean shit. Hax says she got it from a drunken haze.’

‘but can we take this chance Dylan? How do we know this human isn’t playing us.’

‘how about you go outside, and beat the bag for a while? You need to let off some steam.’

Seth wanted to argue some more, but knew it would lead nowhere, so he left.

The rest of the night went by smoothly. Dylan and Seth watched a few action films, Eve spent the night in her room, and Hax did what he does best. He spent all night inside the study. Behind the locked door sat a librarians dream. The room was filled with books from all great authors; Poe, Shakespeare and an entire shelf dedicated to the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The spines showed they were all written in different languages too. From English to Russian, Chinese to Latin, there were even books that had languages not spoken for centuries. In the middle of the room sat 2 tall arm chairs and a small coffee table, stack high with books. One interesting feature of this study was stair cases that lead to the second floor of the house, and a strange looking metal chest that lay at the bottom, locked up with a large combination lock.  In one chair sat Hax, once again delved deep inside another book. He looked up at the clock and noticed the time.

‘1:30 am, looks like I should turn in.’

He picked up his sunglasses, and made his way upstairs to fall asleep. As he hit the final stair, he heard a creak from down the hall. Probably someone was going to the bathroom. He poked his head outside his door to see darkness.

Seth held his breath. He knew he had chosen a bad time to leave his room. After working out for an hour, he had sat down with Dylan to watch a few movies. At about midnight, the both called it a night.

‘What do you have tomorrow?’ Asked Dylan.

‘ year 12.’ Seth replied with a yawn.

‘Well make sure you get some sleep. They can be rat bastards.’ And with that Dylan closed his bedroom door. Seth did the same, but purposely stayed awake. He knew that Dylan was a heavy sleeper, and Hax most likely went to bed before anyone. After he felt it was truly safe, Seth made his way out of his bedroom, and sneaked quietly towards Eves. He opened her door with a creak.

Crap, he thought, and shot inside before anyone could see him. He heard Hax’s door open. Seth waited to hopefully hear it shut again. After a few seconds, the shutting sound came. He was relieved. Seth made his way towards the bedside.

‘if Hax doesn’t have the balls to deal with you, I will!’ Seth whispered. He reached his hands out and grabbed Eve around the throat.

Suddenly, in a flash of movement, faster than the human eye can see, Seth was thrown against the wall by an unknown source. All he could see was a pair of purple eyes staring at him.

‘You forget your manners, dear brother.’ The darkness said.

‘Ahh...Hax. Do you really want to risk the human seeing this form of you?’

‘The darkness hides my form quite well. My question is, what are you planning to do with my guest?’

‘You know as well as I do what they did to us. WHAT THEY DID TO HER!’

‘YES! We have all lost loved ones in this war, you most of all.’

‘She is one of them-’

‘There are no signs.’

‘-and if it’s dormant, and becomes active. She will-’

‘She will be dealt with accordingly. My dear brother, I know how much you cared for Claire,’ Hax could see tears streaming down his face ‘but you must remember that the inquisitors were wiped out decades ago, by your own hands.’

‘But…but…’ Seth just broke down.

‘Come on Seth; let’s get you back to bed.’ Hax released Seth, and resumed a more physical form. He gave Seth a hug, and sent him along his way. As he walked out of her room, Hax notice a sketch pad on Eve’s desk. On it was drawn a small child, sitting in the rain. He flipped the page, to reveal a closer look at a teenage girl. Page after page, this was a storyline. The teen sat there in the rain, and broke down into her hands, until a mysterious shadow came along. It was a man holding an umbrella, his eyes coloured purple. Is this about me? Hax thought. The man in the picture reached down, and helped her up. The last picture was of the man and the girl walking away, holding the umbrella over her while he became drenched.

Hax heard a noise behind him. He quickly spun around to see Eve stirring in bed.

‘Uuuuh? Hax, is that you?’

‘No sweetheart. You are still dreaming.’ And gave her a kiss on the forehead.

‘Must be, Hax would never act like this.’ She mumbled, and fell back asleep. He placed the blanket back over her and snuck silently out of her room.