Julien Gregg's Immortalis Chronicles One: The Society Chapter 8

 EIGHT

Hikers found Adam's body two days later. He'd been nearly eaten by wildlife. There wasn't enough of him to show that he'd been murdered. Animals had dug the wound deeper and ate his insides. It was sickening but it was great at the same time. Things went back to normal. The kids at school didn't believe this about David anyway. Adam's friends left us alone after that. They were convinced that we had something to do with Adam's death. They were wrong. None of us in school had touched Adam in a bad way.

We had another philanthropic event. This time it was an auction of crafted items made by the Gamma Society. We made a little money but we donated all of the money to cancer research. People paid a fortune for little handmade trinkets. Then there was the end of the year dance. The Alpha and Gamma Societies rented tuxes and bought dresses. We went to the dance in fancy cars. We showed our girls a great night. They kissed our cheeks and we took them home at the end. Then school was out and we were back to living our days in the house. David's birthday was celebrated at the hotel in the banquet room. All of the bonded of everyone was there. Dad hugged me and told me he was glad about whatever I'd done to get David out of trouble. I just smiled.

"It's David's birthday," I said. "We shouldn't discuss painful events today."

"Wise," he said. "But thank you."

"You're welcome," I said.

David was happier than he'd been. He'd even bonded one person. His name was Gage Summers and he was on the football team. David said he wasn't bonding another. I just smiled at him and waited to see what would happen. He was happy the day of his birthday. Nicole sent him a bunch of new Arcola clothing. Jordan got him a shaving kit. Dad got him a new car. And I got him stuff for the car, you know a car stereo that played six compact discs, a cool alarm system, and heated seats. The bonded had each shopped and bought him something. They treated him like family. He wasn't one of them anymore but he was as close to them as he could be. I was happy about that. I wasn't bonding another to replace him. Eric turned out to be a more than efficient wrangler.

We had cake and ice cream and a barbecue. David was happy he and Gage were stuck together like glue. I feared another William and Drake situation but it turned out that David had already found his second bonded. He just hadn't done it yet. I'd find out about that two days later when he showed up at the house with two boys and I could tell by the way that they looked at him that they were bonded to him. I laughed at this and he told me to shut up.

Of course nothing was stopping me from moving in with Jordan now but I refrained and stayed in the house. David's room was empty now that he was living across the street in the house I'd had Dad help me buy for him and his bonded. Dad understood that I had to give David the elixir because without Jim's confession and conviction David would have been in prison by now and on his way to withering and dying.

The house was just as nice as ours. It had no pool but it did have a garage that he used for parties and the like. We got together with him and his bonded a lot. He was having them trained by Jordan's bonded on what to do for him. When Jordan told him he needed another he bonded Frank Dillon. These were football players without girlfriends. They were also good guys.

John's parents put their foot down and told him he was going to visit his grandmother with them. I told him that he wouldn't be far enough away for long enough to even feel it. He went and I missed him deeply while he was gone. Eric missed him too. We geared up for my birthday party and John wouldn't be there. I didn't like that but it was what it was. Of course for my birthday we had a pool party. Jordan, Jason, Arena, William, Roland, Nicole, David, and all of their bonded were there in swimsuits and in the pool. Evan manned the grill and we had a grand day of it. I got a brand new black SUV like Jordan's from Jordan. He said he was tired of seeing me in the car all the time. I laughed at this. It was fully loaded and I loved it. I gave my car to Eric who's truck had finally died.

I got computer software from my bonded. I was keeping track of all of the bonded and Immortalis that I knew about. They bought me software to keep all of that straight. We heard from other Immortalis who came to town to see what we were about. I recorded them too. Six had come to town. They lived together and had no bonded. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen. They said that they knew a network of Immortalis some with bonded and some without. They put me in touch with it and more and more of them came to town. I recorded all of them and their bonded. They all agreed to let me know if they gave the elixir to any of their bonded. There were some of Roland's ex bonded in the bunch. He was happy to see them again. William's ex bonded were not happy to find him in Claymore but they were happy to meet the rest of us. Jordan's ex bonded were happy to see him but they had their own lives. This was a way to quell Jordan's worry about the Immortalis.

When they weren't visiting they were emailing and staying in contact with us. Jordan was happy about that. There were so many of them. But they were all staying out of the way of humanity for the most part. Many lived on estates like Nicole and had companies to look after. It seemed that was a growing thing for the Immortalis. Those that had bonded lived with them and kept them close. Those that didn't seemed happy not to have them.

They were all shocked by the now real seventeen year old Immortalis that had five bonded of his own and was functioning just fine. They talked about me endlessly. They'd asked William and Roland about me and gotten a lot out of both of them. I was happy to spend time with any of them. Their bonded fit in with mine just fine. They went back to their estates and then it was just us again. We went back to life the way we knew it.

I had two nights off in the schedule again. I liked it that way. I wasn't planning to bond another. I was doing just fine with five. Eric got everyone to do what needed to be done. Evan and Declan were still training with Jordan's bonded. All of the computer and camera equipment came for Declan. He had it all in David's room which he'd taken over. His dad was happy that he was over with us while he was gone. He did go home when his dad came in. So to his father nothing had changed. He told his dad that he was gay and that had gone much better than he was hoping. His father told him that he had been with men before and couldn't say anything to him out it for fear that he'd hate him. Now he knew that they were two of a kind and that was a load off his mind.

John's seventeenth birthday happened while he was away. We got him gifts but he wasn't with us to get them. We stacked them in the room he always stayed in over here. But this time his parents weren't letting him spend almost the whole summer with us. This time they wanted him home five nights a week. Then he could stay with us on weekends. I told him it was just for another year. We gave him our presents and had a small party for him. His mother and father dug in their heals. He could be over here until seven in the evening and then he was to be home. He couldn't come over here until his chores were done.

That was it for John. He was so mad at his parents that he couldn't stand it. I moved his rotation day to Saturday and my day off to Friday. He was happy about that but told me that his parents were driving him crazy. I told him that they were just trying to spend time with him before college happened and he left them for good. He said he hadn't thought about it that way. I told him to soak up all of the time he could with them because when we left Claymore he'd never see them again. He looked a bit crestfallen about that. But he understood.

It also cut off his training which angered me. We'd have time for that though and he'd learned so much already. Jordan told me that his bonded were thrilled with how much all three of mine that were studying with them had learned in a short amount of time. He said that Declan could make our identification and our incidentals all by himself. Evan could plan out a move six months from the time it was needed. John could drive a number of vehicles and he could drive very aggressively. He told me to relax and let them be who they were. He told me that the parents pulling rank was a byproduct of teenaged bonded. He said he had no experience with that and had no advice for me. I told him it was just for a year. We'd all be eighteen next year. He laughed at that. He said you'll be eighteen again and again.

I hung out with my bonded at home and they had something to tell me. They had been staying in contact with the bonded of other Immortalis around the world and they were planning a reunion with them by the end of the summer. I told them that was great but they'd come with their Immortalis. Todd said that was where I came in. He told me to plan a reunion for all of the Immortalis. I told him I'd work on it. He told me the weekend they were planning on. So I wrote it down. I called Jordan and told him what they were up to and he said it was a great idea. Nicole wouldn't come back for that weekend he was sure but the rest of them would love to see all of the Immortalis again.

So we planned and plotted. We planned to take them to the amusement park in our area. But we couldn't get tickets for the days that they were going to be here. So we planned the zip line experience instead. We were all immortal what could it hurt. If we fell we'd live. I booked it. Then I started sending emails to all of the Immortalis. In this day and age we were all easy to get a hold of. I got replies almost immediately. They all said that they would come. Success. I called Jordan and told him that all of them were coming. There weren't as many as he'd feared. Some had found ways to die themselves. I didn't know how they'd done it and I didn't want to know.

We spent the days leading up to the great reunion hanging by the pool and having a good time. We had parties with Jordan's bonded and Jason's bonded and even Arena's bonded. Drake even came to one of them and had a good time. We spent a fortune on food. We had a great time that summer. But all too soon school was approaching again. We had to have a meeting with the Alpha Society to discuss this year's philanthropic events. We had three big ones every year. That was the turkey run, the angel tree, and the toys for the pediatric unit. We weren't changing a thing about them. We just had to come up with a few more. We decided on partnering with the Red Cross to do a blood drive at the school. That and we'd adopt residents at one of the local retirement homes and do laundry, buy things for them, and hang out with them for two weeks. That was good enough for me. We had to get the Gamma Society to agree to it all. They did so it was a go.

School started and we were all seniors. This was it. The last year. We had to make it a good one. People still talked about Adam Stainer getting eaten by whatever had eaten him. I made sure that none of my bonded were talking about it. We even took steps to quash the talk, saying it was in poor taste. We reconnected with teachers who were very happy to have us in their classes this year. Several made us assistants and gave us special treatment. That wasn't what the Alpha and Gamma Societies were about but it didn't hurt. We had a fun first few days of school.

John complained about his parents every day. I told him that he'd be eighteen next summer and could do what he wanted then. He just nodded at me and went on complaining. The bonded all loved being back in school because we were looked at favorably in the school by all of the teachers and most of the students. Jason and I sat side by side in most of our classes and the teachers that hadn't seen us together did double takes. Everyone in school last year talked about me and Jason being reunited after a lifetime apart. They thought it was good. It was good but it had been more than a lifetime apart. Jason was actually closer to thirty. We didn't bother to tell them that though.

"This place reveres us," Jason said at lunch that day.

"For now they do," I said. "You saw how fast it turned last year."

"That was an insane boy and his friends who made it their personal mission to make your life hell," he said. "He's not here this year and his friends seem to want nothing to do with us."

"That's good, because I have no patience for his friends this year," I said.

"When do we start the blood drive?" Jason asked.

"You mean to tell me you don't know?" I asked. "It was one of your bonded and one of mine that set the whole thing up. Do you not talk to your bonded?"

"Of course I do," he said. "I just don't know this one thing."

"Well it's next month," I said. "They'll put up signs and such soon. The school is very excited about it."

"I'll bet," he said. "You know we're all going to have to donate blood."

"Of course we are," I said. "Ours isn't special is it?"

"No," he laughed. "It isn't in our blood. It's in our bodies."

"Okay," I said. "Then we'll donate blood like good little boys."

"Good little boys?" he laughed.

"You know what I mean," I said.

We had the blood drive and each one of us donated blood. The television station came to do interviews with me and Arena about this drive. We had no choice but to be interviewed. Jordan would have fits about this. We told them that there was a shortage of blood being donated in the country and we were working to do our part to change that. We encouraged other schools to hold blood drives and open them to the public as we had. In the end we weren't on camera long.

"You were fine," Jordan said. "It's pictures that we don't want. All of that footage gets destroyed over time so I'm not worried about that. Pictures have a way of coming back to bite you in the ass."

"I'll remember that," I said. "We'll be in college next year and all of this will stop for us. It'll be up to the school to keep the Societies open and running."

"Somehow I think they'll manage," he said. "So many younger kids want to be a part of the Alpha Society and the Gamma Society."

"Yes I've seen it on the news," I said. "We don't have another big one to do until the Turkey run and Angel tree."

"You're doing those again this year?" he asked.

"Well yes," I said. "They were so popular last year I hope they continue when I'm in college."

"Well you can leave instructions in the book that the school keeps for the society," he said. "That would help."

"Believe me instructions for each of our philanthropic events are in the book already," I said. "If they keep kids joining and doing good for the school it would be amazing. But after this year I'll only be here for four more years to watch it."

"Yes, after you all graduate from college we're leaving," he said. "I also know where we're going."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Arizona," he said. "We haven't been there in over fifty years."

"Where in Arizona?" I asked.

"Osage," he said. "There's university there and everything."

"It's perfect," I said. "Who thought this one up?"

"Tom," he said. "We were happy there once."

"Do we have a house?" I asked.

"A huge one," he said. "We had it last time. It'll fit you and your bonded don't worry."

"We're living together this time right?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "You, me, Arena, and Jason. Your dad and brother will have a house close to campus."

"Dad's going to apply to work there probably," I said.

"He'll get the job," he said. "The president of the university is Immortalis."

"That's great," I said. "I can't wait to get there."

"Are you still planning to have a zip line day when the Immortalis and their bonded get here?" he asked.

"The zip line is the Immortalis event," I said. "The bonded have their own event I don't even know what it is."

"Ask your bonded," he said.

"I will," I said. "I'm really happy right now and I love my bonded but I'm not in love with any of them. I was afraid that Eric and I would be like William and Drake but we're not. We're a bit closer than me and any of the bonded but we're not in love with each other."

"William double bonded Drake because he was in love with him," Jordan said. "You weren't in love with Eric so it didn't do to you two what it did to William and Drake."

"Eric is a good wrangler," I said. "I wasn't expecting that. But with losing David I thought I was out a wrangler but Eric stepped into that role like he was made for it."

"Have you talked to him about the move?" he asked.

"He said he wouldn't mind going back to college," I said. "He's intrigued by having a new name and back story."

"Good," he said. "Sometimes the bonded have trouble with the moves."

"The only two that I'm afraid will have trouble with the move are John and Declan," I said. "They have parents that love them."

"It'll be hard for them but it's necessary unless you make them Immortalis," he said.

"I won't make them Immortalis," I said. "They will remain my bonded for a long time. I'm done losing people."

"I hear you," he said. "You were devastated by having to give the elixir to David."

"I was," I said. "No more devastated than David himself."

"I was there," he said. "I remember. You have a tight bond with all of them. They love you in a way that my bonded do not love me. Perhaps my decision to keep them at arm's length was a mistake. Your bonded will do things for you that mine won't. I'll change with the next batch. I'm about to give the elixir to two of mine."

"You are?" I asked.

"Tom and James," he said. "They want out of the family."

"Wow," I said. "Who will we send people to learn from them?"

"To your bonded," he said. "Evan, Declan, and Todd know what to teach now. John knows how to drive just about anything. He just needs the license for it. But he won't need them soon. He'll have them because Declan will make them for him."

"That's wild," I said. "I can't believe that they've come that far."

"Well they have," he said. "Tom and James will be Immortalis before they all get here for the weekend. You'll need to record them in our database."

"Yeah," I sighed. "When are you planning to give the elixir to the other two?"

"I'll be giving them the option when I give to Tom and James," he said. "By this time next week I may not have bonded."

"That's unreal," I said.

"It is what it is," he said. "Now that you're keeping track of them I'm not so worried about spreading."

"That's good because I have them all in the database," I said. "We know where they are and they update me when they move. Several of them don't move anymore. They have compounds where they live and businesses to run from those compounds much like Nicole."

"Yes that's becoming a way for the Immortalis to live," he said. "I like moving every seven to ten years and starting over. I find it challenging and worth while."

"I think I'll like the moving and starting over," I said. "It appeals to me for some reason."

"Because you are an Arcola," he said.

"What will our names be this time around?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "They'll tell me just before we go."

"Okay," I said. "So the reunion. Do you not like the zip line experience? I've also gotten my dad to help me buy an old outdated hotel on the lake right there where the zip lines are. I'm going to hire people to take care of it and keep it up. I want it open and operating at a steady pace. I know that it's going to be seasonal but at least it will be open and making money."

"Smart," he said.

"We'll be staying in the hotel while the Immortalis are in town," I said. "The bonded have their own reunion and Eric is planning an event for them."

"Well it sounds like you've got this all sewn up," he said.

"We have it in hand," I said. "Are you all right with what I've planned?"

"Damon you don't have to ask me what I think about anything that you plan and carry out," he said. "I'm happy that you're taking the initiative. So many of us never plan anything. You got the Immortalis to come together. You got them to sign in to a database and to keep you informed of moves and new bonded and all of that. That's so much more than any of us have done over the years. Don't ask me what I think about it. I'm in awe of you already."

"Thank you," I said. "It doesn't feel like I've done much."

"But you have," he said. "You put my worry about the spreading of Immortalis to rest. You got Nicole to come and be in the same house with William and Drake and say nothing about it. You got the Immortalis to come together not once but three times now and you're recording their names in a database. You know where they live, what names they're using and how many bonded they have or don't have. Damon you're an efficient person that is a breath of fresh air for the family. Your brother is in awe of you, and your sister reveres you."

"I didn't know all of that," I said.

"You put together two very successful clubs at school, you got them to do philanthropic things for the community at large, and you quash rumors and talk of Adam. You get teachers to treat the society members with respect. Damon, you did all of that," he said.

"Okay," I said. "It didn't seem like much when I was doing it. I mean the database was important so I did it. I didn't think it was all that special. I mean I thought you had your bonded working on this as well. I didn't know that you were planning to give Tom and James the elixir and planning to ask the others if they want it as well. You just make sure they all register with me when they drink it."

"I will," he said. "I'm ready to be bonded free for a bit if I'm honest," he said. "I'm tired of them."

"Well you treat yours a lot different than I treat mine," I said. "If you bond more just pay attention to what I do with my bonded. They love me in a way that yours don't love you."

"I know it," he said. "Everyone is talking about how attentive to you that your bonded are. None of them have that with their bonded."

"It's all in how you treat them," I said.

"It's not just that they're teenagers?" he asked, looking at me hard.

"No," I said. "Eric is as attentive to my needs as the others are," I said. "But I'm attentive to their needs as well. I let them have their lives but we come together every night. We sit in the floor and they touch me."

"It's beautiful the way you do it," he said.

"Thank you," I said. "I just do it."

"See it comes natural to you. The rest of us are going to have to learn it," he said. "It'll take time. I need to do it with fresh bonded. I'm going to college with you when you get there. I'll be going to graduate school. I've already checked into it. I just have to be Jordan Arcola to do it which is fine because we were using our names anyway."

"That's great," I said. "You'll find new bonded there."

"Yes," he said. "That was my thought as well."

The weekend with the Immortalis came and we did the zip line experience first thing. Everyone loved it. We had so much fun. We were there for more than half the day. The zip line people were having fun with us. There were twelve of us and we took turns on six lines. We had a great time that day and we went to the hotel and I spent a fortune on food to barbecue for them. We had great food and great fun. We were there for two days and then they all went home and we went back to school. It was a great weekend and I thanked Eric and Todd for putting together the bonded reunion.

"Some of the bonded are mad because they don't have with their Immortalis what we have with you," Todd said Monday at school.

"There's nothing I can do about that," I said. "Jordan and I were discussing that before the weekend happened."

"Did you know that he gave the elixir to all of his bonded last night?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "They registered with me and I know where they're all going. They'll be gone today."

"That's wild," he said. "You're not planning to turn us all into Immortalis are you?"

"No," I said. "You'll remain my bonded until it chafes."

"It doesn't chafe," he said. "Don't offer us the elixir."

"I wasn't planning on it," I said.

I thought about that all day in school. Jordan's bonded wanted the elixir and mine didn't. It really was in the way that I treated them. They'd rather stay my bonded than become independent Immortalis. It said something to me. It said that I was treating them right. I didn't know what to tell Jordan. He had been at this a lot longer than I have. So he had his ways. I had mine and they wouldn't change no matter who was bonded to me.

At school everyone wondered when the second philanthropic event would happen. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it wouldn't be until Thanksgiving. The Turkey Run happened next unless someone came up with another idea. I decided to move the resident adoption to the next one instead of after Christmas. We could do it both times. I got everything ready for it and then both the Alpha Society and the Gamma Society were adopting a resident to sit with. We did laundry, shopped for snacks, sat with them, played games with them, and talked to them. It went on for a week. We told the staff that we'd do this again after Christmas. They told us to do it whenever we wanted.

By Halloween we were taking donations for the Turkey Run. I rented the same warehouse to store everything in. We got a freezer that held the two hundred turkeys that we bought. We had canned ham this time too. We put that all in the freezer. We were taking non perishable food items, a thermal blanket, and portable heaters that wouldn't cause a fire. We'd also baked pies. We had a Halloween Party for the Societies and had a blast. We bobbed for apples, took a hay rack ride, and had a haunted maze to walk through. We all had a great time that night. Then it was back to school and getting all of the donations for the Turkey Run to the warehouse.

Then we got an assembly line going to put one of each item that we'd grouped together into a box. I had boxed macaroni and cheese. I put two in each box. Jason had the canned ham so he put one in each box. Arena had the turkeys. Once the boxes were full we stacked them by the garage type doors. Then we got the blankets, heaters, and pies and put them in the boxes. Now it was time for the drivers to come and take it all to the people on the list. The television news came to interview me and Arena about this. The print news did too, but they didn't have a photographer. We got everything in trucks and SUV's and out to the people. It took the drivers three trips to get it all but they got it all done by the time the sun went down.

It was on the five o'clock news and the eleven o'clock news. We were mentioned in the newspaper the next day as well. It put the school in a good light because we were school sanctioned clubs. The students talked about it incessantly. We were the talk of the school until Christmas Vacation. I went and bought a real tree and got it all set up. Then we went nuts with ornaments, lights, garland, and bows. I put a star on the top and lit it up. It looked beautiful. We put presents under it for each other, for Jordan, for Jason, Arena, William, Roland and all of the bonded.

Of course Nicole sent new clothes for everyone. We wrapped the boxes and put them under the tree as presents from Nicole. I called her and wished her a happy holiday. She told me she was planning to visit when school was out. She enjoyed the television news about our groups' Turkey Run. She said she was proud of all three of us but me the most because she knew that this was my doing and not Jason or Arena's. I told her that they helped a great deal. She said they had no choice. I laughed. I told her that there was no pulling anything with her. She cackled. She told me she'd see me in June. I told her I loved her and got off the phone.

Christmas day Todd made a ham with all of the trimmings. The meal was outstanding. He'd had help from Evan and John. His parents had allowed him to be over at my house for most of Christmas day because they weren't going to his grandmother's for the day. He'd opened presents with them before he'd come over here. We opened presents after dinner. Everyone was happy with what they got and happy with the new clothes from Nicole. Eric got a lot of clothes. He smiled when he saw them. Nicole really liked Eric.

We cleaned up the paper mess and took our gifts and clothes to our rooms. I came back down for hot chocolate by the tree. They all touched me as we sat on the floor and had our chocolate. Then we were up and eating again. We talked about what was going on in our world. John said he missed the training with James and Drake. I told him that all four of Jordan's bonded were Immortalis now. He looked at me with shock. I told him that Jordan didn't have bonded anymore and that he would be a graduate student while we were doing undergrad at Braymore.

"That's great but no bonded?" John said.

"He's starting over with five new ones," I said. "He wants what we have."

"Well of course he does," he said. "He can't get it with the four that he already had?"

"No," he said. "They were already set in the way they treated each other. You know he'll have another child with this round, don't you?"

"You're going to have a new sibling from both fathers soon," John said with a smile.

"It seems that way," I said.

"Is your dad still moving with us to Arizona?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "So are David and his bonded."

"How many does he have now?" John asked.

"Five," I said. "All seniors and without girlfriends. He treats them like I treat all of you. But he'll have them over here to work with Evan, Todd, and Declan to learn to do what they do. Jordan said that you all three know what to do and how to do it. So you can teach David's bonded to do what you all know how to do now."

"Sounds fun," Todd said.

"Well I hope you teach them very well," I said. "You're going to have to teach Jordan's bonded when he finds the five."

"We'll teach them very well," said Declan. "Don't worry about it. We have it all down and we'll make them know what we're doing."

"Jordan gave David five million dollars to finance his bonded," I said. "If he hadn't I was going to give him five million out of my own money."

"That's good because he's going to have to pay for some tech and stuff," Declan said.

"I know, that's why I told you," I said.

"Okay," he said. "Just tell him to send them over."

"We'll do this over the summer," I said. "We all have school to get through."

"It's easy in school now," he said. "We can study better and memorize anything. We do well on tests and can even focus on what's being whispered in the class and the teacher."

"I know how it works," I said with a smile. "Mine works faster than yours does but you'll catch up the longer you're bonded."

"What philanthropic thing do we still have?" he asked. "We did the turkey run, the adopt a resident, the angel tree, and the craft sale."

"We have another round of adopt a resident and then we have the dance to do," I said. "Our biggest philanthropic event after Christmas is the blood drive. We'll do that again around April."

"Okay," he said. "I just wondered what we had to get ready for."

"We only have to get ready for the blood drive but that's not until April," I said.

"Okay," he said. "I'm happy about that. It takes a lot of preparation for these events."

"Well rest assured we won't be doing them in college," I said. "You're right. It does take a lot of preparation and a lot of my money to get these things off the ground. Sure I'm getting that money back but I have to put it up to begin with."

"I didn't know that," he said. "What are you paying for?"

"Warehouses, boxes, labels, clipboards, pens, and gas," I said. "That's just the Turkey Run."

"Damn," he said.

"Well you know how hard it is to prepare on your end," I said. "Think of how hard it is to prepare on my end."

"Yeah," he said. "So you know for sure we're not doing this in college?"

"Yes," I said. "We have too much to do in college to be dicking around with this shit."

"Okay," he said. "Do you know what our names will be when we move?"

"That's five years away," I said. "Jordan's bonded had that all figured out but they're Immortalis now. I don't now anything other than we're moving to Osage, Arizona in five years. I'm moving, Jordan, Jason, Arena, David, and Dad are moving to Osage in five years."

"William and Roland aren't coming?" he asked.

"No," I said. "William and Roland are going their own way."

"Why?" he asked.

"They don't like being around the family long," I said. "They're going to be here for four of the five years we'll be here. Or they could decide to pull up and leave. But William pulled out an old identity and is teaching at the college. So I'd say he'll be here for a while. Roland is the wild card. He's restless all of the time. He doesn't like sitting still much. He never stays anywhere for long."

"Well that sucks," he said. "I was getting to like Roland and I thought he was getting to like all of us."

"He is," I said. "That's why he's still here."

"Oh," he said. "I hadn't thought of it that way."

We stopped talking about it after that. We had to be back in school in seven days. We had to get through New Year's Day and Jordan was planning a New Year's party at the house. We were all going over there. Dad and his bonded, David and his bonded, and me and my bonded. We were having quite the party. Nicole was even going to be in town for it. I didn't know how Jordan had pulled that off but my hat was off to him.

We arrived at the party and everyone was there. It was good to see Nicole again. She hugged me as soon as she was standing close enough. She asked about my bonded and gave me her condolences on losing David. He was there with his five bonded. All football players. Nice muscular bodies and all about David. I was proud of him. He was treating his as I treated mine. I suppose that was all he knew.

"You're here," Jordan said. "Your brother is getting his bonded together."

"Mine are over there," I said, pointing to the side of the house that was facing us.

"They look happy enough," he said. "I'm surprised to find that David's five are so happy."

"He treats his as I treat mine," I said. "It's all he knows."

"That's amazing," he said. "We should make more Immortalis like David."

"I plan to a little later in life," I said. "Evan and Todd are going to want the elixir before too long."

"You see that about them, do you?" he asked.

"They have the most questions about it," I said. "The other bonded tell me that they talk about it a lot."

"Well I'm sorry you'll be losing two more," he said.

"I won't be losing two, I'll be losing four," I said. "There won't be any reason for Declan and John to remain my bonded when Evan and Todd go."

"But not Eric?" he asked.

"Eric is too bonded to me to want the elixir," I said. "All he thinks about is being my bonded forever."

"That's a good thing unless you want to purge the bonded," he said.

"I'm not ready to be rid of Eric," I said. "If I purge the bonded it will be four not five."

"If you say so," he said. "I wouldn't have thought you'd purge Eric anyway. He's so bonded to you that you're practically lovers."

"It feels that way sometimes," I said. "Father I'll never lie to you I tell you this because of it. But I love Eric a little more than I like."

"I know," he said. "But thank you for not lying to me."

"Why would I?" I asked. "You've been open and transparent with me. Why wouldn't I return the favor?"

"Well said," he said. "I don't think you and I will ever have a problem. Your sister however is keeping something from me."

"Then she's keeping it from me, too," I said. "She knows that I tell you everything."

"Yes she does," he said. "You and Jason tell me everything. Arena does not."

"Well she's allowed her secrets I guess as long as they don't hurt or jeopardize us."

"My thoughts exactly," he said. "You don't have women in your bonded so you don't know how secretive and closed off they can be to a man."

"This has you really upset hasn't it?" I asked.

"She may be derailing some plans," he said.

"Shit," I said.

"Quite," he said. "She's bonded another."

"From high school?" I asked.

"No," he said. "From the staff."

"Who?" I asked.

"Jeff Varner," he said. "He's a teacher."

"I know who he is," I said. "He's my computer teacher."

"Well he's her bonded now," he said. "I understand why she did it. He looks like her first bonded that she never got over withering and dying."

"I don't know about this one," I said.

"No, we don't talk about him much," he said. "She gets upset."

"So Mr. Varner looks like her first?" I asked.

"He could be his older brother," he said.

Geo Varner was a first year teacher at the school. He taught all of the computer courses at the school. He was in his twenties but now he was going to have to quit when we left and go back to college. Or something. I didn't know what was going on with my sister. We hadn't bonded the way she'd said we would. I was sad about that. It wasn't that I didn't want to be distant with her but she made it hard to get close to her.

"You got quiet," he said.

"Just thinking about Arena," I said. "She said she and I would bond but we haven't. We started to and then she pulled away from me."

"Well there's time yet," Jordan said. "Give her a chance."

"I've given her chance after chance, Father," I said.

"Please, for me," he said.

"All right," I said.

"I'm not as worried about you as I am about Jason," he said. "Jason can be hard on her."

"Jason loves her as I do," I said.

"Yes, but he knows when she upsets me and then he's hard on her," he said.

"Are you upset?" I asked.

"Not yet," he said. "I'm more curious than anything else. I mean we had the right number of bonded. The only one who should have been bonding anyone was David. Then she bonds the computer teacher. I don't know where her head's at and I don't know what she's up to."

"Okay," I said. "I didn't know exactly where you were with this."

"She better be using protection when she sleeps with him," he said.

A baby? That would derail plans all right. I didn't want a baby in all of this. If she had a baby then I'd keep my distance from her as much as possible. But we were all going to live with Jordan when we moved. It was a conundrum. I didn't know what to think. She hadn't gotten pregnet yet so there was nothing to worry about I guess. I had to worry about my own bonded wanting the elixir. If they asked for it before we moved I was screwed.

But it wasn't Todd or Evan that asked me for the elixir first. I hadn't been paying close enough attention to how upset John was about leaving his parents and family when we moved. He was really upset about it. I didn't know what he planned to do with the elixir he'd have to leave them anyway. But he could visit them from time to time if he had the elixir. I just didn't know what to think. I wasn't prepared for what he said when he said it.

"I want the elixir," John said when he took Jordan's empty seat. "I've been thinking about it and I really don't want to be bonded anymore. Will you give it to me?"

"You know what you're giving up?" I asked.

"I know what I'm giving up, but I also know what I'm gaining," he said.

"And what is that?" I asked.

"I can visit my parents from time to time," he said. "I can find a makeup artist that makes me look older and visit my parents."

"You can do that bonded to me," I said.

"No I can't," he said. "I can't be more than fifty miles from you for too long or I'll wither and die. You're going to Osage, Arizona, Damon. I can't visit my parents from Osage."

"So you want the elixir," I said. "Will you wait until we graduate or get done with college?"

"No," he said. "I want away from the bonded. I want away from you. Please understand. It isn't that I hate you or them but I wanted to be to you what Eric is to you. That didn't happen so I got used to being at arm's length most of the time. But my night in the rotation just messes me up. I want out of this."

"Talk to the other bonded and tell them what you told me," I said. "I'll give you the elixir when we get home tonight. I won't blindside the others though."

"All right," he said. He got up and walked away from me.

I sat there and thought about what he'd said. He wanted out. It hurt me to hear it but I had to pay attention to what he wanted. I wouldn't force him to be bonded to me or he'd go off and wither and die. I didn't want that to happen. If he didn't want to be bonded to me then he didn't have to be bonded to me. I'd release him and make him Immortalis if that's what he wanted. I just wasn't happy about it.

"What's got that look on your face?" Nicole asked as she sat down in the chair that John had been sitting in.

"John wants the elixir," I said. "He said it's painful for him to be bonded to me because he can't have what he wants."

"At least he didn't go off and wither and die," she said. "He asked for the elixir instead."

"Yeah," I said. "I told him to talk to the other bonded and I would give him the elixir when we got home tonight. I'm worried that this will start a chain reaction."

"Well if it does you're best to find out before they all get up in arms," she said.

"That's true," I said. "I suppose I could tell the others to teach Eric what they know and then I'll give them the elixir. I need people to do this, Nicole."

"I know you do baby," she said. "There are others out there."

"Yeah there are," I said with a smile. "But he was my best friend."

"That's why you should bond strangers," she said. "You should never pick people you know well."

"Well the only one that I have that I knew well now is Declan," I said. "He'll probably want the elixir next."

"I doubt it," she said. "Declan is happy with his situation. John has been unhappy for a while. You said that yourself. None of the others are upset are they?"

"No but I expect Evan and Todd to want the elixir," I said. "The others tell me they talk about it endlessly."