Available Darkness Season 1

remember or see anything.”
    “Will do,” John said as he shut the door.

    * * * *

CHAPTER 5 — Hope and John

    Hope

    “ Now can you tell me what the hell is going on?” Hope asked as John raced through alleys and peeled around corners on his way to somewhere he wasn’t telling, splitting his eyes between road and rearview.
    “The less I tell you now, the better off you’ll be.” John said.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I don’t even know where to begin,” John said, eyes darting at each building, car, passerby, as if he expected an ambush at any moment. His panic reminded Hope of dogs she’d seen; backed into a corner with their teeth bared as imminent doom fell on them like a shadow.
    John asked, “Do you have your cell phone?”
    “Yeah,” Hope said, fumbling through her purse, hands shaking uncontrollably. She handed John the phone. He held it in his left hand, lowered his window, and tossed the phone without ceremony on the street.
    “What the hell?!” she cried, looking back as the plastic turned to a sneeze of shrinking black.
    “No phones. No credit cards. Nothing they can use to track you.”
    “You’re scaring me, John! What the hell are you involved with? Who are they ?”
    The car bounced hard off a pot hole and for a moment, she thought the tire had blown or the car would be ripped apart by the force of the impact. It kept plowing forward, though, in one piece. Then, for the first time, she began hoping John would just stop the car, so she could jump out and put as much distance between them as possible.
    Whatever was going on, this wasn’t good, and for the first time since she’d met John, her doubts outweighed her love.

    **

    John

    John never saw it coming.
    Sure, he’d been prepared for any eventuality. He’d spent a lifetime planning for the worst possible outcome to occur at any moment. Somehow, he never imagined he’d have to come clean and explain everything to Hope, though.
    He glanced at the passenger seat. The bewildered animal beside him seemed almost like a stranger. Her fear and confusion made the other night in her studio pale in comparison. Her aura was bright reds and blacks, off the charts of anything he’d seen in anyone who wasn’t being murdered.
    Their world was crumbling and she was finding it hard to hang on. John didn’t blame her—it killed him that it had to happen this way. He’d done everything he could to create a normal life. And he thought he’d secured his future—their future.
    As long as Jacob was out there, however, John would never know peace.
    They would never be safe from Jacob and the Harbingers who wanted to find him, or the government’s Guardians who wanted him dead. He had to embrace his powers, and his weaknesses; return to the life he’d managed to avoid for the past few years, back to a life of murder and solitude. It was the only chance he had at killing Jacob and his group.
    “I want answers, John!” Hope demanded.
    He didn’t know what to tell Hope. He could go with the truth and have her think him batshit crazy, or he could lie, in hopes of keeping her compliant until they got to Larry’s place and could get Adam wipe her.
    The only thing he knew for certain is that these chaotic moments were likely the last they would ever spend together.
    Everything was about to change. Forever.

    **

    They arrived at Larry’s warehouse under the promise that once there, John would spill the entire pot of beans.
    Larry greeted them, wearing his gregarious smile and finest charm, “Even more beautiful than John promised.”
    Larry shook Hope’s hand and kissed it. She too, was wearing her normal face, but her eyes could not disguise her fear and confusion.
    John said, “Larry is my right hand man, a private investigator who has helped protect us.”
    “Protect us from what?” Hope asked.
    “I’ll explain everything in a moment,” John said.
    He then turned to Larry. “I need you to call Adam. Get him here immediately.”
    Larry’s face was grave as he realized what John was asking. “Sure, sure,” he said, grabbing his phone and walking toward the adjoining unit next door.
    John turned to Hope. The words in his throat had left him for dead already.

    **

    Hope

    Hope stared at John as he fumbled for the right words. She was frustrated that she had to wait until they arrived at wherever the hell they were. Now that she was about to discover whatever dark secrets John had been harboring, part of her wanted