Chapter 13: 13. Strangers
It was a bit chilly in the morning as the sunlight streamed into the room through the window. The sound of rustling leaves in the wind was almost like music.
Axel sat in his room sharpening his axe. When he heard the sound of a car approaching from outside, he quickly put the lenses from the box on the table to his eyes, then put down the axe and left the room. He could tell the visitors were strangers. He hurried down the wooden stairs. Felix and Maxwell were also outside.
As Axel stepped outside, he saw the newcomers. There were two older men, one of them in a wheelchair.
Axel recognized John's gaze and realized he knew the men who had arrived. "Why have you come?" John did not greet the visitors warmly.
The man in the wheelchair began to speak. "We just came to talk, John."
"There is nothing to talk about. Get out of my house," John said and turned to go back inside.
The man in the wheelchair called out for John to hear, "We need you, John Black. John stopped when he heard his name.
"Don't address me like that, Billy. I don't mean to be rude," Axel had seen John like this before. John was very angry.
"We need your help, John. We need you. The chief of the tribe is dead. Our tribe needs a leader, John Black." Billy gripped the arms of the wheelchair tightly and tried to rise from his seat, but failed.
John turned back to Billy. "I told you not to talk to me like that. You kicked me out of the tribe. I am no longer a black man. My name is John Blackwood. The problems of your tribe do not concern me. John remained calm as he spoke.
Even Felix could sense the anger beneath John's calm demeanor.
"These are your sons, aren't they?" Billy tried to change the subject. He knew John was right.
John had been banished from the tribe after an incident in which he killed a shapeshifter who had molested Evelyn. Although he had explained what had happened, they hadn't believed him and had cast him out. There were other reasons for his banishment. John was an Alpha shapeshifter. If he left the tribe, Alpha status would pass to someone else. John took Evelyn and left Forks.
"My sons are not your concern," John told Billy.
"The exit is this way," John dismissed them without allowing further conversation.
"Alright. I apologize for bothering you," Billy realized he couldn't convince John and decided to leave.
The man beside him helped Billy into the truck. As they left, John went back inside without saying a word to anyone. It was clear that he didn't want to talk to anyone right now.
Felix had to get some supplies from the store, so he went out. Maxwell retired to his room.
Axel got into an old car and left the farmhouse. He hadn't been to the office in a long time. He wanted to check on it after so long.
The car stopped in front of a building. The sign on the building said 'Blackwood'. They used to work here together, but it had been closed for a long time because of their travels. Dust had settled everywhere. Axel wanted to have the place cleaned, even though he didn't need the money. He was just bored.
Although Axel had no intention of restarting, he wanted to make sure the inside was clean. He inspected the inside and found nothing out of the ordinary. When he went down to the basement, he found a storage room. Inside were various materials. Axel paid no attention and walked on until he reached the wall. He began to run his hands along it.
Axel anchored his hands to a point on the wall and began to push. With the sound of friction, the heavy stone wall opened like a door.
It would be impossible for a normal person to open such a stone door.
Axel had made this door especially to prevent others from entering. Even John had difficulty opening it.
It was quite spacious inside, resembling a laboratory. Axel began to explore inside. This hidden area was the most important part of the building. It was here that Axel had made the special alloy for his axe.
Axel had done various experiments in this lab-like place. Axel had even experimented with vampire cells. He hadn't made much progress yet, but he believed he could succeed in the future.
After checking the secret room, he left and closed the entrance. He locked the door as he left the building and got into the car.
As he drove, Axel noticed that he was being followed. It was the same truck that had come to the house in the morning.
He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Billy in the front seat. Axel pulled the car to the side of the road and the truck stopped.
Axel got out of the car and walked quickly to the truck. Billy opened the door as soon as he saw Axel.
"What's the problem?" Axel seemed calm, but he was tense from being followed. He eyed the men carefully.
"We need to talk to your father, young man," Billy tried to find another way to reach John since he refused to talk to him.
"Aren't we already talking?" Axel had stopped because he didn't want to be followed. If John didn't want to talk to someone, he wouldn't force him to. Axel trusted John with his life. If John didn't like someone, he had a reason.
"We need to talk to your father. You have to help us," Billy asked Axel. He could tell that Axel was uncomfortable with his appearance.
"He said there's nothing to talk about. If you want something from me, just say it, but if it's from John, I don't care," Axel was good at hiding his emotions, but he showed them enough for the other person to understand. Billy realized he wasn't going to get what he wanted from the young man. "I understand. I apologize for wasting your time."
"It's okay." Axel started to walk back to his car. When Axel got back in the car and looked in the rear view mirror, Billy and the man next to him had already left. Axel waited a bit before continuing on his way.
Axel didn't ask John, but he was curious about who these men were. John had said that he had been banished from that family. Axel didn't ask for details, but if John wanted to talk, Axel would listen.
As the car turned onto the dirt road, it reached the farm. Soon after, Axel stopped the car and got out. He looked around and found John and the others sitting around the campfire. Axel went to join them.
John was telling an impassioned story. "Two vampires surrounded me. They thought I was a weak wolf. If they had known I was an Alpha, they would have begged for their lives." John exaggerated his memories a bit.
"How could an old man like you fight two vampires? Are you kidding us?" Felix didn't believe John.
"I can prove that I'm not kidding you. I can show you the majesty of an Alpha right now," John said, annoyed at Felix's disbelief. A young man could not mock an Alpha wolf.
"All right. All right. An Alpha can beat up five vampires if he wants to. We believe you," Felix continued to tease.
"While you were drinking milk, I was hunting vampires," John said proudly.
"Now I'm hunting vampires and you're drinking milk," Felix always had an answer for everything.
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