Page 17

The sight of the protestors came into view from the car Kroven had ordered for us, making my teeth ache with annoyance. As the car drove past the crowd and stopped before the sidewalk outside of the blood center, I could tell that this crowd was bigger, just since yesterday. It baffled me that this many people could rally together to specifically boycott something fueled by hate, but couldn’t unite as one for the betterment of everyone.

Kroven thanked the driver and we got out of the car. Our ears were assaulted at the sight of a sangamar nearing the blood center. The protestors were chanting, which wasn’t unusual. Normally they spouted rhetoric about “keep humans safe” and “stop draining us for them”. Today was different.

They were holding up signs that displayed their latest hate speech, chanting it in uneven intervals amongst their group. The word ORB-omination was plastered across multiple signs in chalky red letters, a phrase far too clever for their evident stupidity. I would have been thankful if it was just the signs, since Kroven still hadn’t consumed blood to restore his sight, but since they were chanting it out as well, rage filled every bone in my body. I glanced over at Kroven and the hurt in his still-grey eyes made me want to stomp over and bash every single one of their heads in.

I didn’t realize my body was subconsciously making me move that way until Kroven put out an arm to stop me, tracking me by the angry stomps of my Converses.

“Don’t, they’re not worth it.” Kroven twisted to knock on the window of the car we’d just piled out of, the window coming down as Kroven asked the man if he could wait and give us another ride to the airport. He turned back up to me when the driver agreed. “I’ll wait in the car while you talk to your boss.”

“Kroven, you shouldn’t have to—”

“I know.” He sighed. “But this is exactly why we’re going to D.C. Do what you need to do and I’ll be here when you’re finished.”

Sadness crept around my ankles and up my body as Kroven reluctantly got back inside the car. The protestors on the other side of the street stopped chanting the play on abomination, returning to their normal chants, perfectly directed at me.

Ignoring them and their closed minds, I sauntered into the blood center with a renewed sense of urgency. The last thing I wanted after experiencing the onslaught of ignorance from the protestors was to be in Piper any longer than necessary.

I had to ask around from various co-workers if they had seen Babs, but as luck would have it, Babs found me before I had to go hunting her down.

“Bas, are you going to come in here every day begging me for more shifts?” Her sigh was a heavyweight occurrence, and I got the sense that it was a particularly stressful day by the timbre in her voice. “I told you, I’m doing the best I can with what I have.”

“No, it’s not about working more.” I brushed her off. “ Actually, I was wondering if I was still off the scheduled for today and tomorrow.”

“Whatever it says right now is right.” Babs nodded. “Nothing’s changed.” Her expression soured, eyes squinting at me in scrutiny. “Why?”

“I’m headed out of town for a couple days,” I explained. Part of me didn’t think it was my boss’ business and I didn’t need to explain where I was going, but then I thought about my previous interactions with Babs about discussing Wallace Watson and his connection to the blood centers around Piper. Perhaps this would give Babs something to look forward to. “Actually, that friend I was telling you about asked me to go with him to meet with Watson personally.”

Babs’ eyes nearly walked out of their sockets. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I thought, if you don’t mind, I’d give a personal outlook on what’s happening here when we meet with Watson.”

“Oh my God, Bas, that would be amazing!” Glee was pouring out of her in leaps and bounds, and I wasn’t equipped to handle it since I’d never seen her this frantically excited. “Make sure you tell him how bad it is. I mean, seriously. And how it’s only gotten worse.”

“Trust me, I will.” I sighed, thinking back to my earlier moment with the crowd only minutes earlier. “I’ll do everything I can to get Watson to understand how dire the situation is.”

Surprising the hell out of me, Babs embraced me, her arms snaking around my back and squeezing the hell out of me. “Thank you, Bas. I really appreciate it.”

Letting out a nervous laugh, I came out of the hug with a nod. “I’ll see you for my next shift.”

She assured me she would and went about her day. By the time I made it back out of the building, I saw that the crowd was losing gusto. At least they weren’t shouting that horrible self- made word anymore. My thoughts that they would remain quiet as I reached the car quickly died when they saw me, apparently remembering that I was guilty by association by just knowing Kroven. They were yelling all kinds of shit, and I tuned it out as I made a dash for the car. Pulling open the closest backseat door, I ushered inside the safety net of Kroven’s presence as the driver made no secret that he wanted to get the hell away from the protestors and their relentless rhetoric.

“People are really fucked up,” The driver said, itching at his dark buzzcut. “I’m sorry you guys had to deal with that.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Kroven smiled at him, placing a comforting hand on my thigh as if he could sense my climbing rage. I interloped his hand, feeling his fingers curl around mine. “I think I’ve seen enough. We can bypass seeing the other blood centers.” He said to me in a more hushed tone. Then to the driver, a little louder, he added, “Can you take us to the airport, please?”

“You got it.”

He drove us away from the blood center, away from the outcries of people who thought that Kroven was wrong for just being himself. Being queer wasn’t any different, so it hurt more knowing that Kroven was doing double duty to not let them win, which only made me have even more respect and pride for him. He could have easily told them off. Hell, he could have drained every one of them for good measure, and there was a dark and twisty place inside my head that wished he had. They deserved a lot worse in my opinion.

Instead of driving myself crazy with schemes to bring the protestors to justice, I held onto Kroven’s hand and leaned my head against his shoulder so I could seek comfort. He leaned his head against mine, blessed with our slight height different that allowed him to do so easily.

Soon, we’d be all the way out of Piper. I hoped, beyond what I’d just witnessed with my own eyes, that things would look different in D.C. I’d never been outside Piper, ever. There was never any reason for me to leave our small little city so I never felt tempted to before. But now, with Kroven snuggling up against me in the back of our Uber, the only view I wanted of Piper was from our airplane ascending away from it.