Chương 169: Interlude 37 – That Sinking Feeling

=::= Melody's PoV =::=

"It seems like a cosy little place hon," dad commented as we started down the dirt driveway towards the road. "Are you and your boyfriends going to be ok here come winter? I can imagine there's going to be an awful lot of snow around here by January, and I'll bet it gets pretty cold."

I nodded, "We'll be fine. I know the house doesn't look like much but it's well insulated, the furnace is relatively new, and Kelly checked out the wood stove and confirmed it's safe. There's loads of firewood stacked up around back, and Craig already knows where we can get more for cheap or free."

"And we've already started looking into ways to deal with the snow," I added. "The streets are supposed to be plowed regularly, so mostly we just need something to clear our drive and around the house. We might just get a big snow blower or something? Either way we've got at least five months before that'll be an issue."

By that point we were already halfway back to town, riding in my dad's big black pickup truck. The little cottage me and Kelly and Craig were renting wasn't all that far from civilization, and it was close enough to where Craig would be working for at least the next three years that it was a no-brainer.

Now it was the last Saturday in July and the three of us had been in our new place for over a week. I'd put out some applications and resumes in and around town, so had Kelly, and we were both pretty confident we'd find something soon. Mostly though the three of us were happy and excited to finally be back together again, and in a place of our own.

"All right hon," dad smiled. "I'll try and stop worrying too much, but you know it's a parent's job to worry about her child."

I rolled my eyes, "I know dad. I appreciate it, but you really didn't have to come all this way just to check up on me. I'm doing fine, so are my boyfriends."

While my new place wasn't excessively far from the town where my folks lived, along with all my Club Luna friends. It was still a good two and a half hour drive though, mostly because there weren't any direct highway routes. If you wanted to stick to the highways you had to go pretty far out of your way to the east before heading north. Or if you wanted a more direct route, the only option was a lot of little country roads and a lot of twists and turns.

It was only another minute or two before dad pulled into the parking lot at a little family run diner, then the two of us went inside and got a table. Dad picked a quiet booth in the far corner, and we both got comfortable sitting across from each other.

The waitress got us our drinks and stuff, then as dad and I were looking at our menus I asked quietly "So what did you want to talk about? I assume you came all this way then got me away from Kelly and Craig so we could talk in private."

Alison's lips curled up slightly into a faint smile as she admitted, "You're right Melody. I have some questions for you, and figured it was a good excuse to come visit and get a look at your new place."

"You could have just called you know?" I pointed out. "It's a long drive just for a conversation and some lunch."

She shrugged, "Like I said, it was an excuse to come see my little girl."

The waitress came back to check on us, so we both ordered some lunch. Dad got the banquet burger with fries and gravy, I got the BBQ chicken sandwich and a side of sweet potato fries. Then after she left again my dad's expression became more serious.

"A couple months ago you asked me to have some words with my partner Raymond Holt," she stated quietly. "You mentioned his daughter had come out as gay and both her parents were being a bit old-fashioned about the situation."

I nodded, "Yeah, I remember. I appreciate that, it seemed to help."

Alison continued quietly, "I need to know how you know Kaylee Holt. She's a couple years younger than yourself Melody, she didn't attend college with you and she didn't work at the cellphone place with you. She's never had a job at all in fact, so I know she wasn't working at the same plaza as you."

I picked up my glass and had a sip of cola, then shrugged. "Kaylee's a friend of a friend. Her best friend is girlfriends with someone I met at college last year. Why, what's the big deal?"

Alison kept her eyes on me as she asked, "What are their names? The friends who introduced you to Kaylee?"

By that point I had a pretty strong sinking feeling in my gut. I was worried for myself, my friends, and for my dad. I wasn't there when Cass lowered the boom on those Council creeps, but I heard all about it through the group chat the day after it happened. The last thing I wanted was to find out my dad was still involved with those people, and that she'd finally found out about the club.

"Melody?" dad asked in a quiet but very serious tone. "What are the names of those friends you mentioned?"

I sighed, "My friend at college is Brooke. And her girlfriend's name is Paige. Paige is friends with Kaylee. Now please tell me why you're asking. What's going on dad, is there some kind of trouble?"

My dad watched me for another couple seconds before she replied quietly, "Two and a half weeks ago Kaylee Holt revealed herself to her parents as a nonhuman supernatural entity. According to Ray's description, his daughter lost nearly a foot of height and sprouted a pair of red furry fox ears and three bushy fox tails."

"Seriously?" I asked, then had another gulp of my drink.

Not that I was going to say it, but I already knew about her change. I didn't realize she'd outed herself to her parents though. Then again now that I thought about it, I realized she probably didn't have much choice. As far as I knew she was still living with them, so she either had to come out to them or stay in a human disguise indefinitely.

Alison still had her eyes on me, probably watching my reaction and stuff. And I couldn't shake the growing fear that she was asking all these questions because of the Council. I wasn't sure it was safe to just come out and ask, but I was sorely tempted.

"Melody?" she asked after another half minute or so. "Did you ever meet Kaylee's girlfriend? Her name is Cassandra Underwood."

I sighed but nodded, "Sure, I met her. I suppose you have some questions about her?"

Dad asked, "What about Cerys Ainsley or Melanie Caetano? How about Cassandra's sister, Nina Underwood? Or Willow Pearce? Did you ever meet a girl called Sasha Blakeley?"

By that point there was no denying it, I knew my dad was involved with the Council again. There wasn't any other way she'd know the first and last names of everyone in Club Luna. My heart was racing, and I couldn't help glancing around where dad and I were sitting.

There were a couple other people in the diner, guests at a few other tables. We were seated by a window with a view of the parking lot and the small 'main street' that passed through town. I could see the laundromat across the road, the little bank at the corner, and the lone grocery store a little ways down the street.

I finally looked back at my dad again, and did my best to stay calm despite the cold heavy feeling in my gut.

I kept my voice low as I responded, "Yes dad, I know all of them. I also know Tanya and Julie Underwood too. I suppose you've been given a list or something? And my name's probably on it. For what it's worth, Brooke and Paige both quit near the beginning of this month. And I quit two weeks ago, when me and Kelly and Craig signed the rental agreement on our place up here."

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Alison sighed, but I didn't give her a chance to respond yet.

"I'm assuming you got me away from my boyfriends and out here so we could do this in private," I stated quietly. Then with some false bravado I asked, "Tell me dad, is there a Council sniper taking aim on me right now? Are they just waiting for your signal before they pull the trigger? Or did you bring me out here so your Council creeps could mess with my boyfriends back at home without me getting in the way?"

She grimaced, then sighed and shook her head. "No hon, nobody's threatening you or your boyfriends. Yes I wanted to speak with you in private, and I do have questions about those girls you were associating with. But I can't tell you why. I'm sorry Melody, please don't ask."

I was about to respond but the waitress returned at that moment with our lunch. She smiled as she set the plates down, and she also brought a little tray with condiments for dad's burger and our fries and stuff. Then she topped up my cola before she left us alone again.

Once we were alone I looked across the table and started, "Dad I -"

"Not now," my dad interrupted. "Let's eat while our lunch is still hot, ok hon?"

"Fine," I sighed. Not that I had much of an appetite by that point, but I tried.

The food was good, it all seemed home-made rather than processed. Unfortunately it was hard to enjoy the meal with the amount of tension that surrounded the two of us. I got about halfway through my sandwich before I started talking again.

"Ok dad," I stated softly. "I get that you can't or won't tell me anything, so here's what I think. I think you're working for the Council. Maybe you've been working for them all along, or maybe they just got you involved after they lost a half dozen people earlier this month. Either way, it sounds to me like they've decided to ignore the warning they were given and they're looking to stir up more trouble. So they've dragged you into it."

She quietly shook her head, but I already figured she wouldn't confirm or deny anything I was saying.

I continued, "Now you're talking to me, because my name probably appeared on a list with all my friends you're asking about. You're hoping I'll give you some inside information, maybe you're thinking you can convince me to turn on them? Doesn't matter. But you're my dad and I love you, so I'm going to tell you a few things for your own good. And I really hope you'll listen."

After pausing for a couple gulps of cola I looked at her across the table and stated, "Dad for your own good, for my sake and for mom's, quit the Council. This is a fight you can't win. I don't care how many of you there are or how strong you think your side is. And any minor victories you and your Council might win along the way are only going to result in a bigger and deeper grave for all of you when things finally go south."

Alison had a sip of her drink as she watched me. She finally asked, "You really have that much confidence in your friends?"

"I do," I nodded slowly. "Maybe your bosses didn't get the warning, or maybe they didn't pass it on to you? Maybe you don't know even know what went down back on the ninth? I wasn't there, but I heard about it after the fact. And dad, it'd kill me and mom if the same thing happened to you."

She kept her eyes on me as she asked, "What happened on the ninth, Melody?"

I sighed again, but after a second or two of hesitation I decided to tell her what I knew. She probably already it anyways, or most of it.

"It was a surprise birthday party for Nina," I said quietly. "I couldn't make it, me and the guys were up here looking for a place to stay, but everyone else was there. At some point in the evening a group of Council thugs turned up, along with some lady that worked at the high school? Apparently she was known to most of the gang, only it turned out she was a Council spy or something."

I continued, "Anyways there were six of your people in total, and they attacked without provocation. In the open, in my friends' backyard, they used magic and tasers to take down a bunch of my friends. All of them except one. Then that last girl single-handedly crushed all six of your people. She delivered a warning to the old lady and let her go, but the other five... I'm pretty confident your bosses aren't going to hear from them ever again."

Dad had another sip of her drink before asking, "Do you know what happened to them Melody? All six of them? Do you know if they're alive or dead?"

"I don't know what became of the old lady," I replied. "I know she was told to pass on a warning but otherwise spared. As for the other five? There's some speculation, but I don't know for sure."

"What speculation?" dad pressed. "I'd like to know hon, it's important. And I'd like to know more about your friends, especially the one you claim defeated those people."

It took me a few more seconds before I decided to just tell her. I doubted there was anything she could do about it either way.

"I'm pretty sure the five Council thugs were turned into cute fluffy animals," I replied quietly. "I wouldn't be surprised if we're talking bunnies and kitties, maybe puppies? I believe they went to the local animal shelter so they could be adopted out."

I added, "That was three weeks ago, odds are at least some of them already have new homes. I'm assuming that was a permanent transformation, there'd be no chance they could change back and threaten their new owners or anything like that. And like I said, I don't know what happened to the woman. Only that she was allowed to leave so she could deliver a warning to your bosses."

"As for my friends," I stated quietly, "The only thing I'm going to say is you don't stand a chance against them. So please dad, quit the Council. If you need protection, my friends can help."

Alison remained quiet for another few seconds, she sat there watching me as she processed everything I just told her. When she finally responded her voice was quiet and level, she was obviously keeping her emotions in check.

She finally responded, "I'm glad you've stopped associating with that group Melody. I'd prefer if you didn't have any further contact with them. It's not safe for you to communicate with any of them."

"And I know you believe Cassandra Underwood is a goddess," she added quietly. "I know that's what she claims to be, but I've met her. I've treated her. Ray and I answered a call at the high school a little over a year ago, when Cassandra was injured. It was logged as an electric shock, but she was injured by some sort of magic. I don't know what your friend is, but she's no goddess. If she was then she wouldn't have been so easily hurt."

I shook my head, "I don't know what to tell you dad? I know what I've seen and what I've experienced. I'm pretty sure she is what she claims. Is the Council that important to you that you're willing to risk pissing off a goddess for them?"

My dad sighed, "I can't talk about it Melody. I want to, I wish I could tell you everything. It's not safe though. For me, for you, or for your mom."

"Anyways, thank you for the information," she added. "I'm sorry I put you on the spot like that, but I appreciate your help."

I slowly shook my head as I replied, "I'm sorry too dad."