1927: Redemption

His name is William!

“And when at last you find someone to whom you feel you can pour out your soul, you stop in shock at the words you utter— they are so rusty, so ugly, so meaningless and feeble from being kept in the small cramped dark inside you so long.”

2021-DECEMBER-FLORIDA

Adeline was lost in her own thoughts, when;“Why are you scared?” Asked Adeline absent-mindedly, frowning at him.

It was not fair that he wanted her to talk when he was not willing to.

Despite her mixed feelings towards him, the whiskey had her feeling warm and relaxed.

Without giving her an answer, he stood and took the glass from Adeline against her will. He sat the bottle and the glass on the table and rifled through a drawer as he found what he was looking for: a very old NEWSPAPER CLIPPING and handed over to her, who now sat straight on the couch.

Looking at it, Adeline angle it on the Headline, which read:

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“Sylvester brothers view on being scared”

There is nothing scarier than an eternity on your own, nothing and nobody to talk to. You'd ask for pain just to feel something. Countless years of that you'd be scarier than I am, no compassion, no remorse, your soul turned to the dark side without hope of recovery. So why not join the dark side, my pretty? Why choose to be alone in your madness? Come, let us show you the pleasure of cruelty, the joy of power. You'll find it so pleasurable, we know you will. Inside you are one of us, we've seen it in you. You aren't pure enough to make it through the gates. So why live in-between the light and the dark? After all, what is there to be afraid of when you are the monster?

~ Isaac Sylvester

Scary is looking in the mirror and not liking what you see. Scary is knowing you haven't done your best to make the world a better place. Scaring is feeling like you let God down, that you didn't make the right move at the right time. Scary is failing something when you are the only hope of getting it right. Scary is the fear of your family not being safe, happy and loved. Scary is the fear of what will happen to the natural world if the madness of consumption doesn't stop. Scary is seeing how the world can be fixed but knowing you are in no position to make any changes. Scary is the knowledge that psychopaths run the world and even if we all do our best lots more people are going to die horribly. So don't talk to me about scary things, don't you dare. It is the monsters' turn to be afraid, for they are the bastions of an empire about to crumble.

~Daren Sylvester

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Adeline scowled at him, asking, “I wanted to know- why are you scared of revealing your identity to me? Not about these freaks in the past.” Said Adeline, reading the cuttings, and commenting, “And, both of these Sylvester brothers had different opinions on being scared or being monsters or whatever.” She said, handing over the cuttings to him, which he gladly accepted and kept in his pocket.

“Why do you have these cuttings anyway? Are these a part of my mother’s research?” Asked Adeline.

He paused for a moment, but then nodded ‘Yes’.

Well, he was again successful in diverting her attention from himself and placing her interest on the persons about whom she should have every single detail in her mind.

Adeline found herself contemplating his response. He seemed quite used to her questions now, and tonight he felt like answering all the questions.

“Why was she so interested in the Sylvester boys?” Adeline muttered to herself and was surprised when he actually responded.

“Because of some Mythical rumours about them.” He gave her a short answer as his dark eyes watched the emotions cross her face.

“And, those were not rumours, right?” Adeline frowned, asking another question.

He gave her a look that was different from the others that she had received from him. It was like she was beginning to understand him, even though she knew nothing about him.

“I mean look at you, you’re someone who can definitely turn these rumours into Truth.” She shook her head, thinking about his glowing eyes, claws and everything.

Adeline was feeling much warmer now, and her problems did not feel so big. She had only ever been drunk once, but she did not enjoy it. She was far from drunk, but she was treading its waters with uncoordinated accuracy.

He tilted his head at her statement, and the first true emotion she saw crossed his eyes.

Curiosity.

“Will you tell me your name?” Adeline asked out of nowhere, but it was worth trying as she was tired of calling him stranger or beast.

Memorising the way he looked when he allowed his emotions to show, Adeline found him to look much different.

“William.” Answered the beast with a nod, shocking the hell out of Adeline as his accent sounded a little more prominent and she tried to memorise it so she could identify it later on.

Wait, did he just tell me his name, HIS NAME, thought Adeline.

He of course did.

A shiver went down her spine at the sound of his voice. Mistaking her shiver, he rose from his seat and grabbed a spare blanket. Adeline went to grab the blanket for him and was surprised when he opened it and draped it over her shoulders.

“Thank you….. William.” Adeline sounded confused yet speechless when his name rolled down her tongue. Every action he made just continued confusing her.

William nodded and sat back down in the chair, “Continue.” His rough voice caressed her ears and she tried to resist the shiver that tickled her skin.

“I’m confused.” She shook her head.

“Why?” He spoke again, again shocking her.

Leaning back, “You know, you’re awfully talkative tonight. Is it compensation for last night’s action?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

A chuckle reverberated from his chest, as he rolled his eyes, saying, “Yes. You’re free to ask any question.”

Adeline’s eyes widened as she grabbed the opportunity with both of her hands, “Wait, really?”

William nodded with that curious light that continued to burn in his gaze as he sat quietly.

“It’s obvious you are in a good mood tonight. So, I will try and connect the dots.” Adeline gave him a gentle smirk. “So, let’s start from the starting: Grandpa was murdered- you saved my life- Ace came up with insane task- my father’s diary on time- travel and portals- five years passed and I found nothing, thanks to you,” said Adeline giving him a look at which he rolled his eyes, and continued:

“Again- Ace came- revealed my family’s twisted background- I read my mother’s research on WEREWOLVES- her diary, where she was insanely interested in Sylvester boys of the 1920s- and… that’s it.” She shook her head at him.

“Why everything is so distorted?” She asked with annoyance.

William sat quietly for a minute and she waited patiently as she could feel her eyes growing heavy, the urge to sleep was fogging her mind.

“Not, everything.” He finally responded and she could feel her lips turn up in a small smile as he actually spoke. Perhaps he felt like he could trust her more.

Doubtful, but it was a nice thought.

Adeline was feeling much too warm under the blanket, and it only added to the exhaustion that was begging to set in.

“I’m still unaware of you.”

“You know enough.” He answered in his gruff voice, which she started to like day by day.

“Golden eyes, inhuman speed, claws… yeah I do. Tell me the reason behind it.” The words left her lips and a small yawn followed.

While Adeline hoped she would definitely get her answers now, and she somewhat understood the kind of man her beast or William was. He was in touch with the most basic animalistic side of himself, all while retaining the ability to function in society. The killing was not something he was good at, it was something he absolutely excelled at. She had a feeling he enjoyed the control.

“Sleep.” Adeline vaguely heard his response as her eyes already fluttered closed.

His voice was like an order that forced her to sleep as Adeline entered the deep slumber of darkness.

The beast, whose name was William thought- Sleep, Adeline. You have got many sleepless nights ahead.

Why did he think that?

Will Adeline be successful in knowing the secret behind him?

Was he the answer to myths of 1920s?