The Last Embrace

"W-where is Jason?" asked Jessy frowning.

Adam looked at her. "So—his name is Jason?"

Jessy nods her head. "Yeah..." then the aromatic smell of roasted meat wafted into her nostrils, she went to the window and looked down, there he is....currently busy roasting the marinated chicken using a wood skewer. "Look...he"s down there..." she pointed at Jagger in the ground.

Adam looked below. "I saw him. Looks like your friend already started the party....come on let"s join him!" he said.

"Okay," Jessy and Adam flew out of the window together and landed in the gra.s.sy ground in front of Jagger who looks serious while roasting the chickens.

There was a clearing in the ground and the flame was burning brightly while two pieces of chicken were being roasted together in a piece of a one-meter stick suspended above the burning wood.

"Hi...Jason!" greeted Jessy. She grows flames in her palm and throws them near the area to create a bonfire.

The area brightened up instantly as the darkness was being pushed aside to give way to the light.

"Hi, Jess! Guys, please have a seat!" Jagger pointed at the wooden bench across him, the roasted meat was between them, he stared at her companion with curiosity burning in his eyes.

Adam eyed Jason.

Jagger stared back at Adam.

Jessy coughed a little feeling a bit of tension coiling up in the air. "Hmmm...um..." she looked at Adam. "Meet my friend, his name is Jason," she said then she glanced at Jagger. "This is Adam, my boyfriend..."

Adam walked to Jagger"s side and initiated the handshake between them. "Nice meeting you, bro!" he said.

"Nice meeting you too," Jagger smiled and accepted his hand.

Done with the formality of initiating a handshake between two people seeing each other for the first time, Adam went back to Jessy"s side and sat down beside her on the makeshift wooden bench.

Jessy"s eyes were glued to Jagger.

"So...Jason...you live alone here in the forest?" Adam starts firing questions at Jessy"s friend, so far based on his observation, he seemed to be looking harmless although he was sporting a messy shoulder-length hair, he got a ragged aura around him.

Jagger raised his head. "Yes. I grow up here alone and that treehouse up there was already in place when I come to this area. So, I kind of make it my home since then," he explained smoothly.

Adam was studying Jason"s face. "Where are your family? Where are your parents and siblings? Why are you living alone in this forest?"

Jagger added more logs to the fire. "I"m an orphan. My parents were both killed by the war between two vampire clans a long time ago. I grow up in this forest all my adolescent and adult life. This forest becomes my home," he elaborated further.

"Oh, I"m sorry about that," said Adam. He knew that during the war many orphaned children were left alone on their own when their parents were killed in the war. Jason must be one of those unfortunate children. "How about sibling—do you have one?"

Jagger was silent for a moment or two. "Yes, I have a brother, but we got separated by the war. I have no idea where he is right now or if he still alive until this moment..." he sported a fake sadness on his face.

Jessy was all ears, it"s the first time Jagger mentioned about his brother.

Adam took pity on Jason"s pitiful flight. "That is sad. Why don"t you come with us?" he said.

Jagger looked at Adam. "Where—?"

"Back to the Habitat...you will see many vampires there that were already transformed into humans after they were transfused with the blood of my girlfriend here. In the Habitat, you will meet a lot of new people, you won"t feel alone anymore, unlike here. Although I have to admit that this forest is a beautiful place to live, it can never compare to the ambiance of the Habitat where you will be able to see and talk with people of your kind any time of the day. You will never feel alone there, that is one thing I can guarantee you," Adam stated, trying to convince Jason to relocate into the Habitat so that Jessy doesn"t have to go out in the middle of the night to visit her friend in the jungle. "Just think about it—okay?" he added.

Jagger didn"t reply right away, Adam"s offer is quite appealing, it would be nice to enter Jessy"s world to enjoy her beautiful presence every day. But if his ident.i.ty will be accidentally revealed inside the Habitat he will be dead meat considering that Antonia and the five children knew him. "Thank you for the offer, bro, but I decided to remain here in the forest. I"m not comfortable surrounded by a lot of people every day..." he reasoned.

Adam finds it hard to believe Jessy"s friend refused to take his golden offer. "Jessy told me that you were attacked by deadly animals here in the jungle and left for dead, she manages to come on time and saved you before you lose your life if that happens to you when your still a vampire, how more now that you are already a mortal without a single power to protect yourself from danger? Just think about it..."

Jessy was listening to the men while they were talking to each other. She was glad that Jagger has no intention to take Adam"s offer.

Adam looked at his girlfriend. "What do you think about my offer, Jess?"

"Not bad, but if Jason is not comfortable relocating into the Habitat then we can not force him," she voiced out her opinion.

"Okay, the offer still stands though, just tell my girlfriend here Jessy and she will gladly bring you to the Habitat. Don"t worry, the Habitat got all you need to survive in the human world. The food is free as well as medicine if you get sick and there are cool amenities there, you won"t get bored staying in the Habitat. No danger in that place, it"s secured and protected, the people residing there are enjoying a peaceful life. You can enjoy the same life with them as long you decided to relocate there," he said. Adam praises the safety and security attributes of the Habitat to make it more appealing to Jason.

"I will think about it and thank you for the offer, bro! You are most kind," Jagger responded politely.

Jessy felt glad and a.s.sured of Jagger"s performance by continuing playing being nice in front of Adam. As long he continues to act like this, Adam won"t suspect a thing.

"I think the chickens are already cooked nicely," she observed.

"I agree..." Jagger took off the stick and placed the mouth-watering roasted chicken in the platter, he also scooped rice into another platter and handed them to the couple along with some spoon and fork. "Here, let"s start the sumptuous feast!" he smiled a bit.

"Thank you," Adam placed the platter in the ground and began slicing the tender meat using the spoon and fork so that it will be easier for Jessy to chew.

The couple was eating the roasted chicken with gusto while Jagger was glancing at them occasionally. He observed that Jessy"s eyes lighted up every time she looked at Adam, it must be due to her love and affection for her beloved boyfriend. He wishes that Jessy could also look the same way to him, but that would be futile because she only had her eyes on her boyfriend and he can sense the unbreakable bond between them right now.