The bodies had been dealt with much quicker than I expected. Between Martin, Charles, Alex, Jane, and me, we corralled all of the bodies into one massive pile. It was a mound of flesh and blood that crept over the grass of the yard. When we had them all together, I began to worry about people seeing such carnage if they passed by on the road in the distance. Surely this many bodies would bring attention… but it was no matter that my friends couldn’t handle.

  Once ready, Shelta and Patrick came together, side by side, and joined their powers together, focusing on the dead creatures. They both had arms out with hands fully extended toward the beasts. Something was happening to the corpses, a shifting jerk that pulled and twisted them in all directions. It was like they were all folding over on themselves as the earth beneath them started to liquify. The dirt parted and swallowed the inhuman flesh, sucking them deep beneath the ground where their bodies could decay and be forgotten. In only moments, the evidence was gone. The only specks of blood that still lay amongst the area were easily dealt with.

  The early morning hours went by quickly for me. I just worked, cleaned, and lived in the calm that swept over me since realizing the truth. I started to feel good… at peace, a little more as I spent more time with my friends. I think the others had just as many questions as they always did, but no one asked. Nobody came to me throughout the time we all spent in the back property of the Chasse residence, cleansing the place of any clues to what had happened. I spotted Eleanor watching me at one point in the morning, but she never spoke about whatever was on her mind. It reminded me of the night on the rooftop where they had found me out as something other than human. Having all of their eyes on me, with so many questions, was familiar; thankfully, we were all distracted with the work to be done. I enjoyed the silence of work and being in the company of friends.

  I knew exactly why I had the soothing feeling within my mind. It was because of how absolute my answer was. My biggest question had finally been answered. I knew what I was, and I knew who the being was, now. Death is the one who called for me. Nothing else mattered to me in my first moments after the truth. The only things I still kept in my mind… were them.

  I looked out at all of my friends and the ones I considered family, and I was glad. I had them in my life. I had what I had lost so long ago. Since being transformed and having everything ripped away, I had all of my questions answered.

  The only fear I had now was how long I’d get with everyone before they were gone. When they eventually died, and moved on as nature or fate intended. Then I’d remain afterwards… completely alone. This family, my own family, my daughter. How long would they walk the earth at the same time as I did? I had to spend every minute I could get with them. All of my fears from before about staying away were gone. No longer did I fear what kind of life they would have. No longer did I think it was better that I stay away to protect them. I wanted them with me, feverishly, like I had to make up for all the lost time apart.

  The choice was made quickly and with no hesitation. I would return to them all, even my family back in Texas. I just had to figure out the best way to do it. I was ready, but I had to make sure they were. What was the best way to do it, and how much should I tell them about everything that had happened to me?

  When I realized I wasn’t just a monster, but much more, I came to understand something more profound. The day my family dies, I will no longer have the opportunity to be with them. I’ll be alone again. I still had the choice… but someday I wouldn’t. Then, a day would come that I’ll finally be reunited with them, and then… what would have been the point of it all? They’d all suffer here in life at the thought of my early demise, only to see that I was still alive in the world. They’d see that I could have shown myself to them and let them know I was okay. Also, being tied to Death, like I was, gave me a different perspective. Death would come for my loved ones someday… There was no doubt about that. Just being in my presence may or may not change the timing of when it comes. However, if I were around, I could be an active participant in keeping threats at bay, and what else could stop a Primeval bound to the will of Death itself?

  Before I found my new identity and feared I was something evil, I thought I was protecting them… but now I realize that I’m not evil. I am a part of the natural order… the fight to bring the balance back that has been skewed for a very long time. I don’t need to protect my family, my friends, or the innocents of the world from myself. I could join my family and my new friends together into something I had only dreamt of in my most optimistic thoughts. It was possible; I just had to have the resolve to do it. I just had to show them what I was and let everything settle from there.

  I knew that none of it would be easy. It would take tact and time to plan out how to reveal myself to them without causing my loved one’s severe distress, but with my new family… I could do it. I could see my family, Seth, Vicky… I could see Caydee again. I could have them all while they still lived. I knew I’d do it… It was just a question of timing.

  As the morning rolled on, everyone slowly realized that our current threats had been vanquished for good. The bodies of the fallen were dealt with. Charles informed us that he’d keep us all safe and off the radar of other beings below. My assurance that Peter was not coming back allowed everyone to breathe again. I could see the hypervigilance fade out from within everyone’s posture. It seemed like they were all so keyed up for so long, and this was the first moment in a while that they could sit and relax.

  The unknown status that I held within the Chasse family remained in place. Everyone seemed to just kind of accept it all for the time being and only seemed grateful that I was a part of their extended family. I knew more inquisitive minds would pry later, but it was only for the good of the family. Everyone cleaned themselves up inside the Chasse home before going their separate ways in the early afternoon.

  Jane and Frank left with Allen and Eloise, returning to the Talbot land. Shelta and Patrick left around the same time, but their exit was strange. As they were leaving, they took Arthur and Kayla with them. Kayla and Patrick were obviously connecting on a more personal scale than anyone had ever seen before. There was something between them that didn’t need to be said, like the loss of their fathers had bonded everything between them together in a life-changing way. However, Arthur and Shelta seemed oddly quiet on their way out. I saw them speaking apart from everyone else while I helped carry corpses to the pile in the back, but I didn’t hear anything. I just eventually assumed he went with them since Kayla wanted to go. He probably just wanted to be with her now that Zeke was gone.

  Later in the evening, when dusk fell over the land, Martin Alex and Charles took their leave together.

  “Do not worry about the Elders. I will sway their minds and keep them far from your doorstep,” Charles promised Carter. “Sam, don’t be a stranger. I might require you someday. Many other things in the world might need your touch… if they ever flare up through the surface, that is.”

  “You know where to find me,” I told Charles.

  Charles nodded, seemingly happy that we left a positive tie between us for the future. I would help him, especially if it meant protecting any of my family from whatever dark threats the underworld of St. Louis could produce.

  Martin spoke next, “You can keep the safehouse, Sam. Consider it your own.”

  I nodded, actually very grateful for his generosity. “Thank you, Martin. I really appreciate it.”

  All of the vampires left, and I was the only monster within the walls of the Chasse house.

  The whole day was very eye-opening as I saw relationships reveal themselves after the storm that had been brewing over the city. All who remained of the joint family were more connected now than they had been in their generation. I started to remember what Annabelle had said. She told me that they would rebuild themselves stronger than before. It made me wonder, was I seeing the first steps towards that future?

  Throughout the rest of the late afternoon, we had sealed the warding. We repaired the broken barriers that they used to their advantage to fight Peter. Autumn explained it all to me as we spiked some ancient-looking wood beneath the earth. I finished filling in holes with a shovel alone in the backyard while the rest showered and removed as much dirt from them as possible. I was the last one in the house, so I set the alarm and locked all the doors just as Carter would. I didn’t want him to worry about it since they had just survived one of the biggest fights of their lives.

  In the early evening hours, the rest of the Chasse family was overcome by their fatigue and lack of sleep. Carter and Eleanor hugged me fiercely and thanked me again for saving their family from a danger that they could not beat. Then, they retired to their bedroom.

  Autumn was just coming down after I said good night to her parents. She had just finished in the shower and had come down in her little workout shorts and loose shirt she liked to sleep in. Her smell overtook me as soon as she was in range, flooding my peace with another feeling that calmed my mind, even more, the sense of her presence. She said good night and had a little moment together in a group hug. Through all of the evils and dangers of the world, they were still focused on each other; the family. Nothing would overcome their bonds and love for each other. Once they were out of sight, she motioned with her head to the guest side of the house.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “Kayla and Arthur are gone. We can have some privacy over there,” Autumn suggested.

  I knew where her mind was headed. We only had a few moments of closeness since I returned from the other dimension that she thought I’d been lost to forever. In her mind, she had to do the things she thought she’d never get to do with me again. She was still afraid of losing me, someone she cared for immensely. It didn’t help that I seemed to disappear more often than not. She wouldn’t admit it, not even to herself, but I think Autumn was scared of just how much she felt, and what would happen to her if she did lose me for good. The fear came from the uncertainty of what I was and what my future held. I think that she somehow knew one day we’d be separated. If things stayed the way they were, she’d live on as a human while I was pulled off into all sorts of dark directions as the monster she knew. I knew she had other fears; I could feel them on her like she wore them around her neck. She was scared of the thought of me leaving her at some point, so she could have a real life. Then, there was the possibility of getting a vision to kill someone who didn’t fit their standards. There was a lot we needed to talk about, so her ideas for the night would have to wait.

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  I hadn’t spoken of my true nature to anyone yet. I would tell everyone once I knew they’d be ready and it was safe for them to know, but I knew that subject was really up in the air. However, Autumn would be the first.

  Once on the guest side of the house, Autumn closed the door behind us. As soon as it was shut, Autumn approached me slowly and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling my head to hers. She kissed me slowly, just as she always did. Her movements were sluggish but powerful. She was in no rush; she just wanted to live in every second of it, make it last as long as she could. We eased into the wall right beside the door. We stayed like that for a few minutes, just stepping through the kitchen area, brushing against the counters as we passed slowly to the living room couch. We sat there in the silence of the guest's side, me sitting on the couch and Autumn in my lap.

  “You’re different,” Autumn said as she pulled away from me.

  I cocked my head to the side, “How do you mean?” I asked.

  “Ever since you came back, after you…” she searched for the words, “took care of Peter. You seem different. You’re quieter.” She laughed, “If that’s even possible.”

  I nodded, only then realizing that I was probably acting slightly different compared to my usual self. It was the calm that I rested in now, and the strange fragility I felt towards her. I was adjusting to the new outlook I had. I was comfortable now that I knew the answer to what I had sought for so long.

  “I’m sorry. A lot has happened… and I’ve got a lot on my mind, too,” I said, trying to branch over to the topic I had on my mind. I was worried about how she’d take it.

  “What happened to you in that place?” Autumn asked, adjusting herself to sit more beside me than on top. She leaned her back against the arm of the couch with her legs still draped over my lap. She pulled a thick couch blanket over herself from the back of the cushions, too cold in just her thin shorts and shirt. “If you want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”

  I nodded, “It was unbearable, just trying to breathe was torture. There was fire… everywhere. It was just like Mercy’s hellfire. You remember how red it was?” I asked her.

  “Barely… almost like blood…,” she said, trying to think back on older times.

  “It was just like that. The world looked like it had been scorched by it. The whole place was burning, and as soon as I stepped foot there, I was being torn to pieces by the heat.”

  Autumn ran her hand against the intact skin of my wrist. “I can’t even imagine.” Pain weighed down her words as she thought about me there.

  “Yeah,” I said, remembering the experience, “it was pretty bad. But I couldn’t stop. I kept moving, trying to find a way out, back to you and everyone else. I knew I had to get out to stop Peter.”

  "How did you get out of there? Charles was saying that there's no way out. I thought that…” Autumn started stumbling as she remembered her fears. The thought of my never coming back obviously distressed her. “I felt like I'd never see you again.”

  “Well, I'm not going anywhere. It's like I told you before, I'll stay as long as you want me to,” I promised her. Once she seemed to calm down from the feelings she remembered from when I was gone, I explained what happened. “Peter sent me there because he couldn't kill me. He told me he was leaving me there for his master, some kind of demonic-looking creature. It's where he got his power from. But once I found Peter's master… something happened inside of me.”

  “You fought it?" Autumn asked.

  “In a way… more like the entity fought it. He was there with me. He gave me what I needed to fight that thing. To kill it…”

  The tenseness in her face relaxed slowly. “I guess I shouldn't worry about you as much as I do. It seems like you can take care of yourself no matter what happens to you.”

  I smiled lightly, wishing I could tell her that that thing was a Primeval, and so was I; and it was Death that surged my power to kill the Unseen.

  "Something else happened, didn’t it? I can tell it’s something else you're thinking about,” Autumn read me like a book.

  “Yes,” I answered plainly. “Something did happen…something that’s going to change things for me, and how I've been living. I don’t want to live totally in the shadows anymore. Ever since I was transformed into this, I've been hiding. I still can’t walk around this world like I’m still one of the living, but I do want to regain what I’ve lost. But I need your help to do it.”

  Autumn looked puzzled as I spoke to her. I had to give her credit, however, since she was probably thinking a million different things than what I meant. However, Autumn was as prepared as ever to help me in whatever I wanted to do.

  “Just tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it," Autumn ordered me.

  “I need you to help me figure out a way I can show myself to my family," I said, pausing to gauge her reaction. “I know it's only been talked about before, but after everything that's happened, I'm ready. I just don't know how to do it. I don't want to just appear out of thin air and scare them away. So, I need your help.”

  Autumn’s eyes were wide at my words, her deep browns mulling over my every word. She looked like she was almost holding her breath, and it made it hard for me to determine her reaction to what I was asking.

  “This is not me like… wanting to leave," I promised her. “I just know that it’s time. I want to reach back out and have the time with them that I can… while I can.”

  Autumn nodded calmly.

  "I feel like I could have that, but only with your family’s help. I know that this world is brutal and not what it seems to most people. It's taken me a while to realize what I should be doing, and one of those things is preparing my family for what’s out there. They have no clue what could be lurking just around the corner. I don't just want to go back, but I want to go back and teach them how to fight in case something ever comes for them, and I'm not there to save them.” I took a deep breath, slightly unsure of how it would all work, and if the Chasse family would want to expose themselves in the way that I was going to ask them to. “Your family knows how to survive the world. You can teach my family how to fight and survive against the things that are out there.”

  Without hesitation, Autumn replied, “I’ll help you do whatever you want to do. Whether that means you'll still be here with us, back there with them, or out in the world somewhere doing... whatever it is that you do. I’ll help. But can I just say one thing first?” Autumn asked.

  "Anything.”

  “I know this may make me sound like a heartless bitch, but,” she thought about her statement. “I know you have a wife and a daughter who miss you every day…But I just can't say goodbye to everything I have with you. Whatever you are, whatever he is, I don’t care. I know who you are, and that's who I want to be with. But, whatever you decide, I’ll respect that decision. I just need you to know that I want to be with you… no matter what that looks like,” Autumn finished as she finally took her eyes off the floor. She was staring at the carpet for most of her statement so she wouldn’t break her confidence.

  I smiled at her nervousness, watching her squirm beneath the uncertainty of where exactly I was going with this all. If she only knew, she had nothing to fear.

  “Autumn… you don't have anything to worry about. Like I told you, I'm not going anywhere. Vicky is with Ben now, and I would never attempt to try and get her back. I'm a different person now than I was back then, and I know she is too. I love my friend Ben, what he has done for Vicky after everything that happened, and how he helps raise Caydee. I would never want to just walk in and try and take back what I think is mine.” Then I switched gears, “But none of that matters, because I have something with you now, and I’m not just giving you up. If anything, I need you with me now more than ever. I need your help. I need to figure out a way to ease myself back in a way that will help soften the blow when they know I’m alive, and not fully human anymore.”

  I reached for her arm and pulled her carefully back toward me. I breathed in the scent from her hair pressing into my face as she kissed my neck lightly. I wanted to soak up as much of this as I could before I told her the truth. I knew her feelings for me and how strong they were, but what would she be like once she knew who the Entity was? That wasn’t just something you could accept easily. Even I had to conclude it on my own… so I hoped she would take it well.

  “There's something else," I admitted, “something that happened when Peter was killed.”

  When Autumn pulled back enough to see my face, she seemed worried. Then, her face settled into the same calm demeanor she always had with me in our alone moments. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

  I took a moment, preparing myself to literally speak the words. I still felt my calm; that wouldn't change. The peace came from my purpose, and it protected my mind, but outside worries did creep around the borders of that calm.

  “I know…” was all I said to her.

  Autumn's eyes were blank at first, no clue as to what I meant. I knew she'd get there, so I waited while her mind put the pieces together. As I thought, it only took her a minute or so before she realized what I was talking about. When she cut her eyes back up to me quickly, I only nodded.

  “When? How did you find out?” Autumn asked.

  I thought it interesting that she didn't actually ask what I was, but instead was curious when I found out. She honestly didn't care what I was; it didn't matter to her. She was just excited that I finally had my answer. I hope that would stay after she knew.

  “When he took Peter and me to the in-between, he killed Peter in a way that told me. Everything has been adding up slowly over the past two years, more so in the last few weeks. It's been like a trail of breadcrumbs that my brain has been trying to ignore. I've been trying to explain things away and never say the words out loud. Still, the voice in my head just got too loud to ignore. When I was in that hell-dimension, looking that evil, twisted creature in the eyes and seeing the way he looked at me... I knew.” I tried to explain a little to get her there a little more before I dropped the hammer.

  Autumn’s eyes still looked wide with excitement, but there was a slight hint of something else behind them. I think deep in her heart, she knew that whatever I was would have to be something powerful and beyond anything she knew in her world.

  “Once I say it, there's no taking it back,” I warned her. “Things might change…”

  “Sam, it's okay. Just tell me,” Autumn assured. Her mind couldn’t perceive what could be so bad that it made me drag my feet.

  “I'm not something that your family can fight. I'm not some creature that you can read about in one of your family's bestiaries. My power isn't even my own, but a small piece of something else that was bound to the entity a long time ago.” I tried to fight myself from saying the words, coming to the truth slowly. “So really what I am isn't as important as who he is.”

  Autumn was still just as ready to hear the truth. She wasn't going anywhere.

  “It's going to be okay, Sam,” she urged me to continue. “Who is he?”

  I nodded.

  “There's a reason he can trade lives like he did for Eleanor. There's a reason he is the one maintaining a sort of balance in the world. He cannot interact physically with this world, so he has to have someone in the world of the living… me.”

  Autumn didn’t say anything, but she looked like she was trying to understand what I was hinting at. I figured I might have to just come out and say it.

  “He takes lives to balance the scales… of life and death. Because he is…” I tried to nudge her there.

  “Is what…” she struggled with a slight strain.

  I breathed deeply to prepare myself. Then I just let it flow from me.

  “Death, Autumn. He’s Death… and I’m his hand in this world.”

  It was ever so slightly, but I felt Autumn's hand pull away as fear showed across her face.