[sam_lakes]

Chapter 9


I couldn't sleep and finally when I smelt coffee brewing I got up and dressed. It was six-thirty.

As I walked into the kitchen I saw Mr. Larson sitting at the table staring into his fresh cup of coffee. He looked at me and gave half smiled. There was sadness in his eyes.

"You guys went feasting?" he said quietly, not really a question but more of a statement. "I heard you come in at five. Coffee mugs are in the cupboard."

"Yeah, thanks," I said as I got a mug and poured a cup of coffee for myself. "The twins are sleeping, so is Peter, but I couldn't sleep."

He forced a smile, and then went back to staring at his coffee, as I sat down opposite him and joining him in staring at our coffees. I had a million questions to ask but didn't know where to start.

"You are so much like Jack..." his voice quivered and trailed off. I looked up to see tears rolling down his cheeks.

I looked back down at my coffee not really know what to say.

"I look at you and I see him, so caring, so loving. I couldn't sleep either. I knew we had to talk, but I never thought it would be so difficult. I kept telling myself it would be easier because you aren't Jack. You're Jonathan, but I see you and I see him. I lied to you earlier. I knew your father practically my whole life until..." his voice quivered again and faded. He was crying.

"I loved him, Jonathan, not a day has gone by that I haven't hurt because he's gone."

"I take it he wasn't a dreg." I could feel my own emotions starting to take control.

"Aristo, but his natural parents were dregs. He was sold to Multi Corp prior to birth for research. The only parent he ever knew was an aristo, the doctor in charge of the research, so he was brought up as an aristo. The project was abandoned when he was twelve, which is when he and I met and became friends, and then best friends."

"Why did he abandon me?"

"He never wanted to but it was the only way to protect you. He loved you more than life itself?"

"Oh! Yeah, RIGHT!" I was beginning to fume. "He ABANDONED ME! He left me to be a dreg of unknown origin! Where was he when the foster parents tried to rape me! Where was he when I was starving! Where was he when I-I was changing! When I was becoming a vampire!"

"Jonathan, listen to me. Jack had no choice. They had already killed your mother and were about to take your life."

"They killed my mother? My mother was a worthless whore."

"No. She was not!" he said in a slightly angered tone. "Your mother was Darlene Clemens."

"My mother was Dr. Clemens younger sister? He never said anything to me? He never said he was my uncle? Why?" I was stunned.

"Bad memories I suspect, and at that time when you first met, you were going through a pretty rough time emotionally."

"But Mr. Larson, I got through those times. I've dealt with myself being a vampire. Why? Why hasn't he ever told me?"

"Jonathan, call me Allan. Why? He fell in love with you. Because he felt ashamed that he was partly the reason your mother, his sister, died, and that Jack had to hide you. You have no idea how much it hurt all of us."

"Jack, refused to say where he hid you to anyone at the time. Daniel Clemens suspected after your dad died. He suspected that you were among the dregs because MC - Multi Corp would never think to look for you there. That's when Dan switched to treating dregs."

"He said he would have a better chance of finding you. Well, by accident you found him. He told me about pissing his pants," Allan Larson chuckled.

I was still very confused. Dr. Daniel Clemens was my real uncle.

"I remember when I first started going to Doc's. I was waiting in his office and I saw his sister's picture. I was holding it and looking at her and I nearly broke it because he startled me. She was so beautiful. She was my mother and I didn't know."

"Doc took the picture from me and when I asked him who she was, he said she was his sister. I said she was very beautiful, and he said that she was dead. I could see that he loved her and I could feel his sadness so I said nothing."

"Did they kill my father?"

"The simple answer is yes. He was an experiment that went wrong and they feared him."

"What kind of experiment?"

"They wanted to create a super-human; ultra-smart; ultra-strong. He was exceptionally smart, but as a child before puberty he was small for his age and looked very girlish. What they didn't realize was the strength didn't kick in until puberty and afterwards."

"Dr. Lassiter, the head of the project, loved Jack, whose real name was Jonathan. He refused to let him be called X1234J732 so he gave Jack the name Jonathan Lassiter, Jr. At twelve, when the project was abandoned and Jack began school, I called him Jack, and the name stuck."

"Your dad met Darlene in college and I met Mavis."

"Did they kill him because he was a vampire?" I asked.

"Yes. Word got out about him being a person of extraordinary powers. It was realized that the project had not failed, except that they had created a 'creature' that required human blood. The fact that he was kind, generous, loving - your father was the epitome of everything good. But they feared him."

"Like some fear me," I muttered, "Is this what will become of me?"

"No," Allan Larson said softly. There wasn't a lot of certainty in his voice. "Doc and Dora will be here soon. Just remember he loves you."

I nodded. "I better wake Peter."

I walked into the guest room thinking about all that Allan Larson had told me. Peter was sitting up in the bed. He smiled but that quickly disappear when he saw my tears.

"Jonathan?"

I crossed the room and fell into his arms weeping.

"He actually loved me. I never knew. I never knew. They killed him. They killed my mom. I always thought they abandoned me - I never knew their love - I-I always thought I was a dreg of unknown origin, but I'm not. Peter, I'm not! I really am an aristo. He hid me to protect me."

I was sobbing so hard that I could hardly speak. "It means he loved me - my dad loved me."

I cried myself to sleep as Peter held me in his arms.

Chapter 10

[DarkPower]

Thats sad.. Now I almost wish he was a dreg of unknown origin..