Sweet cherry blossoms and spicy peppermint welcomed the children as they stepped inside the tattoo parlor.

Men and women stormed across the spacious room sporting dark clothes, silver piercings, and intricate tattoos.

Sneakers rub against light cherry wood floors; beautiful paintings of dragons, a Phoenix, and supernatural demons swept across the light orange walls.

But what was strange about this particular tattoo parlor is that the artists had icy pale skin, heightened senses, and razor-sharp teeth—strong enough to sever a person's arm.

Though the fluorescent light didn't bother them, these unusual characters kept their distance; that is until the children came into the parlor.

Waddling behind Nessa, a scared Apollo felt uncomfortable by the vampires' sultry gaze.

He was not convinced if these "skilled" artists are their friends or enemies. Brooke, Caleb, Johnny, and Nessa on the other hand were mysteriously calm.

They treated the clients and employees as if these enigmatic creatures were human beings.

Caleb pounds his fist at a platinum blonde woman who has dark red smudges all over her lips. Meanwhile, Brooke talks to the older boys about their favorite horror movies.

At first, Apollo thought it was weird seeing the children talking to actual vampires. But once he bumped into a disheveled man, Apollo knew his life was going to change.

"Goddamn it, man!" the tattoo artist grunted.

He pushed Apollo out of the way and smooth his messy clothes. "Watch the Suede shoes, asshole! They are fucking vintage!"

Eyes trembled like leaves; Apollo tries to make an apology when Adam shifts towards him. He stood 5'8-a bit taller than Johnny.

Ink black lock of hair dangled over his broad forehead, depicting him as a rebel in the 50s.

A leather black jacket cloaked his marble white arms, exposing his light gray T-shirt in the process.

A deep blue pair of jeans grasps his legs, and thanks to Apollo's awkwardness, the boy accidentally smudged the man's dark gray Suede shoes with dirt.

Not a great idea if you ask me.

Inspecting the smudge of dirt on his shoes, Adam's piercing eyes glare at Apollo.

"What the hell was that for, son?" the young man roared in a Southern accent. Apollo's cheeks burned brighter than the sun.

The boy's stuttering apology tumbled out of his lips, but with a swift motion of Johnny's left hand, the timid fire mutant kept his mouth shut.

"He didn't mean any harm, Adam," insisted Johnny.

The eighteen-year-old man looks down at the shy Apollo once more, then slowly scratches his head.

"Are you sure?" Adam asks him. " 'Cause this here boy look like he is about to shit himself."

Brooke calmly approaches the confused man.

"Adam Daywalker, this is Apollo," she clarifies.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Adam is a damphir-is a type of creature from Balkan folklore who co-exists between a human and a vampire.

Therefore, Adam can drink blood and is immortal like other vampires, but can eat food and walk in the daylight like a regular human being.

With these vampiric traits, Adam can take care of himself without any trouble. He has monstrous strength, incredible speed, healing abilities, and can resist garlic and silver without showing any effort.

But even though Adam is a powerful creature, he has trouble fitting into society. Months after Idlewild was shut down, Adam used to work as a reporter at the Chicago Tribune.

Adam hates working long hours, but the job was tolerable. He managed to earn a couple of dollars for his efforts and buy a flat-not too far from his workplace.

He had a nice life until his boss had relieved him of his duties.

At first, the damphir yearned to know why.

But when he saw the disgusted look on his sultry employer's face, Adam believed that the old man was uncomfortable having a monster upsetting his community.

So he had found work as a tattoo artist, instead. Adam dabbled in designs, played with colored ink, and met new clients.

After introducing the boy to the puzzled man, Brooke adds: "The reason he's a little scared is that he wants to get out of San Francisco in one peace."

Suddenly, Adam's thin eyebrows furrowed.

"Alright, what kind of bullshit have you young'uns walked up to?" he groaned.

An offended Caleb scoff at this. "Were you always this judgemental?"

"Oh?" Adam scoffed. "And I thought you losers, only care about yourselves."

"Coming from the damphir who steals blood from banks all the time." Caleb retorts.

Adam bared his sharp fangs, but the boy wasn't fazed.

"Wow, you must be so popular with the ladies," he says. His words were dipped in sarcasm, causing a cynical Adam to expel a meaning hiss from his mouth.

"Anyway, I think you should help us."

"Oh please, I have known y'all since the good old Idlewild days." Adam slicks back his hair to keep them away from his golden irises.

"And besides, you guys never came to my tattoo parlor unless you want something from me."

Johnny, Brooke, Caleb, and Nessa exchange hesitant looks; they expected this friendly reunion would be easy, but Adam Daywalker was not the type of man who would strike a friendly conversation or grab a beer with.

Come to think of it, this particular vampire is always on his guard-and Johnny doesn't know why.

On the one hand, Adam doesn't like to get involved in someone's business. But on the other hand, it seems as though society has not been easy for Adam since Idlewild shut down.

Though his job pays him very well, it would have been easy to continue his duties if these teenage delinquents would keep themselves out of trouble.

"So, why did you kids come here?" asked Adam. He removes his black surgical gloves and tossed it in the silver waste bin across from him."Do you guys want a tattoo, or do you want me to save your asses once again?"

Johnny flashes him a nervous grin. "It's kind of a long story."

At first, Adam is a bit confused; he doesn't understand why his old classmates are barging into his tattoo parlor at 11:30 a.m.

But since he has nothing to work on, Adam is more than happy to help these kids out.

"Alrighty then," he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "Let's talk in my office."

* * * *
His office is a small room where Adam's clients normally get their tattoos. Stencils and half-finished drawings tacked on grayish-yellow walls.

A long, dark orange chair stood in front of the small television box. Underneath the box is black drawers supporting the TV set.

Pushed against the thick walls are tan-brown cabinets full of supplies. Adam treads his feet on the cold, maple brown floorboards.

Before the children talked business, Adam checked under his desk and the small table where paper napkins cradled a tattoo needle gun and some parts. 

After that, he approached the window, closed the blinds, turned on the television, then increased the volume.

MTV Unplugged played Depeche Mode's "I Feel You" for a live studio audience. People bounced out of their seats, screaming and yelling for their favorite band.

Stunned, the children desired to know what the tattoo artist is doing.

"Uh, sorry," Adam smirks awkwardly. "I would like to take you guys somewhere safe, but if I leave, then my boss would start asking questions."

"We understand," Johnny said quietly, as the gritty music infiltrated his pulsing eardrums.

Guitars and pounding drums lured Apollo to the television screen and compelled him to sit on the cold floor, like an obedient dog.

Intrigued, Adam lowers the volume and asks the boy if he enjoys listening to Depeche Mode.

Then, to his surprise, Apollo slumped his shoulders up and down. "I don't know anything about them."

"Huh?" he frowned. "You have never heard of Depeche Mode?"

"No, not really."

"How come, son?"

Exchanging quiet looks, the teenage quartet dared each other to speak when they hear the sound of Nessa clearing her throat.

She told Adam about the adventures they had last year. They battled the tyrannical Kraken, traveled to Lovecraft Creek, and uncovered troubling secrets.

"Wait, so you guys killed a bunch of deranged monsters?" Adam cried.

The teenagers simply stare at him.

"That's not fair! How come you guys have all the adventures, while I get to endure three hours listening to my crazy grandmother rant about Christmas decorations?"

"Hey, don't blame us!" Caleb exclaimed. "We never wanted to save a shitty fish town in the first place! Hell, I even missed a Wu-Tang concert in Sacramento!"

A disgusted Adam cringed at the name. "Ugh, are you still bitching over that shitty band, Caleb?"

"Hell yeah, Wu-Tang is still the greatest!"

"What about Public Enemy or Run-DMC?"

"Public Enemy is the second-best group of the century, but Run-DMC is as old as you, no offense."

Adam was about to argue with Caleb when Brooke clapped her hands to grab their attention.

"Oh my God," she groaned. "Will you guys please stop talking about rap for five seconds?"

Nessa nods in agreement. The boys were getting off-topic; in addition to that, Nessa despises rap and is desperate to change the subject.

"Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted," Nessa rasped. "We found this scary lab where Apollo was experimented on by those racist scientists."

That's when Johnny shoots his eyes at his younger sister.

"Nessa!" he exclaimed in anguish. "Can't you show the kid a little respect for his privacy?"

His sister crossed her arms, confounded by Johnny's sheer annoyance.

"What?" she cried out. "Adam deserves to know!"

Shocked, Adam flicks his eyes at Nessa and Johnny. He's a little bit confused by the turn of events that Adam asked the siblings what the hell is going on.

Nervous, Caleb was about to say something when Apollo eventually gets up from the floor.

He has understood Johnny's frustrations; in fact, what Nessa said about Apollo's past is none of her business.

But the boy was sick and tired of ignoring old wounds; if Adam needed to be convinced, he figured that he should tell them before Adam can say no.

"Johnny, you don't have to protect me," he said calmly. "Nessa is right, Adam needs to know."

And so, the boy informs the vampire of the terrors he had endured in the facility. Apollo had told Adam about the rigorous tests, medications, and the abuse from armed guards.

As Apollo tells the damphir about his past, Adam's hardened golden eyes soften; he had no idea Apollo suffered so much.

But when Brooke asks Adam if he could help Apollo board a train out of California, he gives her an answer that made the children's blood boil.

"Hell. Fucking. No."

"Oh come on, Adam!" Nessa wailed. "Apollo had just told you what happened to him!"

Adam shakes his head in disgust. "I am not risking my job to help a criminal flee from police custody."

An irritated Johnny crossed his arms.

"Wow," he chortled coldly. "That's ironic coming from a guy who smuggled a pack of gargoyles to France."

"And gave a passport to an undocumented Romanian warlock." Brooke rasped.

Bowing his head, Adam chewed his bottom lip. Back when he was at Idlewild, Adam would help metaphysical creatures cross through the border through illegal means.

He can make passports, IDs, and papers appear authentic, but Adam does it for a decent price of three bronze tokens.

"Guys, I don't mean to sound like a dick—"

"You are," Nessa retorts, but the damphir ignores her.

"—But I am not comfortable taking Jonathan Brandis to a fucking train station." Adam sternly finishes. "I mean, where the fuck is the kid's parents anyway?"

When no one answered, Adam's jaw begins to drop. They don't know where his parents are?

Adam gazes at the boy in the dirty hoodie and felt sorry for him.

God, it's no wonder this kid doesn't know anything about Depeche Mode. Scratching his nose, Adam casts Apollo a worried look.

He glances at the locked door, remembering the line of anxious clients waiting for him.

Sucking his cheeks, the damphir gave his hair a toss eventually express an irritable sigh.

"Fine, I'll take care of it."

Brooke tilts her head at Adam. "What?"

The damphir picks up the small remote off of the black drawer and turns off the television.

"I said I'll help Apollo get out of California."

Caleb's brown eyes widened in total shock.

Johnny, on the other hand, thanked Adam for his selflessness then required the damphir to create passports and identification papers.

Reaching for his wallet, the young swordsman hands Adam ten-thousand dollars.

"These are for the plane tickets and luggage," Johnny explained to Adam. "Keep it with you, alright?"

Eyeing the boy suspiciously, an uneasy Adam asks: "Do I even want to know where you got the cash?"

"No." Johnny held out the cash without blinking. "Are you going to take it or not?"

Apollo watched the scene as the vampire plucked the money out of Johnny's hands and slipped it into his jean pocket.

"When this shit is over, I'll pay you back with interest," Adam promised Johnny. 

"Ok, but I have to give you our home address first."

Johnny moved toward the illustration of a monstrous teddy bear, tore the bottom, then asked Adam if he is carrying a pen with him.

Meanwhile, Nessa roamed across the room like a bored child. Her brown eyes wandered at the glass cabinets above her head.

Inside were old black and white photos of Adam serving during the Korean War. Many showed him cleaning his rifle; some captured his entire platoon, while others reveal Adam kissing a pretty Korean woman.

"Whoa." Nessa thinks, grinning. "Who knew Adam was such a ladies' man back in the day?"

Waddling towards the glass cabinets, Nessa studies the photos with intrigue. Her fingers touched the cold glass.

The young couple, on the other hand, asks Adam if he needs anything else.

"What do you want us to do?" Nessa asked Adam. "Can we help you with—"

"No." Adam interrupts again. "You kids are going to go home."

"Wait, are you sure?" Brooke spoke up.

The damphir flashed the children a toothy grin; his back rubs against the yellow walls.

"You think I can't handle a kid all by myself?"

Once again, Brooke, Nessa, Caleb, and Johnny trade doubtful look, then back at their immortal ally.

They weren't sure as to what Adam is planning, given the fact that Nessa informed Adam of Apollo's abilities.

Storming up to Adam, Johnny insists that Apollo is a bit unstable and pleads for the damphir to be careful.

"Don't worry about it, guys," Adam reassured them. "Why don't you four head on home while I get to work?"