Monthly Bonus Content #4 - Summer Scenario Special - Unit Zulu & Nat (Patreon)

The smell of smoky food dominates the air around our little gathering. The tempting scent swirls and coalesces inside of the large parasol that shades our chairs and table from the beating heat.

I slide my toes into the warm sand. It’s been a lifetime since I’ve visited an actual beach and not just the pebbly shoreline of the lake in Wayhaven. It’s impossible not to smile at the midday sun glimmering across the sea, like molten gold across glass.

“Enjoying your time here?” Nat asks, sliding her hand onto mine on the table.

“After the mission we just had? I think we deserve a little happy time,” I reply, leaning against her shoulder as I turn my palm up beneath hers to intertwine our fingers together.

“You two look made for each other,” Kit says, placing a plate down in front of each of us. His dark green eyes twinkle as he smiles. His long rectangular face, the same colour as the sand, is lit up with the bright expression.

Alejandra hands Kit a couple of melamine tumblers for him to place on the table as well. “The way you two worked together was nothing like I’d ever seen a human and a supernatural work together before.”

“Hey!” Glitch (not her real name from what I can tell. But she gave me a different account of her name and history every time I talked to her, so it’s difficult to tell what might have been true) barks. She leans against the table, her dark navy-blue brows drawn down over her silver eyes. “You work with me all the time.”

Alejandra nods, wincing. “I’m sorry. Of course. But you haven’t been with us that long—cough.” The human woman hacks out a couple of rattling coughs, covering her mouth with her amber-brown hand.

The team leader, Cosmo, hands her his handkerchief with a silent pinch of questioning.

Alejandra nods at him…though I notice spots of crimson soaking into the handkerchief as she subtly wipes her lips.

“Food’s cooked,” Cosmo calls as an obvious distraction, his warm golden skin flushed from the heat of the barbeque. “Who’s ready?”

“That’s why we’re all sat here waiting, isn’t it?” Glitch says, tilting her head, a curtain of midnight-blue hair washing across her shoulder, her skin the same deep navy, though patterned with swirling silver markings like moonlit tattoos. It doesn’t seem to be sarcasm but an actual question.

Cosmo begins plating up the smoked food and handing it out. His tidy shirt and pin-striped trousers are protected by an apron that reads ‘I’m not old, just well-seasoned’ on it. He is much more mature than the rest of the team, with more streaks of grey running through his pristinely styled hair than its natural black. But with the way I saw him handle himself during our mission, you wouldn’t think it. But his eyes, one brown and one green, crinkle just that bit more as he smiles—something his team does regularly.

Well, except maybe Glitch, the only supernatural of the group.

Kit sits down in the chair beside me, mimicking the way Cosmo wraps his burger up neatly in a napkin before biting into it.

“Will you be travelling back to Wayhaven straight away now?” he asks after finishing his mouthful. His prominent ears and broadly wide cheekbones balance out his large features. I would almost think he is part supernatural if I didn’t know he’s definitely human.

Nat nods. “Yes. Our unit needs us back as soon as possible.”

“It’s been nice to get out and see other sights though,” I comment. Travelling this far away from Wayhaven wasn’t expected when we teamed up with Unit Zulu back in our small town, but our quarry certainly took us on an adventure!

“It’s been nice working with others,” Cosmo admits, sitting down beside Alejandra and checking over her.

She ignores the worried glance, raking her fingers through her pixie-cut brunette waves. It doesn’t distract from how her skin has become ashen, dark circles beginning to shadow beneath her brown eyes.

“We’re barely remembered as an actual team in the facility. So, it’s kind of a big deal for us to work with someone from Unit Bravo.” Her voice has an edge of awe to it.

“And a human in such a high-ranking team, at that,” Kit adds.

Glitch sucks the butter off her roasted corn-on-the-cob while lifting a brow. “Human and vampire. I’ve seen that combo end badly on more than one occasion.”

“Glitch,” Cosmo reprimands in a quiet whisper.

Nat smiles and shakes her head. “It’s fine. You’re not entirely wrong.”

Somehow, I get the impression that reply was aimed more at me…

“What type of missions do you normally get?” I ask, enjoying my own meal. I heard Glitch was the best cook of the group, but Cosmo has certainly done a stellar job. The taste of the smoky food melts across my tongue like a kind of ambrosia.

Kit sighs, rubbing his fingers in another napkin. “Boring ones.”

“The ones that no one else wants, usually,” Alejandra adds with a sullen pout.

“It’s because you’re all human,” Glitch comments before eyeing Kit and Alejandra. “And way too young. You’re not as useful as the supernaturals.”

Cosmo thins his already thin lips. “You’re a part of this team too.”

“Only because I have nowhere else to go,” she snipes. It seems the tale she told me about being exiled from her Imp troop might actually be the true one of the many she told me.

A small thread of tension runs through the moment. Nat and I share a look, before I continue to eat my food in silence.

“Thank you for inviting us to this meal,” Nat says finally to break the horribly building silence. I’m seriously grateful for her ability to handle pretty much any social situation.

Cosmo smiles. “No problem. We always try to celebrate our wins.”

“I can drink to that,” Nat says, holding up her colourful tumbler.

We all do the same, clacking them together before drinking, the tension fizzling away as conversation once again begins to flow.