Light in the Storm

There was no nightmare.

I didn’t have a nightmare every night, but not having one was almost as bad as having one. There was something about it, the blackness I was seeing as I slept, that made me feel uneasy… if you can feel uneasy without being conscience. I could feel myself turning continuously, a cool air stinging at my skin, but I didn’t wake up. But I still felt calm.

My eyelids fluttered open, my vision setting on my dimly lit room. I could see the posters on the wall rustling and I shivered soon after, glancing down at my skin; I had Goosebumps and, touching my arm, it felt like I was made of ice. I licked my dry lips and turned my neck. Confusion swept over me when the spot beside me was empty, only the scrunching of the sheets indicating that Nick had occupied it. Where was he? Was he outside? My eyes shifted to the window -- it was wide open. Sighing lightly I shifted myself and placed my feet on flat on the floor, pushing myself up while wrapping the blanket around my body. I stepped over my clothes, not seeing Nick’s. He had to be outside.

I padded towards the open window, scrunching my shoulders up as the cool air blew in a little stronger. Poking my head out I saw that the sky was clouded, darker than it had been the previous days, and their was a streak-like fog almost lingering. My lips parted while I focused my glance downward, narrowing my eyes in search for footsteps or paw prints even; nothing.

“Hmm,” I hummed to myself shortly, the irritation partially evident in my voice.

I heard a noise in the hallway suddenly and instinctively pulled myself back and away from the window. Leaping towards my bed, I picked up my discarded clothes and began to throw them on as quickly as I could, hoping that Nick was the one coming down the hall. Rushing towards the door with the blanket trailing behind me like I was 5 years old, I flung it open, only to spot my father with his glasses askew and his hair disheveled from sleep.

“Lonnie, are you alright?” he asked groggily, though his voice was aware. I felt my heart drop.

“Umm, yeah,” I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I was just looking for Nick…”

“I didn’t see him downstairs,” he said, his voice thoughtful.

“Okay,” I said quietly. I rubbed the back of my neck and dropped the blanket to the floor, contemplating where else to look. He had to be around here somewhere… right?

“Are you sure you’re alright, honey?” Dad asked softly, taking a few slow steps toward me. I nodded quickly and managed a weak smile, looking past him to try and see down the stairs. I wasn’t so calm anymore. Inhaling deeply, I ran my fingers through my knotted hair, gathering it at the nape of my neck, deciding to search for a band to put it back with.

“Let me know if you see him,” I finally replied, receiving an obedient nod from my father.

Turning back, I shut the door partially, not bothering to acknowledge the blanket that still lay on the floor. I moved towards the dresser, more alert know, and shuffled through my top drawer in search for a hair tie. Pushing through different items and articles of undergarments, I spotted a torn piece of paper with black sharpie showing through the top unclearly. I pushed it aside and reached for the hair tie that sat underneath it, but my eyes landed on the words of the overturned paper. UNDER COUNCIL was written in messy capital letters on the ripped paper, but there wasn’t anything else. I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion and reached for the paper, running my thumb over the smooth front. I noticed an open notebook on the top of my dresser and before I rummaged around, I spotted the sharpie.

I didn’t understand it.

I slipped the paper into my pocket and pulled my hair back, but my attention was grabbed by the sound of two faint howls echoing from the outside. My eyes widened with awareness and without thinking I rushed forward, almost tripping over my own feet. My eyes scanned the trees at the edge of my backyard before they landed on two familiar looking wolves, both of them running forward, howling again.

I sprinted for the door in that instant, a mixture of feelings coursing through me, staying unknown. I didn’t know if I should be worried or relieved, or if this was even important. But what were seriously the chances of two random wolves running through my yard?

Yeah.

Bounding down the stairs, I took only a second to realize that Eve was here; it didn’t bother me… right now, anyway. Turning towards the door and flinging it open, I stepped out into the cold, shivering once before I made my way towards them, my pace slower. The two wolves slowed down too, their howls ceasing once they spotted me. They were both a dark brown color, their eyes an almost gray color, and, as I got closer, I saw a faint bald line on one of them, a scar in the place of hair. Ryan and Russell.

Before I could step any closer they both began to shake, almost instantly phasing. I looked up at the two while beginning to chew on my bottom lip in wonder. Instead of speaking to me, they glanced between each other, blank faces on them. Russell turned to me, his lips pursed, and Ryan looked a little worried. Their muddy brown hair blew through the wind, revealing their dull blue eyes in the clouded air a little more clearly.

“Lonnie, you need to come with us,” Russell spoke with a dry voice, keeping his posture straight. He was acting as if we were complete strangers, like he was on a duty of some sort. I was even more confused.

“What? Why?” I asked quickly, pushing the stray bangs away from my face as the wind continued to gust across my face. I glanced behind my shoulder, my eyes settling on my dad through the open door. He and Eve stood close, watching us with confused eyes, unable to hear anything.

“It’s the great wolf’s orders,” Ryan spoke up, his voice a little softer. I turned to face them, my eyes scanning the both of them quickly.

“Nick’s dad?” They nodded. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Umm…” they trailed off, taking another glance at each other, their identical eyes meeting before settling on me again. “Nick-”

“He isn’t here. I don’t know where he went-” I tried, getting Russell to interrupt.

“Lucas took him.”

I stood there for a moment, just staring at the two before me. I could feel my breath being taken away, my heart trying to beat at both a rapid pace and stop at the same time. That couldn’t be true, they had to be wrong.

“But… but Nick was with me last night,” I tried, laughing nervously. “Wouldn’t we have known if-”

“He did,” Russell interrupted again, but even through his hard eyes I could see that he was worried. “You didn’t know it was coming, but he did.”

I opened my mouth to protest, to tell him he was crazy and that Nick didn’t know it either, but I stopped myself. Nick was acting weird last night, I knew that was for sure. The way he stayed so calm, the way he was sure to tell me that he loved me… and now he was gone? As much as I wanted to believe it wasn’t true, I knew it was. I knew this would happen and I knew that it was only a matter of time, and although I wasn’t going to cry I did feel a sudden heaviness in my heart, and now I began to wonder if this was the beginning of heartbreak.

I shook my thoughts away and focused on telling myself no; Nick would be back, I would save him, just like I had been practicing. And I would get through this somehow.

“Let’s go,” I said quickly, my voice cracking at the end. I turned myself around and stepped forward, moving closer to Dad and Eve. They watched me intently, both of them probably having different ideas of what was going on. I just needed to breathe.

“What’s the matter?” Eve asked, concern lacing her words.

“Nick,” I said flatly, blinking several times due to my new lightheaded feeling. I didn’t need a panic attack now; I couldn’t stand it.

“What about Nick? What’s going on?” It was my dad’s turn to ask, his eyes piercing me with worry.

“I don’t know. I just… don’t…” I trailed off, turning my gaze towards Eve. She stared right back. “It’s Lucas.” Her whole expression changed to one of knowing and, even though she tried to hide it, I could still see that worry in her eyes.

“It’ll happen soon.” She kept her voice low and strong, but I knew there was so much more to this than I was ready for. I couldn’t help but nod, swallowing the lump in my throat as the tears began to sting my eyes. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to look for him,” I replied strongly, no doubt in my voice or mind. She looked shocked.

“Lonnie, no. You can’t do that. Lucas is expecting you-”

“I don’t care. Whatever I trained for, whatever’s going to happen will… no matter what.”

“What’s going on?” Dad asked frantically, but we both ignored him. I turned my head away from Eve to look back at Ryan and Russell, their waiting figures standing slightly slumped, their faces saying they didn’t know what to do either.

“Lonnie, listen to me-” Eve put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze and, for an instant, I felt the orb around my neck begin to almost quiver. I held my breath. “Don’t look for him just yet. You need time. You need to think about all your options, about what you need to do and how your decision will affect everyone in this.” Her words made sense and for a second I contemplated them, but I knew that I just wanted to find him I needed him before Lucas got to me. “Let me talk to the council-”

“No,” I said quickly, unable to control it. I bit my lip suddenly and stuck my hand into my pocket, curling my fingers around the note. Nick had to have written it, it was his writing, but what did it mean? All I knew is that it gave me a feeling, and I didn’t want anyone on the council to know yet. “I’ll figure things out as they go. I just have to see Nick’s dad.”

“Where are you going? Lonnie, you’re scaring me.” I looked at my dad as he spoke, his hands squeezing my wrists gently. His eyes were even more worried now and oblivious to everything. I wish that was me. I wish that was Nick, both of us oblivious, together.

“I’ll be okay,” I whispered, slipping away from him. I didn’t know how many times I would have to leave him, but I knew that this time I would have to think about maybe not coming back… and it scared me. Pulling my empty hand out of my pocket, I took a step back and pursed my lips, pushing back the tears.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Not before it’s all over,” Eve disagreed, shaking her head. “When you’re out there… and when he finds you… I think you need to stay here, to think about this. You can’t just jump like this, this is what he wants. This is why he didn’t show you it was coming, Lonnie. Lucas plans things and you’re falling right into step, you’re walking right into his trap.”

I knew Eve’s words to be true, but right now I didn’t care. Right now I knew that this was the right thing to do, even if it wasn’t.

“I’m running into,” I corrected slowly, standing myself up a little straighter. “And I’ll walk out of it when it’s over… with Nick.”

That’s the way to think. It was almost like I could hear Nick in my head, like he was near by even though he wasn’t. Clasping my fingers around the heart necklace quickly, I turned back around and headed towards Ryan and Russell at a fast pace, the pieces of hair that had fallen out of the tie now blowing in the wind.

“Ready?” Ryan asked with a deep breath. I looked at him for a moment and then nodded, focusing my eyes on the darkness through the trees. That line of fog was still there, hovering, almost taunting me. And as we started moving forward, me following the twin wolves, I had an urge to follow it.

[&&light]

We walked through the woods like I had many times. It seemed quick though, and not just because of the pace. It was like things were flashing before me and I didn’t know what to focus on. Everything was clouded and eerie and I half expected Coimbra to jump out at us again, but Nick wasn’t here… just Ryan an Russell. I watched the brothers move ahead, trying not to stray too far behind them, and listened to their light squabbling. They weren’t as upbeat as usual, but they tried to remain normal, most likely for my sake. They talked about normal teenage things and it gave me comfort, but only for a moment. It was almost funny that when I first learned of my new life I wanted nothing more than to be normal, but now it seemed almost unheard of. I was Lilliani Stewart and this was me, my life; the life my mother led.

I gasped suddenly, the feeling of my foot getting aught underneath a tree root bringing me back to reality. I reached my hands out, preparing to catch myself, but two sets of arms beat me to it. I glanced at the two with thankful, wide eyes and managed a faint smile.

“We can’t let Nick see you with a scratch. He’d kill us,” Russell joked, and I laughed for a second, but it didn’t last long. And now I missed him even more.

I pulled myself back up and looked towards the trees, pretending to be interested in their dry bark. I was tired of walking and I just wanted today to never happen. But as we kept walking I knew that we would only get deeper in, and it was essential to rid the world of Lucas. I didn’t want to tell the council anything, but maybe talking to Mr. Cornell would help…

“Come on,” Russell said, interrupting my thoughts. “Let’s keep moving. We’re almost there.”

I tried to focus on nothing more than walking as we continued on -- that and not tripping. It was hard though, and I didn’t know exactly what to expect from this visit. It hadn’t been long at all since our last visit here. I could feel my lips twitching into a smile as I remembered the bonfire and Nick giving me my necklace; I absently toyed with the dainty heart.

When we came to the familiar split of the trees my nerves began to act up. Were things going to be chaotic? Did they know that Nick was missing now? Did his father inform everyone that Lucas had taken him? And how were they going to react to me? I felt responsible for this, but I was going to assure them that I’d get Nick back… somehow.

Russell led the way towards the familiar scenery while Ryan stuck back by me, all of us walking in silence. I could see the people watching us as we moved forward, some of them obviously knowing what was going on, and some of them obviously showing their distaste for me. I could feel my face heat up and I kept my gaze down or straight ahead, pushing my hair behind my ear numerous times and blowing the stray strands against the wind. I could hear the whispers; it felt even worse than high school.

“What?” Ryan whispered, his voice making me jump. I glanced up at him quickly, taking a peak at the girl who was staring angrily at me from her spot by a small black wolf. I would have smiled at the sight if it wasn’t for her angry expression.

“I’m used to the stares, but these people look upset with me…”

“You’re not with Nick,” he said quietly, turning his head to examine the people that were casting their upset expressions towards me. “Nick’s gonna’ be the great wolf soon, they trust him. But a witch…”

“Not so much?” I laughed nervously, beginning to chew on my bottom lip again. He smiled slightly and nodded, glancing up at his brother.

“Ry, where’d Joe say we were supposed to meet?” Russell asked suddenly, but just hearing Joe’s name made my nerves settle a bit.

“The house,” Ryan answered, giving me one last smile before moving ahead to lead. I ignored the rest of the passing glances.

The familiar house came into view as Ryan continued to lead the way. The three of us took a step forward, entering the house without even knocking. I could hear voices as soon as we stepped inside, the cool air turning warm once the door behind us was closed.

It wasn’t long before I heard footsteps and then a small body followed… smacking right into me. Frankie’s arms wrapped around my waist, hugging me as tightly as he could. I looked down at him in shock but didn’t hesitate to hug him back, finding an odd comfort in him. He had a scent that was slightly similar to Nick’s and maybe I clung to him a little too tightly, but he didn’t complain.

“Lonnie, where’s Nick?” he asked quickly, his big, round eyes staring up at me. I didn’t get a chance to answer -- I wasn’t sure I even could -- before someone else entered the room… and then a few more after that: Mr. and Mrs. Jonas, Joe, Kevin, and a girl who’s hand sat in Kevin’s.

“How many people know that he’s actually gone?” I asked quickly, glancing at any of them for an answer.

“Word travels fast around here,” Joe spoke up, moving forward to pry his younger brother away from me. I was a little disappointed.

“Frankie, wanna’ go with Danielle?” Kevin asked suddenly, his voice soft though his eyes were tired. Frankie shook his head, deciding to be stubborn… just like Nick.

“I want to know what’s going on, too. And I know that you guys are gonna talk about it.”

“Smart kid,” Joe mumbled to himself, taking his spot beside me.

“Honey, go on with Danielle,” Denise spoke, but she was, for once, void of emotion. I wish I could be like her.

Frankie looked at me, his wide eyes shining with an ounce of hope that he could know where Nick was, too. I didn’t even know. When I looked away I could hear him sigh in disappointment, and then the girl known as Danielle, with a soft smile towards me, took Frankie away. And now we all stood in silence. Joe wrapped his arms around me in a tight, comforting hug, but it didn’t fix anything or make those feelings go away.

“I think I’m the only one who doesn’t know exactly what’s going on,” I spoke lowly as Joe pulled away, licking my lips nervously. Mr. Jonas’ eyes met mine from over the top of his glasses, his calm demeanor never breaking. Was I the only one about to have a panic attack?

Maybe.

“Lucas has been showing you things that will happen, right?” Mr. Jonas asked; I nodded in response. I didn’t know whether to all him Paul, Mr. Jonas, or the great wolf. “I think this is a twisted game for him. He’s giving you sort of a head start, letting you see that you’ll be in the dark without Nick before he attacks. He wants you to put up a fight-”

“And he isn’t expecting you to win,” Joe cut in, a sudden smile over his lips. “But you will.”

“You’ll need to be ready to fight,” Mr. Jonas cut back in. “We’ll be on the move soon.”

I bit my lip and glanced around, my eyes scanning over everyone slowly. I could see that most of them knew that this fight was extremely crucial and that we needed to get to the correct place, wherever that was exactly. But just when I was about to ask where we would be going and who exactly would be coming, my eyes settled on Denise. And I knew that looking for Nick first would be the best bet.

“I want to look for him…” I would fight though, hopefully after I found Nick.

I waited for their reactions, for a twitch or a stare, but I received nothing of the sort. Nothing at all. I looked to Joe for help, but with him just being human I knew he wasn’t exactly sure what was best in this world. Heck, neither was I!

“Lonnie,” Mr. Jonas breathed, “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea…” His tone was serious but his words were hesitant; he wanted Nick to be found as soon as possible, probably well aware of what could happen to him even though I was the one with the visions…

I shut my eyes tight as I felt them coming back in blurs, the images of Nick and how weak he looked practically pounding against my skull. I didn’t want that to happen to him. No one did.

“We’re with you,” Ryan spoke suddenly. I didn’t expect that to come from his mouth, maybe Russell’s, but not his. My eyelids fluttered open and I turned to my other side to glance up at him. His face was serious. “Russell and I will support whatever you do.”

“You can’t though. You’re Nick’s pack-”

“And you’re Nick’s girl,” Russell interrupted, a smirk emerging over his lips. “We’re kinda stuck with you, too.”

I found myself smiling suddenly, though it wasn’t very wide, and I looked around the room again for a confirmation from the current great wolf. He stared right back at me, his chest deflating, and he grabbed Denise’s hand. I could see a faint smile on her lips and it gave me a sort of comfort, and it made my orb feel just a little warmer. I missed my glow already.

“We don’t have much time,” he said finally. “And we can’t involve anyone else, just the three of you will have to look for him.” I nodded quickly, exhaling the breath I had been holding anxiously.

“Why can’t I help?” Joe asked, scratching his head. Denise practically glared at him.

“Joe, there is no way I’m letting you go with them. Lonnie’s a witch and Ryan and Russell are wolves. You’re a human.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” he snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Remind me again why Nick is the only kid in this family that can phase?” No one answered his complaining question. We were all thinking instead, wondering how exactly everything would turn out. And, touching my fingers to the piece of paper in my pocket, I wondered what exactly to do myself.