Roaring Thunder

“What do you mean?”, I ask, standing up.

“The angels are angry. Simple as that.”, Alison says, rolling her eyes.

“They think that you all broke Alison out of Hell.”, Donovan says, rolling his eyes. “They think that she’s a demon.”

“Hmm, that has a familiar ring to it.”, she rolls her eyes. “If I’m a demon, then I’m under David’s rule right this second. And we all know the chances of that happening.”

“You’re under my rule,” Kevin says, rolling his eyes, ruffling her hair.

“Don’t make me smack you,” she grumbles, smiling innocently.

“That only works in the movies.”, I say, rolling my eyes. “And if the angels are so angry, why not just kidnap Alison and throw her back?”

“Because they’re scared,” she says, smirking. “I’m dead, I’m a witch, and I’m related to him.”, she points to Kevin, who rolls his eyes. “You add it up.”

“It equals scary beyond belief in angel code.”, Donovan says, smirking. “Mainly because of the him thing.”

“I thought we covered that I’m scary?”, Kevin says, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, but it’s fun to say out loud because you won’t hurt us.”, Josh says, hiding behind me. Some man I got, huh? But I love him.

“Coward,” Alison says, rolling her eyes, pulling out her cell phone, just as it starts ringing. “Thank you, ol’ psychic pals.”, she grins hugely, flipping it open. “Hey, Kristan. Whatcha got?”

“Hey y’all! Kevin, I hope you’re raising our girl well.”, a girl’s voice — whom I’m guessing is Kristan — says. “Don’t freak out on us here, y’all, Alison and us go way back. Ain’t that right, Donovan?”

“Long time no talk, Kristan. Now get to the point.”, Donovan grumbles, glaring at the phone.

“Alright, well, the angels haven’t been very angelic lately. They’re planning the classic capture and kill. Yah know, that ol’ idiotic thing.”

“Don’t forget that they want all of them burning in the flames of Hell!!”, a boy’s voice yells from the speaker.

“Ray, what up?”, Alison yells, grinning. “I had no idea you were still around!”

“’Round and young, Aly.”

“Ain’t we all?”, she rolls her eyes. “Y’all planning on visiting?”

“We’re on our way, long-lost-sis!”, another girl’s voice yells.

“Zoey, long time no word.”, Alison rolls her eyes, smiling apologetically at us. “Now get your good for nothin’ asses over here!”

“Gosh, you don’t have to yell, Aly! Oh, and hi Martin! I’m Alison’s non-related sister! When you marry her, I better get an invite or I’m not gonna be so nice.”, the girl — Zoey — chuckles into the phone. “Kevin, Melody, I hear y’all are her new folks. Whatever you do, just don’t get drunk on our girl or we’ll come after your asses.”

“Will do,” I say, laughing slightly.

“Oh, and Donovan, we know all about you, mister.”

“Don’t try and run, don’t go and hide! We’ll find your stupid ass, because we’re awesome like that!”, it sounded like ten or twenty of them singing that little song.

“My past comes back for a friendly visit!”, Alison cheers, smirking.

“Long lost sis!”, a girl with black hair and red eyes pops up from behind me, making me jump as I spin around, facing ten kids who looked no older than thirteen.

“Zoey!”, Alison hugs her, grinning from ear to ear. “Guys, this is Zoey, Ray, Kristan, Mark, Sammie, Ethan, Oliver, and Rachel!”

“Hey y’all!”, they say together, smirking. “Hi, jackass!”, they wave at Donovan, who stood uncomfortably.

“Zoey’s my unrelated-sis! We both are like twins! Rachel’s our pain-creator, Mark’s our shape-shifter, Kristan’s our spiritual connection, and Ray’s our balance! Oh, and Sammie’s our spy, Ethan’s our fighter, and Oliver’s our player!”, she grins at all of us.

“We’re the psychic-army from Hell!”, Sammie — I’m guessing — says, her strawberry blonde curls bouncing, her pink eyes blazing.

“Sorry ‘bout the scare there, Mel. We do that whenever there’s enough psychic-energy in the air.”, Zoey says apologetically. “We feed off of it, nowadays.”

“How’s the witch been doin’?”, Mark — who knows? — says, as Alison ruffles his red hair.

“The usual.”

“Ooh, hot boys,” Rachel says, smirking. “And I know, I know! ‘Same old Rachel.’”

“And we love you! Group hug!”, and they all hug each other, it was weird. “Y’all get over here!”

“I’ll pass,” Kevin says, glaring, only to be tackled by all of them.

“That’s not an option,” Kristan says, her black hair curled, her purple eyes smug. “When Aly says group hug, she means everyone. Has since she was five.”

Alison grins stupidly, nodding in agreement. “Remember the army I was in? These are my friends from back then.”

“I still can’t believe we took orders from a five year old.”, Ethan — I think — grumbles, his dark brown hair getting in the way of his eyes.

“We’re just a colorful bunch of people, ‘kay?”, Zoey says, moving her hair out of her face. “We don’t take too kindly to anyone hurting little Aly, either. We’ll beat you to the point of no return.”

“That’s why I love y’all!”, Alison’s grin hadn’t faltered, even when she glanced at the uncomfortable Donovan. “Friends. Can’t replace them.”

“Aw, it’s Sophie and her hubby, Duncan!”, Kristan says, pointing to the two as they came walking closer. Duncan keeps his protective stance, as the group burst out laughing together.

“Oh, that’s a good one, Duncan!”, Alison laughs, rolling her eyes. “We’re not a group of power-hungry psychics.”

“Nope,” they say in sync.

“How can you —,” Ash asks.

“Psychic power. We all have a connection that cannot be broken.”, they say together.

“We know where each other are. Every second.”, Oliver shrugs.

“We know what we think.”, Rachel says, smiling.

“And what others around us think.”, Kristan says.

“It’s a psychic-bond thing, guys. We balance each others’ psychic energy to the fullest. We can read minds, tell the future, and cause excessive amounts of pain. And that’s only the basic stuff we can do.”, Alison says sheepishly, blushing. “If someone stabbed me right now, everyone would feel it. And we’re so powerful together that we could make everyone on the cloud feel it.”

“I trained them well.”, Donovan says, smirking arrogantly, soon yelling out in pain.

“Go Kristan!”, they cheer in sync, smiling hugely.

“I’ve been trying to do that for a month!”, Alison says, smirking. “Here, lets show everyone what we’re doing. Y’all will feel a slight pressure, but it’ll pass.”

And I felt the pressure. But then I could see what they meant. Everyone’s thoughts were laid out before me. I finally knew how Martin felt when being inside of someone’s thoughts.

“Your boy is hot, Aly.”, Rachel says out loud, smirking at Martin as he blushes.

“Back off, Rachel. He’s mine.”, Alison says, sticking her tongue out at her.

“Ooh, a mind-reader. No, three mind readers.”, Ethan says, nodding. “Nice choice, Aly. Very clean mind from what I’m getting.”

“Psychics … show us a vision, Aly. Anything at all. I’ve missed the rush of it.”, Zoey says, smirking. And then I felt myself being pulled along with everyone else, as Alison began seeing the future.

“NO!!!!!”, I yell, covering my eyes.

No … no!! Alison’s thought pulled us all back, as another vision appeared.

“Where is the witch?!!!”, someone growls, glowering at Kevin.

“I’m not giving her up.”, Kevin snarls. He gets punched in the face, another bruise to match the others.

No … and we were all back in the present.

“Ooh, brutal. Focus on the actual fight, Aly.”, Sammie says, shaking her head clear.

“Okay …”, her voice shook, as we were all dragged into our futures.

“What do you want, Raine?”, Alison asks, as I stand behind her, sword ready.

“Why can’t you just stay dead, witch?!! I killed you once, I’ll kill you again …”

Another vision …

“What’s going on?!! Where is she?!!”, Martin asks, looking around.

“Over with Raine,” and Donovan pulled his sword back, throwing it into Martin’s heart.

That’s when we were pulled back to the present, and the connection broke off. Alison’s close-knit friends all stood by her as they glared and made animalistical noises at Donovan.

“Just like the good ol’ days,” Alison snarls, looking so much like Kevin right that second.

“I outta strangle his neck right this second.”, Ethan growls deadly.

“I’ll paralyze him.”, Mark snarls.

“I’ll grab the stakes,” Sammie snarls.

“I’ll claw out his eyes.”, Rachel sneers.

“I’ll punch his face in.”, Ray growls.

“I’ll burn the fire,” Kristan snarls.

“I’ll throw him in it.”, Oliver snarls. Fire erupted around Donovan, a perfect circle of it, with ice and other elements guarding it. Zoey and Alison were mumbling something in a foreign language. That’s when I realized it. Zoey was a witch, too. Or, a form of one.

“He won’t move for awhile.”, they say in chorus, all having various expressions.

“How can you all live like that?”, Kevin asks, staring at all of them.

“It just happened, Kevin. Donovan was trying to keep us aware of each other. And somewhere in the process he managed to form a mind-link between the nine of us.”, Alison says, shrugging. “We can turn it off. But we feel uncomfortable otherwise.”

“Yeah. And the farther we are from each other, the harder it is to keep it.”, Oliver says, shrugging.

“Are we staying with you?”, Kristan asks, glaring at Donovan’s frozen figure.

“Yeah.”

“Then lets get going! I’m tired!”, Sammie says, as they all yawn in sync, walking away silently.

“That was frickin’ cool.”, I say, shaking my head. “That was such a rush being able to see that stuff!”

“You may have enjoyed it, but did you notice Alison?”, Kevin says gravely. “And what’s up with all of them sticking together like some kind of secret clan?”

“They’re just friends, Kevin. They have a connection that probably most of us can’t understand.”, I say, shrugging.

“Was I the only one who noticed that they were all around the same age? And dead?”, Josh asks, staring after them oddly.

“Yeah, why is that? And how come Alison was treated like the little sister in that group? Something’s up.”

“You all are idiots.”, I say, rolling my eyes. “They were all just really good friends. And they’re powerful psychics. Although, I’m not entirely sure what that is.”

“They have supernatural powers.”, Ash says, nodding in the direction where they left. “Sort of like us, except with probably more power.”

My cell phone buzzed, and I checked the collar ID. It was unfamiliar, which made me suspicious as I answered.

“Hello?”

“Umm … we’re all heading to the club.”, Alison’s voice sounded nervous.

“Do y’all wanna join us, or what?”, Zoey’s voice yelled into my ears.

“Hold on a second, Al.”, I say, covering the phone as I asked, “Anybody wanna go to the club?”

♠ ♣ ♠

Almost everyone came along with Alison and them to the club. Josh and I managed to dance and make-out at the same time. Let me tell you, he’s pretty good at both.

“Martin’s gonna end up dead.”, Josh chuckles, looking behind me. He twirls me, giving me a glimpse of Martin trying to get Alison’s attention by nearly giving her a hickey.

“Kevin will pull him off in a little bit.”, I say, kissing him quickly.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Josh!”, Martin whines, popping up beside us, making me jump. “Sorry, Melody.”

“Dude, you’re about to get your ass whipped by Kevin if you keep trying to give her a hickey.”, Josh chuckles, rolling his eyes. “I’d just shut her up by making out with her.”

“Or you could risk a punch in the face by trying to get in her pants.”, I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

“I’m going with Josh’s. That’s disgusting, Mel!”, Martin walks away, shaking his head, soon making-out with Alison.

“Hey, it got him to leave.”, I say, shrugging.

“And for that, I thank you,” Josh says, kissing me. “But he’ll probably be back in a few minutes.”

“Aw, that sucks,” I say, smiling at him.

♠ ♣ ♠

I woke up, and got ready for school. I put on my neon purple mini-shorts, hot pink tank top, grey sneakers, black headband, clear lip gloss, blue eyeshadow, and a thin line of black eyeliner to make my eyes really pop. My eyes had changed colors. They always reflect the light like diamonds, turning a room into a rainbow of color.

I walk out of my house, straight toward the dining area, grabbing a stack of pancakes and digging in.

“Good morning, legendary Melody,” Zoey says, skipping over to us. “Has anyone seen Alison?”

“Haven’t seen her since she ditched me at the club last night.”, Kevin says, reading his paper. I don’t get what’s so interesting.

“Oh, Alison? She’s sleeping over at Martin’s. She was completely passed out from what Martin told me.”, Josh says, shrugging. “He won’t rape her. He probably just sat there staring at her before he passed out.”

“That sounds kind of creepy,” Zoey shivers, as the rest of them soon join her.

“Alison’s dreams are funny.”, Rachel giggles, pouring a bowl of cereal. “Oh, and do y’all want us to wake her up?”

“We should. We have school, remember?”, Oliver says, rolling his eyes.

“I’m up,” Alison pops up, making me jump. “Good morning!”

“ALISON!!!!”, Sophie yells, hugging her. “FRIENDS!!!!!!!!”

And she runs around hugging all of us.

“Hey, cutie! Where’s my hug!”, Ray asks, holding his arms out. Sophie hugs him, before continuing running around.

“Duncan thinks Ray’s gonna steal his girl.”, Alison laughs, eating her cereal.

“Nah-uh! My man ain’t leaving me for some six year old.”, Zoey says sarcastically. “And if Martin breaks your heart, Aly, we’ll take care of him.”

“What exactly are you gonna do?”, I ask, staring at them oddly.

“Kill him,” they say together, shrugging indifferently.

“We aren’t phased by death,” Sammie says, shrugging. “And we felt her pain once, we don’t wanna relive it.”

“What if he knocks her up?”, Kevin asks, rolling his eyes.

“If she’s under twenty-five we murder his sorry-ass.”, Mark shrugs.

“I like your friends, Alison. They’re reasonable people.”, she rolls her eyes at him.

“You like anyone who agrees with you.”, Alison grumbles.

“Isn’t that the truth.”, I mutter, rolling my eyes. “Alison, go get knocked up.”

“I’LL FRICKIN’ KILL YOU!!!!!!!”, Kevin growls at me, standing up. I hold back laughter, shaking my head.

“You’re such an idiot, Kevin,” the Psychics and I say together.

“As if I would tell Al to get pregnant. Think for a moment.”

“Good thing you were kidding. Or I’d be looking for a new girlfriend.”, Josh says, rolling his eyes. I shove his shoulder, making him chuckle. “What? Kevin would completely murder you!”, he smirks, muttering quietly, “And he’s scary when he’s psycho.”

“Aw, someone’s scared of their brother!”, I say, smirking as he glares at me.

“We all know about it, Joshua.”, Sammie says, rolling her eyes. “We have extremely good senses.”

“And it’s so obvious,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Oh, and Melody, how good of a kisser is he on a scale from one to ten?”, Rachel asks, smirking. I felt my cheeks burn red, as they all hold back laughter.

“Sorry on behalf of Rachel. She doesn’t know when to shut up about boys.”, Alison says sheepishly.

“Well, we all know Martin’s a good kisser —,” gagging noises from the boys, “But what about Josh?”

“Umm … I’d rather not —”

“No, tell them the truth. I’m just as interested as the next girl.”, Josh says, smirking.

“You just called yourself a girl.”, Alison mutters, holding back laughter. “And you don’t have to answer that question if you don’t want to. Rachel’s already digging into your thoughts. Which is totally wrong,” she whacks Rachel on the back of the head.

“C’mon, we’re gonna be late for school, Aly!!”, Zoey says, grabbing her hand, and somehow managing to drag me along behind them.

“You are now officially a Psychic.”, Alison says sarcastically. “Once you have been chosen to be dragged. See, Kevin and Josh are ones, too!”

And sure enough, they had somehow managed to drag Josh and Kevin! I don’t know about you, but I’d like to know how they did it.

“How did they —”

“Psychic power,” Sammie says, rolling her eyes as she drags Josh. “We can completely paralyze him.”

“Kevin’s gonna be maaddd.”, Alison shakes her head disapprovingly. “He’ll probably give me an ear-full.”

“Don’t worry, Josh is pretty angry, too.”, Ray says, chuckling, dragging Martin, who was freaked-out.

“Here we are!”, Zoey says, letting us go in front of the large school structure.

“Drag me again, and I’ll break your arms.”, Kevin growls, glowering.

“Hey, it means they like you.”, Alison says, rolling her eyes. “They drag only people they like. And then if you’re lucky they’ll let you in the mind-link.”

“Exactly how can you all live personal lives like that? Always hearing each other’s thoughts and all?”, Ash asks curiously.

“Yeah, I mean, doesn’t it ever get awkward or annoying?”, Nina asks.

“We hardly notice it anymore, to be honest.”, Kristan shrugs, rolling her eyes.

“And we can turn it off. We like to give each other privacy now and then.”, Sammie says, rolling her eyes. “We don’t really do many things without each other.”

“The only mind that’s been completely disconnected has been Alison’s, though. We’re not sure exactly how that happened.”, Oliver says, staring at her oddly.

“Oh, well! Lets just continue this conversation during lunch, alright?”, Zoey drags Alison away, as she waves merrily at us.

“Anybody notice how Zoey seems to have Alison around like a puppy?”, I ask, raising an eyebrow after them.

“Zoey was Alison’s best friend during the war. They’re both witches or something.”, Ethan shrugs. “And Zoey’s older.”

“Yeah, we got that,” Kevin grumbles, walking into the school. I shrug, walking straight toward my locker, turning the combination quickly.

“Oh, Kendall! Hey!”, Miranda says, faking a smile as she comes over to me.

“Yeah?”, I ask her absentmindedly, rummaging through my locker.

“Tacey hasn’t been hanging around me anymore.”

“So?”

“So what did you tell her?”

“Nothing. You know, she isn’t just your clone, Miranda. She’s a real person.”

“I don’t care. You need to back off, though.”

“Okay, I’m confused.”, I say, rolling my diamond eyes at her.

“Josh. Back off.”

“Umm, excuse me? He’s my boyfriend.”

“We’ll see about that, Anderson.”

“You know what, Miranda?! I don’t have to take this! You’re just a spoiled brat who can’t stand to let anyone have a life! The world doesn’t revolve around you! I’m not gonna get down on my knees and serve your every command!”, I growl, slamming my locker shut, adding through my teeth, “Now get out of my way. I’m late for class.”

I bump my shoulder into hers roughly as I passed, furious beyond belief. If Miranda thinks she’s gonna get Josh so easily, then she’s got another thing coming, I think angrily, plopping down in my seat.

“What’s wrong?”, Dylan asks, trying to ignore Alison and Zoey’s quiet babbling.

“Miranda. She came by my locker and told me to back off of Josh.”, I say through my teeth.

“Did you punch her?”

“No. I told her off. I went on about how I wasn’t her servant and that crap.”

“Aw, I wanted you to punch her. She came by me the other day and frickin’ tried to seduce me.”

“Smart. Give me even more reason to murder her.”, I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

“Kill who? That Miranda-Bitch?”, Zoey asks.

“You’ve heard of her?”

Alison and Zoey burst out laughing, like as if what I asked was a joke. It irritated me, but I didn’t want to punch them.

“Zoey’s psychic, remember?”

“Oh,” duh! How could I have been so stupid? “So she saw Miranda?”

“Why do you think we were in such a hurry to get away? I don’t wanna come within spitting distance of that bottle-blonde.”, Zoey scrunches up her nose, making gagging noises. “I can smell the scent of her brain-cells dieing alone.”

“Dumb blonde joke,” Alison says, rolling her eyes.

“I’m blonde,” I state, annoyed, lifting up a piece of my hair.

“Yes, but you’re more … sporty-blonde. Miranda’s bottle-blonde.”, they say together, nodding to each other to confirm it. I roll my eyes, sighing, knowing I wasn’t going to win that arguement. They glance at each other, seeming to have some kind of silent conversation with each other, giggling and laughing now and again.

♠ ♣ ♠

Lunch came quickly, and we were all sitting around, laughing and talking like any other day. Then Miranda came over and slapped me. I’m helping pull Alison off of her right this second.

“WHAT THE HELL, BITCH?!!!!”, Alison snarls, breaking free and punching her.

“Al, calm down,” I say, handing her over to Kevin, who easily kept her under-control.

“I told you to back-off, bitch.”, Miranda growls, slapping me again.

“YOU’RE THE BITCH!!!!!!”, all of the Psychics yell together, glaring, standing up in sync.

“Once a bitch, always a bitch.”, Alison growls, still struggling against Martin and Kevin.

“Takes one to know one.”, Miranda sneers. I punch her, glaring.

“Back off, whore!!! He’s my boyfriend, and I’m not about to let some bitchy whore tell me to back off.”

“He should’ve been mine.”

“You know what?!!! You don’t get it!! If a guy to dating another girl, that’s not a green-flag screaming that he’s willing to flirt it up with you!!!!!! You’ve been that way since you were five, Miranda!!! It’s time to give up the queen-bee act, because you know good and well I can kick your ass any frickin’ second.”, I growl, glaring. “Ever since any of us started dating. You just aren’t happy till you’ve fucked every boy in the school.”

And I got slapped. I felt the sting as her handprint formed a red mark on the side of my face. “At least I don’t keep a man on each arm like you and your little follower-slut. Do you even know what her name is?!!”, she stabbed a long, fake-nail at Alison.

That’s when I lost it. I attacked her full-force, punching her as hard as I could, sending her flying across the cafeteria. But I wasn’t done there. No, I picked up her skinny-ass figure, holding her neck in a death grip.

“She isn’t a whore,” I growl quietly, throwing her down on the ground, soon kicking her across the cafeteria. Everyone had luckily moved out of the way, as screams erupted through the entire room, panic taking over. But I didn’t care. I continued on my assault, kicking her up into the ceiling.

Alison quickly appeared in front of me, soon hurrying to drag me away, as everyone quickly followed.

“You okay?”

“LET ME KILL HER!!!!”

“Calm down, Melody!!”, Alison shakes me, and I take a deep breath, trying to calm down as she dragged me behind her.

I counted to ten and everything, but I couldn’t stop the desire to rip Miranda’s throat out for calling Alison a slut. That was what made me snap. I didn’t care that she called me a whore. That was nothing compared to how she talked about Alison. Like as if she were some clone. Like as if she were a slut.

I struggled to go back and finish what I started, but Kevin and Josh were helping to keep me restrained, as we all flew up to the cloud.

“Melody, calm down. Miranda’s dieing.”, Alison says sadly, a tear sliding down her face.

“Good. The bitch fucking called you a slut.”, I growl, jerking a final time and breaking free. “She had it coming since day one.”

“You broke every bone in her body. She may die.”, Alison repeats, seeming slightly shocked.

“Then sue me if she does.”, I growl, glaring. “She’s been nothing but a bitch since the beginning. I don’t care whatever the hell is up her ass, but she’s been asking for me to kill her.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to kill her!!!”

“SHE FUCKING CALLED YOU A SLUT!!!!!”

“SO WHAT IF I WAS!!!!!!! I DON’T WISH THAT SHE WOULD DIE!!!!!”, she was glowering at me, growling furiously, “I don’t wish death on people!!!”

She stomped away furiously, a smoky path trailing behind her in a mist.

“I haven’t seen Alison that angry since Donovan.”, Zoey says sadly. “When he betrayed her.”

“What the hell did I do?!!”, I snap, glowering, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t remember ever breaking a promise or whatever the hell.”

“Nope. But she idealizes you.”, Sammie says, rolling her eyes, plopping down on a chair, propping her feet up. “And wishing someone dead is a big no-no in her book.”

“Congrats! You just lost some respect!”, Ray says sarcastically, patting my back.

“It’s one thing to be defending her. But a totally different to try and kill someone.”, Rachel says, fixing her make-up. “Alison doesn’t wish death upon the person who killed her.”

“Rachel, you look beautiful without make-up.”, Mark says, pecking her lips.

“Wow, you all are a thing?”, I ask, shocked.

“Yeah. I’m with Oliver. Ray and Zoey are a thing. Then Sammie and Ethan have a sort of hate-love thing going on.”, Kristan says, rolling her eyes.

“We are not together!”, Sammie and Ethan say defensively.

“Weird,” I was personally shocked. I couldn’t believe that they were just a group of couples. “How old are you all?”

“Ray and I are twenty-one, and we’re the youngest.”, Zoey says, shrugging.

“Twenty-three,” Ethan and Sammie say together.

“Twenty-two,” Kristan, Oliver, Rachel, and Mark shrug.

“But you all only look no older than fifteen at the most.”

“Yeah, we know,” Sammie grumbles. “And what are you? Twenty?”

“Sixteen.”

“Whatever. Your boyfriend is over five hundred. And he looks sixteen.”, Kristan says, rolling her eyes. “We don’t complain. At least we stay around our age. Instead of with old grandpas.”

“I’m not an old grandpa.”, Josh grumbles.

“Keep thinking that.”

“Oh, and when are you gonna introduce her to Chris and fam?”, Rachel asks, smirking. “We’re wise beyond our years.”

“Who’s Chris?”, I ask curiously.

“Nobody,” Alison snaps, glaring at me. “And the angels are coming.”

“Then lets get ready to kick some angel butt!”, Ray says enthusiastically. “Unfreeze Donovan. He’s useful for this kind of thing.”

“I’ve been unfroze for awhile, Raymond.”, Donovan says gravely, popping up behind Alison.

“You didn’t really expect him to stay put, now did you?”, Alison says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Lets wait for David and them. They’re our allies whether you like it or not, Donovan.”

“Wait — you’re tight with the demon-prince?”, Oliver asks, staring at Alison with some kind of respect.

“Yep. And he’s gonna help us.”

“Yes!”, Oliver and Mark fist-bump, smiling excitedly. “Where are the evil-demon asses?!”

“Excuse me? Last time I checked, I saved Alison’s life.”, David says, rolling his eyes. “Hey Zoey.”

“Nice to see you again, David. Thanks for helping with the trial.”

“You two know each other?”, Ash asks, looking between the two.

“All of them do. They were present during Alison’s trial.”, David rolls his eyes, adding, “They stand up for the youngest amoung them.”

“The youngest and the wisest,” Alison grins, adding happily, “And I can kick their butts in five seconds flat.”

“I taught her that, too.”, Donovan says, smirking cockily.

“Did you teach her how to keep herself from being killed by cocky asses like yourself? Nope,” Kevin says, rolling his eyes.

“Cocky fighting-obsessed asses,” I grumble, rolling my eyes. “Stick to the point. Angels?”

“Oh, yeah! Angels are much easier to kill than demons. They don’t put up much of a fight. But, they are very strict and fierce.”, Alison says, smiling. “No one should die —”

“Last time you said that, we found you with a sword through your heart.”, Kevin says, glaring.

“Don’t worry. She can’t hide anything from us.”, Zoey says, tapping her forehead. “We’ll make sure she stays alive and healthy.”

“You better. None of us wanna relive what happened. Only except it’d be ten times worse.”, I say, rolling my eyes. Alison, Donovan, and all of the Psychics — as they seem to call each other that — open their mouths to say something, only to close it once again.

“That’s actually debatable, Melody. I’m not sure what it was like right here when I died, but at least Sophie came out okay.”, she shrugs, nearly falling over as Sophie runs into her, clinging to her leg. “Okay, maybe not entirely okay.”

“Talk about full on torn,” Zoey says, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry, Sophie. Alison’s not going anywhere.”

“Anyway, I say we do the exact same thing as last time. Except, I want the Rebel Demons toward the very back. Oh, and the Psychics, Donovan, and I will be scattered toward the front.”, Alison picks Sophie up, as Sophie continues clinging to her. “Duncan, Sophie’s not in this. She’s an angel, and we can’t risk them thinking we’re holding her hostage. That will set them off and more likely to kill. Y’all know your stations, right?”

“Yep,” the Psychics chorus.

“Oh, and Donovan, this isn’t like other war. We don’t kill.”, Alison glares at him, as he shrugs.

“Whatever Alison says goes,” Sophie says in her angelic voice, smiling. “You can’t ignore her.”

“And where exactly is Sophie going to be while all of this is going on?”, Duncan asks, rolling his eyes.

“She’ll be at the very back with me and you, Duncan. If anything goes wrong, I’ll tell you immediately, and you run. That’s an order, not a choice. I don’t frickin’ care if I have to kick you all the way to France. I’m not risking her life.”, Alison growls fiercely, holding Sophie close. “And in the mean time, I’ll train her myself. Angels aren’t usually very violent, but they’re angry. So, she needs to defend herself.”

“And because you don’t trust me,” Donovan says, rolling his eyes.

“Not in the slightest,” she says perkily. “Now, c’mon, Sophie! Lets get some self-defense incase the worst happens!”

And they walked away, Duncan following closely behind, as Alison yells over her shoulder, “Zoey, take over!”

“Okay, well, basically, angels aren’t killed the same way as demons.”, Zoey says, smiling sheepishly. “They can walk out in pure daylight, for one. Which is what they plan on doing.”

“They stick together,” Sammie says gravely. “Kill one, and you’ll have to fight off around a hundred at once.”

“You must be aware of your surroundings. Prepare for the worst, as Alison has said.”, Ethan says, his tone with an authority. “You kill an angel the same way you would kill a human, basically.”

“Stab right into their heart, cut off their head.”, Kristan says. “The basics. Their bones are hard, though, and they heal fast.”

“They’ll come in groups of hundreds. One hundred — at the least — for each of us.”, Rachel says, frowning sadly. “They want to scare us. Make us think twice about killing them.”

“Most of you already know how to fight. That’s good.”, Mark says grimly. “You need the most practice you can get.”

“Remember, the last thing we want is to anger them anymore than we already have. No killing unless it’s absolutely necessary.”, Ray says. “And try to hide Sophie.”

“Any questions about killing them? Or how to fight them off?”, Oliver asks, smirking. “I’m your expert killer in this war. Shut up, Donovan!”

“I’ve been around for over five-hundred years, Oliver. I think I know a little bit more than you.”, Donovan says, crossing his arms over his chest.

“But last time we trusted you, we ended up dead.”, Zoey growls. “And we learn from our mistakes.”

“And y’all probably don’t know the reason behind Alison’s death?”, Ray guesses. “She still remembers it vividly.”

“But we’re not saying why because it’s just that obvious. Melody said it herself.”, Zoey snaps, gesturing toward me.

“She’s a protector. Not a warrior.”, I grumble, rolling my eyes. “And as she tries once again, she’s just attempting suicide.”

“Nope,” Zoey says sadly. “But, oh well! Any questions?”

“How can we kill them if they heal fast and there’s hundreds of them?”, Josh asks.

“You don’t,” Oliver says, smirking. “We will —”

“Change of plans. Raine is there,” Alison says gravely, popping up. “I want y’all forming an outer circle.”

“Will do,” they say in sync, as the plan forms into my head.

“So I’m positioned with Josh, Kevin, Dylan, and you?”, I ask, looking at Alison.

“I trust Duncan to protect Sophie,” she mutters, looking down. “Martin, David, and Max won’t be far.”

“Ash and Beatrix will be at seperate corners with Colby and Nina?”, Kevin asks, obviously seeing the same thing I was.

“I don’t want anger this time.”

“Sophie and I in the center of that madness?”, Duncan asks disapprovingly.

“They’re coming all around. If David can explain the situation to the King of Heaven, then we’re in the clear. But, Raine has completely convinced him that I’m an evil-demon manipulating everyone for my own personal gain. Sound familiar, Donovan?”

“I’ve trialed,” Donovan says indifferently. “I’m clean.”

“Yeah, right,” the Psychics say in chorus, rolling their eyes.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”, Alison growls, walking quickly away.

“They grow up so fast.”, Ethan says sarcastically, wiping at a fake tear.

“I know. I’ve never been more proud of her.”, Sammie says, playing along.

“You wouldn’t get it if we explained it to y’all,” Zoey says sheepishly. “But, Alison wants Kevin and Josh to talk some sense into their sister. By the way, I really don’t like her.”

“No one does,” Kevin and Josh say together, shrugging.