Roaring Thunder

Alison was out of the cafeteria in a flash, before I was even able to get a word out. I was stuck there, soon falling down in my seat as my thoughts were sworming around me.

“Dylan, how common is the last name Muse?”

“Not very,” Dylan says sadly.

“Crap,” I breathe, running a hand through my hair.

“What do I do now?”

“Let her breathe,” Martin says, shrugging. “She knew her dad was bad. But not that bad.”

“What do you mean?”

“He cheated on her mom while they were married.”, David and Max say together, looking at me sadly.

“I always thought I was an only child … am I Sophie’s sister, too?”, I ask, looking around.

“Nope. Sophie’s Alison’s half-sister, remember? Their dads are different.”, Duncan says, rolling his eyes.

“Gosh, I feel like such an idiot,” I grumble, my head in my hands on the table. “How didn’t I frickin’ put the pieces together?”

“You don’t look like her …”

“That’s beside the point, Dylan! I knew their last name … she said she took her dad’s.”, I say, shaking my head. “I can’t believe I’m her sister …”

“You can hardly tell. Alison looks like her mom. But she acts just like Kevin and her dad.”, Donovan says, rolling his eyes. “And usually all his kids are darker.”

“How do you know?”, I ask, looking up.

“I met her mom, remember? She sure doesn’t act like her most of the time.”, Donovan chuckles, as the bell rings, signaling classes. We all stand up, throwing away our lunches and going our somewhat seperate ways.

My thoughts swormed around me as I thought about how I was Alison’s older sister. It was so weird to think that. But … wouldn’t that mean Kevin was my uncle? Oh, gosh! My head hurts just thinking about it!

♠ ♣ ♠

“Has anyone seen Alison?”, I ask, as soon as I get up to the cloud.

“She’s freaking out over at her place. Martin’s trying to calm her down.”, Kevin says absentmindedly, flipping through the pages of the local news paper.

“Why?”

“Because of her dad.”

“Oh, gosh, is it because we’re sisters?”

“Nah, I think she’s more focused on the fact that her dad had a daughter and didn’t even know it.”, Kevin says, looking up at Martin comes out. “How’d it go?”

“She’s hysterical,” Martin says, shaking his head. “One minute she’s crying rivers, the next she’ll try strangling me, then she’ll make-out with me! I’m still trying to process what else happened, because I’m seriously a little fuzzy after that.”

“I should’ve just kept my mouth shut!”, I say sadly, sitting down.

“No, Alison’s not freaking out over that. It’s her dad. I actually think she’s happy that she’s got an older sister.”

“I thought I was an only child for so long … maybe if I could’ve just tracked him down …”

“He lives in Kentucky, Mel,” Kevin says, rolling his eyes. “I think he just went to California and had a fling with your mom. Alison says that’s what happens with him.”

“How come you’re not even phased by this. I’m like your niece.”, I say, staring at him with a new found respect.

“I was reincarnated after you were born, Melody. It was just a few days before Alison left Heaven to become herself. I still remember her then.”

“You mean, she was reincarnated?”, I ask, shocked.

“Apparently.”

“What was she like before she was herself?”, I ask curiously. “I mean, it must’ve been interesting to meet someone before they even knew who they were.”

“I had no idea who she was at the time. We talked for a little bit. Her name was Katharina Mercy Jean.”, Kevin says, nodding to himself. “She was a witch even back then.”

“A reincarnated witch,” Martin breathes quietly.

“She was very nice. She was no older than twenty, either. At the end of the conversation did she tell me who she was going to be. Now, thirteen years later, I’m still talking to her every second of the day, practically.”

“That must have been such an interesting conversation.”, I say, staring up at nothing in pircular. “Talking to your future niece.”

“You’re telling me. Katharina was actually an older friend of mine, back when I was still living. She was overjoyed to see me again. But, she was even more eager to get back on Earth.”, Kevin chuckles. “Yeah, but Alison probably would just think I went insane if I told her.”

“Why? You’ve yet to lie to her …”, I say confusedly.

“You can ask her yourself. She’s right over there.”, Kevin nods toward her as she walks toward us, smiling.

“Hey, Alison, what does the name Katharina Mercy Jean mean to you?”, I ask, standing up.

“Katharina Mercy Jean …”, Alison says, deep in thought. “She’s … nice. She likes animals.”
 
Kevin does a spit-take, seeming shocked beyond belief. “You remember her?”

“I see her …”, she shrugs. “I don’t know a lot.”

“How much have you seen her?”

“Since I was five. I get little flashes of her here and there, hear her voice now and again …”, she shrugs, plopping down in a chair next to Martin. “She’s old. Around your age. But she looks around sixteen.”

“How yah doing?”, Martin asks quietly, where I could barely hear it.

“Good. I’m trying to handle it …”

“I should’ve just tracked him down,” I sigh, sitting down sadly.

“Naw, I’m glad you told me. But now I’m a little happier that I hate his sorry-ass.”, she forces a smile, not meeting my eyes directly. “You were right not to find him. The memories aren’t worth it.”

“But how did they even meet?”

“I dunno. Dad’s in the navy. He comes in California now and again.”, she shrugs, leaning on Martin. “But he has a heart. I’ll give him that much.”

“At least I know what he’s like now.”, I mutter angrily. “A worthless bastard who messed up my little sis.”

“Yeah … don’t say that.”, Alison grumbles. “I’ve gone thirteen years thinking I was the oldest.”

“Speaking of which, how are Amelia, Trenton, and Mackenzie?”, Kevin asks, setting down his news paper. I do a spit take, blushing as I wipe at my mouth.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve been dead for the past few months. And it’s not like I talked to them. Or even saw them.”, Alison looked close to murder. “I’ll be making a few phone calls and studies. Come on, Martin.”

“You mean there’s more?”, I cough up the water I had been drinking.

“She didn’t tell you about Amelia, Trenton, and Mackenzie?”

“You mean to tell me that —”

“Congrats! You’re the oldest of four!”, Kevin claps his hands together sarcastically. “But, mainly just Alison.”

“F-four?”, my eyes went wide as I stared at him. “Four frickin’ kids?!”

“How’s it going?”, Josh asks, smiling at me.

“I’m the oldest of four kids.”, I say, shocked. “Alison, Amelia, Mackenzie, and Trenton.”

“Well, now, that went better than I thought.”, Kevin says, smirking. “She didn’t try punching me in the face or strangling me.”

“Who?”

“Katharina.”

“She’s still alive?!”

“Wait, you knew her?”, I ask, standing up.

“Katharina knew everyone, Melody.”, Josh says sheepishly.

“She got reincarnated.”

“I thought that was a legend.”

“Nope. She’s Alison.”

“The witch was a witch.”

I give him a look, making him go beat red as he stutters, “Katharina — I mean, Alison — I mean Katharina — I mean Alison — I —”

I kiss him to get him to shut up. Gosh, I never knew guys could frickin’ talk so much!

Is it just me or did that sound so wrong and messed-up?

♠ ♣ ♠

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” I say, as we all sit around, eating dinner in who-knows-how-long.

“About what?”, Alison asks through a mouth-full of food.

“This war. Something feels off about it.”, I say, looking around.

“It’s nothing. It’ll pass.”

“How would you know?”

“Because I have that feeling every second of my life.”, she rolls her eyes, standing up. “I have to go study. I have to keep up with the advanced math thing.”

“She’s in advanced math?”, I ask, after she walks away.

“She’s studying alright. But not for math.”, Zoey says, rolling her eyes. “She’s doing research on her dreams. Max, Martin, and David are helping her.”

“I’m not surprised,” Kevin says, stuffing his face. Well, at least we know where she got that habit from. “She’s always doing research with you morons.”

“Hey,” they say together, snapping their heads up.

“We just get sucked into all of her crap, Kevin.”, David says, glaring. “She’s a sneaky little witch.”

“Same old Katharina,” Josh mutters. “The only one of the Nathanson’s to stay out of the Riddles until now.”

“Katharina was your sister?”, I ask, nearly choking on my food. “You were related to a witch?”

“She was our half-sister, to be exact. She got the dark hair and eyes, though, so nobody ever got suspicious.”, Kevin rolls his eyes.

“She looked more like mom than any of us. Most of us look like dad. Katharina always broke us apart when we had at it.”

“Her dad was a warlock.”

“She had a lot of nightmares. She predicted our deaths, told us what to expect.”

“She prayed every night before we died to us. I still remember the exact words.”

“Dear Lord. Please bless my brothers and sister peace within their death. Let them stay together happily, finding comfort in one another. Let me join them someday soon in heaven.”, Alison says, shaking her head quickly. “She was praying to Elaine, Elijah, Herman, and Sebastian.”

“How do you know?”, I ask, looking up at her for a split second.

“Because, as Kevin and Josh have said, I’m her reincarnation.”, she rolls her eyes. “If I don’t, then do you?”

“They get the point. Either you say or I will.”, Martin says, rolling his eyes.

“Not everyone’s coming back,” Alison says quietly. “Some will be brutally injured. But they’ll come back alive.”

“Anyone specific?”, I ask, sensing that she had more to say.

“I’m not giving out a name.”

“So it’s one person?”, Kevin guesses.

“Y’all just need to frickin’ stay close and fight your hardest. That’s all I’m saying. They’re coming soon … when the snow is the whitest.”

“Snow? In California?”, Leo holds back laughter.

“There’s a high amount of paranormal activity and psychic energy. Anything’s possible,” she stuffs her hands into her jeans, leaning slightly to the side indifferently. “I can set an entire city on fire with this amount of psychic energy right now.”

“Then we can freeze it over, and send a hurricane in the middle of the sky.”, Zoey says, smirking.

“Exactly,” Alison says, nodding toward Zoey. “Y’all still have your weapons, right?”

“Yeah, we kept them,” Josh says, nodding.

“Good. Oh, and Soph, the Psychics and I made you a special little sword.”, Alison pulls out a pocket knife from her back pocket, as Sophie comes near her. “Say this with me, ‘Guerra.’”

And it changed into a sword in a second. “Say it again.”

“Guerra,” Sophie says in her sweet little voice, as it changes into a bow and arrow.

“Wait, you’re not seriously letting her fight with us?”, Duncan asks, standing up.

“She’s seen me die, Duncan. She’s seen us fight a war. I think she should be prepared for the worse.”, she snaps fiercely. “We can’t just leave her unprotected. And we’re needed in this battle.”

“Guerra is Italian for war, right?”, Nina asks.

“Yep,” Zoey says, smiling. “I spent some time in Italy. Rome is beautiful, Aly!”

“Luuccckkkkyyyyy!!!!!!”, Alison whines. “Kevin wouldn’t take me there.”

“None of us even speak Italian!”, Kevin says, rolling his eyes.

“So you spent a year in Rome for nothing? Gosh, how idiotic. I mean, I know you’re frickin’ over five hundred years old, but Max is like three hundred and he still speaks perfect Spanish.”

“Sí, tiene razón. Todavía hablan un español perfecto.”, Max says, smirking.

“Huh?”

“You see! He still speaks perfect Spanish and he hasn’t even been near España or México!”

“I’ve been teaching her Spanish.”, Max says sheepishly.

“Incase Kevin goes completely psycho and on a killing rampage.”, she says innocently.

“Aw, the little witch listens to what you tell her.”, Josh says sarcastically, smirking. “I warned her about that possibility.”

“Sí,” Alison says, nodding. “’Night, y’all! We got ourselves a long few days ahead of us.”

♠ ♣ ♠

Over a week has gone by. The snow was falling evenly this mid-December, the purest white I have ever seen. We all stood together, the Psychics surrounding us in a close circle, Donovan included. Alison and him had been training for awhile, as we all practiced before the war. Alison was in deep concentration with her visions, but still managing to fight Donovan evenly. Their fights were always so entertaining …

I was currently practice-fighting with Kevin. He was really good. He was in such control whenever he wasn’t angry. Which always made him more the threat.

“Who do you think is dieing?”, Kevin asks, as I block his punch.

“Sophie and Duncan probably are living. Alison’s taken every precaution to make sure they come out perfectly unharmed.”, I say, kicking him down on the ground. He quickly jumps back up, though, just as I had expected.

“And Martin, Max, and David are out. So are the Psychics. They’re all her best friends.”

“And she’s in love with Martin.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“What’s so bad about it? Martin takes care of her.”

“Yeah, but she’s always gonna be my little niece, if anything. I’m just worried that he’s gonna mess up.”

“Yeah, but then you’d murder his sorry-ass.”

“The second she gives me the okay … he’s beyond dead.”, Kevin smirks, throwing a punch as I duck. “I’m just looking out for her. Katharina was my little sis.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So, when you look at Alison,” I throw a punch, having him block. “All you see is Katharina?”

“No, I see my niece. Sometimes I see Katharina. Alison and Katharina actually weren’t that different.”, he tries kicking me, but I flip right over him, nearly punching him in the stomach. “They both look the same. And only whenever Alison’s around Martin do I really think I’m looking at my sister.”

“That’s a little weird.”

“Not really. Katharina fell in love with a guy named Daniel when she was thirteen. He broke her heart when she was eighteen, over ten years after all of us had died.”

“Wow. No wonder you’re worried …”, I say, chewing on my lip as I duck, dodging a kick in the face. “She’s already been played once.”

“And curse Donovan’s soul to the flames of Hell.”

“Another time would really mess her up.”

“Yah think I don’t know that? I hardly got any sleep the week after we got back from Hell. I kept worrying over whether they were together, what they were doing, how he was treating her …”, Kevin sighs, shaking his head. “Just one mistake and it’s bye bye Martin.”

“He’s been good for her so far. And if he does mess up, then you can hold me personally responsible. I’m the one who set them up.”

“You?”, he seemed honestly shocked, throwing a forceful punch at me.

“Yeah, I noticed how Duncan was looking at Sophie … and Martin had been staring at her the same way.”, I say, throwing a few fast punches, having him dodge all of them. “Like I said. The day he messes up is the day you’re allowed to frickin’ beat me up.”

“My mom raised me better than to take my anger out on a girl. That’s why they had Josh.”, Kevin smirks, throwing a couple fast punches of his own, nearly missing Alison as she popped up between us.

“They’re here,” she says sadly, looking between us. We nod, as all of us take our positions.