Birth of the Dragon

Selina and Alex stood at the tree line in silence, both too caught up in their own thoughts to speak. Alex wasn’t sure if she was going insane or if everything she heard was real. Though she tried her best to block it out she could hear everything that should have been silent; inside the group wandered through expertly carved tunnels lined with doors, each too terrified to speak. Thankfully though she couldn’t hear the constant talk of the ‘matriarch’ like when they had been attacked last time so Alex hoped that meant the vampires weren’t nearby.

Although she was terrified for Bash she tried to remain present, if she wasn’t insane then Bash had indeed told her that he was fine and that they needed to get Dakota back. Through their connection she had felt a degree of affection for the woman, which Alex did not approve of, once this shit was over they were going to be out of there. They couldn’t make connections.

Though she tried to block it out, Alex could hear everything in Selina’s head; a constant headache, some sort of nervous anticipation about angels, of all things, and a general feeling of being overwhelmed.

“Could you be any higher strung?” Alex asked.

Selina jumped. “Jesus! What was that?”

“It’s me you moron. I’m right next to you.” Alex rolled her eyes at the girl.

Selina stared at her like she had grown a second head. “B-but you didn’t say anything out loud.”

Alex turned to Selina, about to speak, when she realised that she hadn’t opened her mouth. Her eyes grew wide and she placed her hand over her mouth in disbelief.

“How did you do that?” Selina asked, fascinated.

Alex concentrated on speaking verbally. “I really don’t know.” Tentative excitment flowed through Alex's entire body, warming her to her very fingertips. If someone else could hear her... maybe she wasn't insane.

Selina looked thoughtful, her mouth forming a half smile. “You're not scared of it though, aren't you?” she said knowingly. “It excites you, almost.”

Alex brushed the girl off out of habit and because of the rules. “Don't be ridiculous.”

Selina smiled patiently and scooted closer. “Can I try something?” she asked curiously, holding out her hand. “It’s just, I get these feelings - these senses about others, and I've never really tried to see how deep I can go into someone's mind.”

Alex immediately balked at the idea, she didn't want anyone in her head. It was the exact opposite of her no connections rule. Alex crossed her arms and put more space between them. “No, thank you. Keep out of my mind.” Though she couldn't help but feel a little bit intrigued by the beautiful woman's proposal.

“Okay,” Selina said slowly, “if you can read minds, surely you can read mine right now and know for sure that you can trust me.” A light came into her eyes and she raised an eyebrow. “Unless you don't think you can handle me in your head.”

Alex rolled her eyes at the challenge but took it as an opportunity to test her own power, she hadn't willingly entered someone's mind before. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, not really sure how to progress. She decided to imagine flinging herself into Selina’s mind.

She saw someone that was quite self-involved; popular, beautiful and seemingly perfect. Yet, she felt an overwhelming loneliness. She saw a huge house. Clean but empty.

Alex tried to reel herself back, embarrassed at digging so deeply into someone's private thoughts. This time she imagined merely brushing past, feeling only the surface. She saw someone with pure curiosity with no malicious intentions, and interwoven through that was speculation on Angels and Selina’s father.

Well, I know who to go to for a feather pillow. Alex mused to herself, and was startled when she felt Selina giggle.

Alex suppressed her own curiosity, forcing herself to leave Selina’s mind rather than pry further. She came back to the real world, breathing heavily but quickly steadied herself. “I don’t trust you…” Alex paused, fighting her habits and ingrained instincts. “But we both know it’s pointless to lie to each other.” She held out her hand. “Let’s see what happens.”

Selina smiled gratefully, taking Alex’s hand. She shut her eyes and suddenly Alex could feel her gently brushing against the corners of her mind. Selina’s presence was a mixture of warm sunlight and something else that seemed to pull at Alex like a magnet.

Alex instinctively retreated from the unfamiliar sensation and pushed back against Selina’s probing. She felt Selina’s frustration and was comforted by the knowledge that she had more control than her. Alex took a deep breath though and lowered her defences, allowing Selina into her head.

Selina’s eyebrows drew closer as her smile turned into a grin, and she chuckled. “Is it possible for something to feel so many things at once?” she mused, then angled her head. Alex felt the pull more strongly and Selina reached deeper into Alex’s mind. “No… I - I think I can sense other things… not just your surface emotions… things you feel every day at the back of your mind. You’re afraid, angry, and hurt…” Her grip on Alex’s hand grew stronger. “You lost someone,” she said, and Alex could see tears flowing down Selina’s face.

This was too much for Alex, she hadn’t had anyone this close in so long. Her entire being rebelled against the intrusion and in panic she shoved Selina from her mind. Selina was physically thrown backwards, landing hard in the grass. Both women stared at each other, breathing hard and neither sure of how to comprehend what had happened. Alex wasn’t sure what to say; whether to curse her or apologise or… thank her.

Before either could speak Alex felt a new presence in her mind. Like with the vampires it wasn't someone willingly entering her mind, it was someone so powerful that their thoughts intruded on her own.

Why would he willingly go in there? The wolf pushed itself to run faster. Gotta get to him before they do. Alex tried her best to ignore them. How was she going to survive if she constantly had other people's thoughts pressing down on her? She needed to learn how to use her power.

Howls pierced the night air and Alex felt the ground rumble. Through the eyes of the powerful creature she saw herself and Selina in the distance. With the thickness of the trees it couldn’t safely swerve out of the way. It grimly accepted their fate. It gave two short barks, informing the others of the two in the way but ordering them not to stop until they had found him.

Alex frantically tried to pull herself back into reality but was caught in the mental realm. Far in the distance the maniacal vampires screeched about their Matriarch. They fought Ryan and the others but the group had no chance of surviving. And the pack continued to howl, spurning themselves on as they rushed to protect their own.

Goodbye Bash, I love you.

She vaguely heard Selina gasp and Alex was pushed hard, knocking her to the ground with such force it brought her back to reality. She looked up and saw the fear in Selina’s eyes as she stumbled away just in time to miss the wolves crashing through the gap in the trees. They roared past and Alex had to shield her eyes from the debris they kicked up.  

It was over in seconds but it felt like a lifetime.

Alex fell backwards from her seated position and just lay in the grass, a rock dug into her but she couldn’t feel it. Her breathing was ragged and she fought to calm herself.

After several moments Selina ran over, slightly shaking. “Alex, are you okay?” She paused and put a hand to her head. “What were those things?”

Alex breathed deeply and sat up slowly, unable to bring herself to thank Selina for saving her life. “Wolves of some kind.”

“I’ve seen wolves,” she responded, “but never that big.” She frowned. “Your arms… we should get you to the witches.”

Alex looked down at her arms, unsure of what she meant. She was covered in blood, both from the sticks they’d sent flying and three long cuts from, what she assumed was, a claw. As she stared at it she felt a dull throb beginning. “Well,” she said, “that’s unfortunate.”

Selina suddenly looked down at her own arms, fascinated. "Huh, I can feel your pain. That's new."

Before she could respond the wolves ran through again. Alex heard the leader choosing a different route as they didn’t want to harm the girls any further. Their excitement was pervasive, all pleased at having accomplished their task and finding him. Alex wondered who they had taken with them.

The two girls, both partially in shock, then watched the group emerge from the cave. Everyone looked as exhausted and surprised as them, but from Alex’s quick glance it at least appeared that no one was missing. Not everyone was alright though, she realised. Ryan was carrying Dakota in his arms and even from this distance Alex could tell there was something very wrong.  

As they drew closer Selina clutched at her head, glaring at Dakota but before she could say anything, Ryan exclaimed. “Alex, your arms!”

The blood had stopped flowing as freely but in its place was a burning pain that shot through her whole body. She refused to let them know though. She and Bash were going to leave as soon as they got back. There was too much crazy shit going on.   

Before Alex could tell Ryan to mind his own business, Alana spoke. “Guys, we don’t have time, we need to go now.” No one argued with her. They all knew Dakota's only chance was the witches.

Alex could feel the fear and anxiety in the group, pressing upon her like a wet blanket. Unlike the trip there no one spoke on the way back. Instead they moved through the forest as quickly as possible. She saw snippets of what had happened inside; strange beasts that towered over them and creatures with fangs and talons. She shuddered at the images that barraged her and was glad she hadn’t been able to enter with them.

They soon arrived back at the witches but Alex could feel something wasn't right. There was a static charge in the air but the night sky was clear of clouds. Looking at the witch houses in the distance, their image seemed to shift and blur as if Alex was looking at them through water.

Suddenly Merry was standing in front of them and Alex jumped. The witch’s outline moved like the houses but Alex could still see that her eyebrows were raised and her arms folded. She was wearing form fitting leather clothes with a hood drawn back. Even though the clothes didn't match the age she appeared to be, Alex could tell she was a force to be reckoned with. “We've taken a vote and decided that we cannot help your little mission. For your own safety, of course.”

That concerned Alex far less than the fact that she couldn’t feel Bash through, what she assumed was a magical barrier, that the witches had erected. “Where is Bash?” Alex yelled.

Whilst at the same time Alana asked angrily, “Why not?” Her hands balled at her sides, though Alex wasn’t at all surprised to hear their refusal.

Merry clicked her fingers and two other witches approached them, hauling Bash. "Take him, he's fine." She paused and inspected her talons as he was pushed through the barrier, landing on all fours. “You’re welcome.”

Bash stood slowly but when he saw Alex he ran to her, hugging her tightly. He whispered into her ear. “Don’t you dare ever say goodbye to me like that again,” and Alex realised that he must have heard her earlier. She squeezed him before letting him go, knowing he must have been panicking.

Merry snickered, and turned her glare onto Alana. "You, child, should watch your mouth." The other two witches crackled power in their hands as a warning.

Alana's expression darkened, but she said nothing more. Instead she turned on her heels and began to walk away. "Come on."

Bash immediately took the lead and began walking towards their house, much to Alex’s irritation. The group followed without hesitation, all periodically checking over their shoulder to make sure that no witch or vampire was following them. Alex was surprised that they hadn’t been. From the vampire’s thoughts, they believed there was something special about Dakota, and Alex couldn’t imagine why they would let her go so easily.

They soon arrived at the house and wordlessly filed inside, Ryan still carrying Dakota’s body. Everyone sat down in the living room, all so overwhelmed that some practically fell asleep once they stopped standing. Alex remained wide awake though as Bash caught her eye and indicated for them to go upstairs. In his mind, she saw horrifying images of bodies and within a second she knew his entire plan.

Bash turned to Ryan and took Dakota from his arms. “Get some rest mate.” Then turned to address everyone. “We’ll be back in a second. The first aid kit is under the sink and everyone should get some sleep.”

A few people thanked him but no one moved to leave the living room, Alex could feel the comfort everyone felt at being together. Alex and Bash, however, made their way to the attic. Alex hadn’t been up there so she excited to see what it contained. Bash, she noticed though, lingered in the hallway before opening the door to the staircase, clearly not looking forward to what he planned to do.

The attic was pitch black with no light switch and Alex sneezed as the dust set off her hay fever. As her eyes adjusted she saw what she thought was quite a normal scene, a reasonably small space with boxes from past occupants. However, bolted to the wall were four thick chains and manacles. Neither sibling knew why they were there and they weren’t sure they wanted to. Bash placed Dakota sitting up against the wall and brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face. Alex would have to remind him of their no connections rule again it seemed.

As they began fastening the manacles around her wrists the pair jumped at an unexpected voice. "What do you think you're doing?!" Alana questioned in a shocked tone. They had been so preoccupied with their task that neither had noticed that she had followed them.

Bash immediately took control of the situation. "I overheard the witches talking about what new born vampires are capable of. Trust me, we need to do this," he said with his kind smile.

"Don't you think I would have seen her become a vampire? I-" Alana trailed off as she began to stare vacantly into space and Alex couldn’t help but see what she did.

The images flashed by almost too quickly to comprehend. Dakota’s eyes opening, but now pitch-black. Her covered in blood and grinning maniacally. Then, varying scenes of her chained to the attic wall, screaming and crying to be released.

Both girls returned to the real world with a gasp and took a moment to catch their breath. Alex couldn’t imagine the terrible things that Alana must have seen over the years and was grateful to not have that kind of power. Alana looked at both the Fall siblings and didn’t protest further, having realised that this would be a necessary evil. She nodded and shakily made their way down the stairs.
Without a word, the pair quickly finished their work, neither having the energy to discuss everything that had happened that night but taking solace in being reunited safely.

With Dakota secured Bash sighed and turned to his sister. “Come on, let’s get you patched up.”
As they descended the second staircase they saw that no one had moved from their original places, all seemingly caught up in their own thoughts.

Bash paused on the last step. “Wait,” Alex looked at him in surprise, unsure of what was wrong. “Where’s Sam and Mel?”

No one spoke for a moment as the question hung in the air.

Ryan then spoke. “The wolves took them.”