Silent World

by Natalie Warren

  Elaise sighed and knew she needed a shower, but she didn't want to go alone. She looked up at Der and he seemed to understand. He took her hand firmly. "I'll take you to your dorm."

  She smiled and nodded, ready to leave the room but they both stopped as Jason sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the curtain. "Jason?" she murmured.

  "I'm staying," he muttered.

  "You need to go get yourself cleaned up," she reminded him quietly.

  "No," he didn't take his eyes away from the curtain.

  "Jason, she'll be okay with Miss Clarence," Der tried. "We have to go tell the headmaster what happened as well."

  "No."

  "But-"

  Jason looked up at them and crossed his arms. Elaise felt her heart shatter when she saw the blood on his face be parted by his tears. "I'm not leaving her. I'm staying right here until I know she's going to be okay."

  Haunting Memories

  21. Haunting memories

  "How long is Jason going to sit there?" Elaise asked as Der led her down the hall and into her dorm.

  "I don't know," Der admitted and shut the door behind them. "But he's upset that he wasn't able to do anything to help her."

  "He protector her from his brother," Elaise mumbled.

  "I know, but he didn't know how to help her after that," Elaise looked into Der' chocolate eyes. "He wasn't able to protect her from Kyle and he couldn't stop Boulder from taking you guys. You two almost died…"

  "And Raven still might," the brunette bit her lip and forced back her tears. "They killed Sally. What are we going to tell Anthony?"

  "We can't tell him the truth," Der told her. "Humans aren't allowed to know about the refugees. You and Raven will be the only exceptions."

  Elaise blinked. "Why do you call yourselves refugees?"

  Der leaned against the back of the couch, gently taking the brunette's hands and pulling her closer to him. "Because each of us have come from somewhere we ran from," he almost whispered, resting his forehead against hers. "Storm was found in werewolf form and caged by humans. He was tortured and constantly wounded; that's why he's so quick to abandon humans. Eliza was born from human parents and when she first changed, they freaked out and attacked her; her eyes are now permanently gold because of that. Jason… I only know snippets of his story. They all came here because it was safe, because they would be protected here."

  Everything started to make sense and Elaise felt Der' warm breath on her face. She dared to ask her next question. "What's your story?"

  He was quiet for a few moments and Elaise released her hands, raising them up to hold his neck, twirling her fingers in his hair. This was the first time she had been this close with him and she felt butterflies scattering in her stomach, despite the night of torture she went through.

  Der took her waist and the corners of his mouth twitched in the makings of a smile. "Would you believe me if I told you I spent eleven years of my life in a mental hospital?"

  Elaise had to take a few moments to let it sink into her head. "Why?" she frowned. "How did you end up in one of those?"

  "My parents didn't know what to do with me," he admitted. "They were scared as I grew up and the werewolf part of me grew too. They put me in the psych ward and the doctors gave me loads of medication every single day. They were trying to keep the werewolf part of me sealed away."

  "Did it work?"

  "Yeah," he nodded. "For eleven years I was constantly on meds. I was never able to have thoughts of my own and I could barely talk because of the drugs. I required help to eat and walk. The only thing I could do on my own was sleep."

  "How did you get out?" Elaise took deep breaths, wondering how anyone could have done that to their child.

  "A full moon came and the doctors were rushing to give me an overdose of my medication because they had left it later than usual," he chuckled to himself. "Before they gave it to me, the previous drugs had worn off as my body absorbed it. For the first time in years, I could think. I had my thoughts back. I told myself I didn't have to take it anymore, I was stronger than they were. I had the power to escape."

  "So after eleven years of a constant schedule, they messed up," Elaise couldn't help but giggle.

  He shrugged. "I don't know how it happened, but I was glad it did. I shoved the tray out of the doctors hands and for the first time in forever I felt the changes in my body. They tried their best to contain me but I shoved them aside and let myself become what I was born to be. When they tried to lock the door, I kicked it down and I was out. They shot me with tranquilizers but I shook them off and broke out. I had no idea where I was going to go, but I knew I couldn't go home. It wasn't long after that I found White Grass."

  "How long ago was that?"

  "The beginning of last year. The headmaster let me in as soon as he saw me. Eight months later, Jason turned up at the door."

  Elaise smiled. "When did the two of you become friends?"

  "He was edgy around everyone in the beginning and he was very shy. Everyone knew where he came from so none of them could trust him and he was all by himself. As soon as he realized that he could trust me, he opened up a lot more. The other refugees began to accept him over time and now he's one of the alpha's at the school. He really changed in one year, but I've honestly never seen him chase after a girl. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the human girls were desperate for his attention but he tried to avoid them as much as he could."

  "So Raven is the special one," Elaise nodded in understanding.

  "I don't know what made him chase after her. After Jake made a quick claim, Jason should have backed off, but he forced Jake to step down," Der mumbled. "I guess Raven just paid attention to him in a way that no one else did."

  "That's what I don't understand," Elaise breathed. "Speed told us that werewolves make their first claim with a kiss. Jason never actually kissed Raven until the night they had sex."

  "He was worried," the blonde boy explained and it pained Elaise to think about her dying friend in the sick bay. "He grew up as a killer, it's the only life he's ever known. He wanted to make sure he was doing the right thing in case he scared Raven away. Now he's not so sure he did."

  "What do you mean?"

  Der shook his head and let her go. "Go have a shower and clean yourself up. After that, we need to go see the headmaster and tell him what happened. I'll wait here for you."

  Elaise gave in quickly and left his side, making her way to her room. She shut the door and looked around, wishing she'd had all of her supernatural instruments earlier! With a few deep breaths to take in the feeling of being back where it was safe, she grabbed fresh clothes from her drawers and went to her bathroom.

  She turned the shower on and tested the temperature before stripping of her clothes and stepping under the water. She closed her eyes as the water pounded against her back and she told herself she was home again. Quick flashes of the vampires entered her mind and Sally's piercing scream rang in her ears, forcing her to snap her eyes open and quickly check where she was. She calmed her racing heart and she soaped through her hair with shampoo and conditioner before scrubbing the blood from her body.

  When she was finished, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying herself off. She pulled on fresh undergarments and a pair of blue jeans with a brown shirt with a guitar design on the front. She dried her hair as best she could and combed through it. She grabbed her dirty clothes and shoved them in her washing basket, walking back out to where Der was casually laying on the couch.

  "Comfortable?" she asked and he looked up at her, grinning.

  "There is something I wanted to ask you, though," he said as he got to his feet and walked over to stand in front of her. "Are you really okay? After everything you found out…"

  Elaise took a deep breath and looked at the floor. "I've always been convinced that the supernatural creatures existed. I've been that way ever since I read a book about fairies as a kid. When you burnt your hand on my necklace I was so sur
e you were a werewolf and I freaked out because I found out my beliefs were true. After last night, I've come to realize I'm not as surprised as I should have been."

  "You were scared of me then," he whispered. "What about now?"

  "I'm not scared of you," she answered and Der cupped her face in his hands, brushing her hair out of her face with his thumbs. "I'm scared that God may condemn me to Hell for dating one of Satan's pets."

  Der burst into laughed and Elaise couldn't help but smirk. "So you won't avoid my this time?"

  "I'll try not to," she promised and Der smiled, leaning down and gently kissing her. Her eyes fluttered closed as the warmth of his lips sent tiny electric shocks of pleasure down her body.

  More flashes entered her mind and she saw a spray of blood. Sally's scream rang in her ears again and Elaise quickly pulled away from Der, opening her eyes.

  "Are you okay?" Der asked worriedly.

  Elaise frowned and tears stung her eyes again. "I keep hearing Sally's scream…" She was unable to stop her tears as they fell and Der brushed them away as much as he could.

  "I'm sorry," the blonde boy breathed deeply. "If we were there a little sooner we might have been able to save her."

  "It's not your fault," she hugged him. "Come on; let's go talk to Headmaster Smith."

  Der nodded and took her hand, leading her out of the room. He didn't need to clean blood off of him, Elaise thought. Surprisingly he didn't have any on him despite the vicious battle in the vampire's home. She tightened her hand over his and they made their way through the school, taking the elevator up to the headmaster's office.

  Der knocked on the door and slowly pushed it open, revealing the old man sitting at his desk, polishing off the rest of his breakfast before he acknowledged them. "Ah, I see you've returned thanks to me," he grumbled.

  Elaise shied away when she saw the one blue eye of the headmaster next to his golden eye. "Thank you, sir," Der spoke up. "If you hadn't of sent the others we would have had more trouble."

  "Where's Jason?" the man demanded.

  "In the sick bay."

  "Why?"

  "Raven's in there," Elaise found her voice but it broke with grief. "He won't leave her."

  "How bad is she?" the headmaster spoke softly to her but she knew he was burning with rage.

  "Miss Clarence is doing all she can," Der bit his lip. "That vampires killed Sally before we got there." Elaise hung her head and Der put a comforting arm around her, pulling her close to him.

  The headmaster sighed and nodded. "It was very brave of you to go there, Derrick. Though you do realize that disobeying me means you will be punished."

  "I will accept any punishment," Der shot him a measured look. "I will willingly do it again if it means protecting the people I care about."

  The older man nodded. "We'll talk about this later. Elaise, please speak nothing of this to any of the other human students. I understand that you must have gone through a great deal of trauma, but it is important that the existence of our kind remains a secret."

  Elaise wished she could tell everyone the truth. She wanted to go screaming down the halls that werewolves lived in the school and vampires were picking off the human girls one by one, but she knew she couldn't. The werewolves were doing all they could to protect the school. She nodded. "I promise I won't say anything. But what will you tell Sally's boyfriend? He knows she wouldn't just transfer to another school and leave him… She was supposed to be sleeping in my dorm with me and Raven last night so we'll be the first people he'll ask."

  "Tell him she had to be collected early last night," the headmaster bowed his head. "That will be all you need to know. I will explain the rest to him. Are you well enough to complete a full school day?"

  She thought about that and knew all she wanted was to sleep and rest her aching body. When she pictured herself back in the vampire's home after being kidnapped from her dorm, she decided she didn't want to sleep. "I should be fine."

  He dipped his head respectfully. "Off you go then. Take it easy."

  Der led her out of the room and back down to the bottom floor. She was escorted back to her dorm to get her books and Der kissed her forehead when the bell rang. "I'll see you in Math," he murmured and was gone.

  Elaise sighed and grabbed her bag, stuffing it with her books. She put her pencil case into her bag and zipped it up, swinging it over her shoulder. She left the dorm with a heavy heart and locked it, heading downstairs where the corridors were flooded with students to go about their mundane lives. Elaise headed towards her Homeroom and weaved in and out of the everyday people she had grown used to since coming to White Grass, wondering how none of them could have figured out that something really was wrong with the school.

  She walked into Homeroom and took her seat near the window as everyone else entered, sitting down to wait for the teacher. Elaise let her chin rest on the palm of her hand and told herself that a few hours ago, she was being put through hell by vampires and now her best friend was in the sick bay with a fifty percent chance of dying. What if Jason's blood cells didn't heal her? What if her body reacted badly to them? Elaise bit back tears and prayed that Raven was going to be okay.

  After Homeroom when the role was checked, the bell rang and Elaise found herself sitting in Math with Der beside her. She was quite surprised when Jake sat on her other side.

  "You alright?" he whispered. Elaise nodded and Jake looked around her to Der. "We took care of them and at least ten of them got to bathe in the sunlight; courtesy of Eliza."

  Der nodded and kept his voice low as everyone started to take their seats. "Is everyone back."

  "Yeah. Eliza was going to look for Jason but Storm told her to go see him at recess so nothing look odd," Jake mumbled.

  "He's in the sick bay with Raven," Elaise frowned and didn't miss the look of fear that crossed his face. "Miss Clarence is trying to use Jason's blood to heal her."

  Jake looked worried. "Is it a safe idea to use Jason's blood? I mean, I know he's strong, but his blood is-"

  "His blood is the strongest out of all of us," Der reminded him. "If his blood can't heal Raven then I doubt yours or mine would be able to."

  Jake sighed quietly. "I hope she'll be okay."

  "You've changed," Elaise said to him and he blinked at her questioningly. "You used to hit on Raven all the time, but now you seem happy with her and Jason. I know you had first claim on her…"

  "Jason's dominancy overpowered mine," he chuckled. "Besides, Raven wouldn't have wanted to be with me after I tried forcing her anyway. But Jason and I came to an agreement; if I don't hit on Raven then I'll allowed to be around her as a friend. I'm happy with that."

  Elaise smiled and had to admit that werewolves were a lot different than what she had read in books. These werewolves were respectful, caring and the many groups of them in the school were like packs of ordinary wolves, with many alphas fighting to claim the top spot that Jason had.

  The teacher walked into the room and marked the role. He began handing out sheets of paper as everyone took their books from their bags. "Class, as you know, your end of year exams are coming up in a few short weeks so I hope you are all ready to study hard for all of your classes," he ignored the groans of protest and continued. "Although as some of you may remember, the headmaster will be organizing a dance as a reward for completing your last set of exams."

  "What kind of dance?" one student asked. Elaise was more distracted when she reminded herself that the year was almost over. She and Raven had almost completed year twelve at their old school before coming to White Grass and now the year was finally coming to a close.

  "It is similar to that of an olden day ball," a few students snickered and started whispering dirty jokes to each other. The teacher ignored them. "You will be required to have a date, but it will be a fun night for all; a great way to end the year after your exams!" Everyone groaned again.

  After that, the math began. Elaise still struggled to understand many of the equat
ions but she wasn't able to focus. She stared blankly at the blackboard and thought about Raven, wondering what was happening to her now. Were Jason's blood cells working? Could a werewolf's blood really heal a human's injuries?

  "Elaise!" she was snapped out of her thoughts and blinked at the teacher. "Can you please tell us what the answer to the next question is?"

  Der glanced at her as she looked over the blackboard. "Which question?" she didn't even know where they were up to.

  "Thirteen," he scowled.

  Elaise read over it and frowned. "I don't know the answer, sir."

  "Pay more attention next time, please!"

  "Yes, sir."

  After Math, Der insisted on escorting her to her IT class before going to his History class that he would normally have with Raven. She walked into the room and hr teacher stopped her at the door, looking sympathetic.