Nightly Howls

by Madeline Blake

  It continues to stare at me, but something about its red eyes does not seem as threatening as it should. The feeling reminds me of when I encountered a Shifter resting against a tree not very long ago. It looks almost helpless, almost like the victim, especially when its eyes are not burning with hate.

  I watch in wonder as the small spheres of light start to rise, the voices growing louder but even still being drowned out by the rain. It is magical, the way it proceeds towards the Shifter. It is impossible not to wonder what the spheres are, and what the Shifter plans to do with it.

  It is difficult to see, with the rain slapping my face, but I see the spheres hover before the Shifter. The Shifter shifts its attention to the spheres, and when its eyes move the spheres instantly move as well, as if gravitated to its gaze. Bewilderment is the only emotion crossing my mind as the spheres simply disappear, as if entering the Shifter through its eyes.

  "Ella, are you okay?" Griffin asks with worry. "What are you staring at? What is it doing?"

  I don't answer him for a minute, rubbing my eyes to smear away the rainwater. When I look back up, it’s just the Shifter again. It is staring straight at me.

  The eyes now are brighter, but not bright with the emotions I am so familiar with. They seem filled with sorrow and pain, the same feelings that the voices were expressing. Did... the Shifter just swallow my voice and feelings?

  I wonder if this is a manifestation of my own insanity or the fact that I am seeing with more clarity than ever before.

  "Look at the bottom of the well. If this rain doesn't stop soon, we might be..." Griffin's words snap me out of contact with the Shifter and I instantly realize the source of his worries.

  "What are we going to do?" The water is at our knees, and quickly rising. It starts to swallow the bottom of our thin jackets, and I snap to my feet in response. The chills are even greater, swallowing me entirely.

  Griffin stands up as well, his arms shaking almost as much as mine. I can see his knee about to give out, so I run over to support him. We are inches away, but his presence does not comfort me as much as it probably should.

  "I will try to use one of my Spiers," I offer, a dagger starting to appear in my scratched hands. "We can use it to get out of here."

  "Ella, the only person able to see your Spier is you," Griffin replies, "I wouldn't be able to use it. I think it doesn't work on physical objects anyway."

  I mentally slap myself in the face as my hand reaches with the dagger to try and stab the walls. Of course, it doesn't work, my hand banging into the smooth bricks instead. "If only there was something to grab onto," I mutter, scanning the sides again and again for a ledge of some sort. For anything.

  But of course, with our luck, we are being held prison in a very well-made well.

  "Ella, I just want to tell you that I am sorry," He looks me right in the eye, his face bent with darkness and remorse.

  "And I don't accept your apology," I reply absently, scanning the floor and the rapidly rising water. I spare a glance to the top of the well, where surprisingly the Shifter has disappeared, leaving us to die in its wake. I mean, it's not like I expected it to save us, but at the same the fact that it just left without doing anything at all leaves me feeling rather empty inside. At least it could have tried to attack us, because then there would be something. Something besides this.

  "You should. It would make me feel a lot better about our imminent deaths," Griffin mutters, to my amusement.

  "Who said we were going to die?" I laugh through the cold. "You shouldn't be sorry, for none of this is your fault."

  "But it is." He rubs his head in dismay. "From what you have just told me... if only I had realized before now..."

  "Realized what?" I ask with concern. He looks really stressed out, and his attitude is bringing me back to reality as well. There isn't going to be a prince with his white horse who is going to magically save us. This will really be our last words.

  "I never knew that-" A thunderclap erupts in the night, stinging our ears with its ferocity. We stop and look at each other, instantly alarmed.

  "Lightning," I murmur breathlessly. Instantly a bright light floods our vision for less than a millisecond, as if to echo my observation. The water is up to our waists, and rising higher. It feels like I am in a swimming pool, with the walls so high that I cannot escape it. And this storm is only going to get worse.

  "Griffin," I take his arm, "we must die laughing. So tell me a joke." I throw aside my lack of memories and questioning of our relationship.

  Death experience? I laugh inwardly. It should be called the bonding experience. I feel like I've known Griffin now for an entire lifetime.

  "What?" He seems confused, so I punch his shoulder in joviality.

  "Tell me a joke! I want to hear one!" I urge him.

  "But I'm the worst joke teller in this universe."

  "No, I'm pretty sure I am. So you go first."

  "Well, what happens if a wolf falls in the washing machine?"

  "Uh, I have no clue."

  "He becomes a wash and werewolf." He then makes a BA-DUM-CHA sound with his mouth and breaks out into a wide smile. He must know he made the worst joke ever known to mankind, otherwise he wouldn't be so proud.

  Even though it's stupid, I find myself laughing anyway. Laughing until the tears fall, falling like the rainwater washing my face and arms. Crying until it is impossible to stop, impossible to forget about what's in store for us.

  Griffin's soaking hands surround my body—while choking up with either tears or laughter himself—although he'd probably admit to neither. Laughing or crying, to me there is no difference at all. They both result from that small part of your heart that produces the deepest of your emotions, that makes you human and separates you from the animals. There is such magnificence and attraction in the manifestation of those feelings, but vulnerability accompanies its fragile beauty.

  I embrace the beauty, reveling in it as the tears turn into diamonds before our eyes, rich with despair and utter hopelessness. As the diamonds splash into our own personal death capsule, it seems to make everything seem even more bleak, yet even more beautiful. I don't understand why, or even how.

  The water is up to our waists, and the real panic intensifies to a whole new level. I am constantly shifting between giggling and bawling in a crazy way that probably shouldn't ever be tried at home.

  "Griffin, I hope you know how to swim," I whisper genially, trying to rub my hand up and down his arm to generate warmth. Nothing happens, unfortunately.

  "I'm sorry," he mumbles, "I don't know if I can with this leg. It's killing me."

  "It... it was a joke, Griffin. Well, it would be good if you could, but-"

  "Luckily for you two, I can," A deep, commanding voice erupts from above, shocking us out of our weird embrace. It takes me a second to gather myself, and then with a stony expression, I finally look up.

  No. Freaking. Way.

  Living in the Land of the Dead

  This can't keep happening to me. My emotions are seriously getting out of whack.

  I don't know how many times I've accepted my death in the last few months and somehow lived to see the next day. The first few times, I just thought it was luck. Ok, I'm saved, what a miracle.

  But the reality is, I've soon come to realize, this stupid idiot is seriously the best guardian angel out there. His timing is impeccable too. He couldn't find us five minutes ago when we weren't practically swimming in our prison, when we weren't laughing and crying like idiots. No, he has to come dashing in on his white horse when I'm bracing myself to meet Satan. Or God. Or both.

  “Nice of you to show up, “I mutter underneath my breath, feeling more than a little bitter at both the timing of his appearance and the emotions flaring up within me.

  “It is nice, isn’t it? “Nico’s voice rings back, and I expressionlessly turn my head towards the water furiously climbing towards my nose, my cheeks hot. Thunder echoes throughout the land, reverberating wi
thin our death chamber with astounding ferocity.

  “Any day now! “I yell in response, unable to veil the terror I am experiencing. I curse myself, the world, and everything. This would be the time to give a last-minute prayer, but I don’t even know what to pray for.

  “Ella! “Griffin looks at me, clearly concerned judging by the look in his eyes. An arm snakes around my waist, another reaching above the water to stroke my hair. “This will be the last…”He begins, staring me straight in the eyes with some fathomless expression I couldn’t even begin to understand. The last of his words are drowned in the screams of the wind, and I start coughing as the water enters my mouth and even my nose.

  I guess it doesn’t matter if Nico is here or not anymore.

  “Nico will save us, “Griffin cooed, his voice close to my ear, but all I hear is the screams, the building up of emotions that consumes both me and this entire area. I can feel it—although it is really hard to describe using only words—a myriad of sensations acting as a gravitation, pulling anything and everything towards this one place. All I can think, and for almost no logical reason at all, is that they are coming.

  Accompanying this is a sense of futility, and even…pointlessness. What am I here for? What is the purpose of my life, if I come this far to die now in one of the most anticlimactic way possible? I wish I could turn back time, to just before I knocked into Griffin, to just before I hit Danae in the head, to just before I brought these innocent people into my world.

  I say my world because the death accompanying every leaf, every single breath of air in this wretched place mirrors my own heart, and soon, my body in its entirety. And I know I will never have the chance to get it back again.

  “Ella!” A voice screams in the distance, getting farther and farther away as I sink into the abyss, not knowing what is coming next. Strangely, I feel better than I have in a long time. Not because of the dwindling hope of life, but of the worry and the confusion that is evaporating into thin air. I close my eyes.

  “Ella!”

  * * *

  “What... what happened? Why am I alive? “I sputter and cough, water spilling onto the dark green grass. My body turns to the side as I start to choke. Two hands touch my body, holding me upright.

  “It’s alright. You are okay now. “The hands wrap around my legs and back, and I feel a rush of air as I am lifted into the air. I try to see what is going on, but the rain pounding on my face and the difficulty with which I am taking my breaths prevents me from doing so.

  Tears start slipping down my cheeks as sniffles accompany my chokes. “Why…”I gasp, again and again, as bright flashes of light persistently invade my vision.

  “Ella, you didn’t really think I’d let you go so easily, did you?”

  At this, I force my eyes to open all the way, and the first thing I see is a lock of blue hair, glistening as the water dances down in waterfalls. Subconsciously, my hand reaches up to touch it, watching the way it shines in the light of the storm.

  “We need to leave, guys,” a different voice erupts, and my attention is shaken.

  “…Asher? “I ask weakly. There he is—I can’t really make out his face as he approaches, but there is no mistaking that voice. How in the world did he get here?

  “Ella, “he says in a low whisper, “look out and see if there are Shifters in the area. I can smell them…but this whole wretched place smells like them, so it is hard to judge.”

  “Asher, you’re asking too much of her right now.” The hands around me tighten. “I mean, look at her! We need to find shelter as soon as possible.”

  My attention shifts to the world around me, and goose bumps immediately appear on my arms. I can’t help but shiver, which only leads Nico to squeeze me closer to his chest. “Lean on me, “he whispers, his voice almost spellbinding, “Don’t worry about anything. I will keep you safe.”

  “Nico,” I look up, staring into his glowing eyes, “we are…surrounded.” I watch as his eyes widen, distracted by the beauty of his pupils.

  “Where are they? ” he growls in an almost indiscernible murmur. Asher runs back to the group of people standing by the well; I can see Danae, Yi, and Griffin backed up against it.

  I can’t help—at least that is what I say to myself—but snuggle close to Nico’s broad chest as I respond. “Everywhere.”

  For they truly are, surrounding the clearing in incredible numbers. The scene is just as I pictured, and I think I know what they want.

  “Let me down,” I say quietly.

  Nico’s eyes widen. “Never,” he asserts firmly.

  “Please,” I respond in the same monotone.

  “You’ll run away.” He squeezes his eyes shut, and his hands tighter.

  I bring my hand to his face, gently tilting it towards my mouth. As if a spell has just been cast, I say something I never imagined would come out of me. Ever. “I’ll never leave you again, so don’t worry.”

  Nico seems shocked, as I expected him to be, so I use this opportunity to slip out of his grasp and start walking towards the well. As I do so, I wonder how exactly I am going to address this, especially with the rain that refuses to let up and the weakness of my demeanor. At the same time, I try to ban these thoughts from my mine and try to just feel instead.

  It is strange, really, because the Shifters are not moving at all, almost as if they are barred from entering the clearing. Or maybe…they are scared.

  I face them all, water pouring down my nose and chin, imploring with resolve I didn’t know I had. “please,” I say softly, but it soon becomes more than a word. It grows beyond that, beyond me and anything I could ever hope to accomplish. I can feel the desperation emanate off that single word, observe the word fade away from the ear but grow in its deliverance. And as I watch in amazement, everything seems to rise from the well.

  I could see everything, every emotion collectively coming together to form a strange essence that kept rising higher and higher. It is shining bright to combat the darkness, a life that embraces the land of the dead.

  A smile graces my lips as suddenly the collectiveness dissipates, almost flying at lightning speeds towards all edges of the clearings. I can see the Shifters getting visibly brighter, as if they themselves have received a breath of life. Very slowly they start to disappear, vanishing into the depths of the trees.

  It is then that I wake up from the spell and collapse on the ground. There is a series of footsteps, and then warm hands lifting me from the ground. Another hand wipes the mud off my face. “What’s wrong with her? Collapsing all the time, it’s ridiculous,” Yi snorts, and I realize he is the one touching me.

  “I guess I’m just a light-headed person.” I open my eyes and stare at him with the most intimidating glare I can muster. His own eyes widen, and he backs away. The water washes the mud away, but I am still covered in dirt. “I’m sorry you have to carry me, Nico.”

  “Why?” He asks, the hint of a smile on his features.

  “I’m dirty.”

  “Do you really think I care?” His laugh echoes throughout the land.

  “Well...”I hesitate, staring at his face. He’s so…pretty when he laughs.

  What am I thinking?

  “Don’t answer that,” he says quickly, as if he is afraid of my response. “Are they gone now?”

  “Yes, but we probably need to seek cover. This rain is not going to let up any time soon.”

  “What did you do to them?” A small voice asks, and I look down to see a small toddler. I can’t prevent a smile from crossing my lips.

  “I guess we can always tell time with Danae,” I joke, sensing Nico’s eyes on me.

  “I’m see-ri-us,” she whines, making me laugh even harder. I never get used to seeing her this young.

  “I’ll explain later,” I respond calmly. I don’t even fully understand myself about this world or how to explain anything I have experienced so far.

  “Are you…back to normal?” she asks quietly. I ponder the meaning of h
er question. Is there even a normal anymore? What does she mean by the word?

  “About as normal I will ever be, I guess.”

  “That’s great.” She smiles, and I am blinded by flashing teeth. I start to feel uncomfortable looking at her optimistic face.

  “We should probably get going,” I turn away to talk to Nico, “You can put me down now.”

  “No,” he smiles mischievously, making my heart flutter incomprehensibly. Sometimes I just can’t understand myself.

  “Um, really, it’s okay. I can walk.”

  “Let me take care of you, Ella. You can’t fool me again.” I stare at his chest as he starts running, the others probably following right behind him. Feelings are coursing through me, confusing me to no end. Why do I feel like I want to touch him? Why do I even care at all?

  It is as if I can’t reign myself in any longer. I imagine stroking his neck, unable to look away from his face as he stares ahead. This lack of control throws me off guard, and it seems to only happen when I am around him.

  This may be something I just need to get out of my system. Regardless of how I got this strange desire, maybe some indulgence would satisfy me quickly and end this desire once and for all.

  That’s it. He affects me just because I’m attracted to him. There isn’t any real feeling involved, besides this burning need I’m experiencing.

  I loosen up, leaning my head against his chest, nuzzled against his body. I’m going to ride this one out, and only afterwards will I take my prescribed dose before leaving them. And this time, I am never coming back.

  I can’t help but feel as if I am lying to myself, but soon become lost in the thoughts of the future.

  “Ella,” Nico’s low whisper dances to my ears.

  “No…five more minutes,” I stretch my arms out with my eyes still closed, grabbing something and squeezing really hard. “I’m comfortable here.”