Hurrying from the shower I dragged my clothes on and pulled my wet hair up into a bun, securing it in place with some small hairgrips. Opening the bathroom door I noticed Natasha sitting on the edge of the bed, she was dressed in the clean clothes I had given her. Her dark hair hung in silky waves and I couldn’t stop a small spark of envy as I noticed how luminous her skin truly was.
“Ok, what are you going to do while I’m at college?”
With a start she looked at me, confusion clouding her eyes as though I had awoken her from a deep dream. “Oh, sorry, I was daydreaming. Um what did you say?”
“What are you doing while I’m at college?”
“I have some phone calls to make and hopefully I’ll be able to get in touch with some of my own people. You know let them know what happened and why I haven’t been in contact.”
“Right, are you staying here tonight or...” I let my words trail off.
“If that’s ok with you and your mom, I will?”
“Fair enough, the spare key is under the pot at the front door so you can let yourself in. There’s food in the cupboards so help yourself. Or maybe if you’d prefer Jon will be around so you could keep him company?”
Natasha smiled and nodded, “ok I’ll go talk to him, I’ll probably be able to tell him a little more about who we are and who you guys are in terms of the prophecy.”
Picking up my bag I grabbed the notebook and pen from my desk and Natasha followed me out the door. Pulling a blank sheet out of the back of my notebook I hastily scribbled my note to Jon.
“Did you sleep in? I missed your morning message. I only have one class in the morning and one after lunch. I’ll stop by the library on the way home and I’ll see you at three. Jon, I love you. Know that always. I am yours and I will be forever. Love Ais xxx.”
Dropping my bag at my front door I locked it quickly behind me before running over to Jon’s front door and posting the quick note addressed to him through the letter box. This was my morning ritual to him, I enjoyed writing paper notes to him. At least real letters couldn’t be accidently deleted or take up space in a mobile phone. Although as Jon had pointed out to me letters could get lost.
Standing back from the door I looked at the house, the curtains were still drawn and I couldn’t hear anyone stirring inside. It seemed strange that his parents weren’t even up, they both worked and surely by now they should have been up and gone.
“Aisling you coming or not?”
With one last look at the quiet house, I turned and jogged back to my own front door and the strange girl. Picking my bag back up we began the short walk to the bus stop.
“Where do you think you’ll meet some of your people?”
Staring at the pavement and each step she took she pondered on my question.
“I’m not really sure yet, well not until I get talking to them. I know some of them have arrived in the city, they tracked us here when I disappeared off the grid they got worried. We take care of our own you know.”
All I could do was nod, it wasn’t exactly a concept I was familiar with. They didn’t seem to have done a very good job of looking after their own so far but who was I to be judgemental?
“Are you getting the bus?”
Aisling smiled and shook her head, “nah, buses aren’t really my thing. Anyway walking is better for me, it’ll allow me to find the others faster being in a crowded bus will just cloud it.”
“Ok, well this is me then.” I stopped in front of the battered bus shelter and rummaged through my pocket for the right change. Bus drivers tended to be a little grumpy when it came to giving change. Finding a euro and some twenty cents I watched from the corner of my eye as Natasha shuffled in front of me for a few moments.
“So I guess I’ll see you later?” I said glancing up at her.
“What’s it like Aisling?”
“What?” I couldn’t keep the puzzlement from my voice.
“What’s it like to have a normal life? To go to college, follow your dreams have a family and friends and all the things normal people do?” She sounded wistful and her eyes had taken on a faraway look. It was as though I wasn’t there anymore. She was imagining what her life should have been like if she didn’t have her powers.
“It’s a bit more complicated than you think. My only friend is Jon, college is alright but it’s a lot of work and I don’t exactly get on with my mother if you know what I mean. So you see I don’t think I’m the right person to be asking about these sorts of things. My life has never exactly been typical.”
Natasha smiled at me, “I suppose it hasn’t. I can’t imagine having a partner I couldn’t even kiss properly without getting fried.”
She turned to leave but I grabbed her arm “how do you know about that?”
“Aisling I know a lot of things, knowing that is on the minor side of the equation. Enjoy class.” She spoke and nodded at the bus ambling down the road towards the stop. With a sigh I released her arm, it wasn’t as though I could make her tell me her secrets. I watched as she sauntered away.
Stepping onto the bus I began to place my change in the holder when something across the street caught my eye. The man Natasha had called Max stood just across the street staring at me. The coins dropped from my hand and scattered across the floor.
“Child, are you going to stand there all day admiring yourself in the reflection on the window or do you want to get into the city?”
The bus drivers voice knocked me out of my panicked reverie and I fumbled to gather the coins up from the floor. Placing the last one in the holder the driver handed me a ticket and I took it without even looking at it. My eyes were instead scanning up and down the street where I had seen the strange man with the yellow eyes just moments before. Where he had stood was empty and there was no sign of him on the street anymore. He had simply disappeared.
Taking my seat on the bus I pulled my mobile out of my pocket and checked it for messages from Jon but was once again disappointed to find the screen blank. My fingers tapped quickly over the keys as I wrote the message of what I thought I had seen and sent it to Jon.
I hoped I was wrong. We had hurt him last night; we had sent Max somewhere. Surely he couldn’t be back around this quickly. With a sigh, I settled back into my seat and waited for the bus to reach my stop.
Chapter Five
Emerging into the afternoon sunshine after my lunchtime class I pulled my phone from my pocket. Seven missed calls from my mom, that was over kill for her. Normally if there was something up I’d be lucky to get one call about it, let alone seven.
Pressing the redial I listened as it rang and rang, I could almost imagine the phone on the counter at home buzzing away as she was off busy somewhere else.
The voicemail kicked in and I clicked the phone off. There was no point in leaving a message, she wouldn’t listen to it. Within seconds of my finger pressing the disconnect button, my phone vibrated in my hand. As my eyes skipped over the words, fear knotted in the pit of my stomach and an icy chill wrapped itself around my spine... slowly spreading upwards.
“Aisling, come home. It’s Jon. Mom x”
What did she mean it was Jon? What had happened to him? Sure he hadn’t messaged me but like Natasha had said he was just exhausted. Wasn’t he? Panic swelled inside my head until I thought it might explode.
Cramming the notebook I had used in class back into my bag I let my feet carry me across campus at a run. Students glared angrily at me as I ploughed straight through the middle of them all. But I didn’t care I needed to get home and no one was going to stand in my way.
Reaching the bus stop I quickly realised the next bus wasn’t for another twenty minutes. I couldn’t wait that long. Jon couldn’t wait that long for me to get to him. Closing my eyes I waited to feel the familiar tug of his connection to me but instead all I felt was a gaping black hole that threatened to suck me inside.
Throwing the strap of my bag across my chest I began to run. Fear gnawed at my insides as I
struggled to control my breathing. Something was wrong with Jon and where was I? Running home. So stupid, I thought to myself. After all the trouble the night before I should have stayed at home. I should have made sure that Jon was alright. Images and thoughts whirled through my mind as my legs pumped harder. My breathing came in shallow gasps and my vision was blurring with tears. I had to make it home.
My eyes noticed a taxi that happened to be coming down the street towards me. I did the only thing I could do in that moment. Veering into the road I dashed out in front of the oncoming vehicle. My mind registered the sight of the panicked driver as he slammed on the brakes. The car skidded towards me and I held my breath as I waited to feel it hit me. The tyres burned rubber as the car came to a grinding halt. The bumper nudged into my legs and I stumbled backwards. Frantically I rushed around to the passenger door and pulled it open.
“Jesus, what are you doing? I could have killed you!” The driver’s words were garbled as he spoke to me. His knuckles were white with the grip he had on the steering wheel and his face was a matching shade.
“Please, you have to help me. I need to get home.”
“You’re crazy!”
“Please it’s important!” Something in my voice caused him to pause then and he beckoned me inside. Hastily I climbed in and dragged my seat belt across my chest. The sound of it clicking into place seemed to calm me. Soon I would get back and then I would know what was wrong with Jon.
Following my directions the taxi whizzed through the streets. It was much faster than running home or getting the bus for that matter. The taxi pulled onto my all too familiar street. The pounding of my heart filled my head. It was all I could do not to throw myself from the taxi and race towards my house. Pulling some money from my pocket I indicated for the driver to pull over. Dropping it into his hand I jumped from the car before it had fully rolled to a complete stop.
Both mine and Jon’s house seemed quiet, eerily quiet. Surely if my mother had sent me the message asking me to come home then she should be waiting for me. A feeling of dread wormed its way into my chest. Where was she? My feet didn’t want to take the steps up to the front door but I forced them to anyway. Taking the key from my jeans pocket my hands shook with fear. I tried to slide the key into the lock but the door swung inwards with my touch.
I hesitated and fear rumbled through my body. I needed to know what was going on so with a deep breath I took a tentative step inside. With each step I took I grew bolder. The first thing that struck me was the deep silence that permeated everything within the house. It was deafening and I could feel my body beginning to suffocate beneath its heavy weight.
“Mom?” My voice sounded small and pathetic to my ears. The sound rang out and was swallowed up in the silence. Quietly I walked towards the kitchen, my hand pushed against the door and it opened easily. I remembered poking my head around the door at her last night to inform her I was going to see Jon. I wasn’t sure why the memory popped into my head but it filled me with sadness. That was before I knew of all the other problems.
I stepped into the kitchen and a sweet coppery tang filled my nose and mouth. I gagged on the taste of it as it poured down my throat. The way they depict blood in the movies makes you think it will be bright and vibrant but it looks very different in reality. In large quantities its dark and thick and not at all vibrant. The smears that covered the linoleum were bright. The puddle of it that surrounded her body was dark. My feet carried me forward and I stared down at what was left of the body. Little bubbles had formed in the spreading puddle. It reminded me of the pond we used to have in the garden. The little creatures that would hide inside it letting tiny bubbles float to the surface. I wondered were there any small creatures hiding in the deep crimson liquid that drifted ever closer to the tips of my trainers.
It was as though my mind simply didn’t want to let my brain register what I was seeing. I knew it was a body and I knew there was blood everywhere. Looking up my eyes caught sight of the red spray that decorated the wall behind the body. Had she known they were coming for her? Did she try to escape them? I looked down again and the sight of the mobile phone on the floor beside her brought tears to the back of my eyes. All the pieces of the bloody jigsaw clicked into place and my mind gave up trying to protect me from what I was looking at. The blood had soaked into her blonde hair turning it an orangey red. She wouldn’t have liked that.
The gash across her throat was deep and the blood seeped down onto the floor. Several lacerations covered her chest and it looked as though someone had attempted to gut her. Whoever had done this enjoyed their work. I could see it in every careful mutilation that decorated her skin. She was almost entirely unrecognisable and I wondered had they done it before or after they had killed her. I hoped after but who knew.
My mind ticked over calmly. At least it felt calm. Was I going mad? Had I finally tipped over the edge onto the brink of complete insanity and my mind dealt with it calmly? The blood crept closer to my shoe before soaking around the edge of it. That was the point my mind decided it wasn’t going to be calm anymore.
With a muffled shriek I attempted to step back away from the blood but my foot slipped. I tumbled to the floor my hands skidding in the dark puddle as I scrambled to escape it. I felt it soaking through my jeans and it coated my hands, it felt sticky and was still slightly warm. The smell assailed my senses and I retched. My mother’s blood. I was covered in my mother’s blood. The very thing that kept her alive was soaking through my clothes. I had to get to Jon, he would know what to do.
I scrambled across the bloody floor in a half crawl half run. Skidding twice more in the smears of blood I reached the kitchen door and launched myself into the hall. I landed in a heap on the floor and sucked in several deep breaths. My mind had slowed to a crawl and refused to co-operate in anything I wanted it to do. Scrubbing my hands against my jeans I attempted to get the worst of the blood off my hands. Had they been murdering my mother when I was trying to ring her? Were they creeping up on her when she was frantically trying to contact me and I was calmly sitting in my class? Tears burned my eyes and I brushed my hand across my face. I stopped mid wipe and stared in horror at my blood stained hand. A sob of despair crept past my lips. I needed Jon.
Pulling myself upright I ran for the front door and sprinted across the grass to Jon’s house.
“Aisling!” The sound of someone calling my name didn’t register in my head. I just knew I had to get to Jon and no one was going to stop me.
Strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me to a complete halt. I struggled in his grip but still he held me tight.
“Aisling, what are you thinking? You can’t go in there!” I turned my head towards the sound of her voice. The world seemed to drift by in slow motion. Natasha’s frightened face came into my line of sight.
“They killed her Natasha! They killed my mother! I have to get to Jon.” My voice seemed to come from very far away. I knew I was probably going into shock but I needed to make her understand.
“Aisling, you can’t we have to go. They already have Jon.” She pointed toward the back of Jon’s house. Turning in that direction, I could see several men dressed in black bundling a body out the back. His head lolled to the side and I suddenly realised it was Jon. The arms of the man that held me weren’t prepared for the new onslaught of struggling and I slipped from his grip.
“Jon!” My voice rang out and the man I knew as Max turned. A sneer slide across his face as I pounded across the ground to him. I would kill him for what he had done. I would kill him and I would enjoy it.
Searing pain ripped through my side and my pace faltered. Glancing down I could see the bolt sticking out of my body. They shot me with an arrow. It seemed utterly ridiculous, why not use a gun? Each step I took was filled with blinding pain. Strong arms wrapped around me again and whisked me off the ground. Another arrow whistled past and I sluggishly realised if the man who was carrying me hadn’t grabbed me that bolt would have struck me poi
nt blank in the chest. Natasha stood at a car door and gestured for us to get inside. The man who held me pushed me hurriedly into the car before climbing in after me. Natasha bundled herself into the car before the it roared to life. The tyres squealed on the road as it fought to catch a grip before it lunged forward.
“How badly is she hurt?” Natasha’s voice filtered through to my brain.
“Jon?” My voice came out weak and breathy but she heard it.
“I’m afraid we couldn’t get him Aisling. I’m so sorry.”
Fear filled me. They had Jon and they were going to kill him, I just knew it. I struggled to get up but strong hands held me down.
“Sedate her.” They were the last words I heard Natasha say before I felt a pinch in my neck and the world went dark.
Chapter Six
His eyes opened slowly. The back of his head felt as though someone had tried to beat him to death with a brick. The room was gloomy and he struggled to adjust his eyes to the poor lighting. All his memories were a jumbled mess. The last clear memory he had was of Aisling sitting on the ground near his fence. Everything else after that seemed to be a hazy blur.
Slowly he tried to lift his hand to touch the back of his head but the jangling sound of a chain halted him. Looking down he could see the heavy silver shackles that were clamped securely around both wrists. The shackles were connected to heavy chains that dropped down between his legs. After searching for a moment or two he noticed the chain itself was secured to the floor with a large iron ring. With shackles and chains like that he wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Unless...
Jon reached out with his power, it curled around the chains and he attempted to use the power to force the shackles off his wrists. Pain seared across his skin in bursts. Glancing down he noticed hundreds of rune marks inked onto his skin. Each time he attempted to use his power the runes lit up like tiny fireworks and he was left breathless as the agony slowly subsided.
The Need Page 4
