Monster

by Yolanda Olson

I chuckled thinking about how it must be driving Cody crazy that he wasn't getting a reaction out of him.

  I jogged up the stairs to the third floor and did another sweep. I wanted to make sure that the three of us hadn't missed anything when we checked earlier. I opened the door to every room and stuck my head in.

  She had to have been gone for some time. The rooms had lost her scent. After I resigned myself to the fact that the third floor was clear, I headed up to the roof. It dawned on me we hadn't checked up there.

  I pushed open the window and pulled myself up. I swung my leg over the side and used my upper body strength to yank myself on the roof. I made a face. I smelled Ava heavily up here. The burned flesh smelled putrid.

  Holding a hand over my mouth and nose, I did a quick sweep. I wanted to get down into the house as soon as possible. Finn's scent was gone from there too.

  Sighing, I shimmied my way down onto the widow's walk and walked into the room.

  As I made my way to the door, I stopped. There was a familiar scent in the room but I couldn't put my finger on it. Shrugging, I went down to the second floor and started opening and closing doors like I had done with the third.

  I left her room for last. When I walked in her scent was faintly still in the air. I looked in her closet, outside her window, in her drawers, and on her bed. Nothing.

  I sat down feeling so defeated, when out of the corner of my eye I saw her journal. Normally I would have never opened it but I was really hoping she had left something in there indicating where she was.

  I opened it to the first page and saw entries as far back as three years ago. I felt ashamed for even having seen that much, so I closed the book and tossed it back on the bed.

  The leather journal made a quiet thunk sound, as it bounced off the bed and onto the floor. Sighing, I got up and reached down for it when I saw that it lay open on the last entry she had written.

  Left with an old friend to talk.

  An old friend? Oh my God, that's the scent on the third floor. Why? Why can't I place it?

  I felt myself getting frustrated and almost embarrassed at the fact that I wasn't able to figure out who had been up there. At least I knew one thing for sure now; she had left of her own free will.

  Snapping her book shut, I walked out of her room and ran down the stairs. I could still hear Cody screaming outside and I rolled my eyes. Apparently he wasn't going to be running out of steam anytime soon. I only hoped this would shut him up.

  “Stop yelling, I have to show you something,” I said on my way down the front steps.

  He turned to look at me and his eyes filled with demonic rage again. I gave Kaeden a look but he shook his head. Maybe he knew better than me. Maybe morphing into Finnegan would be a problem after all.

  “Oh cut it out. It has to do with your girlfriend,” I said waving Finn's journal.

  Immediately his eyes shifted back and he came over. I moved my arm back swiftly when he tried to snatch it out of my hands. It's not like he knew what he was looking for and besides; snatching is a rude thing to do.

  “Can I ask you a question? When you're like this, you know not demonic, what the hell are you? Because from what I've read angels don't act like arrogant, pretentious punks.”

  For a split second he looked insulted. Then he started to laugh. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaeden relax. I slid the book under my arm and waited for his answer.

  “What does the book have to do with Finn?” he asked ignoring my question.

  I shrugged and opened it. No point in starting another argument, I thought as I leafed to the last page. When I found it I held it up for both of them to be able to see.

  “An old friend? Who could that possibly be,” Kaeden murmured.

  Cody started pacing again. He was going so fast that I was sure he would be six feet under by the time he stopped.

  Wow, he really does love her, I though watching him.

  Suddenly he started talking to himself. Frantically. Almost like he was arguing with someone. Of course the only person he could've possibly been arguing with was the voices in his head.

  I looked at Kae who seemed to be equally taken in by Cody's frantic movements. He glanced at me and signaled me over to him. I walked over to him and he placed his body half in front of mine all the while keeping his eyes on Cody.

  “In the event that he snaps, I know that you'll be his first target,” Kae explained quietly.

  “Figures,” I muttered. “Listen, I'm going to head around the back and morph into him. I want to know what he's thinking. He seems to have some ideas he's not sharing and we're supposed to be a team.”

  Kaeden looked down at me for a moment. I could tell he was considering it. After about a minute, he shook his head slightly.

  “Not right now. I don't know if you're mentally ready to deal with it. We'll wait. If it needs to be absolutely done, then I'll let you, but for now, I'll have to ask that you don't.”

  I shifted from one foot to the other, “Hey do you think you can stop acting crazy long enough to let us know if you have any ideas?”

  “Yeah, yeah give me a minute,” he said dismissively.

  I went back to the stairs and sat down. I wasn't going to hold my breath and hope that he was going to share anything with us. I was sure he'd sooner run off and play the knight in shining armor.

  I didn't care if he did honestly. And I was pretty sure that Kaeden didn't care. I just wanted to be damn sure that if we did help him in anyway, Finnegan knew it. I shook the thought away from my head.

  What's wrong with me? I don't think like that. If he wants the glory let him have it. I just want to make sure my friend is okay.

  I grabbed the book and started to leaf through it again while I waited for Cody to decide if he was going to ask us for help or not. Kaeden came over and sat down next to me glancing over my shoulder at the page I was reading.

  “Think she's okay?” I asked him.

  “Finnegan's a lot stronger than she looks. Mentally and physically. Even though she hasn't been here that long, her second death ages her faster than a human year. Trust me, Finn's fine.”

  “What do you mean it ages her faster?” I asked curiously.

  “Decomposition.”

  “Then why doesn't it show on her?”

  “I don't know to be honest. It might have something to do with her will. Something to do with having stayed out of the sun. Maybe that's only something that Skiles can answer and we know he's not one to trust,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Wait. She goes out in the sun now, does that mean ...” my voice trailed off.

  “No. Not at all. I ... I think we all acted to quickly in judging Drake. Although I know he no longer cares for me, he still loves Finnegan very much. I think what he did was to help her. To give her the upper hand. She goes out in the day now and she still shows no sign of decay.”

  “You really think so?”

  We both looked at Cody who seemed to have come out of his frenzy and had been listening to us.

  “Yes. I really do,” Kaeden responded.

  He slapped his forehead with his hand and groaned, “I'm an idiot! I confused what he was doing for wanting to hurt her. I told her he did it because he was mad at you.”

  “Why would he do something to Finnegan to get back at me? I don't love her the way you do. To me she's a child that I've become quite fond of; like a sister.”

  “I don't know,” he said sliding down onto the stair next to me, “It seemed like it made sense at the time. I guess ... I guess this is my fault then.”

  “Can I be honest with you?” I asked turning to face him.

  “Um. Sure?”

  “I think the reason she runs off so much is because you're smothering her. Give her some space, Cody. She loves you even if she doesn't show it or say it, she does. You've got to stop being so jail keeper with her or eventually she's going to run one day and not come back.”

  He didn't look at me. Not even when I waved my hand in fr
ont of his face to see if he was paying attention to anything I had said. Instead he seemed to be chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully and staring down the driveway.

  “Are you human,” he asked still not looking at me.

  “Yeah. I guess so. I mean I can die and I age, I feel pain and emotions the way humans do. So I would assume so. Why?”

  “Because Finn was at one point, and I thought maybe you could give me some insight then on how to handle her. After all, this is my first time dealing with love,” he said with a grin.

  “Um, sure. I'll think about some stuff,” I said suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

  “Thanks!”

  He clapped me on the back and I fell into Kaeden. Then he gave me a sheepish grin. It was obvious that he hadn't mean to 'thank me' that hard. I laughed after I recovered from it.

  Kaeden gently shoved me back to where I had been sitting in between them and stood up. I watched him stretch his arms over his head and then adjust his shirt.

  He didn't know it but I had the world's biggest crush on him. I wondered if he'd ever thought of me in the same way. I knew that sometimes he looked at Finnegan the way I looked at him. So it was a relief to know that he didn't love her any more than he would love a sister. He turned and walked into the house without so much as a glance down at me.

  I sighed unhappily and put my chin in my hands. Maybe he didn't think about me like that after all.

  “You like him don't you?” Cody asked in a hushed voice.

  “Huh?”

  “Come on you can't fool me, Charlie. I can feel those emotions when they're present around me. I won't tell him otherwise I would've done it when he was still out here. But you do, don't you?”

  “No,” I said feeling the blood rushing to my face.

  “I'm not gonna tell him,” he said laughing.

  “Well if you can 'feel' it, then I shouldn't have to admit it,” I retorted.

  “Sorry,” he said holding up his hands.

  I sighed and turned my face away. I didn't mean to come across as mean I as I did but I didn't feel like talking about that right now. Especially not with Cody.

  I stood up and grabbed Finn's journal. He looked up at me questioningly. I looked from the book in my hand back to him. For a split second, I considered leaving the book with him but I didn't want him to read anything he shouldn't have.

  Hell I shouldn't have been reading out of it.

  Cody smiled and held out his hand. I hesitated. I just didn't think it was a good idea to give him the journal but he was being so nice, I didn't know if I could say no.

  I mean this was a first; Cody being nice to me. It almost never happened. He was usually getting all possessed and angry and trying to find some reason to take me out.

  I looked down at the book again and sighed. His smile was starting to falter and his face was starting to take on an offended look. I shifted my feet again. Then I had an idea.

  “One sec,” I said.

  I ran into the house and started ransacking the drawers in the kitchen. There had to be something to write with somewhere. Frustrated, I shut the last drawer with a slam.

  “What are you doing?”

  I spun around and jumped. Both Cody and Kaeden were standing there watching me curiously. I cleared my throat and held the journal possessively against my chest.

  “I was looking for something to write with.”

  “Why?”

  Cody sure was full of questions today. Kaeden on the other hand was just standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. He was leaning on the kitchen doorway looking at me suspiciously.

  “I, um, I have a theory. I was just going to test something out,” I said glaring at him.

  And when exactly did you get so nosy? I added to myself angrily.

  Kaeden reached into his pocket and produced an expensive looking pen. He held it out to me. I walked over to him and I took it careful not to look at him. I gave the pen a tug but he still had a grip on it. I pulled again but he wouldn't let go. I looked up and he gave me a kind smile. Cody grinned and gave me a slight nod.

  Maybe he was trying to tell me that Kaeden felt the same way but I wasn't concerned with that. Not now. Not anymore. I'd worry about his feelings for me once we found Finnegan.

  When he finally let the pen go, I walked over to the counter and opened her journal to the last page. I used the page beside her last entry and made my own.

  Charlotte here.

  I don't know if this is going to work, but to find Finn, I'm willing to give anything a try.

  This will be my only entry.

  Finn, if you can feel this in anyway, don't be scared.

  We'll find you and finish this once and for all.

  “Your name is Charlotte?” Cody asked from behind me.

  I jumped and turned to look at him. I nodded and snapped the book shut, handing Kaeden's pen back to him.

  “Where did you think Charlie came from?”

  “I don't know. It's just that you don't look like a Charlotte,” he said with a shrug.

  “Oh.”

  Kaeden chuckled and smiled at me again. “So do you think that writing in her book will help?”

  “I hope so. It's just a hunch though. Anyway, I'm going to try to get a lead on that scent that I caught upstairs. I've got to find Finn. I don't know if she's missing or if she left of her own free will, but I want to make sure she's okay.”

  “I suggest a dog of some kind,” Cody said sitting on a stool. He propped his legs up on the island and stared at me.

  “For what?”

  “Well if you're going to track her scent, your human nose isn't going to be much help. Maybe a hound of some kind? Oh I know,” he said snapping his fingers.

  “An Irish Wolfhound! No one will bother you and I hear their pretty fast and big. Of course that's just a suggestion.”

  “Um, okay. Yeah, good idea. I'll do that,” I said walking out of the kitchen. “I'll see you guys soon. If I don't come back in a few days, we'll meet up at the spot!”

  I know they knew what I meant by that. The one spot, the only spot, that would be able to house the battle that was going to happen between vampires, angel-demons, gypsies, shape-shifters, and of course, monsters.

  I stepped onto the driveway and took a deep breath. Tonight would be a good night to find Finn. I glanced up at the sky and saw that dawn would begin in a few hours. We had wasted so much time arguing. Too much time.

  I let my mind focus on the Irish wolfhound, and bit back the pain of shifting. In an instant, I morphed into the giant dog. I inhaled deeply and ran off.

  Part Ii

  Kaeden

  22. Strategy

  (Day 25)

  My fingers trailed along the worn leather of Finnegan's journal. I had become lost in thought the entire time Cody and Charlie were having their dog conversation.

  I didn't like that she ran off alone, but I knew she would be able to handle herself.

  It was rather ingenious, what she had thought of. Writing in Finnegan's journal to see if it would get her attention. If only one of us had been with her to find out if it worked. Knowing Finnegan, of course, it would be the first thing she mentioned to Charlie once she found her; if she did.

  “Think she'll be okay on her own?” Cody asked.

  I nodded. “Charlie may not look like it, but she's a trained killer. Not officially trained, mind you, but she's definitely special.”

  “Mhm, I bet,” he said grinning at me.

  I stared at him for a moment, then I scoffed. I realized what he was implying, but I wasn't going to give the satisfaction of having such a vapid conversation.

  Instead I opened Finnegan's book and started to read where it had opened. I smiled. It was the entry the night we had met. I felt like a home intruder when

  I broke into her house but I knew she had to know where Ava was. I leaned back against the counter and started to read it, chuckling every now and then at each thing she said about how she wasn't sure
to trust me and her description of me. I didn't realize that I looked so differently to someone in her state.

  Cody let out his breath in a long, bored sigh. I looked up from under my glasses and then back at the book.

  I know that he means well in everything that he does, but does he have to be so childish?

  I started to laugh. I flipped back one page, then forward again to be sure she was had been writing about me. The last time I had been thought of as childish was probably at my human birth.

  Smiling fondly, I closed the book and laid it to rest on the counter again. I looked at Cody who was staring at the ceiling. I wondered what he was thinking. I knew that if I asked him it would have nothing to do with anything I would want to talk about.

  “So, what do you think we should do?” he asked suddenly.

  “How do you mean?” I pulled my glasses off my face and cleaned them with a silk cloth I kept in my pants pocket. I held them up and squinted through them, then replaced them on my face.

  “Do you really need those,” he asked curiously.

  “No.”

  “Just trying to make conversation,” he replied moodily.

  “Then let's continue with what you asked. What did you mean?” I asked him again.

  “Hm? Oh. Yeah. I was wondering what you think we should do. Charlotte went after Finn. Finn went who knows where. There's nothing to do now and I don’t want to sit here with another guy shooting the breeze. So, what do you think we should do?”

  I looked at him wearily. One conversation with Cody was enough to make me want to sleep eternity away, and now that Finnegan wasn't here to stop him when he off on his tangents, I didn't know if I was going to be able to mentally handle him alone.

  “I thought I'd go to the music room. I'll be taking Finnegan's book with me. You know, in the event that I feel like reading some of it. But I might just go in and play the piano for a while,” I said.

  Grabbing her book firmly in my hand I started to make my way out of the kitchen. I heard him laughing behind me and I found myself becoming annoyed. I don't know why but the sound of his laughter always annoyed me. I only put up with him for Finnegan's sake, but not knowing if she was alive or not was starting to make him even more unbearable lately.