Lilith let out another cry and then a familiar loud voice came from behind them.
"What is going on here?!" Greg demanded as he came running towards them.
“I could hear you guys from the second floor! What are you doing here?!”
"Nothing!"
Casey spat in anger as Greg reached her mother and immediately reached out to her, wrapping her in his arms and looking up at Casey’s enraged face.
”What is going on?” He asked again, directing the question to Casey.
"She knows…” Lilith whispered.
“What?” Greg looked down at her. “Knows what?”
“She knows about Jon…” Lilith choked, her throat tensing under the effort of uttering out the words as Greg’s eyes widened like hers did. “She…" Lilith sobbed; holding on to her husband, trying not to fall as her legs refused to listen to her body’s plea.
”Casey…” Greg raised his eyes to meet Casey's; he flinched at the rage he saw in them, the same blind rage that was first directed at her mother.
"Casey…Let’s talk about this…There are a lot of things that you don’t understand…"
Greg tried to reason with her but Casey didn't intend to listen.
“Trust me Greg.” She said, using her step father’s first name, intending to hurt Greg as much as she was hurting on the inside.
"It is you who don’t understand a thing!” Casey declared, knowing full well that she could not explain the prophesy or the apocalypse to these close minded adults.
”There is nothing to talk about! Not anymore! And certainly not with you two!"
Casey finished, ripping her hand from Colin’s as she turned around from them all and started walking towards Morgan's room again, and leaving Colin to face her shell shocked parents behind her.
“I’m…Sorry…” Colin apologized, feeling a bit stuck in the middle as he hurried to catch up to Casey, hearing Greg call after them.
"And where are you going now?!" Greg called desperately behind them. “Are you just leaving it like this without even letting us a chance to explain?! We need to talk about this!”
"I am going to talk!” Casey whipped her head for a fragment of a second to look at her step father.
“I am going to talk to the one person in this so-called family that I care about! Beside Jon!"
Casey added, reprimanding after a short thought without turning back around.
"And don't you dare to come in here!” She yelled by the doorway to Morgan’s bedroom. “You are not welcomed here! We don't want you near us! Trust me; Morgan thinks the same as me!"
Greg didn't answer as Casey entered Morgan’s room and then waited for Colin to enter the room after her, slamming the door as hard as she could after she practically dragged Colin in, basking in the silence and serenity that immediately filled her in the small white chamber.
"Are you ok?" Colin asked as Casey dropped into the chair that she had left earlier, taking in Morgan’s hand as if the past few hours didn't even happen.
“Mmm…” Casey let out, laying her head against Morgan’s cold skin. Colin frowned; it was as if the teen had somehow suddenly switched personalities.
”Casey? Are you ok?” Morgan’s voice rang through the room as he and Jon floated in through the doorway. Casey didn't respond, she just breathed in hard, trying to calm her fast beating heartbeat. Colin and Jon exchanged worried glances as Morgan let go of Jon and floated a little closer.
“Casey?” He whispered, lightly touching Casey’s shoulder, worried at the trembling body that he was feeling beneath his fingers.
“Casey…” Morgan got down to his knees and looked up at his twin. “Talk to me. “
Morgan begged as Casey sniffed her eyes as watery as her mother’s.
“If they let you die…” Casey whispered, her eyes searching the floor in what appeared to be madness.
“If they let you die…” She promised. “Then before I kill myself I will murder them both!” Casey vowed looking at Morgan with blood shot eyes from crying.
Morgan gulped; he did not want to hear Casey speak in that manner.
Truly afraid for Casey’s sanity Morgan reached out and grabbed Casey’s arms, pulling her off the chair and into his lap, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
“I won’t die.” Morgan whispered in Casey’s ear, holding her close and ceasing her shaking. “I promise you that I won’t die.” Morgan said and Casey smiled softly. "I will never leave you alone."
They remained like that for a while, none of them daring to break the silence.
Then finally, when Morgan felt Casey’s body relax in his arms and her tears drying out on his t-shirt they finally broke apart and Casey looked at the sheet covered bed in front of them.
“Did you…?” She took a deep breath. “Did you already see…?” She wasn't sure how she was going to ask that but Morgan understood and shook his head.
“No,” He said. “No, I didn't see my body yet. I was waiting for you.” He whispered, clearly lying, he was afraid, afraid that he won’t be able to handle it.
Casey nodded, pulling out from Morgan’s protective arms and up to her feet, watching as Morgan stood up with her, avoiding from looking at his own body.
"Are you ready?" Casey asked and Morgan shrugged.
“As ready as I am ever going to be.” He admitted, taking Casey’s hand as he shifted his weight to turn to the bed just as Casey bend over and pulled the white sheet down, revealing the face, rather the shell that lay beneath it.
Morgan felt his breath catch in his throat as he immanently turned away; breaking the hold he had on his twin, too shocked to deal with what his eyes were showing him. Somewhere inside he had to laugh that the sight of his own skin would leave his un breathing ghost breathless in horror but it did and now his ears were ringing, and his eyes saw red as Casey’s voice called him back from a near black out.
"Morgan?" Casey asked reaching for him, frightened as Morgan shook his head and stepped up to the door, letting his head rest against it, turned from his siblings and friend, and curling mentally into himself.
"I'm ok…" Morgan breathed in, lying. “I’m ok.” He repeated, "I just wasn't expecting…" He tried to reason with his own reaction, he knew that it was bad but…He shook his head.
Casey glanced at Jon, he too, avoided from looking at the pale body. Casey nodded, she understood perfectly, she could feel Morgan’s shock in her as if it was her own, and the same she felt when she was first allowed to see Morgan’s body after he came out of surgery.
”Morgan…” Casey said, looking at the body. “You know…I almost fainted when I first saw you like this…” She told him, watching as Colin now dared to glance at her brother as well and flinched away momentarily.
Morgan squeezed his eyes shut, opened them and then turned from the door, looking at the pale inanimate body. His face was an unnatural shade of gray and his lips had lost their pale pink color. His head was trapped in tight once white bandages, a little stains of blood visible on the white sterile cotton. He looked almost shrunk, smaller than what he should have been.
”My dreads…” Morgan asked, not daring to come any closer.
“Oh…” Casey chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. They only cut like two, the wound was in the front of your head, I did a nice scene over those two….” She said proud of her little tantrum. “I saved them for you; I’ll let you have them when you come back to me…”
She offered a bargain. Morgan smiled at her and Colin cleared his throat, stepping closer to them, trying to hide the shock he was feeling at the sight of his friend.
"Mmm…Casey…” Colin said lowly. “We need to find the generator…"
Casey looked up at him, surprised, her brain not quiet in on the plan she herself generated. In fact, she almost forgot that he was there.
"The what?"
"The generator." Colin repeated. "Mmm…It's like a precaution hospital take in Morgan’s kind of condition...”
“What do
you mean?” Casey frowned.
“Well, “Colin took another step closer. “Well, you know, it’s that machine that goes on in case there is a black out in the hospital or something. It’s meant to maintain the function of life support systems.”
Casey blinked.
“How do you know about that?”
Colin grinned. “My mom told me that once when we went to visit my uncle in the hospital in the city…There was a black out there and she showed me…Anyway we will need it if we are going to get Morgan's body out of here, it will keep him alive where ever we take him…At least for a little while."
”Oh Colin! That’s perfect!” Casey jumped, nodding enthusiastically. "What does it looks like?" She asked eagerly, already looking around the white plain looking room.
"Well…” Colin rubbed his head. “It’s a big, black…Noisy thing…It should be somewhere next to the bed…”
“wait, is that it?!" Jon pointed at the black squared box half hidden under the bed Morgan’s body was lying on.
”Yes…Yes, I think it is.” Colin said as he got down on his knees and carefully pulled the device out, revealing it to the three siblings and delicately turning it over to check the numbers flashing on the monitor’s black screen.
”Well?” Casey looked down at the machine. “Can it help us get Morgan out of here?” Colin nodded.
"It should but Casey, it will only hold for about twenty four hours, it might give us a day after we unplug everything here, it doesn't give us much time to find a replacement.”
“A replacement?” Morgan asked.
“Yes.” Colin pointed at the life support machines. “Some electric connections to all these wires, the generator just won’t hold beyond the day it was built for so we have to find some place, some hidden place with an electricity connection if we intend to keep you alive."
Morgan smirked.
“We will find it."
“Morgan…” Casey looked at the machine; suddenly she wasn't too sure of her own suggestion.
“We will find a connection Casey.” Morgan reassured her. “Right Jon?”
“Right.” His brother hurried to support him. “Don’t worry Casey, it will all go perfectly.” He promised, digging in his pocket and handing Casey a piece of paper.
“And this will make our job a lot easier.” He said as Colin and Morgan glanced down at the page Casey was now holding.
”What is that?” Casey looked over the page, reading what appeared to be a list of hours, five to six hours apart from each other.
"Well, “Jon explained. “While you were busy screaming the hospital down I let myself into the nurses' station and got the shift changes for the guards and the nurses for the next week or so for this floor and from what I can gather we will have some windows of time between every shift change when there is no one here to see or stop us from getting what we want. How is that for a step up in the plan?”
Casey clapped her hands, handing the paper to Morgan.
“God, this is going so well! I love you guys!” She hugged Colin who laughed.
“You never would have guessed that she was screaming a moment ago.”
He said to Casey’s brother’s and Casey let him go, sticking her tongue out in protest.
"Right.” She said. “Good,” She concluded. “We will do it tonight." She stated, looking at her astonished friend and brothers.
"Or did you have other plans?" She wondered as they all shook their heads. None of them planned to interfere with Casey when she was in the war mode. Tonight was the night and they were ready, Casey only prayed that they won't get coughed, cuss that would really ruin the plan.
Chapter nine: Against all odds
Meanwhile, back at the school Din and Toby were busy following Casey’s instructions; they were currently on the top floor of the old castle after they had swept over the lobby and the dorm rooms at the floor billow them, founding nothing but a few frightened students and a load full of dust.
"We searched everywhere already! Gahh! My feet hurt from all these stairs!"
Din complained in frustration, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"No one knows shit in this place! Maybe we should stop? Take a break?”
“No.” Toby shook his head. “Casey is counting on us.”
“But there is nothing here!” Din howled.
“Maybe we are just not looking in the right spot, that’s all.” Toby pondered, speaking so lowly that he almost didn't hear himself.
“So where should we look?” Din questioned, making better use of his dog high hearing he usually used for trouble. “Where haven’t we looked yet?”
Toby shrugged. “Maybe they are hiding somewhere outside the school, down in the grounds? By the lake?"
Din frowned, thinking about it for a moment and then he shook his head.
"I seriously think that they will keep close to here, to the basement and won’t be so damn obvious…" His voice trailed off.
Toby glanced at him. “What do you mean by ‘obvious’?”
"Well, now that you mentioned outside it got me thinking…We didn't look everywhere you know…"
Din said in a low voice, looking out one of the huge windows that spread over the wall behind them. Toby gulped, suddenly beginning to feel really nervous, maybe he shouldn't have said anything because Din thinking always ended up bad, he just had to look at Morgan as recent an example.
"What are you thinking?" Toby questioned, glancing out of the same window as Din was. “Well…” Din smiled, today was not a day off for his danger detecting mind set.
"As you mentioned outside I was actually thinking about the winter cellar."
Toby shook his head, smiling. Why didn't he think of that? Oh, that’s right, he didn't have Din’s pending death wish.
The cellar was located underneath a stone structure deep in the dark gardens of the castle the school was located in. no one went there, it was forbidden cuss it wasn't in use and in serious danger of collapsing due to poor maintenance and above all it was there for as long as the school stood. That meant centuries with a now blocked path that was damaged by the fire that ran right from their basement all the way there.
'Come to think about it,' Toby wondered. 'It was kind of weird for the fire to spread in such a neat pattern. It was perfect in every way possible, the perfect operation base for some big disturbing monsters from another dimension for sure.'
”My god Din, you’re a genius.” Toby exclaimed and Din bowed in triumph.
“Teachers don’t go there…” Toby was thinking out loud now. “And the students aren't allowed there." Din reminded Toby who smirked at his friends' remark.
"And since when do we care or let something like that stop us?" He questioned and Din smiled.
"True, true, god, I love to be right.”
“Not that it happening very often…” Toby mumbled under his breath and Din pushed him. “Right, so let me cherish it, now let’s go check it out, c’mon!” He pulled Toby with him, down the steppes and out into the lobby, heading for the main entrance of the school.
“Mmm! Hold on! You are way too eager about this!” Toby screeched, trying to catch his breath as Din pulled him forward. It took them all in all just a few moments to reach the over growing bushes that symbolized the closed area.
The dangerous part of the mansion’s grounds, the one that they were not supposed to go to. But now, here they stood in front of the old stone structure, the winter cellar outside wall, with its crooked hunches and the faded paint job and above all, the huge door that was supposed to be their entrance was filled with concrete, probably from five years before when it was engulfed in flames.
“Look at this thing.” Din exhaled.
“I know.” Toby nodded. “The whole thing looks like a giant concrete cube or something.” “Oh, like in that movie?” Din laughed.
Toby twisted his face in disgust. “Well, I don’t want to go in there if it’s like in that movie. People die there, in the most grueso
me ways and they never get out.”
“Oh don’t be a chicken.” Din teased. "Besides, we can’t go in there anyway, it's blocked."
Din frowned, trying to see over the concrete mold if there was a possible way to lead them inside.
Toby sighed, knocking on the stone wall, a hollow sound had ringed through the solid structure and Toby pressed his ear against the cold stone wall to listen in, pressing both of his hands against the concrete.
”What are you doing?” Din wondered, looking at him with a 'what the fuck?' kind of look. “Saw it in a movie once.” Toby admitted, “Thought I could gather something from it.”
Din shrugged. "Well, can you hear anything in there?" He asked his friend and Toby nodded.
“I think that there is some kind of a buzzing sound coming from the inside. Come here, listen to this.” Toby moved a bit aside to allow Din an easy access to where he heard the sound coming from.
“Sounds like a fucking beehive in there.” Din mumbled as he started roaming with his hands across the wall in front of them, clinching his brow in concentration as if he was looking for something important.
Toby frowned as he looked at his seemingly deranged friend.
'Well, we all go insane in our own special way.' He thought.
"What are you doing?" He asked curiously, looking at the leveled stones before them.
"There has to be a secret door here or something…” Din answered, glancing at him for a second and then resuming his search around the wall.
“Oh c’mon!” Toby crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t really believe that there is something like that in here!” He shook his head.
“There has to be!” Din argued. “Places like this always have a secret door. I just have to find it and…Ohh!"
Din’s eyes widened as his hand slid into a low crack in the space between the supposedly concrete covered door and the wall, barely visible to the human eye.
”Din?” Toby moved aside, nervous.
“Sec…” Din whispered, wiggling his hand inside the narrow crack.
" Agghhh!!!!" Din screamed and Toby screamed with him. Din began laughing as Toby jumped back.
Winds Of The Apocalypse Page 13
