I heard Cecily’s cries from her bedroom. I saw Ross holding Sierra back. I saw Chris... He lunged at our foster father and shoved him hard. The man stumbled and fell against the screened door. It opened wide, and he tripped over the threshold. He righted himself and swung at Chris. Somehow Chris managed to dodge the swing and tackled him. They grappled on the porch, but he was stronger than Chris. He managed to shove Chris off, then stood on shaky legs.
I’d never seen a drunk man bounce back so fast, but he did, and he swung at Chris again. I tried to move, but the pain was immense. Ross lost his grip on Sierra, and she bolted out the front door. Ross chased her, but Sierra got punched square in the face before he could reach her. That punch, it seemed like it happened in slow motion. Her head snapped back so hard I thought he broke her neck. Ross caught her before she hit the ground, but that was all it took for Chris to lose control entirely.
Chris put every ounce of strength he had into shoving our foster father down the porch stairs. The evil man tried to grab the railing but missed it by a fraction. He fell backward, arms and legs flailing as he went, then—smack! His head hit the pavement with a sickening crack.
It went silent as the grave. The neighborhood dogs stopped barking. Birds ceased their chirping. There was no sound at all, not even our own breaths. We stared at the unmoving figure on the ground for a long time. Finally, Sierra cautiously checked his pulse. When she jerked her hand away from his neck in shock, we all knew what happened. He was dead.
“Parker, wake up,” a gentle voice prodded. I felt my arms shake. “Parker?”
I forced my eyelids open. I blinked several times, then my gaze was met by the brilliant blue of Ophelia’s eyes.
“Parker, are you alright? You were whimpering in your sleep and jerking around.” Her voice was strained and tired, making me feel awful for waking her.
I sat forward, noticing how tight my muscles were. I checked my watch and saw I’d slept for a while, nearly four hours. I wiped my hands over my face and ruffled my hair. I was sure I looked like a cockatiel. “I’m okay, just a nightmare. Did you get enough rest? You look tired.”
She settled back into her seat with a deep sigh. “I slept for a while, but I’m having trouble getting back to sleep. Looks like everyone else is doing fine though.”
I looked around the train and saw everyone else was asleep except for Jemma and Chris. That didn’t surprise me at all. Chris was always the guard dog and managed to function just fine with minimal sleep. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop falling asleep. I sat back and stared out the window as Ophelia stared at the back of the seat in front of her. Chris was the guard dog, but Ophelia was the mother hen. She was the only reason our household worked at all, and the biggest reason we all stayed together even after we were plenty old enough to part ways. We were all friends, sure, but it was Ophelia that made us a family.
“I’m scared, Park,” she whispered. “What if Jordan gets hurt?”
I turned my head to find she was gripping the armrests tightly. “I won’t let that happen, Ophie. You know I won’t.”
“I know you’ll try. But you can’t guarantee his safety.”
“In fairness, no one can guarantee anything as far as life is concerned. I promise, Ophie, I’ll do everything I can to keep him safe. You too.”
She glanced at me, that sparkly, brilliant blue the most comforting thing in the world. I’d heard somewhere that blue was a calming color, soothing and good for the soul. Ophelia’s eyes were the most calming thing in the world to me. She blinked slowly, her thick eyelashes momentarily stealing the gorgeous view. My heart paused, patiently waiting for her eyelids to open so I could absorb the serenity again. It was beautiful. She was—holy crap.
“What? What’s wrong, Park?” Suddenly she seemed very worried, even more than before. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
I couldn’t tell her why I was staring at her like anything, because all I could do was focus on breathing while she looked at me. I felt sweat break on my forehead, tingling in my hands and feet, and tightness in my throat. My lips felt numb, and soon after my scalp began to tingle. My chest constricted. I could hardly breathe. I felt my heart hammering. It was so loud I could hear the thrumming in my own ears, and I wondered if she could hear it, too. She placed her hand on my arm.
“Park?”
I leaped from my seat and practically beat the crap out of her trying to get over her and into the aisle. “Sorry. I’m feeling a bit sick. Probably just need some air. I’ll be right back.”
I bolted down the aisle toward the next train car. I pushed the door open and moved from one car to the other just to get a moment away from everyone else. The blast of cool air was enough to bring me back to my senses and even my breathing.
I sat in the nearest seat and began to observe my surroundings. The car was different from the one I left. The seats were covered with a burgundy fabric with black check marks, and the curtains were an awful gold. It also smelled like chicken soup. I scarcely had time to take in my surroundings before the door opened again. I thought it a bit strange the car was empty, but Jemma sat across from me, distracting me from my observances before I could formulate a million possible reasons.
“So,” she began as she crossed her legs, “hit you kinda hard, didn’t it?”
I ran my hands through my hair again, feeling lightheaded and nauseous. “I guess. I’m not sure there’s a good way to deal with any of this fairy tale stuff, is there?” I asked.
She chuckled and smacked her hand on her thigh. “Oh, you’re so funny. I don’t mean the reality of your situation hit you hard, I meant that thing with Ophelia.”
“What thing?” I asked, but there was no sense in lying to her. I wasn’t entirely sure what happened to me, but the farther removed from the incident I was, the clearer it became.
“Don’t play coy. You love her, and I don’t mean like a foster brother cares for his foster sister. You love her,” she said.
I closed my eyes to think. Ophelia had been the first to offer her friendship to me at the group home. When I got sick, she took care of me. She was the first to see me shift. I had never intended to tell anyone, but she made me feel special instead of like a complete freak of nature. She didn’t run away. She never gave up on me or any of us for that matter. Ophelia was selfless, thoughtful, and so sweet, but when she needed to be, she was fierce and strong. It snuck up on me, silent and deadly. I was in love with Ophelia Constance, which made me a giant hypocrite.
“Oh, my gosh. I’m such an idiot and a hypocrite and—”
“Oh, you’re definitely a hypocrite,” she teased. “You think I don’t notice the way you look at her? Your connection to her is so strong it’s almost visible, Parker. You look at her just like Wil looks at Calla, how Ely looks at Sierra, the same as Jack and Hayden—I could go on, but I’d be here all day if I tried to describe every amazing connection I’ve seen in my life. We, I mean people like us, you and me,” she said, pointing from herself to me, “we try to be strong and independent to protect the people we love, but sometimes that love smacks us right in our smug faces. I think, my friend, that little panic attack you just had was love smacking your smug face. Now, go do something about it, and maybe Thaddeus will take a lesson from your bravery.”
I raised my eyes to look at her. “You know how he feels?”
“Of course, I do. I feel the same way about him, but if he’s too stupid to open his eyes and pay attention to the thousands of hints I’ve given him, then that’s his loss.”
“He thinks he’s not good enough for you, you realize that, right?” I defended, kind of feeling bad for the guy.
“Maybe one day he’ll get over that, but I’m not going to force him. When he figures out he’s plenty good enough just how he is and asks me out, then I’ll say yes. Until then, I’m not stressing about it.” She shrugged and brushed it off, no big deal. “Saying you’re not good enough is a giant cop-out that keeps you from putting yourself in a pos
ition where you could get hurt. It’s stupid.”
“I think you might be the most self-aware person I’ve ever met,” I joked. “But I can’t tell Ophelia right now. For crying out loud, I didn’t even know until a few minutes ago.”
Jemma pursed her lips, then a crashing sound distracted us. The car swayed. Suddenly, sparks flew from around the wheels. The entire train began to shake. Jemma grabbed my arm to steady herself. I tried to stand so I could help the others, but their car detached from the rest of the train before I could take a single step.
“What is happening?” I yelled, but Jemma was already trying to pry the door open.
The train sped along as if it hadn’t lost a few cars, and if Jemma got the door open, I was afraid she would fall to her death. I tried to pull her back, but she was too strong. The door whipped open as the wind pushed her back. I caught her, then she shifted right there on the train and jumped from the rear platform. I saw her tumble down the hill, then leap to her feet. The car we were in was empty, but that didn’t mean there weren’t people somewhere on the train. One could easily write off seeing a wolf as strange for the area, but not a big deal. A chimera? Not so much. However, I was useless as a human standing in the middle of a vacant train car. I had to choose and fast.
“Screw it,” I said, then leaped from the train, said a prayer I’d shift before I hit the ground, and exploded into a flurry of feathers and fur. My wings erupted just in the nick of time. I flapped hard and managed to rise above the detached train cars that barreled down the tracks. I heard screams—Ophelia’s.
From above, I saw Jemma running hard to catch up to the speeding cars, which were oddly moving in the opposite direction now. From the left, I saw two bodies ejected from the car, but I wasn’t close enough to see who they were. Jemma paused, but the men were up and running within a second. They were Henry and Chris.
I swooped down as close as I could get to the cars, then cut hard right. Once I was flying alongside them, I could see the rest of the cars were filled with grotesque creatures resembling dogs. They had bulbous heads that reminded me of a pit bull, but pit bulls were adorable. These creatures, they were snarling, and their flesh hung from their faces in strips. Their upper quarters were strong and muscular while the rear sat lower to the ground like an English bulldog. I couldn’t stop comparing them to dogs, but there was nothing else real to compare them to.
I spied Ophelia hovering over her brother in the corner of our car, while Thaddeus fought off two of the dog-like creatures. Seline was unconscious, hopefully not dead, in the aisle. I flew in as close as I could, catching Ophelia’s attention. She pushed the window up and yanked on Jordan’s arm. He struggled with her, trying to push her toward the window but she wouldn’t have it. She pushed him against it, close enough for me to wrap my front legs around him. I yanked him free of the car and carried him to safety.
“Lemme go!” he screamed. “Ophelia!”
He wiggled in my grip, causing me to drop him from higher than I’d intended. He fell about ten feet and rolled down the hill on the side of the tracks. Chris caught up to us and fell to his knees beside our brother. Once I was sure Chris had things under control, I headed back to the train. Jemma was almost there, so close she could nearly touch the rear platform. Henry was far behind, but he didn’t give up.
A moment later, one of the windows blew out, and Thaddeus was ejected. He landed hard on his back and didn’t move. Jemma skidded to a stop and turned to get him. Henry kept running, but he would soon run out of steam. I pushed on as fast as I could. I caught a glimpse of Ophelia again. She cradled Seline in her arms as they were surrounded by terrifying creatures. A flash of red caught my eye. I shifted my focus to where I’d seen it.
Two figures stood on the rear platform, one in a long, flowing cape that hid her face, the other in plain view. She had bright, flaming hair and wore a short blue dress covered with shiny beads. She was grossly overdressed for a train ride, but she seemed joyous. She cackled and raised her hands, then pushed them toward me.
I felt a gale-force wind hit my wings, and I spiraled. Up was down and down was up as I spun around. Green, blue, green, blue—my world kept flipping on its axis until I finally landed. It hurt. It felt like every bone in my body snapped, but I forced myself up from the forest floor. I saw the train growing smaller in the distance and called out—the high-pitched cry of a cat in distress. The others caught up to me, but I ignored their voices. I spread my wings and lifted myself from the ground, then flew after the train.
Jemma was right behind me, pounding her paws against the soft dirt of the land. We were too late. The train was too far, and we were too injured to keep up. It disappeared around the bend with Seline and Ophelia still inside, surrounded by monsters.
I hadn’t realized how injured I was until I landed hard on the ground. Jemma fell beside me in a panting heap. She shifted and lay on her back, staring at the sky. I shifted and assessed my injuries. I was beaten up, but I didn’t think anything was broken.
Jordan reached us first. He held his arm tightly, his shoulder protruding at an odd angle. “Did you get her?”
I tried to slow my breathing. I shook my head, then stood. “No, but I will.”
Once I had gained my bearings, I began walking in the direction the cars went, wondering what on earth kept them moving when they weren’t attached to a train. I also wondered how the red-haired woman was able to knock me right out of the sky.
“Wait!” Henry yelled, then caught me by my arm.
I shoved him away, enraged. “Get off me!”
Everyone had caught up to us by then, including Ross, who must have been thrown from the train when I wasn’t watching. I pointed sharply at Henry. “This is your fault, and yours!” I screamed at Jemma and Thaddeus. “If you hadn’t barreled into our lives with your stupid crap, none of this would have happened! Jordan wouldn’t have a broken arm, and Ophelia wouldn’t be a hostage right now!”
“My wife is on that train, too! I won’t stop until they are safe, Parker, but walking won’t get us there! We need a witch.”
“A what?” I yelled at Henry, who was far calmer than one would expect with his wife on a train filled with angry devil-like dogs.
“A witch. We need help from a witch. That was Rose on the train, Parker,” Jemma added.
“I don’t care who she was. I’m going after that train, and I’ll kill her myself if she so much as splits a hair on Ophelia’s head!” I was screaming at the top of my lungs, red-faced and seething.
“Parker,” Chris began.
“No! Leave me alone! I’ll get her back myself if it takes me the rest of my life!”
“I know! We’re coming with you, but we need a plan,” Chris reasoned.
“We’d never leave you to do this alone,” Ross added. “But Chris is right. We need to get Jordan some help, then we’ll figure out how to rescue Ophelia and Seline.”
“I said, no! It’s my fault this happened, and I’ll get her back myself,” I demanded, two seconds from shifting and flying after the train again.
“How will you do that?” Henry asked.
“I don’t know! I just know it’s my fault she was on that train in the first place, and so help me, I will die trying to save her if that’s what it takes. She’s worth it. She’s... she’s just everything.”
Silence surrounded the group for a moment while everyone let my words sink in. I had made a complete fool of myself. My outburst was unwarranted, but I had only just realized my feelings for Ophelia and thought I might never see her again.
“Parker,” Jemma began, her soft voice comforting. “I get it. It’s okay. We’ll help you, but we have to be smart.”
I nodded, feeling like a total fool. They were right. If I wanted to get them back, I’d have to remain level-headed and stop lashing out at the wrong people. It was Rose who took Ophelia, not them. Still, I wanted nothing more than to chase after the train and throw the vile Rose right off.
Jordan stepped to
ward me with his jaw clenched tightly. His cheeks were damp with tears, his voice was shaky. “If you love my sister as much as I think you do, then run.”
I turned on my heel and ran, shifted mid-stride, and lifted into the air. I didn’t make it ten yards before something bit me in the rump. It stung, then a heaviness came over me. I couldn’t stay awake though I tried. I struggled to stay airborne, but I soon fell to the ground in a heap. A warming sensation ran through my veins as someone lifted my wing to see my face.
“Dart gun will get you every time,” Thaddeus said, then I lost consciousness.
Chapter Five
There are many things much worse than waking up right in the middle of something and feeling confused beyond belief. For me, nothing was worse than waking up a second time without a clue what was happening. The moment my eyes opened, I remembered Ophelia and Seline. I sat up too fast, and my head spun, but I managed to stay upright. I was in a car surrounded by people I knew, yet I felt isolated. If I had been smack in the middle of a desolate wasteland, I couldn’t have felt any more alone than I did without Ophelia.
“Welcome to the land of the living,” Jordan said with a bitter tone. Thaddeus peered in the rearview mirror at him but said nothing. “The jerk in the front darted you so you wouldn’t rescue my sister.”
“I darted him so he wouldn’t run off and get himself killed. There is a difference,” Thaddeus defended. “I’m sure you felt being the hero was the right call but chasing down a train filled with nefarious creatures and a crazed, sociopathic woman would have led to nothing but disaster for you and Ophelia.”
I sighed. I knew he was right, but I wanted to smack him in the head, nonetheless.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“Literally or existentially? Because I’m in the middle of a crisis after seeing those rotting dog things attack my sister,” Jordan said. “But I guess Thaddeus is right. I’m glad you didn’t get killed.”
Chris looked over his shoulder from the passenger seat. “I get you’re mad right now, Park, but we have a goal. Let’s achieve it so we can find Ophelia, okay?”
Autumn Awakens Page 6
