by Sarah Reeves
“Alex, honey, do you need anything?” Jennifer was back from the yard, and when Alex turned, the frantic expression on her face made her mother frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Where is Dad’s necklace? Do you have it?” Alex ran a hand through her hair. “I was packing and I can’t find it.”
“No, I don’t. I put it on the desk over there when you started getting sick the second time.”
“Great. Just great. It’s gone. Someone had to have taken it-” Alex froze. “Hannah. It has to be her, I saw her coming downstairs on my way up here, with a bag in her hands. She took the necklace.” She strode out the door, and down the stairs, taking them two at a time. She nearly ran into Adrien, who had heard the commotion upstairs.
“What’s going on?” She asked, looking between the other two women.
“What does an Undari amulet do to a human?” Alex asked.
“What do you mean?”
“What does an Undari amulet do to a human being if they touch it?” Alex nearly screamed. She walked quickly into the kitchen to look in the trash, praying that Hannah had been telling the truth. Her stomach gave one slow, sick turn when she didn’t see anything except the remains from dinner. She turned to Adrien. “What happens?”
Adrien met the young woman’s terrified gaze. “They die.”
Chapter Nine
“HANNAH!” Alex was in the backyard, screaming her best friend’s name. Nothing. Teagan had been made to stay inside with Jennifer, while Adrien and Oliver fanned out, searching. Alex ran back through the house, coming out the front to see that Oliver had gone down the driveway a ways, and Adrien in the woods near the right side of the house. Alex rushed into the woods on the left side of the house. It had been nearly twenty minutes since Hannah had gone missing, and Alex could barely breathe. She wanted to find her friend so badly, but she was terrified beyond belief that she would stumble upon a body rather than Hannah, alive and well. Her mind began to supply images of a broken, burned husk of a carcass with grotesquely misshapen limbs, still smoking. “No, no no no no no. HANNAH!” Her voice cracked, and her heart pounded in her ears.
“Alex!” The girl in question whipped around, hearing Oliver’s shout. “Alex, get over here!” Instantly Alex was sprinting hard in the direction of his voice, feet pounding the ground beneath her. She prayed to whatever god was listening that Hannah would just be exploring the woods, looking for something interesting. By the sound of Oliver’s yell, though, she knew it wasn’t the case. Her wings snapped out, instinct driving her to use them to make her body go faster. Speed didn’t matter to her, though, because getting to Oliver’s side seemed to take an eternity. What she saw when she arrived took her to her knees.
Oliver was staring at a pile of ash, face white with shock and grief. There were bits of charred flesh among the ashes, and Alex would forever have the image of a horribly disfigured hand branded into her mind. The wind kicked up small puffs of ash that seemed to leer at Alex before disappearing entirely. Someone was crying, choked, raw, awful sobs that echoed through the trees. At least, that’s what Alex thought, until Oliver laid his hand on her shoulder, and she realized that those terrible sounds were coming out of her instead. The amulet was resting on the ground next to what was left of Alex’s best friend, pulsating softly next to Hannah’s bracelet. The string had perished. Alex watched herself reach forward with violently shaking fingers to gently touch the hand sticking up from the ashes. She jerked back with a low sob when it disintegrated. In her mind, Alex could remember running through the woods near her house with six year old Hannah, and swimming in the lake while camping in the summertime, scolding each other for scratching mosquito bites and seeing who could eat the most s’mores. Tears flowed freely down Alex’s face, and she bent forward, pressing her forehead into the ground next to the remains of her closest friend. She remembered how just a few weeks ago they were planning Teagan’s birthday, how protective Hannah was over Alex when the Seer confronted her. Alex shook uncontrollably, her body racked with raw grief and anger. Anger at what she had become, anger at the amulet, and at the Unseen. Anger at Hannah.
“You weren’t supposed to touch it, you idiot.” Alex’s hands clenched next to her, taking fistfuls of the dirt. “You weren’t supposed to touch the fucking amulet. Don’t you know that?”
“Oh, god.” Alex didn’t look up at Adrien’s voice. All she wanted to do was scream, scream until she couldn’t anymore. Until Hannah came back. “Alex, you need to go inside the house. You don’t need to be out here right now.” The student flinched when Adrien put her hands underneath her arms, lifting her effortlessly to her feet. Her legs wobbled, and Oliver came forward to steady her. He himself was unsteady, swaying slightly. Alex couldn’t look at him, but she could feel his shaky breathing against her side. Together, with Adrien behind them, they walked back up to the house. Alex was trying to breathe, but it was so painful. She saw through her tears that Jennifer had come out of the house.
“Oh, sweetie, no.” Warm arms wrapped her in a hug, and Alex finally broke down completely. She sank to the ground, wrapped in her mother’s embrace, and howled her misery to the world. Everything in her felt broken, shattered beyond repair. She felt her mother shaking, too. For what felt like hours, Alex sobbed, shaking, squeezing her mother like doing so would make everything go back to the way it was. Her eyes were open, unseeing, but she couldn’t get rid of the image of her best friend's remains. Finally, she was able to raise her head and wipe the tears. She met her mother’s swollen red eyes, and asked one question.
“Why did she touch the amulet?”
“I don’t know, honey, I don’t-” Jennifer stopped talking when Alex rose to her feet.
“Why did she touch it? What godforsaken thought could have run through her mind, what in the hell possessed her to take that fucking stone!? She was stupid, completely fucking insane if she thought that stealing that stone would do her any good.” Tears were still running down Alex’s face and she swiped at them angrily. “And now she’s dead, she’s gone, and for what? FOR WHAT?” Overwhelmed with fury and grief, she turned, blasting a tree nearby with fire that was completely black.
“Alex, you need to calm down,” started Jennifer, standing too, but Alex didn’t listen. She blasted the tree again and again, walking towards it like it was the reason Hannah was dead. The tree was fully ablaze, dark flames and even darker smoke billowing towards the sky. When Alex was close enough, she brought her hand back and punched the tree as hard as she could. The trunk cracked, but didn’t break. She was drawing her hand back for another punch when she felt someone catch it. Alex spun, a snarl ripping from her throat, but stopped cold when she saw Adrien behind her, holding her fist. There were tear tracks on her face, too, but she stared at her student with calm, composed eyes.
“Stop.” That was all Adrien said, but Alex felt all the anger slide out of her, until she was just standing there, the tree burning behind her. “You’re angry. You’re grieving. I understand how you feel, but you need to pull yourself together before someone gets hurt. Look at your mother. Look at her, Alex.” Alex obeyed, but could barely muster a reaction when she saw Jennifer’s pale, frightened visage. She caught a glimpse of Oliver just as he disappeared into the house. “You can grieve, you can be angry,” continued her teacher, “but you don’t do it by putting others around you in danger. Okay?”
“Okay.” Alex’s voice was like sandpaper. “Fine.” She met her mother’s gaze again. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. The words felt hollow to her. She had gone through so many flashes of emotion that she only felt numb now.
“Go inside, you need to get some sleep. We’re leaving in the morning. I’ll go and get the stone.” Without waiting to see if Alex had complied, Adrien turned on her heel and strode back up the driveway and into the woods. Alex mechanically walked into the house. When she got into the foyer, Teagan ran up to her.
“Are you okay?” the little girl asked, looking up at her. Alex nodded, not trusting her
self to speak. She accepted Teagan’s hug without really feeling it, then continued up the stairs. She passed Hannah’s room and stopped, seeing movement. Awed excitement filled her veins, and she burst in, only to find Oliver standing at the desk, holding a small piece of paper. He looked up when she came in, and held out the paper. There was no expression on his face. Alex, feeling somehow worse, took it, and began to read.
Alex,
I took your dad’s amulet. You told me about how it triggered your powers, and you were mostly human for seventeen years, right? Then I saw your powers, and they scared me. I love you to pieces, you know that. But how can we be friends, if you’re so much more powerful now? I mean, you’re able to turn into a dragon. It’s completely insane! You can’t tell me that you saw this coming, any more than I did. So if there’s even a chance I can be as powerful as you, I’m going to take it. Worse comes to worst, I’ll have a wicked burn and you and Oliver will have something else to make fun of me for. I’m not afraid of you, Alex. I’m just… I just want powers, too. So that I don’t have to be afraid in the future. Besides, if I have powers like yours, I’ll be able to protect your family, right? It’s a win win! Be back soon!
Love you, dear!
Hannah
Alex finished reading, and stared at the page in her hands for a full minute. Oliver came forward and took the page from Alex’s nerveless fingers. “I thought there had to be a reason why she took it,” he said in a low voice. “So I came up here to look around, and that’s when I found the note. I’m sorry, Alex. I didn’t know she would do this.”
“None of us knew,” she replied. “There was no way to tell what she was thinking. I just thought she was afraid of me, of my power. I didn’t think for a second that she was jealous.”
“Whatever you do, however you feel, please don’t feel guilty, Alex. You didn’t even know you had powers. I suppose she thought that the reaction you had to the stone would be what she would feel, and that it would be worth it. She didn’t know that it would kill her.”
Alex flinched at the word, and she felt her face screw up like she was going to cry again. Before the tears could fall, Oliver had wrapped her in a soft hug, laying his cheek against the top of her head.
“You should sleep,” he said quietly. “You need time to reset, because you’re going to be gone tomorrow.”
“I envy you,” Alex said suddenly, stepping back from him. Oliver looked startled at the sudden change in demeanor.
“What do you mean?”
“I envy you,” she repeated. “You don’t feel any pain, look at you. You look fine. There’s nothing, is there? No pain, no anger, no grief. You’re completely blank. How is it you don’t feel anything?”
“I feel plenty,” he replied. His eyes were focused so intently on Alex’s that she had to look away. “I am grieving. I am in pain. I’m very angry. I’m just methodical about dealing with them, I think through them before I react. Don’t think that I don’t feel every bit the same as you do. Your emotions are just easier to see, that’s all.” Oliver smoothed a hand over Alex’s hair, cupping her cheek. “Now, you really do need to get some sleep. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. Okay?”
Alex nodded, and left the room, bidding Oliver goodnight. Her mind only got more clouded as she got to hers. Thoughts of Hannah and what she’d done swirled through her mind in an unending loop, and when she got into her room, Alex laid on the bed, wrapping the covers tight around herself and letting the tears come. They were silent this time, falling onto the pillow beneath her head and lulling her slowly into sleep.
Alex dreamed that night. In her dream, she was standing in a fog, unable to see anything around her. She raised her hand and moved it through the cloud, watching it swirl through her fingers. “Is anyone there?” she called. No answer. Of course not, she thought.
Alex walked forward, feeling uneasy. The fog seemed to darken as she did, looking more like storm clouds the further she went. Whispers filtered around her, but there was no way to discern what was being said. “Hello?” she called again. “Who’s there?” The whispers grew louder, the fog grew darker, until it was nearly pitch black. Alex stopped, a sense of dread stealing over her.
Ahead, a small fire erupted, making Alex squint in the sudden light. It was just bright enough to illuminate a figure, standing roughly ten feet in front of Alex. It’s hunched appearance did nothing to ease Alex’s nerves, and she didn’t dare take another step towards it. She did realize that the whispering was coming from the creature, though. It got steadily louder, but it wasn’t any easier to figure out what was being said. She was about to say something again until the shadow began to shake, as though holding back laughter.
The fire behind it grew bright enough for Alex to truly see what was standing before her, and her legs gave out from underneath her. Hannah. But this wasn’t her Hannah. The one standing before her was an ugly parody of her best friend. She was bent forward slightly, shoulders drawn in. Her arms bent at unnatural angles, as did her legs, and what skin was showing hung from her body in distorted ribbons, dripping what was almost certainly blood. It was nothing though, compared to her face. Eyes that glowed like coals were sunk deep into her pale, drawn face, and a maniacal grin stretched her mouth over long, yellow teeth. What little hair was left hung in greasy and tangled strands.
Alex scrambled backwards on her hands and feet, mouth open in a silent scream as the Hannah-thing came forward, arms swinging. Horror made her limbs stiff, so she didn’t get very far before she collapsed, shaking violently. The creature dropped to it’s knees and leaned in close. The smell of decay washed over Alex, making her gag. This time the thing didn’t whisper. It spoke in a gurgling, horrendously child-like voice, black and viscous liquid oozing from between her teeth.
“We’re coming,” The singsong voice dissolved into insane laughter, before everything went dark again. Alex could still feel the presence of Hannah next to her, and she shut her eyes, pleading for it to stop, begging it silently not to touch her. Hannah’s words were on repeat in her head, growing louder and more insistent until Alex had to press her hands to her ears.
All of a sudden, it stopped. Alex could no longer sense the presence of the Hannah-creature. Cautiously, she opened her eyes, lowering her hands slowly, The pale fog was back, and she was alone. She stood, casting her eyes around for any other figures, but there were none. I need to wake up.
Just as the thought ran through her mind, her body exploded in agony, burning pain eating at her flesh like a living thing. Alex couldn’t think, couldn’t even scream. It tore at her, and Hannah’s words were back, screaming in her head.
The torture drove her into consciousness and she sat straight up with a shriek. The door to her room burst open and for one wild second, Alex expected to see Hannah’s awful face looming above her. Instead, Oliver stood in front of her, breathing harshly.
“What happened?” he demanded.
“Bad dream,” Alex panted. She was covered in sweat and the air from the fan made her shiver.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” she answered honestly. “I don’t know if I ever will be.” The thought made it hard to breathe for a moment. “She was so messed up, Oliver, and then she said… she said ‘we’re coming’. What does that even mean?”
“Who said that? Hannah?” Oliver sat on the edge of the bed. “In your dream?”
“Yeah. She was all… distorted. I can’t get the image out of my head.” Alex shuddered, drawing her arms around her knees. “I miss her so much, Oliver.” A thought occurred to her. “What are we going to do for a funeral? Oh, god, what are we going to tell her parents?”
“Don’t worry about that now. As far as the funeral goes, we’ll do something. About her parents, well… you let us worry about that here. You’ve got enough on your plate, without-” he broke off, looking towards the door. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Shhh. Listen.” Alex and Oliver were quiet for a mo
ment, and Alex caught the sound of raised voices coming from downstairs.
“Think we should go see what it’s about?” Alex looked over at Oliver again.
“Yeah, I do.” Together, they snuck out of Alex’s room and to the top of the stairs. In the dark, Alex had to make herself focus on what Adrien and Jennifer were arguing about to keep her mind from supplying her with images from her dream. They descended the stairs halfway, and stopped. The voices of the two older women drifted up to them.
“I don’t like this, Jennifer. It’s all gone.” Adrien’s voice was agitated. “Not even the stone is there anymore.”
“The wind must have carried it off,” replied Jennifer, sounding just as upset. “That’s the only thing I can think of that makes sense. There isn’t a trace of the ash left.” On the staircase, Alex and Oliver locked eyes, shock mirrored in both of their faces. Hannah? Mouthed Alex, and Oliver nodded.
“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Adrien said harshly. “Someone or something took those ashes, and the stone. You think that would just blow away too?”
“I’m just hoping that what I think happened hasn’t actually happened. I don’t want to think about what would happen if it were true.”
“We have to. There’s no point in hoping that it hasn’t, that’s how we get killed.” Footsteps on tile told the duo that one of them was pacing the kitchen. “The only thing I know of that could have taken it was the Unseen. I just don’t see the benefit. What could he want with a bunch of ashes and a stone he can’t use? It doesn’t make sense.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t. What are we going to do about it, though? Are we going to tell the kids?”
“No.” Adrien’s voice was final. “There’s no point in telling them what we think. We’re going to tell them that we’ve already buried the ashes, so they didn’t have to, and we destroyed the stone. We need Alex to focus on her training, she’s already devastated, she doesn’t need this on top of everything else.”
