* * *
Chapter 1
* * *
Molly Young was sitting on her couch fiddling with her short,
brown hair when the doorbell rang. She stood up, dropped her pick
behind her on the couch and bounced over to the door. She opened it and
frowned at the sad sight that met her eyes.
Standing before her was a girl. A very thin, sad looking girl.
Her posture was terrible, bent over and beaten looking. Her chin length
green hair hung in front of her face, obscuring it from Molly's eyes.
It was dirty and ragged. The girl slowly lifted her head to look at
Molly and the girl's faded brown eyes stared into Molly's sparkling
brown ones. All in all, the girl looked very depressed and it took
Molly a couple minutes to figure out who it was.
"Kory?" she suddenly asked softly. There was disbelief in her
voice. This wasn't the Kory she had known before she moved to San
Francisco. The Kory she left behind in Bloomington had been happy,
excited and generally a fun-loving person. This girl didn't look as if
the word 'fun' was in her vocabulary.
The girl's head dropped letting her hair hide her face again.
"Hello, Molly," she said softly.
Molly's eyes softened and she looked on Kory not with pity, but
sympathy. "Oh, Kory. What happened?" She moved into the hallway of the
apartment complex and took Kory into a gentle hug. Kory just stood
there for a moment, then she collapsed, burying herself in Molly's arms
and sobbing.
Molly gently led her into the large apartment and sat her on
the couch. She held and rocked Kory for a long time, before Kory pushed
her away gently and straightened up, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry,
Molly. Just, so much has happened..." she trailed off staring at her
hands.
"It's okay, Kory. But what are you doing here? School just
started and I know your parents wouldn't let you come out here alone in
the middle of the year."
Kory opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a male
voice. "Hey, Molly. Going somewhere?" Kory turned around to see a young
guy her age holding up her old brown suitcase. He looked at her and
blinked, then looked harder.
"Kory?" he asked suddenly.
"Hi, Cameron." Kory could hardly believe it was him. He had
moved away from Bloomington at about the same time as Molly, but she
didn't think they had gone to the same place.
He placed the luggage gently inside the short hallway and
walked over to sit next to Molly.
"This is a surprise. What are you doing here?" he sounded a
little shocked and Kory couldn't blame him. It's not often that old
friends just show up for a visit.
"She's visiting." Molly said quickly. She didn't know why her
old friend was here, but she was sure it wasn't something Kory wanted
spread all around. Molly knew Kory would tell her eventually. For now,
Molly was a hostess.
"Come on, Kitten." she said standing up and using an old
nickname she had for Kory. "Let's get you settled in."
"I don't know where she is. I can barely feel her. All I can
tell is that she's alive," Jonquil said slowly to the small group of
six gathered in what used to be Topaz and Jendra's apartment. Now only
Jendra occupied it. It had been almost a week since Topaz left.
A horrible week for all her friends. They didn't know where she
had gone and they didn't have any clues. Jonquil had been trying all
week to get in touch with her mentally, but their bond just didn't
stretch to wherever Topaz was. It was aggravating him to no end that he
could feel her in his mind, but not do anything about it. He couldn't
locate her, or talk to her.
Lapis had been staying with Jendra, sleeping in Topaz's bed at
night. She had hoped the personal contact with something long associated
with her lost friend would help her have a vision. But she wasn't
getting any of Topaz. But she had been getting something.
"Guys, I think I might have a lead." Everyone's attention was
immediately focused on Lapis. "You all know I've been staying her to
see if I could get anything on Topaz, and I haven't been." There was a
large collective groan. "But I have been getting visions of Molly Young.
Remember her?" Everyone but Jendra and Noki nodded. "I keep seeing her.
So maybe, Topaz went to stay with Molly?" she finished lamely with a
small shrug.
"It's possible." Jade mussed softly.
"Who's Molly?" Jendra asked.
"She was a friend of ours before you and Noki moved here. She
went to South with us for a year, then her family moved out to
California. San Francisco if I remember right," Vanax said.
"So you think Topaz went to stay with Molly?" Jonquil asked
Lapis. She nodded.
"It's the best explanation I can come up with," she answered
verbally.
"Well then. What are we waiting for? Let's go get her and bring
her back!" Jonquil said jumping off the couch.
"Wait!" Lapis said. "I don't know if we should. She didn't
sound like she wanted to be here in the note. Maybe we should just let
her stay for a while. She'll come back on her own some day."
"I can't wait till someday," Jonquil said sadly as he fell back
into the couch.
"None of us want to wait, but maybe Lapis has a point. We
shouldn't rush out there and drag her back. She'll come back on her own,
hopefully," Jendra said softly placing a gentle hand on Jonquil's arm.
He smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess. I don't know how long I can
wait to see her though."
"And that's all of it." Topaz finished later that night. She
and Molly were sitting in front of Molly's fireplace with cups of cocoa
and Topaz had just finished relating most of the story to her old
friend. She had omitted the night world portions, saying Thora was just
insane, because Molly was a human.
"That's terrible! I can't believe that person killed all those
poor people. I'm so sorry!" Molly cried as she hugged her friend hard.
"It must have been awful. No wonder you ran away. Don't worry. You can
stay here as long as you like."
"Thanks," Kory said as she hugged Molly with all her strength.
"I really just need somewhere to be away from Bloomington while I get a
grip on reality again."
"I understand. It'll work out. I promise. Now tell me some
happy stuff. Are you still going out with Rob?"
Chapter 1
* * *
Molly Young was sitting on her couch fiddling with her short,
brown hair when the doorbell rang. She stood up, dropped her pick
behind her on the couch and bounced over to the door. She opened it and
frowned at the sad sight that met her eyes.
Standing before her was a girl. A very thin, sad looking girl.
Her posture was terrible, bent over and beaten looking. Her chin length
green hair hung in front of her face, obscuring it from Molly's eyes.
It was dirty and ragged. The girl slowly lifted her head to look at
Molly and the girl's faded brown eyes stared into Molly's sparkling
brown ones. All in all, the girl looked very depressed and it took
Molly a couple minutes to figure out who it was.
"Kory?" she suddenly asked softly. There was disbelief in her
voice. This wasn't the Kory she had known before she moved to San
Francisco. The Kory she left behind in Bloomington had been happy,
excited and generally a fun-loving person. This girl didn't look as if
the word 'fun' was in her vocabulary.
The girl's head dropped letting her hair hide her face again.
"Hello, Molly," she said softly.
Molly's eyes softened and she looked on Kory not with pity, but
sympathy. "Oh, Kory. What happened?" She moved into the hallway of the
apartment complex and took Kory into a gentle hug. Kory just stood
there for a moment, then she collapsed, burying herself in Molly's arms
and sobbing.
Molly gently led her into the large apartment and sat her on
the couch. She held and rocked Kory for a long time, before Kory pushed
her away gently and straightened up, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry,
Molly. Just, so much has happened..." she trailed off staring at her
hands.
"It's okay, Kory. But what are you doing here? School just
started and I know your parents wouldn't let you come out here alone in
the middle of the year."
Kory opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a male
voice. "Hey, Molly. Going somewhere?" Kory turned around to see a young
guy her age holding up her old brown suitcase. He looked at her and
blinked, then looked harder.
"Kory?" he asked suddenly.
"Hi, Cameron." Kory could hardly believe it was him. He had
moved away from Bloomington at about the same time as Molly, but she
didn't think they had gone to the same place.
He placed the luggage gently inside the short hallway and
walked over to sit next to Molly.
"This is a surprise. What are you doing here?" he sounded a
little shocked and Kory couldn't blame him. It's not often that old
friends just show up for a visit.
"She's visiting." Molly said quickly. She didn't know why her
old friend was here, but she was sure it wasn't something Kory wanted
spread all around. Molly knew Kory would tell her eventually. For now,
Molly was a hostess.
"Come on, Kitten." she said standing up and using an old
nickname she had for Kory. "Let's get you settled in."
"I don't know where she is. I can barely feel her. All I can
tell is that she's alive," Jonquil said slowly to the small group of
six gathered in what used to be Topaz and Jendra's apartment. Now only
Jendra occupied it. It had been almost a week since Topaz left.
A horrible week for all her friends. They didn't know where she
had gone and they didn't have any clues. Jonquil had been trying all
week to get in touch with her mentally, but their bond just didn't
stretch to wherever Topaz was. It was aggravating him to no end that he
could feel her in his mind, but not do anything about it. He couldn't
locate her, or talk to her.
Lapis had been staying with Jendra, sleeping in Topaz's bed at
night. She had hoped the personal contact with something long associated
with her lost friend would help her have a vision. But she wasn't
getting any of Topaz. But she had been getting something.
"Guys, I think I might have a lead." Everyone's attention was
immediately focused on Lapis. "You all know I've been staying her to
see if I could get anything on Topaz, and I haven't been." There was a
large collective groan. "But I have been getting visions of Molly Young.
Remember her?" Everyone but Jendra and Noki nodded. "I keep seeing her.
So maybe, Topaz went to stay with Molly?" she finished lamely with a
small shrug.
"It's possible." Jade mussed softly.
"Who's Molly?" Jendra asked.
"She was a friend of ours before you and Noki moved here. She
went to South with us for a year, then her family moved out to
California. San Francisco if I remember right," Vanax said.
"So you think Topaz went to stay with Molly?" Jonquil asked
Lapis. She nodded.
"It's the best explanation I can come up with," she answered
verbally.
"Well then. What are we waiting for? Let's go get her and bring
her back!" Jonquil said jumping off the couch.
"Wait!" Lapis said. "I don't know if we should. She didn't
sound like she wanted to be here in the note. Maybe we should just let
her stay for a while. She'll come back on her own some day."
"I can't wait till someday," Jonquil said sadly as he fell back
into the couch.
"None of us want to wait, but maybe Lapis has a point. We
shouldn't rush out there and drag her back. She'll come back on her own,
hopefully," Jendra said softly placing a gentle hand on Jonquil's arm.
He smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess. I don't know how long I can
wait to see her though."
"And that's all of it." Topaz finished later that night. She
and Molly were sitting in front of Molly's fireplace with cups of cocoa
and Topaz had just finished relating most of the story to her old
friend. She had omitted the night world portions, saying Thora was just
insane, because Molly was a human.
"That's terrible! I can't believe that person killed all those
poor people. I'm so sorry!" Molly cried as she hugged her friend hard.
"It must have been awful. No wonder you ran away. Don't worry. You can
stay here as long as you like."
"Thanks," Kory said as she hugged Molly with all her strength.
"I really just need somewhere to be away from Bloomington while I get a
grip on reality again."
"I understand. It'll work out. I promise. Now tell me some
happy stuff. Are you still going out with Rob?"