Disclaimer: I don't own Darkest Powers. So no need to go grab your ambulance chasing lawyers and attempt to sue my ass.

I was interested in what the demon meant by "grow up. Grow up strong and powerful.". So I figured the best way for me to figure out my crazy thoughts were to write them down as a story and try to work through them. Now I'm not saying that I have no idea where this story will go. Trust me I already know. I just thought I should warn you guys a little bit more about what the story was about. Also sorry for not having the chapter be that long but, can ya blame me? I mean I must have written like 3 drafts for this ONE chapter. I have a serious problem deciding where to start a story. Part of me wanted to start out in a blaze of glory with gun fire going everywhere and have Derek go all Rambo on people, I think my subconscious may have just wanted to imagine Derek shirtless though . . . yet my other side wanted to slowly creep into the plot and let the reader get a feel for the story. Of course though after one of the voices in my head passed out after yelling for the Rambo thing, the logical side kicked in and told me to start over and do it slowly. You can probably just skip this part unless you want to hear me blather on about Rambo and shirtless Derek.

After three weeks on the run, we were all finally safe. Simon and Derek had found their dad, after about four worry filled months. I myself had been reunited with my aunt Lauren. All in the process of finding them, we had escaped the Edison Group and pretty much brought down the building with it. So why was it that even with all that stuff behind me and I was finally in an actual bed, and I still couldn't fall asleep?

When I looked to my left, I could see my aunt in a deep slumber. I finally really looked at her face. How did I not notice the dark circles under her eyes? It truly made me wonder what happened to her when she was held captive with the Edison group. Did they give her three meals a day? Was she allowed out of her room for any period of time? Did she know what was happening with me? How was she punished for helping me escape?The way my thoughts were going I knew it would only rile me up even more and sleep would be no where near.

Then there was Tori, she might as well have been dead to the world. Yet, I could understand the feeling. My body felt like it would collapse right where I was but, it was my mind that wouldn't allow my guard to be let down even for a few moments. I think I kept on expecting for people to come ramming down the motel door and taking me away. I also had no idea if any bodies where close enough for me to raise them in my sleep. I knew I didn't have that problem within the last week but, now that things seemed to have settled down for a little bit, who knew what thoughts could creep into my subconscious. At least when we were on the run, I didn't have time to worry about whether I would raise a body. Now though . . .

I shiver ran through my body before I could finish that thought. It was at that thought though that I knew I had to get out of the room, if only for a while. After standing in front of the T.V. and watching over Tori and my aunt, I figured it would be safe enough to leave the room for a couple minutes without alerting anyone of my absence. I hastily crept over to the dingy closet and grabbed Aunt Lauren's sweater. I had ended up getting blood all over the one I had brought with me and I knew being caught with blood all over you in the middle of the night was a no no in the "stay under the radar." plan. I didn't even bother putting it on though, in fear that the rustling would wake up someone. I just grabbed the sweater and snuck out the motel door.

The moment I got outside though, I noticed it was no better then being cooped up in that room. I had focused so hard on getting away from the room that I forgot the motel was right next to thickly grown woods. The exact place where your imagination could go wild with all the possibilities that it possessed. I contemplated just going back into the room and trying to get at least an hour's sleep in before dawn but, my stubborn streak proved hard to overcome. I couldn't go back into that room without getting some fresh air to clear all the thoughts swirling through my head. So with that I turned back around and decided to look around and see what there was in this motel.

I slowly walked towards the main building of the motel. The place was pretty much a run down house from the seventies. The paint was peeling, the roof was slowing coming undone and the sidewalk was cracked everywhere. I finally looked at the sign above the building and it said "Martha's place". The first thought that came to mind was what a cheesy name but, It honestly made me feel a little relieved to know the name of the motel. It seemed like lately I needed to know more and more of my surroundings. I wasn't sure if I wanted to thank or throttle Derek for making me look at the world with a little more caution. I walked inside the main building to see an older man dozing on the front counter. I decided it was best if I just let him nap more, while I looked around. To the far right of the cramped room I saw an area for a continental breakfast. All it really had were boxes of cereal and a refrigerator of milk but, after days of junk food, I think would have taken almost anything now. I was just happy to know that we would have actually food in the morning. After peering around the room for another five minutes I decided I had seen everything and was on my way out. Just as I was about to step through the threshold, a pair of yellow cat like eyes flashed right before me. I had not expected them to just pop out , so I did the one thing I usually did when I was surprised. I jumped back and let out a loud yelp. I was able to stop myself from yelping too loud but, of course it was loud enough to wake the man who was dozing at the counter.

"Hey! Girl, what are ya doin' in here!" The elderly man bellowed in a raspy voice. I had frozen up at the sound of his voice. I was still trying to figure out if what I saw was my mind playing a trick on me for being up so long, or if it was a spirit trying to contact me. It didn't help either that after trying to have my erratically beating heart calm down, another voice had to try and shock me into a heart attack. I slowly turned toward him trying to keep my face innocent, like I hadn't just been caught sneaking around in this man's stuff.

It must have been trying to think this through longer though then what I thought though because the man became impatient and asked me again "I said. What are ya doin' here?". It seemed he was already trying to figure out what I was doing because he seemed to get angrier by the moment.

So I quickly tried to answer him "I-I w-was just c-coming in to ask for some m-more blankets, s-s-sir." Oh no. Now had to be the moment my stutter decided to come back and visit. It was always the surefire way someone could tell if I was lying or nervous and at the moment I was both. I expected to be called out the moment the lie came from my mouth. But when I looked at the man's face, all I saw was remorse and pity. "Oh. Wael all ya had ta do was say that. I wouldn't have had ta come to the wrong conklusion if you had just said dat." He said in his most apologetic tone. He was already moving towards a cabinet behind his desk. I wasn't sure if he felt bad because he had just yelled at a kid with a stutter or he was genuinely sorry for thinking the worst. At the moment though, I couldn't have cared less. I was honestly worried he was gonna call the cops on me or something. And that was something that I could not deal with.

I noticed the man grab a couple of cheap fleece blankets from the cabinet, he then proceeded to wobble over to me and plop them into my hands. I could already tell I wouldn't be using these moth infested things for sleep but, being the girl that I was, I gave him a smile to show how much I appreciated his efforts to keep me "cozy". He in return gave me a tired smile. After about two more minutes of awkward silence, I muttered a "have a nice night" and practically bolted out of the place. The minute I was out of the main building I decided it would be best if I just went back to the motel room and pretended to sleep for the next half hour, waiting for the others to get up. I paced over to the room and fast as I dared without drawing attention to anyone who might have noticed a fifteen year old girl walking in the early morning hours. I had already almost gotten in trouble with that one man, I didn't need any more problems.

Just as I saw my room, I breathed a sigh of relief that I had gotten back without anyone noticing. But just as I was about walk up to the door, I stopped dead in my tracks. There right next to the door was Derek leaning against the wall waiting. Even with his long black hair covering his vibrant green eyes, I could already tell he was angry. His mouth was set in his ever present scowl. I briefly thought about turning the other way and coming back when there were witnesses. That seemed like the cowards way out though and I knew that if I didn't face him now, it would be worse if-

"Chloe. I know your there." Derek's deep rumbling voice popped me out of my thoughts. So I walked over to Derek and said the one thing that came to my mind. "B-blanket?"


Like I said sorry again for it being short. I thought this would be a nice place to end it but, I was also getting pretty antsy. I really just wanted to upload this story and see if it would be worth continuing and I know not much happened in this chapter but I just wanted to get a feel for the characters before I start putting the pressure on them.

I'll probably write another chapter within the next few days but, don't hold me to it. I can be pretty spacey at times. :) Would love it if you review though!