A/N: Hubabha. Yudulbua. Shahhhahhh... Sorry, i'm really tired. Not really in the mood for a giant introduction so let's roll this sucker. Ba da BOOM! Enjoy...
Nari Streeter
Chapter Ten: Premonitions
Nari turned slowly around in the parking lot, scanning the dark New York sky for any sign of familiarity. The stars winked back at her like a thousand crystals scattered across a black blanket, warming the treetops with their faint light. Her eye caught a wooden sign with sprawling silver letters set into the ground several feet away.
Garden Taverns: New York's finest.
A breeze rustled around the edges of her feet, brushing a light fabric across her skin. Nari looked down, surprised to find herself in a silky gold colored dress, the hem of the gown trailing across a pair of black strap-on high heels. She smiled to herself. This had to be a dream. There was no way she'd be caught dead in high heels.
Car headlights flashed across the otherwise vacant parking lot, illuminating the dew-dropped grass and sagging willow trees. Nari ducked, tugging her jacket tighter around her arms to ward off the goosebumps. The car swerved away without stopping.
Yet, the lights had revealed something Nari hadn't expected to see.
Five blurred figures, led by none other than the girl who Nari had dreamed about at the library. She looked anxious, glancing nervously over her shoulder every few seconds to gather a headcount of the fuzzy shapes behind her. One of the smaller figures tugged anxiously on her hand, his voice distorted and full of white noise, like a radio station that wasn't coming through clearly.
Nari stood up quickly, tearing the jacket from her back and throwing it into the grass. She unfurled her wings to their fullest extent, stumbling in her high heels. She wanted to scream, but her voice was lost. She raised her arms to wave them, hoping to get the girl's attention.
The girl's face turned toward her, unraveling around the edges, slowly loosing its sharpness…become less clear by the second.
Wait! Nari screamed in her mind, her legs as heavy as iron as she dragged herself across the parking lot. Wait! I know who you are! Please, wait! Wait for me!
Maximum Ride…
Nari sat up in bed, her chest heaving and her hair matted with sweat. The Cathedral room was basking in the glow of the early morning sun, cold and glistening across the dusty boxes. The almost constant noise of the chapel bell echoed in the background, vibrating across the floorboards like the roar of a giant beast.
Nickoli was sitting on the edge of the couch, an open can of Spagetti-o's in his hand. He chewed the cold noodles slowly, his other hand dripping with tomato sauce due to the lack of utensils.
Wolf sat next to him, his arms splayed out across the back of the couch in a perfect picture of ease. His cold gray eyes locked onto Nari, a muscle in his jaw working slowly up and down like the gears of a giant machine. The dusty window threw splotchy light across his pale face, casting the rest in shadows.
"Morning," Nickoli said, scrapping his fingers across the near empty can, "want some breakfast?"
Nari hung her legs off the edge of the bed, shaking her head as she tried to calm her jumping heart. Nickoli gave her a strange look. She shrugged, trying to look sheepish, "I've kind of lost my appetite. I'll eat later."
Wolf tilted his head back to examine the ceiling, a smile flittering across his face. "You know," he mused, "back at the School, I learned a secret from the white-coats. It was in one of their reports…they said that when the avian DNA is infused with our own, side effects are common. Different side effects," his eyes flashed, "inhuman side effects."
Nari swallowed nervously, "Really?"
"Oh, yeah," Wolf nodded, leaning forward slowly, "in fact, sometimes, these side effects come out in the form of…let's just say, powers. Night vision. Telepathy. Super-speed," he paused, running his tongue over his fangs, "…premonitions."
Nickoli licked his fingers and set the empty can down on the floor, "What kind of premonitions?"
Wolf carefully cracked each one of his fingers in order, his gaze not straying from Nari's face, "You know," he sighed, "like…dreams. Of course, Nari could tell you all about that…couldn't you, Streeter?"
Nickoli glanced in Nari's direction, surprise flitting across his face, "What would Nari know about premonitions?"
Wolf shrugged, "Ask her."
Nickoli turned his dark eyes back to her, clasping his hands together as if he were a father about to lecture a disobedient teenager, "Nari?" he asked, "What's he talking about?"
A line of sweat gathered across Nari's hairline, her hands clenching into fists across the sheets. How did Wolf know? Why did he have to know everything?
"Sometimes," she said hesitantly, taking a deep breath, "I have…dreams. And sometimes…they come true."
Nickoli stared at her, his face frozen in disbelief.
Wolf smiled, getting to his feet and walking over to the bed. He sat down, tracing his hand across Nari's neck. "You dreamed about Max at the library," he smirked, "didn't you?"
Nari gritted her teeth and nodded, afraid to look in Nickoli's eyes.
"And last night," his grip tightened on her shoulder, "what did you dream about then?"
Anger boiled behind Nari's chest, her fingers curling into tight fists. She didn't have to answer. She could lie. Send Wolf on a goose chase, just long enough for her to slip away. It would be so easy…
Nickoli stirred across the room, his dark wings catching her eye.
The message Wolf sent in the tightening of his grip was clear. You don't tell me…I'll slit his throat before he has time to scream.
"A diner," Nari blurted, "a big flashy place. Garden…Tavern's…or something, I don't really remember the name. Max was there."
Wolf let his hand drop away; he quickly got to his feet, pacing over to the window. "You think she'll be there tonight?" he asked, spinning around to face Nari.
"I don't know," Nari pushed, a headache creeping from behind her eyes, "I dreamed she was at the library and that didn't come true. Maybe it's just dreaming…"
"No," Wolf snapped, "she'll be there. She has to be."
Nari could pretty much translate the meaning behind his cold eyes.
She'd better be…
The parking lot was exactly as Nari had remembered it. She walked over to where she had stood in her dream, spinning around slowly to take in her surroundings. Sure enough, just several feet away, the Garden Tavern's sign was barely visible behind an over growth of trees.
She nodded, turning back to Wolf and Nickoli, "This is the place."
Wolf glanced around him, taking in the rather unkempt parking lot, "You sure?"
Nari hesitated and then nodded, hugging her arms to herself to ward off the cold.
Nickoli rocked back on his heels, "So what? Do we just wait here and hope she shows up?"
Wolf looked at Nari expectantly, hitching his hands to his hips. Nari chewed at her lip, glancing behind her. Through the dense overgrowth of willows, she could just make out the outline of the large brick building, a faint light spreading around it like a ghost.
"Maybe," she said softly, taking several steps forward, "we should go inside."
A strong steady pulse of heavy music flooded over them as they approached the door. The building was overgrown with weeds and out of control bushes that once served as landscaping. Rotted two-by-four boards were nailed haphazardly over the windows, blocking out the majority of the light that was radiating from inside.
Wolf gave Nari a meaningful glance. This place definitely didn't look like New York's finest. Nari bit at her nails nervously. Maybe she'd led them to the wrong building…
Just then the door split open, spilling light across the sidewalk. Nari felt Nickoli tense next to her, ready to fight or flight at the drop of a needle.
A thin boy with spiked hair and a half-empty beer bottle swinging from his hand leaned against the doorway, chewing half-heartedly on a cigarette. He looked them up and down, his eyes half-lidded with drunkenness.
"Man," he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, "the party started at ten o' clock, what chu' people doing out here?
Wolf slipped his hand around Nari's waist, pulling her closer with a cocky grin, "We're here for the party. Fashionably late, I always say."
The man stared at them sleepily for several second before standing aside, motioning in the building with his beer bottle, "Come on in, I'm not gonna stop you."
Wolf nodded his thanks, pulling Nari into the overwhelming light of the building. Nari glanced back over her shoulder, smiling half-heartedly at Nickoli. He shook his head and followed them inside, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.