And yet again another installment of SS. The review ratio is getting a lot better, about one out of every 20 people are reviewing! I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but it is definately better than what it has been in the past.. so thank you all for the encouragement!! Happy New Year to you all, and enjoy!! R & R PLEASE!!! I BEG OF YOU!
'Shea, I thought, we lost you! We couldn't find you, and we looked and looked, and I was so worried, you out here in the forest alone and what with all them disappearing, we thought…' Meg's voice was shaking in my hear, her tears dampning my neck and shoulder. I squeezed her tightly, not only to comefort her, but also to help support my own weight.
'It's okay now Meg, I'm here, and so are you, and everything is going to be okay. Just calm down and talk to me.' I was usually the one who would be losing my cool, what with everything that had happened that day so far, but for some reason, I was extremely collected, increadably focused on Shea I forgot to think of anything but her.
I pushed away from her slightly, and pulled her down onto the leaves, and sat with her, holding her hands in mine.
'What happened after I left? I was so worried about all of you…'
Meg took a deep breathe, regaining her composure. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she looked at me, and gave me a half hearted smile.
'Well, after I told you to run, I fought for a minute with Caleb. I was trying to keep him with me, and to give you time to get away. Alice, one of the wolves you saw, came to help me, after she finished off the vampire she was fighting.' I shuddered a little at how casually she said this, as though it was nothing more then taking out the trash. 'She tried to grab the other one with him, but he slipped away into the woods before she could get a hold of him. She tried to help me with Caleb, but another 3 vampires attacked us from behind. When we were distracted, he vanished, leaving his army to deal with us by themselves. But one by one, the kept disappearing. I think that six or seven made it out; including Caleb, but I'm not sure of the exact count. We thought that they had gone after you, and I was so worried. I had everyone out searching for you that I could, but even the wolves lost your scent after a while, although we don't exactly know why. Although we did smell that vampire that was with Caleb, so I got worried, and when it took us so long to find you…'she broke off, looking at me. 'Anyways, you're here now which is all that really matters.' She squeezed me again, and then backed away.
'We need to go.' She turned back to the group that had come with her, and after a moment, she nodded her head as though she was agreeing with someone. Looking back at me, she asked, 'Shea. I know you've had a really rough day, but we need to keep moving. Since you don't exactly look like you have the energy would it be okay if one of us carried you?'
At this point, my body was so drained with emotion, on the verge of collapsing and refusing to move again. I just nodded my head. Before I had a chance to ask anything, a large man, probably in his mid twenties scooped me up in his arms bridal style, and took off into the woods at a soft lope. The others kept pace with us, and finally, after a couple of minutes, I gave into the drooping of my eyelids, and I snuggled comefortably into the man's chest, and fell asleep.
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I woke up to the sound of someone humming gently, almost as though it was next to my ear. I opened my eyes and turned my head around to the side. Seeing nothing, I turned my head the other way, but I still couldn't see the source of the noise. Sitting up, I looked around the room where I was. It was a sitting room with two couches and an entertainment center along with a couple of lamps. A hall led off to the left of the couch that I was laying on, and a window was to the right. I streached my stiff muscles, and continued to look for the source of the noise. The humming was growing slightly fainter, and it seemed almost as if a sense of peace and tranquility was going with it.
Don't go… I thought mentally.
I'll never go Shea… I'm always here. You don't have to worry. I jumped up, standing quickly, my eyes darting around the room, searching for the speaker. I hadn't just imagined that had I? Was the stress of the past week or two catching up with me? Was I really going crazy? After all, isn't hearing voices the first sign of madness?
No, your not crazy Shea. Maybe I should explain. It's Jason.
I started. Okay. I definitely heard it that time. And I realized that it wasn't coming from the room. The voice was inside my head.
One of the side affects of bonding is that I can talk to you through your mind. And you can talk to me.
'What do you mean talk? Can you read my thoughts?' I talked out loud, since I didn't know what else to do, and I sank back down onto the couch.
There's no need to talk out loud. Just think what you want me to hear, and I'll hear it. I guess you could say it's like reading your mind, but I can't see everything. Only what your thinking about at the moment, and then only if you'll let me hear.
So like this…? I thought cautiously, slowly and tentively.
Exactly! It really isn't that hard. In fact, its actually very convenient sometimes.
I thought for a second then asked, So can you do this with other vampires? I mean, is that why you all always seem to be having conversations even though you aren't talking?
For the most part. Are you okay? How did Meg take the news?
I sat for a minute, not answering.
You didn't tell her did you? It wasn't a question.
No… I didn't have an opportunity… he snorted in disbelief. Okay, maybe I just didn't want to tell her yet. She's going to flip… maybe I should have thought about it more…
Jason was silent in my head. No… I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that I should have thought about Meg, and what this would do to her a little more. I'm not regretting anything… but…
I understand. Don't worry, I'm sure that everything is going to work out. He paused. I won't ask you where you are… but I'll be there in an instant if you need me.
Thanks.
I got up from the couch. My mind started to drift, but I checked my mind quickly. Can you hear my thoughts if I'm just thinking to myself?
No. Only if you want me to hear you. You have to direct the thoughts to me.
Okay.
I made my way down the hallway, and peering through the doorways as I passed, I finally found the kitchen, and went in. A man was sitting at the table. He seemed to be in his late twenties with black hair and bushy eyebrows. A wedding band glinted on his left ring finger.
I hadn't thought about it before… but these people had to have families too. Were their families shadowed by hidden secrets too? Did his wife know where he was, or was she as clueless as I had been?
He looked up from the paper he was reading, and smiled. 'Morning. Or should I say afternoon?' I glanced at the clock. It was after twelve. I had no clue what time we had gotten here, and therefore wasn't sure as to how long I had actually slept for.
'Meg went out for a little while, but she should be back in within the hour. She said if you woke up before she came back, that your to grab something to eat, and then if you want, her room is down the hall, the last door on your right, if you want to wait for her in there.' I thanked him, and as he went back to his paper I opened the fridge and searched the contents. The only thing I found of value was a banana, and a bag of pretzels on the counter. So I grabbed the two and headed down the hall to Meg's room to await her return.
