Chapter 12

I had to be dreaming. Right? The only way for me to be back on Loggerhead is if I was dreaming. It didn't feel like a dream. Everything felt so real. I stretched out my hand and felt a nearby tree. It was solid under my hand.

I took a step forward, for a split second forgetting about my bullet wound, but there was no pain. My hand went to jerk my pant leg up. There was no gauze, no bandage, no injury. What was going on?

A flare was needed. Something freaky was going down and there was snowball's chance in hell I was going down without a fight. The power surged easily.

SNAP

I felt the usual rush. The firing of neurons, coursing liquid fire through my veins. My senses though, nothing changed. If anything I sensed less. I couldn't smell anything. It was completely silent. I knew I was flaring, so where were my senses? Back to dream theory.

Behind me, a twig snapped. I spun. It was Cooper. He stood, staring at me. His head held high in a dignified manner. This wasn't the sick little puppy that sat in the bunker. This was Cooper all grown up. His wolf features prominent. If I didn't know better, I would have said it was a wild wolf.

Neither of us moved. His eyes shimmered. They were so large and he was so close to me, I could see my reflection in them. A low growl escaped from him. It was an unnatural sound. Primal.

You need to wake up

His words were clear in my mind. I'd never heard him like this. When Cooper was in my head there were fragments of thoughts, unorganized, short and demanding. This sound was different.

The pack needs you, mother-friend. This place isn't real. Come back home.

I don't understand.

I pleaded with Cooper in my mind to elaborate. What wasn't real? Obviously this place. It had to be a dream. If this wasn't real, then what was it?

We're looking for you. We will find you. The pack is hunting. But you have to wake up on your own. He will come to you. Try to keep you from leaving. Don't listen. Choose the pack. We are real.

My heart accelerated in my chest. I had so many questions. To my horror, Coop turned and retreated into the woods.

Coop, don't leave. Who is coming? How do I wake up? Where am I? Cooper!

He didn't stop. I stood there, tears falling down my face, screaming for my dog to come back. Nothing made sense. As soon as I figured something out, it all fell apart. When was this going to be over?

A scream ruptured my ear drums. My eyes flung open to a water damage ceiling. Cheap sheets clung to my body from sweat. Someone was still screaming. I realized it was me.

"Tory? Tory, what's the matter?" Mom was by my side, trying to calm me. I panicked and rolled away from her. If what Cooper said was true, this wasn't real and that meant neither was Mom. Who was she?

"Honey, it's all right. You had a nightmare. Tory, calm down." I heard the terror in her voice. I didn't know why though. Then I saw it. My eyes were glowing. My flare carried from my dream into consciousness. That was new.

The thought of my flare becoming more powerful scared me even more. I had to get out. Away from this motel room. Away from everyone. Injured or not, I was leaving. The door wasn't far. Biting back pain, I dashed for the door and flung it open. Metal flew as the chain locking it shattered.

Adrenaline pumped through me as I took off across the parking lot. Far away I heard my mom screaming my name. But I didn't look back.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

By the time I stopped I was halfway across town and my flare had ended. CU loomed before me. Panting I leaned against a tree to inspect the damage to my leg. No surprise that the wound had reopened and blood was seeping through the layers of gauze. Fan-freaking-tastic.

I checked my watch. Four-thirty in the morning. Not even Ben was up this early. It was up to me to figure this out for the next few hours.

The best place to start was going over what I knew. Two days ago I woke up and my mom was alive, my powers were gone, and my friends had no idea who I was. Since then the four of us have regained our powers and were all back together. My understandings ended there. That left to figure out who was shooting at us, why we lost our powers in the first place, and most importantly how my mom came back from the dead.

If I was a gambling person, I'd say it all had to do with the freakish dream I had. Cooper said this wasn't real. And that my pack was looking for me. But we were all here together. Then who was I with and where is my pack?

My head swam. How long was it going to be until things were back to the way they were supposed to be?

I became aware of how tired I was. How many hours have I slept since Friday? Not nearly enough. There was no way I was going back to the motel though. I needed to go somewhere else. Somewhere I knew. There was a payphone across the street. My feet moved before my brain could tell them to stop.

Eighty-five cents jingled in my pocket. More than enough for one phone call. The number was etched in my brain. By the third ring, I realized what a stupid mistake this was.

"Hello?" Sleep masked the voice, but right now it was music to my ears.

"Kit? It's Tory. Can you come get me?"

"Wha'? Tory? Do you have any idea what time it is? Are you all right? Where's you mom?"

"It's a long story. Can you please come get me? I'm at CU."

"It'll take a little while. Hang tight. I'll be there as soon as can." The line clicked.

I really don't know what possessed me to call Kit. Going back to Morris and sleeping in my room seemed like the best idea at the moment. Plus, I'd be closer to Coop and the boys. No matter how confused I was, being around them would make me feel safe.

While waiting for Kit to show up, I sat by the pay phone. It was quiet out. There are no bars near the university; they're all down by the wharf, so the nightlife was limited here. I watched cars pass up and down King Street. After twenty minutes something didn't feel right. One car, a black Lexus, had passed in front of me at least five times. At first I thought the driver was lost. A lot of streets look the same around here. After the fifth time though, something was suspicious about the whole thing.

Each time it went by, the car went slower and slower. My instinct was telling me to run, that this wasn't a good place to be sitting. Where would I go? I scanned my surroundings. The library to the University stood behind me. Across the street was a nursing complex. Nothing that would be open, and more importantly, nowhere with people. I felt like a sitting duck.

On its next pass I memorized the license plate—VSC 454. I wished I had my phone with me. I could let someone know what was going on. If I ran now, I was doomed.

The car was stopped now. Right in front of where I was sitting. A choice lay before me—run, and pray I found someone to help me; or sit tight and pretend like nothing was wrong. Neither option was very appealing.

It didn't come to either. Kit's 4-Runner rounded the bend. I had never been so glad to see Kit in my life. I sprung up and moved to Kit's car as fast as I could. The black Lexus pulled out and drove down the street before turning onto Market.

"I got here as fast as I could. What's going on, Tory?" Kit studied me.

"Mom and I got in a fight," I lied. "I just needed to get away."

"So you walked halfway across Charleston at four-thirty in the morning?" Kit was dumbfounded. Teenage girls were a foreign species to him. Well, foreign enough that he didn't know how to handle me.

"Can we go back to Morris? I'll call Mom in the morning and tell her where I am."

"No need. I already called her. She's very worried about you, Tory. But I said I'd take you back with me and she can come get you in the morning." I nodded. A solid night's sleep was all I cared about right now. Kit put his blinker on and drove down the road in silence.

My eyes were getting pretty heavy. As I shut them I breathed out, "Thanks, Kit."

That was the last thing I remembered until morning.

Who saw any of that coming? I look forward to predictions. PS, in this chapter I put a very subtle riddle in here. I'll give you a clue. It has to do with the license plate. I'll give something...probably a virtual cookie, to the first person who gets it right. Figuring it out has nothing to do with the story itself, just something fun I felt like doing. Good luck.

~Wolfie