Disclaimer: You know the drill… I don't own anything from Esca but I do own the characters not mentioned in the series so ask before you use them! Thanks!

Death Moon Rising

I would like to take this time to dedicate this story to someone special. She's touched my writing and has encouraged me to go places where I never would've thought possible. Like Crimson Fire, she helped me get to where I am today. Kae Noel, this one is dedicated to you!

Chapter 5: Things That Go Bump in the Day

The next morning Kat rolled out of bed thinking she was the first one up, only to find that Nicole and Alex had beaten her too it. "Oh man... something smells good...." she muttered as she quickly got dressed in some new clothes. She wore dark brown leather boots, dark blue pants and a white tank top; perfect gear for hiding in the forest and remaining normal status. Kat quickly ran a brush through her hair, tied it back with a dark blue ribbon and then walked out into the hall.

She quickly walked into the kitchen hoping that she could catch the end of breakfast (she wasn't sure how late it was) and froze. There were the remains of breakfast on six plates present on the table. "What's this?" She asked, eyeing the table with curiosity. A remaindered of the last night's events flashed through her head.

"Remains from the last couple of dinners we've found stashed around," Nicole replied from the stove. Frowning but not bothering to ask, Kat helped Alex clear the table and then sat down. Still in a morning daze, she had the idea of telling them what she had seen. "So... I saw the weirdest thing last night. I was awoken by this strange sound, so I went into the kitchen to check it out, right? I see Dalet and Guimel in the kitchen. They ran down the hall and disappeared. I found the remains of two sandwiches on the counter," Kat told them.

Alex and Nicole started chuckling to themselves as if it was a joke. "Yeah, right. Dalet and Guimel in our kitchen. Kat, we know you miss them, but I think you're taking this too far," Alex said, sympathetic.

"No! Well.... maybe it was a dream. All I'm saying is that I saw them in the kitchen last night and they looked alive and well," Kat replied defensively.

"You probably just saw the remains of our midnight snack and were still half asleep so you thought it was Guimel and Dalet standing in the kitchen."

"Ok, breakfast's ready!" Nicole said from the stove. She poured something into three bowls and then brought them to the table. Kat found that they were scrambled eggs. "Wow, I didn't know you could cook, Nicole," Kat said, genuine amazement on her face as she dug into the meal. She had some fears about the cooking remembering Nicole's last attempt at a meal, but found that the eggs were perfectly cooked. "Better then you're last attempt. Much better."

"I took some lessons back on Earth," Nicole replied, sitting down. The girls downed their breakfast while talking about... nothing, really just sharing stories and catching up on one another's lives. Kat had forgotten how they hadn't seen each other in over a month. But as they talked she avoided the talk of her mother and her situation back home; it didn't feel like the time or place to dump that out now. "Ok, so now what?" Kat asked, taking her bowl to the sink.

"Well, we have to go out and forge for some fruit and herbs. Then someone has to fix the leak in the roof. After that there's the job of cleaning the cabin," Alex said, listing the chores to be done.

"I say we first forge for fruit and herbs," Nicole and Kat quickly voted.

Alex laughed at her friend's willingness to do the easy work first. "Ok, you guys win. I'm not putting up a fight with you two. Let's move out," Alex agreed.

Five hours later the trio of girls came back to the cabin. "Man! I swear if I knew it was going to be that thick near the lake I would've never gone!" Kat complained as she walked into the kitchen through the side door, stringy plants covering her. She tried desperately to pull the clinging vines off her. Nicole and Alex followed behind her, giggling.

"Sorry Kat. If we had known that it was that thick over there we would've never volunteered you," Nicole said through giggles.

That's when they noticed that Kat had stopped moving, totally frozen to the spot. Her eyes were fixated on something in front of her. Frowning, Nicole and Alex came up behind her. That's when they realized there were six people too many in the kitchen.

"Oh.... my.... God!" Kat cried, her eyes wide like the night before. Was she dreaming again? A quick pinch on her arm assured her she wasn't.

There's only one explanation, she thought as she whirled around to face her friends; her face was a mixture of anger, amazement, curiosity and surprise on her face. "What did you do?" She asked, her tone amazingly calm instead of a roaring death defying yell.

AN: Short chapter I know… but what's Kat talking about? What did Nicole and Alex do? Uh oh, I think we're having some troubles… what's the deal with this chapter? Keep reading… please R+R it really means a lot to me because without it I don't know if I would keep writing-I really like hearing from people! So R+R!

~ShadowKat