Growing Pains
Antares kept the strangeness of her actions to herself, hoping that her mind had just been wandering and she hadn't actually meant to eat her own fingernail intentionally. But as she swam and played with her friends, she couldn't help but think of how good it had tasted. She gazed at her friends as they laughed and splashed in the water, Darry dunking his sister and Trish squealing for help while Rigel just laughed. Antares smiled.
'I wonder…what do they taste like?' she mused. 'Young, living flesh, running with hot blood…' She shook herself abruptly, horrified. What was she thinking? How could she been thinking that about her friends, her family? 'Something is seriously wrong with me. Why am I thinking this way? It's almost like I'm-' She stopped mid-thought, not wanting to even consider the possibility that she was in any way like the monstrous Creeper. But still, it would make sense…she shook her head again to clear it of such thoughts. 'I am human,' she thought decisively. 'I am nothing like the Creeper. Whatever's going on, it's probably nothing. I mean, what could he really have done to me?' Slightly satisfied, she rejoined her friends and soon let the ocean wash her fears away as she splashed and played with her friends.
A bark from the beach made her look up. Her parents and Darry and Trish's had returned, and Sirius was leading a great black dog. Behind them came two young girls, about Antares's age.
"Oh my God," said Antares softly. She started swimming back to shore with strong, powerful strokes until she touched the sandy sea floor and walked out the rest of the way. She started walking towards the group, then stopped. She appeared to be waiting for something, or maybe apprehensive about going up to them. Darry guessed that the two girls were Antares's best friends, Caitlin and Courtney, and seeing them again after so long would be different. The two girls had been walking with their heads down for the most part, but when they glanced up they saw Antares standing there, the water lapping around her ankles, and they stopped dead for a moment, staring. Suddenly they took off running towards her, eyes wide and disbelieving. They stopped a few feet before her and approached slowly.
"A-Ana?" whispered the shorter girl with the flaming red streaks in her short brown hair. "I-is it r-really you?"
"H-how can this be?" whispered the taller girl with short dyed-black hair.
"Hey guys," whispered Antares in a cracked voice, smiling through tears of joy. "Long time no see, huh?" With a cry, the two new girls ran to Antares and hugged her tightly, and she them, and they all just stood together for a while, laughing and crying and hugging, all of them babbling nonsense until they all calmed down.
"Oh God, Ana, we thought you were dead," said Short-With-Red-Streaks. "Th-tha-that thing, we thought it was gonna…gonna…"
"It did," said Antares softly. "In a way. It consumed my soul, my spirit, my life-force. But I'm OK now. I'm OK."
"We were so sure we'd never see you again," croaked Tall-With-Black-Hair.
"Here I am," said Antares.
"Oh Ana, what happened to your hair?" said Short-With-Red-Streaks softly.
"That's what happens, apparently, when someone drains one of one's spiritual energy every night for twenty-three nights," replied Antares. "Oh! I have to introduce you to someone very special." She turned back to her friends still in the water and gestured for them to join her. When they had, she said, "You guys, this is Darry Jenner and his sister Trish. Darry's the reason I'm here right now. If it hadn't been for him, I never would have had the guts to try and get away. Darry, Trish, these are my best friends Caitlin-" she pointed to Short-With-Red-Streaks, "-and Courtney-" she pointed to Tall-With-Black-Hair.
"Hi, nice to meet you," said Darry. "And it's actually thanks to Antares that I'm here. The Creeper would've killed me if she hadn't stopped him. And I never would have known about the hollow pipe that got us out without her." Antares smiled at him.
"Oh my God, your hand!" Courtney nearly shrieked. Antares looked at her hand.
"You noticed that, huh?" she said levelly. "He did that the second time I tried to escape and he caught me." She looked up and added, "But let's not think about that right now. All I want to think about is that I'm back home with my family and my closest friends. That's all I need right now."
"I respectfully disagree," Rigel muttered to Trish, nodding at Darry. Trish grinned but said nothing. "She definitely likes him; there's no question. But she's so shy, I don't think she'll do anything."
"Yeah, Darry really likes Ana too," said Trish, "but I think he has the same problem. I don't think either one of them wants to risk what they have for something more." Rigel nodded.
"Well, we'll have to make them see that some risks are worth taking," said Rigel decisively. Trish nodded in agreement.
"Korrigan!" cried Antares, bringing attention back to her. She rushed over to the black dog, who, it turned out, was actually a black wolf. He wagged his tail joyfully, straining at his leash to get to Antares, who dropped down in the sand beside him and hugged him, laughing as he licked her face.
"Who's this?" asked Darry.
"It's Korrigan," said Antares. "Korrigan's my best animal friend."
"She found him when he was just a pup," explained Mira. "He was all alone, his family killed by poachers. Ana rescued him and gave him to a nice zoo nearby. She'd take care of him there, going to see him every day. Little furball to a liking to her. He started howling and wouldn't eat when she stopped coming after…after she was taken," she said with strength. "The other zoo workers did everything they could. Finally Caitlin and Courtney came to take care of Korrigan, and he started eating again. But he always knew something bad had happened to the girl who had saved him; I'm sure of it."
"Animals have a sense of these things," Caitlin added in.
"Well, we knew that Ana would want to see Korrigan as soon as possible," continued Sirius, picking up where his wife left off, "so we've adopted him." Antares looked up in surprised. Sirius smiled down at her. "That's right, pumpkin. Korrigan's yours now." Antares gave a small cry and jumped up to hug her parents.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" she cried, her words nearly blending into one in her joy. Korrigan barked happily as Mira let him off his leash. He didn't run off, but stayed right by Antares's side, nuzzling her leg. She turned to Darry and Trish.
"Korrigan," she said and then, very clearly, "Darry. Trish. Friend." She pointed to each one as she said their names. As soon as she said 'friend', Korrigan eagerly approached them, sniffing their hands and legs, jumping up playfully, demanding to be petted. Darry and Trish both complied, rubbing his sides and ears.
"Well aren't you gorgeous," gushed Trish, rubbing Korrigan's stomach as he turned on his back, tail thumping against the sand. Antares laughed. The rest of the late-morning-into-late-afternoon went well; the kids and Korrigan went swimming for a while, they all played volleyball, kids against parents like they planned (the kids won), and they enjoyed a wonderful lunch of subs, soda, Cheetos and potato chips. Full, hot, tired, and very, very happy, the children one by one stretched out on towels and beach blankets and fell to dozing. Darry and Antares, of course, lay close together. It may be for this reason that they had the same peculiar dream:
Darry opened his eyes and looked around sleepily. Something was wrong. He jumped up as he realized he was back in the factory basement where he and Antares had been held prisoner. What the hell was he doing here, and how the hell had he gotten here? He didn't care; he just wanted to get out again as fast as he could. He ran for the hollow pipe, but found, to his dismay, that the segment that pulled off had been welded back on. He had no way out. He heard a sound behind him and spun around. All he got for his troubles was a dart in his neck.
When he came to again, he was lying inert on a long examination table, completely paralyzed. No matter how he tried, he couldn't move a muscle. He wasn't bound or strapped down; whatever had been in the dart must have done this to him. He tried to struggle, but couldn't even do that. And the footsteps were back. He looked up, fearful…but then relaxed when he saw Antares coming towards him out of the shadows.
"Ana," he breathed in relief. "Thank God. Ana, I can't move. You gotta help me get outta here, OK? The pipe's been closed up, though, so I hope you know another way out. How'd we get here anyway?"
"I brought you here," replied Antares smoothly. "No one else knows about this place, save maybe for that Jack fellow. But he is of no consequence right now. No one is. No one knows we're here." Darry didn't like the coldness of her voice, or her wicked-looking smile.
"Ana, what are you talking about?" he asked. "What's going on? C'mon, help me up, please?" Antares didn't answer, just breathed in deeply through her nose and sighed, smiling.
"Ah, it is intoxicating," she mused. "I never understood before, but now I do. Fear. I can almost taste it. What an interesting and versatile emotion, don't you agree?"
"No," said Darry, shaken. "I don't. What the hell is going on? What's wrong with you? Wait a minute, your eyes…what's wrong with your eyes?"
"Whatever do you mean, Darry?" asked Antares with false sweetness. Her eyes had turned a fierce tawny that no human eyes ever were. Darry's own brown eyes widened in fear and realization. Antares laughed cruelly. "Oh don't worry, Darry. I don't want your eyes. No, I just want you. You see, I'm still young and inexperienced. I need you here in case I fail to catch my prey. Don't want to starve, you understand." Grinning the same feral grin as the Creeper, she came up to him. Darry gave a small, despondent cry as he realized what was happening.
"What has he done to you?" he whispered. "He's made you like him. But how?"
"You'll have plenty of time to ponder that, my dear," she told him. She bared her teeth, which had grown long and pointed, and ripped into him cruelly. He howled in agony and despair as she consumed his right index finger. She grinned at him through blood-stained teeth. "I could take the whole thing, but I don't want to start out with more than either of us can handle." And she laughed. And laughed. And laughed…
"Darry?"
"Ah!" cried Darry, his head snapping up, eyes darting around wildly. Antares was sitting on her heels next to him, concern evident in her eyes. "What? Where? Was it just a dream?"
"Yes," said Antares gently. "You were just dreaming. Nightmaring is more like it, actually. You were jerking around so much, I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself. Are you all right?"
"Yeah," said Darry, catching his breath. "Yeah, I think so." He took a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly. Finally he sighed and tilted his head back, leaning back on his elbows. "God, that was…ugh," he said with a shudder. Antares nodded sympathetically, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
"I can only imagine," she said, not wanting to tell him her dream. Darry nodded. Antares could still see his heart pounding in his chest, actually see it moving. Darry closed his eyes, still shaking a little from fear that his nightmare had been real.
"God," he said softly. "Sometimes I'm still so scared that he's gonna come back, y'know? I'm so scared that all this, this peace that we've managed to find, it isn't going to last."
"Oh Darry," whispered Antares, but he didn't seem to hear her. She squeezed his hand gently, playing with his hair unconsciously. Darry closed his eyes, enjoying her loving touch. Gently, Antares began to sing:
"I can't understand it;
the search for an answer is met with a darker
day
And we've been handed these moments forever
But I'm reassured there's another way
You don't have to close your eyes; there is
room for love again.
Face the truth to realize
all that love can
be.
Forced apart by time
and sand;
take a step, and
take my hand
And don't let it
go!
Never let go!
Broken, once
connected;
we were so strong
and so blessed in a simple way.
So don't let me go
it alone!
Turn your head up to
the sky,
nothing down below
but me.
Ease the pain and
realize
all that we could
be.
Torn apart by rage
and fear,
hold on to what
brought you here
And don't let it
go!
Never let go!
Turn your head up to
the sky,
nothing down below…
Don't let go!"
Darry smiled as Antares sang, her clear, pure voice washing over him and through him, purging him of all fears and doubts. He closed his hand over hers and held it.
'Hold on to what brought me here and don't let it go,' he thought. 'Ana brought me here, and I never want to let go. I'll never let what I dreamed happen to her. Besides, how could he do that? No, he'll never touch us again, ever.' He smiled, content. Antares closed her eyes as she sang, trying to decipher her own nightmare, never dreaming that Darry had had the same one. What could it mean? Was she in some way like the Creeper? No, no, impossible, she was nothing like him. But still, the dream…and her strange thoughts from that morning…it all added up…
'…to what? What does it mean?' she thought. 'O great Hecate, O Lady Persephone, hear the cry of thy nightkind childe Antares Starfire…what's happening to me?'