Hehe. I'm baaaack!

Way to keep em waiting.

Oh shut up. I'm back to school, so I've got less time these days. But anyway, I got it done. It took forever. But I wanted to be sure I did it right. Enjoy!

Chris doesn't own ToS

Chapter 11: Fear in the Storm

Thunder crashes. The rain begins, falling down on a scene of terror in the town below. A streak of grey, a figure turns…

Red…

The rain becomes harder, washing the blood down the street, a sickly stream of human life, steadily draining. The beast smells the blood, but its urge to feast is stopped suddenly. It senses something… Something moving. It dashed toward a window…

Chris jerked himself from a restless sleep after only a few hours. He was rather surprised to find he was dripping wet. Probably a result of his dream, he grimly thought, recalling it as he glanced through his storm-washed window. It was enough to make anyone sweat. It had seemed so realistic… He jumped back, seeing a reflection in the window. Yellow eyes, crooked, sharp teeth… He stuck his face back into the window, surveying his wolf-self. Stupid thing… Making a rude gesture, Chris spun back into his bed. He needed sleep. "Yuck," Chris said out loud. He had forgotten his sheets were dripping wet. He ripped them off, and walked over to the laundry cupboard. He picked some new sheets up, and took them back to his bed. He made his bed, and then crawled under the covers.

Colette was restless herself. Lloyd hadn't said a word to her all night, and he simply had plunked himself into bed. She couldn't help but feel a little miffed about the whole thing. She pulled on her coat. It was only 12:30… Sheena would understand. Walking out the door, she closed it quietly, so as not to disturb Lloyd. She took a few paces, and then turned back to the door. Opening it once more, she slammed it shut. She walked off without expression.

Zelos was getting a little worried. Not very like him. He rolled onto his bed. Sheena had been gone for ages… Surely cleaning up wouldn't take that long… He got up, walking over to the door. He reached for the knob. He may as well go find her…

BANG! Colette was surprised to find the door only opened about a foot. There seemed to be something blocking it. She frowned, and pushed on it a little bit.

"Oww… My face…" Zelos said.

Colette squeezed through the door, apologizing profusely. "So sorry, sorry…"

"That's alright," Zelos said, wincing. "Just knock the door next time, and not my face."

Colette blushed. "Do you know where Sheena is? I need to talk to her…" the blush faded as a vaguely sad look crept onto her face.

"I think she was cleaning up after supper…" the redhead said, jumping to his feet.

"Oh…" Colette said slowly. "Well, I guess I'll go find her then."

"I'll come," Zelos said quickly. "I… I…" He stopped, mainly because his nose was bleeding rapidly. "OK... mebbe nod…" He mumbled out through the blood. ."(I happen to be fluent in mumblese. He said "Ok… Maybe not.") "Dell her do cobe bak thood, OK?"(Tell her to come back soon, OK?")

"I will," Colette said, walking out of the door, leaving Zelos's face slowly becoming the same colour as his hair. He cursed, looking around for a box of Kleenex.

All in all, this nosebleed was probably a good thing for Zelos. He probably would have lost it if he had followed Colette. Speaking of which, Colette was rapidly pacing in order to reach the kitchens without getting too wet. She turned a corner and, seeing Sheena, began to call out, which was cut off when she saw the streak of grey. She froze. The scariest thing she had ever seen outside of nightmares was planted in front of her. She watched as it moved closer to Sheena, sniffing. Colette liked dogs, and this… thing… looked just like one. She stepped closer timidly, unsure what to do. She froze in her tracks, as the beast stopped and looked over in her direction. Her heart seemed to stop. The blood-tinged head turned away. All of a sudden, it launched itself away from Sheena, and dashed out of Colette's view.

Colette stood, stunned by the events that had taken place. She stood in the rain, simply staring at the place where the beast had been. The rain poured down, washing a stream of water across her toes. She looked down at them. They were stained red… Her brain forced her vocal chords into action, letting out a piercing scream.

Chris frowned. What was that sound? The wind? He got out of bed, listening with all his might. No, it was too high-pitched. Could it be…? His faced turned pale. He slapped on his gauntlets, and ran out into the night.

Raine was sleeping uneasily for a few reasons. The first was the fact that she was worried about Presea. Another was the fact that in the hotel they were all staying in, Zelos was in the room right above hers, and he was snoring madly. Probably the results of a nosebleed. She frowned, her superior half-elven hearing picking out a sound among the crashing lightning. (Look. Stop asking already) Colette… Screaming. She jumped out of bed, grabbed her staff, and ran towards the sound.

Chris reached the scene first. "Oh my God…" he said. Something in his mind stirred at the sight of blood, but he restrained it with difficulty. He looked towards Colette. She saw him, and ran over, sinking into his arms.

"I… I… was so scared... Thank you," she said, crying.

Raine arrived on the scene moments later. "Professor," Chris said by way of acknowledgement. She nodded, and leaned over Sheena.

"Heal!" She cried out quickly. She nodded. "There, that should do for now. Chris could you…" she began, but stopped when she realized he was holding the still crying Colette. "Um… Never mind. I'll get the others." She said, dashing off yet again.

Chris held Colette until the tears stopped, and then even after. The rain fell down, the two figures spending a lonely vigil.

Heh heh. Reviews pleez!