Disclaimer: I do not own Midnighters.
Chapter Two:
Melissa smiled as the shudder of blue rippled through her bedroom. Her headache subsided; the loud metal power chords twanging in her ears became silent. She pulled the headphones off and rolled off her bed, falling to the floor. She breathed a sigh of relief and opened her mind to Bixby's silence. Melissa relished the silence, savoring the moments when her mind wasn't invaded. Only one thought she heard clearly.
Rex's.
And he was in pain.
Melissa gasped and stood up.
Did darklings get him? Was he stuck in some ditch? Mugged by some loser?
She grabbed her headphones, shoved it in her pocket, and crashed outside. Melissa breathed in the silent air of Bixby and, stripping off her coat, started sprinting in the direction of Rex's house.
As she ran, the worried thoughts clustered in her mind subsided slightly and she stuck her tongue out to the air. Something was out there, she could taste it. But it wasn't the bitter taste of a darkling. Melissa shoved the possibility out of her mind that another person in town was awake; it was just her and Rex. Maybe it was the remains of a terrible nightmare.
Melissa's chest was bursting. Even though the air was thick and warm in the blue time, the air bite into her chest and caused a pain in her lungs. As she ran she saw flashes of slithers in the edge of her vision. One even dared to try to slither in front of her until it met its end under her steel-toed boots.
The she heard a crashing noise coming straight at her.
She stifled a gasp and narrowed her eyes, pulling a knife from her pocket as she rushed on. Rex and she had found that steel scared darklings and slithers more then anything else they had tried. Now that was a painful journey they had had to take to learn that scrap of useful knowledge.
She waited, senses acute, her mind searching for a clue as to what the creature was. She tasted the air again and took a moment to make sure she was right before she called, "Rex?!"
The footsteps that were coming closer became louder too and finally Rex Greene pushed through the brush and fell on the ground in front of Melissa.
Melissa grinned. She couldn't mistake his flavor with anyone else's no matter how hard she tried.
"What is it?" she asked, feeling his pain in a greater was now that he was with her. Something was wrong. Rex had a scared aura around him, she sensed, and that was just unlike Rex in the blue time.
"Did a darkling attack?" she asked, curious.
Rex took a few deep breathes on the ground before looking up at her. Melissa gasped.
On Rex's pale cheek was a glistening bruise that Melissa could have sworn had not been there during school. No wonder his mind tasted like he was in pain.
Unknown emotions roiled inside Melissa. She couldn't stand seeing Rex hurt.
"What did Timmy Hudson do!!!???" she snapped angrily. No darkling or slither could have done this…scratches and cuts were their big thing.
"Not…Timmy…Hudson." Rex panted on the ground. Melissa walked over, thinking about and other human bully that she knew in Rex's life. Finding none in her memories, she stuck a gloved hand out to him.
"Then who was it?" she yelled exasperated as he took her hand and pulled himself up.
Rex brushed himself off first before shaking his head and mumbling, "No one."
Melissa shrieked and, without thinking, slapped Rex. Luckily, it wasn't on the cheek with the bruise but it still sounded like it hurt. Melissa didn't care though.
"NOBODY??? NOBODY!!! REX SOMEBODY DID THIS, NOW TELL ME WHO!!!" she screamed. Stupid Rex. He didn't know how easy it would be to find the answer. When she touched stiffs, she could feel their memories and thoughts. She supposed it would work the same for Rex. She started taking off her glove, one finger at a time.
But her work stopped as she looked at Red. He was touching his cheek where she'd slapped him and tears were streaming down his face.
Melissa's heartbeat stopped for a second.
What was wrong?
"OH, Rex I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. Really. You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to." She pleaded, but Rex cried on. He was shaking now, rocking his body from side to side. She reached out to hug him, careful not to come into and contact with any skin. She had promised he wouldn't have to tell her who did it. She would stick to that promise.
As her arms encircled Rex's body, he fell into her, knocking her completely off guard. She stumbled and saw the world falling before a hard smack ran through her body. Two seconds later the pain came.
"Ouch. Rex get off me." She moaned. He was still on top of her on the ground and he was still crying. What was going on?
"Rex, it's okay. It's okay." She murmured. Melissa had never experienced Rex crying around her before and didn't know what to do.
She sat up and Rex sat up too and leaned against the rough bark of a nearby tree. He wiped the tears away, careful not to touch his bruise, and smiled wearily.
"Thanks Cowgirl." He muttered.
"Don't mention it." She returned.
He sat there for a few minutes, getting composure of himself and then he looked back up at Melissa.
"I have to get home." He muttered pointing in the general direction of his house. Melissa nodded, still shaken from his outburst.
Rex stood to leave and waved goodbye as he walked into the trees, still wiping tears away.
Melissa turned to go the other way when she stopped and looked back at Rex's retreating back. Something was definitely wrong and Melissa was going to find out what.
