Um…sorry for the hiatus…here's the next chapter…
The sun had dipped down below the sea, the moon and stars taking its place in the sky. On the beach, the Chipmunks and Chipettes sat together, a friendly circle around a bright bonfire. They talked and laughed, their minds on nothing but the fun of the summer night.
It was only about 9:30 when the wind started. The trees along the beach rustled. The waves became slightly larger, and sand was picked up and tossed into the fire. From the top of the hill, Dave called to the teens.
"Girls! Fellas! Come on inside, a storm's coming up!" he waved his arms at them. The six friends looked out at the sea. As they climbed the hill toward the hotel, Jeanette felt something within her stomach. It was a strange feeling, an unpleasant churning that signaled bad things. She glanced at the sea uneasily, and a familiar chill went through her. Shaking her head, she headed up the hill faster than all her friends as the first drops of rain began to fall.
o0o
"Anna!"
A bright pink head looked through the stone archway from which the call had come. The mermaid had curly, magenta hair and big, red eyes. Her mouth was set in a grim line as she swam out into the open, her hot pink tail throwing sparkles around in the water. On the other side of the archway was another mermaid. This one had dark blue hair in a sleek ponytail down to her waist. Her tail was a bold cobalt, and her sapphire eyes showed confusion and slight worry.
"You felt that, right?" Ripple asked. "Are you okay?"
"Did I feel it? That quake shook the whole sea!" Annalise replied. "It also felt…" she put a hand on her chin.
"What? It felt what?" Ripple eyed her friend's cautious look. "Anna…what did you feel?"
"…I don't want to believe it, but…I felt some powerful magic in that quake…" she looked up.
"Ripple, we might have some dark magic on our hands."
o0o
The storm on the beach had quickly become nothing short of a hurricane. The palm trees groaned and bent, while their leaves were ripped from their branches. Sand blew every which way. The waves had turned into dark masses, slamming the shore and destroying the already-extinguished bonfire. The full moon did nothing to illuminate the glassy, pitch black sea.
Back at the hotel, Jeanette gazed out the window at the pounding storm. The churning feeling in her stomach seemed to match the churning of the waves. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something awful was happening, that there was more behind this storm than they knew. Her sisters and the Chipmunks watched her with a hint of unease. Simon was simply staring into the fire that was burning in the fireplace of the room. Jeanette tried not to let their frequent glances get the better of her.
The bespectacled Chipette made a thin line with her lips. Something was wrong, she just knew it. And she had to find out what. She stood up and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Once she was in, she sighed and turned on the faucet. For a minute she just stared at the running water, allowing herself to get hypnotized by its flow. The steady stream jerked suddenly toward her, and she jumped.
Jeanette blinked, looked around, and turned her eyes cautiously back to the water. The water jerked again toward her. Then it jerked toward the window over the shower. It jerked a couple more times before it stopped, a stream running in a curved line down the drain. Confusion overtook the Chipette, and she turned to the window.
"!"
She jumped back, her back pressing into the sink. Two eyes, two bright, livid green pinpricks, had been staring through the window. They disappeared the second she'd jumped. Jeanette covered her mouth and slowly stepped toward the window. Cautiously, she stood on tip-toe on the shower's edge to peek through it. There was nothing but the raging storm outside. She put a hand against the cold glass. The window swung open, and Jeanette had to hold onto the sill to avoid falling over. Despite the obvious hurricane, not a drop of rain or a bit of wind came through the window. Nervously, she stuck her head out.
"Eek!"
Before she could react, an icy hand gripped her face and pulled her through the window.
Sorry! I've been busy, and I just left you on another cliffhanger… ah, well. [trollestia. jpeg ]
If I don't finish the next chapter today, chances are I won't be able to get it out until Monday or Tuesday due to travelling. But I won't abandon this story!