Chapter 9
Forgiveness
Airana was sitting eating lunch with Triston and Andy, who were both arguing the negative and positive points of sport, you can guess who was on what side.
"Well, basketball's ok, but i hate soccer." Andy explained.
"Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of soccer, but basketball's AWESOME!" Triston said.
Airiana was staring off into the distance, holding her sandwich limply in her hands.
Lexi came and sat next to Airiana.
Airiana's focus faded.
Flashback
"HAHAHAHAHA!" The two girls, Airiana Lovett and Wynter Stevenson, laughed as they stumbled out of the club.
"Did you see that guy." Wynter laughed.
"What about the bartender!" Airiana laughed.
Both girls were nearly doubling over as they laughed about they're night.
"I've got a game tomorrow, so I better head home." Wynter kissed Airiana's cheek and smiled, her red ruby eyes twinkling in the dim street light.
"Oh-kay." Airiana said slowly.
Just as they were bidding eachother farewell a black four-wheel drive screeched to a hault in front of them.
Airiana's heart immediately stopped.
Two men stepped out of the car from the car and smiled eerily at the girls.
"Hello, how are you two lovely girls on this fine evening?" One tall man with brow hair asked.
"We're just fine." Airiana said.
"Why don't you come have a ride with us?"
"Hey, it's like she said, we're just fine." Wynter warned.
"Well, your coming, one way or another." The man said slowly.
He stepped towards the girls.
Airiana took a step back and tripped on the gutter. She fell to the ground, her ass slamming on the pavement and her head jerking back.
The man was instantly on top of her, his hands at her throat. She could feel the air being limited in her lungs.
He threw both girls into the car.
End of flashback
Airiana's hands flew to her neck to reassure herself.
"What do you think, Airiana?" Andy asked.
"Huh. Oh, yeah, basketball's awesome." She answered.
"We're talking about gridiron."
"Oh. Gridiron's good too." She looked away. Of coarse she wasn't paying attention.
"Are you ok, Airiana?" Lexi was looking at her intensly.
"I'm...fine." Airiana lied. What could she say. Honestly.
Airiana's practicaally dark soft hair was in a high loose bun and she ran her palms down her thighs covered by jeans. Her sequenced singlet clung to her skin and her black cartigan fluttered in the wind.
Jeremy appeared in front of her. "We have to talk." Jeremy was holding a half empty bottle of water.
Airiana swing her hand up and he pulled so she can stand.
"I'll probably be back...if we don't kill eachother." Airiana nudged Jeremy. But he didn't laugh. Had he lost his sense of humour since he'd died. It seems reasonable.
Jeremy led Airiana into the forest where the light of day was dimmed and the earth was quiet beneath their feet.
"I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I don't feel right Airiana. It feels like this is all wrong." Jeremy said. Jeremy awkwardly drank from his bottle, he drank it all. They both hated to have to apologize.
"It is all wrong."
"What?"
"It is all wrong...After mum died, circle daybreak agents removed our memories, I don't know why. Anyway, we have to remember in order to go home."
"Remember. How?"
"There's clues lying around. But we have to remember everything."
"Everything."
"Yes. Everything."
"Well, who told you all this?"
"Gary."
"Who."
"G-Ahhhhhh."
As Airiana and Jeremy had been walking through the forest, Airiana slipped and fell into a stream. It was a beautiful small stream.
"Hahaha. Hahaha. Hahahahaahhahahahaha." Jeremy laughed.
Airiana pushed her wet hair out of her face and shook her arms off, using her hands to prop her up in the stream.
"Shut up Jeremy."
"Hahahahahahahahaha" Jeremy doubled over. Rolling on the ground. Airiana splashed some water over him.
"Jeremy..."
"Hahahahahaha."
"Jeremy...!"
Jeremy wiped under his eye and straightened himself up. "What."
Jeremy looked at Airiana who was still sitting in the stream. Glowing bright blue water was flowing from the parts where she sat and disturbed the water with her body. It looked surreal. It looked unreal. But Jeremy jnew what he was seeing as Airiana lifted her hands and examined the water.
"Take some back to show the others." Jeremy insisted.
He threw his empty water bottle to Airiana and she unscrewed the lid and ducked the bottle under water.
The glowing bright blue liquid filled the bottle and Airiana threw the bottle to Jeremy and helped herself out of the water.
They both ran throught the forest, swinging off tree's and jumping over the occasional fallen log.
Jeremy reached Triston and swung the bottle up to his face, mid-conversation.
"Look. Look at this!"
"It's just water, Jeremy." Jeremy said, pushing the water bottle away and turning back to Andy.
Airiana and Jeremy looked at eachother.
Later that night, when Airiana was reading another Lycanthropy book, she heard a tapping at her window. It started out small, but got a little louder.
Pebble's Airiana realised.
She put her book down next to her and eyed the window. Lexi was looking too.
Then a big rock came flying the window. Airiana watched as the glass shattered and fell to the floor followed by a hesitating: "Sooorrryy..."
Triston.
Airiana looked at Lexi as if to say, "I'm not getting it."
"It ain't my soulmate." Lexi shrugged.
Airiana sighed and trudged over to the window pane.
Triston had already climbed up to her window sill.
He waved anxiously.
Airiana opened the window.
There was some loud whispering and then Airiana turned around to tell Lexi, "I'll be back soon."
Triston was pulling her leg. She slipped but held herself up at the window pane. "See ya."
Just then Triston pulled her leg so hard that her feet slipped out of place and they fell to the ground. They hit the ground with a thud. "Ow." Triston moaned.
Airiana kicked at him. "Idiot!"
"Ow."
Airiana looked up and saw the pot plant on the ledge wobbling. It wobbled off the ledge and began to fall. Thankfully, it landed on Triston.
"Ow!"
Airiana stood up shakily and then pulled up Triston after her. He then led her into the forest. Not the safest place to be at night. But she had her cell, if she needed anything, she'd call Jeremy.
Triston and Airiana found themselves at the surreal stream.
"Look."
She stuck her fingers in the water and a tail of glowing blue water trailed behind them.
"Whoa." Triston moved a little closer. He stuck his fingers in the water and watched as the glowing blue water faded. "Why doesn't it work with me."
"Because you have nothing to be forgiven for." An old lady wobbled from behind and old oak tree.
"What do you mean?" Airiana asked.
"This is the stream of forgiveness. There are some in different states of America. Only for night people, does it work, night people that need to be forgiven to make peace."
"Who are you?" Airiana asked.
Airiana knew she had seen this lady before, but the name.
"My dear girl, it's me, Grandma Harman."
Airiana smiled and jumped across the stream, embracing the old woman.
Grandma Harman stepped back and looked at Airiana.
"I haven't seen you since you were only small. Haven't ypu grown. And where's your brother. Jeremy?"
Airiana pulled out her cell and dialed his number. She waited but all she got was: "You have reached the voicemail of 555-127-127. Leave a message after the tone. BEEP."
"He's not answering." She replied to the old witch.
"Oh, we'll catch up later. Goodbye Airiana."
Grandma disappeared into the night air. Airiana was left on earth gaping.
She was trying to call Jeremy all the way out of the forest. Once they reached the edge they were blinded by flashing red and blue eyes and deafened by sirens.
Her mouth fell open. She gripped her cell tightly.
She sprinted over the grass, through the quad, into the boys dorms and up to Jeremy's door, which was smashed off it's hinges, slinters left in it's trauma. Airiana dropped her cell and let it drop to the floor, the screen smashing as it bounced back up and hit the floor again.
Jeremy's room was destroyed.
The curtains had three long slashes down the linen, his matress was upside down and handing diagonally off the bed, the sheet scattered with fresh red blood. His lamp was smashed, there were blood stains and mark footprints on the floorboards, his closet doors were hanging on their hinged, his window was in pieces on the floor and his belongins were scattered on opposite side of the room. Airiana could even see a long squirt of blood across the roof.
One of his dressers were still intact, which had a one nearly untouched photograph of Airiana, Jeremy, and Sam. And by nearly untouched, there was a circle of blood drawn around Airiana's head and a across drawn over Jeremy's. Sam had an arrow pointing to his head.
She grunted and ran back outside.
She ran back to the now-completely-dark forest and bolted in without hesitation.
Once she found a clearing somewhere in the middle of the forest, she began screaming.
"Why! What did I do! What did I say! Bring him back! You can't do this! I hate you all! I'll hunt you down and kill you all! Bring him back! You can't take him away from me!" Tears were streaming down her face as she ran her fingers through her hand in frustration.
She bent down and whispered to herself. "What did I do..."
She straightened up and punched into the tree, leaving a big chunk of missing bark. She was getting stronger.
She began screaming again. But this time she was screaming at god. "You have to help me! I don't deserve this. Don't let them hurt him! Bring him back! Are you listening! Send me a sign! Anything! Just help me! Is he alive! Just tell me! Send an angel! Do something! Do you care! Do you still care! You brought him back once, you can do it again! Please, save him! Save me!"
Why did she get the feeling he wasn't listening? Why did she get the feeling he didn't care.
Just then, a lycan appeared.
He entered from the shadows snarling, but was surprised when Airiana pinned him against the nearest tree and pulled the starshot from her pocket.
"Where did you get that?" The lycan snarled.
"Where is he?" She growled back. She felt adrenalised to be this close.
"Who. Your brother. I dragged him down to hell. I tore him to shreds and fed him to the hellhounds!" He snarled.
Airiana stepped back and shot one bullet into his forehead. He yelped quietly and then fell to the ground. She instantly felt sorrowed. Why did she do that. But the anger pushed the regret down and out. But she heard quiet howls in the distance and quickly ran back to her dorm. Had the lycan been telling the truth or lying, she didn't know.