Chapter Twenty-One

Whispers in the Wind

"This place is a lot busier than I had expected," Jeffrey frowned as he drove slowly around the field that was being used as a makeshift car-park. His eyes peered back and forth as he looked for an open space.

"I told you Jade's band was popular," Paige said from her position from the back of Jeffrey's car. "I'd bet that pretty much half the town is here even though this is just practice."

"And they haven't broken out yet?" Ruby asked, feeling a strange giddiness in her chest. She had realised upon entering the car-park and hearing that faint thump of music in the air that she hadn't gone to any kind of live concert since Epsilon, four long years ago. Looking at the bright colours and personalities that they drove past Ruby found herself seeing herself. She used to go to all sorts of rock concerts and just let go. She couldn't stop the smile from creeping on her face even despite the grave situation they were in. It was familiar territory and Ruby found that she had missed it greatly.

"Way I hear it they had an opportunity three or four years back," Paige shrugged. "Something about someone dying, I think. Some fansites also claim there is also friction within the band – mostly centring around Jade and her attitude."

"There's always reports like that. The amount of magazines that covered Bridge's early days…"

"Were they true?"

Ruby frowned somewhat. "…Always. Perhaps he isn't the best example in the world. In fact, he's probably the worst example in the world." Distracted for a moment, Ruby peered back to Paige. "So, are you a rock fan or music fan?"

"Not particularly," Paige admitted. "I just like to keep track of events that go on around town. I don't know… knowledge is power and all that, I suppose."

"This is no good," Jeffrey said with a defeated look on his worn face. "I'm going to have to find somewhere on the road to park. You two get out and find Jade – we can't afford to waste any more time."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, understanding Jeffrey's decision.

"Yes. Besides, you two blend in a whole lot better than me," Jeffrey allowed himself a smile. "Go, I'll try to catch up with you."

"Will you be able to find us easily though?" Ruby asked. Jeffrey just glanced pointedly at Ruby's bright red hair.

"I think I'll be able to. Even among all these people you still stick out." With that, Jeffrey pulled the car to the side. "Alright, off you hop. I'll see you later."

"Thanks, stay safe," Ruby nodded as she climbed out the car with Paige following after her. The two of them watched Jeffrey's car disappear out of the field and turned towards the sound of faint music up the hill. "Right, let's get climbing."

A worn path led the way up the hill and Ruby and Paige joined the small trickle of people heading up to watch the Miracle Skyhawk's public practice session. As they climbed, Paige suddenly tugged on Ruby's arm and motioned to the treeline of a small copse of trees. "Hey, can I grab a moment, Ruby? I know we're on a little bit of a time limit but… well, it's kind of important."

Bemused, Ruby nodded. "Sure. I'm guessing it's something we don't want others to over hear."

"Not particularly," Paige smiled. Then she headed over to the trees, with Ruby close behind. She crunched through the bushes and long grass for a moment before stopping and facing Ruby.

"So what's up?"

"Hang on," Paige said with a strange tone, looking somewhere above Ruby's shoulder. Ruby raised an eyebrow as Paige shook her head. "Sorry… Look, you've heard the others – and myself – mention talking to the wind, right?"

"Yes…"

"Well, I wanted to let you know the she wants to help us."

"…She…?"

"I have no idea if she is a she, but she certainly sounds like—" Paige paused. "No, she is definitely a she."

After everything Ruby had heard when she had spoken to Lisa Valentine all that time ago, as well as experienced at the base of the construction site, she didn't doubt Paige when she said that she talked to the sky. Instead, she just accepted it as fact. It was a whole lot easier to understand that way. "How can… she… help us?"

Paige didn't speak for a moment, evidently listening to something Ruby couldn't hear. A rustle of wind brushed Ruby's red hair as the trees creaked and moaned. "She claims that she has heard somebody else speak to the sky, though she has never responded." Paige frowned. "You never told me that. I know… but I would have thought you'd have mentioned it." Paige shook her head. "Apparently there is a man with the answers we're looking for."

"Yeah, the friend of Jeremiah's, right?" Ruby said.

Paige shook her head again. "No… She claims there is somebody else. Who? Don't know his name… typical… in the Lighthouse? Apparently there is a man in the lighthouse who often speaks out to the sky."

"What does he say?"

Paige listened and frowned again. "She refuses to say. She says words upon the wind should be private unless carried with a purpose."

Ruby suddenly had a thought. "Paige, can you ask her if she can hear most everything that goes on around Eastbourne? If she's the wind then surely she could keep track of everyone and help us out that way?"

Paige shook her head. "No. She says that she shouldn't have mentioned the man and that she should keep quiet. Why? Of course you won't say… Hello? He… And she's gone…" Paige shrugged. "Well, I suppose that's something. A man in a lighthouse. The only lighthouse around here is the Belle Tout Lighthouse. I guess we got ourselves a goal once we get Jade on our side."

Ruby was about to reply when her phone vibrated harshly in her pocket. She quickly pulled it out, pressed the 'answer' button and put it against her ear. "Tanzi? What's going on?"

Paige watched Ruby's expression in interest. It started off worried, grew surprised, quickly changed to anger, then slight relief, then back to worry. "Jeremiah… I warned you, didn't I? If anything happens to her… You get to Naomi's home as soon as you possibly can. Once we get Jade we're coming straight there. Bring this friend of yours as well. I don't care if he doesn't come out of his morgue! Drag him if you have to! Right… Phone Naomi, tell her of the situation. Keep updated on her progress, got it!" Ruby hung up the phone and ran a hand through her red hair with a long sigh.

"What's happened?" Paige asked carefully.

"It's Tanzi. She's had her vision… well, she had two visions ay practically the same time. This can only mean Lacey and Zach are both going to be consecutive… Christ, I should have seen this coming! Tanzi said they had died practically at the same time…"

"If that's true… Then that means the situation will be the same for Tanzi and I…"

"Naomi and Jade as well. Christ… it's just one thing after another damn thing! Right! Let's get Jade." With that, Ruby stormed back up the hill. Paige watched with careful eyes when the whisper on the wind crept through the trees and into her ear.

…Why didn't you tell her what I said…?

"I didn't deem it necessary," Paige said quietly.

…Do you believe my help is not needed…?

"I just believe that Ruby doesn't need to be distracted. We'll get the truth when we visit Belle Tout either way. Sometimes it is best to keep information away from those who may act rashly on it." With that, Paige quickly followed Ruby up the hill.

Letting the warm water rush past her shoulders, Lacey found it hard to let her body relax. Her blonde hair hung down her back as the water trailed down her body to drip to the bottom of the luxurious shower, spinning and swirling down the plug-hole. The shower was situated in the corner of the room with a circular glass wall, lined with golden-coloured metal. The shower-head Lacey held in her hand was made of the same gold material, with a long silver cord that came from the control panel in the wall.

The dinner had been one of tension and silence. It certainly didn't help that Naomi's dining table was huge, easily big enough to seat up to twelve people. She had relayed the news that Tanzi had a vision and that Zach and Lacey were likely to happen immediately one after the other. Lacey had immediately withdrawn from the kitchen out of fear, leaving Lucas to half-heartedly finish the meal. The others didn't seem to mind the half-cooked vegetables with their burnt sausages; there minds on the upcoming possibilities.

After the meal Lacey had felt that she needed a shower. Her muscles had been tense all through the day and the constant nervousness of the situation had made her sweat. Zach and Lucas had both been against the idea but Naomi quieted them down with a simple sentence, "How can we hope to defeat Death if we let him stop us in our daily activities?" So Lacey was allowed to take her shower and Lucas sat on the other side of the door. Much to Lacey's embarrassment, he had been firm to leave the door unlocked but she at least felt safer with Lucas by the door than either Zach or Naomi, both of whom, while fellow students, were still strangers.

Being in the shower Lacey realised that this was the first time she had been truly alone with her thoughts. She still found it extremely hard to come to terms with the fact that she was next on a list of death. She was afraid that every step she took would be her last. What if she tripped on the landing and fell down the stairs, breaking her neck? What if she slipped on the kitchen tiles and bashed her head on the cabinet? What if… what if…

When Lacey's mind started down that road she couldn't help but think of what would happen to the people in her life if she suddenly passed away. Her parents would be distraught – her mother would likely cry herself to sleep and her father would probably find solace in drink. She could imagine Edith and Henry at the Forever Butterfly sadly sharing a glass of wine at the loss of the quiet girl they had considered a good friend. Then there was Lucas… someone who Lacey hadn't really known in the great scheme of things but had fallen in love with almost instantly.

He could make her feel so good, feel so happy, could drive away her timidness and her stuttering's and allow herself to be confident. She knew he loved her as well and could only imagine what he would be like if she was to die. Would he be angry and lash out at everyone? Would he be sad and go into a shell of despair?

Lacey shivered despite the warm water and shook her head, letting the thoughts and the droplets of water spatter against the wall. It wouldn't do to think like, to let those thoughts take over. She reached for the body-wash on the corner shelf and poured some on her hands, placing the bottle back on the shelf – missing the fact it was slightly askew and slipping slightly on the suds underneath. Lacey moved her hands around her body, massaging the body-wash in.

She heard the small sound of movement and instinctively reached out to grab the bottle as it slid from the shelf. She grabbed it with one soaped-up hand and the bottle slipped out of her grasp, bouncing against the wall and landing on the floor. Lacey frowned and leaned down to reach for it, not even thinking twice about leaning over the hoop of the shower-head's cord.

When her foot slipped, Lacey barely had down to cry out before the cord snapped around her neck – hard. She immediately panicked and pushed her hands off the ground; the heel of her right hand accidentally pushed into the bottle and shot out too much body-wash, sending bubbles frothing around the bottom of the shower.

Lacey's arms slipped and she fell down again, her face inches from the porcelain floor before the cord stopped her, restricting around her throat. In her panic Lacey turned over, tightening the cord and trapping the shower-head painfully between her back and the tiled wall. She reached her hands behind her but the cord had managed to tighten to the point she couldn't move forward. Her mouth opened and closed with barely a noise – her small sputters of pain drowned by the water of the shower.

As she found her breath building up in her lungs Lacey scrabbled her fingers to her neck in complete panic. Her fingers only slipped off the smooth metal and she could feel her head growing strangely warm. There was an odd red fuzziness in the corners of her vision. Tears sprung from Lacey's pain-filled eyes as she beat her feet against the floor of the shower in frantic desperation. Every time her foot slipped on the soapy floor and all she succeeded in doing was sending the bottle skittering around.

She wanted to shout, wanted to scream for Lucas but she couldn't; she could open her mouth but nothing else. Water cascaded on her as she struggled, feeling herself growing weaker and weaker, the warmth and the red engulfing her. In her pain-filled haze she let go of the cord around her neck and reached out fruitlessly for the door. She could barely see anything anymore as her lungs felt fit to burst and the crimson overtook her vision…

…Lucas…

Save me…!

Lu… cas…