Disclaimer: I do not own the Darkest Powers Trilogy or any of the original characters. *Sighs*
Info: I received my fifth review today so, I'm writing my next chapter. I understand some of you viewers think my chapters are too short so, I'll try to make this one longer. I'm going for five or more reviews again. If I get five reviews, or more, I'll keep writing. I also wanted to let everyone know that I might rewrite a chapter in either "The Summoning" or "The Awakening" from the point of view of one of the other characters. If you have any suggestions as to which chapter/ point of view I should write, leave me a private message. Enjoy!
After the discussion Tori, the guys, and I had, we were heading down to lunch. My stomach was grumbling, but I sort of got used to that the last few days on the run. It was sort of endless… like the ticking of that clock.
I quickly jogged to the bathroom down the hall, and ran a comb through my hair, grimacing at the stupid black die Derek had bought for me to cover up my red streaks. I know Derek didn't purposely buy me black dye, it was just to protect me from the reward on my head.
Of course the half-million dollar reward only made me think of my dad. I wanted to call him; I wanted to do something to let him know I was all right.
I was snapped back into the present by a light knock on the door. I jumped.
"Do you ever get less jumpy?" Simon laughed.
"I wasn't jumpy until I started seeing ghosts."
He laughed again, "Yea, I guess that could do it. Ready to eat?"
I nodded and we headed down the dusty staircase. As far as movie sets go this would be great for a horror movie. Dusty, dirty, old, and secluded. Maybe not a zombie movie, but something a little calmer than zombies.
As we walked, I wondered how Simon remembered his way down here. There were so many different hallways and doors to get lost in.
"Ah, there's the late riser!" Andrew smiled when Simon and I entered the kitchen. He seemed so cheerful, not like his appearance would suggest. He looked too muscular with a strong jaw, crooked nose, and graying crew-cut hair. On the other hand, after seeing his house, his appearance didn't suggest a cozy little cottage in the woods.
I smiled as Simon pulled me to a chair around the table and sat down next to me. Derek sat across the table, next to Tori. I had to hold back a giggle as I looked at them with their chairs pushed as far apart as they could manage, angling their bodies away from each other. Derek kept his face down, gaze averted.
"Did you want something to eat, Chloe?" Andrew smiled again.
"What do we have?"
"Dust, cheap sandwich wraps, and some cereal," Tori muttered picking apart what looked like a left over piece of energy bar.
"Mmm," I said with mock enthusiasm.
"Yes, well, we weren't expecting visitors, and there wasn't much to buy at the convenience store, but some other members of my group will be coming tomorrow with much more food," Andrew nodded his head like he was talking to a four year old.
"Until then, bon 'appetite," Derek sighed, sliding a bowl of Cheerios toward me and getting up from the table.
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I was fussing with my hair all through breakfast. Simon noticed, and when we stepped into the living room, he grabbed my hands.
"Chloe? Is something wrong?"
"Just my h-hair."
"Chloe?"
I sighed, "Well my hair's part of it."
He pulled me down onto the large couch that took up most of the space in the room. It was old velvet that threw off the whole room.
"Do you want to talk? We can get you new hair dye, but I can tell that's not all that's bothering you."
How did everyone see through me so easily? I didn't think I was so obvious.
"No, not really," I lied. I was sure to talk slow enough to keep my voice even and stutter free, but fast enough he wouldn't notice.
I thought I saw something in his eyes, but it was gone before I registered the change.
"Well, if you want to talk, you know where to find me," he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Thanks, Simon."
He just nodded, mumbled something about finding Derek, and left.
I looked at the clock. It was only going on 1:30. I guess it was time to look around.
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I had looked everywhere. All over the house. There was nothing left to do to pass time. I checked the clock again 3:27.
Ugh! Why is it that time always passes so much slower when you're waiting for something?
Our night of impending doom was still hours away. I wasn't in the mood to confront Amanda now, but I needed something to do.
Simon didn't seem in the mood to talk to anyone right now. Derek was missing. I didn't see him anywhere. That left Tori.
As I clomped up the stairs to our room, I thought about the insult free Tori I saw this morning. I also added Simon's odd, unapproachable attitude to my list. Then there was Derek. He was usually evasive, and I'd learned to expect that, but he wasn't normally so evasive that even Simon couldn't talk to him.
What was going on? Everyone seemed out-of-whack today.
When I opened the creaky wooden door to our room, I saw Tori lying on her bed. Just laying there.
"Hey, Tori."
"Chloe."
"What's up? You seem upset."
"Upset?" when Tori spoke I heard the old Tori in her voice, the bitter resentment she had toward me for "stealing" Simon from her. It reminded me of Amanda's malice last night.
I nodded and glided to the bed sitting on the very edge by her feet.
"No, I'm not upset! Not at all! I'm happy freakin' dandy!"
"Tori?" I didn't understand the mood swings. Are they sure she isn't actually bipolar?
"What's the matter princess? Something bothering you? Isn't it always about you?" she spat the words at me, and I vaguely realized that she had gotten up from the bed and was now towering over me.
"T-t-tori? Calm down,"
"Calm down?" Tori raised her arms sparks flying between her fingers. She looked about ready to throw a lightning bolt through my skull when I heard the door fly open with an audible bang.
"What the hell?" Simon hit Tori with a knock-back spell, and she hit the ground.
Derek ran past Simon to hold Tori down. I saw Simon standing in front of me, arms raised for another spell in case Tori managed to get up. Andrew stumbled into the room then, kneeling behind me, trying to stop me from shaking.
I could hardly see. My whole frame was vibrating.
"What on earth is going on in here?" I had this odd feeling that Andrew was just realizing how dangerous we really could be.
"Chloe, I am so sorry! I don't know what happened," Tori said through her teeth, still lying on the floor under Derek's hands.
"I-it's ok-k," I tried to smile.
"No! It's not!" Simon was very obviously upset. He took a deep breath and leaned down to me. "You alright?"
I just nodded. I needed to talk to them without Andrew here. Something was definitely going on.
"Derek," I whispered. I tried to be quiet enough that only he could here, but considering I was spazzing and could barely breathe, much less talk, it wasn't hard.
I saw him lift his head slightly and nod, his eyes locked on mine.
Turning my head to look at Andrew I hooked my thumb toward the door. Derek seemed to get it right away or, maybe he just wanted to talk as much as I did.
"Andrew? Why don't you see what you can get for supper? I think we'll all need something after this."
"Oh, um, will you four be ok?" Andrew questioned looking between Tori and me. Clearly "four" was another word for two.
"Course," Derek mumbled.
Simon stepped behind me and took Andrew's place holding me up, and then Andrew stomped out, slamming the door.
"S-s-some…" I tried to talk, but Derek shook his head, cutting me off.
"Still in hearing range."
When we were sure Andrew couldn't hear Tori requested to be let go, and they all helped me up.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok? I really didn't mean anything. I don't know what happened," Tori was mumbling, almost to herself.
"I'll b-be fine-e."
Simon and Derek walked me over to my bed, one supporting each side. Tori resumed lying on her bed like she was before.
"What the hell happened, Tori?" Derek shouted.
"I told you, dog, I don't know! I was fine, and then I just… lost it!"
"Cool it, bro," Simon said, trying to remove the bite from his voice. Simon was sitting next to me, supporting me so I wouldn't fall.
Derek paced back and forth across the room, talking to himself so quietly we didn't understand a word of it.
"Oh, Chloe? You wanted to say something?" Derek stopped pacing and looked at me.
"Yea. I think something is wrong," I said. I was starting to calm down now, my breathing back to normal.
"What do you mean?" Tori sat up.
"Everyone just seems weird today."
"What do you mean 'weird'?" Simon asked, leaning back on his elbows.
"Well, take Tori for example," Tori looked a little offended as I said this, "Tori has no idea why she got so upset. Simon, you got upset this morning and kind of seemed a little unapproachable. Derek, you basically disappeared off the face of the Earth this afternoon."
We all sat in silence for a few minutes, and I watched as they all nodded, excepting what I said.
"Well, what do you think is wrong?" Simon asked.
"I'm… not sure," I felt myself blush.
"What do you think?" Tori asked, her question directed toward Derek.
Derek stood in the corner of the room, his face an expression of complete confusion.
"Not sure yet," he said after a few minutes.
"Maybe we can find out tonight," I smiled reassuringly.
"Maybe," Derek breathed.
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We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting around the house, staring off into space.
When Andrew came home with dinner, he looked nervous. Nervous probably wasn't the right word, more like terrified. His expression reminded me of the way it was last night when he had first seen Derek. We ate in silence, barely eve making eye contact.
After everyone was well fed, we took well-deserved showers. I stood under the hot water, scrubbing at my head. This dye had to come out sometime. I kept standing there, letting the water relax my muscles and, hopefully, remove some dye.
When I finished taking my shower, I sat on top of the comforter and brushed my hair.
I was going insane! Every thought I had somehow led back to my dad, or my aunt, or Rae. I didn't seem to reduce any risk on anyone whether I was with them or across the country. Then, there was us. I seemed to put all of us in more danger than necessary. Even if I'm the only one that could see and hear these ghosts, I'm not the only one who could get hurt when it comes to ones like Liz or Amanda.
Surprisingly I was able to drift into sleep, listening to Tori's snores and the clock across the hall.
I dreamt of the homeless guy we ran into earlier on our trip. I would be walking over to his body when all of a sudden I would find myself looking down at Liz on a cold, steel table.
I heard a soft voice drifting into my dreams, breaking me away into consciousness.
"Necro."
I ignored the voice, but it sounded somewhat familiar.
"Necro? Oh, what's her name? Oh, um, Chloe!" I soon recognized the voice as Amanda.
I opened my eyes to see her blue/white eyes staring into mine.
"Let's go, it's time!"
There you go! That's chapter 4. I'll update soon! Don't forget to maybe think about a chapter/ point of view for me to write in. Private message me anytime. If you liked it, please leave a comment. If you didn't like it, leave me a comment; let me know how I can make it better. Thanks for reading everyone!