CHAPTER TWO: Through the Eye of the Storm

It was nearly four when Theresa returned to the cabin, having spent five hours surveying the land. She pulled off her jacket and unlaced her boots, pushing them against the wall before walking up the few steps leading into the living room. It took up one half of the first floor, a couple of couches were spread out over thick black carpets, gazing into the flames of the fireplace set in the middle of two wide windows that looked out to the east; along the northern wall was a modest television used only for movies as internet reception was poor.

Hideki was lying along one of the couches closest to the window with an arm draped dramatically over his eyes, he lifted it briefly when Theresa walked in and offered a pained sort of smile before the arm dropped back onto his face.

"Logan still working?" she asked, climbing over the back of another couch and sliding down.

"Yes."

"You don't sound pleased about that." Theresa snorted as Hideki sat up with a frown, eyes narrowed. He huffed and rested against the arm of the couch and sighed loudly, hoping his frustration might reach the self-proclaimed "tortured arteest".

"I love him, honestly, but," he sighed again. "I have needs. He's been at this for days and nights and its driving me mad."

Theresa put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing as Hideki hung his head, his long hair hiding the redness in his cheeks.

"You poor horny bastard. Don't you have, like, toys for that?"

"Theresa, shut up. You don't know anything."

"Please, I know a little– "

"Just stop, I'm not having this conversation with you." Hideki whistled for Taiga and the husky leapt onto the couch and lay down, resting his head on Hideki's knee.

"We're both grown adults, Deki."

"Being over eighteen and having gone through "the college" doesn't always guarantee "becoming an adult"." He deadpanned while air-quoting, picking up a pillow and throwing it unsuccessfully at Theresa's head.

"Fine, fine. What's for dinner?"

"I haven't planned that far ahead." Hideki gathered up his hair and tied it into a knot. "You see if da Vinci is hungry, I'll figure something out."

"Understood, Mona Lisa." Theresa giggled at the unimpressed look Hideki gave her before getting up and retrieving the camera from her jacket pocket. She strolled towards the door of her brother's studio and gently knocked on the door.

"Oi, goofball, open up."

"What's the secret password?" Logan called back, Theresa could hear the smile in his voice.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good?"

"Nope."

"Mellon?"

"Wrong again."

"M-A-R-I-A. Maria?"

"Keep guessing."

Theresa looked back at Hideki and he pointed to the picture hanging over the door, a raven taking off into the air. Theresa raised an eyebrow and Hideki rolled his eyes, he crossed into the living room and opened a drawer beside the fireplace, waving the cover of a movie at her. Theresa squinted at a blond girl in a blue and white dress.

"Um…Nevar?"

"Correct. Just give me a second."

"One – "

"Don't start. A few minutes, I swear."

Theresa nodded and propped herself up against the door, listening to Logan tear through his workplace, brushes falling, paper ripping, and following by a loud thump. Theresa crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, eyeing the kitchen as Hideki opened the fridge. He moved out of her sight and she heard the microwave door open. Moments later, Hideki thrust his arm out and waved Theresa's uneaten breakfast, clicking his tongue before dumping the contents of the plate into the garbage.

"Kay, I'm good. You may proceed." Logan called and Theresa opened the door.

She found Logan sitting on a stool, behind him were tall white sheets hiding his paintings. There were a few paint splatters on the floor and she turned around to see what had changed since the last time she was allowed entry a month ago for her report. There were a few paintings on the wall behind her, like the one with snowy valleys dotted crimson walking paths and a pirate ship stuck at the bottom the sea with shadowy tentacles hovering over it.

She gave Logan the camera and watched him look through the photos, rotating around to mark down the numbers into a notebook. Theresa moved closer to examine his drawing table and brushed a few crumpled pieces of paper out of the way, a couple of large poster boards were stuck together with various doodles and splotches of colour. Several crayons snapped in half were piled together like a pyre. Theresa ignored that for the moment and picked up a sketchbook, thumbing through the pages and siting against the table.

"You gave me that on my sixteenth birthday, remember?" Logan said, shutting the camera off and stretching his arms over his head.

"Oh yeah, everyone else did too." She said noncommittally.

"But I kept yours, you drew something on the first page."

Theresa didn't remember that and flipped back to the front, a small blue and orange bird sat in the middle of the page, its wiry black legs spread out and its beak wide open: a speech bubble said "For Logan".

Theresa smiled and closed the book, placing it back on the table as Logan and tapped the seat of the stool, beating out a rhythm as he stared at her. Logan and Theresa were around 5"7, possessing the same dark brown hair but Logan decided to grow his out a bit, a tiny ponytail at the base of his neck marked his progress. His eyes were hazel in comparison to hers and he was broader in the shoulders. Of course, today there was a blue streak under one of his eyes.

"So, what's happening, I heard you guys laughing."

"Ah, nothing much. Hideki's feeling a little deprived though. What about here, you gonna come join the living for a couple of days or has the muse run away with you?"

"Is he now?" Logan spun around in the stool and opened the notepad back up, running his fingers along the margins and sighing. "I'll have a…a talk with him then. As for the muse – "

Something red dripped onto the floor. Theresa stared at the canvas it had dripped from, images of previous dead animals raced through her mind.

"…not so great." Logan followed Theresa's gaze. "Ah…didn't like that one a lot. I'll take care of it later. Shall we?"

Halfway through their stir fry dinner, the power went out. The sudden, swirling mist of dark gray clouds ushered down waves of rain that thundered against the glass as zigzagging bolts of white light cut across the sky. Crash after crash, Theresa imagined a tree falling, its massive trunk breaking through the glass, bridging the gap between the storm outside and the house. She tried to remember the sky earlier in the day, if there were any signs of severe weather... Everything was suddenly so loud.

Hideki got up and navigated the sea of darkness, his feet sliding against the ground and his eyes trained forward as the flashing lightning lit his path towards one of the kitchen drawers. He pulled out two flashlights, waiting for the lightning again before tossing one to Logan. He then vanished down a hallway near the pantry to check the generators; Logan coaxed Theresa from her chair and the two of them sat down on the couch in front of the fire. Logan pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and pulled it around her shoulders, gently pulling her closer to him as Taiga snarled at the thunder.

"I hate this." Theresa grumbled, leaning into Logan's shoulder with a frown. "Like, I really hate this."

"Relax, Terry. Nothing's going to happen." Logan soothed, planting a quick kiss on her head. Theresa huffed and pulled the blanket tighter around her, watching the lightning splinter off into smaller, whiter lights.

"When people say stuff that like, something bad usually happens."

"And when something does, I'll be right here."

The world beyond the glass roared in response, shaking the house as the sky glowed for all of one second. At that moment a bluish beam reflected off the glass and several lights flickered on, Hideki appeared from the hallway and shut the flashlight off, throwing it onto a chair as he slipped behind Logan and wrapped his arms around him.

"Good thing the fridge is nearly empty." He said, kissing Logan's cheek.

"Radio said the storm wouldn't last long. I should be able to make the trip – "

"Trip? What trip?" Theresa straightened and looked at her brother. Hideki put his hands up and shuffled off the couch, distracting himself by returning the flashlight to the drawer. Logan reached back and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, avoiding Theresa's stare for a while as he turned his gaze outside.

"You know those pictures you've been taking for me?" he said slowly, eyes looking at everything except her face.

"Yeah?"

"I've been wanting to deliver them to the government personally, you know, really get under their skins so they can come and investigate."

"And you want to do this now? Right now? While Mother Nature throws one of her fantastic hissy fits? Are you insane?"

"This has been going on for two years, Terry, and no one's been up here. I think that warrants the adult to go down and get some answers." Logan looked to Hideki for support. Theresa punched his shoulder.

"It's crazy out there, can you imagine flying through that?" Theresa questioned, she suddenly felt really sick. "I mean I trust your judgement on most occasions but this is too much, you can do this after the storm clears, during the day. Do you even have fuel since the last trip and what if you crash? I thought the dead animals were, like, an exploitable medium for you."

Theresa panted, pushing herself to the other side of the couch and curling into a ball. Logan blinked a few times and then reached out to uncoil her but Theresa sprang from and ran around the couch, into the studio. Logan didn't say for her to stop as she opened the door and tore the sheets off the canvas's one after the other. Expecting corpses, Theresa was surprised that one canvas after another depicted animals that were very much alive.

One showed a grizzly from two weeks ago, no longer lying beside the river but actively hunting in it, a salmon dangled from its mouth. Another showcased an eagle in midflight, raven hopping after its buddies, a wolf stalking the winterless tundra alone.

"Yeah…about that." Theresa turned around as Logan walked up to stand beside her. He pulled off another sheet and Theresa saw a fox though a lot of red was smeared across it.

"Had a hard time getting the colour right…and the eyes…and the mouth." He gestured lamely.

"Um…" Theresa looked down and away from the painting and her brother, one hand going up to cup cover her eyes. "Wow, sorry."

"No, no. You're right and this probably was not the way I wanted to…you know, show them to you." Logan sighed and wrapped an arm around her. "But I still need to go and before you lose it on me, hear me out. Wouldn't the situation need paying attention to if I did go, in the middle of this storm, to tell them?"

"…maybe." Theresa mumbled, turning towards the door to see Hideki leaning in the doorway.

"Makes sense, let's go." The dark-haired man said, already pulling on a jacket.

"What? No, you're not coming. I'm not leaving Theresa alone."

"I'm twenty-two, not twelve."

"Hush, you. Now Hideki – "

Hideki sauntered forward, grabbed Logan's arms and pinned them to his side, before kissing him. Logan's eyes widened for a second then slowly closed, wrestling his arms free so he could wrap his arms around his husband, twisting his fingers in Hideki's hair. Theresa looked off to the side after a minute or so, a slight blush colouring her cheeks as the men parted.

"Do we have any complaints now?" Hideki asked slyly, giving Theresa a wink as Logan stuttered.

"Oh, no, no, no. We are…fine." Logan answered a little breathlessly. "Besides, I think you're the better pilot."

"Don't you know it."

The thunder had stopped by the time both men prepared the necessary supplies for their trip, Theresa watched from the back door as they trudged towards the garage holding the plane. She watched as the large bay door opened and clutched the doorframe as they climbed into the sky, the plane shaking and jerking the whole way. Theresa didn't leave until the sound of the plane was drowned out by the sound of the pouring rain, padding back into the living room after locking the back door. She drew the blinds over the windows and shoved a couple of logs into the fire and then grabbed an old newspaper for fuel. She sat down in front of the fireplace as the flames travelled out from the paper and bit into the bark, the heat touched her toes and lingered on her face.

"Guess it's just you and me, boy." She said quietly, reaching for Taiga and he sat beside her. "They'll be fine."

The husky gave an affirmative bark.

CRASH!

Taiga jumped and ran for the entrance, barking at it viciously as something thumped on the door. Theresa climbed to her feet and unhooked the hunting knife from her belt, she pressed herself against the door and held the knife behind her back.

"Who's there?"

THUMP.

"I said, who's out there?"

Another thump but this time it seemed to travel down the door.

"I'd better not regret this." She twisted the handle of the door and pulled, yelping when a tall black figure fell backwards into the house. It looked like a man but he was covered in a full black suit, two swords were strapped to his back and small knives were imbedded in his arms. Kneeling at his head, Theresa checked for a pulse, immediately shrieking when the man raised a hand and grabbed her wrist.

Oh yes, he was alive.

Taiga however was still set on something and Theresa looked up and saw a white flash before something whistled through the air past her cheek. Falling onto her bum, Theresa grunted and tried to pull her arm free but the man wouldn't let go. Growling, she used her restricted hand to grab his wrist and pull him up the three small steps into the centre of the room.

"Taiga, door!" She grunted. Taiga nosed his way between the door and wall and closed it, running back up to examine the intruder.

"Someone's out there and I need to lock up, you have to let go." The man turned his head to stare at her, Theresa looked down and realized that he was staring at the knife in her hand.

"You're joking right? You, sir, have fucking swords." The man moved his head to look up at the ceiling and sighed in an exasperated manner. He raised his other hand and gestured to himself. She saw the numerous cuts on his body including a gash stretching across his chest, she dropped the knife and carefully laid her other hand on him, her fingers ghosting over the injury. He tensed and gripped her wrist tighter.

"I get it, I get it." She glanced down at the knife and groaned, gently picking up the blade and handing Taiga the hilt. "Take this to my room, Taiga, I guess I won't be needing it."

The husky grabbed the knife and walked up the stairs. Theresa waited for the dog to disappear upstairs before giving the man a look, he nodded and slowly released her arm. Bracing both hands on the ground, he began to push himself up but Theresa saw his arms shake, catching him before he hit the ground. She heard him sigh again, fighting to sit up, before he curled into himself and wrapped an arm around his stomach. Theresa felt a pang of guilt as he pushed against her, the material around his face stretching as he opened his mouth to draw in deep breaths.

"OK." The man looked at her. "I'm gonna help you stand up, alright? We'll go upstairs and I see what I can do to lessen the pain but you have to trust me."

He continued to stare at her and she carefully moved onto her toes. "On three then? One, two, three." With one hand wrapped around his waist and the other moving his arm over her shoulder, Theresa pushed up and pulled the man up, steadying him as he readjusted his arm around his stomach.

"Now the stairs, these won't be pretty with your ribs. Broken?"

He gave her a nod.

"How many?"

He held up four fingers.

"Brilliant. We'll have to take our time then." They moved along the floor at a snail's pace, Theresa ignored the urge to look at him, feeling nervous with every loud breath he took. Once they got up the stairs, she stared between her room and her brother's.

"Mine's probably the safer bet." She said, more to herself then the man. She found Taiga waiting for her near the bed and she flicked the light switch on with her nose. Aside from the tree mural, her room was pained dark blue with bright yellow shelves meant to be stars. She guided the man to the headboard of her bed and asked him to stay put. She went back down stairs and got the first aid kit from one of the kitchen drawers along with a bigger kit from Logan's studio. The man was still in the same place she'd left him and Theresa lingered for a moment to take in his appearance.

He was taller than she was, three or four inches give or take, and the suit covered him completely. He did wear black pants that were a little baggy around the thighs and they were taped up around his ankles.

Getting him out of that would be tiresome.

Two guns were strapped to his belt with multiple pockets held small throwing weapons, and again the swords on his back. He stared at her and Theresa swallowed the growing lump in her throat.

"You can sit, never cared for that comforter anyway. Too rough." She said setting the supplies down and examining him.

"How do you get out of this thing?"

He shook his head.

"You don't want to get out of it?"

He nodded.

"O-ok then."

As he sat down Theresa crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing the shuriken that the man was slowly pulling out of his arms. He studied the room for a moment and Theresa snorted.

"The bed's fine, better there than in your arm, right?" So he tossed the throwing stars onto the bed and turned his arms over slowly, clenching and unclenching his fists. Theresa placed the kits on the bed and cautiously lowered herself beside him.

She opened one kit and pulled out a rag, twisting the cap off of a bottle of rubbing alcohol and sticking the cloth inside the neck of the bottle. She looked up at his face, silently asking if it was alright to touch him, and he nodded. She dabbed the cloth against the largest slash, wincing when he should've. It didn't seem too deep so she wouldn't need to stitch him up (which terrified her immensely) and tended to the smaller cuts. He didn't make any sounds or react much to her fussing over him, she tried making conversation but seeing as he refused to speak, she gave up and started wrapping his arms.

She did the same to his legs and then paused at his ribs. At first, she wasn't sure how to proceed but the man instructed her to wrap around his stomach and over his shoulder a couple of times. By the end of it all, all cuts were bandaged and he seemed to be a little more relaxed.

"Kay then, can I get you anything?"

He shook his head.

"Oh. Well, you can sleep here I guess. Um, bathroom's over there and if you need anything just send Taiga." She snapped her fingers and kneeled as Taiga came to her. "Look after him, alright? I'll be down the hall…if you need me or anything."

The man nodded again and Theresa helped him lie down, grabbing pillows from her closet to prop him up. She pulled the curtains over the window shut, eyes darting around the room in an attempt to stop looking at him when he was clearly looking at her.

"Um…goodnight then." She went to door and stopped. "I'm Theresa, by the way."

The man started moving his hands. Theresa frowned.

"Sign language, huh? Um…yeah, didn't get a word of that." The man beckoned her over and Theresa shuffled awkwardly to his side. He took her hand, gently this time, and moved his index finger around her palm.

"Snake Eyes."