Part 11: Derek's Worries

Derek had been working grueling hours in his internship. It was of course the most menial task. The actual people working on theoretical physics were demanding him to enter data, go on coffee runs, and pick up food. He was constantly running around and now the regular doordash driver knew his name at this point. It was constant. At any moment any of them could call on him to do some menial task. He had hoped desperately that he could get the chance to show his knowledge, but he knew everyone else was doing the same thing. All of his roommates were coming back exhausted and they all slept at random schedules. More often than not, they were coming hope incredibly late, or sometimes even into the morning and were expected to show back up early in the morning.

Derek was so excited for Chloe's visit. He craved her constantly. After the incident with Brian, he almost ripped his hair out thinking about whether or not Brian touched Chloe, where he was in the house, and what exactly they talked about. It took everything in him to not scream at Chloe for letting someone into her home. He wasn't usually like this. Sure, he was territorial, but this was a completely different level. He knew Chloe missed him, too. But he knew she didn't feel it on this level. This was something he had never experienced before. Sam had attempted to reassure him, but deep down Sam also knew it could do nothing to disway the wolf.

It didn't help that there was a female werewolf in the program. She rarely interacted with him, but when she did, it felt like she was doing everything to hit on him. Sam was pretty annoyed, but also played the annoying friend by hitting on her to keep them apart. Every time she casually touched his hand or shoulder, every time she tried to use a sweet voice, Derek wanted to rip her hand or her face apart. He didn't want anyone but Chloe to be with him. He made it clear from the beginning he had a girlfriend, but it didn't seem to get her to leave him alone completely.

Derek had been texting Chloe and she was telling him about the horrible day she was having with her Aunt. It was a surprising early end to the day for him and he was home in his bed resting by 5pm. Sam was also home and was playing a video game in his room. Without even realizing it, Derek had drifted off to sleep.

When Derek was resting, he kept his phone on silent. He had figured out how to make Chloe an important contact so if she called his phone would still ring. If it was anyone else, he didn't care. He took every moment of rest he could. Especially since he was still uncomfortable and unable to change completely. The last time it happened, he had almost changed completely, but reverted almost immediately after changing and it was the longest experience of his life.

He had no dreams, but woke up in a cold sweat and felt something was wrong. He clutched his chest trying to catch his breath, it felt like he had been chasing something. He walked out of his room and into the bathroom and washed his face off. The clock on the wall in their living space said it was 10pm. Derek was surprised that Chloe hadn't called him to say good night or anything, so he went back into his room and checked his phone.

It felt like he was getting whiplash when he unlocked his screen and had more notifications than he can count. Most were from Simon and Tori. He scanned the texts as quickly as he could, starting with Simon.

Hey, not sure what you're doing. Chloe just had a rough time at our house, call her when you can.

Chloe's aunt said she ran away! Have you talked to her?

Hey! What are you doing?!

ANSWER THE PHONE. Has Chloe called you?

Derek didn't even bother looking at his texts from Tori or his dad. He called Chloe. He growled when it went straight to voicemail. Did her phone die? Did she turn it off? She hadn't even texted or called him. Why would she run away? What happened?

He quickly called his dad.

"Derek!" His dad answered on the second ring.

"Dad? What's going on? I just woke up, I saw some texts from Simon. I just called Chloe but her phone went straight to voicemail?"

"Look, there's a lot going on right now. Please try to stay calm."

"What is going on?! Is Chloe okay?" Derek's voice was getting loud, his heart continued to race and his skin crawled.

"Look, we had Chloe and her Aunt over for dinner and things did not go so well… Apparently when they were driving home they argued and Chloe jumped out of the car and ran away. She's not answering her phone and we haven't found her yet."

"What?! Isn't it like 1am there? She hasn't come home yet?"

"We are all searching for her. For some reason my tracking spell isn't working. I think it might be because of Beth's spell on the town… I wasn't able to get to her until now. I'm on my way to her house now."

"Where's Simon and Tori? Are they searching the forest behind her house? She goes there."

"Yes, Derek. We are all looking for her. Please, stay calm. I'm sure she will come back. Try to get rest, let us know if you hear from her."

"I can't just rest. You have to find her! I can fly out there and find her!"

"Derek, there is no reason you should get on a plane and take almost 4 hours at least to find her when she'll probably come back. The fight she had with her aunt was really bad. I can tell you more once everything settles."

"No, no. Dad. You need to tell me now! Tell me now!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't find her if you scream at me! I will call you back. I just pulled up to Beth's house."

"Dad-!" He hung up the phone. Derek's heart was racing. Chloe was missing? And he was stuck in California with no way to find her. He could have easily tracked and found her by now. How long was she missing? What if something happened to her? His anger welled in his body and he punched his desk, a corner of it crumbled onto the floor. A knock on the door startled him.

"Derek? It's Sam. Are you okay? I just heard a lot of yelling…"

Derek swung the door open. Sam's eyes widened in shock at how distraught Derek looked. "Dude, you look awful. What happened?"

Derek's body was hot and somehow it felt like his wolf was itching to take his body over and destroy everything around him. "Chloe's missing!"

"Oh shit, your mate?"

"Yes! She's missing and I can't do anything about it."

"What happened?"

"I don't know! I just woke up and I have all these texts from my brother and sister and dad and I just called him and he said she just ran away. And she's not answering her phone! And all I can do is sit here and wait. I woke up feeling like something was wrong. What if she's in trouble? What…" Derek fell back onto his chair at his desk, Sam stepped inside of his room. "What would I do if something happened to her?"

Sam looked around the room and noticed the damaged desk. He had a feeling Derek was different than most werewolves. After finding out he could already fully change, it isn't surprising that he's reacting this way. Especially if Chloe really was his mate.

"This might feel like a crazy time for me to ask this but… have you marked her yet? If she's your mate, I'm sure you've at least had the urge to."

Derek blushed. "Uh…"

"Look, I know this might sound crazy, but I've only met a couple dozen of werewolves that have found their mate. It's not super rare, but it's definitely not common. But, I know that mates have an innate feeling of what the other is doing. Like, where they are and how they are feeling."

Derek sighed. "No, I haven't marked her."

"Okay, but you waking up feeling like something is wrong, probably means something." Sam insisted. "I'm not one to tell people to jump to conclusions, but you need to trust your instincts. Where do you think she could have gone?"

"I'm not sure, really. But, thank you. Talking to you has cleared my head a little bit. I'm going to call around and see if anyone else has heard from her. It's so weird that she didn't call me…"

"Bitches are crazy." Derek gave him a glare. "Of course she's not a bitch or anything-you know what? Why don't I call my family, see if they know of anyone in the area that can also check things out."

"There's a witch in our town that has a protection spell over it. She will know if anyone supernatural tries to come in. We've never had anyone wander in before."

"Well, either way, my family really liked you when they came to visit. If they know your mate is missing? You'd be surprised how much can get done through the Pack telephone line."

Derek wasn't really sure what he meant, but he just nodded and let Sam exit his room. He heard ruffling of feet in the living room after Sam closed his door. He could faintly hear Sam explain the short version of why Derek was making so much noise in his room. They all went back to their rooms, most likely not wanting to be bothered.

First, he called Simon. "Derek! I'm glad you called, I have so much to tell you!"

"It seems like I'm missing out on a lot. I just got off the phone with Dad, he said he was at Beth's. What the hell happened?"

"It's a crazy story." Derek heard Tori say.

"You're on speaker phone. Dad dropped us off in the woods area where Chloe ran off according to her Aunt. It's super dark though, we haven't been able to find her. Plus, Dad's spells aren't working to track her since Beth has that protection spell over the town."

"You gotta start from the beginning." Tori said.

"Ok, yeah. So, look. Remember when all that stuff happened at the cemetery with Brian?"

Brian? This was about Brian? "Yeah?" He tried not to snarl.

"Well, we kind of held back on something until we knew for sure. Brian had mentioned Beth may let him take over the shop or give him more responsibility."

"What? That's weird, he's a normie."

"Exactly! We told Dad, he said he'd talk to her but he didn't go until today. She told him that she was going to tell Brian about Supernaturals!"

"What? And out us?!" Derek's mind was spinning. What did all of this have to do with Chloe?

"Well, no. So Dad wanted to tell all of us to prepare and he invited Chloe and her aunt over for some Thai food so he could tell us. But honestly, Chloe's aunt started freaking out. She talked a lot of crap about me, and sorry dude, she talked mad crap about you, too. She brought up how Chloe was staying with you in California. Dad accidentally revealed you guys are mates."

Shit. Derek ran a hand through his sweaty hair. "Oh, shit."

"Yeah, exactly. That did not go well. So Lauren stormed out and forced Chloe to go with her. I guess they argued in the car and according to her aunt, Chloe just jumped out of the car and ran off into the woods and we haven't been able to find her or anything. At first her phone would ring, but we think she turned it off or something. Dad wasn't worried at first, but now it's been a few hours and we still haven't seen or heard from her. Nate hasn't heard anything either. Where have you been?"

"I was… sleeping."

"Wow."

"I know. I'm not proud of it. But I have Chloe as an emergency contact so if she called I would have woken up from the ring."

"I'm going to do my best not to be completely hurt that you silenced my phone, because at least you did it to everyone else, too."

"Simon! This is not the time. I woke up with a really bad feeling. I think… I think something is wrong with Chloe."

Tori groaned in the background. "That's not good. I feel like we've been wandering around forever and now you have a bad feeling? Chloe! Chloe! Get out here!"

"That's not even the end of the story." Simon continued. "Once they left, Dad told us something that's going to blow your mind."

"What?"

"Beth is turning Brian into a Warlock!"

"What? You can't turn someone into a witch or warlock. That doesn't make any sense!"

"I know! Dad didn't know how she was going to do it either, he kept saying something about tea, it made no sense at all. But Brian was being told about this tonight. It's weird, right?"

"Does anyone know where Brian is now?"

"Not sure. Last I heard he has his own apartment. I haven't called him yet. I think Dad's going to ask Beth about it and then get back to us."

"Well, look. If she's not there, you aren't going to find her. She knows that place way better than any of us. Head back home, you're better off just waiting for Dad."

"You are incredibly calm right now."

Derek felt like he wanted to cry. "I don't feel calm," he whispered back into the phone.

"We'll find her."

"Just… call me when you hear anything, ok?"

"Ok."

Derek paced back and forth in his room before calling Nate.

"Hey Derek, have you heard from Chloe?"

"No, I haven't. But, I've got a bad feeling. Have you checked the cemetery?"

"Nope. It would be weird for her to go when she's so upset and she'd be less likely to control her powers."

Derek pondered for a moment. "That's what I'm worried about. I think… Could you just check for me?"

"Yeah! I'll head over there and check things out."

Derek hung up once again. He felt like he was the point person on some spy mission with all of these calls. This was also the most he's talked in a while. His voice was hoarse. All he could do was wait and wonder.

He thought back to the time Chloe gave him the opportunity to mark her. Would he have known she was in trouble sooner if he marked her? Would he know exactly where she was? Was it a mistake to say no? His wolf said, yes. He should have done it. His mind said he made the right choice in waiting. His body felt torn and broken not knowing if she was okay.

He did the only thing he could, and he drew. He wasn't sure what he was drawing at first, and he just let his mind wander while his hand moved. It was another 15 minutes before he received another call. It was his Dad.

"Dad? Did you find her?"

"Not exactly, but Beth is currently doing her own tracking spell. But…"

"What?"

"Nate just called me. There are bodies missing from the cemetery. It's… there's cracks in the ground and some were stuck inside their coffins scratching…"

"Oh, god."

"We are following their tracks. We think that will help find her."

Oh god, oh god. "Please, Dad. You have to find her."

"We'll find her."

Derek could only think about how Chloe must have felt all alone. Why didn't she call? Why didn't she say anything? All he could do was wait.

Brian was excited to meet with Beth that evening. He was under the impression she'd be talking about him gaining more responsibility at the shop and he was hopeful that this was a great opportunity for him. He'd been doing will in his business classes at the local community college. He was working as much as possible and taking any chance he could to learn anything from Beth.

"Hi Brian!" Beth said as she accepted him into her home. Brian had been to Beth's home countless times. It was a weird old lady home, but he always appreciated Beth's kindness. She had never hired anyone before at her shop and when Brian had taken an interest in it, she was happy to have him join the team. He was really hoping this was his chance to continue a successful business and honor Beth's vision. Even if he wasn't totally sure what her vision was. He assumed he'd learn more about it tonight.

"How are you doing, Beth?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine. Although, I've been a bit busy!"

"Oh really? What have you been busy with?"

She smiled sweetly. "Just some preparations. Would you set the table for me?"

Brian went into the kitchen and set the table for two. Beth never had anything too much to eat. He was most likely going to be stuck eating some kale salad with fruit of some sort again. He wasn't much of a vegetarian, but he never disrespected her meals or her effort.

"Alright Brian, I know you're not here just to keep my company. I've been telling you that the time would come where you might need to step up a bit and I think now is a good time to get started."

Brian beamed. "Wow, Beth. Thank you so much. I've been trying to work really hard and show you I'm ready."

"I know. I see it!"

"I have so many good ideas for the store, like what if we started using more oregano oil in other products like lotions and soaps? There is this trend going on-"

Beth held up her hand. "I know that you will have great ideas, and do great things. But, right now is not the time for that. I have something I need to show you."

"Oh." Brian felt a little deflated that his idea was shot down. "Okay. What did you want to show me?"

"This may be hard to hear, but my shop is much more than nice ointments and lotions for the housewives in the town."

Brian wasn't really sure what she was talking about. He could only assume it was the private one on one sales that Beth made sure to conduct for herself. He hoped to god that she wasn't secretly a drug dealer.

"There are people that exist in this world that can do more, be more, than an average human."

"Okay…?"

"This is going to be hard to understand but… I'm actually a witch."

Brian chuckled. "Okay, Beth."

"I know what you're thinking. I'm not what some girls call themselves 'witches' and they just burn some sage or pray to some gemstones. I am a real witch." Beth held up her hand and fire burst from her palm. Brian jumped up from his chair and it tipped over behind him.

"Oh my god!" Brian yelled. "You are on fire!"

"Yes, but it doesn't burn me. I made this fire." Brian was speechless. "I can do other things. I'm mostly great at potions and fortune-telling. But, every which has the innate ability to conjure most elements. I do best with fire and water."

"What…"

"My shop is not just for anyone, it's for supernaturals."

"Supernaturals?"

"Yes. Please, take a seat before I tell you more. I'll grab us some tea."

Brian fixed his chair and sat quietly. His mind was reeling with the new revelation. "So the things in your shop… They're real potions? Real magic?"

"Well, I don't normally sell to normies the real stuff. I keep that for my private sales. And that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh." Brian didn't have much else he could say. He'd Wondered what those sales entailed, but his expectation was far from what seemed to be reality. She poured him a cup of tea and served some pastries and a small Quinoa salad on his plate.

"Yes. Well, I'd like to show you the ropes."

"Why me? I mean, are you like the last witch in the world or something?" Brian felt weird saying it out loud; it was like he was stuck in some weird fantasy movie.

Beth let out a hardy laugh. "No! Of course not. And witches aren't the only things out there."

"What else?"

"Well, first I want to discuss something important. Supernaturals are very secretive. They keep their identities a secret to protect themselves. I'm sure you're aware people are not the most understanding of creatures."

"This can't be real. You're saying the witch trials are real or something?"

"In a way. I'm saying today those that hunt supernaturals are smarter, and much more ruthless. I'm sharing this to you, because I was shown a future of despair and hardship, and I saw you a part of it. A part of fixing it. So, I need you to promise that you'll keep this a secret."

"I…" Brian was speechless. He felt like brain fog took over his mind and he had no idea what or how to think. "I… guess? I'm not even really sure I believe you."

"There's much more out there than it seems. If this is too much, we can let you rest and think it over."

"Wait… Just… are there others in town? Like in the world? All witches?"

"Not necessarily. A supernatural could be anyone. Werewolves tend to stay in packs and prefer to stay outside of human civilization. But most witches and warlocks can be anyone. There's vampires, but I've only ever met one and they aren't very nice. Necromancers, and shapeshifters. We come in different shapes and sizes." She giggled.

"Wow. So… okay…" Brian felt like it was just too weird. He was playing in a scene and he didn't know his lines.

"Here, take this book. Go on a walk. Just sleep on it for now."

Brian never even touched any of the food or tea that Beth had served. He gripped the book she handed to him. It was leather bound and dark. He gulped. Was this book going to curse him? Should he really open it?

"I guess I'll go home now."

Beth gave him a quick hug before walking him to the door. Brian was still stunned. He also felt like he was being rushed by Beth. Shouldn't she have made him stick around so he can ask more questions? Now that he was walking to his apartment complex, he furiously thought of so many questions he wished he could ask her. He looked down at the medium sized book in his hand. Would this really answer everything?

When he entered his apartment, he ignored his roommate who had chips all over their small coffee table and was screaming into his headset while playing games. He walked immediately into his room like he was hiding a porn magazine from his parents.

He opened the book with the smallest of sunlight that shone through his window and his desk lamp. The sun was setting, making his room more ominous as the leather bound book creaked open. He half expected light to shine out of it and crazy dust to cover him.

It turned out to do none of that. It was just a regular, extremely old looking book. The pages were thick, almost like card stock. It was handwritten, almost like a research journal. The first page said, "Supernatural Encyclopedia." The signature was illegible to Brian. There was a table of contents scribbled out. Witches, Warlocks, Werewolves, Vampires, Necromancer, Shifters.

He jumped to Warlocks.

The earliest known Warlocks were documented in East Africa. An interesting contrast to women being witches in central Asia. Although these documentations were from similar time periods.

Warlocks specialize in defensive magic, most likely to help protect their groups and families. They are excellent trackers and can disguise themselves with spells. The next few pages are typical spells introduced to young warlocks and typical issues going warlocks face when coming of age.

Warlocks are the most common supernatural beings and the hardest to recognize. Any warlock can produce more warlocks in their bloodline. Even if it remains dormant for generations, the warlock gene can still re-appear.

Brian then read a spell that could cloak you, it was about reflecting light. It reminded him of Harry Potter, but there was no magical blanket involved. He jumped to vampire. Everyone knew about vampires, but he'd never imagine they were actually real creatures.

Vampires prefer to live in solitude, although it is not incredibly uncommon for them to form small family groups for protection. Some vampires can be born, but only from other born vampires. These are extremely rare to encounter. Most vampires have been turned and are trapped in their body with immortal powers. They cannot step into the sun and do not require regular food or sustenance. They only feed on animal or human blood.

Vampires are extremely aggressive and it is not recommended To interact unless you have to. They have extreme strengths to go along with extreme weaknesses. They do not tend to have any features that would distinguish them from humans. However, some human bodies reject part of the change and morph into an immortal body that is unrecognizable and often grotesque. The vampire that changes will often end their life if they notice this rejection.

The next few pages describe vampire hunting patterns, spells that can affect vampires, and how to defend against them.

Brian couldn't believe what he was reading.

The room had gone completely dark except for his desk lamp illuminating the book. A breeze swept into the room from his window that he hadn't realized he left open. The pages moved to a new topic.

Necromancer

Necromancers are rare. They are able to communicate with the dead and possibly even return a soul to its body. There have been few documentations or Necromancer. Many are believed To die young dew to insanity. Necromancers tend to stay alone for most of their adult life.

The next few pages describe the different levels in ability. The symptoms of necromancy, and how to tell apart the dead and the living.

Suddenly the ground shook. Brian shot up from his seat, absolutely shocked at the moving of his room. Was it just his room? Was it from the book? He ran out of his room to see his entire apartment shake. It ended within 30 seconds. He ran outside and noticed a few others in the complex looking around perplexed. They weren't in an area that had earthquakes. Brian had a weird feeling. So much information to take in, and now a freak earthquake? It couldn't be a coincidence.

He went back inside and grabbed a jacket and a flashlight along with his phone. His roommate had barely noticed the shaking and was continuing to play video games.

Others were on their phones and glancing around, trying to make sense of the strange occurrence. Brian wasn't sure what he was looking for, but had the feeling he just needed to look around. It was extremely dark, the moon was only a crescent and the stars were dulled by the town's lights. He walked aimlessly on the sidewalk. It wasn't so late that no one was awake. A handful of cars were still driving on the street and some restaurants and stores were still open. Beth preferred to keep the shop closed relatively early compared to other stores, so Brian never worried about working too late.

Brian felt a shiver down his spine when he spotted the pet cemetery. It always creeped him out. After Chloe had such a strange reaction at the cemetery when they were taking pictures for Nate's portfolio, the pet cemetery that was only a couple blocks from his apartment made him feel… weird.

Suddenly Brian started to violently shiver. It felt like a skeleton finger was running down his back, probably his sweat and nervousness. Beth had said supernatural beings exist, did they exist in town? Was she the only one?

He stood at the pet cemetery entrance, the gates were closed. It was a small fence that he could easily hop over. But why would he want to? He had just read that some people can raise the dead. Could they raise dead animals? Did it only happen to dead people?

He heard rustling. The lights on the cemetery were extremely dim. But, he could faintly see a small figure trying to move across the grass. Was there a kid? Some dumb middle schooler probably hopped the fence.

A cry came out of the dark woods area behind the pet cemetery. He lived in a somewhat small town, and they were surrounded by forested area and it pushed into neighborhoods and bordered many homes, parks, and other parts of town. The cry had pierced his chest, making him break out into a cold sweat.

He got the crazy sense that he should go check out whatever was going on. If someone was messing with the graves, he should stop them, right? He argued with himself for a few minutes, still staring blankly at the slow moving figure. Should he just yell out to it? Was it a hurt animal? That could've been what the cry was. He could take it to the vet hospital or something.

Finally, he climbed the fence and jumped to the other side and turned on his flashlight. The lights in the cemetery were lower to the ground, but even dimmer than the ones on the street. The figure was moving slowly towards the forested area, Brian reasoned it had to be an animal with how small it looked as he got closer to it. He attempted to be as quiet as possible to not scare the animal and prayed it wasn't something rabid.

As he walked around the small animal tombstones he noticed that the dirt on the ground seemed looser and spread out instead of the perfect looking grass that was usually laid out. He tripped and fell. He dropped his flashlight and scrapped his hands on the dirt and grass. It stung but it wasn't anything too awful. He stood and dusted himself off before grabbing his flashlight. "Hey little guy…" He attempted to say to the small creature. As he got closer he noticed it was banging against the fence, trying to get out. It had tufts of orange fur, a fox maybe? It must be a wild animal that wandered in and couldn't get out. He rounded to its side to get a better look at it and see if it was limping or something.

He balked at what he saw.

It wasn't a fox, it was a red haired dog caked with mud. Bones stuck out at its hips and shoulders and part of its face had decayed and all Brian could see was a skull. It had a crooked back, and every time it hit its face against the fence its back bent in an even worse position and more awful skin tore from its skull.

Brian turned and immediately puked into a nearby bush, hoping he didn't ruin some pet grave without knowing it. The animal didn't react to him at all, it just continued to bang against the fence like it was trying to get somewhere.

What was this? A zombie dog? What was going on? Brian could hardly think. Instead he ran. He couldn't handle it. Was this the work of a necromancer?

He was running to the better lit roadside. He'd go home and forget all about the crazy looking dead dog in the pet cemetery. It wasn't real, he was confused after what Beth had told him.

The book had mentioned something called a necromancer. Was there a necromancer in his town?

Before he could think more on it, the tip of his foot hit a cat statue and he fell, banging his head against another small tombstone and everything went black.

"Oh, God."

Kit was not prepared for what he saw when he found Chloe.

Kit knew that Chloe was powerful. He had heard his kids talking about her abilities, he had never heard of another necromancer with those capabilities. Being a necromancer was extremely rare and their bloodline thins after many generations. Most don't have children because they end their lives at a young age. Yet, Chloe had been coping well, even with the wild abilities she seemed to possess.

Simon had stayed at the cemetery with Nate to keep an eye on the bodies that were still attempting to scratch their way out of their cemented tombs. Kit and Tori were following the tracks that appeared after Kit had charmed one of the corpses. It was moving at a good pace and Kit and Tori made sure to stay at a distance.

They noticed that the corpses of not only people, but also animals, were scratching at each other to get closer into the pile. A huge mass of dead things were moving in hectic waves to get closer to what they assumed must have been Chloe. There was no way they could see anything beyond them.

Kit checked his phone and he barely had one bar. He attempted to call Beth but the call immediately dropped. "Dad..? Is that…?" Tori trembled. Kit cursed, he shouldn't have let any of the kids come out with him. But how could he have known what they were walking into? Kit and Tori held their flashlights up and none of the corpses around them reacted.

"Chloe!" Kit yelled. He listened. Was she… crying? "Chloe! Please. It's Kit. We are all worried about you. Why don't you… put these people to rest and we can figure it out?" The noise of bones scraping against each other, creatures tearing apart each other's flesh in an attempt to get closer.

He heard rustling coming from the opposite direction. Another corpse must have been approaching. These had been here for a while. The small animals that never stood a chance had been torn apart and their bones were wriggling below the feet of others. What had taken this one so long?

"Tori, stay here behind this tree. I'm going to see if I can get closer."

"Dad… are you sure? You don't think they'll attack you?"

"If Chloe wanted them to attack us, we'd be goners by now." Tori nodded and Kit moved around the pile of dead things to try to get an eye on what was approaching.

Kit directed his flashlight and realized it was… Brian!

"Brian?" Blood was on his forehead, but he didn't look dead. "Brian?!"

Kit grabbed his shoulder. Brian looked completely zoned out. "Mr. Bae…"

"Brian, what are you doing here?"

"I… I don't know. I was walking around and… I saw something. Where am I?"

"You need to turn around and go home for now."

"But I heard something. Something is calling to me. I saw…" Brian looked extremely confused. He didn't know what to say. He vaguely remembers hitting his head. Where was he? He saw something when he hit his head…

"Is… Chloe okay?"

Kit went pale and cold. "What?"

"I feel like… something is wrong with her."

"Brian, you aren't…." Kit shook him again and looked closely at his head wound. It was bloody but it wasn't deep. He wasn't dead, right? He pulled on Brian's wrist without much of a complaint and sighed in relief when he felt a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. "Brian, listen. I don't know what you think you saw, but this isn't a safe place right now."

"I can help…" He wandered closer to the pile of bodies. Kit tried to pull him back but somehow Brian slipped out of his grip.

Brian gazed upon the pile of bodies and lifted his arms. Kit watched in astonishment when bodies began to float back. Just enough for Kit to finally see Chloe. Her eyes and mouth were glowing and she was crying into the tree.

"Chloe!"Kit called. He didn't know what to think of it, but he immediately took the opportunity. He jumped into the pile and hugged her. "Chloe, it's me, Kit. Please just calm down…. Please."

Maybe a hug was all she really needed. She turned into Kit and squeezed him back. As if a switch flipped, her entire body went limp. Everything around her collapsed, a whooshing sound surrounded them as souls left their bodies. "I'm sorry." Chloe whispered.

"It's.. okay… It's okay. We will figure it out." He looked over with his flashlight and saw Brian had passed out and Tori was standing next to the tree with a horrified look.

"Let's get Chloe and Brian home." Tori nodded. "I can levitate Brian behind me, and I'll carry Chloe. Walk in front of me with the flashlight.

About an hour later Chloe was in her bed, Brian was asleep on Kits couch. Lauren had bawled her eyes out when Kit had finally shown up with Chloe in his arms. She didn't even bother to ask what happened. Kit decided it wasn't worth it.

Simon had called Derek. "Did you find her?"

"Yeah, but she's knocked out at home."

Derek sighed in relief. "What happened?"

"We don't know…" Simon recanted what his father had told him, and he had a feeling it wasn't the whole story. Tori had been quiet and went straight to her room when they got home.

Derek cursed. "I wish I could be there."

"Let's just hope Chloe can tell us more tomorrow."