Hell Upside Down

Chapter 5 - Part 1

Point of view Alena 

The dining hall was crowded. On one size stood a row of different food bars. Everything that different students needed to eat. On the other side of the room had oak wooden tables. 

I decided to go for the safest options, a hamburger and fries with ice water. After searching through the crowd, I finally found the table where Thomas and Noah were sitting. Both had plates with piles of raw meat. I tried not to show my disgusts while taking a seat next to Thomas and faced his brother. 

- "Our Beasts need to eat meat." Noah explained apologetically while taking a bite into his food. 

I tried not to be judgmental. Hellia was the center for our kind, the ones that were born with special abilities. Our powers came in weird forms that I just needed to get used to.  Thomas finished his food in a blink of an eye. When I turned my head, everything was gone. A drop of blood had escaped him. Without a thought, I placed a finger to wipe away the blood. His entire being froze while I loud growl escaped from his chest. 

Thomas locked his eyes in mine. I felt his emotions as they pulse threw me like a tornado. Anger, hurt, and reassurance. I immediately took my hand off him surprised by the feeling that came of it. An intense waved had just broken lose. I felt his Beast was staring right into me. 

Thomas stood up and took his plate. "My beast needs to be late out. I will catch you guys later." He said in a cold tone and disappeared into the crowd again.   

I started eating my food in silence too ashamed to say anything to his brother. 

- "I don't recognize my brother." He said with sadness in his chocolate eyes. 

I wanted to reach my hands towards him to comfort him but as I did not know how Noah would react, I decided not to. Noah shook his head to clear his mind. All of his recent emotions disappeared and his smile was back once again. 

- "I meant to ask you... What are your powers? You must be a little dangerous to be an Outcast" He teased. 

I put my head down. Suddenly noticing that students starting paying attention to us. I hated the attention and wanted to bury myself into the ground. Most of our kind were gifted with an extremely good hearing. 

Noah noticed my hesitation. "We can go outside if you want." 

I nodded. Noah and I put our plates down and left the building. As soon as we left the building, I felt a switch in Noah. I wondered if he also needed to let out his Beast and follow Thomas. 

-"If you need to leave for the woods, you don't have to wait on me." I said. 

Noah seemed flustered. He scratched the back of his head. "Are you sure you don't mind?" He asked politely. 

I nodded my head showing him that I would of been fine. I felt safe at Hellia and I was able to get back to the dorm without any trouble. Noah kept walking and got more and more agitated as we got closer to the dorm. When the building was finally in sight, he turned towards me and said "I feel comfortable enough to leave now." He says with a smile. 

He turned around and ran towards the woods. Noah was the total opposite of Thomas. Noah was kind and comforting while Thomas was rude and cold. As I was walking towards the door, I had a sudden urge to go into the woods. 

I knew this was a bad idea. I knew that if something happened I wouldn't be able to protect myself. I couldn't turn into a Beast, I couldn't cause chaos. Somehow, I felt like the answers could be kept into the forest. My intuition was rarely wrong. Without doubting my thought, I decided to turn right which is the opposite direction that Noah left. 

I remembered what I had seen earlier and began searching for it. The woods suddenly felt lived. The  more I walked, the more I was drawn. I let my foot guide me towards the deep forest. I had no fear, no hesitation. It was only when I heard a growl, that I decided to turn around. It was too late before I realize that I was lost. I also realized that I had left my phone in my room. I was unable to take it into the confinement zone. 

I heard the growling closer. I started running but quickly fell when I hit a branch. I fell down on my knees. Mud stained my jeans and drenched my hands. I felt a presence hovering above me. It was a creature showing its crows at me. A seconds flew by, the creature kept getting closer. It was a sort of wolf, but way bigger. The fur was dark and fuzzy. I heard a smaller owl towards a tree. The wolf turned back around, looking at her pup. The pup's furr was a lot lighter than its mother's. The fur reminded me of a fire. It was beautiful. 

His mother seemed to calmed down. I wanted to reach my hand towards her, to let her know that I wasn't a threat. When I looked into the creature's eyes, I only saw an animal's soul. This wasn't Thomas or Noah. Right when I was about to reach towards her face, another growl was heard. 

Another wolf had arrived. He had black full and had a bit smaller. His fur was black like charcoal. I worried that they were part of the same pact. The creature that toppled over me got frighten. She bite my hand before facing the other wolf. She growled at him. The black wolf was preparing to attack. She leaped towards the wolf with its claws. She wasn't fast enough and wined. The black wolf growled once again as a last warning. She ran towards her pup and disappeared into the woods. She left blood on her trail. 

The black wolf came towards me and licked my bloody hand. The cut was deep and as the adrenaline was dissipating, the pain started to make my head spin. I was slowly passing out. 

***  

I woke up staring up towards the trees. I gasped disappointed. I was still in the forest. I looked up and regret it immediately. My cheeks immediately turned bright red as I glimpsed at Thomas changing.  

Thomas' body is fit. His muscles glowed as they had just gone through major transformation. His brown hair, usually neatly styled, was totally a mess. It gave him an attractive allure. As he heard my fidgeting, Thomas came to my side. He was no longer naked but had put on a pair of shorts and had brought a backpack over. He wasn't wearing a shirt but those thoughts dissipated as my face clenched from the pain of the bite. 

- "We need to clean that up." He said while focusing on my hand. He got a bunch of products from his bag and started disinfecting the wound. "Haven't we advised you from staying away from the woods? What were you thinking Alena?" He asked worried. 

Although his questions were asked in a tone I didn't like, I noticed another part of  Thomas. A side that was caring. "I got lost." I lied. He rolled his eyes before rolling a bandage around my hand. 

Thomas stayed close to me for a few seconds holding my hand. I realized that Thomas wasn't as bad as I realized. "We.. we should get you back." He mumbled in my ear. 

- "Thank you for protecting me. Your Beast is way more beautiful than I would of think." 

Thomas seemed shocked at my revelation. It hurt to realize that it was probably the first time that he had heard a compliment about the other half of him. In an animalistic instinct, Thomas shoved his head in my neck. When he snapped of it, he quickly pushed away. 

- "It was his way of thinking of you." Embarrassed, Thomas tried to put as much distant as he could. I hated that feeling and brought him closer holding on to his shoulders. 

At my touch, his whole being lit up. His lips came crushing on me. His tongue danced with mine for a few moments while his hands held on to my hips. 

We were interrupted by a growl. We both jumped and separated, creating as much space as we could. Noah was standing there. He seemed angry and jumped on his brother. Thomas stood up and growled back at Noah. I stood up as well, not as fast as those two. Noah looked down at my hand and in an instance of rage, took his brother by the neck and pushed him against a tree. 

- "What the hell did you do!" He screamed at his face. 

As his words, Thomas immediately shut down. Noah believed that Thomas had hurt me. This wasn't the first that this interaction was taken place. That thought broke me a little.