Shadows Of Eden

Creatures

We Only Come Out At Night- Motionless In White

Eve stirred, wrapped in a warm blanket. Coming out of sleep-induced bliss, the pounding in her head began to increase. Slowly, she was brought back to reality.

"It was just a nightmare, just a really bad nightmare.." she thought. Her hands instinctively reached out for Aron, but didn't feel him. Instead of another body, she felt the fabric of a couch.

Where am I?

Opening her eyes, she groggily looked toward her feet, where she spotted Freya on the other couch wrapped in a blanket. Her long, curly blue hair was spilling out into the pillow like water.

"How much did I drink?" She asked herself.

She tossed, turning over on her side, and looked right up into eight eyes again. An immediate pit in her stomach told her that it was, in fact, not a nightmare.

She stared, wide eyed, as Camren, Liam, Aron,  and Desmond looked back at her. They sat on the couch across from her, clearly waiting for her and Freya to both wake up. None of them moved, they rivaled statues in their stillness.

"Please, take the medicine if you need it," Desmond spoke. He gestured with his hand to the table in between them.

She hadn't even noticed the bottled water and Tylenol packet sitting in front of her. Someone had placed that intently.

Her first instinct was to scream, her throat becoming hot.

"Shh. Don't scream." As if he read her mind, Aron locked eyes with her.

She wanted to run, to leave the room, but couldn't find access to her legs. She then remembered the deep cut on her limb from the night before. Throwing the blanket off of her, she sprang up, desperate to get to the front door.

Her survival instincts kicked in, urging her to escape. Eve knew it would be no use, as once she started moving she realized how slow she actually was. Her foot caught the side of the couch and she toppled to the floor, crying, tears streaming down her face. Her foot throbbed with pain. She curled into a ball, shielding herself from her natural predators in the room.

"Please, please don't hurt me!"

Aron was in front of her immediately, her face in his large hands. Ice blue eyes locked onto hers.

"You're okay. No one is going to hurt you. I'm sorry."

She struggled.

"Please.. listen to me."

"Eve." Desmond's commanding, deep voice jolted her brain, almost factory resetting it.

"Come sit."

She looked into Aron's eyes, searching for any remnants of a threat. As her adrenaline started to come down, she felt lightheaded almost. Eventually, she made her way to her feet, going to the couch and sitting. Freya had woken up during all of the commotion, but seemed to be processing internally, trembling silently.

"I know this is.. Not ideal. You're both probably so confused," Camren started, shaking his head.

"We expect that you have a lot of questions," Liam added.

The room sat in silence for a few seconds that seemed eternal.

"Yes," Freya broke her silence, saying the first words she'd said at all this morning.

They all looked at her, waiting for her to speak. She glared daggers at Aron, Eve could sense that she felt heavy betrayal from her cousin. She had a look on her face that Eve had only seen maybe once or twice in the decade they'd known each other. Sheer anger twisted her features, her jaw clenched and her fists tight. Eve knew Freya was about to explode.