CONTROL ➳ D. HALE [2]

22 ; estranged

22 ➳ ESTRANGED

"Come on," Derek muttered, his arms wrapped around the still-shivering Elise as the pair made their way up the stairs of his complex. It was only then that Elise had registered that the pounding in her ears wasn't an aftermath of whatever the two of them had experienced, but rather the effect of the blaring music coming from the loft.

It seemed that Derek had noticed this at the same time as the brunette because he increased his pace toward the loft door. He removed his arms from where they were wrapped around Elise and threw open the entrance to his home.

The pair were instantly met with an overwhelming amount of light, sound, and- unfortunately- smell. Elise leaned against the doorway, flashing Derek a confused look as he pushed forward through the writhing crowd of dancers. Within seconds, the pulsing beat of the music came to an abrupt halt. The dancing patrons froze in their spots as a voice boomed out above the crowd.

"Get out!"

Just as quickly as the music had stopped their dancing, Derek's voice sent the teenagers scurrying from the loft like a hoard of frightened animals. Elise grimaced as the patrons bumped into her on their way out, moving out of the way just in time to avoid being trampled. It was only when she'd moved into the center of the room that she'd noticed the stillness in the air.

Elise lifted her eyes to find that the figures that had attacked her and Derek only an hour or so prior now stood around the room, their black, empty eyes staring at Aiden. It was then that Elise noticed the way the air around the figures seemed to be infected with curling tendrils of darkness.

"Guys," Aiden called, his voice quivering slightly. It was then that Scott burst into the loft from the twisting stairwell. "Why are they looking at me?"

The figures all took a threatening step toward the boy, prompting Derek and Scott to lunge.

➳

Elise glanced upward, eyes trailing over the empty parking lot of the veterinary office. She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck as she made her way toward the glass doors that marked the entrance to the office. The handprints the faceless woman had left on her throat had faded significantly since the previous night. The small patch of skin just behind her ear still tingled slightly, and she cautiously lifted a finger to trace over the symbol that had been left during the shadowed figures' attack.

The previous night had yielded a handful of surprises for the brunette. The first one being the arrival of the shadow figures, followed by the fact that they could knock people unconscious and induce a near-hypothermic state. The third surprise was the fact that someone else could see what the faceless woman had done to her, even if Derek hadn't seen the woman herself. Number four was the strange symbols that had appeared behind everyone's ears after being attacked by the figures, and then there was number five. This last surprise was by far Elise's least favorite. It seemed that the shadow figures couldn't be killed. At least, not by any sort of attack. Light from the sunrise had made them disappear, but Elise strongly doubted that it had killed them.

She pushed all of the thoughts surrounding the shadow figures out of her mind as she locked a hand on the doorknob and pulled open the entrance to the veterinary office. Right now, all she would worry about was the fact that she had real, physical proof that something was following her. She had no time to waste, considering the fact that the handprints were already beginning to fade.

"I'll be with you in just a second," Deaton called from somewhere in the back of the office.

"It's me," Elise responded, hoping that she hadn't come at an inconvenient time. After all, neither McCall siblings ever called before showing up at Deaton's for assistance.