Darkness Before Dawn

DBD | chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"I'm surprised he even found us. How long do you think we have?" Cody's tone was wavering.

"I'm not sure but by the looks of it not for very long, at least for finding Jamie. Who knows how long he's been scouting us making sure we don't fulfill orders. Has anyone seen anything out of the ordinary?" Cassandra spun on her heels and looked at her shoes. Her brows furrowed as she deepened in thought.

"Besides Jamie showing up out of the blue..." Cody placed his hand on Cassie's shoulders. She shuttered back at first but then melted back into his hold still caught in thought.

"What about Anissa?" Cassie chirped up, now satisfied she has come up with some answer.

"None of that matters right now. What matters is keeping the princess safe," Thomas interrupted. His eyes trailed into the distance and his jaw began to shift as he ground his teeth. He focused his attention back to the body that laid on the floor. "We have to go to Margo."

"My Aunt?" I asked.

"Yes," She replied, grabbing my arm and giving me a small tug. I didn't move, instead I kept my feet planted, still looking at the dead body before us.

"Princess," Thomas sighed with annoyance, "Jamie we have to go we have things to do, urgent things." 

I drew out a shallow laugh and turned to him, "Urgent things? What's more urgent then finding out what is going on and why this- this- thing was able to do what it just did?!"

"Were you not listening when shapeshifter was mentioned, there's your explanation." Thomas replied with such coldness I wanted to slap him the look right off his face. Thomas cracked his neck, adjusting his jaw and moving uncomfortably closer to me. His unnatural green eyes glared down at me before leaning into my ear and whispering, "I wish you would." The hair on my arms stood up and shivers ran down my spine. He grabbed my arm, the same as Cassie had done before, and moved me into the car which had only added to my agitation. 

"It's too soon for this. None of this should be happening," Cody insisted in the passenger seat of the car. He scratched at the fabric of his pants, shaking his head at the empty road ahead of us. 

"This was bound to happen wether it be tomorrow or two months from now. Jamie's protection spells are wearing off," Thomas argued looking straight ahead, sitting in the middle of the back seat-next to me. His assertiveness to be constantly close had bothered me. The fact that he never addressed me directly also made my blood boil. 

I pulled at the hem of shirt trying to keep my mind empty but thoughts kept racing through my mind. Cassie seemed to be empty in thought as she drove in silence to a location that was unknown to me. Thomas seemed to be almost leaning against me and I inched my elbow out and let it dig into his ribcage, hoping he'd catch a hint. 

We had driven out of town, far away from the school and any other place I knew or recognized. Here, things were quiet and the rain followed us laying thickly on the windshield which made squeaking noises every rapid pass across. It was harder to see in the storm outside which had darkened the beautifully sunny sky that I witnessed this morning on the first-and most likely last-day of school. 

The ride was silent, only when Cody mentioned some observation did someone talk. I didn't ask questions. I didn't know where to start. How does this even happen? This was normal for them, the stories, the supernatural events. Every time I popped up with a question in my mind it seemed to wash away. 

"You're a princess destined to rule the world, to save the creatures and defeat the evil king," Thomas spoke up finally. My head ached with the stereotypical cliche story I was being fed for some sort of truth. He placed his hand around mine and I pulled away instinctively, watching as he had slowly retreated his hand back into his own space. "I know it's hard to believe but you need to. The world depends on it," He added with a sudden warmth to his voice.