Searching for the Key

Chapter 17

Nathan woke up in the middle of the night shivering. He looked around groggily to discover the balcony door open and the biting wind blowing through. He glanced over at the bed and was alarmed to discover that Katia was missing. Nathan sat up quickly and squinted in the dark. Then he sighed in relief when he saw Katia's silhouette outlined against the dim light from the light post on the street. Nathan got up from his spot on the couch and walked to her.

"Hey Katia are you okay?" He asked her softly. It was still pouring rain but he ignored the cold as he took a seat next to Katia.

She was sitting on the floor in the rain and seemed impervious to the cold. She was making spheres of water, freezing them, and watching them fall and shatter on the ground below.

"Yeah," Katia muttered quietly, watching another ball of ice fall to the ground and break into hundreds of pieces.

"Why are you up?" Nathan questioned.

"I just had a dream, and I couldn't go back to sleep," she replied.

Nathan glanced at Katia. She looked exhausted. Her hair was all ruffled and she was dressed in the a plain t-shirt and shorts, but he thought she looked beautiful.

"What was it about?" Nathan asked curiously.

Katia was silent for a moment, not really knowing if she wanted to tell him. For once it wasn't a nightmare, but it left her feeling just as jarred. After a minute she just sighed and decided to share what happened.

"It was more of a memory than a dream," Katia started. "I saw how a group of Hunters attacked us when we were spending a weekend at the zoo. Jason and I were running around screaming and crying. We were barely toddlers. We ran and hid behind a trash can."

Katia laughed humorlessly at how dumb that sounded. It wasn't like hiding behind a trash can would make the Hunters suddenly disappear or provide any sort of protection.

"Then one of them was about to kill me but my dad jumped in front. The knife just hit his arm but he had a hard time fighting. There were just so many of them," Katia continued with a detached voice. "I guess cause we were a family of Elictis, we attracted a lot. My parents had a hard time defending themselves and me and Jason.

"It's just that through the whole dream it felt so real. I didn't know if they'd make it, and I was scared I was going to lose them again. Then I woke up and realized it was just a dream and they are gone."

Katia's voice broke at the end and a few tears escaped her eyes. She hardly ever cried, but the past few days exhaustion was beginning to catch up to her. Plus she was overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness.

"Shh it's okay," Nathan said softly, bringing Katia close to him so that her head could rest on his shoulder. He hugged her tightly to him and she started crying a little harder.

Katia just felt so lost at the moment. She had no idea where she belonged or what she was supposed to do. Her whole life she wondered about her parents, and when she did find out the truth, she had no idea what to think. Katia wished she got to know them better but these dreams just brought her pain.

"No it's not. My parents died trying to protect us from the Hunters, and I have no idea what I'm doing here. They were brave. They were heroes. What if I mess up and let them down? People keep looking to me for direction, but I'm lost. I mean I didn't even know about any of this until a month ago. Why does all of our fate depend on me?"

"It doesn't. It depends on all four of us. We're in this together," Nathan said firmly.

"But if I mess up, we're all dead," Katia argued back. She knew she had an important part to play and she wasn't sure she would be strong enough when the time came.