Chapter 12

Blurs, shapes, colours…..so fast.

Tp, tp, tp, tp, tp………

            The wind was rushing past her face, sounds of the city flickering past her ears; registering only for a moment before they were swept behind.

            She darted in random directions, twisting in and out spaces; her senses telling her which was a dead end and which that led on.

            Quick sounds behind her, barely audible; footsteps, gaining speed. Rose pushed forward harder. Silence followed. She slowed to a slow jog, to a walk, then finally a halt, stopping in a small alleyway. Quiet surrounded her, save for the dull noise of the city nightlife echoing far off in the distance.

A shape flew past her, whacking her on the head smartly. Your it…… Drifted lazily into her mind. Rose could hear him laughing as she took after him, her strides long and powerful, trying to catch up.

            She could see him ahead now, running swiftly, jacket open and flying as he looked behind, a grin on his face, streetlights sparkling in his eyes. Eyes that left her for one millisecond in pure surprise…

            The air was filled with the sound of screeching tires, and the small tinkle of shattering glass hitting the ground. Rose stopped with such force that she almost bashed her head on the concrete, her feet tripping up underneath her, knees skidding on the ground, leaving a sick trail of blood down the sidewalk. His body was caught up under the tires, twisting and flipping like an unnatural rag doll.

“CAL!” She screamed

            Her hands gripped the curb, palms bleeding under her. The body slumped down in a pile beside the dented car. It seemed that everything in the world had gone on mute, a deadly quiet, rushing, closing around her, suffocating her. 

Cal no, not Cal, no no no…

She ran to the lifeless shape on the ground and turned it over desperately.

Laughter.

The world returned suddenly, with all its violence of everyday life.

            He was laughing, tears streaming down his dirt streaked face, mingling with the blood from pieces of glass embedded in his face.

“You idiot! You jerk!” Rose yelled, slapping him half heartedly. She pulled him to his feet roughly. The driver was yelling at them and they could hear sirens off in the distance.

“Ow, ow okay!” He leant on her, the bones of his legs cracking slowly back into place.

“Come on lets get out of here,” Rose urged, tugging him along as the sirens grew louder. They stumbled into an alley and Cal collapsed, leaning against the cool brick wall.  Rose paced back and forth for a minute or two, letting the adrenaline in her system slowly drop.  But something new had risen in her, tugging the corners of her mouth up to match Cals’.  He was still trying not to laugh.

“I guess I should look where I’m going more often huh?” He said.

            Rose couldn’t help it. She started to laugh.

“That’s the fifth time a stupid automobile has hit me.” Cal picked a piece of glass out of his face and flicked it away. Rose stared up at the sky, watching the stars. They’re footfalls made barely a sound around them.

“I didn’t know we could go that fast,” She murmured.

“Yeah.”

            They were silent for awhile, her eyes on the sky. A cool breeze buffeted her hair and Rose remembered with a jolt that Halloween was only a week away. It was a wonder she hadn’t thought of it earlier, what with all the gossip going on about the school’s Halloween dance. Courtney had been dogging them more stubbornly lately, much unnoticed by Cal. Rose could guess what Courtney was up to.

A thought struck her suddenly.

“Cal,” She asked, “When’s your birthday?”

“Huh? October 28, I’m pretty sure.”

            Rose was quiet, thinking. A slow smile spread across her face. She knew exactly what Cal was getting for his birthday.

            Rose sat in class, a bit muddled. She was trying to remember a dream she had had last night but it kept slipping away. At least she thought it had been a dream. The more she tried however, the more it slipped away, as if some invisible force was pulling it from her brain. She yawned and gave up.

            Cal slid in beside her, and Rose could immediately feel his tension.

“What’s the matter?” She asked, poking him. He shifted in his seat, unable to keep still.

“I dunno. I’ve been like this all morning. I keep getting this feeling of-“

            Miss. Small walked into the room, setting her books on her desk. Behind her, slightly hidden, was a short girl wearing gray clothes, her face partially hidden.

            Rose’s senses buzzed with alarm signals; the hair on the back of her neck prickled and rose, standing up. She lent forward, curious, and then sat back again, unsure of what she had felt.

“This is Samantha Blackroot,” Miss. Small announced. “Her family recently moved here, and she’ll be in our homeroom from now on……”

            Rose cut out the sound of the teacher’s voice, the noise of her buzzing thoughts distracting her. This was the same girl who had attacked her just the day earlier. Now she was going to her school? She shot a glance at Cal, but he was focused on the girl at the front of the room.

Cal, what the hell is this-

Don’t, she can tell we’re communicating.

What?!

            Rose looked up, and sure enough, Sam’s brown eyes had flicked over to Cal and her and were watching them both intently.

Can she tell what we’re saying? Rose asked quickly.

I don’t know.

            Sam gave her an all knowing look and Rose swore.

            For the rest of the day Rose felt like she was being constantly watched. She and Cal would try and slip into a corner and talk when a small bob of brown hair would pass by. This irritated Rose to no end. It was bad enough with Courtney, now they had two people following them around? Rose popped two light bulbs that day, luckily when she was alone.

Then there was the part about Cal.

“What?”

“I’m going to shadow her and see where she goes.”

“Are you sure? Do you want me to come?” Cal shook his head.

“I’ll see you later,” he said and left.

            Rose shouldered her backpack uncertainly. She didn’t feel like going home right now. Sighing, she followed where her feet took her.

*

Cal walked soundlessly, the small figure of Samantha visible forty feet ahead. He stuck to the shadows, darting across when there weren’t any. Shadowing someone was hard. You couldn’t just follow them, you had to stay out of physic range, be quiet enough to make no sound, and fast enough to nip out of eyesight lest your quarry turn around. 

            It definitely took practice.

Witches were particularly tricky. Many; used to being followed and tracked; sent spells of confusion and disillusion behind them. So far Cal had been fine, but he wasn’t sure if Samantha was aware of him or not. They had traveled out of the suburbs, down some neglected country lanes, farms and properties growing scarce and far apart. The road had eventually turned from cement to gravel, and gravel to dirt.

            Samantha turned a corner suddenly, and Cal jogged to keep up.

Damn. She was gone. He should have seen this coming. He scanned the area for any sign of her.

Nothing.

            Running a hand through his hair, Cal sighed and turned back. Tomorrow he would have to follow her again. He broke into a run, hoping to get home soon.

Sam got home and dumped her pack at the door.

“Mael, I’m going out!”

“Be back by midnight!” She heard her aunt yell from somewhere upstairs.

            The door clicked closed behind her.

Rose ran for awhile, but wasn’t satisfied. She stopped suddenly in a dirty alley way, recognizing it from the night before. Her backpack got kicked into a corner behind a dumpster, and she stood, thinking.

            Samantha watched the girl’s figure in the alley, panting. It had taken all her strength just to follow the trail Rose led. She wiped the sweat from her brow, watching Rose shove her backpack behind a dumpster. What was she doing? Sam took out her binoculars and focused on Rose’s face from the top of the building. Her eyes were peaceful, closing slowly as a look of utter calm came over her face. Suddenly the  expression turned to- pain? What?

            Rose’s knees hit the cement with a bang, but she hardly noticed. She was calling on that feeling; the feeling of emptiness stretching out before her….Dizziness was taking over, shocks of pain traveling down to the ends of her nerves rapidly. The cracking noises had started again, surrounding her with dull aches to accompany the needles piercing her skin.

            Finally, with a tremendous rip wings exploded from her back, forcing a gasp out of her.

            “Holy {insert a very, very, ebil word for pooh here!}!” San swore, watching the wings come out. Rose sat, panting. Samantha studied the wings, her heart pounding. Nothing like this had ever….. No way…..

            The wings were huge, tips of the feathers brushing the alley walls. They ruffled and Sam jumped, hearing little tinkling noises. Something falling onto the ground. She watched as Rose stood up, stretching. Suddenly with a great swoop Rose brought her wings down hard. Then again. And again. The tips of her feet were lift, and with a final push rose was airborne.

            Sam jumped up, trying to keep her eyes on the shape flying away from her; and ran.

            The buildings here were so close together that Sam could just from one to the other, tracking Rose all the while with her binoculars. Suddenly her feet stopped, grinding to a halt, arms cart wheeling, space stretching out in front of her.  She looked up, breathing hard, to see the shape of Rose getting smaller and smaller. She took a step back, defeated. This was as far as she was getting today.

*