They Came In Hoodies

Chapter 22: Leaving In 10

Look out for the <>!!!

Gray POV

I paced around the small family room as I waited for Else to arrive. She was taking too long, and it was causing me to freak out more. Stella shouldn't have seen any of that, let alone been there with Else. Else no doubt was terrified that Stella witnessed me kill that Darkling. I knew Else, and she would do anything to keep what we did hidden from any person on earth. But that made me worry even more. I wanted to know what she told Stella, or what she threatened her with, to stay silent. Waiting around was helping nothing.

My mind thought back to seeing Stella on the ground on the walkway. Panic filled me as I worried the Darkling got to her. Even a scratch was lethal to a human. No magic herb would work to cure her, not like they did with me. Seeing her there with a darkling terrified me, confirming that I was dangerous. She didn't belong with me, not even as friends.

What I didn't understand why Stella was out at almost midnight. It was cold and she should have been at home. I couldn't help but wonder if she was ok. Even though we hadn't talked in weeks, I could see that something was upsetting her as she got up from the ground and it wasn't because of me.

Breaking me from my thoughts was when mom came walking through the front door. She shrugged off her coat then wasted no time as she gathering things in bags. "We have to go."

I frowned at her statement. I knew she would react, but this was extreme even for her. We had been here for years; I didn't understand why leaving was so important now. "It's because Stella saw the Darkling. She won't tell anyone about it," I said confidently, knowing that Stella would never say something like that. She knew how to keep a secret, after all, she had already kept so many for me.

Else didn't even bother to stop to make eye contact with me as continued stuffing things in her bag. She walked around with such confidence, although I knew her mind was elsewhere. There was something beneath her skin that scared her. "It's not just about Stella. Gray, we just have to go. Jackson isn't for us anymore."

I shook my head, wanting more of a response than that. "And where do you want to go back to? Hu?" I asked, knowing that this was the only pace that felt someone like a home. Jackson was where I had lived the longest and as much as I hated the school kids, I didn't want to leave.

"We are going back to Churchwell. I just killed an additional Darkling on the way back here tonight, Gray. They are coming in through Churchwell, so we have to go to the root of the problem."

I understood her concern, but that meant that no one would be here to watch out for the town. "Then who will watch out for the townspeople of Jackson?"

"If we stop the problem in Churchwell, we do not need to worry about the people of Jackson."

Something about her words didn't sit right with me. I was the gatekeeper of Jackson. There were few gates on earth, but I handled this one. I was supposed to watch for creatures coming from the other side and keep track of the Churchwell people coming back and forth. Leave the gate open, unguarded seemed like the worst possible option, confirming that she wasn't thinking soundly.

"No." The word came out of my mouth with force as I realized I didn't want to leave. This wasn't a smart move, and she needed to know that.

"Gray, we will lock the gate. We will continue to protect these people and us. Now please pack your things," she begged.

The concern in her eyes made me move to the room and start packing. What ever happened to her was more than just Stella. There were things that happened that she wouldn't tell me. Things were changing, I could feel it, I could see it around me.