Flicker

Flicker: Vingt-et-une

Quinton opened his eyes. For a split second all he could see was the dark, but his eyes quickly adjusted. He slowly made out the room around him. It was early morning and the moon fading against the early dawn light .He turned to where Nora should have been sleeping. Her place was empty. He sat up in bed and rubbed the sheets - cold. It was as if she had not been sleeping there at all. He had remembered tucking her into bed the night before. She had been very restless and he had tried his best to soothe her. 

Yesterday had been a bad day.

The past few weeks of her metamorphosis had been going well enough. Apart from a couple of mood swings, a ravenous appetite, and occasional patches fur she was doing fine. However, this month's full moon, as it drew near, began to change her.  Yesterday, on the night when the moon was at its roundest, Nora had been ill with a fever. Quinton had called the physicians and Cora gave her best hypothesis, saying that most likely the full moon was triggering this episode. Quinton wanted them to do more but he understood that Nora was a rarity and her condition needed the ultimate care and delicacy. So, with the assistance of Mary, Quinton made sure that she was cared for and attended to. It had been a long twenty-four hours but she managed to fall asleep around midnight. She had whimpered in her sleep, tossing and turning. 

He got out of the bed and went to the bathroom to check for her but she was not there. He went to his room and wrapped his robe around him, placing slippers on his feet. He stepped out into the corridor and walked down the staircase, heading towards the kitchen. It was chilly, especially with it being winter.  It was dark and empty. He went to the refrigerator where he expected to find her, but it was closed. Lately she had a tendency to do some late night snacking. He opened it and everything was neatly stacked, labeled and organized. It did not look as if Nora had been here at all. He felt uneasy. Where could she be? He left the kitchen the way he came. Once he exited the dining room he stopped in his tracks. He saw, at the farthest end of the hall that the doors to the patio were ajar.  Mary always made sure to shut the doors and have them locked and bolted at night. His heart accelerated and he thought the worst possible. Could she have been kidnapped again? It had been tried once before and he was horrified at the possibility that the villans could be successful this time around.  However, how had they been able to enter into the bedroom and steal her away without him ever being alerted?

He paused as he came to the foyer and drew closer to the breach. The door seemed to be opened from the inside with no sign of forced entry. He poked his head outside and peered out into the darkness. His breath condensed in the cold air as he breathed in and out harshly, panic settling in. He looked to the ground and he gasped in dismay. He saw a set of footprints in the light layer of snow that covered the steps - the indentations barely visible. It seemed to be only one set of tracks leading away from the door.  He scanned the premises but it was futile. He tried to sense her but his heart was silent and she must've been to far off. Quinton cursed and ran back  up the stairs two by two. He rushed to Tifa's room and knocked on the door incessantly. In a couple of minutes, she opened the door, groggy and tired. He didn't let her get a word out, saying:

"Nora is missing. I believe she's in the forest. I need you to wake up Mary, and have her turn the flood lights on. I'll begin searching. Wait here in case she returns."

With that Quinton took off, his heart pounding. He'd have to change into his wolfen form in order to find her more quickly. Who knows where she could have gone...especially in the state she was in. Quinton bounded down the stairs and began transforming as soon as the door was in sight. He jumped into the air and when he landed his hands and feet had turned into paws. He was taking off into the forest, in the direction of the tracks Nora had left. Behind him the floodlights turned on, illuminating the grounds.