Faith Heights

Chapter 30

***

I stayed up late the next few nights to try and catch up on the new reading list. I'd finished Dracula, and was about a third of the way through The Northern Lights when I first heard the howling.

My first instinct was to climb out of my window and make sure that Jackson and the boys were safe. But I knew that would probably get me killed, so I forced myself to stay still. The longer I listened, the stranger it became to think that it was Theo and Jackson and however many others in the woods, creating those animalistic echoes. Or maybe it wasn't Jackson- maybe he'd had to stay tied up tonight in the school. I prayed that his control was growing, improving. Maybe once I accessed my powers, I could help him- but for now, all I could do was listen.

The next day, Jackson wasn't in his classes. I assumed it was because of the full moon the night before, and didn't think much of it. But the day after, when his disappearance was a little more noticeable, the stern professor of our shared class enquired after his absence.

Gabe volunteered a reluctant explanation. "He's sick. Can't get off the toilet long enough to catch his own puke in the sink."

Everyone shuddered and offered gagging noises at his words. Professor Mendis gave Gabe a stern glare. "Thank you for that description, but if Jackson will be missing a third day, he will be required to explain his absence to the headmistress or one of his professors in person. However, if it is related to his struggle to-"

"It's not." Gabe cut off harshly. "It's just a flu."

The professor raised a dark eyebrow. "It's awfully coincidental timing, Mr Park. I expect Mr Moran to be in class tomorrow, or I'll be forced to pay a visit to his dorm."

Gabe nodded sinisterly, and Mendis turned back to the chalkboard. As soon as his back was turned, I sent Gabe a questioning look. He seemed to avoid my eyes, but eventually returned a look implying a later explanation. Unfortunately, the moment class ended, Gabe bolted from the room like a mouse fleeing a cat.

At lunch, each of Jackson's friends were missing from the cafeteria. Theo had been in class, but he remained uncharacteristically quiet. I sat with Gabby and her friends after grabbing a sandwich, but made sure to find Theo that afternoon. I staked out the football field to see him after practice, but an hour later I'd had to jog to catch up with him as he hurried from the grounds.

The afternoon light was waning, and shadows hung under Theo's hollow cheeks like caverns. I knew it was common after a full moon or a shift, but it was still a startling sight. His blonde hair had lost its sheen, and his brown eyes had faded from their usual eager alertness. 

He didn't even seem to notice my presence until I pulled at his bag strap. "What?" He asked accusingly.

I didn't let his tone phase me. "I heard that Jackson is sick. Is he alright?"

Theo hesitated. "That's kind of a loaded question."

"Is. Jackson. Alright?" I pressed.

Theo looked around at the quiet lawn. The only sounds were his heavy breathing, and the crickets. A minute later, he let out a long sigh. "No, he's not. Not this time." He paused. "Come with me." 

Looking around himself once again, he gestured for me to follow. We walked swiftly across the lawn and to his dorm wing, where I assumed Jackson also rested.

The interior looked much the same as my own dorm, with a few personal touches that the boarders must have added. A handful of figures laid sprawled across couches, and glanced up as they heard the front door close. They saw Theo, and didn't bother looking to me before returning to whatever it was they were watching on the plasma screen.

Theo led me up the cold stairwell. "If the professors found out that he was still having this severe of a reaction after full moon transformations, they'd send him to a special development institute for our kind. We're trying to play it as a stomach bug, but I don't think they're buying it this time."

Theo pushed open a door that I presumed belonged to Jackson. Dylan was inside, sitting in a black desk chair beside the large bed. He looked up with a weary expression at our entrance, as if pausing mid-sentence. Gabe leaned against the window, shoulders hunched.

When Theo moved aside, I saw the figure in the bed. I forced myself not to gasp as I moved closer. Where Theo and Dylan looked a little gaunt, Jackson was absolutely ghastly. Almost skeletal. He looked as if he'd lost about fifteen kilos, and he hadn't exactly been a large, muscular guy to begin with. The covers were drawn up around his waist, and in the spacious bed, he looked even tinier. Stubble lined his jaw, and his hair looked like it had been shorn off and haphazardly glued back to his scalp. I knew that it took a physical toll to transform, but I had no idea it could be like this.

Jackson smiled weakly at Theo and I. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"This little matchstick cornered me and demanded answers." Theo explained.

"Are you ok?" I asked, panicked. "Is this what it's always like for you?"

Jackson shook his head, and tried to sit up from his slouch. "It's not usually this bad. For some reason I just had a harder time controlling it this month..."

I wondered absently if it had anything to do with Rhea's soulmate's imminent arrival, and the emotional toll it was surely taking on him. 

I sat lightly at the foot of the bed. How do you usually fix it?" 

Theo piped in, "Well, he's usually all healed up by now. Believe it or not, the gauntness isn't so bad. It's the wounds that'll attract Professor Mendis' unwanted attention."

Something lodged in my chest. "Wounds?"

Jackson groaned weakly in protest when Gabe yanked the covers down. This time I couldn't hold back my gasp. 

The moved covers revealed tousled clothes and the shredded, bloody remnants of skin beneath.