Paradise Falls

Chapter 11

"He's going to wake up soon. If there's a problem I bet he will wake us up" he said. And with that Alex closes his eyes as well. I stand there listening to the noise of the spring night. There seem to be crickets everywhere in the grassy field. I don't want to fall asleep but it felt like my brain was already shutting down. Eventually I drift off to a dreamless sleep.

I awake on my back with the sun glinting into my eyes. I feel my hand reach above my head to shield them and nearly sigh with relief. Human once again, at least until I phased without control. Hunger gnaws at my stomach once more bringing forth a loud rumbling growl. I knew that no mere snack would tame it. The sky is phale blue with a smudge of cotton clouds here and there. Mid-morning was what I guessed it was, maybe later. My eyes catch Alex laying on his side with a hand bent under his head. Even asleep he looks like he was still thinking about something. Collen had sometimes looked like that too. 

"What's it like?" a voice suddenly surprises me, breaking the silence.  

Jack was sitting on a short, flat faced rock looking at me.  

"What like what?" I reply with my voice still dry and tired. Strands of grass were stuck to my wild hair.  

"The whole werewolf-star thing." 

I glance at his curious gaze. What was I to say?  

"Well, the phasing isn't hard you just imagine yourself changing. As for the star part that is different, you don't control anything you do. All you can do is watch through your own eyes until you manage to slow yourself down and snap out of it." 

"But isn't there a way to control it?" 

"Maybe. It's triggered by strong emotions usually anger or such but I have not been able to just randomly 'go crazy' at will." I respond with a shrug. Discussing anything dealing with the strange power wasn't my favorite and I hoped Jack would pick up on that. 

"So you guys are really like super heroes" Jack exclaims, his eyes bright. I shake my head and rise stiffly to my feet before any other questions can be asked. Alex had ceased snoring and was now sitting up while blinking sunlight out of his tawny orange eyes. He inspects the sky just as I had and finally stands to face Jack and I.  

"May as well continue on" he comments briskly, "with a steady pace we may be able to get closer to D.C by nightfall."  

"And then we find Kara and Bri" Jack adds intently.  

Alex nods and without a word he phases and jogs off ahead. I bite back a curse remembering that I am stuck running on two legs for now. Jack sprints off and reluctantly I follow not far behind.  

After a few hours or maybe more my lungs were burning and screaming for oxygen. Alex too had slowed his pace to a steady jog and Jack was even panting slightly.  

"Were going to have to be careful once we get closer to the city" I say between breaths. Alex nods with a huff and runs towards the top of a hill. Around us the land had gone from a valley of overgrown grassed and weeds to an expansive area dotted with few trees. There is a hint of objects in the distance, towering buildings of a city.  

"Keep your guard up, there might be scouts out here" I say with a glance to the two boys. Alex had phased back and nods once.  

"Sil you may want to be careful, you might be in danger of changing at any moment" he reminds me of what I was already thinking about. On that note the three of us slide down the peak of the hill and trudge on.  

"We have to work on finding that address. Kara and Bri will probably be heading that way too" I say finally. My eyes scan Jack and Alex wandering ahead of me. Our hair had been dyed the same auburn brown but I was beginning to wonder how long it would last. Roads snake through the outskirts of the city but we saw very few cars along the way. Houses stood quiet, almost with an abandoned look to them. We see no signs of people until the buildings came closer to view. More roads weaved their way through the ground and now a few roadside ads suspended on tall poles could be seen. But I feel like I am looking at a ghost town.  

Moments later we see our first cars, dusty and best up with rumbling engines. I expect them to break down at any moment. There are more houses here creating a small neighborhood of homes. We kept to the outer parts avoiding any signs of movement. Once I saw two young boys standing on the porch of a small house. Younger kids maybe twelve years of age. They appeared to be bored or simply dazed. I force myself to turn and follow Alex and Jack who are already continuing on. The further we got to the city the more populated things became. The cars were no longer old and spent, they were sleek cars that I remembered seeing every day. And the houses grew bigger, taller even. Then came the buildings. I am no stranger to cities but I never favored them. Being surrounded by crowds of people, thundering street noise, and towering buildings wasn't something I liked. But it was a way to blend in. Hopefully.  

"Should we find the address now?" Jack asks after we had stopped briefly by a manufacturing warehouse. It is a little past mid-day already. I keep my eyes on the streets and everything around me. I am usually cautious but now that we were trudging towards a greater civilization where our enemy was the leader. I didn't know what to expect. Dozens of possible scenarios and outcomes of what the city may be like now. The humans now knew about us and we had been placed at the top of the Most Wanted List. My mind wandered to Bri and Kara as I delved deeper into thought. Where were they? Had they made it to D.C safely? I had to force myself to focus on the path ahead. Paradise falls, that was our only chance. But what I'd it didn't even exist and it really is just part of some old stories? Then I am leading Jack, Alex, Bri, and Kara to nowhere and maybe even their deaths. 'Focus' I mentally growl at myself for slipping off once more. I can't trail away right now. Silent still the three of us made our way around a few more blocks until the buildings seemed to stretch and grow to taller buildings. More cars pass by and more people were commuting through the streets and sidewalks. How was it that everything looked so normal here? People were going about their daily lives like nothing had changed. But looking past the screen of normality I noticed a few chances. A tall figure moved about the streets. A tall werewolf padding around cars and streets. People seemed to cautiously regard it showing that they were not comfortable with the shape shifter roaming around. Two vampires pushed past a few people on the sidewalk opposite of the street beside us. They wore the same blue and black uniforms that we had seen on tv. On another tall building we saw a huge banner showing the new leader of the country. I paused at the sight of her as if she was looking right at me. Moments later I noticed a smaller poster with my face on it paired with the bounty and the words 'Criminal', and 'may be dangerous.' In the picture I looked dangerous, sinister even. I realized it must be an elaborate drawing of me. Other posters and signs held Nick, Bri, Jack, and Alex's photos.  

"I wonder if anyone recognizes us" Jack suddenly asks. He had slowed his pace a bit to match mine.  

"Who?" I asked suddenly, my eyes darting around as if expecting any police vampires to come towards us at any moment.  

"Me and Kara. I wonder if anyone we used to know recognize our pictures" Jack explained. I wanted to tell him to keep his voice down, it was hard to tell who may be listening or who wasn't. I only nodded my head once and shrugged.  

"Maybe."