Out of the Dark

Chapter One

Most people you ask will tell you that darkness can never last forever. That the light soon comes to chase it back to the corners of your mind. If those people are right, I certainly didn't believe them after Brandon's attack. I wasn't sure what other people around the AOLS were calling the incident, but I knew that everyone knew who we were because of it. Since we'd gotten back to school, we'd each been getting non stop questions about the ordeal. Whether or not it was scary, how we had survived it, and most frequently were the people who wanted lots of details that I didn't want to ever discuss again in my life. I had known Brandon since we were ten years old, and so it felt wrong for me to not want to be around him. Since he didn't remember anything about the incident or me or anything about the AOLS, nobody had any hard feelings towards him. We decided that if he could change, then we should all nurture that. But some deep part of me hated him after what he'd done- not only to me but to my friends. The things he'd done to Justin alone were unforgivable, but even Justin seemed to have put it behind him. If he was angry or resentful about any of it in any way, it certainly wasn't showing. Brandon was a new person.
If something so evil could have taken over someone I'd known for so long...
It had been almost a month since it happened, but it still felt fresh in my mind. The first few nights home, I had nightmares about it, the thing that Brandon had become.
According to the doctors, it was a spell that Amber Summers had used on Brandon so that she could control his powers. The beast was a manifestation of all of Brandon's unhealthy, negative energies, and created something purely evil. They speculated that perhaps, by killing the beast, my friends were able to cleanse his energies and give him a clean slate. It was beautiful really, and I was happy for him, as happy for him as I was resentful that is.
Principal Donavan referred me to the Academy psychiatrist, Mrs. Tweedie to be sure that my anxiety and paranoia wouldn't become a problem to myself or the other students. Mrs. Tweedie was a short, and frail old woman with a snow white pixie cut and bright red cat eye glasses that always rested halfway down the bridge of her nose. She always wore red lipstick to match her glasses frames and dramatic black winged eyeliner. Despite her bold look, she was incredibly soft spoken and kind, and she always told me how amazing my progress was; although I couldn't see it. I was more anxious than ever, and homesick now too.
The school year wound down to an excruciating end. With mine and Justin's absences for a month set us far behind in all of our freshman courses. My friends all had injuries from the fight that kept them out of class for days, and still we were being moved up to the next grade level, with only our summer break to cram all of the information we needed to understand our new courses. I was positive that the main reason I was able to slip by with high B's was because my teachers felt sorry for me. Sometimes, I wondered if I thought that because I felt sorry for me. Once I finally was free of my nightmares of what happened, I was consumed by a new one. Meeting two boys over and over and over, not knowing whether they were friends or more people interested in my death. I knew nothing about them but their names.
Under all of the stress of a new school, overwhelming classes, and nearly being killed, I missed my dad more than I ever thought I could. It had been months since I'd last spoken to him and I longed to go home, even if only just for dinner. I was a ship with no anchor.
After everything we'd seen though, all of my friends and I understood that any more contact with the non magical world than absolutely necessary would be dangerous for everyone involved.
Because of that, Cat broke up with Martin, who took it surprisingly well. She planned to spend her summer single, and focussed on her studies. I knew that between the two of us, she would be more focussed and determined. Without her deciding to really buckle down, I never would have gotten any of the notes I needed to survive the rest of the year. I was proud of her for doing so well in a place she had seemed so nervous about before.
Because of all the time Justin and I had spent together being held captive by Brandon and Amber Summers, we'd grown pretty close after arriving back to school.
I was spending nearly as much time with Justin as I was Cat, and the more he came around, the more I craved his company. He was all that kept me grounded sometimes when I was getting overwhelmed. He always found a bright side for us to look to.
God I think I love him...
Zack didn't seem too weary of Brandon after the incident, but it was obvious that he was being much more protective of Cat. He'd practically hired himself as her personal body gaurd/ book caddy. It was sweet, but in some ways, very sad. Cat was too busy with school to even notice him flirting with her.
This was the new normal for us.
We were a group of lost children, looking for their way out of the dark.