Typhon's Revenge

Chapter Eight

Wind

"Gosh, Andrew! You scared the life out of me," I murmured after a moment as I glared at him. Although I had to admit I was a bit relieved to have been interrupted from my thoughts. The bad thing was that it had been him who had seen me standing outside of his girlfriend's room. 

"Sorry, I just couldn't understand what you were doing standing out here, staring at Aileen's room. What's going on? Did you need something?" Andrew asked slowly as if he were hesitant to know the answer. He probably thought it was a girl thing, like a period.

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. I mean, it had some truth to it. It was a girl thing, but a very different subject altogether. 

"I just wanted to talk to Aileen. To explain everything and to try and make her see that I'm not the enemy. That she has nothing to worry about with me," I said softly as I crossed my arms in front of my chest uncomfortably. 

Andrew raised an eyebrow and eyed me closely as his body stiffened with every second of silence between us. "I know you mean well, Kalani. Truthfully, but I think I should be the person to talk to her," he said and a burst of anger coursed through me.

"And have you?" I retorted, making him flinch. 

"No. I haven't had the chance to. But I really don't think you should get involved," he said slowly and I flinched. 

"I am already involved, Andrew. All of this happened because I had that- that thing inside of me. Of course she blames me just as much as she blames you. Neither of us is innocent. And believe me, from personal experience, I would have liked that the girl my boyfriend cheated me with had tried to talk to me. To explain everything. Andrew, you have no idea what's going on inside Aileen's mind. I do. So please, let me do this. For her. She deserves that much," I said tightly and I watched as Andrew flinched as if I were throwing bullets his way and he was receiving each blow stronger than the last.

He didn't say anything at first as he eyed me for a moment and then stared off into space with a haunted look on his face. I couldn't say he looked any better than before. Yes, he did look cleaner and much more relaxed, but the strain of his relationship with Aileen was taking a toll on him. 

Finally, after what felt like minutes, he sighed and nodded his head. "Alright. I'm sorry I said anything. But I do want to talk to her first, I haven't been able to and I think it would be better if I did. Once I talk to her, I'll let you know so you can sweep in and say your part. Agreed?"

Nodding my head, I offered him a sly smile, "agreed."

"But it won't be now. She isn't here," Andrew said with a shrug.

Raising an eyebrow, I tilted my head to the side questioningly. 

"She left with Mason a couple of minutes ago. When she saw you weren't coming out of the shower any time soon, Mason offered to let her use our bathroom and once both of them had freshened up, they left. I'm not sure where they went to. But I will speak to her tonight, I promise," he said seriously as he leaned against the wall. 

Nodding my head, I smiled encouragingly. The need to comfort him grew inside of me and before I could think twice about what I was doing, I walked towards him and wrapped my arms around him. "Don't worry, everything will be fine in the end," I whispered as I hugged him tightly. 

He tensed in my embrace but slowly hugged me back. 

The moment was brief but luck was definitely not on our side. 

It wasn't long before we heard the sound of someone inhaling sharply and I felt a fiery glare on my back. Cursing myself, I quickly pulled away and looked towards the end of the hall, already knowing what I would see.

Aileen and Mason were standing next to each other but both with very different expressions on their faces. 

Mason's face had paled as he stared at us with confusion written on his face. Whereas Aileen was glaring daggers at both Andrew and me with her hands closed together in tight fists. I could only imagine what she was thinking. 

Suddenly, the temperature around the room started to intensify and Mason jumped aside as he looked at his cousin with a bewildered look on his face. Aileen was also stunned, she loosened her grip on her hands and looked at them as her body seemed to start to glow. Her eyes widened and she quickly shut her eyes and wrapped her arms around her as she rushed towards her room and barged inside, closing the door loudly behind her.

The three of us were left stunned in the hallway as we tried to process what we had just witnessed. 

"Does anyone know what happened?" I asked as I broke the silence a couple of moments later. 

Mason shook his head, his face was still pale. "I had never seen anything like it. Espceically not with Aileen. She is usually wery in control. But whatever it was, it felt powerful and dangerous. She almost burned me by just standing next to me," he said as he reached for his arm and looked at it where a pink spot had formed from the heat. 

"That can't be anything goo, right? What if it's the darkness again?" I asked as I looked at the two boys. 

Andrew shook his head but he fidgeted his weight uncomfortably. "I don't think that's it. It's different. We have to be careful until we know what happened. I don't think she's sick or anything, she looked fine, just... angry."

"If you say so," I murmured in a low voice just as the door to my room opened and Alex stepped out. Her calm expression quickly turned to shock and confusion as she saw all of us standing out in the hallway with our eyes on her. 

"What? Is there something wrong?" She asked slowly. 

Mason quickly shook his head and headed towards her. "No, but I want to talk to you about something." And then he started to lead her away until the only two people in the hallway were Andrew and me. 

We stood uncomfortably in the silence, not even daring to look at each other. 

"I think we should try and keep a safe distance between us. I want to earn the group's trust, but it's something hard to accomplish if Aileen keeps seeing things where there arent. I'm getting the idea that everyone here respects and cares about her. I'm the stranger and that is something I have to fix," I said as I finally turned to look at Andrew.

He looked taken aback by my remark and his blue eyes eyed me closely for a minute before he nodded his head and pursed his lips together. He had probably been thinking the same thing. "You're right and I need to redeem myself with Aileen. So we should wait until things cool off before we're seen together again. At least alone," he said in defeat.

Nodding my head, I started to make my way to my room and at the last minute, I turned to look at Andrew. "You will talk to her, right?" I asked slowly.

Andrew nodded his head and smiled nervously. "Yes, that's the first thing I'm going to do before heading back to my room. Don't worry, I don't plan on postponing this talk any longer," he said and I nodded my head. 

I walked inside my room and headed towards my bed. I took out my cellphone, not expecting it to have battery nor signal. To my surprise, it had both. But the battery was quickly ending, I needed to plug it in soon and I didn't think this place had any electricity. 

I was both surprised and not surprised when I saw the plug next to my bed, as if it had appeared just for me. Chuckling, I shook the thought away and connected my charger. My phone's screen lit up and I was able to call my parents briefly and explain what had happened after I left without giving much detail.

I also didn't mention where we were. For all they knew, we were still in the forest. I could hear their sigh of relief when I told them about the darkness that had possessed me and I apologized for how I had acted and everything I had said. 

"Don't worry, sweetie. We were wrong too. You were right, this is something you must do. It's your destiny," my mother said on the other end and my eyes started to fill up with tears. I missed them. I missed them so much.

If I were back in school, it wouldn't have been long before I saw them again. But I wasn't, and I wasn't sure of when or if I was going to see them again. 

"I miss you guys," I murmured as I tried to keep my voice steady, even though inside I was breaking. 

"Oh, dear. We miss you too. Please stay safe, we'll be right here close to the phone if you need anything, baby girl," my mother said and I could almost hear her warm smile on her face.

I chuckled and nodded my head. "Alright. I love you guys."

"And we love you, kiddo," my father said warmly and his words seemed to engulf me in an embrace. 

Soon, we hung up and I started crying. 

I was glad Alex wasn't here to see me like this. I didn't like it when people saw me cry, especially not strangers. So I let myself sob in the darkness for a little bit longer before getting ready for bed. I washed my face and cleaned my teeth and then streamed through social media for a little bit which made my heartache. 

All of my friends. I had missed them. And I felt guilty and sad that I had hurt them like I did. Especially Joan whom I had almost killed. They seemed very happy now. As I scrolled through their most recent posts, I could see the excitement in their eyes as they prepared for winter break. I wondered if they wondered what had happened to me. I wondered if Joan had told them what had happened in the library backyard. She probably did. 

Now they all probably thought I was crazy and that I was the devil's spawn or something. None of them had even bothered to send me a message to see if I was okay or to ask me if I needed help. It was just as if I had never existed. And that hurt more than I cared to admit. 

Shaking my head, I shook the thoughts away and placed my phone to the side as I got under the blankets and wrapped them tightly around me. 

I had been tired, but after what I had seen and with the thoughts circling in my mind, I couldn't fall asleep. I was too restless. 

Alex hadn't been back either. I didn't know what time it was or where she had gone with Mason. I wasn't sure if I should wait up for her. That was something my friends usually did when I sneaked out to see my boyfriend. 

The thought of them made my heart sting again and I took a deep breath before closing my eyes. 

I need a glass of water, that's what I need.

Quickly, I got out of the bed and walked towards a rolling tray in front of my bed where two bottles of water were neatly placed along with some chocolate. I raised an eyebrow when I saw they varied from very dark chocolate, all the way to the sweetest of them all, white chocolate. 

Taking a semi-sweet chocolate, I popped it in my mouth and opened a bottle of water and just as I was about to head back to my bed, the door opened and I froze. 

Alex walked in and her wide eyes settled on me. I could see Mason standing behind her with a tired look on his face. Both of them shared a look before nodding their heads and turning to me. 

"We didn't think you'd be awake, Kalani. Do you mind if we talk to you for a little while?" Alex said nervously and I instantly stiffened. 

Slowly, I nodded my head and the two of them walked into the room, closing the door gently after them.