𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚎'𝚜 𝙵𝚊𝚝𝚎

Turns out Lightning Does Strike Twice|| 4.

Sage stared at the trembling sky walk, praying to a god she didn't believe in that it wouldn't collapse. The glass was slick, as she placed her hand on Deanna's shoulders and pushed her forward. "What are you doing? Go," she called over the wind, projecting her voice so the frozen girl would heal.

Deanna's gaze was fixed on the roaring crowd of kids, all rushing towards the glass doors. Sage could see Dylan and Piper holding them open, trying to calm the kids as she pushed past each other. Sage could see see the way Deanna's hands shook, though couldn't tell if it was from the cold or fear. "It's going to be fine, just go inside," Sage's voice was more stern than comforting, but it drew Deanna out of her daze.

Deanna looked back at Sage, her dark eyes littered with terror. Another ragged breath of thunder cracked, causing Deanna to jump. She didn't waste another moment, another breath, or another word, before darting towards the doors. "Go, go, go," Coach Hedge screamed, rasp infiltrating his tone as it attempted to stretch to everyone's ears.

Sage quickly checked to see if anyone else was left on the Skywalk, to be met with the sight of Leo, Jason and Coach Hedge. All were trying to run towards the doors, which Deanna just managed to get through. But, Sage quickly realized the wind had somehow picked up dramatically. The cold air snapped across her skin, as if it had hands that were trying to push her back.

Dylan and Piper pushed one more kid inside, then lost their grip on the doors. They slammed shut, closing off the skywalk. Sage grimaced as she heard them rattle shut, even across the abundant wind.

"Dylan, help!" Piper shouted, though Sage could hardly hear the other girl's voice. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jason, Leo and Coach Hedge attempting to quicken their pace to help pry the doors back open. The sides of Sage's open jacket flew back, causing a piercing chill to roam along her stomach and back.

Sage pushed forward, just as she noticed that Dylan stopped moving. He stood in the wind, his body still but his sport's jersey rippling along his torso. What made Sage's blood run cold though, was the blissful smile which sprouted across his thin lips. He appeared to bask in the violent breeze, like he enjoyed it all of the sudden.

"Sorry, Piper," Dylan smirked. "I'm done helping."

With a light flick of his wrist, Piper went flying back into the doors. Her back slammed into them, before her body slumped back onto the terrace of the skywalk. Sage's mouth fell open, allowing the cool air to chatter her teeth, as she tried to replay what just happened.

"What the hell was that?" She whispered, her words getting lost in the wind. She charged forward, no plan in mind, and confusion and fear propelling her adrenaline. Had Dylan just caused Piper to fly back, had it been the wind? She could have sword the way his arm moved had controlled when she fell. Then again, she also could have sworn she witnessed her father get murdered by a half- man, half-lion creature.

She could vaguely hear Jason called Piper's name, but what caught her attention was Coach Hedge. All about ten feet to her right, Coach Hedge had a hand on Jason's chest to push him back.

"Jason, Leo, stay behind me," Coach Hedge ordered with prowess. He spared a look towards Sage, and gave an impossibly small nod. "You too, Sage," he directed. "This is my fight. I should've known that was our monster."

In sync, Sage and Leo both called out, "what?" at the same time. The boy batted away a rogue worksheet that had slapped him in the face, before shaking his head in disbelief. "What monster?" He questioned.

Sage hastily glanced between Coach Hedge and Dylan, who the coach was gearing to charge at. "Dylan?" She yelled back at him, as if he were crazy. Monsters... monsters didn't exist. They couldn't, that's what she'd been told since she was little. They weren't hiding under the bed, or in the closet and one hadn't attacked her and her family. Even if she knew what her eyes had seen, no one believed her. But here Coach Hedge was, talking about monsters and fighting them.