Vo'ke

Five

 It was still dark when I awoke. Niall stood at the foot of our bed, the duvet and sheets held in his hands as my body jerked to attention in the freezing cold that had penetrated the bedroom in the night. Even Zayn had pushed himself up in surprise, a hand rubbing at his eyes as they tried to focus so early in the morning. The alarm clock across the room read 6 a.m..

"We have work to do," Niall said, dropping the blankets on the floor before disappearing through the doorframe, where a bright square of light dashed any hopes of going back to sleep. I groaned, rolling over in the bed as my lower back popped and cracked. I wondered vaguely if I'd get used to the mattress in the time we were to be here.

Zayn had already pulled on a pair of trousers and thrown a thermal over his head by the time I found the strength to roll out of the bed. In the freezing temperature of the room, I dreaded the day more. The last thing I felt like doing was running around like a trained monkey in Niall's paranormal circus, but I'd made my bed. There was no appeal to lying in it.

Throwing on a pair of jeans and a flannel, I ran a hand through my hair before making my way down the hall to the kitchen. I could smell something frying, and rounding the corner, Louis and Liam were hunched over a small table, scarfing down as much eggs and bacon as they could handle. Annalise stood at the stove, cracking eggshells and laughing at Niall when he reached a hand in quickly to grab at a crisp strip in the frying pan. Zayn grabbed a plate and waited for the eggs to cook, striking up conversation with Scarlett, who stood in a corner picking at a piece of biscuit.

Begrudgingly, I entered the kitchen and grabbed at a cold biscuit and two pieces of finished bacon. The room was small, the linoleum peeling away from the floor at some places in yellowed strips. For lack of anywhere better to go, I fell into a spot between Liam's chair and Scarlett in the corner. With my back against the wall, I nibbled at the food I held in my hands as I watched Zayn fill his plate with bacon and Annalise turn off the burner. With a clap of his hands, Niall turned to address us.

"We have a few days until the full moon," he declared, and I rolled my eyes, an act that didn't go unnoticed under Niall's piercing glare. "We have a lot of work to do between now and then, so we're splitting into teams. Zayn, I'm going to have Liam show you how to use the equipment so you can help him on that end of the spectrum. With that being said, you can help him figure out how to apply his AV knowledge to the investigation."

Zayn nodded, holding out a fist for Liam to bump. I shoved the rest of my biscuit in my mouth.

"Louis, you'll come with Scarlett and I to conduct interviews with locals. Today we'll talk to residents of the town, but tomorrow Scarlett will take us to the reservation."

If Scarlett had any reaction to this information, she didn't show it. Louis bit down on his lip, brows furrowed as his gaze moved from Scarlett, to Niall, and back again. Scarlett hadn't been the most welcoming thus far, not at all warm and friendly like Louis was used to, and the clash in personalities made him uneasy. I was smirking to myself when I heard Niall say my name.

"Pardon?" I asked, having completely missed whatever it was Niall had said.

"You'll be doing research with Annalise at the town hall," he repeated, the words falling from his lips slowly like I was too unintelligent to understand what he was saying. Blood rushed to my face, but I only folded my arms over my chest and made no response. Niall and I had had it out enough in the last twenty-four hours without me being a smartass about his lame assignment for me.

"Liam and Zayn will stay here to do their thing, so the rest of us will pile into Scarlett's pick-up and head into town," he finished.

It was a dismissal. I stood motionless, watching as everyone began to move all at once, cleaning up after themselves or pulling on jackets. Only Scarlett didn't join in the commotion, arms crossed over her chest while she regarded me warily.