Free Runner (House of Night Fanfic)

Chapter 8

Zoey

As we were all be ushered out of the gym and being brought back to our rooms, I caught a glimpse of the five fledglings and the one professor leaping like monkeys out the window in which they entered.

When Stark and I closed the door to our room, a thought kept occurring to me. How can those kids make their hands and feet glow like that? I didn't see any effects or glow sticks attached to their ankles and wrists in any way, so how?

And another thought, Why did I feel the five elements when their were performing?

This was going to be a strange two weeks.

Kai

As soon as I landed on the window sill, I could already feel stitches beginning to stretch my skin and I flinched at the feeling.

"Red, take it easy on that arm, you'll wreck Badge's handy work," Chris called out behind me.

"I know, I'm trying, Pete. I know."

We all spread out and when we got to the meeting place, Zero was already there, sitting patiently.

I dropped down from the roof top and landed in a crouch next to my dog. He didn't even flinch. He immediately stuck his nose to my bandaged arm, whimpering softly.

I pushed him away. "I'm fine, boy. I'll be okay," I softly coo to Zero.

"So, where are we going today?" Ryan was surprisingly quiet the whole time since we got here.

"The coast," I replied. "Humans are reporting strange sightings of shadows that shouldn't be there, and sounds that seem to come out of nowhere. A life guard even reported to have seen a strange bird-like creature skimming the water surface before diving in and scaring the crap out of a pod of porpoises, turning the water red.'

The group nodded, they understood exactly what was going on.

"Alright, guys, it's time."

Zoey

Something strange is going on. I can feel it. It feels like a hurricane was happening, but when I looked out the window, the morning light was shining and I had to immediately close them again for Stark's sake.

"Everything okay, Z?"

I chewed my lip, "Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Mhmm."

Stark had me sit down on the bed and wrapped his arms around me, collecting me up in a burrito full of blankets and the smell of his cologne. It made me sigh in relief that he was there, holding me tight.

"It's time for sleep, my love," he says tiredly into my ear. I nodded and got up to get ready for bed.

Then it hit me. The feeling that the elements were coming to life and were being called. It was faint, but that didn't mean that I didn't gasp from the smell of the ocean, campfire smoke, wet earth, and I could have sworn that I heard singing.

"Everything alright in there, love?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Stark," I replied from the bathroom.

When I came out, I couldn't feel the elements anymore, and I quickly got under the blankets before I could think of anything else.

After about three hours of tossing and turning, sleep abandoning me, I decided that I needed to tell someone about what I felt in the bathroom.

I got up, wrapped a throw over blanket over my shoulders, and made my way to Stevie Rae's room across the hall. I knocked on the door and heard movement on the other side, a shuffling of feet on the floor and the door opened. Stevie Rae had a nest of curls around her head and her eyes were drooping. "Z? What are you doing at this hour?"

"Sorry that I woke you, Stevie Rae. But we need to talk."

She waved me in and closed the door, gesturing for me to sit on the bed while she went to the counter and started making a pot of coffee.

"Did you feel anything earlier?"

"Z, what are you talking about," Stevie Rae twanged as she held out a mug for me.

"Did you feel Earth being called?"

She froze, wide eyed. "You mean you felt it too?"

I nodded. "It was strange that that happened. I thought you had something to do with it."

She shook her head. "I didn't do nothing earlier, Z. I was fast asleep as soon as I got into my room."

That was not a comforting thought.

Stevie Rae stood up from the other edge of the bed. "I'll get the others in here. you sit tight for now," she says and she was out the door. I could hear her knocking on other doors and some of them opened, then quiet voices.

After about five minutes, the whole circle was huddled with mugs of coffee and sleepy eyes on Stevie Rae's bed. I explained what happened to me earlier and everyone had a face of shock after I finished.

"So, what you're saying is that the elements were called to manifest and none of us had anything to do with it?" Shaunee asks after the quiet moment of everyone processing the information.

I nodded.

"It might have something to do with the fledglings that performed for us last night," Damien says. "Unless it was only me that felt like I was camping out in the forest beside a river while they performed."

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't just you. And let's not forget the glowing hands and feet that they managed to do while they performed."

"Maybe we're not the only ones that have affinities to the elements anymore."