Burning Darkness [ Under Heavy Construction]

Chapter 28

Devin's POV

"Come on Blaze, your paws are digging into my stomach" I said as I turned over on my side. Blaze flipped off of my stomach and leaned against my back. The warmth from the fire place gave of an unbelievable sensation. My blanket was a nice complementary as well. It felt just like the mornings back at home.

My comfortable bed, my big blanket, and my favorite pillow. The sun warming my face through the window. Since I was still aware of what I was doing, I tried getting up. My body fought against my will, but in the end I sat up wiping my face. Blaze's ears twitched a bit and soon he was awake, stretching and yawning. I ruffled up the fur on his head with a slight smile, "sorry to wake you boy."

I checked the time on my watch, 9:42 am it read. I stretched and yawned once more before throwing the cover off to the side. Tonight....we'll be face to face with Cade. All this time over the course of our journey and I'm still scared out of my mind. I can't think like that, I have to be strong for everyone else's sake. Who knows, maybe we'll all make it out alive.

I slipped on my shoes and headed out into the District. If I returned and no one's awake I wouldn't want to wake anyone by knocking, so I left the door unlocked. Blazed trotted along my side as we strolled to the nearest clothing store and after, a coffee shop.

I slowly opened the front door and peeked my head inside...no one seemed to be up. I let Blaze in, then slowly turned around to shut the door. After locking it, I headed upstairs to take a well needed shower. Walking as slow and quietly as possible, I placed my hand on the door knob. "Devin?" My heart skipped a beat and my eyes bucked.

I turned my head back and saw Rachel in a pink tank top and white pajamas, probably clothes from Mya's closet. "What are you doing up?" I scratched the back of my head. "Just went out to get a fresh change of clothes and a cup of coffee. Oh, and I wanted to shower before we leave. How long have you been up anyway?"

Rachel swallowed hard, "a couple of minutes..." her voice trailed off. An awkward silence fell over the hallway. I gripped the knob preparing to enter the restroom when Rachel coughed. "Um, Devin. I don't know how to say this, but thank you for this." I drew my eyebrows together and looked around. "For what?"

"For everything I guess. You probably don't realize how traveling around with you and Devonte has helped me. In many ways than one that is" she said while fiddling with her fingers. I let go of the door knob and straightened up. "Rachel, I can speak for my brother and I, when I say this. We've all grown as elementists and as a team. It's okay to be scared, because truth be told we are too. No matter what happens tonight...." I stopped in mid sentence and looked away from her.

"No matter what happens....everything will be alright." I met Rachel's worrying eyes and smiled before going into the restroom. I locked the door behind me and turned on the hot water. I leaned over the counter and threw my hands on my face. The soothing sounds of running water wasn't enough to ease my mind.

Would Cade really be that evil to kill teenagers? Those strange dreams...those weird meetings. Why? What was he trying to show me? His childhood?

During the fight with those cobras, Devonte... He screamed, saying Cade was in his head. What was he showing him? Maybe he showed him the same things he showed me. No way that could've been either one of us. There's just no way and I'm pretty sure I remember my childhood for the most part. Then again, I didn't remember anything about Emma. When we first met in the normal world, I didn't know who she was.

Now all of a sudden I've known her from early in my childhood. How does Cade know mom and dad? He seemed to know them really well too. My head started to ache from all of these unanswered questions... I took in a deep breath and let my mind drift away....