Surviving the Dark

Chapter 26 - Strategy

"Jamie, you can't." I breathe.

"Why can't I Izzie?"

"Who is going to take care of the preserve? Liv can't do it on her own Jamie."

"So she can come with us. Izzie I am not going to let you leave and put yourself in danger."

I quickly push Jamie away and stand up. I don't know how Jamie feels about me. Heck I don't even know my own feelings at this point. Do I feel the way I feel for him because he is here? Because he is showing that he cares? I am giving him an out of all of this, of our friendship, of the danger I have brought to this beautiful town. Everything.

"You need to stay Jamie. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you or Liv. These Shadows, they are after Zae and I, not you and Liv."

Jamie stands up, frustration flashing across his features.

"Exactly Izzie. These things are after you and Xavier. I don't want to see you get hurt-"

I cut him off. "I wont get hurt if Zae and I keep moving."

Our voices have been slowly increasing in volume trying to make the other understand.

"OI! If you two love birds are done arguing, we think we have an idea out here." Liv calls down the hallway.

"We aren't love birds." I call to Liv as I walk out of my room. I have had enough trying to explain to Jamie that he can't come or that I can't stay.

"Could have fooled me." I hear her mutter.

I make it out to the lounge room where Liv and Xavier are huddled over the coffee table with papers scattered and a laptop open.

"What was with all the shouting?"

"Your brother is stubborn and doesn't listen." I told Liv in a bored tone. It looked as if they have put in a lot of effort trying to think of a way to stay and fight, I didn't want to give them hope.

"You are just figuring that out now Is? Anyway, come see what we came up with. We need you to tell us a few things but I think we have a really good plan."

I sighed and sat down beside her on the couch, Liv then launched into the details of the plan they came up with.

"Liv even with the minimal information I have on the Black Eyes, I still don't think this will work. It will be safer if Zae and I leave."

"I know I would say I would go, Isa, but this is my home. I am not going to leave without a fight."

"Zae-"

"No Isa. From what we remember of what you have already told us, this is a good plan. It could work, with a few more details from you. We can do this Isa. We can stay and fight."

"But Zae what is it doesn't work? I don't know what I would do if something happened to you." I look up from the plan in front of me and look at Jamie and Liv too. "Any of you really. I don't want to be alone like I was last time."

Jamie comes over and sits on the other said of me on the couch. "You aren't alone." I look at Jamie, eyes locked on each other. "Not anymore."

Neither one of us look away. If I do I will have to face the reality of my life and either way I know I will get hurt someway or another.

Liv clears her throat bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Please Isa, can we at least try?" Xavier pleads and I tear my gaze away from Jamie to look at my little brother, they all look at me pleadingly.

I sigh, for what feels like the hundredth time tonight.

"Fine." Xavier's eyes light up. "But." I say holding up my hand to stop him from getting too excited. "We need to change the plan slightly."

"Okay oh wise one, bless us with your knowledge and wisdom."

We all turn to look at Jamie. His expression has changed from serious, to angry, to pleading, to goofy all in a matter of seconds over the course of the night.

His wide goofy smile shows off his dimple and his eyes have their shine back.

Liv starts giggling while Zae tried to hold in his laughter. I am struggling to fight a smile that wants to make its way onto my face. Soon enough one of us starts laughing and the rest join in. Trust Jamie to crack a joke in a situation like this.

I get a handle on my laughter and try to get back on topic.

"Well for starters we need to figure out a way to keep them from shifting."

"Shifting?"

'Maybe I didn't tell them as much as I thought I did.'

"Right, so I told you about the mist or fog that came over the Grove before the attack?" The others nodded when I looked at them. "This is this shadow part of the Black Eyed Soulless Shadows."

"So how do we stop them from shifting to this mist?" Liv asks.

"Well they need light to be able to shift into shadows so they only attack during the day. If this is going to work we need to somehow block out the sunlight so they can't become shadows."

"Okay, how do we do that?"

"No idea."

"How do we kill them?" Xavier asks.

"No, We can't kill them."

"Izzie we have to kill them. They killed your family, they will kill you if you don't get them first!" Jamie practically shouts.

"Between the two of us we balance out nature. We, the pixies are life and they, death. To get rid of one completely would be dooming nature and even put the human race in danger."

"Too much life and nature will take over everything. Too much death and we wont have air to breathe from not having trees."

"Exactly."

"So we need to weaken them or something. Any ideas on how we do that?" Liv asks no one in particular.

"Mum died before she got to explain all this to me. I do however remember her mentioning it has to do with our moonstones."

Xavier and I instantly reach for our moonstones. Mine around my neck, his round his wrist.

For the rest of the night we bounced ideas around. I kept playing with my moonstone all consumed with worry. Worry this wont work. That I will loose everything again. Worry that we wont find a way to weaken the Shadows.

At some point Jamie had reached out and grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers and rubbing small circles on the top of my hand with his thumb.

By the time we all went to bed we still didn't have a clue how to weaken the shadows, at least nothing we think well work well enough.

'What are we missing?' I think to myself laying in bed still playing with my rainbow moonstone.