The Sound of Their Presence

Chapter Twenty Two: No Time For Contemplating

Cheyenne's POV

    I stand before I home. Well, what had been, before Lilith had it burned down. I will kill her, if it is the last thing I do. What she attempted to do to Shane- What she had doen to my family and the others. And that little boy! She is a murderer, a lieing theif. I was raised beleiving that every being's sins eventually catch up to them. I pray to God that I catch up with Lilith . . .

    The wind blows some of the ashes and charred bits of remaining wood onto my combat boot covered toes. I have stashed the clothing that Lilith had originally bought me in a hollow oak tree by my old house. I go to school during the day at times. Other times, I go around town, trying to find Shane, For going to the same school, he was hard to find!

    The red dress from hiking on Devil's Hill billows around my knees and shins, gently. The breeze feels good against the revealed parts of my arms, where the half sleeves don't cover my skin. I dog barks in the distance, and my hand flies to my throat, feeling the scars on my neck, where Lilith had slit my throat several tiems.

    I remember the dogs tearing at my legs, finally having caught me. They had pursued me for so long after I escaped. That is, before my mother had sacrificed herself to them. I have no clue how she escaped the sadistic, unicorn torture camp, but she was gone now. I loved her, but my mother had been my last remaining family member. Without Shane, I was alone in this world.

    I have shifted every night, as soon as I was far enough away from the school to transform, unnoticed. I have roamed the woods, even risking the forestry nearest Shane's house. I am quite certain the transformation didn't work on him. Surely he would have shifted by now?

    TIme to undress, pack the clothes into a hollow trunk for the night and shift.

-----------------------------------------------

    The moon meets the center of the sky, as I near the forest surrounding Shane's cabin. I know I shouldn't be here, waiting for him, but I can't help it. Even though he won't shift a this point, I am almost certain. I still won't pass up the opportunity to possibly see him. To hear Shane's melodic voice. The gentle timbre.

    I near the house, thoughts of Lilith iinstantly disapearing when I do hear his voice. Shane's voice.

    "I need a saving grace

A hiding place

I don't have forever or time to waste

So don't let me be lonely

I wanna shake this winter coat off my sleeve

Dust off a record and just be free

Oh don't let me be lonely

No don't let me be lonely

When you're young

You can fly

But we trip on clouds 'cause we get too high

We grow up

And then it's gone

Oh God only knows what we'll become

So don't let me be, let me be, let me be lonely tonight

While we're young and alive

Take the keys to my car and the keys to my heart and just drive

Oh don't let me, let me be lonely

Well the night rolls on like a long lost friend

'Til the sunrise bleeds like the bitter end

Don't let me be lonely

Well there's nothing to hide and nothing to prove

Give me all that you are

You've got nothing to lose

Just don't let me be lonely

No don't let me be lonely

So don't let me be, let me be, let me be lonely tonight

While we're young and alive

Take the keys to my car and the keys to my heart and just drive

Oh don't let me, let me be lonely

No

Don't let me be

When you're young

Life's a dream

It's a beautiful and a burning thing

We grow up

And then it's gone

But the memory goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on

Don't let me be, let me be, let me be lonely tonight

While we're young and alive

Take the keys to my car and the keys to my heart and just drive

Oh don't let me, let me be lonely

Don't let me be lonely

Don't, don't let me be lonely

No

Don't let me be

Ooh, lonely"

    I am thouroughly impressed with his twist on the Band Perry's Don't Let Me Be Lonely. I want to contemplate the meaning further, go be with Shane. But, Lilith starts screaming at him, and a 1967 Chevy Impala pulls onto the long drive. I think I have enough time to bound across the road, but the driver has to slam on her brakes to avoid hitting me.

    Oops.