Retaliation

Chapter 7

I wake with a start, sending a blast of air upwards, smashing the top of my bed. I slow my rapid breathing, and shake my head, not wanting to remember whatever it was that startled me like that. I look out the window, just another day. I get up and look at myself in the mirror. All of my bruises are gone, except the barely noticeable finger marks around my neck. I sigh, looking down my front. Then my eyes catch on something. Blake is written in scripty black letters on my stomache. I close my eyes, trying to remember where it came from. I catch a small tidbit of a fuzzy scene, followed by me saying "No more crying." and my head starts throbbing from the bad memory. What the hell was that? I ask myself. I shake my head, "That must've been one hell of a dream last night." I say to myself aloud.

I get dressed and flash down stairs, ready to get this day over with. Nathan sits, drinking his coffee and reading his newspaper. He glances over his paper at me, "You feelin alright?" he asks.

"Yeah, but the other guy's not gonna be for much longer." I answer.

"Now, now, Daniel, we can't just openly attack a nearby clan." he says.

"Not the whole clan, or even the whole pack of werewolves, just one." I say.

"Best to just leave it alone." he advises me.

"Whatever, I'm out." I say, walking towards the door.

"I mean it, don't go picking fights." he says. I snap my fingers and walk through a portal to school. I give a sigh and walk up the front steps. I go through the motions, of my first three periods and am on my way to my fourth, when I see Kane and some of his buddies coming down the hall.

"So the little runt isn't dead." He teases. I ignore him, and try to just keep walking. "What? Was your boyfriend not around to protect you?" He calls out. I look over my shoulder, confused. Boyfriend? Me in a relationship? Now that's a funny thought. I keep walking, ignoring his stupidity. Eventually lunch rolls around and I sit by myself, but Jessica comes and finds me.

"There you are! I've been worried sick." She tells me.

"Worried?" I ask her.

"Well yeah, you woke up from your coma and then the next thing I know you're gone and am told you were back at home." she says.

"Yeah... I guess I hit my head or somethin, cause I can't remember all that much of how I got home." I tell her. She sits there, quiet, but her eyes show that she wants to say so much more. "So where's Lizzy, Chris, and Luke?" I ask.

"Oh, Lizzy caught some bug, and Christina skipped to take care of her, and Luke is over there with his buddies." she says, waving her hand in no general direction.

"Well that's sweet of Christina." I say back.

"Yeah, they said if I saw you to tell you that they've missed you these past couple of days." she says.

"Well, using all of your magic takes its toll." I say.

"But you're all better now." she says with a big smile. She chatters on and I listen and listen while my mind wanders. It wanders back to Logan, and then to Landon. I hope he's doing alright. I look around the cafeteria. I see Kane and his thugs sitting on the far side of the room and then I locate Luke, laughing at his buddies. My eyes scan through the entire room, but then pause on one guy, who is staring over here, and then they continue flicking around the room. My head throbs a little, and the void in my chest pulls it tighter. I flick my eyes back to Jessica and retain a straight face while I wait for the pain to pass. When it finally does the bell rings, ending our time here. "Well, I'll see you later." Jessica says brightly and is off into the crowd of people squishing out of the doors. I get up slowly and then walk out behind the crowd and off to my last classes. I play with the shadows under my desk, shaping them into different things to pass the time. This is such a waste of time! I think to myself, crushing my tiny figures.