The Sound of Their Presence

Chapter Twenty Eight: Along the Broken Road

Cheyenne's POV

    I leave the hospital alone. I have to walk down the corridors, clutching the hospital gown tight to my skin. My flesh tingles at the prick of harsh winds the instant I exit the facility. I don't know where Jill is, but I can't beleive a horse of all things had caused such a big accident. Three days of healing have taken place since her beautiful Impala was wrecked.

    After walking through a fine layer of Michigan's legendary snow for a mile or so, I figure it is best to shift. I go through the transformation behind a tree, a bit to close to the road. I am bent over when I hear the voice. I have not had to "cancel" a transformation halfway through phasing since I was thirteen. Most unicorns don't come into power until they are adolescents.

    I take a moment to let my heart stop racing and slow my breathing. Once I am half certain that I can be comfortable in my human skin, I pull the hospital gown back over my head. With the thin layer clutched to my seemingly stretched skin, I step out from behind the maplee tree.

    "Hey, Jill," I force a tight smile.

     She ruffles my hair in response, "Let's get out of the d*mn snow! I am freezing my tail off here!" Her laugh resonates in my ears musically for a moment, and I follow her. Jillian leads me to a bright day's sun kind of shade of Lamborgini. My breath hitches halfway to my longs. I clutch a hand to my chest.

    "Are you involved with Grand theft auto or something?!" I ask, bewildered.

    "Do you really want to know?" Shane's aunt giggles hysterically when I frantically shake my head from side to side.

    Before we pull off the side of the road, she eyes me precariously. "Aren't you cold? That will bring in the shift-"

    "Yeah, I know," I sigh, "I don't have any heavier clothing with me though. Where are we-" I don't have tiem to finish my sentance before JIllian is turning the car around. She pulls the Lambourgini into an illegal u-turn, before we speed off. I swear, if cops were ever near by!

    "So, has the horse problem been taken care of?" I ask, remembering the stallion that had flipped the Impala.

    "His body isn't there anymore, I can tell you that much," Jill sighs. I remember the unusual coat on the fiery steed. I had never seen such a redish horse in my life, even in the harshest, brightest sunlight raining down in pastures filled with livestock.

    I study her for a moment, realizing how worried and exhausted she looks. "Do you want me to take a turn driving?" I offer.

    "You don't even know where we are going!" Shane's aunt trills. She seems to snap out of the melancholy mood she has been in for a second. "Besides, we are almost there, anyways."

    I take a moment to look out the windows, into the darkness. I recognize the ashes billowing around in the wind. I remember screams resonating in my ears from a distant past. Back when I had siblings to speak of. The remains of my home jut out from random clumps of snow.

    I hop out of the Lambourgini once Jillian has it pulled in park in on the patch of pavement I used to call my driveway. I rush to my oak to grab a few articles of clothing.

    "Bring it all," Jill calls from behind me. Whirling around, I give her an inquisitive look. "We can't stay here. We need to get Shane and leave the country."

    My jaw drops and I exclaim, flustered and confused all at once. "What do you mean?! Surely we can't leave! I mean-"

    "Shh," she soothes, as she pulls a large duffel bag from the backseat for me to put my clothing into. "You think Lilith will let you live? What about Shane? She will think of him as an unsuccess, especially since he cannot be controlled."

    I sense the truth to her words and admit her point is true. I pack up, after throwing on my default combat boots and leather jacket with jeans. I find a tshirt with MUSIC in capital dark letter, boxed in by white, to cover a patch of the dark shirt. I slip into the soft material, before I think of another quiestion.

    "Where are we supposed to be saving Shane from?"