N I G H T S C A R S

i i i

e l l e

Holly Hofferson, the captain of the varsity football cheer team, had announced it crucial for all of the cheerleaders to be at her party, starting at 9 o'clock sharp.

Holly Hofferson would have to wait.

Luckily, it was Friday and we had the time to put our teenage lives on hold. If it stormed during finals week, Ava and I might consider jumping off a cliff or two.

We pulled up in the parking lot of the lakehouse. My grandfather and his dad had built it, passing it down through the generations. Now it belonged to my mom, after my dad had passed. And after she died, it would be rightfully mine.

It had been built around World War II and renovated during the Cold War, so it conveniently had a bomb shelter beneath, perfectly capable of withstanding Nazis, Russians, and dragons, (although I have no idea what interest either of those three would want with boring old Oregon). I just had to add a few extra chains and nets.

On the outside, however, it was lovely. Not quite the mansion that I lived in, and I was glad about that. It was cozy although still three stories high. It was set next to a lake, hence making it a lakehouse, with a dock that my parents owned as well. The trees surrounding were a beautiful mix of conifers and broadleaves. I watched the birds flying out of the storm and a family of deer searching for shelter.

We stepped up to the giant wrap around porch. I unlocked the front door using the key we kept under one of the potted plants.

Great hiding spot, I know right?

"Did you get new ones?" Ava asked, eyeing the graying sky nervously.

I knew how she felt, but I'd always loved thunderstorms. Especially with memories of stormy nights in nature, by the fire with my grandfather. The smell of the woody forest at times like this was amazing, but there was no time to stop and smell the roses right now. I had a job to do.

"Yep. You've ripped right through the last five. The guy I'm getting all these chains from is worrying about me."

I left her by the fireplace while I grabbed a black duffle bag from a shoe closet. I came here more and more often ever since Ava was Scarred. I used to go here all the time. Then when I was fourteen, everything changed, and I stopped. Now, sixteen years old, I'm back at it again.

Ava was lying on a sofa, eyes closed, breathing deeply. "I can feel it already."

"We should hurry..." I nodded my head toward the basement.

She stood and followed me to the center of the room. I slid back the giant oriental rug on the floor, revealing the hatch in the hard wood floor. Using the key from my pocket, I unlocked it and stepped aside for her to go in first.

We climbed down the ladder into a small concrete room with a staircase. It led down until another reinforced steel door the size of several garage doors, heading into the real bunker.

I pulled the giant lever that opened the door and turned on the track lights, revealing a steel, concrete, stone room big enough for an airplane landing with the lights going down it like a real one.

The only thing that stood out were the multiple chains, manacles, and padlocks littering the ground, most of them broken. Behind us, the giant garage door was dented.

"Ready?" I asked her, stretching my back.

She nodded. "Like hell I am."

Ψ

I finished wrapping the last chain around her ankle, leaving lots of room for the exact measurement it would be as Night. There were three on each limb, connecting to the poles and beams in the walls. It usually took a lot to hold back the dragon.