I burst in Leila's door, waking the boys.
"Juliette just got taken by the night-shadows!" I cry. Leila's mouth drops open, and the boys are up in an instant.
Leila snatches her shears, and follows me out the door.
We knock on everyone's door, and I explain to Leila on the way to the elevator.
"I was getting clean clothes upstairs, when all of a sudden, I heard a tapping noise on the window, and I saw Juliette. I went to open the window for her, but a night-shadow dragged her into the forest before I could," I say.
"Okay, we'll comb through the forest, and try to find a trail," Leila says, stepping into the elevator. Before the doors close, Nox and Gray join us.
Nox smiles at Leila, before turning away to comb his hair with his fingers. It does literally nothing to tame his hair, but it's cute that he tried.
"Juliette! Juliette!" We all cry, fanning out through the forest.
Even though it's early in the morning, the summer sky is light.
Suddenly, a twig snapping in the distance catches my attention.
"What was that?" Oakley asks.
A couple more twigs snap, and I see a few black silhouettes in the distance.
"There!" I cry, pointing at them.
We all begin running, following the creatures through the forest.
The night-shadows lead us into the road, and the chase continues, but it's clear they're a lot faster than us.
"I've got an idea," Gray says as a car approaches.
Everyone freezes, including me, but unlike the first time, I black out.
When I can move again, Gray's sitting in a truck that's clearly not ours.
Luckily, it's got six seats, but that's still not enough.
Since Leila's shorter, I let her slip into the middle seat in the front, with Nox riding shotgun. Mercedes and Oakley get in the backseat with me, and I help Nora and Ryith sit on their laps.
"Hang on, okay?" I tell Nora and Ryith.
When everyone is (mostly) buckled in, Gray takes off, following the night-shadows.
The night-shadows lead us through the back roads of town, I suppose because they don't want to be seen.
We keep driving, farther and farther away from what I now consider home.
The sun is high in the summer sky, and my stomach rumbles.
It must be getting close to lunch time, and I haven't even eaten breakfast yet.
"Can we please stop somewhere? I'm starving!" Nora cries, reading my mind.
"What if we lose the night-shadows?" Nox asks from the passenger seat.
"I'm sure we won't lose them if we just stop in a drive-thru," Leila says.
"Okay, we'll stop in the next town," Gray decides.
The town we were in is far behind us, and we drive along a long single road with trees on either side.
The creatures dart and run through the forest, having seemingly endless energy.
After a while, houses and buildings appear.
"You guys better have your orders ready," Gray says, pulling into a drive-thru Wendy's.
YOU ARE READING
Anomalous
Teen Fiction{COMPLETED!!} Autumn is ordinary. Completely ordinary. She goes to school, gets yelled at by her mom, comes home, gets yelled at more; normal. One day, the chain of mundane breaks, when she comes home to find two teens with a pitch in her house. ...
