Obliterate

twelve

AUBREY REFUSED TO speak to them.

As the nurse shuffled back into the lobby of the hospital wing, Sophie and Eli shared a troubled look. Both could sense a strong level of discomfort from the nurse. It could easily be seen in her distraught expression. The nurse sent them both a small, uneasy smile and said, "I'm afraid Miss Aubrey is still refusing any visitors at the moment."

Sophie pressed her lips together. Eli scowled at the nurse and shook his head. "That's it. I'm sorry, but I'm going in there. She is going to help us."

The nurse wrinkled her lips. It was obvious that she didn't like the idea of possibly disturbing Wolfe. But she moved behind her desk again, making no move to stop Eli. Sophie smiled at her apologetically as she began to drum her fingers against the desk. "Thank you for trying," she told the nurse.

Eli grabbed Sophie by the hand and dragged her forward. Resigned, the nurse just nodded at Sophie and started to rummage through paperwork.

As they walked down the hallway, Sophie's stomach twisted with nerves. She couldn't help but think back to when she and Eli snuck into his room. That last moment flickered across her mind's eye --Wolfe's look of recognition as their gazes met.

Absently, her grip tightened around Eli's hand. He squeezed hers back and pulled her to a stop in front of Wolfe's room. As his hand reached for the door handle, it twisted, and the door swung open.

Aubrey stepped out.

Her hair was a wreck. Pulled back into a scraggly bun, the blonde strands seemed matted almost, like an untamed nest of straw. Her flawless, vampire skin was still flawless though --with only a slight hint of bagginess beneath her bloodshot eyes.

"What do you want?" she ground out through her teeth, pinning Eli with a nasty glare. "I told that nurse not to let anybody back. You are stressing him out."

"It's an emergency," Sophie spoke up.

Aubrey's gaze seemed to soften at the sound of Sophie's voice. She blinked and lifted a hand, rubbing at her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I'm sure Aelia has already filled you in on the fact that two people are missing," Eli said. He crossed his arms over his chest. "One was a student of mine. The other was a teacher who went missing last night, while we were patrolling the area around the castle. The teacher was attacked."

Aubrey scowled at him. "She came by this morning and told me."

"When we were in the woods, two creatures attempted to attack us," Sophie said.

A pearl of worry formed within Aubrey's already stressed eyes. She lifted a hand to her throat. "Are you two okay?"

"We managed to outrun them," Sophie explained. Her shoulder brushed Eli's. He lifted an arm and wrapped it around her. "I think we're still a bit shaken up about it though."

Eli nodded. "There's a chance that those creatures could have something to do with the disappearances. Even if they aren't behind it, there's always a chance that they could try to attack someone else. Or worse. We were wondering if you could help us find out more about them."

Aubrey glanced back behind her. She tugged slightly at the skin that covered the base of her throat. Her words came out hardly above a whisper. "I'm not sure that I can leave him."

"You don't have to," Sophie quickly interjected. "I can bring you a laptop, or anything that you need in order to find out more information about these creatures."

The concerned expression that Aubrey wore didn't fade. "I guess that could work. I'm not promising anything though. You'll need to bring two different laptops. In order to do a thorough search, I'll need a newer, updated model. But I'll also need one of the laptops that Aelia put in storage --one of the laptops that was used before the rebellion. There's a chance that the old Headmaster was aware of them and already has some notes about them on the old server."

"And you can't access that server from a newer laptop?" Eli asked, an eyebrow quirked.

Aubrey shook her head absently. "No. Aelia had me and another student create a virus that prevented anybody from accessing it. There's only two laptops that can possibly access it. Mine and the other student's. Both are locked away in storage." Her gaze shifted toward Sophie. "Even with my understanding of half of the virus, it would take at least a month to for me to break through it completely. And by then, Aelia will be well aware that someone is trying to break through. I'm sure that you can convince your mother to allow you access to the laptop. Just explain that there might be useful information on them."

Sophie nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"Is there anything else that you'll need?" Eli asked.

Aubrey shook her head. "I don't think so."

Sophie nodded. She stepped forward, enveloping Aubrey in a warm hug. The blonde seemed to tremble in her arms. "We'll do our best to get the laptops back to you as soon as possible," Sophie told her. "In the meantime, how are you doing?"

A small sigh escaped Aubrey. "I'll be alright," she muttered under her breath. She stepped back, away from Sophie, and rubbed at her eyes again. "I'm just tired."

Eli glanced over Aubrey's head, at the room behind her. "How is he doing?" he asked softly.

Aubrey folded her arms across her chest, almost hugging herself. "He's gotten a little better. He's a bit more coherent and he recognizes me at least. We don't know quite what triggered it, but it's a definite improvement. The night terrors are still frequent though."

Sophie blinked. "Night terrors?"

"I'm not sure what else to call them," Aubrey admitted. "They are awful. He'll start talking in his sleep about these evil clouds. Sometimes he isn't even asleep. He'll just start on about how these mean clouds are coming for us. None of the doctors are sure what to make of it."

Sophie glanced at Eli. The last thing that Wolfe had said before they left his hospital room had been about evil clouds. It was crazy talk. Insanity. And both she and Eli had written it off as such.

"That's so weird," Eli said.

Aubrey sighed. She rubbed at her temples. "Yeah. I better go check on him. Please, when you bring the laptops, don't try to come back here. I don't want to disrupt his schedule. Not when he's starting to improve. Just tell the nurse to come and get me. I'll come out front."

Sophie nodded. She gave Aubrey another quick hug. "We love you," she told her. "If you need me, I'm just a phone call away."

Eli stepped forward and hugged his sister as well. "Ditto, sis."

She nodded. "Love you too."

Then she closed the door.