The Phantoms

Chapter 8

The colors on the wall slowly transform from dark purple and steely gray to a glowing lavender and shimmering silver in the starlight that flows in through the open window. I lean my head back against the edge of the window sill that I'm currently straddling,feeling the cool autumn breath against my cheeks.
Even back in New York,I've always preferred my room in the dark.
The stars dot the sky in a glittering formation,twinkling down at me coyly. That perfect autumn breeze keeps blowing in. I bask in the feel of it against my bare shoulders.
It's rare for me to get a night like this. A night spent without plotting for survival or one upping my insane mother . A night spent without dreading the nightmares that will be sure to come a few hours later. A night full of stars. A night when I can breath.
Even in the minimal light,it's obvious that my room is messy. Clothes litter the floor, desk and bed hapzhardly. Paint stains half of them,the result of the furious tantrum I'd thrown when we first moved here. If the lights were on,you'd see the lollipop and gum wrappers poking through the mess here and there.
My obsession with Trident would have been clear if you took time to check the brand name on each one.
I wonder what I would be doing now in Brooklyn. I'd probably be at a party. Drinking. Surrounded by the royals in my school's heirarchy. Not because I had the slightest desire to be,but because I needed them. Their protection.
Even if none of them knew what they were protecting me from. Why I was so insistent on keeping my mother ignorant about everything we do. Why I'm so "uninterested" in social media. Why I never return any calls.
Yeah. The hunters could track us through calls somehow. Something I had to learn the hard way.
My near peaceful contemplation of the past is interrupted when I see something flicker at the edges of the dark side of the street, the side the lamp lights can't find.
I straighten,my eyes darting to that direction. I felt strangely unafraid.When you spend as much as time in shadows as I do,they become your asset. Your advantage. And besides,like I've done with every other place I'd ever been in I've learned each corner of this town. I have equal ground.
As the a distant figure comes closer into the light,its movement is quick and sharp and undoubtedly familiar. It's Evan.
He stops below my window and looks up. My breath catches.
Blood streaks his face,forming a scarlet line down his cheek to his chin. He signals for me to come down,movements urgent. His features are hard and harshly lined. The way they keep getting whenever he's concealing fear.
Heart pounding,I swing my legs off the window and race out of my room. I don't have any room for doubt. I may not trust Evan but I trust that he's a terrible deceiver.
Carson and mom look up from their dinner,eyes widening at my frantic state. Shit. I'll have to make up a story later.
I close the door behind me so they don't see Evan,bloodied up as he is. He's already walking away,not even bothering to wait for me. His pace is so fast,he's two steps away from running. I catch up with him.
"What is it?"
Evan's face couldn't get any more rigid. "Fabien." He says after awhile. I bite the inside of my lip,fear seeping into me.
"What about Fabien?" Last I'd seen him,he'd been picking Gail up from my house after I'd snuck her out. They'd left for the portal.
They must be back.
Evan's lips work soundlessly for awhile as if he's unable to find words. "It's the kind of the thing you have to see for yourself." He finally says.
In other words it's so bad he doesn't want to talk about it.
"Where are we going?"
"Ella's house."
An involuntary shiver runs through me. Something sickening takes over my stomach,turning it over. Whatever's up with Fabien,I'm sure I don't want to know.
We reach his aunt's house in no time,thanks to the short distance and our speed rate.
Evan pushes the door open and enters first. I follow,looking around briefly. The house is small on Ebony's standard.
Like the garage,it's messily cosy with random objects like screwdrivers and throw blankets lying around it's wooden floor and white couches. Such a contrast to my pristine trophy house with it's black and gold  decor.
The scent of blood hits my nostrils in a rush. I bite down on my lip even harder.
Fabien is splayed down on the floor of the room,a huge chunk of meat missing from his thigh. I gag. It's a clear rip. I can see straight to the bone.
A muscular,red haired woman crouches at his head with a first aid kit,looking grim. I tag her as Ella. Evan's aunt.
Fabien loses conciousness the moment I step in. He murmurs something that sounds like Not in front of her. If my stomach was turning over before now it's doing it at twice the rate. A memory threatens over to take over my mind,encouraged by the smell of blood. I push it away.
Gail is kneeling beside Fabien,her hands shaking hard as they clutch to one of his. She looks up at us,her eyes feral. Wild.
"What is she doing here?" She all but snarls at her brother. I get where she's coming from.They were supposed to let me know the moment they arrived in town,but I didn't expect they'd actually do that. And now? Calling me here at their weakest moment?
Evan just keeps suprising me.
Unfazed by Gail's words I kneel at Fabien's other side,trying,unsuccessfully to avoid his blood. It stains my jeans red.
"What happened?" I ask,reaching over to help the redhead with the bandages.
"Beast attacked us on our way back." Gail's voice is a little clearer. As if her blind anger at me is helping her see."Blue fur. Huge claws. I drove back here as fast as I can.I didn't know what else to do."
"Blue fang." I whisper under my breath. It's what I'd dubbed it. It's attacked me twice before. Although it'd been too small to hurt me that much back then. Like all the beasts before the huge one in the alley,it's main job had been tracking.
Looks like Fabien was wrong. They've muttated more than one beast.
Now the question is how.
"Why hasn't no one dialled 911?" I ask,looking around.
"We'd have to explain what happened,"Evan says,his hands on Fabien's wound,barely staunching the steady flow of blood.
"He's going to die if we don't,"I press on. Now is not the time for sugarcoating.
Gail looks up at me,conflicted. Unable to decide what was best for Fabien.
And since he's unconcious we're all waiting for her to make the final decision.
"Say a hyena or a wolf attacked you on your way back. They'll have no choice but to believe you. And if they investigate,you'll still be safe since it really is claws and teeth that did this." My voice is gentle. The look on her face is distrusting,but she pulls her phone out and dials anyway.
When the paramedics arrive,Gail insists on staying with Fabien. Apparently,he's an orphan. A ward of the state. Has no one else to call. I start to understand exactly why Evan thought it was a bad idea to get outsiders involved. The way Gail is evading questions about his home,I get the feeling that the hunters aren't the only things he's running away from.
Evan follows his sister out. "Where are you going?" His aunt snaps at him. Despite her harsh tone ther's a tremor in her voice.
Evan looks at his aunt. His features soften.
"Someone needs to find the beast. Don't worry,auntie,"he says,with an easy smile. "I'll be fine."
Our eyes meet for a second.
"Evan-"
He's already closed the door.
Ella takes in a jagged breath and stands. I do the same,silently.
"Did they find anything?"
I ask Ella,gingerly. I don't know where she stands in all of this.
"Gail said something about more portals." My heart just about stops. More portals. More ways in. More answers.
But it came with a price.
I glance at Ella.
Worry is etched into her face. For her niece and nephew or for Fabien,I can't tell.
She goes through the back door and reappears with two mops,one of which she expectantly hands to me. Together,we mop up the blood in silence,both lost in our own thoughts.
I'm closing up the first aid kit when she talks to me.
"Do you plan on hurting them?"
My hand stills on the kit's top. "No."
"Good. Because if you hurt any one of them-"
"I'm dead?"
"You'll wish you were."
I nod,unafraid and unsuprised. I have no intentions of betraying the Andrews or Fabien. Unless they betray me first.
"I need to change,"I say,looking down at my blood stained clothes. "Does Gail have clothes here?"
Turns out she has plenty. But although our height is almost the same,her build is much curvier than mine so even her skinny jeans look sorta baggy on me.
Also,her wardrobe mainly consists of t-shirts bearing sport quotes and varsities. The kind of stuff I never wear due to my complete disinterest in sports.
Nevertheless,explaining to mom why I'm wearing someone else's clothes will be easier than explaining why my clothes are stained with someone else's blood.
I close my eyes.
Don't die Fabien.