Tomorrow Never Dies (Moonlight 3)

Chapter 32-Back In Time

I was petrified. I knew I'd run off. I knew I wasn't supposed to. Their words had terrified me. They'd taken me from everything. They'd known I was different.

Michael had promised me we'd be safe here. Yet as I look around at the dark bricked walls, I start to wonder. He'd been gone for a little while and I worry about just where he'd gotten off to. I frowned as I looked to the machine that was beeping and whirring beside me. They'd hooked it up just after we'd come here. I wanted to scream and cover my ears from the awful noise.

I wanted to run away again.

The door opens, and the small blonde boy walks in unaccompanied. He seems glad to be here; he sits right down beside me.

"I don't like this Michael. You said they'd take me home." I told him quietly, fiddling with a loose string on my jacket.

"They will. Your mum's going to be here soon." He assured me. "You're back with the hunters now. You're safe."

"I don't want to stay here." I said with wide pleading eyes that were almost on the verge of tears. I didn't care that I was back with the hunters, I hated this room and this place. Couldn't we find somewhere else to wait?

'It's okay. They just want to make sure your all better. Besides you're here with me.' He smiled. I blinked at him, realising that he was talking to me still, but it sounded like it was in my head not with spoken words. He took my hand, 'You're not alone.'

I nodded to him. He was the only thing that stopped me from running right out of there and finding my mother myself.

***********************

"What a feast!" The pigtailed girl grinned, her pockets lined with food carefully wrapped in napkins, the blonde-haired boy that walked in front of me carried a pile in his arms, earning him strange glances from the adults. I walked behind the two of them with my own pockets lined. The three of us moved to sit on the large picnic blanket set up to the side of the party. There were dozens of people here. I had no idea what for, just that we had lots of food. They were mainly adults and they took over most of the grassed area. There was a group of older kids who were playing soccer over the other side. Balloons and streamers had been strung all over the lining of the fence.

"You've got that right." Michael agreed as he sat down beside her. I nodded, sitting between them as we laid all the food out in front of us.

The three of us were a trio, our families spent a lot of time together, so we did as well. I also knew that out of everyone here these kids were the most like me. I eyed off the food unsure what to start with. I decided on one of the cinnamon donuts and began to eat.

We hadn't been there long when I noticed there was little kid trotting over towards us. He was one of the other adults' kids, and much too young to be hanging around with us. He was at least two years younger and he could barely talk. I turned away doing my best to ignore him.

"Cake!" I heard a delighted yell and I turned, just as the small boy reached forwards and took it into his two hands. Scooping it up in big hungry globs. Bits of cake flew everywhere, landing all over his clothes and face as well as all of us. Mei scowled at him silently fuming.

"Lauchie!" The three of us yelled at the young child as he shoved the large piece of Chocolate cake in his mouth in whole slabs. A young woman raced over quickly picking him up and removing him. I could hear her scolding him as she dragged him away.

As they left three of us exchanged glances and cracked up laughing as the kid tried to make every effort to escape from her clutches. She was much stronger than he was though, and the two disappeared into the crowd.

"We can get some more." Michael smiled already standing up and heading towards the table.

"Yeah, come on." Mei nodded, ushering for me to follow before quickly trailing after him. I stood and tried to catch up with them.

*************************

This had to be the best feeling in all the world. My hands gripped on tightly to the metal linked chains. I grinned over at Ben who was on the swing beside me, managing to push himself. I scowled behind me at the blonde behind me. Ben was getting much higher than I was.

"Push me higher!" I demanded to the unfamiliar, but familiar blonde who was pushing me on the swing.

"You sure Lukey?" He asked with a small grin.

"Push me higher!" I demanded again.

The boy shook his head, letting out a small chuckle. His eyes glowed with golden and I felt an intense pressure from behind me as he pushed the swing much harder than he had be. I grinned and squealed in delight as I overtook my brother.

Then I heard the yell of my mother, the swing came to an abrupt stop. I looked back in confusion.

"Jack, what were you thinking?" I heard her yell.

"Luke just wanted an extra push. It's okay. No one saw." He smiled at her.

My mother bit on her lip, she let out a sigh, before looking him directly in the eyes with a look that was sympathetic but also full of worry, "Okay but please don't do it again. If someone saw..."

"They won't." He nodded.

My mother nodded, and she walked away and sat back on the other side of the park watching us. Though I noticed the way her eyes held on my brother as if they were waiting for him to do the wrong thing.

"Come on guys, let's go play on the slide." He spoke, helping me out of the swing. I blinked in confusion as my brother lead the two of us over towards the slide. My mother was still watching us like a hawk, but suddenly my thoughts became more about the slide than anything I'd seen.

****************

My eyes were glued to the screen, as I mindlessly munched on the popcorn. Michael was sitting beside me as we watched the cartoon.

There was the noise of a clicking in a lock, then a slam of a door. Both Michael and I sat up exchanging glances. That wasn't from the cartoon. I turned towards the hallway to the door, as my brother came storming into the room. He wildly dumped his backpack on the ground, his eyes searching the room. I gasped noticing how they were red, and how his form seemed to be trembling as he paced. Was there something wrong?

"Where's mum?" He demanded to the two of us.

Michael moved closer to me, and I remained silent. A sense of wrongness in my stomach.

"I'll ask again, where's mum?" He yelled, much louder this time.

"I don't know." I spoke quietly, he was scaring me. She was around somewhere, perhaps out in the garden, but I wasn't sure. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to me, as he started sifting through objects in the room, letting out the occasional low growl. I stuck close to Michael neither of us moving from our beanbags as the movie played on in the background behind us. We were both watching him intently instead.

"Dammit Luke. Where is she?" He growled turning to us.

"I don't know." I repeated. I looked to Michael for help, but he looked at me and shrugged.

I heard footsteps and my mother appeared from around the hallway.

"I'm right here. What's the matter?" She spoke, she froze as he turned to her. Her jaw dropped to the ground and she stared at him wide eyed.

My brother's entire expression changed as he glared across at her. "Did you know?" He simply asked.

"Know what?" My mother asked in a trembling voice, her skin beginning to pale.

"Of course you knew. I bet you were even one of the ones behind it." He growled, his hand reaching for the vase on the shelf. He threw it towards her, barely scrapping her on the side of her arm. She stared at him in disbelief. It turned to a commotion after that. Michael and I lumped into the bean bags, as objects flew and shattered around the room. I grabbed for Michael's hand which was cool and clammy.

"Boys, go!" My mother yelled to us as she ducked and weaved around the objects my brother threw in her direction.

Neither of us moved though, both of us were frozen solid. I wanted to protect her, but I was petrified. I had no idea what was wrong with my brother or why he was doing this. He loved our mother. Why? I knew the answer had to be in the red glowing of his eyes. I'd seen them flash golden before, but everyone had always called it his special feature, as if it were a birthmark or a scar from an injury.

My brother turned back to us. There was hesitation in his eyes for a moment, and he dropped the vase he was holding, it shattered to the ground beside him.

"You don't want to do this. You're scaring them." She glared at him, her voice calm and soothing, "What's wrong with you?"

"I found out the truth." He growled back at her, he marched directly over to her, and she somehow managed to barely flinch, "I know what Lin's been seeing me for. I've had enough. I don't want to be part of this any longer. Are you happy now? Here I am just another one of your monsters."

"Luke, Michael. Get out of here right now." My mother frowned, barely looking at my brother, there was a large amount of pleading in her expression, "Go."

I shook my head, I could feel tears threatening my eyelids. She was going to get hurt I couldn't just leave. She stepped towards us.

"Stay away from them." He growled standing in front of us, protectively and blocking my mother's path. "I'll protect both of them from you all. I'm going to take them both far away from here, where you hunters will never find them."

"We're doing what's best for all of you." My mother spoke, "Let's talk about this before you do something you're going to regret."

"No, you're not doing the best for any of us." He growled, "You hide me, you make me train to hide my nature. You watch Luke, Michael and I like hawks, like we're time bombs that are about to go off at any moment."

"You know why I have to, to make sure no one gets hurt and that no one finds out. What would someone think if they saw your eyes glowing?" She shook her head. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"What because I'm a monster? It's your fault I'm this way anyway."

"You can't do this. Where will you go? You're just kids."

"I can. I hate you. I hate what you've done to me." He narrowed his eyebrows, "Maybe I can save them before their old enough to realize."

Hunters stormed the room, quickly surrounding him. Before I could realise what was happening Michael grabbed my arm and he dragged me into the nearby dining room. We hid under the dining room table covering our ears and huddling so we couldn't see what was going on. I could faintly hear things being thrown around, angry yells. Suddenly there was a loud noise like a gunshot, then a painful moan. I heard a pained yell, and mutters and screams of no, over and over. My bottom lip wavered, and Michael pulled me into a hug as I closed my eyes tighter.