Beyond the Fairy Gate

Chapter 8

Jake, Nathan, Ryan

Jake, Nathan, and Ryan stopped their movement in the parking lot. Jake turned and grinned to see that Nathan and Ryan were grinning back.

"So, where is this girl?" Ryan asked as he looked at the school.

"She should be in class currently. Her name is Morgan Richman. She has long red hair and green eyes. In this world, she's called a cheerleader, from what I understand. They cheer on the sports teams. She is very much in shape and is rather attractive."

"Just like the description, it looks like we might finally find her." Jake smiled weakly, and Nathan noticed a pang of pain in his eyes before he quickly covered it up.

"I haven't been able to talk with her yet; I should have worked faster." Ryan clapped Jake on the shoulder.

"Regrets are for the past; now we need to make sure that she gets out of here okay."

"Yeah, I guess you're right...I cast a melding skill this morning, so it should still be in effect. Just try not to stand out too much." Ryan and Nathan both took turns, and one after the other looked to Jake's eyes as they acquired the correct way to act for the meld skill to work correctly.

"Doesn't seem too hard," Nathan mumbled.

"Nope," Ryan grinned.

"Alright, let's go," Jake said over his shoulder as he started to walk towards the doorway. However, he froze, seeing Nyline staring out one of the hallway's windows. Her headphones were down around her neck, her mouth was open slightly, and she was gripping her phone so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. He also noticed that her shirt had some blood on it. She seemed completely unaware of her surroundings, which was odd. From the small amount of time that he had spent with her, she was always alert. Her eyes seemed to be out of focus as she gazed out the window.

"Nyline, are you okay?" She jumped, spinning to look at him. He was sure he could see fear in her gaze, which made him walk closer to her. "You look a little pale, and you have blood on your shirt." Nyline looked from Jake to Nathan, then Ryan looking slightly confused.

"Hello, Jake... and others..." She glanced out the window again before she plastered a smile on her face, "I'm fine. I hit my head on my desk and got a bloody nose. Plus, I have a family emergency, so I'm heading home." Nyline paused as she looked at them before she raised her hand, palm out. "You need to head back to class, or the teacher is going to be looking for you guys." She mumbled. Jake paused for a moment as it felt as though something pressed against his mind before it left him.

"Yeah, yeah, we're heading back now." Jake grinned

"See ya," Nathan and Ryan spoke at the same time. The three of them turned and started to walk down the hallway.

"I wonder what she was looking at," Nathan mumbled as he looked out the nearest window before he stopped dead in his tracks. "Jake," He grabbed Jake's arm and pulled him to the window. Jake's jaw dropped to see a darkling sitting on the football field as if it was waiting for something. Its head was cocked to the air as if it was sniffing. Apart from the shadows that were rippling along its back and paws, it was utterly still.

"Jake, who was that girl?" Ryan said suddenly as he looked back at the hallway to see that she had vanished.

"That's Nyline, she's a girl I met, but we should get back to class." Jake paused for a moment as he shook his head and looked at Nathan and Ryan. "Class?" They shrugged at him. "Why were we heading to class?"

"It seemed like a good idea," Nathan spoke before he shook his head as if he was trying to clear the fog.

"Excuse me!" The voice made all of them jump as they spun around and looked at the jogging man heading towards them. He had short black hair and almost black eyes. "Have you seen a girl named Nyline?" They all stared at him for a moment; none of them had heard him approach.

"Who are you?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow at him; he looked shocked.

"I'm her uncle? You must be new here. Have you seen her or not?" Jake looked at the man for a long moment.

"I think she headed home; something about a family emergency?" Jake spoke after a slight pause; the man sighed, one hand running through his hair.

"She's gonna get herself killed." He mumbled more to himself than to them. "anyways, thanks!" He spoke as he turned. Jake blinked, and he was gone. They all stared at the spot where the man had been.

"Was that a scout?" Nathan yelled out as he looked at Jake, whose mouth was open. Ryan crossed his arms on his chest as he sent a message to Rebecca. Nathan's eyes were back out the window as he took in a sharp breath.

"It's gone." Nathan turned his shocked eyes onto Jake as he spoke.