The Midnight Hunt

Chapter 2

The frigid air was getting to me, like little pricks of a needle jabbing my skin. Alice was ever so slightly shaking from the cold, Sylvia wasn’t showing that she even noticed the frigid air but, there was a look in her eye that only someone who knew her as well as I did could have seen that said she was cold. We walked for a while then, all of the sudden, I heard a noise, just the slightest sound of movement that stopped me dead in my tracks, and apparently the others had heard it too. Sylvia was the first to react, in one swift movement she turned and disappeared into the trees. Alice whispered very quietly “Come on.” She grabbed my wrist and dragged me away.

Eyes darting I continued on then, crunch, there it was again but, this time too close for comfort. But, I didn’t turn instead I sent a telepathic message to Sylvia “Sylvia, wait, wait…NOW!” then I heard a cry, spun, and saw Sylvia on top of a girl “Sylvia, it’s me, Flare, get OFF!” she cried.

Sylvia hopped off and said “Flare? Why were you sneaking up on us like that?!” Flare was a small elfish girl with Short blonde hair, bright energetic blue eyes, and a long orange dress that hugged her tightly out lining her hourglass figure.

I walked forward and said through clenched teeth “Why weren’t you at the clearing, where you were supposed to be!”

Alice actually defended her by saying “Oh don’t be so hard on her Bell, she’s just a kid.” It was the first time tonight I noticed how beautiful she looked, her hair up in a nice neat bun on top of her head, her tiara placed neatly in front of it, and her tight black and red knee high dress.

I turned on her and said “She is 15, which is only 1 year younger than us and the same age as Sylvia!”

She ignored me and looked at Flare “Why weren’t you at the clearing?” she said serenely.

Flare looked at me and said “I’m sorry Midnight,” that was my real name I was named after my grandmother, then she looked at Alice “I’m sorry Analice,” that was Alice’s real name it meant gentle protector “I was alone and I heard a wolf howl, it scared the hell out of me so I ran the opposite direction of the hound and climbed a tree, then saw you three so I climbed down and followed, I’m really sorry.”

I could tell Alice was thinking the same thing I was “Wait you heard the howl of a stinking mutt?” I turned to Alice and said “Why would they be in our territory?” she shrugged.

 I looked back to Flare questioningly she nodded and said “Yah, before I saw you guys I saw John chasing one out of our territory.”

My heart fluttered, John, my boyfriend, was back! “Alright, let’s go find the others.”

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One by one we found Lila, Joe, Nick, Crista, James, Jane, and Lexus but, we couldn’t find John or Sandy. The eleven of us went back to the clearing.

Five minutes into the meeting John came running into the clearing carrying something. I leaned over to Alice and said “Look how kind, he brought us a snack.”

Alice looked at me and said “That’s not a snack, I think it’s… Oh My God, it’s Sandy!” Alice turned toward Sylvia and said “Its Sandy!” Sylvia shot up and ran to meet her younger sister, her long hair flying behind with her long deep red dress flowing all around her. Alice and I ran after her followed by everyone else. When we got there John was putting down the limp body of my best friends sister, Sylvia was speaking to the head in her lap “Sandy, come on Sandy, say something.” She said while gently touching a long cut that went from the corner of her right eye following her jawline and ending at the point of her chin, tears making her eyes shimmer. The whole time John was holding me tight, James was embracing a crying girl who I realized was Jane, which was strange because she is a witch he is a vampire, Joe was holding Lila, also a strange witch vampire couple, Lexus was holding her crying sisters, Flare and Crista all three are shape shifters, Alice was trying to comfort Sylvia, Nick was just standing staring at the group.

”What happened?” I asked John.

As I examined the cuts, bruises, and bites on his arms as well as a long tear in his shirt I heard Sandy say “John saved me from some stupid hell hounds, now I get why they call them that.” She was pushing her sister away and rubbing a small bump on her forehead.

I turned as Sylvia, holding her sister tightly, looked up at John and said “Thank you.”

I turned back to John and whispered “You saved her?”

He looked down at me and smiled “All in a day’s work babe.” I rolled my eyes and gave him a kiss. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nick was staring at me, if I didn’t know better, I might say he had a look of longing in his eyes.

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“Okay, so you don’t remember how you got there?” I asked Sandy quizzically.

"Oh my god! I already told you, all I remember seeing is Flare running, I ran after her and then something hit my head, everything went black, the next thing I know I’m laying in a clearing watching John fight some damn mutts, he picks me up and starts running, him trying to keep me awake, then I here you ask what happened, and now here I am telling you the exact same god damned thing for the fifth time.” 

“Well, you’re still as sassy as ever so you’re not traumatized.” She rolled her eyes at me.

 “John can you lead me to where you fought the werewolves?” Nick asked.

I smiled at him “That’s a fantastic idea Nick!”

He smiled back “Thanks midnight.”

I looked at John who was glaring at Nick threateningly, I rolled my eyes, Nick and I have been friends since I was 3, John takes it as a threat when he smiles at me, “John can you lead us all?”

He looked at me his expression softening “Yeah,” He smiled “but we will have to run”, he eyed Flare, crista, Lila, Jane and Lexus.

Alice turned, “James will carry Jane, Joe will carry Lila, Nick can you carry Crista and Flare?”

She looked at Nick waiting for a response but got one from Flare “I am NOT being carried.”

“Okay Nick will carry Crista, Sylvia will carry Sandy,” she looked at Sandy, “You are in no shape to be running, and John will carry Lexus. How’s that?” she asked John. He gave two thumbs up. James picked up Jane both smiling wildly, Joe picked up Lila smiling and she giggled, Nick picked up Crista and went for Flare but she shifted into a cheetah and slunk away, Sylvia picked up a complaining Sandy, John gave me a kiss then walked over and picked up Lexus, I looked away for just a moment and when I looked back Lexus was looking at John with a look that reminded me of how Nick had looked at me when I had kissed John but, once she realized I was looking at her it was gone.

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Running through the woods, hair flying behind, leaves crunching under my feet, cold air whipping my face, this feeling was exhilarating.  

Running up between everyone I saw James and Jane were talking and laughing so were Joe and Lila, Nick was running along in silence while Crista blabbered on and on about how her ‘good for nothing’ ex-boyfriend dumped her for a human, everyone in the club new that she liked Nick, when he saw me he smiled and nodded in a ‘hello’ gesture, I could hear Sandy complaining that she was the only girl who Alice had a girl carry but I was focused on Flare.

 “Do you need help? I’m sure Nick can still carry you if not I can.”  She shook her head and twitched her head in a ‘Look ahead’ gesture. Looking ahead as I ran I saw a clearing and said, “Here we go.”