The Unknown

Chapter 11

The next couple of days were uneventful. Mikal and I began to meet at Drac's  on the rooftop patio to train. Alister has been enjoying torturing Chad and getting information from him. I haven't seen him since he gave me a sweet kiss at the bottom of the stairs after our date. He left me keys on the island for one of his cars and a list of things he wanted me to do the last few days. I didn't mind it, after all, we didn't have room for romance and feelings with the end of the world on the verge of happening. 

Today I got there after Mikal. He had a bluetooth speaker and had already moved the furniture. "Today, we're not gonna fight," He told me. I raised an eyebrow, "Then what are we gonna do?" "I'm gonna sit my happy ass in a chair and enjoy a beer, while I throw you random songs and I want to see if you can remember the dances you once had to learn to go with them. It's to test your reaction timing and endurance," He told me. I nodded, "Sure it is." He chuckled, "Let's get started." 

The music had attracted the attention of Nik, Clause, Tobias, Drac, and Locke. Mikal had switched it from ballet to hip hop to jazz to interpretive. He was all over the place with his song choices. "You're off beat on that one, pick it up Stormy," He would comment. Or he would say, "Slow it down." Or he would tell me, "That all you got? I guess a little over twenty years of dance lessons are just wasted now." He was having fun with it, and the smile and laugh I would give every now and then told me I was too. It had been so long since I've had fun. When I couldn't do it anymore I laid on the patio, panting, slick with sweat. "I think next time we'll work on your tumbling," Mikal said and suddenly a bucket of snow was being poured on me. I screamed and jumped up, shaking it out of my shirt while Mikal laughed his ass off. 

He saw my glare when I got done shaking out the snow. His smile dropped and he made a run for it. "Twenty on the girl," Drac said as I chased after him. I couldn't hear the rest as we went in. Mikal had made it to the living room when Ace and Alister came in. Mikal made a break for the door they left open and I went after him. Ace caught Mikal by the collar of his shirt while Alister caught me around the waist. "Damn it, looks like none of us win," Locke said as the others came in. "What is going on," Ace asked them. "Mikal threw a bucket of snow on Stormy, we bet she was gonna win," Drac said while pointing between him and Nik. "We bet on Mikal," Locke said while pointing to him and Clause. "I thought it childish," Tobias said with a shrug. 

I then took that as my chance and kicked Mikal where the sun doesn't shine. Ace let Mikal go as he dropped line a stone. "Foul," Mikal choked out. "You got snow in my bra," I snapped. "Foul my ass." Snow and breasts don't mix. EVER! He got what he deserved. "Damn, she did win," Locke said as he and Clause paid Nik and Drac. Alister let me go and I went to the fridge for a water bottle. 

"We need you to come with us," Alister said while looking at the others. "Our the kids coming," Nik asked. Alister shook his head,"The twins will be staying here." Alister then looked at me, "Refrain from killing your brother." "No promises," I told him. Mikal got off the floor, glaring at me and I gave him a sweet smile.

"Anything you break, will be coming out of your asses," Drac threatened. I saluted him and Alister gave me a bag, and I noticed it had clothes and toiletries for me to shower. I took the bag and went down to bathroom for a nice hot shower. When I got out the guys were gone and Mikal was impatiently waiting for his turn.

I plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. When Mikal came out he gestured for me to move. "No way," I told him. "Come on, move your fat ass," he said. "I was here first," I told him. He sighed and then sat on me. I struggled as I tried to get him off of me. The lights then flickered and we paused.

"Got your whip," he whispered as he slipped his gloves out of his pocket and slipped them on. Suddenly the lights exploded. We bolted up and I snatched up my whip. Suddenly there were tarantulas everywhere. Mikal screamed when they leaped at him. His arachnophobia was really going to be a problem. He used his flames on them but more replaced the ones he killed.

"There's a spectre somewhere," he told me. "They kill people using their fears against them," He said. "Where do you think we will find this spectre," I asked him, slashing at the spiders. "They can be anywhere," He said, trying not to panic. Bigger spiders that you would find in the Amazon began to appear and he just lost it. "Tell me sis, what is your fear," he asked me. "You don't really want to know," I told him. Our phones began to ring.

I answered it when I saw Alister's name on the screen, "Got a bit of a problem here." "We noticed, we can't get in," he told me. "We've got a spectre," I told him. "That explains the blasted spiders covering my damn bar," Drac yelled in the background. "Mikal and his arachnophobia," Ace sighed. I began to hear the laughter I really didn't want to hear.

I then felt a whip slam into my back and I dropped my phone. Mikal tackled the thing responsible for the whipping. Unfortunately with that spectre more than one began to show up, their whips slicing into my skin. "The original one is dead," Mikal told me. "It can never hurt you ever again." I was grabbed by the throat, "It seems pretty real to me." My shirt was then ripped from me as I tried to put up a fight. I bit back my screams as more whips tore into me.

My clothes began to be ripped as they laughed. I was covered in blood and slashes. I felt myself begin to panic as the memories began to hit. My breathing became erratic. I was then thrown while a few tackled me, when the door burst open. I heard growls and soon the things were being ripped from me. I was sore, my cheek stinging. Soon everything disappeared, except for our wounds. Those were very much real.

My body was covered in whip lashes. I don't think there was a part of me that wasn't hit by the whip. Alister was then crouch in front of me, his eyes scanning me. I was shaking from the horror of what happened, and I was in so much pain mentally and physically. He gathered me into his arms and stood with me. He didn't say anything as he carried me out of the living room. He sat me on a bed and he cupped my cheeks. His eyes were red from anger. "I shouldn't have left you," He whispered. "You were here, you should have been safe. Someone rewrote the runes Drac had around the place, and let the spectre in. Had we known-" I cut him off by putting my finger on his lips, "I don't blame you Alister." Tears then began to pour down my face and he pulled me to him. "Never again," He whispered to me. 

When I stopped crying he began to clean and bandage my wounds. He offered once more to make the new and old scars go away, but I shook my head. I will get through this, I told myself. I had too. 

Mikal's POV

I downed the shot Drac poured for me. "What the fuck happened to that girl to have a fear like that," Nik growled out. "I failed, is what happened," I told him coldly. "It's not your fault Mikal," Ace told me. "The hell it is," I snapped. "I knew these damn Others existed and didn't do a damn thing to ensure my parents and sister were fucking safe." "Your sister had been able to see them all her life and she didn't warn you about them," Ace told me. "Bullshit," I told him. "She tried telling me when we were younger. She would tell me, don't talk to them, they're a monster. I would always laugh at her, and tell her she was making shit up." I ran a hand through my hair angrily. "That thing had killed our parents and took her. Had her for a little over a week raping and torturing her. It broke my sister," I told them. "I finally got her to smile and laugh, proving my sister was still in there somewhere, but then that damn spectre shows up and brings her fear to life." I didn't expect the spectre to make so many of them. They were blocking me with their attacks, keeping me from getting to her. 

"What happened to it," Locke asked me. "Tortured it for a while before I killed it," I told them. "After I saved her, she hasn't been the same. I wasn't expecting her to be the same, but I wasn't expecting her to just be emotionless. Alister brings out her emotions though. Mostly anger and annoyance, but it's better than her not feeling at all." It's why I approved of him, even if I don't know what he is. He makes my sister feel, and after seeing the pain on his face when he picked her up from the floor, I knew she made him feel as well. They were good for each other, even if they refused to see it. 

The air was heavy and intense. One wrong move and a bomb was going to go off. So we just sat there in silence until Alister came down the stairs. "How is she," I asked him. "She's asleep. Some of the injuries were deep, but I got them to stop bleeding. Any idea who could have changed the runes," He asked Drac. "Madeline is the only one ballsy and skilled enough. She most likely did it because we took her precious apprentice." "Find her and bring her to me, by any means. I want her alive though," Alister told them coldly before going up the stairs. "Come on kid, time to get to work," Tobias said to me and I stood. The bitch was going to get it now. You don't fuck with my sister and get away.