The Forest's Secrets

Chapter Eighteen: Odd

"Go on, test me", Taime demanded.

Brooks thought for a short while, then he sighed and sarcastically said:"There's a secret room underneath the cabin in the woods."

Taime jumped up and yelled:"Just because you don't believe a thing, doesn't mean it's not real!"

"What?", Brooks asked confused.

The boy seemed ready to attack him, as Ali took his fist in her hands. "He didn't know", she said quietly. Then she continued loudly:"There is a room. It's unaccusable, but it exists."

"Ali", Taime sighed.

"I know", she replied.

Brooks stood up. "We're going there, Fate your coming too. The boy you brought can go home", he announced.

Ali sighed and asked Taime:"Do you have some spare ones?"

Taime nodded and picked his cloak up. He pulled out a few clothes, a skin colored undershirt, a light purple button-up and some white dress pants.

"Finally, normal clothes!", Ali sighed as she took the pieces of fabric out of the boys hands. "I'll go to the bathroom, and then straight to the car", she announced as she walked past Brooks.

The officer wanted to hold her back, but Taime stopped him. "Let's wait at the car. She'll be there", the boy explained, as Ali walked down the hall and turned a corner.

A few minutes later, all four people were in front of Brooks car. The officer had sent a team ahead, they were going to come after.

As Ali walked towards them, the man could have sworn she was a different person. Everything feminine about her seemed to have disappeared.

"How do you do that?", he asked as they drove off, Fate sat in the passenger's seat and the white haired teens were in the back.

"Do what?", Alistor asked back.

"You don't seem female anymore", Brooks explained.

As Taime started to giggle again, Alistor explained:"I hide it. I'm not sure if it would have still been this way if I was normal, but it changes and so I act."

"So your gender changes?", the man kept asking.

"Yes", Ali groaned.

"And yours, Taime?", the officer continued.

"Nope", he replied," I'm a boy."

Fate stood quiet the whole time. As they arrived, she immediately got out of the car. But she didn't know where to go, she knew she had to go to the cabin, but didn't want to. And so the girl just waited until Brooks let the other two teenagers out, he had the child locks on.

A few minutes later, they caught up with the rest of the team, who were looking for anything suspicious inside or outside the cabin.

"The scissors really weren't here?", Ali asked as Brooks lead the three teenagers inside the wooden building.

"No, I couldn't find them", Taime replied.

"When were you here?", Brooks joined into the conversation.

Ali smiled and said:"I did a really good job distracting you."

Brooks shot her an angry look, but the kid just smiled back. "What do you need the scissors for anyways?", the officer asked.

Taime replied:"My hair is growing out. So we were going to cut it."

As Taime talked to the policeman, Fate couldn't help but stare at Ali. She opened the closet's door and took out the different clothing, putting it on the floor carefully. She just worked, ignoring the officers trying to hold her back. As one of them grabbed her, Taime seemed to just appear out of thin air, pulling the man back.

As the closet was empty, Ali climbed inside. "Brooks, you might wanna look at this", she called.

The officer leaned down and saw that the back of the closet had a metal plate at one part. Ali knocked against it, the space behind didn't seem to be big.

"Closed shut and sealed off", she explained.

"No way to get in or out", Taime continued.

Ali quickly climbed out of the closet again. Brooks tried to help her, but as he touched her arm, the girl immediately pulled back and lost her balance. Before she could fall to the dirty floor, the boy caught her. Taime touched her for seconds at most, but a moment later the girl stood on her feet again.

"Thanks", she growled breathless, then she shot the officer an angry look.

"Was the room filled up or just closed off?", Brooks asked, ignoring Ali.

As Taime wanted to reply, the other white haired teen yelled:"Fate I need your phone please!" Ali sounded worried and anxious.

Brooks wanted to complain, all the other officers seemed alarmed of the fact that the kid decided to speak up. Fate handed her the phone, and the girl quickly typed in a number.

A few long and silent moments later, someone seemed to pick up, Ali said:"Sally, great. Where's mom?"

The other girl seemed to reply something, then the older sibling continued:"Great, that's nice to know. But you have to take her to the hospital right now."

The silence that filled the cabin was pressing. Ali sat down on the floor as she waited for Sally to give her ok. Then she said:"Mom, I'm sorry. Just trust me."

"You know that I'm usually right, just go there!", the girl yelled a few seconds later.

Then she took a deep breath and said:"Sorry, I'm just worried. Please go, I'll come too."

A few moments later, she handed Fate her phone back. "I'm leaving", Ali announced coldly.

Brooks got a hold of her wrist before she could leave. "You're not."

"Yes I am", Ali hissed back.

"Even if you leave now, it'll take you hours to be at the hospital!", Brooks argued.

Now Taime chimed in:"Alistor needs five minutes to be there, at most. When will you be back?"

The girl thought for a moment, then said:"Thirty minutes."

Taime's eyes lit up and he excitedly said:"I get to play hostage now!"

Ali laughed at that, then tore her arm out of Brooks' grip. "Stop touching me", she growled.

Then she turned around and quickly left.