Shadow Bound

The Fam

My thoughts went insane. I remained quiet the entire way back to the house. Damien understood, a lot was probably on his mind too. We both just trudged silently, keeping an eye out for any signs of The Troubled sneaking up on us. I thought about the amount of trouble he was in. He was asking for death by helping me, but without my help, he wouldn't know how to handle them. Heck, I don't even know how to handle them. I've just learned from experience that they aren't the best at playing hide and seek. They give up quickly, slinking off into the corner to steal someone else's mojo. That one guy that killed them with the green fire is the only person that I've ever seen that could actually KILL them. What did he use in the fire to kill them though? I know that you can either use borax, alum, or copper sulfate to make the flame green, but there were also a lot more chemicals that could cause that reaction, and any of those could be the chemical that kills them. This could get a lot more complicated than it needs to be. I thought about Damien's family. I hoped that they were okay. I doubt that they would get attacked, but if we wait long enough, they could go to them in an attempt to find Damien. I made it a goal to check on them before the end of the day. We needed to think of a plan though. Maybe he knew Matt. Once we got back to the house, I'll talk to him about it.
He seemed to calm a little at the sight of the house. It was familiar to him, while his mind was drowning in the unknown. He knew what is was, he knew that it had actual substance, while everything else felt like a waking nightmare. I was in the same boat as him years ago, I knew what was going through his head.
"We'll just relax in here for a few, then think of a plan, okay? Make yourself at home, as well as you can. The place isn't very cozy, but it works. Just relax, take a nap, do whatever. I'll keep watch."
"No, I'm fine, trust me," He tried to smile as an attempt at showing me he was alright with what was going on.
"I was in the same boat you were, It's confusing. Take it slow, don't try to process all at once, that'll just make you paranoid. I think that's what happened to Matt. He saw them and freaked out about it, and that's what caused him to disappear. Just take it slow." I explained as we approached the house. I admit, it was a safe feeling, it was familiar to me, and held meaning to me as well. I calmed down a bit at the sight of it, my breath slowing to a relatively normal pace. I smiled, glad that I didn't have to deal with very much for the next couple minutes while he thought. It gave me time to think as well. I needed to figure out how this was going to work with him.
It was going to take time to get used to having another person actually listening to me, and knowing what I was talking about. Most of the time, people ignore me and go on with their life. I was used to being solitary, It was comforting at some points. Plus, now I have to watch another person, make sure that they don't get killed or turned. I would have to make sure that he was mentally stable-- or at least well enough to function when we're being attacked. The Troubled have never been this active, at least towards me. That could mean I'm close to Matt. That would also mean they are as well. The upside was that I had someone else to watch my back, and had second opinions just in case something I wanted to do was just a little too stupid. This could be a good idea. I was going to let him either way, there's no way I'm leaving him alone with them on his tail. I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He was continuously running his hand through his hair, and tapping on his left leg. His nervous tick. It was strange, yet comforting. Something about him was so comforting, like he had been an amazing friend for years. The poor guy had no clue what was going to happen to his life, he will never lead the normal life he wanted. Trust me, I tried for a while. Didn't work. I couldn't help but smile, thinking about how awesome it would have been if Dalton were here to help. He would know what to do, he usually did. When he didn't, he would do what Damien did. Pace. Sooner or later, he'd yell my name, explaining his intricate plans on how to infiltrate the neighbors house or scare our parents.
I allowed him to pace for a few more minutes, missing the whole "AH HA" moments escaping someone's mouth and into the world. After that didn't happen, I decided to break the silence.
"So," I started, clearing my throat. He ceased his pacing, looking up from the ground to my eyes, then looking down again. "Do you think you can help me find who I'm looking for? Have you seen someone with bleach blond hair, and bright blue eyes? He would be relatively tall, and really skinny? I don't really know how else to describe him, I haven't seen him since I was a little girl."
"I know you're not talking about me, but it sounds like me..." He chuckled, running his fingers through the center of his hair again.
"No, but you two could kind of look alike, potentially!" Interesting... I knew he wasn't Matt. That'd be kind of cool though. Made it super easy for me. But it wasn't.
"No, I don't really know how else to describe him besides he would be super paranoid, constantly looking around, very VERY jumpy,"
"Doesn't sound familiar at the moment, something could come later though. I'll keep sifting through my memory and tell you if I find anything," He laughed, proud of his attempt at lightening the mood.
"Okay, we should probably check on your parents then. Make sure The Troubled didn't get to them yet. Would that be alright? Can you lead me there?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I really hope they're okay. Do you think we could hurry? You've got me worried now." He started towards the door, motioning me to follow him. I trotted next to him, ready for a fight if needed. I really wished that I knew how to kill these things, though. I'll think of something.
The walk wasn't a quick one, despite the outrageous speeds that Damien reached without even starting a jog. It was quiet, as he was too focused on where he was going and getting there before anything else did. The sun beat down on us, warming my pale skin a little past comfortable. A burn wouldn't be too bad. I hid under the shadows of trees (the friendly ones) and jumped from shade to shade to avoid getting too crisp. He didn't seem to mind, but I'd hear a small chuckle escape from his throat every now and then, and he'd receive a weak hit to the arm in response. There was a slight breeze, which felt amazing. I decided to start a little conversation to soothe his nerves.
"So what was your life like?" I asked, hoping for a life story to take his minds off of things.
"It was good. I played lacrosse and soccer. My parents were super cool. I got great grades, I was lined up to go to University of Oregon, and I had a lot going for me. Do you think all of that could still happen? I mean, I still haven't finished school yet. We're just on a break right now. I really liked what I had," He looked down at his shoes as he walked, his voice lessening with each word that he spoke. Bad topic.
"I think it could, we just need to sort this stuff out before your break ends. How long do you have?"
"Two weeks."
"That could work," I soothed, even though it was a total lie. This had been going on for several years, I doubt we could stop it in two weeks, even if we were actually given the chance. I just needed to keep his spirits high.
"Okay, thanks. I'll help anyway I can. What was your life like?" He asked, looking up a little.
"I don't remember too much. I had an amazing family that got along great, I loved to draw and my brother was my best friend," I replied, not revealing what happened. I'm planning on saving that for a later date, as we could be walking into the same scenario when we got to his house.
"Was? What do you mean, was?" Oh, no.
"We got separated. It's a long story, that I'd rather not tell. He was amazing, I really miss him." A large smile spread across his face, but he remained quiet. "What's that huge smile for?"
"Nothing, I'm just glad you and your brother had a relationship like that. It's rare for siblings to get along that easily," He shook his head, laughing.
"Do you have any siblings?" I asked, hoping that if he did, they weren't at the house.
"No, I'm an only child."
"Oh, how was that?"
"It was alright, lonely at times. But if I needed help from my parents, I never needed to compete with another sibling." He nodded, thinking, reminiscing. I felt bad for bringing up his past, but he was noticeably calmer than before. He slowed down, and wasn't constantly scanning the area.
"Well that's good, my brother was older so he'd always help me. He was rare that way. I remember hearing stories from other girls in my school that had older brothers. All of the stories were negative, saying how much they hated their brothers and their brothers hated them and treated them horribly. I never got it, because my brother never treated me like that, and I loved him more than anyone else in this planet,"
"That's amazing, I'm glad you two had such a strong bond. Can I ask where he went?" He approached a fine line. I decided not to cross it, not quite yet.
"I'd rather not talk about it, honestly. Sorry, it's just a tough subject for me," My cheeks burned, that was so awkward.
"I understand, it's totally cool. I apologize for asking." He looked back down to his feet. I would tell him, but I wanted to wait until AFTER we made sure his parents were okay.
When we finally got there, the house was quiet. I could tell that this wasn't normal because Damien cocked his head slightly, his eyebrows furrowed. We slowly approached, hoping that everything in there was alright. I put my hand on the doorknob, feeling the cold metal against my hands. I thought of all of the possible scenarios that could be going on when I got in the house. They could be being attacked, being ambushed. perfectly fine, or already dead. I held my breath as I turned the knob, cringing as I opened the door.