Night Shade | The Lost Boys

Chapter Two

She could hear the whispers. The voices carried on the wind, caressing her face as she stood on the edge of a cliff. Bell had never seen a sight quite like this. A rocky cliff face lay just at her feet, the stones worn by water long ago and crumbling with every stiff breeze. Salt clung to the air and she could feel it brushing against her skin. Bell was sure if she licked her lips, the taste that would greet her would not be one of sweetness. Ocean as far as she could see was all her eye could comprehend. The sound of crashing waves echoed in her ears, the chaos that one wave could cause as it collided with the shore ensnaring her. Bell had almost forgot about the voices until she heard them again.

Are you coming home, flower?

That voice. She knew that voice. She knew that she was supposed to follow that voice. For the life of her, she could not place the owner. Her mind was fogging over. All coherent thought in her head was focused on finding the source of that voice. For the life of her, she could not understand the importance of it, but she knew that she had to follow. Taking one last look at the dark sea before her, Bell turned away from the ocean breeze and toward the fog that lurked behind her. Never had she seen fog so think. Bell was sure if she were to put her hand up in front of her face, she would not be able to see past the twisting fog that encircled her, its embrace chilling her to the bone.

Alone. Always alone. She was used to the feeling. Bell did not want to feel like that anymore. All she had ever wanted was acceptance. Complete acceptance. It was not like her family did not love her. She knew that they loved her in their own special way. Michael was her twin brother. He was older by one minute and it was a fact that he never let her forget. The bond between the two was strong and she relied on that bond often. Sam was the younger brother that was always there to offer a joke when she was feeling down but was otherwise doing his own thing. Despite their differences, the siblings always represented a united front and were quick to protect each other. Lucy, her dear mother, was the light of Bell's life. She had been her shoulder to cry on and was often there to pick up the pieces after a particularly hard day.

Cold. Bell was so cold. She rubbed her hand down her arm to ward off the chill that was quickly overcoming her. Putting one foot in front of the other, she began to wade her way through the fog that was quickly becoming thicker around her.

Come find us.

Are you even looking shorty?

Keep your path true little one.

The voices were flooding her head. Each one belonging to a different person. She couldn't place the voices to a face, but she knew that each one of them were important to her. Keeping up her march through the mist, Bell sought out the owners of the voices. Forcing away the chills that were running up her spine, she took another unseeing step only to have her feet meet nothing. Bell let out a horrified gasp and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the fog engulf her. However, she did not fall far. Twin bands of heat embraced her and pulled her into a cocoon of leather and spice with the slightest hint of copper. The smell was unique, and Bell found herself nuzzling closer. A rumble shook her, and she opened her eyes to see twin orbs laughing at her in silent contempt.

"David," the name left her in a sigh.

She reached up and encircled her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He leaned down and embraced her, his face nuzzling into her neck. She could feel others near, their heat offering her comfort. Twisting in David's embrace, she came face to face with the others. They all met her gaze head on. The smallest of the three smirked at her with mischief gleaming in his eyes. The next blonde looked fresh off of a Twisted Sister poster and had a roguish glint in his blue gaze. Eyes black as the night sky above them met her gaze and she found this one to be calm. His eyes said more than words ever could. Bell had never been introduced to these men yet she found their names at the tip of her tongue.

Marko. Her eyes trailed to the tall blonde. Paul. Her head turned toward the silent companion to her left. Dwayne. She never spoke their names aloud yet she could see them react to her whispered thoughts. They came closer to where she held in David's embrace.

David.

She had nearly forgotten about him which was an odd thing to say considering that he was holding her in his arms, the leather of his trench coat bringing her comfort. His eyes held an appreciative gleam in them as they raked over her face. Bell was used to her appearance given that she saw it everyday in the mirror. Her features were on the petite side and her mother often called her a doll as a joke because of it. Underneath the waning moon, her pale skin seemed to glow a luminescent alabaster against the coarse material of his sweater. Eyes like beaming emeralds cut through David's own light gaze. Her grandfather would always call them gypsy eyes. Michael had not been blessed with his twin's eyes neither had Sam. Bell was a tiny thing. She knew this and was ridiculed for it most of her life. Her height was a miniscule 5'3 which was small compared to a normal person. Standing within the circle of David and the others, that 5'3 seemed a lot smaller in comparison to their towering frames. She bit her bottom lip, a flash of ivory against a plush ruby, as she looked up at David. Bell could feel the others getting closer and yet she did not feel fear. No, she felt something akin to righteous. This felt right. This moment felt like an awakening of sorts. It was almost as if she was meant to be in this moment. She was meant to be right there with them, held in the arms of her dark stranger, surrounded by faces unknown yet welcome.

"You feel it don't you, Belladonna?"

David's voice cut through her subconscious haze and she felt herself nodding in response to his question. She did feel it. She felt the perfect clarity of the moment within her very bones, right down to her very core. This is what belonging feels like.

"Why do I feel like this, David? How do I know the others yet I have never met them before?"

Her questions were quiet amongst the stillness of the air. Bell had not noticed until that very moment that the ocean waves had silenced long ago and the fog had begun to clear. It seemed like the presence of the boys chased away all else. The others drew closer to her and David. She could feel them encircle them, tying them all together. Never before had Bell this connected to someone or in this case multiple people. David grasped her chin in his leather gloved clad hand and pulled her closer to him. Leaning down, his nose brushing against her own, he rasped against pale skin at the corner of her lips, "You're home, flower."

In that instant, the calm of the night was broken by a crack of thunder so loud that it caused Bell to screw her eyes shut on instinct. Opening her eyes not even a second later, she found that she was all alone on the cliff edge and the sounds of the crashing ocean waves began to fill her ears once more with their distressed melody.

Come find us.

Bell Emerson bolted upright in her bed, a cold sweat covering her skin like a fine film and causing the long sleep shirt she had on to stick to her uncomfortably. She was gasping for breath as she pushed her ebony curls back from her dewy face. Screwing her eyes shut, she shook her head and looked to the clock on her bedside table. In bright red letter, the clock read four am. Collapsing back on her bed, she tried to retain some semblance of reason in her head. That was no simple dream.

Getting up from her own bed, Bell found herself walking the path down the hallway that led to her twin brother's room. It was a known fact in the Emerson household that if one twin could not be found it was because they were with their other counterpart. It was a rule that had been proven true time and time again over the years. Creaking the door open, Bell found her brother laying on his back staring up at the ceiling, his own gaze seeming heavy in the early hours of the morning. The instant she pushed the door open, his gaze found her own and he smiled the small smile he only reserved for her.

"Can't sleep?"

Bell shook her head at her brother as she crawled into the other side of the Queen sized mattress that Michael had claimed as his own in the move.She did not want to speak about what she saw. She wanted to keep what had happened in her dream to herself. Michael would not understand. Bell had lived her life following her gut. It had never led her wrong. Her dream only proved that fate was playing a hand in Santa Carla. Nuzzling her head into Michael's shoulder, Bell had one single thought running through her head.

I'm coming boys. I promise.