Abdo fell back, landing on his seat.
He gazed at the book in his hands and let out a sigh. "Looks like I’ll need to gather a lot of things.” With a satisfying crack, he turned his neck to the left and straightened up. “
Alright," he declared, sitting tall and regaining his focus. "We’ll divide ourselves into three groups,” he said, raising a few fingers for emphasis.
“Umm, you haven’t explained what N's&R actually is,” I chimed in, holding my book up with one hand.
“Well,” Abdo replied, tilting his head slightly, “just remember it’s a school.” He leaned in closer, “You’re going there to track down the two Dreams, and since you and your sister share a connection to a dream,” he huffed with a sense of urgency, “this could be a piece of cake.”
“Then why am I included?” Alpha interjected, catching everyone’s attention.
“If the dream at N's&R has formed a bond with a human being, that poses a significant issue,” Abdo stated.
“But with your abilities,” he continued, rising to his feet, “you could easily handle anything that comes up with humans, if I’m not mistaken.”
"I see your point", Alpha said, "I'll go".
Rum clapped loudly, spinning around until he landed near Alpha. "Better get your back-to-school accessories," he said.
My eyes widened as the realisation hit me, "Wait, are we gonna have to do homework, tests-"
Then Chanel covered my mouth.
She looked at Abdo, "You said something about splitting ourselves before, right?"
Abdo nodded, "Splitting ourselves into three groups. But this will only work if Alpha and Hunter live a bit near to each other".
They both nodded.
"We do".
"Where else would he get sugar?"
Rum sat on the countertop near Abdo, smiling, "I think I know what you've got in mind bestie".
Abdo sighed.
"Well, this is quite simple", Abdo added, "And I hope all of you can remain calm when I say this".
We all looked at him.
"It better not be weird", Chanel said.
He took a deep breath. "Alpha will stay with Chanel", He added.
"HUH?!", we all went.
"I will stay with Rum and Kareen while Hunter stays with Dove, that's all".
We didn't let him breathe.
"What are you talking about, stay where?", Chanel asked.
"Do I even have a choice?", Kareen muttered.
"One question at a time", Abdo begged.
Chanel raised her hands, I guess we had to do this the kindergarten method.
“Where are we supposed to stay?” she inquired.
“In their homes,” Abdo replied.
“Dove is at Hunter's place, I’ll stick around here with that thing and Kareen, and you know where you’ll be,” she remarked.
“And why are we doing this, exactly?”
“Training,” Rum chuckled as he jumped down from the counter.
“The supernatural kind,” he whispered, in Chanel's ear.
He pulled back slowly, “You get it now, right? Hand-in-mouth?”
“Yeah, whatever,” she responded.
“Now the real question is: why this setup?” I chimed in.
“Do you think Chanel and Hunter would make a good pair?” Abdo inquired.
I started to picture it—Hunter and Chanel—and I realised I couldn’t let Chanel end up in jail for murder.
“Okay,” I said. “It’s decided.”
We turned to Hunter, who gave us a nod.
Then we looked at Alpha.
“Any objections?” Rum asked him.
He shook his head, “I don’t really care.”
Rum reached for the handkerchief peeking out of Alpha’s pocket, preparing to dab at his imaginary tears, then pulled it back.
“Don’t ever touch this again,” he warned.
Suzy.
Those were the letters on it.
"Who's Suzy?", Rum asked, before his eyes lighted up and he leaned closer, "Is she your girl-"
"That's enough", Hunter said.
Rum stopped talking, though the curiosity was definitely killing him, you could see it in those eyes of his.
Abdo looked at us and cracked his fingers. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think it's about time you guys left".
I looked at the sky and nodded, "I'd better get some sleep".
We walked through the corridors of the palace, trying to be as quiet as we could, everyone was still sleeping by now.
"BE QUIET!, AS QUIET AS YOU CAN!", Rum screamed as we moved.
He claimed that if anyone woke up to his voice, they wouldn’t really care. It was essentially his trademark.
Chanel shot him an irritated glance and retorted, "That doesn’t give you the right to try waking the dead."
I glanced back and forth between them, pleading with them to shut up.
Chanel fell quiet, yet occasionally shot Rum a withering glare.
Eventually, we arrived at the exit doors. “BYE!!!” Rum called out, waving energetically.
With a playful wink toward Chanel, he grinned and said, “Don’t forget, I helped you find Dove. You remember our deal?”
She rolled her eyes at his wink and replied, “Don’t worry, princess. Just wait for me.”
He chuckled, placing a finger between his teeth and said, “Bye dudes.”
And then it was just the four of us: Alpha, Chanel, Hunter, and me.
Fallen Woods, 4AM
"Why do you two live in the woods?", Chanel asked, it seemed her foot had begun to ache..
"We want to", Alpha said.
Hunter stopped in his tracks, grabbing my arm before I could walk any further.
"This is my house," he said, pointing to the small purple bungalow before me.
"You've forgotten, haven't you?", He said, smirking.
"And so?", I asked, looking back at the house.
"Wait a minute!", Chanel said, coming closer. "Both of you will stay, in one house, no one else, away from anyone's sight?"
I sighed, knowing what was coming next, "Chanel-
"No way, I'm not letting it happen!!", she said, pushing Hunter to the side.
Alpha gently tapped her shoulders, "Sorry to interrupt, but the Dream in her probably won't let her get hurt, whether it was Hunter or someone else".
Chanel looked at him, huffing, as she folded her arms "Nope, I don't trust anyone".
Alpha's words made me realise. I was still possessed.
"There's no time to waste Chanel, we have to get ready, for what awaits us".
She groaned, then looked at me, smiling, "I can't even be overprotective in peace".
She grabbed Alpha's ear, "Fine, whatever. Let's go, green".
Alpha just led the way.
I stretched my body, walking into the house.
"Where's my bedroom again?", I asked.
"Bedroom?, We're meant to train", He said, walking towards a box.
I looked up at the clock on my left, "It's 4AM and I haven't slept. I think that information is more than enough".
"Won't you change? or take a bath?", He asked.
I looked down at myself, My dress had a bit of blood from when that Dream Shadow thingy used my blood for an arrow, and dust from that library's floor.
"Got a bathroom?", I asked him.
He smiled at me, leaning an arm on the counter. "Nah, I do it all outside, the bushes should be enough coverage".
I gave him back a fake smile, "You should show me how to do it first, I'll copy from there".
He got up, grinning, "Bathroom's on your right, second door".
I widened my eyes, faking amazement and more. "Why the change of plans?, I was ready for the bushes".
"You can still go ahead", He said.
I shook my head, walking towards the bathroom.
Gosh, I was tired.
HUNTER ISCHGEIN'S HOUSE : 6AM.
Hunter stood in front of her door, sighing.
She was most likely asleep.
Gosh, how could he leave those drugs in there?
He needed them.
Urgently.
He couldn't miss a night.
He knocked on the door lightly, checking if she was awake.
There was no reply.
She was definitely sleeping.
"Gosh, I gotta get in", He thought, as he slowly opened the door.
The lights were off and only light snores could be heard.
He walked further, going towards the switch.
Turning on the lights, he sighed in relief, it didn't wake her up.
Then his heart stopped.
On the chair next to her, sat a man.
The man held a cigarette, smoking it opposite Dove's bed.
His eyes slowly shifted till it landed on Hunter.
Dark blue long hair, black eyes, and an ear piercing.
He smiled, "Oh nice".
He let out some smoke, "A witness".