by Harold Wall
reached into her pocket and pulled out her stake.
She'd never done this before, so she didn't really know where to aim. It was obviously the heart, but finding the place was harder than it looked, not to mention running it through
the bone and tissue that was in front of it. She didn't think she had the strength.
But then she thought of Sky again.
Soulmates.
She actually had a soulmate! It was such an amazing feeling. And that in and of itself, gave her the strength she needed to shove the stake through Anthony's heart.
Anthony stumbled back, his mouth agape, his eyes wide.
"Whwhy?" he choked sinking to the ground.
"I loved you, Anthony." Carter said. "I really did." She shook her head. "But you're too late," she whispered as the light from Anthony's eyes faded and his body slumped to the
floor, lifeless. Still, Carter continued to speak as if he were still alive. "Someone else has already stolen my heart.
Storm quickly turned a corner and almost crashed into Emerald. They both veered back but when Storm comprehended that it was Emerald, he pulled her into a tight hug.
"I was so worried." he exclaimed. He pulled back to look at her. "Are you all right? Have you seen Carter or Sky?"
"I'm fine," she assured her. "And no, I'm really worried. I feel horrible." Emerald mumbled, her stomach in a knot. "This is all my fault."
"Yeah, it kind of is." Storm said in a serious tone.
Emerald slapped his arm and Storm chuckled. "Come on, we seriously need to find them. I just hope they're both okay." She bit her lip and started down the hallway Storm had just
come. Storm followed, not really given a choice.
They turned down a couple more hallways and as they passed a door in one hallway a flash of orange and black broke through the door, the wood cracking loudly as the animal
broke the hinges and the door smashed to the floor.
The orange and black blur hit Storm and they crashed to the floor. Emerald's heart jumped in her chest and she lunged forward, toward Storm and the huge tiger with its paws
currently resting on Storm's shoulders. Its tail swished and it was in midgrowl before stopping abruptly.
There was a moment of silence. The tiger's tail swished, but less violently now. Then, slowly, shaking its head, the tiger backed off of Storm. Emerald went to his side.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What can I do?" she asked frantically, kneeling next to him.
Storm was glassyeyed and he was staring at the ceiling.
"Can't speak." Storm finally choked, saying his words almost separately from each other. "Bones mending. Really painful."
Emerald let out a breath and relaxed a little. She had forgotten he was a vampire and could heal easily and quickly.
A low rumble sounded from behind Emerald. She stood and turned to look at the giant tiger, her heart spiking again. Would it attack her now? She wouldn't be able to heal like
Storm would.
"It's all right," Storm groaned, hoisting himself up to his feet. "It's Sky."
Emerald looked at Storm for a moment then back at the tiger standing in front of her in the hallway. She'd seen shapeshifters, but never one as big. It was just, he was a tiger! A
wild animal she'd only ever seen on TV or at the zoo, and she'd never been this close either. It was very unnerving.
Then she met the tiger's fire blue eyes and realized, it was Sky.
"Are… are you okay?" Emerald asked, even though she didn't know how she'd understand him.
Sky shifted on his paws and let out a low growl.
"I'm going to take that as a yes. We should go find Carter now." Emerald suggested. And just like that Sky turned and took off down the hallway. "Sky!" she yelled but he was
already turning a corner. She looked at Storm and then they both darted after him, careful not to lose him again.
It was a crazy coincidence but they found Carter soon after the encounter with Sky. Of course she almost had a heart attack at the sight of a 650 pound tiger. Who wouldn't? Except maybe other Night People… but that wasn't the point. Carter was merely human after all, and still getting used to just being soulmates.
But she was stronger than Emerald gave her credit for. She swallowed her fear, and trusted that Sky would never hurt her intentionally or otherwise. So, sticking together better
this time, they navigated their way out, looking for familiar marks in the house to make sure they weren't going in circles.
Somehow they managed to get to the front door. (And for the record they'd tried the windows before going anywhere in the house. They looked to be bulletproof windows.) They
didn't encounter anyone because, Storm assumed, they'd taken out all of Jonathan's workers, whether it was together or apart.
Emerald touched the handle to their freedom when Carter whimpered. Emerald, Storm and Sky spun around to see Jonathan holding her hair with one hand, the other hand holding
a knife poised to slit her throat at any moment. Emerald's hand slid off the handle and she walked forward past Storm. While Storm stood in place, jaw tight, analyzing the
situation. Trying to think of every possible outcome and how he could help in those situations.
"Let her go." Emerald said her voice tight.
Jonathan smiled. "You're not the boss of me." he responded.
Beside Emerald, Sky growled his fur bristling, putting the weight on his haunches, like a cat would as it hunted prey. His tail lashed back and forth and his lips pulled back, showing
his long, pointed teeth.
"Sky, don't," Emerald warned looking at him. His massive head turned and he snarled at her. Emerald didn't bat an eyelash. "Carter will get hurt. Don't do this."
"She's right," Jonathan said, bringing the knife closer to Carter's throat. Tears started to slide down Carter's face. "If you so much as take another step toward me, I will open up
her throat." He jostled Carter and she whimpered, more tears spilling from her eyes.
"Let her go, Jonathan." Emerald ordered.
"Or you'll what?" Jonathan retorted, smirking. "You wouldn't risk your friend's life, would you?" He shook her again and Sky snarled furiously, but wisely stayed put. Jonathan
laughed at Sky's reaction and looked at Emerald. "My dearest daughter," he mocked. "What would I get in return, hm?"
"What you want." Emerald said quietly.
Storm wanted to object badly, but he knew that as long as Carter's life was in any danger, he'd never be able to change her mind.
Jonathan smiled but said nothing. A chasm of silence formed between them until finally Jonathan spoke, "I don't know. How do I know you'll keep your word? Maybe I should just…"
he trailed off and pressed the knife into Carter's neck.
The smell of blood hit Storm.
The moments afterward were a blur to Storm. He barely knew what happened. Maybe it was because it was such a tense moment, maybe because it'd been a painful memory of
what happened soon after, or maybe it was just his body repressing horrid memories. Either way, it still happened in a flash.
Emerald yelled, "No!" and threw herself toward Jonathan and Carter a millisecond before Sky ran at them, his vision tinged with red, nothing on his mind but protecting his
soulmate.
He couldn't slow down as, in three giant leaps, he approached Jonathan, Carter and Emerald, his paw already lashing out and hitting Emerald's left shoulder. Storm was thrown back
into the present as he heard Emerald's joint being knocked out of her shoulder. Felt the blazing pain of having a dislocated joint. Emerald's knees buckled and Storm lunged forward
to catch her, careful not to jostle her dislocated arm.
She was pallid and a thin sheen of sweat had already formed on her forehead. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes were halfopen, glazed over. Sky crouched and growled over
to the side, his tail lashing, hitting the wall, the
sound like a hammer against cement.
"Emerald," Storm breathed frantically, his heart pounding in his throat. There was no response. Storm's grip unintentionally tightened, putting pressure on her arm.
Emerald's eyes squeezed closed and she let out a heart wrenching scream. Storm shifted positions feeling guilt weigh down his shoulders.
"Are you all right? I'm so sorry." Storm said quickly, lightly brushing some hair out of her face.
Emerald's eyes fluttered open and she met his worried gaze.
"I'm… okay," she told him faintly. "I'll… be fine. You… you need to go… withwith…" Her voice faded out for a moment before she pushed through the excruciating pain. "With Carter
and Sky. Leave." she told him.
Storm looked up momentarily and realized Jonathan had let Carter go. She was kneeling by Sky, murmuring comforting words to him. His eyes were grief stricken.
"It's not your fault." Carter whispered totally ignoring the small cut on her neck that was currently oozing blood. "I'm okay. You were trying to protect me. No one blames you."
Storm looked back down at Emerald.
"No, I can't… I can't leave you." he said feverishly. "I'm not going to leave you here by yourself."
Emerald blinked and took a deep breath, before pushing herself out of Storm's arms and struggling to stand up. She wobbled and stumbled before finding her equilibrium and facing
Storm. His heart ached and so did his shoulder, it throbbed in pain and agony. Sometimes what Emerald was feeling hit him full force and he swore for a second he blacked out
from the physical suffering. Which only made him feel sick to his stomach. How Emerald was standing on two feet and forming coherent sentences was a mystery to him.
Storm stepped toward Emerald. "I'm not leaving you. I can't do that!" he whispered his voice desperate, as Carter and Sky exited. It felt odd, though, after all the torment Jonathan
had put them through, that they could just stroll out the front door all of a sudden, with no resistance. But Storm ignored them, his only focus on Emerald and her wellbeing.
"You… have to." Emerald breathed. "He'll only… kill you… before he… deals with me."
Storm shook his head in fervor. "Emerald—"
"I'll… be… fine." she tried to assure him.
"How can you be so sure?" Storm demanded. "He'll just kill you after he get what he wants."
"I know my dad," Emerald murmured. That's all she would say, but a thought flickered through the connection and hit Storm. It was hazy at first, like looking through a fogged up
camera lens at something in the distance. The thought was fractured and out of order, the words mixing and spinning in his head.
Concentrating Storm deciphered the fragmented thought and suddenly was hit with harsh reality.
"You knew." Storm whispered, looking at Emerald with an afflicted expression. "You knew this whole time." He couldn't believe what he was just now noticing. It made him want to
scream and cry and hit something. His heart squeezed tightly in his chest, his throat closed.
"Like father, like daughter," Jonathan commented smugly from behind Emerald.
Emerald's lower lip shook and tears flooded her eyes. "I had to do what was best for your safety." she told him in strangled tone.
"You let us just walk into his traps and you knew what he was planning. We could've died and you didn't tell us. Any of us. Not even me. You lied to me. You kept this from me. You
cut me out." With every word Storm's anger rose and so did his voice.
"Storm, please understand that there was no other way. I wanted to keep you guys safe. That was all that mattered to me." Emerald told him, her tears breaking free and
streaming down her face.
But Storm had heard enough. He was tired of all this. Emerald was going to kill herself if she kept trying to protect others. If it was getting to the point that she no longer cared for
her own life, why should he care?
She's your soulmate, some subconscious part of his brain whispered. That only made it worse, Storm decided. They were connected, they were practically one and if she didn't care
about her own life, that was like saying she didn't care about Storm. She didn't care that it'd kill Storm to lose her. She just didn't care.
"I care very much about you!" Emerald objected. "How could you even think that… that I don't care?"
"I don't want to have this discussion right now." Storm said in a cold voice, letting the Reaper come out, halting any and all emotions. "Don't you need to get back to your dear old
father?" he spat. Emerald flinched, but this didn't affect Storm in the slightest. He was tired of getting hurt because of Emerald's carelessness.
"Storm—" Emerald started.
Storm shook his head and backed toward the open door. "You wanted me to leave. So, I'll leave." he said spinning around and swiftly exiting the House of Horrors, slamming the
door behind him, not looking back.
Inside, Emerald slammed her fist up against the closed door, her whole body shaking, tears pouring down her face. She had never meant to hurt Storm in that way. It was never
supposed to end that way.
Now. Now it was all over. She was alone.
That's what you've always wanted, wasn't it? the cold, cruel voice of her old self blew through her mind. You've finally achieved what you've been striving for: to be all
Congratulations.
With one last harsh sob, Emerald sunk into a dark void as the Vigilante surfaced, taking over her motor controls. Her tears froze, her shaking stopped, her mind quietly calculated
the scenarios of the situation.
Things she could use at weapons, any wood items she could break to use as a stake, the escape routes she could take, any weak points on her father, how she'd fight him with a
dislocated shoulder, how he'd react or adapt to her technique… the list just went on and on, taking only milliseconds in her mind.
The Vigilante pushed the emotions down, trying to smother them. Make them less, make the pain and aching in her chest less, the regret and aguish roaring inside her, struggling to
take control, less. Slowly, her fisted hand slid off the door as she braced herself for what was to come
Emerald's eyes opened, her pupils contracting quickly as white light flooded into them. She took a deep breath and smelled something fruity. It made her mouth water.
Someone gasped from beside her. "She's awake!" a familiar voice shrieked. "She's awake!"
Emerald's stomach growled. "Is that jello?" she asked trying to sit up, only to have pain ripple through her body. Clenching her teeth and holding her breath, she fell back onto the
pillows, panting when the urge to scream had passed.
"Nikki, go get Mom and Dad," Margo instructed Nikki, who nodded and darted off, out of the ICU room Emerald was currently in.
"Is there any jello left?" Emerald asked, her brain still not fully functioning, the only thing on her mind being her empty stomach.
Just then Alecia and Alan walked in.
"Oh, thank God!" Alecia exclaimed shuffling up to the edge of Emerald's bed. "When you went missing we were so worried." Her voice broke and tears stung her eyes.
Alan wrapped his arms around her waist comfortingly. He looked tired; his hair disheveled, his eyes sunken in, rimmed darkly with purple, like he hadn't slept in weeks.
"How long was I gone?" Emerald asked, eyebrows furrowing together as her brain booted up.
"Just over ten days," Alan answered. "Not nearly as bad as a whole year, but—" He broke off, bile forming in his throat.
Emerald vaguely wondered about Carter, Sky and Storm. Her heart rate monitor spiked when his name popped into her head. Her chest suddenly ached and she felt vacant. She
could no longer feel Storm's presence. She didn't know if he was okay or if he had gotten hurt or… or died.
And that horrible fight they had…. Emerald
shuddered. It could've been their last goodbye for all she knew and it ended in a fight. It ended with him hating her guts because of her
selfish behavior. Why couldn't she see that her choices always hurt Storm? Why was she so blind to how he felt, to his feelings?
It was all her fault. She was to blame for all of this.
"Can I see my friends?" Emerald asked looking at Alecia and Alan.
"I'm sorry sweetie, it's against hospital policy. Family is only allowed in the ICU." Alan explained quietly.
"When can I get out of the ICU?" Emerald asked bluntly. "II need to see them. II need to know they're okay." Emerald's heart rate monitor started going wild.
"Shh, shh," Alecia cooed, taking Emeralds hand. "It's okay. Calm down. You'll get to see them. I'm sure they're just fine."
But this wasn't reassuring at all to Emerald. She needed to see them for herself. To know that they were all right, they were okay and not hurt. If she didn't see them how did she
know that they hadn't been kidnapped again? Here she was stuck in the hospital while her friends were being held captive. This didn't settle with Emerald well.
The beeping became and quick and uncontrollable, alerting the nurses monitoring Emerald's room. They rushed in a few moments after, ushering the family out, and then injecting medication into the small tube of Emerald's IV. The meds worked almost instantaneously. Emerald's heart slowed and her eyes dropped. The nurse checked all her vitals before
turning out the lights and quietly closing the door as Emerald slowly slipped into unconsciousness.
She could feel him.
She could feel his presence within the room.
Storm.
He'd come back.
Emerald wanted so desperately to open her eyes and see him. Apologize for acting so narcissistic and only hope that he'd take her back, after all the hurt she'd caused him. But her
body wasn't listening to her. Her eyelids stayed closed, her fingers didn't even twitch. It was a weird sensation, the feeling of being completely awake but unable to move.
She heard Storm's soft footsteps walk up to her bed and the shift in the mattress as he sat down on the edge. His fingertips trailed over her cheek and down her neck. He stroked