From the boughs above the flames, a raven watched Lorcán with intense curiosity, hopping from branch to branch while the young man ran about the shadowy woods, tripping over exposed roots and scrambling away from the flames that seemed to block every exit from the dense overgrowth.
Smoke and flame filled the air as shadows belonging to his attacker were cast by the flickering source of light. The horrific screams and groans echoed through the thick rows of trunks as Lorcán tried to put distance from himself and the sound only to seemingly be swarmed on another side.
A pack, and they were hunting him.
Panic began to set in as his powers seemingly were tapped and unresponsive. He could produce even the smallest gout of flame to defend himself. Putting two fingers to his lips, he blew a sharp whistle. A deafening silence came in response, before another scream drew closer. Sweat dotted Lorcán’s forehead before he tried again, the sharp noise whistling through the trees.
But again, Rothschild did not come.
He patted his pockets, frantically feeling for his phone but came up empty. He had it in his hand to talk to Ripley. Then he was attacked, but wasn’t he rescued? Why was he still here?
Why did they leave him behind?
A feral scream put Lorcán on the move again. The black bird watched, turning its head seemingly in amusement as the young man scurried to and fro, finding the dark forest to be a maze that always seemed to lead back to the same clearing he had awoken in.
After what felt like hours, Lorcán slumped to his knees. His body felt weak, like he had been fighting all day. The sweltering heat of the fire was unbearable, even for him as he sat there, sweat pouring out of every pore.
It was beginning to feel like there was no escape from this place. His own personal hell, a penance for his actions during the Trial. After all, he had killed his best friend twice, abandoned his teammates to find Aurora and never once thought about helping Amma despite accepting her aid in his own time of trouble.
“I’ll be back though, I promise.”
“Aurora?” Lorcán yelled, his own voice echoing back to him.
“Aurora!” He repeated, louder this time, “Aurora, I’m here! Follow my voice Lady Dude, don’t leave me!”
“Please! Don’t leave me.”
But nothing came in reply, the crackle of fire filled the air, dulling the screams of the creatures lurking among the haunting trees. A cry of anguish filled the night sky as Lorcán jumped to his feet, tortured noises ringing out on all sides prompting him to cover his ears as tears began to stream down his face.
Admitting defeat, Lorcán looked to the smoke-filled sky and embraced the encroaching darkness.
Interaction(s): NonePreviously: Sweet Child O'Mine
While Cassander had fully been ready to hike the island, Aiden had instead opted for a pair of horses as the two men rode out from campus towards the North West peninsula. The former H.I.T. agent turned teacher had even managed to borrow some body armour for both himself and Cassander lest whatever had attacked his son was still lurking in the forest.
“Hopefully your year is off to a better start than Lorcán’s,” Aiden smiled, attempting a joke to break the tension while the pair rode dressed for a battle that Aiden hoped didn’t come. He wasn’t a fan of dragging his nephew into a fight, especially a fight where he didn’t know what they’d be up against.
“Vanessa and Calvin are having a hard time adjusting to both you and the Ripper Snipper being out of the house.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’re enjoying the chance to be empty nesters.” Cass replied, “Between raising you, taking on foster kids like me and then their own daughter, it’s not like your sister ever got to truly enjoy just time with her and Calvin.”
“Sometimes I forget just how seasoned you are,” Aiden replied, “When you’re not unloading snark. Did you know that Aurora has you in her phone as Sassy Cassy?”
“Unfortunately,” Cass deadpanned, “Yes.”
“What do you think of Aurora?” Aiden asked,
“For me or…?” Cass replied knowingly as Aiden shot him a look that confirmed he was asking for Lorcán before Cass continued.
“He’d be so lucky, she’s smart, funny, she’s a redhead,” Cass replied, “She’s basically part of the family and they’ve been inseparable since I’ve been here. Rippers took a quick liking to her as well.”
“Hard to argue with any of that, Aurora was Lorcán’s first real friend before he was assigned to his Collegiate Team and subsequently Canis.” Aiden agreed. “Tori seems particularly fond of her as well, but Tori has always wanted a daughter,“
“As far as crushes go, Lorcán could have picked far worse, bonus in that she seems to reciprocate if her worry is anything to go off of,” Cass added as Aiden nodded before speaking again.
“And what do you think of Amma?”
“Elvira?” Cass allowed himself a small smirk, “I take it you heard about the ‘incident’ at the trial.” He asked before Aiden gave a knowing nod.
“The Queen of Darkness herself is pretty easy on the eyes if you’re into the alternative look. I still don’t believe she’s not a vampire though.” Cass quipped, “But I don’t know, she’s not exactly citizen of the year, she’s a very different person from Aurora.” He cleared his throat before urging his horse forward and riding alongside Aiden.
“Though, word of advice Uncle Aiden,” Cass stated, “You can’t really pick Lorcán’s girlfriend for him. Even if one of them turned out to be the most toxic relationship in the world, you can’t shelter him from everything. I know he’s the world to you and Aunt Tori and seeing him hurt is akin to cutting your own arm off. But he’s going to spread his wings, and one day you’ll have to let the phoenix take flight.”
“Thinking about him having a future is helping me cope with the fact he’s fighting for his life,” Aiden explained, “But, I know you’re right,” He replied, “Doesn’t make it any easier to let go, let alone hear sage wisdom from my twenty-four year old nephew.”
“Hey,” Cass replied, raising a hand in mock defensiveness, “I’m being raised by the same woman who raised you.”
“Explains the familiar know-it-all attitude,” Aiden teased, “My sister is a wonderful woman, sage beyond her years.” He added, “But if you ever tell her I said that, they won’t even find the ashes of your body.”
“Your secret dies with me,”
“Speaking of secrets,” Aiden had a mischievous glint in the corner of his blue eyes, “The grapevine also says you asked Harper Baxter to the Senior Formal,”
“I asked a girl to a dance, it’s not a big deal.” Cass replied, “Better than going stag or third wheeling with RJ and Alyssa,”
“Don’t you typically run away from romance?”
“No,” Cass replied, “I’m just not interested,”
“So what makes Harper so special then?” Aiden pried as Cass rolled his eyes.
“I dunno, I wouldn’t say she’s special. She was just easy to talk to and she didn’t find me immediately repulsive.” Cass muttered, suddenly finding his face a little warm. “Hard to get a date when everyone thinks you’re Banjo at first glance.”
“Hah,” Aiden laughed, “I can imagine that’s quite the obstacle to overcome.”
“That blowhard is still telling people he stood up to Hyperion,” Cass shook his head, as Aiden shot him a look.
“So you like Harper then?” He asked, “Have you talked to her since the trial? I imagine she’s pretty shaken up like the rest of them.”
“I didn’t say that,” Cass retorted, “And not really, I talked to her yesterday about Lorcán, asked her a bit about how she was doing. She had a new haircut, that was a surprise.”
“A good one?”
“Stop fishing!” Cass had to mind his tone, he knew Aiden didn’t mean any harm and that his Uncle was mostly trying to keep his mind off his dying son, but he certainly didn’t expect to be cross-examined about asking Harper to the dance.
“Everyone knows she likes Gil anyways, I’ll probably never see her after the dance.”
“Not with that attitude,” Aiden replied, “Sure the dance can just be a one-off, or it can be a beginning. A crush isn’t a relationship even if one has made it one in their head. If anything it could just be blinders, she didn’t even know you were an option prior to the weekend after all.”
“Now who’s being all sage,” Cass grumbled before settling further into his saddle.
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful with both men bearing grim expressions between the rest of their attempts at casual conversation. With a day already passed, whatever attacked Lorcán could have easily moved on. But if it was still on the island, then it was a threat to them all. Ahead of the two mounted men, Rothschild ran along the ground, his nose actively sniffing out the path he and his boy had taken the day before.
“Where did you ever get Rothschild anyways?” Cass asked, watching the border collie streak by before he slowed atop a hill waiting for the two men on horseback to crest before speeding off ahead in the distance.
The dog was considered to be owned by the Roths, but Aiden knew that no one truly owned Rothschild. He was an anomaly, even in the world of Hyperhumans, a dog with abilities that could rival Aiden’s own and many others. Most people believed it was an in-joke that Rothschild had abilities, fewer still had seen them in action. The prevailing rumour was that he was Hyperhuman trapped as a dog. That rumour only just barely kept ahead of the idea that Hyperion was turned into a dog form and kept on campus as a cruel joke by Jim.
“Rothschild came to us,” Aiden replied, “Showed up one day after Lorcán had an incident and was most in need of a friend. Before Aurora showed up, Rothschild was the closest thing Lorcán had to a friend.”
“But,” Cass started, his tone hesitant, “He is just a dog right?”
“I can assure you, he’s not a person.” Aiden replied, “I had him tested and he doesn’t have human DNA nor does he possess any presence of HZEs.”
“So the rumours?” Cass asked, “Are just rumours? But I thought he actually could, y’know?”
“I’ve seen enough things in my time to know I haven’t seen everything,” Aiden replied, “That dog has been one of the best things in my son’s life and I’m not about to call it into question.”
“Hey look!” Cass called, interrupting Aiden's thoughts as the pair pulled up on the trail overlooking the beach.
“His board is still there,” Footprints clearly made by Lorcán’s signature flip flops hadn’t been erased yet by neither rain nor wind.
“We’ll need to remember to grab any of his things that were left behind on the way back,” Aiden replied before clicking his heels to ease his horse up the slope towards the thicker brush.
“I imagine our ability to go by horseback ends up here,” He shouted back to Cass, “This side of the island is underdeveloped due to the proximity to the Black Site.” Aiden explained while dismounting. Hitching the horse to a nearby tree, he watched as Cass did the same before the two men followed the trail of trodden grass and broken branches. Cass felt unnerved walking through this part of the island. Upon entering the thicket, there was a notable drop in temperature, the thick canopy overhead blocking the island sun and leaving the forest floor soft and damp.
But it was the hives decorating the higher branches that unnerved Cassander the most as the insects hovered about, angrily buzzing as if telling both men to leave immediately. A few of the more agitated ones flew down, threatening to sting Cass before seemingly losing interest in their threat, realizing it wasn’t worth their life.
It still left Cassander feeling itchy all over, as he remembered the pain of his first bee sting. Thankfully he was given a reprieve as he followed his uncle into a clearing. The smell of burnt wood was masked by a powerfully putrid odour.
“Scorch marks,” Cass gestured, barely keeping himself from gagging as they entered the clearing. “Though these don't all look like Lorcán's,”
“No,” Aiden replied, “No, they don’t,” His distracted eyes wandered to where the ground was disturbed and turned over. Moss and leaves were raked away from the center of the clearing, a glyph or rune laid out with salt outlined a large pile of ash from which came an alarming odour that Aiden had only experienced during an investigation at a crematorium.
Numerous footprints told a story different from the one he had been fed as Aiden knelt down and examined the tracks left behind. Three distinct sets of prints, excluding Rothschild’s, none just stumbled upon this scene. All had participated in a fight.
A growl from Rothschild suddenly broke the silence.
“You need to leave.” The cocking of a shotgun further caught the attention of both Cassander and Aiden as they turned around to come face to face with a woman dressed in a leather jacket, a hood covering her dark hair while the strange looking shotgun with an axe blade on it was steadily held pointed in their direction.
“It’s not safe here.” The woman looked to be barely older than Cassander, but something about her eyes made Aiden feel she had lived several lifetimes. Rothschild continued to stay low, the hackles on his back raised like a dorsal fin, his lip quivering with the low rumbled in his throat.
“Is this your doing?” Aiden asked, gesturing with his head towards the strange rune beneath the pile of ash while his hands were held up disarmingly in front of him.
“Does that answer matter when I’m holding a shotgun to you?” The woman retorted, “These woods aren’t safe for the likes of you,” She gestured back to the direction the two men had come from. “I’m trying to do you a favour, you need to leave.”
“If it’s a favour, I’d think you’d be willing to explain.”
The light above the clearing suddenly started to diminish as a cloud of buzzing insects began to form, blotting out the sun entirely.
“I tried to warn you,” The woman snapped through gritted teeth, spinning around to put her back to the two men as she levelled the gun towards the cloud, her ears listening intently while her eyes scanned the woods on all sides. Rothschild let out a yelp, backing up as his eyes began to glow while looking towards the blackening sky.
“And now,” The woman whispered towards Aiden,
“She comes.”
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