Reunion - chapter 2
CHAPTER 2 - 11.32pm
Melissa could taste him, even through the mind noise of Bixby that surrounded them. She sent him a little nudge, a feather-light whisper that ghosted through his mind. She could taste the surprise at the connection, then his wariness and the bitter tang of suppressed hope.
Giddiness flooded through her, she wanted to run and jump and sing to the sky. The two years she had been gone had taken a lot more from her than she had thought possible. Now, all her pent up feelings and tension seemed to suddenly lift as the strong, calm, clear connexion she shared with Rex grew stronger with every passing second.
She pulled her car off of the highway and into the far edges of town. I'm home she thought, ignoring how weird it was to her to think of Bixby as a place to call home. For once in her life she let the collective minds of Bixby role over her and enjoyed it.
Melissa had grown stronger in the two years she had been away, honing her talent by practise alone. The three of them, Melissa Jonathan and Jessica, had seen many strange sights on their travels and met many new midnighters waking up for the first time, with a variety of different abilities, some of which had never been seen in over fifty years.
It had been exhilarating teaching them about what had happened and what they were. Their amazement and wonder at the new world that had opened up to them lifted her heart every time.
This was also a strange thought to her. Though she was the first to admit that she had matured quite a bit in the time she had gone.
Of course, she met other mindcasters; people who shared the same sort of talent as her and who were suffering from the sudden onslaught of surrounding minds that she had suffered through for so many years.
Like Madeleine had taught her, she passed on the knowledge of how to control their powers. What she didn't pass on were the beliefs of the thousands of mindcasters that had come before them.
Those beliefs, Melissa had decided, were going to die with Madeleine.
All of the new mindcasters had left Melissa's tutelage with a dazed look and an unshakable belief that though the midnighters had been around for eons, it had all really began with Rex. She just wasn't sure how much of that was her personal feelings.
She had also secretly implanted the knowledge of what would happen if the blue time was ever discovered by a daylighter. In every midnighters eyes the Grayfoots had become some sort of evil entity that lurked behind every daylighter's face. What had happened fifty years ago served as a warning to the newborns.
If a daylighter ever figures out what happens, then every midnighter will be slaughtered.
Melissa had convinced herself that this wasn't the same sort of mindcaster propaganda that Madeleine had received; this was all about self preservation.
Surely that was okay?
Melissa, Dess and Rex had become leaders in their own way. They were the first, the ones who had survived on their own for sixteen years, fighting the darkings and keeping their town safe. Jonathan had become some sort of hero because without him, it was said, the darklings would be ruling the humans.
Jessica, too, had become a legend among midnighters. Newborns whispered of the warrior who lived in the blue time with the hand of fire; raining down death and destruction on the darkling threat that hunted them, because, as the blue time had spread, so had the darklings, finding new hunting patches throughout the world.
Knowledge of her had passed quickly as mindcasters had connected with other mindcasters in different towns and cities and passed on stories, like a giant game of Chinese whispers.
One of the more popular tales was when she appeared suddenly out of nowhere at midnight and saved a small town that was being besieged by darklings. Other stories too, were popping up, being embellished and passed on and lately Jessica was getting slightly self-conscious and embarrassed by all the attention she was receiving. Jonathan loved to tease her about it every chance he got.
The thing was, there had been no other newborns with the flamebringer ability. Melissa was beginning to believe that Jessica was the only one that they were ever going to find.
OOO
Rex's hand was shaking. The taste of Melissa's mind was growing. Hope ran unchecked through him at the thought of seeing his Melissa again.
Melissa?
But the mind noise of Bixby was too great. That or his own mind was playing a cruel trick on him. He looked at the clock again.
11.35.
Twenty five minutes until the blue time, until everything was silent, until he could be certain that it was indeed Melissa that was coming.
He calmed himself slightly and went into the kitchen. It would be easier for him to keep his mind active. He reached for his Dad's pills, subconsciously noticing that lately he had been less and less absentminded when it came to doing things like this. Madeleine's influence he supposed.
The pills nestled perfectly in the small paper cup, an assortment of unnatural colours. Rex bit his bottom lip, deliberating, then swiftly added two extra yellow pills to the concoction.
He went through to the living room. His Dad was gazing at a flickering screen, a trail of shiny drool dribbled down his chin. He didn't even acknowledge Rex's presence.
"Here you go Dad." Rex said, holding out the small paper cup "It's time for your medicine."
His Dad's head turned then. Unfocused gaze became focused as he recognised who was speaking.
"Have you seen my spiders?" He asked urgently.
"They're around here somewhere Dad."
"I can't find my spiders, they've escaped."
"Take your medicine Dad and I'll have a look for them."
Rex's Dad obediently took the cup and swallowed the pills. His gaze immediately turned back to the T.V. Rex turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Leaning against it he let out a shaky breath. The flickering of the television had given him an extreme headache, courtesy of his darkling self. He took in a steadying breath and smiled as the purring bag of fur that was Daguerreotype wound its way around his ankles.
"You always know when its time for dinner, don't you Dag?" he asked smiling.
Rex made his way back to the kitchen again and pulled out a small can of anchovies from the cupboard.
"Want to know a secret?" he whispered to Daguerreotype "I think Melissa's coming back."
Daguerreotypes eyes never left the tin in his hand. Rex dropped half of the fish into Dag's bowl and picked one out for himself. The saltiness of the small fish mingled with Melissa's taste.
Leaning against the counter he glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall.
11.52.
Only eight more minutes.