Flames and Starlight

“Silver Moon City has had twelve fires in the past two weeks that have resulted in four deaths and have caused damage to multiple businesses and homes, causing many supernaturals to have to relocate to a shelter. The city is under strict curfew . . .”

Laura Harper stared at the TV in shock at the severity of the situation in the other territory. She thought all the chaos that’d been taking place would be over with, or at least die down some, but obviously, that wasn’t the case.

Beside her, her boyfriend, Ruben Erikson, shook his head. “I can’t believe this shit is still happening.”

“Me too.”

They watched for a few minutes before Laura turned it off. “I can’t listen to this anymore.”

She stood up and started pacing in Ruben’s living room. They had the whole house to themselves since his uncle was at work. Normally, she’d love having the place to themselves but they were cooped up inside so much she was desperate to get out for a little bit. She wanted to go flying, go running, go hiking, go out to eat, go see a movie, anything to get out of the house for a while. Hardly anything was open and everything closed so early that no one could hardly do anything.

“We need to get out of here,” said Ruben as though he were reading her mind.

“Yeah, but nothing’s open,” she said as she was scrolling through her phone, trying to see if there was anything open they could do. To no one’s surprise, there wasn’t anything open.

“We can see Peter today. Today’s Michael’s birthday.”

Laura felt tears spring in her eyes and she immediately felt like a terrible friend. “Oh, Fates. We need to check on him.” Peter had been their friend since high school and his brother’s death had been so hard on him. She couldn’t believe she and Ruben hadn’t gone over there straight away.

Ruben checked the time on his phone. “We have time to go over there before the curfew starts. We should go now.”

Laura nodded and followed him out of his house. Once they were outside, they shifted into sparrows and took to the air. Both of them were too restless to wait for the bus so they flew all the way to Peter’s apartment building.

They arrived at Peter’s building fifteen minutes later. The tension Laura had been feeling all day had lessened and she felt more relaxed. They entered the building and took the stairs up to Peter’s apartment, wanting to try to burn off some more energy. They reached Peter’s apartment and Laura knocked on the door.

Peter answered and seemed surprised to see them. “Hey, guys, what’s up?”

“We wanted to see how you were doing,” said Laura. “We know how hard today is and thought you’d want some company.”

Tears briefly formed in Peter’s eyes but he quickly blinked them away. Laura’s heart ached for him and she mentally kicked herself for not being a better friend. “Thank you. Come in.”

Laura and Ruben walked in and she noticed a girl with golden blonde hair sitting at Peter’s kitchen table. The girl looked up at them and her eyes widened.

“Hannah, these are my friends, Laura and Ruben. Guys, this is Hannah. I met her yesterday. She just came from the Human Realm and I’m helping her find a place to stay. Laura and Ruben are shapeshifters too,” Peter explained to Hannah.

Laura smiled at Hannah and said, “Nice to meet you, Hannah,” and Ruben said, “Hi, nice to meet you.”

Hannah’s eyes somehow grew larger to the point Laura thought they were going to bulge out of her head and her face went sickly pale.

Laura frowned. “Are you okay?” she asked the other girl, confused by her reaction.

“Pete, she looks like she’s about to pass out,” Ruben said and Peter rushed over to Hannah’s side, hands outstretched as if to catch her if she did pass out.

Hannah gave her head a shake. “Sorry, I…Sorry. It’s nice to meet you two. I…have to go to the bathroom.”

Hannah scurried out of the room and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. The three of them stared in the direction she ran in.

“I think she’s trying to get used to the place,” said Peter, and they sat down in his living room. “She said she’s never even seen a shapeshifter before and I guess things are a lot different in the human realm.”

Laura couldn’t stop herself from frowning. “Where did you find her?”

“I saw her alone on the street and it was close to curfew. I wanted to tell her to get somewhere safe and she told me she just arrived in the Eternal World and had nowhere else to go so I said she could crash here for the night.”

Ruben raised an eyebrow. “So you let a girl you’ve never met before stay here?”

Peter flushed. “Okay, I know wasn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done, but I felt bad for her and couldn’t stand the thought of her being alone and…Yeah, I know it wasn’t smart, but she’s not staying here for much longer. I was about to take her to a shelter when you guys came in and when she comes out we can take her together.”

Laura didn’t understand why Peter allowed this girl into his home but decided to change the subject. She was worried about him and wondered if Michael’s birthday was causing him to act irrationally. “Are you going to be okay today?”

A sad expression passed over Peter’s face. “I hope so. I’m just trying to keep my mind off it.”

“Where are your parents?”

“At work. They’re trying to not think about it and keep themselves busy. I told them to go ahead.”

The conversation halted when Hannah entered the room. She appeared much calmer. “Hi, sorry about that. Peter, I’m ready to go if you are.”

“Which shelter are you going to?” Ruben asked.

“To the shelter by RCU.” Peter stood up. “Yeah, we’ll go -”

Laura’s phone went off before he could finish. She pulled it out and saw her brother, Derek, had texted her and told them a fire had broken out in the area the sky had turned red and the area was under lockdown until things settled down.

She cursed and spread the information to the others. Peter sighed in frustration and Ruben groaned dramatically while Hannah looked confused.

Laura shrugged and quickly texted Derek back. “I guess we’re stuck here.”

Peter shrugged and grinned. “I guess we are.”

The rest of the day was spent with the four of them hanging out with each other in the living room. They sat on the couch and watched TV together ate popcorn and talked with each other. Laura noted that Peter seemed happy and his mind was taken off his brother and the terrible situation that was going on. She noticed that he seemed to genuinely enjoy Hannah’s presence from the way he smiled whenever she spoke to him and he seemed to be hanging on to her every word. Laura secretly smiled at seeing Peter appearing so happy and hoped that it meant something would happen between him and Hannah. Peter deserved to have some happiness in his life.

When Ruben and Peter went into the kitchen to get more snacks, Laura took advantage to try to get to know Hannah one-on-one.

“So, Hannah, why did you come to the Eternal World?” Laura asked her.

Hannah grew quiet and Laura kicked herself for prying. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I wasn’t trying to pry.”

“It’s okay. I’m part human and part sorceress. I always wanted to practice magic and learn more about being a sorceress but my family always kept magic from our lives and didn’t want me to learn or explore that part of my heritage. My sorceress part was always the stronger part of me and I never felt like I belonged in the human realm.”

Laura could sense Hannah was holding back but she figured it was because they didn’t know each other that well so she understood.

Hannah changed the subject. “So why is there a curfew? Is it always like this?”

Laura shook her head. “No. For the past four months, there have been a lot of strange attacks like fires, red skies, and sups falling dead all around us, and we’ve been on curfew and lockdown because of how bad things have been. No one knows what’s behind it.”

“Sups?” Hannah said.

“It’s what we call each other. Since everything lives here is supernatural and magical.”

“Oh, okay. I get it.” Hannah frowned. “So it’s been four months since the attacks started and they have no idea who’s doing this?”

“No. Trust me, I can’t believe they haven’t found out anything either. You’d think they’d come up with something by now. It used to be so peaceful, it really was, and a great place to live but it’s so dangerous now.”

The boys came back in and the conversation was dropped as they resumed watching TV.

At nine o’clock there was still no word on if the lockdown was going to be lifted. Laura checked online but it said the lockdown was still on and that everyone had to stay where they were.

Peter’s parents texted him and said they were stuck at work and everyone was pissed about it but there was nothing they could do about it. Laura, Ruben, and Hannah had no choice but to spend the night.

Hannah took the guest bedroom again and Peter undid the sofa bed for Laura and Ruben.

Laura curled up next to Ruben, resting her head on his chest. She tried to fall asleep but despite being exhausted, her mind was racing and she couldn’t relax.

She shifted a couple of times, trying to relax.

“Can’t sleep?” asked Ruben.

“No.”

He wrapped his arm around her. “Are you worried about everything that’s going on?”

“Yeah, how can I not?”

“It’s better to stop worrying and let go of the outcome. I know it’s hard not to worry but stressing out about something that’s out of your control doesn’t do anyone any good. Just focus on what you can control.”

She propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at him. “Since when did you get so wise?”

He smirked up at her. “I always have. It’s one of my many hidden talents.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled down at him. She laid back down and rested her head on his chest again.

She sighed. “I feel like everything’s falling apart, even without the attacks. My family keeps pestering me even though I’m in the middle of university, Ali hates me, my whole family’s falling apart, and I don’t even want to go home.”

He pulled her closer to him. “I know. Your family’s going through a crazy time but you’ve done the best you could. Just focus on yourself and on school and forget their drama.”

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m trying. I’ve been trying to block them out the best I can but it’s hard.”

“You know you can just move in with me and Mark. It’d be better if you get out of that toxic environment and live your own life.”

“I don’t know, Ali will need help dealing with Mom and Dad -”

“Just so she can continue to be a complete bitch to you?”

She sat up and glared down at him. “Ruben!”

“It’s true. You said it yourself.”

“I know but I still don’t like you saying that. She’s still my sister, after all.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. I won’t say it again. I just hate how she treats you.”

“I know.” She slowly laid back down. “You’re right. It’s probably time that I move out.”

“Just tell me when and I’ll help.”

She closed her eyes and found she was more relaxed. In a matter of seconds, she’d fallen back asleep.

Hannah sat on her bed, staring down at her sketchbook. She stared down at the pages. Sketches of Laura and Ruben stared up at her.

It happened again. Her vision had come to life. First Peter, now Ruben and Laura. She wondered what else would happen next.

For the past several months, she’d had random visions that all contained the three shapeshifters. The visions ranged from seeing them go about their daily lives, going through their personal struggles, or seeing them shift and use their powers, but the ones most notable to her were the ones she was in. It showed her being involved in their everyday lives, as though she were close friends with them.

She stared at the sketches for a moment longer before putting her sketchbook back in her backpack. She pulled out her phone and tried to turn it on but the screen remained black. Damn, she forgot to charge it.

She plugged her phone charger into the wall outlet and plugged her phone in. She was surprised there was electricity and technology in the Eternal World. For some reason, she never thought there’d be electricity and wifi in the realm of supernaturals.

Her mind wandered to her parents and sister. She knew they were probably calling and texting her, begging her to come home, and were furious and upset with her. She could imagine all the calls and texts they’d sent her since she left. She slowly unplugged her phone and charger and put them back in her backpack, deciding it’d be best to leave them off for now. She didn’t think she could handle seeing the messages from her family right now.

She sighed and laid back on her bed. She felt a heavy weight of guilt for leaving the way she did. She didn’t regret leaving but she regretted they couldn’t have at least had a proper goodbye. Even though she knew leaving her family was going to be hard it still didn’t lessen the guilt and sadness she felt. It was almost too much to bear.

Tears formed in her eyes and slipped down the side of her face. She turned on her side and tried to fall asleep.

She told herself there was no use in worrying over this or thinking it over because it was done. There was nothing she could do about her decision now. She would have to face the consequences of her actions head-on because that was the only thing she could do now.