1 In the Silence

Thomas laid and stared at the grey sky like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

He'd never known he'd accept Aragon as his new home. This was the country his new journey started. This was the place his cousin brought him and introduced him in a place where every legend is true. In this place he found a new family who accepted him with open arms.

He'd never imagined a day thinking when the time comes and his new family would find out about his secret, him being a hybrid. He knew that it is a law strictly implemented by the Council of Stars - the law of Anti-Hybrid, means every hybrid is to be killed - in all Lilium countries, like Aragon, to prevent the great Prophecy of Four to happen.

The Council of Stars is afraid of the prophecy as it says that one hybrid is to destroy all of the supernatural races.

He'd also never imagined the Shade, and the great community in Wuldruss, accepted him after all his true identity. He was treated far from what he had thought of handing him to the Council of Stars, they were true and loyal where the security of an individual is more important than any law.

He had used mist to glamour his true identity from the ruthless Lilium who will not hesitate to hand him to the Council of Stars, but only a few know this, the family of the alpha and his cousin Clarice, who is a witch. As he laid down on the mountain lawn of West High University of Aragon, the other students passing by, he didn't know how this mist would last.

The blue sky was now a grey scale, a sign a storm is about to come. A lot of students, like him, were laying down on the grass and enjoying the cold breeze. It was as if they're not bothered to bathe in the rain.

Thomas, on the other hand, was not waiting for the rain, he was just purely wanting to lay down and take a nap and reminisce about the times half a decade had passed.

He was laying down under one of the big trees near the edge of the mountain lawn, his head rested on one of the big roots as both of his arms on the back of his head.

As he closed his eyes, like a film, his life flashed before his eyes.

***

Silence seemed to last for eternity since he sat down on the first row of bleachers and heaved a sigh, facing the entrance, exhausted, tightened muscles and clothes drenched in sweat, feeling unwell. It wasn't long ago since practice lasted and he chose to be left behind here. Looking down, he put both elbows on his knees and leaned his face on his hands, calming himself down and feeling his surroundings. In just a snap, everything in the surrounding changed, like his sense heightened. He could sense every little thing - the slow swaying of the grass, the wind that touched his skin and the way it swayed. His hearing sharpened and widened its capacity and could identify smells that he knew he had never seen or recognized before. He's more sensitive and alert especially these past few days, but what bothered him most is the situation he's in at the moment – the intensity got increasing.

He had changed and that's the truth.

It wasn't long ago since it all started. He's not sensitive and he isn't like this a month ago.

He could feel it, right in the pit of him - the nagging sensation within like there's something coming out. He is in pain, like every inch of his bones is going to break, muscles aching and tightening, teeth feels like growing, back hurts like something is supposed to come out, eyes stings, and then there's this flame-like within him that never ceases to fire down.

He didn't have any word what had gotten to him. He wanted answers to his unresolved questions as it drives him crazy every night. The nagging sensation consecutively happened at night and not a chance it skipped.

"Thomas Stayre."

He stopped with his train of thoughts, stiffened and sat straight, as he heard a voice calling his name, looking around for who had called him but he was alone and there's no one around even the field was empty.

"Thomas."

It was said again, but this time he could tell it wasn't spoken by an ordinary person, it was spoken by someone who can't be seen and that made him nervous. He felt a cold wind pass him, he looked at the trees, at the back of the bleachers he had seated, if it swayed but it didn't. Goosebumps appeared as realization hit him.

He was not alone and right at the moment; he knows there's someone with him.

"Thomas!"

It called again, it seemed real this time. He stiffened and felt numb, cold wind passed again, a cold wind with an unusual and heavy atmosphere. He nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulders. He looked to his side but there's no one and panic grew, and he was relieved when he saw his best friend, Louis.

He loosened, looked back at the trees and it normally swayed with the warm afternoon breeze, the cold wind and heavy atmosphere was now gone. It was as if he was in another dimension before Louis arrived.

"Thom?" Louis sat beside him. "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding worried.

"Y-yeah," he managed to say and nodded, breathless from what happened a while ago.

"Are you sure?" Louis asked him again.

Thomas nodded again and gave Louis an assuring smile.

"Let's go!" Louis said and stood up, as Thomas did the same. "You looked distant man, what had gotten into you?" Louis chuckled, "You know this is the first time to see you like this."

* * *

Silence wrapped the entire locker room, and the unusual and heavy atmosphere was back again. Thomas was having a shower when he noticed it, just in a flick, all of his senses turned to full alert. This made him stiffened again.

Not a while ago, he heard Louis was blabbering about going to a friend's party but he got confused when Louis suddenly stopped the same time the heavy atmosphere got back. He wondered if Louis left him ahead to the party.

The faucet made a squeaking sound as he turned it off. "Lou?" he called out. "Lou, are you still there?"

There was no reply but silence - no sound of the wall clock on the east wall of the locker room, just above the trophy wood cabinet and no soft sound of the air conditioner and ventilator indicating it's working which he always noticed when times he was left behind by others, and now there's no possible sound was heard around, just plain silence.

He could feel something was off, maybe something had happened to Louis. He didn't hear the door judder if Louis already left.

"Lou?" he called out again, louder this time, but still no response.

Acrid fear rose, quickly, he wrapped the towel around his waist, without drying himself first; he got out of the cubicle. He didn't hear his own footsteps, no sound of his flip-flop hit the floor, and that made him panic. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Louis the same spot where he was sitting before he got showered, but it dreaded him more when he saw Louis was still babbling but no sound was heard.

Jittered, his sweats emerged, both his forehead and hands became sweaty, goose bumps appeared, the hairs on his forearms stood up, his knees felt weak and gave out, and his heartbeat raced fast and was breathless. He couldn't stop staring at his best friend.

Louis, on the other hand, looked normal as if no infrequent happening. He was looking at Thomas and was talking normally and stopped when he noticed his best friend's jittered face. "Thom," Louis called out, so worried, this time, Thomas clearly heard it.

Thomas was still planted to where his spot is, he felt Louis shook him, trying to get his attention; the same time he got over, the sound got back to normal. He can hear everything again and everything was back to normal except for the unusual and heavy atmosphere that was still lingering. Everything that had happened, he just let it slip off like nothing happened.

"Yeah?" he said, giving Louis a questioning look.

"Are you alright?" his best friend asked, "You looked pale and jittered."

"I'm okay," he said, and gave Louis an assuring look.

Getting back into his senses, he opened his locker, a smell greeted him. He had never gotten used to the refreshing forest scent, made it different from other lockers. It is a scent he had gotten to know so well and the scent that would always make him think about home.

The thought of home made him cringed. He'd almost forget the family gathering tonight, and he'd almost forget her sister who'd been waiting for him – knowing her sister is such a babbler.

He held out his hand to grab clothes that he could get; he entered the shower cubicle once again and got dressed.

"Do you want to come, Thom?" Louis asked, hopeful. He was hopeful after all he already knew about the family tradition of the Stayres, aside from Sundays, Wednesday night is for family gathering.

"Where?" Thomas said, putting his shirt on.

"To Drake's party, it's his birthday," Louis said in an obvious tone, "Have you already forgotten it? Besides, it's a celebration as well for our victory. We just won earlier against the Cobras."

"Lou, you already know the reason why I can't come," Thomas said. "And guess what," he looked at his watch, "I just have less than an hour and I have to go now. Dena's been waiting, she can be annoying when she waits," He got out of the cubicle, wearing a plain pair of jeans and a fitted grey shirt that hugs his toned body, his towel in hand, and dried his hair.

Somehow, he walked towards Louis and would sit beside him when he noticed someone aside from them, sitting beside his best friend. There was a girl in plain over-used pairs of jeans and a white sweatshirt. The girl was staring on the floor, half of her long oak-colored hair hung down her back like a half open curtain and the other half hung in front, covering her face.

"Didn't know you brought a company, Lou," he said amusingly, giving Louis a teasing look.

Louis looked around, searching, confused of what Thomas had meant. "What company?" he asked. "There's only the two of us here, Thom."

"Then, who is she?" he asked, still amused by Louis ' discomfort. He couldn't believe Louis just denied. "You can't not deny it, Lou. She's sitting beside you."

Shocked, Louis couldn't believe what Thomas had said. There's a girl? Sitting beside him? Impossible! He was certain that there's only the two of them, and saw no one aside from them inside the locker room. He looked pale as Thomas looked serious. He never saw this side of Thomas', the first time, so dead serious. Thomas has always been the happy-go-lucky and the most vibrant person he had met. He never saw Thomas so bothered, up until this day. "W-where?" he nervously asked, shifting, looked around again, but still no one aside from them.

"Tsk," Thomas shook his, disbelieving, sat down, the girl in between the both of them. "Here she is," he smiled at the girl, and patted the girl's shoulder, "You sure are Louis' type," and chuckled.

Louis was staring at him, like he'd gone crazy. He saw how Thomas' hand floated to its action. He reached out, hopeful to touch something, but as he swished his hand back and forth, he hit none.

Thomas' smile turned to a disbelieving frown, and shocked. He stared at Louis, and everything was clear to him; he saw Louis' hand passed the girl's body, looked like his best friend sliced the girl's body in half, but the girl was like a ghost and nothing happened to her. But what had confused him was the fact that he can touch the girl, not an illusion, not a ghost but, just like them, normal.

He turned his attention back to the girl and studied it, stunned. An illusion had sprung in just a blink of his eyes, and next - the girl was different from what he first saw her. The girl wore an old navy cloak and the hood almost covered her face, the lower parts of her cloak were rugged like she had run in a wild forest and the hem of it were caught on the twigs of bushes. In her hands, there were tattoos peeked, gleamed in goldish-black.

Heart hammering in his chest, Thomas gulped; he felt his back was icy with seat. "W-who are you?" he asked, stuttering. The girl didn't move nor did she respond to Thomas like it didn't hear him asking. "Who are you?" he asked again, clear and without stuttering.

Thomas saw the girl's mouth quirked up, she stood up, motioned her hand to follow her. The hairs on his arms stood up, rage of horror filled him, and even made his heart beat faster as the girl stopped in her tracks when Thomas didn't follow. She motioned again and walked ahead. He gulped and widened his eyes, astounded. The girl walked past the closed door like a ghost.

Still he didn't follow what the girl wanted; he remained still, shifted, and faced his best friend. Louis stared at him like he'd grown another head, dumbstruck, and one of his eyebrows rose.

He heaved a deep sigh and shrugged off every weird thought he had. The atmosphere was back to normal, he noticed, the moment the girl walked out of the room. "Well, that was weird," he said and chuckled. He was back to himself again. "I just met a ghost."

He shook Louis who was still dumbstruck. "Wake up, Lou. Argh, you're such a shame!" he teased Louis, "You daydream again, man up, dude," and jokingly slapped Louis' cheek.

"Hey!" Louis complained, "Why did you do that?"

Thomas just laughed. "Come on now," he said and stood. He closed his locker and grabbed his gym bag.