Young Writers Society

Melody

I followed closely behind the woman and the little girl, frantically trying to keep up with all the twists and the turns. Damn, this house was a lot bigger than I originally thought it was. How could they afford something this nice, they didn’t look that wealthy and there was no family back home in Falkirk or the surrounding town of Arkala who were this wealthy either. Where the hell were we then. The two ahead of me were so fast that I had trouble keeping up and the second I stopped to take a deep breath I had lost them. For a second I started to panic, afraid that I wouldn’t be able to find them or my way back to the kitchen in this maze of a house but in that same second I heard the loudest smash from down the hallway. I remembered what the little girl said about him breaking things and realized that had to be where they went.

A couple more turns and seemingly endless hallways and I had finally caught up to the woman and little girl. The two of them were standing outside a rather large set of french doors, both pleading loudly to whoever was on the other side.

“Jackie, please let me in,” the girl cried, “I brought mommy with me.”

No response, just another loud crash and a muffled obscenity. I hesitated a little ways from the two of them, afraid that I may be overstepping boundaries. Well, quite frankly, just afraid of being here. I could feel an anger in the air that was so tangible it suffocated me. I was surprised the two of them weren’t having as much trouble as I was being here. Another step towards them and the anger caught itself in my throat, digging its barbs into my flesh. I gasped, clawing at my skin. The same panic I felt when I thought I was lost without them began to set itself in my stomach again. I tried to breathe normally but the emotion swirled around me, seeping into every crevice of my body. I stopped listening to what the two were pleading about and focused on regaining my composure.

I was the least of their problems right now and I couldn’t let them see me struggling so I turned around and tried to walk back the way I came. Hoping that the further I got from the room, the easier I could push the anger away from me. What the hell was happening. This wasn’t like it was when I had gotten upset. That was an anger I could place, an anger I could feel inside my soul. This, this was something different. It was like it was a part of me but also not. Like I was somehow connected to it. I continued walking down the hallway yet no matter how far I got it seemed to follow me. As if the second it sensed my presence it latched itself onto my body and clung there.

With another loud crash coming from the room the anger turned from a suffocating blanket to an almost raging fire. The heat of it radiated around me like a Falkrik summer; the kind of summer that was thick and heavy and no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t shower away the stickiness of your skin after being out in the sun too long. I stopped walking and leaned against the wall of the hallway, trying now so desperately to breathe. Looking back, I could still see the woman and the girl begging to be let into the room to no avail. It made me want to break down laughing, how hard they were trying. Obviously it was pointless. Why couldn’t they just give up, had they not realized that they were only making whoever they were pleading with angrier.

“Please for the love of God leave them alone,” I whimpered from where I sat pressed up against the wall. My fingers curled into my hair as I tried to claw the anger from my scalp.

I stopped paying attention, in fact I wasn’t quite sure how long I had been sitting there. The two voices shouting at the door started to blend together into one and I had to try very hard to block them out. Everything about this whole situation was confusing the hell out of me and making it really difficult to keep things sane inside my mind. I shouldn’t be here. Really, I shouldn’t. I didn’t know who these people were, nor did I know who the hell they were trying to calm down on the other side of that door. In reality I should have been running for the hills or whatever the saying was. Trying to find a way back to my best friend and unfortunately my family. But I couldn’t.

There was something here, something strange and alluring that was pulling me to the door. The emotions that were definitely someone else’s kept gnawing at my skin. Eating me alive from the inside out. I couldn’t understand why but some part of me was telling me that I needed to be there. I needed to calm whoever it was down.

“It’s him Melody, he’s the person inside that room.”

A small yelp escaped my lips as I looked up startled. There was that voice again. It was the same melodic voice I heard on my birthday and in the woods surrounding Falkirk. It was also the voice I heard outside in the clearing before Jack came outside to talk to me. I couldn’t place when it had come back but it was here now and with it came a rush of calmness. Like the voice was trying to tame the anger that had engulfed me. Where it pushed forcefully and painfully, she came with a softness that put out its fire. I sighed in relief. Finally feeling like I could take a breath of much needed air.

“You need to get up, child, this is no way for a Luna to behave,” it continued, “be strong for you will be the face of hope to these people. You are their goddess and you need to start acting like one.”

Taking another deep breath I rubbed my sweaty palms against the sides of my shorts. The voice’s calmness is taking over the anger fully now. I couldn’t quite explain it but I knew she was right. About me needing to get up at least. I had to face whoever it was they were trying so hard to talk to if I ever wanted to go home. I knew that at least.

“That’s right, child. Keep going.” She said as I pushed myself off the floor.

Wiping the tears from my eyes I walked back down the hallway over to the woman and the little girl. They both looked in my direction for a second and the woman tsked as she pulled me into an embrace. Her warmth warmed me up in a comforting way whereas the anger I felt moments before left me blistering hot. She pulled away for a second to look me in the eyes, the words she didn’t say spoken through our shared look. Like the voice inside my head I could tell she was trying to give me some strength and I quietly thanked her for it. Somehow in the span of a few hours I had grown really attached to her and I still had no idea who she really was. Maybe it was the beginning of Stockholm syndrome or whatever it’s called but I felt safe in her arms.

“Hey pretty ladies, whatcha up to over there!”

A boisterous yell echoed down the hallway towards the three of us. I glanced past the woman’s shoulder to see a man walking towards us, his hands gripped not too well onto a bottle of something dark. The liquid sloshing around in the glass, threatening to spill over.

“Oh Luke there you are, why didn’t you come sooner when I called you.” The woman said.

“Sorry Ms. K, I had a little important business to take care of, you know.” He replied, holding the bottle up triumphantly. “I totally beat Myles at that game of strip poker we were all playing. Like damn should have seen that mutt all down to his skivvies and whatnot. Shit was epic.”

I took a step away from the woman as the man, Luke approached us. He looked familiar, like a hazy face that lingered on the edges of my memory. I tried to take him all in without seeming like a creeper but the man was tall. Which seemed like a trait all these people had apparently. Why they hadn’t stood out back in Falkirk before was weird because they totally would have. He was also gorgeous to look at. He had that pale tan skin that just glowed even when he wasn’t in direct sunlight and his hair was long and golden.

Luke looked at the three of us with the goofiest smile on his face, “what’s going on anyway. You sounded kind of urgent. Don’t tell me that boy of ours has gone on another bender again.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong Luke, that's why I called you. He won’t answer the door to us and I can hear things breaking. I’m getting kind of tired with all the things I’ve had to clean and replace in my son’s room so can you please try to talk to him.”

“Oh damn, no can do Ms. K, he’s blocked me from his mind but no need to worry I got a key here to his room. Just scooch on out of my way and I’ll get that bad boy unlocked for ya.”

Luke took another swig of the drink from his bottle before he tossed it to the floor where it shattered, spilling its contents onto the rug. The woman sighed as she ran a finger through her hair, muttering something under her breath. My attention turned back to Luke as I watched him stop in front of the door. He was just way too familiar.

I wanted to ask him where I knew him from but I still couldn’t think straight with all the emotions rushing through me. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to get the words out right even if I tried. The voice in my head that spoke to me earlier whispered around the edges of my conscience. Her words are incoherent but there. I could feel them tugging me to the door so I for once I listened. Like really tried to listen and I took a few steps towards Luke as he approached the room. My fingers twisting in the hem of my shirt as I waited anxiously for him to open it.

“Wait Luke, why in the goddess’s name do you have a key to Jack’s room.” I looked over at the woman who now stood with her hands on her hips in a very disapproving way. “Don’t you think it’s a little impolite to-”

“Shh, Marianne it’s ok,” Luke interrupted as he placed a finger to her lips. There was a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he pushed the key into the lock and opened the door. “I’ve got keys to every room in this house.”