part0016

Nik jumped behind the steering wheel as Josh climbed into the back with Sierra. He backed slowly out of the parking space and eased out of the school car park, casting his eyes skyward as he drove. As worried as he was that she was unconscious it had at least stopped the earthquake and the sky had cleared to blue once again, her powers abating now that she was no longer awake to fuel them. He tried his best not to panic, not to rush through the roads leading to their house whilst Josh sent out an SOS text to their brothers. They should all be home within half an hour and then they could get to the bottom of what the hell was happening to their girl.

He peered at her sleeping form in the rear view mirror, glancing at her often to check she was still breathing. He had no idea why her powers were so unstable but could only assume it was the result of trying to suppress her ability for so long. She hadn't allowed it to naturally manifest and now it was bursting to get out of her, desperate to be used and responding to any vulnerability she showed as it found a crack in her carefully constructed armour to sneak through. If they didn't fix this, and soon, then it would destroy her and possibly take out the whole town with it.

In no time at all they were skidding to a stop at their house and Nik left the car in front of the double garage as he jumped out to unlock the front doors. Josh hauled Sierra from the car and carried her effortlessly inside, his face grim as he undoubtedly held the same panic that Nik himself did. Josh placed her on the sofa, laying a soft throw across her before he backed slowly away, his eyes fixated on her as though she would spontaneously combust at any moment. And, giving what they knew so far, it was entirely possible.

Nik shook his head at the muttered question, feeling at as much of a loss as Josh did as he chewed on his lip ring. They needed Logan- the only one with the ability to figure out what the hell was going on here .

Time passed slowly as they waited in silence for the others, neither of them talking but both of them watching Sierra with fear in their chests; not fear for themselves or for their safety, but fear for Sierra and what could happen to her if they didn't save her.

After about half an hour Nik's head perked up at the sound of tires on gravel, signalling the arrival of the others. In moments car doors were slamming shut and feet pounded the gravel before they burst through the front door, racing into the living room mere seconds later. The three skidded to a stop and stared down at the still unconscious Sierra, their chests heaving with breaths as they stared.

Nik left Josh to answer Theo's question, instead choosing to stare at Sierra's pale face which was framed by her flowing blonde hair. She looked so peaceful in this moment, far from the sad girl he had become so used to seeing. His heart pounded in his chest as he thought of how close they had come to losing her already, and it was only his pure worry that kept him from rising with a curse and hitting a wall to rid him of his fear.

He looked up at Theo's words, nodding once as he realised the empath was being assaulted by Nik's emotions. He reigned it in, taking a deep breath as he rubbed his hands across his face.

He looked to Logan, the one who usually led them and had all the answers that the rest of them failed to understand. Yet, this time, when they needed it most, Logan looked as lost and broken as the rest of them.

He knelt beside Sierra, his eyes roaming her face as his face turned troubled, and Nik knew the older one would be blaming himself somehow. He took his responsibility for the group so seriously, that he always felt at fault for anything that went wrong. Even if it was something that they couldn't have foreseen, let alone prevented.

Anger began to bubble in Nik's chest once again as he watched Logan wallow in his own pity party, and something about the sight made him snap. This wasn't the time for self- despair; it was the time to help their girl. Theo's eyes cut from Logan's distraught form to Nik in what he thought was surprise, but Nik bit out his single word before Theo could head him off.

Logan's head snapped up from where he had rested it in his hands against the sofa, confusion and surprise in his eyes as he looked back at his brother, no doubt not understanding the anger directed at him even though he had been so angry with himself just moments prior.

Nik gestured at Sierra with a wide sweep of his arm, his anger taking over that Logan hadn't yet taken the steps necessary to help her. He'd been here the longest and what had he achieved? He hadn't even spoken to her when they arrived and now here they were, on the brink of destruction, the brink of losing her because he hadn't bothered to intervene. If she woke up, if she still panicked, if her powers burst out of her-he shuddered to think of the damage it could cause and all because Logan had refused to get involved. Did he really think he was so above them all that he didn't have to? That he could risk everything for no reason other than to avoid getting his hands dirty?

Nik didn't care that he was roaring, that his inner strength was fuelling his anger. He hated feeling so powerless, unable to help Sierra when she so clearly needed it. He was the strongest of them all but what good was that when he couldn't protect her?

It was Theo who stepped up to him even as the others stepped back; his ability was the only one which could counter Nik's, the only one that could calm him when he needed to, and if Theo was stepping up then Nik knew he had gone too far. Theo looked up at Nik and he reluctantly stared back.

With a sigh Nik allowed himself to relax as Theo calmed the storm inside of him, taking his negative emotions and scattering them with a simple suggestion. He replaced the anger with the need to help Sierra, to step out of the way so that they could fix the problem at hand. A moment later Theo stepped back, his eyebrows raised in question at Nik who smiled ruefully as he clapped Theo's shoulder in thanks.

Theo nodded slightly and gave the smallest smile as he moved away, pausing as a small noise drew their attention and they turned to see Sierra stirring on the sofa. Her brow was creased as she wrestled, murmuring as her mind struggled with whatever vision it was seeing .

She was floating, that was the only way she could describe it. Floating amongst the clouds and stars, except she couldn't see anything. The world rocked and turned, tumbling around her as she listened to the natter of animals that she could not see, all of them pleading with her to return to them, to talk to them like she did as a child. They missed her and wanted her back, not hiding from who she really was. Guilt washed over her as she felt how she had abandoned the nature that she had been so comforted by as a child and the creatures rushed to reassure her, their natters filling her ears as she sighed happily in their presence. She apologised, over and over as they soothed her worried mind, promising her she was safe, that they would keep her safe, that they were there for her no matter how far away she was from them. They were linked, and it was a link to be cherished and nurtured, not forgotten.

The darkness morphed before her, turning from an inky black into a grey shadow, growing larger and larger as a figure stalked from its depths. She found herself unable to breath, gasping for air as her lungs struggled with the pressure forced upon them. She stared up, up up and up even further at the large figure, a face lost in the shadows of her dreams despite the gleaming eyes that watched her from its depths. A deep chuckle echoed through the air and the nattering of the animals stopped, all of them quietening in fear just as Sierra herself did at the same time. She couldn't see a face, but then she very much doubted she wanted to. She had no idea what she was looking at, but it wasn't a friend, it wasn't one of the guys, and it wasn't one of her creatures.

"You should listen to your Father, Sierra.” A deep voice rumbled the words, chasing the echo across the suffocating darkness around them. “If he locks you away, I won't be able to get you. You really would be safe. Miserable, but safe. He does have a iron cage, after all, and not many things can get through iron."

Another chuckle followed the gravelly voice and she shivered against the chill that accompanied it. She urged her feet to move, begged them to turn her around and run her away but she was frozen, her feet declining her every order and instead remaining cemented in place.

"You can't escape me forever though. I will find you, I will come for you, make no mistake. I know exactly what you are going to do, and I know when to make my move. Wait for me, Sierra, just as I have waited for you. "

The figure dissipated before her eyes, the grey shape turning to smoke as it rushed towards her and she opened her mouth to scream even as it spoke inside of her, its words assaulting her ears as it exploded within her mind.

She woke with a scream, throwing herself up and away from the figure as sobs tore at her throat and her body racked with the force of them. Strong arms gripped her and held her still and she screamed again, flailing widely as she searched for something, anything that she could use to escape the monster that held her.

The second voice was accompanied by a rush of calm, calm that was not her own yet she still clutched to it as though it were a life line and she were deep in the sea. She willed herself to relax, allowing her eyes to stop darting around and settle on what was right in front of her .

She sagged against the arms holding her, breathing deeply as a sense of safety washed over her, this time an emotion she knew to be hers, one she knew was born from the odd trust she seemed to have for the men surrounding her.

She was sat on a sofa, she realised, with Leo holding her from the left around her waist whilst Theo held her hand from the right. The others knelt on the ground before her, watching her silently as she took in her bearings.

The living room was large, with two other sofa's either end of it and the one she was sat on in the middle opposite a large television. A fire place sat just to its side, the mantle clear of all but one photo-the five guys, huddled together in a field with big grins on their faces. She smiled at the sight before she turned back to them all, her breaths coming much calmer now she understood where she was.

They exchanged uncertain glances, glances that set her nerves on fire as she started to recall the point just before the darkness took her. Her bruise, her panic, her powers. Her eyes widened as she stared at them, the panic setting in once more as she realised how close they were to the truth. Before she could speak Logan raised a hand and fixed her with a calm and patient stare.

She stared at him blankly, refusing to give forth any information to the guys that she didn't know if to trust with her secret, and only looked away when Josh reached for her hand and took it gently in his own. He pulled up her arm, his mouth set in a grim but determined line as he placed his hand over the bruise her Father had left there and touched her gently as he raised his eyes to meet hers. As she stared back at him, receiving a look full of unspoken meaning which she did not quite understand, she felt a warm tingle start along her arm, almost a burn but not quite enough to hurt. Without saying a word, without removing his eyes from Sierra's, Josh lowered her arm back to her lap and gestured silently, causing her to look down at the bruise her Father had left just one day ago. The bruise that she could see clearly within her minds eye, yet inexplicably no longer remained on her arm.