FOURTEEN: STRANGE.

"Terra! Terra!" I could hear Summer call, but shock wouldn't let me answer. It was as though I had lost my voice as I continued staring at the fading woman.

"Here she is," Eska alerted the rest when she found me staring at a big tree and ran to get me.

When she held me, she immediately let go, and I snapped back to reality.

"Girl, you're so cold."

Summer came by, panting from the long run she had. She stared at me for a moment.

"You okay, Terra? We lost you there for a sec."

Jesse, who was behind her, peeked at me and asked,

"You okay?"

I could sense the concern in his voice, but then I was quickly distracted by the sudden upset in my stomach, so I wrapped my arms around it.

"Yeah, I'm gonna throw up. See y'all at school."

I turned my back to them to leave. Why did I feel so weird?

When the search was over, they all reported back and submitted their search equipment. Nothing was found, not even a clue.

After school that day, I went back to my hostel. I couldn't stop thinking about it all; the dream I had and its connection to the real incident. If I had told Clary earlier about it, we could have sorted it out. Now, I had to make sure she never found out about my dream.

That night, Pink was fast asleep. I couldn't sleep; I was distracted by what had happened today.

I kept changing positions on the bed to see if I would fall asleep, but to no avail. So, I just got up and headed toward the window.

It was a beautiful view; the moon was full, and the stars that filled the sky were so lovely, it made the sky look flawless.

I sat on a stool, looking at the sky from the window. It was so peaceful. I laid my arms on the window sill, closing my eyes as I felt the gentle breeze that blew in.

...

Still that night, at Caveroop Park, Jennie and Sofie were seated on a bench, pretending to read a fashion magazine.

They were both dressed in all-black hoods and skinny jeans, wearing black sunglasses and armed with weapons.

They'd been there for almost an hour, and Sofie was feeling tired and bored. She turned to look at Jennie, who was still alert.

"You sure he'll show up?"

Jennie, with a determined spirit, unshaken and unwilling to give up, said with confidence and hope,

"He has to. It's the full moon."

Sofie sighed and put the magazine away.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that it's too peaceful for an attack."

Jennie looked at Sofie and scoffed. She knew the game Sofie was trying to play, but she wasn't willing to give in.

"So what do you suggest we do? Pay it a visit? Last I checked, no one knows who it is."

"Okay, what if it does show up? What then? Attack it and kill it?"

Jennie rolled her eyes.

"Yep, that's the plan."

Angrily, Sofie stood up, smacking the magazine against the bench. She yelled,

"And do you expect to kill it? It's fast, quick; too quick for any of us and it's too smart."

Jennie sighed without replying to what had been said.

Seeing how quiet and still determined she was, Sofie let out a defeated breath. She knew nothing she said was going to change Jennie's mind.

"I think we should call it a night. With all that's happened, you, of all people, should take a break."

Jennie frowned.

"Seriously, Sofie? Are you with me or against me?"

"I'm with you, but we can do this another night. I mean, the alpha is still out there, so you can chase it some other night." But Jennie was still too stubborn to consider her words, and Sofie had just had enough. "Why?! Why do you want to do this anyway? Why do you want to become the alpha so badly? Is it because you want to turn Pink?"

Jennie turned her head away.

"No."

"Then what?"

"Because I'm dying, Sofie!" she blurted out. "And yeah, I do want to turn Pink."

At hearing this, Sofie gasped. She picked up the magazine and sat down, placing her hands on Jennie's back.

"Gosh, why didn't you tell me before?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Silence swept through as they avoided eye contact. Jennie didn't want to talk about it, while Sofie felt guilty about her actions.

There was an awkwardness in the atmosphere as both of them didn't know what to say to each other.

After what seemed like forever, they heard a munching sound coming from the other side of the park. At first, it was faint, but then it grew louder, and Sofie got up in alarm.

"Did you hear that?"

"I think it's coming from over there." Jennie pointed toward the other side of the park. "Do you think it's the alpha?"

"I doubt it. Should we go check it out?" Sofie asked, and Jennie agreed.

They both carefully and quietly walked toward the other side of the park, which was partly dark, except for the small dim streetlight that made it a little bright enough to see.

As they walked, Jennie was filled with hope that it was the alpha, but to her dismay, they stumbled upon a little boy digging his fangs into a young woman. Blood was everywhere. They were fascinated.

"So the alpha is a little boy? Looks like it's gonna be tonight after all."

Then Sofie leaned over and whispered to her,

"No, that's not the alpha. It's a vampire, Jennie. We've gotta get out of here."

"How are you so sure about that?"

"It's pale," Sofie pointed out.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Jennie said, raising her voice a little.

The boy stopped what he was doing and slowly turned around, but no one was there. He sniffed the air with his blood-covered nose and then went away.

"Phew, that was close," Sofie sighed with relief on their way back to their lodge, but Jennie didn't even care about what she said. She kept pondering, looking worried and confused.

"That's... weird. Why didn't the alpha show up today? It never misses a full moon."

"It's strange, isn't it?" Sofie said, then dragged Jennie along. "But we have to hurry back before that thing starts following us."