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argentum_ls
#1: The Tomorrow People (NS)
Summary: Allison learns why she's never felt like she fits in.
Word Count: 1075
Allison had stood over Scott with her bow at the ready, knowing that there was only one way for this to end. He had lied to her. He had betrayed her. He was a monster, a werewolf. And, though she hadn’t known it until just then, she had been trained her entire life for dealing with monsters. There was only one way: Death. Yet—
—no matter how hot the anger burned inside her, she couldn’t bring herself to raise the bow, couldn’t envision nocking the arrow. Aunt Kate chided her. But not even the desire to please the woman she had admired more than her own mother couldn't get her arm to obey the signals she thought her brain was sending it.
Aunt Kate had been slaughtered in the fight that followed, the Alpha slashing open her throat while Allison watched, helpless. The next few hours were a blur. She knew she was in shock, felt like a fish-eye lens stood between her and the rest of the world. Not until nearly dawn, as she lay wide-awake in bed, did the horror of the night hit her. Between one breath and the next, an invisible hand seized her heart and adrenaline surged through her body. She sat up, sucked in a deep gulp of air. Oh, God. Aunt Kate. Bright light swept over her vision, a strange energy crackled around the edges of her body.
Her next breath brought a searing lungful of water. She sputtered, started hacking. Fought to swim up, legs kicking with powerful strokes, before she understood that she was completely submerged. Her head broke the surface of the water. Around racking coughs, she glimpsed a beach not more than a few dozen feet away. It was night, though not completely dark. The moon seemed brighter than she’d ever seen, the stars many times more numerous.
A person was standing on the beach, a darker shadow against the night. She swam toward it, found her footing soon enough. Still trying to clear her lungs, she struggled to the shore. The person waded in, tucked a strong arm around her back and helped her above the wave line, patted her on the back until she could breathe freely. She collapsed into the sand; he hunkered himself into a crouch an arm’s length away, as if he were afraid of spooking her, but reluctant to allow any real distance.
“I can’t believe it,” he said, shaking his head. She felt relief and amazement; knew they weren’t hers. “After all this time. It’s so good to meet you, Allison.”
She started. How did Adam know her name? Sucked her lower lip behind her teeth. And how did she know his? She shoved a handful of salt-water soaked hair out of her face. It was still too dark to make out many details, but she could tell that the man before her was older, maybe her dad’s age, white with short brown hair. He had on cargo shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals—strange apparel for the middle of the night. He spoke with an accent she immediately pegged as Australian, though beyond that she didn’t know. “I-I’m sorry,” she said, wanting to duck her head, trying to meet his eyes. “I, um…” What was she supposed to say next? Where am I? Who are you? What am I doing here? How did I get here? Has he been waiting for me? How would he know to wait? The questions piled up on each other in her brain, backlogged on her tongue.
He smiled, kind and paternal. “I’ll explain everything.” She got the feeling that he’d done this before, more than once. But he didn’t move. He just kept staring at her like he had been waiting for her all his life. Allison was suddenly very conscious of how the shorts and t-shirt she wore to bed were drenched and clinging to her body; she tried to pluck them away discretely. “Sorry,” he said, a slight shake of his head breaking the tension. “You’re the first one to come here—“ He glanced out over the ocean, “—in over fifteen years.” She heard more than he said, wasn’t sure if she was supposed to: Is nature going to give us another chance? Is humanity ready now?
Finally, he stood up, offered a hand to help her up if she wanted one. She eyed it, decided she didn’t need it. She pushed herself to her feet, started trying to brush the sand off her skin and clothes. It stuck to her everywhere. Adam waited, his arms now clasped behind his back. While cleaning she had time to notice that the air was hot and humid, much more so than February in California should be. And the stars … the stars were all wrong. Swallowing back panicked bile, she searched the sky for anything familiar. Found it in the moon. It was definitely her moon, a darkened crescent on its side as it waned. But, the stars--
“You’re on an island in the South Pacific,” Adam responded, though she was sure she hadn’t asked a question. Not out loud, anyway. “You teleported.”
Allison blinked at him, felt the strength in her legs slip away. She sat with a thump back on the beach. She knew the word, but couldn’t force it to make sense. This had to be a dream. A nightmare. The whole night had to be one incredible, detailed, and very long nightmare. There was no other way to explain how werewolves and werewolf hunters, murder and violent animal attacks, and a surprise near-drowning and teleporting could all fit into one story. These things didn’t go together—couldn’t go together—in the real world.
“There’s Orion,” Adam said, pointing up at the sky, at the stars. “It looks upside down to you, but see the belt.” Allison followed his finger as he traced a line in the air. She had to adjust her frame of reference, but then the old familiar constellation snapped into place. The panic subsided. “I know it feels like everything is upside down right now,” he continued, still gazing upward. “With time, it’ll start to make sense again. No matter what, though, you need to know that you’re not in this alone…” In her head, she heard a medley of voices add the rest: “Tomorrow People are never alone.”
He offered his hand again. This time, she accepted it.
