Page 28 of Beasts

The next morning, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. For some reason, the air seems thicker, and the sky is brighter. I feel like I’m floating on a cloud. I’m up early enough to see Kane jump into the pool in the backyard. I certainly won’t be joining him, so I go downstairs to the kitchen to boil some water for tea. I’ll have to leave some money behind for the guys so that when they get food, they can get some for me as well. I feel really bad eating all of theirs.

It’s so surprising to me that Kane can dive under the pool mat and completely disappear for hours. The autumn leaves have almost covered the mat, making it nearly impossible to tell there’s a pool in the backyard at all.

“Morning Amelia.” I turn to see Nolan come into the kitchen.

“Morning, did you want some tea?” He nods as I grab another cup and start pouring one for him as well.

“Hey, I heard you playing the piano last night.” I turn to see that Oliver has joined us.

“Sorry if it kept you up.”

“Nah, it was nice to sleep too. New song?”

“Drama club needs a composed duet for the ending of their play.” I'm distinctly noticing a lack of Oliver actually stating that we are part of the duet singing for the play. As they keep talking, I look out of the kitchen window and see three kittens jumping up and down all over the tree by the pool.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt.” Both Nolan and Oliver stop their conversation to look towards me. “It’s just that I thought no one was supposed to go outside if Kane is in the pool?” They both step towards me and look outside the window. They can see the three brothers playing outside.

“Are you sure Kane’s in the pool?” Nolan asks.

“Definitely, I'm absolutely positive.” Both the boys say nothing more but dash out through the back door. I follow quickly behind them, but Nolan makes me stop as I come outside.

“Don’t come closer.” I hear splashing water, and two of the brothers are standing poolside. They both dive headfirst into the small opening where the pool mat is, with Nolan and Oliver quickly following. For the moment, I'm standing on my own in the backyard where it's freezing cold, and there are people beneath the water's surface struggling to get someone out and keep them from drowning. I understand that the brothers have spare lives, but what about Nolan and Oliver? What happens if he turns on them and drowns one of them instead? I start to hyperventilate, wondering what I should do. Should I call for the others? Is anyone even still home? I have to do something.

Moments later, heads start to pop out of the water, and I see the two brothers and Nolan trying to get Hendrik out of the pool. I run closer, even though I know I'm not supposed to, and help them pull Hendrik out of the water. He's pale and cold, and I'm not sure if he's even still breathing. Niles immediately attempts to perform CPR on his brother. I'm freaking out. Even though they have spare lives, what if they miscounted, or something happens and he doesn't wake up again? Hendrik doesn't deserve this. Just as I'm assuming the worst, Hendrik spits out some water and starts coughing. He's okay.

“Hey, did you lose life that time?” Nolan pats Hendrik on the shoulder as he leans him up. Hendrik shakes his head no but doesn't answer straightaway. I suppose it's hard when you've just had a lungful of water. I turn around and realize that neither Kane nor Oliver has returned from beneath the water's surface. Nolan must have had the same thought because Oliver's head pops up from under the water with Kane's nearby. As Oliver comes to the pool's edge with Kane under his arm, Nolan helps them both get out of the water. Kane seems completely unconscious, but something seems even more wrong with Oliver. As he stands away from the pool, he collapses nearby. I want to dash to him, but Nolan raises his hand to stop me.

"Hey dude, just cough it up. You’ll get sick if you don't." As if on cue, Oliver, down on all fours, spits up what looks like more than just a mouthful of blood. In fact, it doesn't behave like blood; it reminds me of something he once said about fish blood turning into goo. I look over at Kane and see that the scales are slowly disappearing from his skin as he returns to his normal self. But I also notice a sizable bite mark on his right arm. Did Oliver bite him?

Nolan walks over to Oliver and pats him on the back. Richard appears beside me.

"They’ll both be fine, but Oliver is going to need a lot more rest. And probably a bucket," he says. The brothers, including Hendrik, pull Kane further away from the water. I'm surprised that Hendrik is so willing to lend a hand to Kane, who just tried to drown him. But I have to remember that these guys are used to each other and also used to the fact that demons enjoy killing people, even if they don't want to or mean to. I'm still struggling to understand the concept. I'm surprised when Nolan helps Oliver up by throwing an arm around his shoulder and standing him up. I thought Oliver had too much trouble touching people?

I follow everyone inside the house, feeling completely and utterly useless. What am I supposed to do in a situation like this? Who am I supposed to be helping exactly? As Nolan helps Oliver up the steps, he shouts over his shoulder for me to just continue on with my day. Yeah, how am I supposed to do that?

I did my best to concentrate on all my lectures and even stopped by the drama club to excuse both myself and Oliver. I told them that he wasn't feeling too well and that, instead of risking everyone else getting sick, we would just work on the duet at home and present it on Thursday. It was probably a bit presumptuous of me to assume we would get it done by then, but it was the best excuse I could come up with on short notice.

For some reason, I found myself rushing home, even though I didn't quite know why. It was still early, and most of the guys would be in their final lectures of the day. Since I didn’t have a lecture, I felt obligated to help around the house or somehow assist Oliver or Kane in recovering from what happened earlier today. When I arrived home, I was surprised to find Kane and the brothers sitting around the living room, chatting with each other. Despite my curiosity about their seemingly relaxed behavior, especially considering one of them almost died, I decided to brush it off and let them be.

I went upstairs, put my bags away in my room, and quietly sneaked up to Oliver’s room. I knocked gently, just in case he might be asleep. I heard him moan a faint ‘come in,’ so I did.

He’s sprawled himself out on his bed wearing just his tracksuit pants, even on his stomach I can see his back muscles. But I shouldn't really think about that right now. I approach him and sit on the edge of the bed without touching him.

“Hey.” I say just so he knows it's me. Gradually he rolls around to his side and faces me.

“Hey.”

“I just wanted to let you know that I spoke to the drama class. They're not expecting us there today, obviously, but they do want to hear something from us by Thursday.”

“Thanks.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I bit into a cold fish.” He pauses for a moment. “Is Kane okay?”

“He's perfectly fine. I was a little surprised…he's downstairs making peace with the brothers, I think.”

“It's not the first time he's tried to drown one of them.”

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