One Less Empty Seat

There is never just black and white. That is something she always believed in. Yes, there

was good in the world, yes there was wrong. Yet there was an inbetween. There was a gray area.

Where those who were good could do wrong, and those who were bad could do right. And for

Adelaide, that is where she belonged. At least, that’s what she believed.

Kill or be killed. That is the law of the jungle. And the law of the jungle shows no mercy.

Even to those trying to begin a new life in a town they used to call home. Dalliston,

Pennsylvania, a place where those of poverty and riches gather under one education system.

Where those who would never meet in the outside world, somehow make friendships that’ll last

for life. Or well for the four years of High School that is.

High School could be either the time of your life or a living nightmare. Adelaide was

satisfied with something in between if possible. Yet in her rare case, that would not be possible.

She and a few others residing in Dalliston were something far different from others surrounding

them. In the night, they ran in packs, practiced summonings, and charmed their next feeding. The

supernatural hid among the humans, living ordinary lives, and maintaining an order among one

another in order to keep their secret hidden.

That’s what got her stuck in this place. Not like she had a choice though. Barely sixteen,

and one of the most experienced members of her pack, she wasn’t to be taken lightly when

among other supernatural. Accused and guilty of charges from her past is what caused this

‘lockdown’. No skipping school, no runs, no wandering, come straight home, and be watched

like a pup. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be free. She wanted revenge, not staying

coddled in a house where no one understood.

 Her guardian was the only one who would try to get Adelaide to open up. She had given

her a second chance at life, and truth be told, Adelaide couldn’t care less. In her opinion, she had

been doing fine on her own in the wild. Without a pack, without laws, without a conscience. She

had been free from the tyranny that made her who she was, and now she was back in the hot-spot

of supernatural county.

The last thing on her mind was to make friends. Just get through a normal school day, and

go home. Even there she couldn’t let her guard down. With so many eyes watching one might go

mad. Going mad was an understatement. Especially now.

Walking through the hallways of the school was absolute hell. Being packed and shoved

by those older and taller than you. People in front of you walking too slow, always making you

late for class, and even going through the back hallways would take longer to beat the overflow

of the main halls. Supernatural hearing would only make it worse. Especially if you were the

only one in your pack forced to go to school on a full moon.

“Hey, watch it!” Someone shouts in the hall, but despite having super hearing, Adelaide

doesn’t catch it in time for the earbuds playing classical music are the only thing she is tuning

into before they are snagged on a student passing by in the other direction causing the earbuds to

be ripped from her ears, and take her Ipod with them.

She has all but a few seconds to react as students are pushing her forward and to the side

as her senses adjust to everything surrounding her. The distant voices trying to whisper, the

loud-mouths yapping away, the scent of stress and other hormones filling the air as she stays

completely still in the bustling hallway. The students behind her are getting frustrated with her

reluctance to move, but she can’t. Everything is too much. If she moves, she risks revealing what

she is. That won’t be the end for her, but for all of those still in the school.
 “Move!” One kid behind her shouts and she clenches her fists as she feels her nails begin

to dig into her soft pink flesh of her palm. She can’t lose control. Not here. Not now.

“What’s the hold up?” Someone else asks and her eyes scan the hallway for anyone she

can recognize. A familiar figure with black hair walks past causing her hazel eyes to glow an icy

blue while his a deep red before returning to normal.

Adelaide loses focus as someone pushes her from behind. It takes everything in her not to

turn around and snap at them, or better yet tear them limb from limb, so she closes her eyes and

tries to take in a deep breath. “Move!” The same kid from before pushes her again and she

stumbles forward, her heart racing as she falls to the ground; bracing her fall with her fisted

hands on the cold tile floor. Blood was pounding in her ears, the constant chattering of voices

drowned out by her own inner voice shouting at her to let go.

Images replay in her mind.

The forest floor being soaked in not only falling rain, but the all too familiar red

substance flowing through her and everyone around her veins. The thick scent of soot and ash,

the screams in the long night over the howling wind.

“What’s wrong with this kid?” Someone comments as they all begin to step around the

girl, not even bothering to check if she’s alright.

The crackling of fire grows closer as she tries to run, the flames tickling at her hind legs

as she races to the edge of the forest. Her mouse brown fur is now matted from the rain and

blood stains soaked deep into her ragged coat. They were coming. They were coming. They we-

Even though her eyes are closed, the sudden presence of two males makes a growl rise up

in her throat. They partake of no notice, or simply don’t seem to care as they grip onto her
shoulders to lift her up, and carry her off to a side hallway. “Don’t worry we got you.” One of

them reassures her, and she lets out a huff of air.

‘Yeah right.’ She thinks to herself, and tries to open her eyes only for the other to speak

up.

“Your eyes are still glowing, I wouldn’t.” He remarks, and Adelaide bites the inside of

her cheek, doing everything she can from not shifting then and there.

‘Where are you taking me?’ She asks them her voice traveling into theirs through

telepathic communication. They nearly drop her at the sound of her voice in their head, but the

one on her right clears his throat.

“The boy’s bathroom. No one uses this one.” He states and Adelaide begrudgingly lets

the two males practically drag her into the male restroom. Once inside is a different story. They

manage to open the restroom door only to have her easily remove herself from their grip. She

rushes forward to get some space from them before turning on her heels and growls at the two.

Her eyes are still flashing the icy blue that seems to pull the two in a bit closer as theirs flash a

bright goldenrod. Her canines are elongated slightly as she bares her fangs, and the one moppy

brown haired boy goes to the restroom entrance, quickly locking it.

“You can relax now, pup. No one is coming in here.” The tan boy who spoke first pipes

up causing Adelaide to relax slightly knowing he was right. “There, that wasn’t so bad. First full

moons can be rough, but don’t worry everyone gets the hang of them after a while.” Adelaide is

silent as she stares the two males down.

She recognizes them, but they obviously have no idea who she is. How could they, she

tried to keep a low profile until today. “I’m Nicodemus, and this is Mark.” The tan skinned boy

with dark brown eyes motions to the mophead still at the restroom door. “You can call me Nico,
and Mark, well, there’s a lot of things you could call him.” Nico jests and Mark lets out a gasp

before looking back at Adelaide’s posture.

“It’s okay pup, you can trust us.” Mark tries to be friendly, but this causes Adelaide to

take a step back and snarl.

“Don’t call me pup, you mutts. If anything, you’re the pups frolicking about during a full

moon.” She snorts and Mark chuckles causing Nico to raise a brow.

“You do realize we just rescued you back there from spilling the beans right?” Nico asks;

curious yet also a bit hurt. “The least you could do was say thanks.”

Adelaide remains quiet as she makes her way over to one of the white sinks to splash

water on her face. The blood on her hands makes her freeze up. Although the puncture holes in

her skin are now completely gone, the fresh blood on her skin and under her nails remains.

“Especially since it looks like you weren’t that far off from going berserk.” Mark notes

causing the girl to glance over to their standing figures. Both of them were somewhat taller than

her, but they weren’t giants, like some boys were. As stated before Mark had a mop-head of

brown hair, and his skin was somewhat pale compared to Nico’s natural tan complection. Both

boys had dark brown eyes, and their brows furrowed as they took in her own appearance.

“Haven’t I seen you before?” Nico points a finger at her trying to remember when and

where he recognized her face. Her skin tone was a peachy pale, and her shoulder length light

brown hair resembled more of the color of a brown mouse. Her hazel eyes however are what

really confused him. He was good at remembering faces, yet it was only her eyes that he could

remember vividly. Not on her however, but on something a few months back. In the dark stormy

night he and Mark can barely recollect what happened.

 “We have geometry together.” She states blatantly and begins washing her hands as she

lets out an amused chuckle. “Would explain why two upperclassmen got stuck with a bunch of

sophomores.” Mark parts his lips letting out a hurt whine before pouting.

“That’s not nice.” Mark whimpers and as Nico takes a step forward towards Adelaide.

“She’s not wrong though. You aren’t that bright in the head sometimes Mark~” He teases

and Adelaide finishes scrubbing her hands clean of her own blood. The sudden presence of Nico

being close causes her to growl. “Easy there. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Look, I don’t need your help. Thanks for everything back there, but I don’t need two

inexperienced mutts trying to tell me what to do.” Her tone is anything but nice, and Mark

recoils causing Nico to cross his arms over his chest.

“Oh, and you’re obviously much more experienced than us then. So what you first shifted

when you were, fourteen, fifteen? You can’t be much older than sixteen if you’re a sophomore.”

Nico tries to diffuse the situation by getting answers, however Adelaide doesn’t see it as that.

“Wouldn’t you like to know. You guys obviously have no idea who you’re talking to, and

honestly I’d rather keep it that way. If the others…” She trails off thinking back to a distant

memory. “I’ve lost my touch.” She chuckles more to herself than to the other two in the

restroom. “I’m talking to two boys who have barely turned, and I almost shifted in front of the

entire school. That would have been a mess.” She shakes her head and adjusts her backpack

straps as she shoves past Nico to get to the restroom door. Mark backs away instinctively, but

decides to speak up as she unlocks the door.

“Can you at least tell us your name?” His eyes are wide in curiosity as she turns to look

back at him.

“Figure it out yourself.” She huffs and leaves the bathroom.

 Mark and Nico are left standing there awkwardly for a few moments before Mark turns to

Nico. “Well she was interesting.” His voice is sincere, and Nico glances over at the door.

“Yeah…” He begins walking to the exit as Mark follows behind him.

“We should ask Alex and Dillon about her. Maybe they know who she is.” They exit the

bathroom and turn down the side hallway, Mark excitedly talking about the girl and who she

could possibly be, “I mean, did you see her eyes. They were glowing a blue I’ve never seen

before? Does she have a pack? She seemed a bit standoffish, but maybe we could convince her to

join our pack. I’m sure Alex wouldn’t mind.” As they turn the corner Mark’s eyes light up with

an idea, “she has geometry with us, why don’t we ask her to sit with us at lunch then?”

“We’ll see what Alex says.” Nico sighs as they head to history, knowing they’ll be late.

Unaware of the both of them, Adelaide pushed herself off of the lockers residing next to

the bathroom door. The two boys had been completely engrossed in their conversation to even

sense her. With a snort, she heads in the opposite direction as the bell rings signaling she would

be late for biology.

This would be an interesting day for Adelaide. If only she knew how it would be much

more than a mere day.