Dangerous Sanctuary | Chapter 1b: Wish for Me, I'll Come Running to Save You Saturday, April 14, 2018 4:23 AM
Susan wished there was a way to inconspicuously leave. If she asked, she would most likely be allowed to get up without any undue fuss, but that still fell into the 'attracting-attention' category. The only other way out of the chair with the legrest up was over the arm, and that wasn't any better of an option.
She wasn't afraid of Morkoth...much. But he wasn't Morkoth anymore. The pitch-black pools of his eyes was clear enough testimony to that. That was Shadow. The safest, sanest course of action appeared to be to just sit as completely still as possible, breathe only when she absolutely had to, and melt into the woodwork again-something she wasn't too bad at doing, if Homecoming had been any guide to go by.
But while she did her best to keep Shadow from noticing her, Susan didn't have a problem with shooting her older brother the most evil glare she could muster. Unfortunately, he was also refusing to look in their general direction, so that glare met the back of his head. She could taunt him with telepathy, but the risk of her parents picking up on it was too great. Not to mention, she didn't want to risk setting him off, not when Shadow was in the mood he was in.
Ben might not have noticed her, but Jade did. Her older sister frowned, her eyes widening, and gave Susan a slight shake of the head. Stop.
Susan tore her eyes away finally, averting her glare to the floor, sprawled half over the armrest. It wasn't a comfortable position, but it was the only one that would put as much distance between her and Shadow without actually untangling herself from the blankets and clambering out of the chair.
She closed her eyes as she yawned and rested her head against the back, the quiet chatter in the room and the radio gradually dulling to a distant, faint roar of incomprehensible sound. When she had finally drifted into that gray place between awareness and dreams, Susan slowly began to register a hand on her head, stroking her hair slow and gentle.
Forcing her eyes open, she twisted a bit, looking over her shoulder. He was Morkoth once more, and although his face was expressionless, she wasn't so out of it she missed the unmistakable traces of worry in his eyes.
The danger had passed; she gladly changed positions, her left arm tingling in protest as blood started rushing back into it. Twisting around, she nestled her head in the hollow of his shoulder as his arm went around her. Through the hazy layers of sleep, Susan was faintly aware that while she'd fallen asleep like this before on the couch with Rob -- or more rarely Ben -- while watching television, especially when she wasn't feeling well...this was different.
But it was too subtle a distinction for her to grasp at the moment. All that mattered to her was that she felt safe...whether or not she should.
It was almost funny, she reflected as she started fading, how he could scare her one moment, and feel like the safest place in the world to her the next.
A thought prodded her back to a higher level of consciousness.
~~Sue?~~
~~Yeah?~~ Even her mental voice sounded mumbled and slurred with sleep to her.
There was a pause, and she almost started to drift off again. ~~I'm sorry if I scared you... It's just...Ben...he-~~
Susan couldn't keep from yawning as she cut him off. ~~Hey...I gotta live with him. I know how he is. Don't worry about it.~~
Her father's voice, sharp with urgency, cut through the haze, and Susan forced her eyes open. The tension in the room changed, growing stronger, and she tried to follow what was going on, a task that was becoming easier with each passing moment. Another tornado was rumored to have touched down somewhere nearby.
"Shadow, can you send a wraith to scout the area and verify that report?" Samantha asked as she rose from her chair, walking over to the map.
"Already on it," he replied.
"Nathan, where's the reports coming from?" she asked, shouldering past Jade.
Susan watched as her father traced a small circle on the map. "About seven miles south from here, from what's coming over the scanners."
"Shadow, I want that position and direction verified ASAP," Samantha said, turning back around.
"Mom, let me handle this one, take a break," Ben said, stepping in her path.
She felt Morkoth tense, and he looked at Samantha. "More like five miles, and so far, we're dead in its path."
Susan couldn't help but flinch slightly at his choice of words.
"Ben, we're both on this one," Samantha said, and he didn't argue. "Let's see if we can't make it dissipate, or at least skip over us."
"Can't we deflect it?" he asked.
Samantha turned back to the map, pointing at something. "It'll be harder to go against the earth's rotation, and if we did, we'd run risk of it cutting through this corner here, and taking out most of the fencelines. I don't want to deal with loose cattle. If we push it past going with the rotation, chances are too good it'll hit the Folgher's house. If we dissipate it, great. If not, we get it to skip over our property, and it's still got a good three miles of farmland to play with before it starts hitting anything important if it stays on this course."
"Better hurry," Morkoth interrupted. "Four miles now."
Susan chewed her lip nervously as she watched them get settled, hands joined, linking their efforts to combat nature. She didn't notice Morkoth's hand sliding up her arm to her shoulder until he started gently rubbing her neck, easing the tension.
"Go ahead and get some sleep, Sue," he whispered, gently, but firmly guiding her back down.
Susan glanced at him, then looked back to the others. "Not with one so close by."
"Don't worry about the tornado. It won't...it won't hit us. You're safe now." His voice was almost inaudible, whispering in her ear.
"But...?"
"You need rest. C'mon. Nothing's going to happen to you. Not while I'm here."
Susan hesitated for only another moment longer before forcing herself to relax. She was tired, but more importantly, she believed him. Closing her eyes again, it wasn't long before sleep finally overtook her.