Autumn Storm (2 page)

A sixteen passenger van pulled into the
parking lot, and an older man with silver hair climbed out. He
smiled as he circled the van to open the back doors.

“Welcome, girls,” he said. “I’ll be your
chauffer.” He crossed to them and took Autumn’s luggage first. “Hop
up front, young lady.”

She hobbled to the passenger seat. When the
driver finished loading the van, he climbed in, and they started
down the road. The sense of déjà vu returned, and Autumn closed her
eyes. She’d been down this road before. She could see the small gas
station and the fork in the road. They’d go left, drive a short
distance then turn left again, onto a gravel road that led to…

The memory almost formed then faded again,
her headache growing worse. She sighed and opened her eyes just as
they passed the gas station. Her pulse quickened at the
confirmation. For the first time in weeks, she didn’t feel out of
place in a strange world. They took the path she’d seen in her
thoughts, and she sat forward eagerly to see where the winding
gravel road ended.

The large log building came into view at
last. There were a couple of cars parked along one side and behind
the structure would be the dorms and …

Her head hurt too much.

The driver dropped them off at the front,
and the screen door opened. Autumn eased out of the passenger seat
and waited for her luggage. A pretty woman with bright blue eyes
and a long, loose skirt stepped onto the porch.

“Welcome!” she exclaimed. “Thanks,
Jimmy!”

“My pleasure, Amber.”

Autumn studied Amber’s familiar features.
Amber trotted down the stairs, her steps tinkling from the bells on
her anklets. Her gazed skimmed over all of them, and Autumn was
disappointed that the woman didn’t show any sign of recognizing
her. Amber took one of Jenna’s suitcases.

“C’mon, girls!” she said with a grunt.
“We’ll sit down and talk for a few minutes before I show you to
your rooms.”

Autumn waited until Tanya and Jenna had
hauled their luggage up the stairs. They disappeared inside the
house. Embarrassed by her weakness, Autumn lifted the suitcase onto
the first stair, rested it there, then used her cane to help her
climb the step. One of her legs was in a brace, though not for much
longer. She’d been weaning herself off it.

The breeze flicked her hair in front of her
face. She pushed it away and lifted the suitcase to the next stair.
The air pushed her hair in front of her eyes again. Exasperated,
Autumn leaned over to pull a hat from the pocket at the front of
her suitcase. She tugged the knit cap over her hair to keep it in
place.

“You look like you could use a hand.”

She glanced up at the amused voice, her eyes
lingering on the most beautiful teal eyes she’d ever seen. The teen
before her was tall, his dark hair and strong features making his
eyes glow. He wore jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt that displayed a
strong body. He flashed a wide smile as she gazed at him.

“I’ll get it,” he said and trotted a few
steps down to grab her luggage. He lifted it with ease, turned and
walked into the house.

Autumn stared after him. It wasn’t the fact
he was hot, or the flirtatious smile that left her feeling as if
she’d just met her favorite movie star. It was his strange aura, an
odd warmth that brushed her skin and calmed her. She shook her head
to clear it and made her way up the stairs.

When she reached the top, he stood with the
door held open.

“Welcome to uh, here. Don’t worry, it’ll all
make sense soon,” he said.

She raised an eyebrow at him. He motioned
her inside. The inside of the main house was welcoming. Autumn
lingered in the foyer. The large room to the left held a dining
table and the open area to her right was filled with comfortable
leather furniture and a ginormous television playing some crime
show quietly. At the top of the stairwell was her room and her
worn, wooden jewelry box.

Except she didn’t own a jewelry box.

For the first time since arriving to the
small town, Autumn became uneasy. She moved to the foot of the
stairwell. She remembered this place, but it wasn’t among the
places she recalled from before her family died. She was here
sometime recently, before her accident. When?

“Actually, I think they went down the
hallway,” the teen said, pointing. “Amber does an orientation class
for new students.” He waved for her to follow. “C’mon. I’ll show
you.”

Autumn went. His strange aura draped over
her, easing her distress once more.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Autumn,” she replied.

He grimaced, and a shadow crossed his
features. “Not a fan of naming people after seasons.”

“What?” she asked, giving him a quizzical
look.

“Sorry. Gives me flashbacks,” he tried to
joke. “You know, walking across minefields or whatever …” His eyes
went to her cane, and a flush reached his face. “Ah. Sorry.”

“No worries.”

“Beck!” Amber poked her head around a
corner. “No!”

“Omigod, like I’m a dog,” the teen said,
rolling his eyes.

“You
are
in the doghouse.”

Autumn giggled, unable to help it. Amber’s
tone was too sweet and cheerful for her to scold anyone
effectively. She sounded like she was cheerleading, not
disciplining the tall teen.

“Fine. I’ll go back to the couch,” Beck
said, winking at Autumn. “Welcome, Autumn.”

“Thanks,” she murmured.

His calming aura left her, and tension crept
between her shoulders again. Amber motioned her forward.

“Beck likes blonds,” Amber explained. “And
we have a new, very strict no fraternization policy. Of course,
being male, he doesn’t listen well.”

Beck. He was almost familiar, though not as
much as Amber.

Autumn took the seat Amber pointed out. The
desks were arranged in a circle, with most of them empty. Jenna and
Tanya were reading on iPads. A third iPad was at the desk in front
of Autumn.

“We started a new orientation program
recently, so I’ll apologize if I don’t follow the syllabus
exactly,” Amber said. “The other coordinator here, Matilda, is
definitely a bit better about
structure
.”

The way she said the last word made Autumn
hide a smile.

“There’s a folder labeled
Orientation
on …”

Autumn half-listened as Amber walked them
through the contents of the folder. When she fell silent to let
them read the first few pages of the first document, Autumn skimmed
with interest. The introduction pages described the school as one
for students with a special talent: the ability to communicate with
one of the five elements and channel its power.

Air. Earth.

Autumn closed her eyes at the whisper. She
had two elements.

“Is this for real?” Jenna sounded
baffled.

“May I go to the restroom?” Autumn asked
simultaneously.

“Yes and yes,” Amber said with a smile.
“Autumn, down the hall on the left, last door before you reach the
foyer. Jenna, I know it’s a lot to take in, but -”

Autumn limped out of the room and down the
hallway. Her gaze fell to the front door and the driveway hedged by
pine trees beyond. The draw of the forest was strong. Beck was
stretched out on the couch, absorbed in watching the
television.

She left the school, walked down the stairs
and to the edge of the forest. The nearest tree rustled. It lowered
a branch to her. Startled, Autumn stretched up until her fingertips
met the long pine needles of the tree. The wind danced around her
again, nearly throwing her balance. She lowered her arm to steady
herself with both hands on the cane and stared into the forest.

The answers were
there
.

“You’re one of the new girls, right?”

She turned at the young man’s voice. The
tall, gangly guy wore glasses and a sweatshirt. His smile was shy
but friendly. Did she recognize him? The fleeting sense of déjà vu
was gone again, leaving her at a loss as to why she’d come outside
in the first place.

“Yeah,” she said. “Autumn.”

“Adam. Nice to meet you. I see you have your
amulet. Kinda cool, isn’t it?” He pulled his from the sweatshirt.
It glittered pale blue. “We all have one.”

“Do they help us talk to elements?” she
asked, struggling to pull memories from her dark mind.

“Not really.” His gaze went from her amulet
and neck to the cane. “What happened?”

She flushed.

“Sorry. I … I just …” He rubbed the back of
his neck nervously.

The awkward silence was broken by the
rustling of another tree that reached for her. Adam cleared his
throat.

“The trees like you,” he said.

“They seem nice,” she replied, gazing
straight up to see the branches far above them. “Do they have
feelings, do you think?”

Adam laughed. “I don’t know. They
might.”

His easy-going presence was familiar to her.
Autumn’s brow furrowed. As with Amber, he didn’t know her, but she
felt like she knew him.

“Autumn! Let me at least show you to your
room!” Amber called from the porch. “You can talk to Adam at
dinner.”

Autumn’s gaze lingered on Adam. She got
nothing but good vibes from him, as if they’d been friends at some
point.

“I’ll see you later,” she murmured then
struggled up the stairs to the porch.

“I know, I’m forcing all this structure down
your throats,” Amber said with a sigh. “We’re taking a break. I
figure you all can settle in, read through the information and then
we’ll talk again after dinner. Is that cool?”

“Sure.”

Amber led her into the house and up the
stairs. Autumn started to turn left at the top of the staircase,
the direction her instincts told her to go. Amber, however, went
right. Trailing, Autumn watched Amber disappear into one of the
rooms.

“You’ll be rooming with Dawn.” Amber’s voice
took on a quiet note. “She’s a few months pregnant and can be a
little … moody. If you guys don’t hit it off, just let me
know.”

Dawn’s side of the room was decorated in
black and white with splashes of pink and teal. The top of her
dresser was cluttered. Her closet door was open, revealing tons of
designer clothes and shoes jammed into every bit of empty
space.

The name wasn’t familiar. Autumn set her
purse on her bed and looked at the dresser on her side of the bed.
She didn’t have much, nothing but the clothes in her suitcase and
the wooden jewelry box with pictures of her family and the
last…

She didn’t have a jewelry box. Rubbing her
forehead, she wondered what was wrong with her. Sometimes it felt
like there were two people inside of her.

“A lot of the students are leaving this
weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday next week. You’ll have a half
day of class in the morning then a couple quiet days to settle in.
Next week we’ll have classes Monday and Tuesday, then a half day
Wednesday. I brought your iPad,” Amber said, setting the device on
Autumn’s new bed. “So, unpack and read through the information
until dinner.”

“Thanks, Amber.”

“You’re welcome. If you need anything, I’m
downstairs in my office at the end of the hall in the west wing.”
Amber hugged her and left.

Autumn unzipped her suitcase and pulled out
her toiletries. She crossed to the bathroom and took a long shower.
Dawn’s clutter was everywhere. Autumn wiped the foggy mirror down.
Her breath caught at her reflection, and she squeezed her eyes
closed.

She
was back – the girl with dark
hair and eyes that stared at her instead of her own reflection.
She’d hoped the girl stayed in Boise and didn’t follow her here.
What started as a fleeting ghost Autumn only saw from the corner of
her eye had turned into a daily, full-blown staring contest the
past week. The girl trapped in the mirror was more than a
hallucination, and Autumn had gone so far as to read about the
supernatural while at the orphanage. Nothing she read gave her any
insight into the strange occurrence.

With a deep breath, Autumn opened her eyes.
Her own reflection returned: the heart-shaped face, wet blond curls
and dark blue eyes.

Relieved, she dressed and sat down on the
bed to start reading the orientation information. She flipped
through the different folders and tables of contents, waiting for
something else familiar to catch her attention.

Laws of Light.

Her finger paused over the file. She double
tapped it open. There were three, and they were simple.

One, do no harm to others.

Two, help those who need it, no matter how
undeserving they may be.

Three, it is better to let evil win than to
commit evil.

Troubled, her gaze lingered on the third
rule before she returned to the master directory of files. The name
of the final file
The Trial
also caught her attention.

Every student of Light must pass a
personalized trial geared towards their weakness in order to ensure
that the student is meant for the path of Light. The trial is meant
to challenge the student and to offer a temptation for them to
leave the Light for personal reasons. Each trial is unique and
developed by nature itself.

This should’ve meant something to her; she
felt it. But what? Frustrated, Autumn started from the first file
and began reading about her new school. A few minutes before six,
she walked down the stairs to the dining room. Jenna and Tanya were
there, along with Adam and two other students. Adam smiled at
her.

Autumn sat beside him, comforted by his
friendly, open features. The first course – salad and soup – was
already on the table.

“Save room for the pie,” he advised. “I’ve
gained twenty pounds since getting here.”

Autumn look at him skeptically. He was
thinner than the stair railing.