Autumn Storm (5 page)

“Oh, like on the side of highways where
someone dies in an accident,” Jenna said.

“Yeah.” Adam turned away and quickened his
pace away from the area. “We’re not allowed down that path. It
leads to Miner’s Drop, this huge canyon.”

Autumn trailed them. The rest of the forest
was welcoming to her, but something about that path made her
uneasy. They walked to a small bridge over a bubbling creek. She’d
lain in the sun, staring at the clouds on the flat rock nearby.

At least, she thought she did.

Confused again, Autumn leaned against the
railing of the bridge. Adam’s attention went to her
immediately.

“Are you ready to go back?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said.

“Here.” He offered his arm.

Autumn looked up into his blue eyes with a
small smile. She took his arm and walked with him back towards the
campus. Jenna and Tanya joined them. The three of them talked while
Autumn’s gaze fell to the memorial.

Whatever happened, it was bad. The forest’s
whispering stopped when they passed the memorial, as if it was
afraid to talk about it. Only then did she realize the forest had
been whispering into her mind. There were two voices: a distant,
rumbling whisper. The other was a laughing tinkle.

Both were silent for a few steps, until she
passed the memorial. Then they began again, so faint she barely
heard them. The orientation said witchlings communicated with the
elements. Did these voices belong to her two elements? If there
were words to the whispers, she wasn’t able to distinguish
them.

Jenna and Tanya took off suddenly, pulling
her attention from the communicating elements. Tanya was squealing
as they raced towards the Square. Adam laughed.

“Someday …” Autumn sighed.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Adam stopped laughing so
fast, he choked.

“It’s okay. I’m still healing. I’ll be able
to run in a month or so, if I keep up my rehab,” she said,
smiling.

“What happened?”

“Car accident.”

“Wow.”

A memory tingled. She rubbed her forehead.
The headache pushed its way into her mind.

“Do you, um, wanna hang out or something
with Jenna and me?” Adam asked. “Like, we can all play a game or
watch a movie or something.”

Autumn glanced up at him curiously. His face
was flushed again, but she felt an odd sort of kinship with him.
Whatever happened – or whatever might happen? – was good. He had a
crush on Jenna already; that much was clear.

“If I’m not a third wheel,” she teased. “Do
you believe in déjà vu?”

“You think we’ve met before?” he asked then
stumbled on. “I mean, or, not us, but like, maybe you saw-“

Autumn giggled. “Yeah, I do.”

“Oh, good.” He sighed. “Sorry. I’m not good
with girls. That’s cool.”

“Do you feel like you’ve met me before?” she
asked.

“Yes and no,” he replied, pensive. “I know
I’ve never seen you before but I feel like I know you. Like your
mannerisms or something seem familiar.”

“Weird, isn’t it?”

“Really.”

Comforted by the thought she wasn’t alone
with the strange phenomenon, Autumn turned her focus back to Tanya
and Jenna. The heavier of the two, Jenna had given up on their race
long before Tanya reached the closest dorm building. Adam’s eyes
followed the brunette.

“They’ll fit in well here,” he said. “There
are some great people here. I can’t wait for you to meet everyone.
Who are you rooming with?”

“Dawn.”

He grimaced. “Okay, so you’re not rooming
with one of the people you want to talk to.”

“Why?”

“Dawn’s a bitch. She’s caused more- never
mind. I shouldn’t say that.”

“It’s okay,” Autumn murmured.

Amber warned her about Dawn, too. She was
beginning to dread meeting her roommate. Autumn fell asleep early
the night before and awoke to see Dawn asleep in the other bed.
She’d crept out without waking her this morning.

They reached the other two in the
Square.

“I saw a store on the way here,” Jenna said,
breathing hard. “I forgot my brush. It’s close enough to walk,
isn’t it?”

“Yeah, about fifteen minutes,” Adam replied.
He glanced at Autumn then added. “We can wait for the shuttle.”

“No, it’s okay,” Autumn said quickly. “I’m
just gonna sit down for a bit anyway.”

“You sure?” Jenna asked.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Autumn walked with them to
the picnic tables. These she remembered, too. She sat down, hiding
her relief to be free from the pain of her bad leg.

“Kay, we’ll come find you when we get back
to watch a movie or something,” Jenna told her with a smile at
Adam. “You need anything?”

“No, I’m good,” Autumn replied.
“Thanks.”

Adam waved as they walked away. Autumn
smiled. She drew a deep breath, more tired from the walk than she
wanted to be. She’d tested her leg this morning to see if it’d hold
her weight without the awkward brace. It had, though it was weak.
After the short walk, she realized she wasn’t yet ready to leave it
off for so long.

Grimacing, she stretched the sore leg. There
were metal plates and a new knee. It had taken a lot to save her
leg, but the doctors did it.

The forest whispered to her. She looked
towards it. After a moment, she stood. Her bad leg was shaking but
steady. Leaning heavily on the cane, she walked out of the Square
towards the forest and down the gravel road.

When the voices stopped, she paused at the
deer path marked with a plaque. Curious, Autumn hobbled across the
road to read the plaque. As she neared, her gaze was pulled to the
trail instead. The air along it was dead, still, the trees unmoving
despite the breeze that rustled their needles everywhere else. The
scene before her was unreal, as if someone had propped a painting
up against the trees.

No part of her mind recalled the path or
what might’ve happened. It was blank, as if it, too, was missing
something that didn’t extend to the rest of the forest.

“Oh, no. Totally off limits.”

She rolled her eyes at Beck’s familiar
voice. He hadn’t made up for his poor first impression the day
before. When she faced him, she was taken in by the strange aura
and handsome features. His eyes weren’t twinkling. They were hard,
the soulful look making him appear far older than his teen years.
They rested on the path beyond her.

“I know,” she said uncertainly. “I was just
curious.”

“You can be curious anywhere but there.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, taken aback by
the sharpness of his voice.

He looked at her, features softening.
Whatever bothered him, it was gone. He gave an exaggerated
sigh.

“I keep making an ass of myself around you,”
he said.

“It’s okay,” she replied, smiling
faintly.

“I heard you’re rooming with Dawn.”

“Yeah.”

“Good luck.”

“It’s okay,” Autumn said. “I’m used to
people being asses to me.”

Beck stared at her for a moment. He laughed.
“Come on. I’ll show you where the cookie stash is. You have to
forgive me when cookies are involved.”

He started towards the Square. Autumn
glanced back again and moved forward more deliberately. Beck waited
at the dorms. Where Adam hadn’t hesitated to be gallant, Beck
seemed uncertain of whether or not to offer. He rubbed the back of
his head.

“Um, can I help at all?” he asked
awkwardly.

For some reason, she felt like messing with
him. She didn’t know where that urge came from, but some part of
her was a little gratified to see him off balance.

“Are you in that much of a hurry?” she asked
innocently.

“No, I just …”

Without looking up, she knew he was studying
her. She hid a smile.

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” he
asked.

“Yeah.”

“I think I like you, Autumn.”

She snorted, not at all certain she wanted
him to after seeing him with Tanya. He stepped forward and offered
his arm. She took it. His strange magick trickled through her,
soothing. She was relieved when it eased the pain in her leg. She
didn’t remember reading about this kind of magick in all the
folders of the Orientation program.

“Can I ask what happened?”

“Drunk driver,” she replied. “What … what is
this?” She stopped walking to stare at where their arms were
linked. “Like, this … magick stuff you’re doing right now?”

Suddenly, Beck was at ease again, the
confidence that bordered on arrogance returning.

“I’ll let Amber tell you,” he said with a
wink. He tugged her forward. “But you have to ask her like this:
why do I feel such wonderful magick when I touch Beck?”

Autumn laughed, recalling Amber’s words
about the no fraternization rule.

They reached the side door to the kitchen,
and Autumn was struck by déjà vu as Beck led her in. The cookies
were in the top cupboard next to the commercial freezer. She
watched Beck cross the kitchen to that very place. He reached up to
pull free a jar of cookies.

She’d done this before, but not with him.
Frustrated by the partial memories, she made her way to the
breakfast bar and sat on a stool.

“Today is …” Beck paused to open the jar.
“Cranberry oatmeal or something. That okay?”

She nodded. He placed the jar on the
breakfast bar then grabbed two glasses for milk.

Autumn nibbled on a cookie. So far, she
loved the food here. She’d lost weight at the hospital and
orphanage. Like Adam, she’d happily gain it back here.

Beck sat two chairs over and grabbed a
cookie.

“There’s a football game tonight. You wanna
go?” he asked.

“Um, I don’t know,” she murmured, thoughts
on her leg. Sitting outside on cold bleachers didn’t sound
appealing.

“It’ll be fun. I can drive.”

She hesitated too long.

“Be ready at five,” he ordered. “Got
it?”

“If this is a date, I’ll have to tell
Amber,” she warned him, flattered and curious as to why the
handsome youth would ask her out.

“This has nothing to do with you being
blond,” he replied. “It’s not a
date
per se, just an outing
to welcome the new girl.”

“You should take all three of us then.”

“I’m trying to make up for being an ass,” he
said.

“You could start by just not talking.”

He looked at her. She struggled not to
smile. A slow grin crossed his face, and he held her gaze long
enough for her face to feel unusually warm.

“Yeah, I like you,” he said. “I’ll see you
at five. Stay out of the forest.” He grabbed another cookie and
strode out of the kitchen, back into the Square.

She watched him, admiring his muscular
frame. It wasn’t him, though, she saw leaving the kitchen. It was
someone else, someone she didn’t know, but who looked a lot like
him.

For some reason, she was reminded of lying
on the picnic table in the Square to see the constellation
Orion.

Head and leg aching more than she wanted,
Autumn made her way to her room. She opened the door to find the
blond girl and another with dark hair seated on Dawn’s bed with
their laptops.

“Are you Autumn?” the blond asked, looking
up.

“I am. You must be Dawn.”

“Let me tell you the rules.” Dawn pointed to
the space between their beds. “Stay on your side of the room. Don’t
touch my clothes. You can’t afford to replace them. You left your
junk in the bathroom this morning on the sink. The sink is mine;
your stuff goes in the drawers. What size shoes do you wear?”

Taken aback, Autumn almost missed the
question. “Um, seven and a half.”

“Too small,” she said, disappointed. “You
have some cute boots.”

“Thanks.”

“This is Sonya. She basically lives here.”
Dawn indicated the pretty girl seated on the end of her bed.

“Hi,” Sonya said. Her smile was friendly and
her features exotic.

Dawn’s eyes went to Autumn’s bad leg. She
looked like she was about to say something. Autumn willed her not
to. The blond girl changed her mind and sank back on the bed,
attention going to her computer.

“I’m gonna hop in the shower in a minute,”
Dawn told her. “You can put your stuff in the drawers first,
though. Oh, and Beck Turner is off limits. He’s mine.”

Autumn bit back a retort. She needed to be
on decent terms with the girl she was forced to room with. She
began to see why others had warned her. Hopefully, today was the
worst of it.

Body hurting, Autumn nonetheless put her
things away as Dawn demanded before she popped one of her lighter
painkillers and lay down on her bed to rest. Dawn and Sonya talked
a little but spent most of their time on their laptops or
phones.

When Dawn went into the bathroom, Autumn
dozed off. She awoke almost two hours later to hear the shower
water running. She glanced at the clock. It was four. She had to be
ready to leave at five. At a quarter after four, Dawn finally left
the bathroom.