CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Boy Who Still Has a Lot of Good to Do

_________________

     SO MUCH for sleep.

     Ryan would have liked to get more than one night of peaceful rest a week. Being waken up for some kind of monster attack began to get on his last nerve. And with the night he just had, Ryan did not think less sleep would help his already foul mood.

     "I don't know why my locator spell didn't work," Hope exclaimed, storming through the forest that surrounded the school.

     Ryan held a flashlight in hand, scanning the area as he walked alongside her. "There's only so many reasons why it wouldn't. They've either been cloaked, or..."

     "Or they're dead. I'm aware," Hope cut him off.

     Ryan was jarred awake by Hope almost a half an hour earlier. She rambled on that Rafael did not sign-in to the transitional cells that night for the full moon. No one had seen him, Landon, or MG since the day before. They seemingly vanished without a trace.

     So Ryan, Hope, and Alaric set out to search the grounds for any sign of them. They had to find them before something bad happened. If Rafael and MG were together, there was a high possibility of a toxic altercation between opposing species. And if a werewolf bit a vampire, the latter would end up dead. Always. Unless they had the cure, which happened to be Hope or Ryan's blood.

     "What would possess them to leave campus?" Alaric questioned as he shifted the beam of light through the trees. "Why would they be so irresponsible?"

     "They wouldn't. Something must have happened," Hope said.

     Ryan's slippers crunched over the fallen leaves, shining his flashlight toward the base of trees and the bottom of the wall that surrounded the school grounds. The bright beam raked across the area until Ryan stopped. Rafael appeared in the light, sitting on the ground and curled up against the brick barrier.

     "Hope, it's Raf!" Ryan called out and rushed over to the fallen werewolf's side.

     The Waithe boy hugged his knees and shook from head to toe. His clothes were ripped and covered in all sorts of filth.

     "Raf? Raf!" Hope shouted, dropping down beside her brother. "Hey, are you okay?"

     Rafael moaned and lifted his head from where he rested against the wall. "MG – Landon," he muttered between breaths.

     "Hey, what's going on? Where's Landon?" Hope questioned him.

     Rafael turned. And when he did, Ryan did not fail to notice the blood on his chin. "I can't remember."

     _______

     They moved back into the school after Rafael was found. The boy mumbled in coherently to himself ever since. Ryan stood just inside Rafael and Landon's dorm room with Hope and Alaric. Emma crouched in front of the werewolf and tried to assess the problem.

     "Lunar psychosis?" Alaric questioned, after the woman explained what she believed what was happening to him.

     "That's a thing?" Both Mikaelson siblings asked at the same time.

     "Quit talking," Rafael exhaled. "Making noise." He began to grunt and moan as his breathing picked up.

     Without warning, Rafael lunged from his chair and growled. He went to rush forward, but Emma intercepted his path.

     "Tardus pulsatio," Emma chanted with her hand raised to the boy's chest.

     Rafael stilled as a calm expression fell across his features.

     Emma looked over her shoulder and said, "it's a thing."

     "What did you do to him?" Hope asked and stepped forward. Worried about her friend.

     "It's okay. I'm just slowing down his heart," Emma told the girl and maintained her spell at the same time. "It will calm him."

     Ryan could not help but worry about Rafael, too. He knew quite a bit about werewolves, considering he was a third one, and a premature change back into one's human-self meant something traumatic took place. Something strong enough to alter a supernatural state.

     Rafael's chest fell and rose at an even pace. "What's happening to me? I keep – losing time."

     "As I said, lunar psychosis, which means that your mind is in flux," Emma said, taking hold of Rafael's arms to ease him back into the chair, "trapped between your wolf and human states." She crouched down in front of him and continued to explain. "Making it harder to access your memories like you normally would. It's very rare. It only happens after a premature reversion."

     "So something caused your body to shift back before the full moon was over, leaving you like this," Hope stated and gestured to the boy.

     Rafael glanced between them and asked, "wh-what kind of something?"

     "Nothing good," Ryan spoke, drawing the attention to him. "Trauma is the most common reason for snapping a wolf back before the moon's gone."

     "We don't know that," Emma tried to reassure them.

     Hope would not take it. "Three of them left, and only one came back. Something bad happened."

     Emma sighed and stood to her feet. "Hope, Ryan, why don't the two of you give us a minute? Go on and check on the other wolves."

     "I'm worried about this one," Hope exclaimed.

     Ryan nodded. "Yeah. We're not leaving."

     "Ryan, Hope – please," Emma insisted.

     Both siblings turned to where Alaric remained next to them. The man appeared conflicted, but he urged them on with a light nod. Ryan rolled his eyes, reaching out to take his sister's hand, before they exited the room.

     As soon as they made it out into the hall, Hope stumbled away from her brother and into the wall. She held herself up as her chest heaved.

     "Hey, it's okay." Ryan moved over to her side, resting a hand on her arm. "We'll find them. We'll find Landon."

     "You don't know that," Hope said in a shaky tone.

     "When have I ever lied to you?" Ryan questioned.

     "Never, but..."

     "No buts," Ryan interrupted her and rubbed circles on her arm to calm her. "We'll find him and MG." He dropped his hand and stepped back. "Now, let's go check on the wolves so we can get back in there to help Raf."

     Hope took a deep breath and pushed off the wall. "Okay."

     _______

     It did not take long for Ryan and Hope to round through the werewolves amidst their transition. They clawed and scratched and snarled inside their cells, unable to get out to harm the vampires cooped up in their rooms until morning. And while many of them were angered beyond belief, every wolf was safe and sound for the remainder of the full moon.

     Ryan and Hope were gone for a maximum of ten minutes. When they reached the door of Rafael and Landon's room, they overheard the last of the conversation inside.

     "Rafael, I'm sorry. I am not mad at you. I'm mad at myself," Alaric apologized to the Waithe boy.

     "For what?" Hope questioned as she and her brother entered.

     Alaric breathed deeply and turned to face the siblings. "I got to go. I've got a big mess I need to clean up. Hope, Ryan, stay with Emma. Keep me posted on what you learn, okay?" he told them, before he headed out of the room. "I'll have the school phone on me." He shut the door behind as he left.

     Ryan's brows furrowed, looking to where Emma remained at Rafael's side. "What did we just miss?"

     Emma did not answer as she rummaged in the bag she brought with her. She took out a black bag and laid in on one of the beds, unzipping it revel several syringes and vials inside.

     "What's with the needles?" Hope asked, stepping over to the woman's side.

     "Sedatives," Emma stated, fiddling with the items.

     Hope exhaled. "Sleep isn't really a priority."

     "But safety is," Emma moved back over to the dazed werewolf and resumed her crouched position. "Rafael told me why you couldn't track them. Penelope Park aided them in a cloaking spell before she left for break."

     Ryan scoffed, crossing his arms. "Of course she did."

     "Said it was a gift for dumping Lizzie on her birthday," Rafael said through his foggy mind.

     Hope pursed her lips and nodded. "Great. Then what happened?"

     Rafael began to tell them what led to current events. MG let it slip that he could not go home for Spring Break because his entire hometown believed he was dead, and that his father disowned him. That the man's belief in God prevented him from associating with his vampire son. Landon thought it would be a great idea for him and Rafael to accompany MG there to see his parents. To help brighten the vampire's mood. They stole Alaric's car and made their way to MG's home.

     "Landon, no!" Rafael shouted, breathing heavily when the boys approached the front door of the Greasley residence in his retelling.

     Emma looked back to where Ryan and Hope stood. "It's happening again. Hand me the syringe."

     Ryan went to grab one of them from the bag, but Hope stopped him by grabbing his arm.

     "Wait, he's about to tell us what happened to Landon," she exclaimed.

     "And if he stays in this state any longer, it'll be that much harder to pull him out," Emma clarified.

     "Landon! Run!" Rafael yelled, grunting and heaving from his chair.

     Emma stared at the Mikaelson siblings, who refused to move a muscle. She sighed and stood to her feet to grab a syringe herself.

     Hope rushed forward to kneel in front of the Waithe boy. "Raf! Hey, it's okay. Tell me who's running after Landon. Please. Who's chasing Landon?"

     "Hope, I think Emma's right. He needs to calm down before he can tell us anything," Ryan said, moving to stand behind his sister.

     Hope shook her head. "No, he needs to tell us." She tried to speak with the werewolf, again, but Rafael started to hyperventilate. "Hey, hey, hey..."

     Before he could do or say more, Emma ran over to them and stabbed a syringe into Rafael's neck. Ryan watched as his friend's expression softened and his body relaxed.

     "A monster," Rafael muttered and then fell forward into Hope's arms. Unconscious.

     _______

     Ryan helped Hope carry Rafael across the room to rest on his bed. The sedative did wonders on the werewolf, forcing him to sleep well into the morning hours. During that time, Ryan and Hope tried to decipher what little Rafael told them about the impromptu trip to MG's hometown. They did not learn much, only that Landon had been chased by some kind of monster.

     "It doesn't make any sense," Hope thought aloud as the three of them remained in the room. "Triad has the urn. There shouldn't be any more monsters, certainly none that made their way through Maryland."

     "He's obviously confused," Emma said.

     "Unless they someone came into contact with the third lock to Malivore," Ryan voiced, looking to where Rafael continued to sleep.

     Hope followed her brother's gaze. "We need to wake him up."

     "Sleep is the safest thing for him right now. Once he's out of this lunar cycle, we'll be able to recalibrate his brain more easily."

     Hope turned to Emma and exclaimed, "but he's the only one who knows where Landon and MG are. Plus, a monster?"

     "I heard," Emma stated in a calm tone. "But as the closest thing this school has to a psychiatrist, my responsibility is to him. And to the both of you." She glanced over to the werewolf and then between the Mikaelson siblings. "The two of you and I talked a lot about triggers rooted in trauma, especially you, Hope."

     Hope shook her head. "I don't need a therapist right now, Emma. I need answers."

     "And you'll get them when I do, causing the least amount of harm to Rafael as possible."

     Ryan understood where Emma came from. Rafael needed to be in the right frame of mind before the questioning continued. If not, there could be severe side-effects from his premature regression back into his human form. But the longer they prolonged it, the more trouble Landon and MG could be in.

     _______

     The Mikaelson siblings retreated to the library after Emma refused to budge an inch on waking Rafael. Hope thought there could be something helpful in an old journal of her mother's. Hayley tried her best to keep a record of everyone Crescent. From the history of the Labonair and Kenner lines to their unique nature to shift at will. If something could aid Rafael, it would be in there.

     Ryan used his phone to call Alaric, ready to update the man about what they learned. Or, what they failed to learn.

     "Did you find them?" Hope questioned as soon as the phone went through.

     "No, not yet. What did you learn?" Alaric's voice sounded from the speaker.

     Ryan sighed. "Not much. Raf said they were attacked by a monster."

     "Well, that's impossible."

     "Is it?" Hope countered.

     "Where? And when?"

     "We don't know," Ryan said, leaning back against his chair across from his sister. "Emma sedated him, so he's been asleep since last night. We've got nothing to go on."

     Hope flipped through the pages of her mother's journal and said, "but, I have an idea. It's a family recipe from my mom's side, the Crescent Pack. Because they could control their turns at will, they had access to both sides of their minds."

     "Alright, well, do what you need to do. I've got to find MG before his father sees him."

     Ryan's brows furrowed. "Why before his father sees him?"

     Alaric sighed. "It's a long story. I'll explain later." He then hung up.

     Ryan scoffed and set his phone onto the table. "Rude."

     Hope shut the journal, before she looked to her brother. "He's busy. Now, help me gather the ingredients. We have an elixir to create."

     _______

     An hour later, the siblings produced a plausible option to return Rafael to himself. According to the journal, the Crescent elixir held the same properties as the Crescent wolves themselves. It would help ease Rafael's fractured mind between his human self and his wolf self.

     But when they proposed the option to Emma, she shot them down in an instant.

     "Absolutely not," Emma exclaimed when she laid eyes on the vial in Hope's hand.

     "This elixir has been in my family for years," Hope began to explain. "Dr. Saltzman said that..."

     "Dr. Saltzman, bless him, is not a medical doctor. Nor am I. And most definitely neither are the two of you," Emma said, glancing between the siblings. "The division between the two sides of Rafael's mind exists for a reason, to protect his sanity and to..."

     Ryan interrupted her. "Emma, with all due respect, there is no medical reasoning behind the werewolf mind. The species, our species," he gestured between himself and his sister, "was created with magic. We don't exactly have the standard human anatomy."

     Hope nodded and began to plead with the woman. "Emma, please. Obviously, something terrible happened. Landon and MG are out there somewhere."

     "Do you think I'm not concerned about them?" Emma questioned. "Of course I am."

     "Then we need to do something," Hope nearly shouted.

     Emma's expression morphed into a stern one. "Hope, I said, no. And I'm not gonna let you..." she trailed off and gasped when someone jabbed a syringed into the side of her neck.

     Ryan's eyes widened at the sight of Rafael behind the woman. The Waithe boy pressed down on the plunger to inject the sedative into her bloodstream.

     "I'm sorry, Emma," Rafael muttered, right before Emma fell back into his arms. "But, Hope and Ryan are right." He lifted his gaze to the siblings. "Do what you got to do." 

<March 25, 2019>

I feel like these chapters just keep getting worse and worse.

It may also be that I'm mentally, emotionally, and physically drained from 9x15 of The Walking Dead. I haven't cried that hard since The Originals finale.

Anyway, I'm sorry for my sucky writing.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.