Chapter Three

When the clock struck three, Logan and Erik basically sprinted from school grounds. It was a Friday and no student wanted to be there longer than necessary; well the smart ones anyway. They walked together for a little while and toward the shortcut Logan had taken in the morning. They laughed and joked around until they reached the edge of tree line. They heard a noise that made them both go silent. It was a girl's voice.

They listened closely and heard the distinct sound of someone singing, it was both the most beautiful and creepy thing the two young boys could have heard. Their curiosity was peeked however, so, naturally, they crept into the forest to discover who it was.

Logan and Erik had done their fair share of sneaking around to do mischievous deeds in the past, and they were no strangers to it now. They were two young boys after all. As they made their way closer to the singing voice, Logan couldn't shake the intense feeling of Deja Vu, like he knew the song. At first it was hard to make out the words, but as they moved closer Logan began to recognize them.

He comes; he comes, the Shadowpaw,

With blackened hide and sharpened claw,

And knife-like teeth in his great maw,

Beware, beware, the Shadowpaw

He walks in dreams, he feeds on light,

With eyes of flame in darkest night,

He's hidden there, just out of sight,

In shadows he will lay

And if he needs a midnight snack,

It matters not if you fight back,

He'll take you in the blackest black,

A hunter stalking prey

Enshrouded in a shadow flame

A howl so fierce, a misted mane,

His growl will shake your window pane,

And fear will fill your heart

And if you find yourself alone,

Just pray he does not find your home,

For he will rip your flesh from bone,

And tear your soul apart.

He comes; he comes, the Shadowpaw,

He'll put your head into his jaw,

And chew your flesh; he likes it raw,

The Wolf is here; the Shadowpaw.

As she ended the beautifully tragic song Logan was standing just a few feet from the girl, whom he now knew to be his adopted sister, with Erik at his side. Both boys had a look of wonder on their faces as she sat there looking into the creek alongside the path. Logan had never heard his sister sing before; he had heard her hum that very same tune before, but never sing. He didn't realize she was so good, even if the lyrics were incredibly sad. Before either boy had a chance to say anything, Kaylin stood.

"You are very noisy." The way she spoke was always so matter-of-fact like that even though he was a few years older than her, Logan felt the younger of the two. As she turned to face the boys who had been up to no good, Logan got a flash image of his nightmare. The same blond hair hung past her shoulders, the same blue eyes, piercing with an inner fire. She looked so real in his dreams, just like she did now. Only she wasn't covered in blood and screaming in pain; Logan liked it better this way. The dreams still scared him.

"I heard you both coming, you'll need to work on your clumsiness if you ever want to sneak up on me." She never took her eyes off Logan, the way she always did when she spoke to someone. Logan found it hard to look away. "Not that I expect you to succeed." She said this with a smile that brought Logan out of his day dream.

Erik, who still looked dumbfounded, couldn't help but ask the question both he and Logan were thinking. "What was that song you were singing? It was beautiful."

"Just something from my childhood," Logan noted again that she always seemed to refer to her childhood as if she weren't thirteen years old, as if she were already grown up. Kaylin eyed Erik for a second before speaking, she always seemed to be studying people when she conversed, it was a little unnerving. "How was your doctor appointment Erik? I trust you aren't dying of a horrible disease?" Neither boy could tell if this was a joke.

"Nah, I'm perfectly healthy, not a single thing wrong." Erik brandished the same goofy grin across his face he often wore in nervous situations. Kaylin chuckled and Patted Erik on his shoulder.

"You just keep telling yourself that." Logan couldn't help but laugh along with Kaylin as Erik stood there with a "hurt" look on his face. Erik straightened his pose to try to look as indignant as possible, which he couldn't pull off.

"Well fine," he said sarcastically, "I know when I am not wanted." And with that, he turned around and began walking toward the beginning of the shortcut again, back toward his house. Logan called after him.

"You still coming over tonight?"

Erik turned to face him with that goofy grin on his face, "Yeah, I'll be there!" As his friend made his way back off the trail, Logan turned to see Kaylin sitting on the edge of the creek again. She was looking into the water with a sense of longing. The sadness in her eyes reminded Logan yet again of that dream.

"Missed you this morning," He said as he sat down next to her, "thought you were gonna wait up?"

"Sorry," she said genuinely, "I got caught up in my own little world."

For a while the two of them just stared into the water. Logan thought of his dream again, how it never seemed to finish and how it made him scared for his sister. As he glanced at her reflection in the rushing water beneath, he realized where he'd heard the song before. In his dream she'd been humming the same tune.

"You going to tell me what the song was? It sounds familiar." Logan asked as nicely as he could.

Kaylin shifted uncomfortably again as she always did when Logan asked about her childhood. "It was something a friend used to sing to me, a song from her family's past."

Logan realized this was the first time she had admitted remembering something from her past before she joined his family. "I thought you said you didn't remember anything from your childhood?" Logan couldn't help but feel a little guilty but the words had already left his mouth. He turned to look at her as he saw her crack a weak smile.

"One of these times, I'll tell you Logan, just not right now." She said it so definite again that Logan knew that there was no point in protesting. The issue was settled.

"I suppose I should wish you a pleasant birthday then? Is it going well?"

Logan smiled but was still disappointed that he wasn't able to pry anything out of her again. He felt mischievous every time he asked, but the little detective side of him just had to know. It'll just have to wait I guess, Logan thought grumpily.

"It's going all right."

"Good," Kaylin said as she stood next to the creek, "Glad to hear it, even with that nightmare you keep having." As soon as the words left her, the color drained from her face. Logan stood slowly with a look of confusion, as he eyed his adopted sister.

"How did you know-?"

"I can just tell you haven't been getting much sleep." Kaylin clapped her hands together and started walking toward home; clearly avoiding the subject. "Now let's get home so you can open your presents." She said with a curt nod.

Logan stared for a while as he watched her walk down the path briskly and disappear from sight. He couldn't figure out how she always seemed to know what he was thinking, but this was different. He hadn't told anyone about the dreams. Not a soul.

He took one last look at himself in the reflection of the water, then sprinted after his sister; questions exploding throughout his mind.