Listen to my voice.

Chapter 7.

"how, not that they didn't know where he was?" asked the other twin.

"we don't know, but Thom can hack into their car's system" spoke Ley looking out the window "and they can't steal it, it has security measures we just couldn't take it because of the crash and the tire."

Olivia let out a sigh "rich thing."

"Well, technically my parents are the rich ones, I'm just the son."

"Still humble" complimented the blonde.

"I don't mean to sound rude but what are you guys doing here, don't you have classes?"

the twins looked at Alei "well we have classes, just like you but we asked for permission" spoke the blue-eyed one downplaying the importance.

"okeeeey, but I asked what you guys are doing here."

he bit his lips not to let out a swear word "we came just in case, we don't want anything to happen to them, well to them, not to you."

her sister gave her a smack on the head "you're joking, always such a joker" she blurted out nervously to which her brother looked at her bored.

"Will you tell your mom you found out what you are?" spoke Tyler.

The girl turned her face and looked at him "what do you recommend?" she whispered.

She didn't want everyone to hear her, she knew they wouldn't look at her funny since she told them about the whispers but maybe they would ask for explanations which she preferred to avoid.

"I don't know, that's your call. Though I think we should wait, rumors spread fast, and they might find out that you already awakened your power and there if we'd be in trouble."

he nodded.

"Shtriga" he managed to hear whispers.

Harley looked at Tyler and he nodded, he had heard it too.

The girl reached for her cell phone.

Shtriga:

An Albanian witch , she can pass for human and feeds on people's life energy, especially children because they have more, leaving them in a coma. They can only die if they are shot with a consecrated iron bullet while feeding. Their mere touch causes the wood to rot.

By feeding on life force, the Shtriga can live for a long period of time, the limits of this are unknown.

can remain immortal by sucking the life force of children, they can drain the life force of humans of any age, but prefer children.the life force that Shtrigas suck is called "Spiritus Vitae" with in Latin means "breath of life". Because of this, their hand impressions, cause the wood to rot. When they die, the life force they stole will return all the children still alive.Shtrigas are very difficult to kill. They cannot be killed with normal weapons like normal bullets and knives.

During the day, a Shtriga can change shape into a human, so hunters will not be able to detect the witch. At night, the Shtriga can transform to their witch form. They usually take the form of old women, but this is not a rule.

+See more.

I look confused at the information, what did she have to do with it?

"They are there" they whispered "She is there."

"Who?" she replied in kind.

"Shtriga, they are in your village."

And that just meant trouble.

[ . . . ]

The town was silent, for everything was quiet, the children in school, the teenagers in high school, the adults in their respective jobs. It was just ten o'clock on a Tuesday morning, the sun was a little intense and the air was cool.

Mrs. Veronica's vehicle parked in front of her house, Thom was about to speak, but a scream was heard so loud that the only lycanthropes-in the van-had to cover their ears because of the high-pitched noise.

Tyler appeared at Harley's side with a worried look on his face.

"'She's already here."

He knew what she meant, the whispers had warned him, shtriga.

A vibrating cell phone caught everyone's attention, they set their sights on Alei, for she was the owner of the insistently ringing cell phone- the siblings, still in an auditory discomfort were worried- the redhead fixed her eyes on the device and saw it was her uncle.

She frowned.

"It's my uncle" she blurted out.

Ley looked at her "The one who's a cop?"

He nodded then replied "Well?"

A sharp intake of breath could be heard over the line, worrying Alei more, Thom looked at her with intrigue, they had all seen Alei's face, she signaled them to put the call on speaker, she knew something was up.

"Something very strange is happening" he explained "we have received thousands of calls asking for help, several children have been found unconscious, the worst thing is that they do not react, they seem to be in a coma."

"But what . . ." Dereck ran his hand through ruffling his hair.

"It's happening all over town, kids are passing out out of nowhere and losing consciousness for hours, there's no logical explanation for it."

"How is that possible?" asked his niece.

"It's a supposed virus, or so the doctors say but I really doubt it" he muttered "But they're still investigating, the whole town is really scared. I was calling to see if you were okay, have you arrived in town yet?"

"Yes, we just arrived in fact."

"Apparently the town will go into quarantine, have everything ready, something tells me this is stronger than we think."

Before they could say anything else, a few knocks on the window caused them to look to where the noise was coming from, finding two people wearing gloves, masks and breathing equipment-isolation suits-they lowered the moon-glass a little and looked at them.

"They're here already, aren't they?" her uncle muttered to which the girl held the device to her ear.

"Yes."

"They're most likely in isolation" the call began to have interference so the girl frowned, she pulled the cell phone away to check the signal " . . . . do you . . . . seem . . . okay?"

"Dude, I can't hear you."

"Hello? Ale, I can't hear you!"

And without further ado the call hung up.

"Did something happen?" asked Mrs. Veronica.

"The town went into lockdown" advised one of the gentlemen "Are they coming from somewhere?"

They nodded "yes, from Cooperstown."

"Good, you'll all have to stay together."

"All together?"

"Yes, we don't know what's going on so stay tuned to the news, we'll let you know what day you'll be able to leave and the times to go shopping." with that said they left.

Dereck grimaced "we are going to our house" he warned looking at Olivia he was going to protest but his brother stepped forward "no buts."

"No, Dereck, you heard what they said" the older one spoke, the blue-eyed man opened his mouth but the lady denied "no buts."

Olivia looked at him mockingly.

He snorted "come on, Veronica, we live on the side."

That made Harley remember the first time he met the chestnut-blonde.

A goofy grin appeared across her face at the same time Tyler let out a dramatic sigh.

"I think someone's in love" he crooned.

The girl clicked her tongue thus drawing the attention of everyone in the vehicle, Dereck watched her amused, while Thom and Alei intrigued as they thought they knew what was going on regarding Tyler.

She blushed as she saw that everyone had their eyes on her, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear to clear her throat.

"What?"

Dereck denied in amusement with a shrug of his shoulders "nothing."

"Shall we come in?" he asked them, seeing that his mom had already opened the door, they nodded.

[ . . . ]

"Hey, can I have some water? Please" spoke Thom for the umpteenth time in just two minutes.

"I'll put a bullet in your head if you don't shut up" threatened Dereck.

"I'm really thirsty" he kept talking, ignoring the boy's threat.

Harley went to his kitchen to pour a glass of water and then hand it to him, the boy gave him a smile thanking him.

"Can we do something? I'm getting bored" he spoke again after a few minutes.

"If you keep talking I'll cut your throat with my claws" mentioned the bluish-eyed boy sharply giving him a dirty look.

He glared back at him.

"I'll put a silver bullet in you first."

"Sure, you idiot."

"I'm not an i***t" he spoke dryly.

Dereck just watched him for a few seconds but didn't say anything else again after fifteen minutes which surprised everyone more the werewolf.

"Oh come on did you get mad just because I called you an i***t?"

"No" he looked away and the boy gave him a light tap on the shoulder.

Thom got up and stood next to Harley resting his head in her lap, the girl began to give him cuddles, while Dereck frowned and stood next to them.

"Aren't you going to talk to me?" she asked in a whisper which he ignored "Thom."

"No" he replied.

"Hey" she called back to him.

"I don't want to talk to you Dereck."

He snorts "but you know I didn't mean it, you kept stopping talking and it's so stressful."

The girls looked amused at the situation, not often did you see a Dereck desperate to be forgiven and talked to.

"I'll only do it if you stop threatening me."

He nodded without thinking "Deal."

"Can we do something?" asked Thom "we've already been here for two hours doing nothing, and without Veronica it's more boring."

Alei nodded "but they called her from the hospital we can't do anything. "

"Something like what?" asked Olivia.

"Who's hungry. Because I am, we could cook something" Thom proposed.

"Okay, I'll help you, Thom," Dereck offered.

Liv was about to speak but the girls called out to her, she bit her lip slightly worried.

Dereck didn't know how to cook.

And she didn't want to die of food poisoning.

[ . . . ]

"I will not cook with you again."

"I feel discriminated against, give me a good reason for your cruel decision" asked the offended boy.

"You're a disaster at cooking, okay, let me do it again, but I'm on my own!"

"You can teach me!"

"That's a no, a definite no, take a seat and go with the girls and find a movie."

"I'm very offended but I accept it."

"Thank you."

Minutes later a pasta and a well done lasagna were being served on the coffee table in the living room.

"I hope you enjoy it."

"It would have looked better if I had helped you."

Olivia denied.

"Believe me you didn't," Thom said "You didn't even know how to turn on the stove."

Alei laughed "Even I know how to do that!"

"God this is too good" they all complimented, after shoving a piece in their mouths.

Thom smiled "thank you."

The town had been declared in emergency, not only children were in the hospital, there were teenagers, adults and elderly people, and what disturbed his people the most was that these were not supernatural creatures.

That means that it only affected humans or that is what they believe, there was not yet a case where one of the patients had developed abilities, but in the same way, everyone had to respect the isolation, it would be very strange - too much - if only certain people would be in confinement.

At the hospital everything was in chaos, more and more patients were arriving, classes had been suspended until further notice, at the police station everything was a mess, parents claimed that some of their children were missing and no one had any clue where they could be found.

The only positive thing-if you could say that-about all that, was that no deaths had been reported or declared.

Harley didn't know what to do, he wanted to talk and tell them what was going on and causing it, but not only would he be in danger if he talked, the town would be in real danger if the other creatures found out that they had a banshee among them.

But he could not allow more people to suffer, he had to come up with a good plan soon.

The sun went down announcing seven o'clock at night, the streets were cold and lonely, there were no people walking, the sound of the rain was the only thing that could be heard and the tinkling of the street lamps.

The boys were in the living room - with the exception of Harley - watching a movie or at least some of them were, Dereck had his head resting on the other boy's shoulder while Liv occupied the whole couch - the other three were on the floor - Alei and Thom were watching the movie attentively.

Ley was in his room looking out his window watching the rain fall, he had a bowl of cereal with vanilla yogurt, with music playing in the background.

Tyler was next to her in the same position watching her silently. He wanted to help her to stop her head from thinking about so many things and getting overwhelmed, the only way was to talk, but it meant leading them to certain death, the other was to finish the witch off.

But there was only one way to do it.

With an iron bullet.

"I will" he blurted out breaking the silence, still gazing out the window.

He denied "no, you won't. It's dangerous."

"It's more dangerous if they find out I am, Ty."

"What if you fail?"

"I won't."

"Do you even know how to shoot?"

A smile crept onto her face she turned to look at him "I took shooting lessons, and Dad taught me how to shoot. "

Just by naming him nostalgic memories flashed through her mind, she missed him so much.

"Why would he teach you to shoot?"

He shrugged "we would go to the woods to hunt from time to time."

"What other weapons do you know how to use?"

He gave his answer some thought "well I took archery and fencing."

He opened his mouth slightly surprised.

"Are you a millionaire or what?"

He laughs.

"Not necessarily people with money practice it" he let out a sigh" we have good social standing.

"Why did you move?"

"Mom had said for work" he mumbled "but she lied, she knew about the supernatural world."

"Wow, and do you like it here?"

"I think so, but I miss my home, my friends" he let out a chuckle "I was fine there, I felt comfortable, and also . . . Dad was there too."

"Did your dad . . . " he wanted to inquire, denied but finally finished formulating his answer " . . . he died?"

He denied "no, or so I want to believe, he disappeared some time ago and we have no clues of him, mom hired investigators but they still can't find anything."

"I'd hug you but I can't do it" he let out a laugh that infected the girl "but don't worry, they'll find him safe and sound."

"How do you know?"

"I just know."

The girl wiped away her tears-which they didn't know had come-and gave him a quality smile.

"I'll do it, Ty. I'll kill that witch, there are guns in this house, in the basement."

This one nodded not too convinced "I'll go with you, I can help you, will you warn the others?"

"No, I don't want to involve them any more."

[ . . . ]

When Harley checked that everyone was asleep, he quietly opened the window of his room, looked at the distance between the second floor and the courtyard.

It looked too high, but I must do it, he thought.

As she was about to take another step, someone turned on the light and leaned against the door frame, she turned around with a nervous laugh.

Thom was staring at her with his arms crossed.

"You're not going alone."

She wanted to play dumb "What are you talking about Thommy?"

"I know what you're planning."

"But how . . . " she interrupted herself as Tyler appeared.

"I went to get you ice cream but when I heard you speak I was going to turn away but you kept talking and sounded worried so I preferred to stay."

"You must let me go, please."

He gave her a hug "we'll both go, together."

She denied.

"No, it's too dangerous."

"I won't leave you alone, Harley. Either we both go, or you won't go."

Tyler smiled "go with him."

She sighed in surrender, the boy went down first, then Ley went down with the help of his friend.

When they were at the entrance to the forest, the boys pulled out their cell phones thus turning on the flashlight, the sound of crickets, some small animals roaming around and their footsteps was the only thing that could be heard.

"How am I supposed to know when I found her?" she asked Tyler.

He looked up "the whispers will tell you."

Thom looked at her "What did she tell you?"

"The voices."

He nodded.

"Tyler can see me, can't he?"

"Yes."

"Is there any way I can, too?"

The red-eyed man looked at them with a sad smile and denied.

"No, there isn't."

Thom ducked his head "But . . . "

He stopped in his tracks when he heard noise, looked at the brown girl and nodded, he'd heard it too.

"Walk."

The whispers grew louder as they went, they were close, when the voices stopped they hid behind a tree watching as a beautiful redheaded girl stood humming a song with a big smile.

It was her.

"It's her" Thom muttered "she's never been to this town."

And that was clear, they all knew each other.

Tyler took a better look, seeing that she wasn't alone, at her feet were some children lying unconscious, it alarmed the boy.

"Harley, do it now, it must be now."

The girl brought her hand to the g*n, Thom gave her hand a squeeze and nodded.

He had to do it.

He'd be killing someone, but he wasn't going to let others get hurt.

"She's not innocent, Ley. Don't feel bad about it," his friend encouraged him.

He let out a sigh, raised the g*n, pulled the trigger and fired, it was the last thing heard before that witch slowly disappeared, turning to ashes.

She had done it.

The two friends smiled proudly, Thom hugged her and kissed her forehead "It's all over now."

"Just for now."

Tyler let out a sigh looking up at the sky "you did the right thing, Ley."

"Thanks, Ty."

The boys went back to the chestnut's house, but this time they got in the door making as little noise as possible, which was easy for them.

They walked up towards their room calling the police station anonymously, giving the exact address of where the missing children were then hung up.

They both plopped down on Harley's bed letting out a sigh.

"This is the most dangerous thing I've ever done" Thom blurted out.

"And me, I thought I'd never run away from home."

They both laughed only to fall silent again.

Their heaving breaths were all that could be heard, they really had both risked too much, what would have happened if the witch was closer to being immortal?

They would both be dead.

"Shall we tell Alei?"

The girl turned her face to look at her friend's profile.

"Should we. She'll scold us horribly."

"We're talking about Alei, she'll yell at us for not taking her."

It was so true.

He clicked his tongue "It's true. We'll tell her tomorrow."

After a few more minutes they both fell sound asleep, it had been a long day.

Who would have thought that arriving in that town the lives of many would take a big turn.

Arriving in a small town, where nothing important ever happens, and there's nothing important - or so they think - and it's not a place visited often.