Chapter 32 - The Blow (Samson POV)Pt.1

"Silas!"

"Silas!"

"Silas! This isn't funny! Where are you?" in my panicked mind I knew we shouldn't have come out to the woods alone, it wasn't fun now that I couldn't find my brother. "Silas!" I shouted ready to stamp my feet almost; he knew how much I hated these games. It was already dark, knowing that mom was probably still in town, I started walking in that direction.

"I'm going to town, I'll get a ride with mom," I spat angrily, it was the one downside of being his twin, I couldn't trace his scent because oddly, ours were the same, well to me that was. My parents said they could tell the difference but I was a new shifter.

***

***

"Stop hiding behind your books Sammyson," Silas surprised me taking the car magazine from my grasps. Shaking his head, "you could at least be hiding a girly magazine behind this with the concentration you had," he teased but I'd laugh.

"Wanna go fishing?"

I shook my head, "No," I pulled a different magazine out, this one only showing luxury cars from Europe, "Camping?"

I looked at the weather, which wasn't looking like we'd get to do anything other than hide away in our tent while the rain pummeled over us, "in that coming storm?" my voice completely skeptical, but fading because Silas would think that camping in the pouring rain was fun. I'm come back with mud in my ears even if I stupidly followed him out into that.

"Why don't you go see if Thaddeus or Brennan will go with you," I said knowing they'd probably be more fun. "Ugh - I want to go with my twin - but - but I see how it is..." he began fake crying obnoxiously behind his hands, shoulders shaking and everything.

"You're like a child Silas..." I replied not giving him the satisfaction, sighing heavily he sat on my bed, "Seriously lets do something... why do you always want to spend your time hiding away, we can go hang out with Brian... he's has that new helicopter than he built, we can take turns flying it..." I scrunched my nose up, "three fifteen year olds with one helicopter?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"I give you five minutes before you're trying to weasel Brian and I for our turns," Silas had little patience, "You must be desperate if you're suggesting flying that helicopter," I shook my head still chuckling.

"We don't have to spend every waking moment together Silas, I mean were different..." I reminded him once again, I had no problem with how I was, I wasn't a loner in any sense of the word but I wasn't the social outgoing type like Silas either.

"Well you don't have to come, but I'm going to head out, let mom know?" I nodded, not looking at him, or even paying him any attention as he left my room. I hadn't known that it would be the last conversation I had with him, or the last time I saw him - we were twins - born just a few minutes apart - it had never once crossed my mind that there would come a day and we wouldn't be Samson and Silas.

***

***

"Samson?"

"Samson?" a soft whisper-like voice called me, pulling me from the haze that plagued my mind, the corners of my vision blurring, "I think - something's wrong - did you see-" shaking my head as though that movement will dispel the sudden rush of memories.

My eyes focus on the distance, on the mushroom shaped smoke dancing above the trees, my heart racing, I pop Fatima's window open, leaping out onto the ledge, hurrying to take my jeans off, boxers on, I leap with my jeans in my mouth, shifting mid-air. Landing on all fours, the cold air, pushing against me while the snow on the ground chills my paws. Heading I can hear the approach of someone behind me, the sound of snow being crunched rapidly, but I continue running.

That explosion - I couldn't tell from Fatima's room just who was injured if anyone was injured but my aunts had left, as did the Romas and Rosario adults, their children still at my house. Coming up to the area, where I could clearly see that it wasn't the cars that had exploded but the bridge that connected over the small river that had in fact explode. The Rosario's are on the ground however, Brennan's car actually damaged, the glass shattered around the ground.

The kids are crying, shouting in fright, Shannon is on the ground large shards of glass seem to be stuck on her face and her husband is shouting, one hand is on her neck and I can smell the scent of blood fresh his face bleeding as well. Going to the tree's I slip on my jeans when I'm in human form again, going to my cousins helping my aunts calm them down, lifting them from the car and carrying them back to the house since it looked like all the wheels on the cars were flat. And without that bridge, I shake my head getting the kids back to the main house, while everyone, most of the adults that were in our house, the Rosario children all run, towards the explosion.

Just as I'm about to put my cousin on the ground, a loud piercing shriek of agony like I've heard from Fatima when she was in that fire saving Talia, or when she was getting her burn taken care of, sends shivers up and down my back and I'm snapping to a standing position, side stepping my cousins, running up the stairs as the scream dies down it cuts off and I hear a loud thud then silence and my stomach churns, memories of Silas eating away at me, memories of the fire, Fatima's screaming, losing Silas, the bridge in pieces the river below carrying the chaos down stream.

I'm on the last set of stairs heading to the third floor, Harleigh behind me, "What happened? Do you - do you think someone-" I tune her out, thinking and berating myself for leaving her window open when I shifted. But once I'm on the landing, I see Fatima on the ground, the same pajamas she wore while I had been sleeping in her room for the night before. Blood coming from her nose, dripping against her white shaggy carpet, more blood pooling near her ears.

"Oh god-" the cold wind is blowing papers around her room in disarray, "What - don't touch her!" Harleigh shouts as I move to lift her, "go get uncle Trevor or - or get grandpa Samson," she's speaking but the blood is still dripping.

"Samson! Go get help!" when my little sister Paige comes up and is standing at the door watch, the horror on her face pulls me from the state I'm in, and once again, I'm shifting uncaring that I'll have to shift naked when I get to the wreckage.

The snow is crunching beneath my feet, and the white and dark blends, turns into a blur as I race to my uncle, to someone that knows how to help, shifting naked I pant, "Dad - dad something's wrong with Fatima, she's bleeding! She's bleeding from her nose and her ears, and she won't wake up!"

"I - I don't - I don't know what happened - she screamed like earlier," I'm still speaking my hands shaking, images of Silas from the last da I saw him, creeping to the front of my mind, my grandfathers shift and I'm following them, running to my room, shifting and changing, making it up to Fatima's room head of my father and grandfathers.

I find Harleigh in the same position I left her, at Fatima's side, and I'm surprised that not only is dad coming up but also my Uncle Trevor is right behind him. I glance out at where I know he may have been needed with Shannon and I see utter worry and panic in my father and grandfathers eyes. But Uncle Trevor lifts her eyelids checking her eyes and I see that not only does she have a nose bleed, there's a clear waxy type liquid, "She's been hearing voices? Having headaches?" I hadn't said that so I know that the adults have spoken after Fatima told them about hearing me.

"Yeah - no - I mean she get's memories - but each one she gets," I shake my head not wanting to break her trust but not liking the way my uncle is looking either. "How long has she been getting headaches Samson?" he asks pointblank, pulling out a phone.

"Uhm a month now maybe..." I'm unsure.

My grandfathers look at one another, "She's been hearing things-"

I shook my head immediately, "No, she started - it was small she would get memories - unsure what was real and what was fake," I whisper and I'm hesitant in what I say, not sure what my grandfathers and uncle know, but the way dad looks at me, I know then they don't know - that I may know more at this point than him and mom as well. I stop speaking, "there's no way we can drive her anywhere," Trevor says and he continues checking her eyes, monitoring the blood.

***  

Getting the police involved after Fatima was airlifted to the hospital so Uncle Trevor could get a CAT Scan of her head, my grandfather Jonah sat next to me, whispering softly.

"I don't know why this is starting so late for her, she's showing signs of shifting, but for the life of me I don't - I'm not sure what she's mixed with," he sounded absolutely stumped but my own thoughts were going back and forth between Fatima and Silas.

"Your girls in good hands Samson," he said offhandedly, "Your worry about her even when she seems to be in the best conditions," that took me by surprise.

"She's special, I know everyone probably thinks it would be easier if I was with Taylor - well not mom, she seems to be on the not Taylor bus, but I think Fatima is my one grandpa," I sigh.

"Remember you told me that if I really wanted to know if I found my one, all I had to do was see the different ways I wanted that person in my life?" I paraphrased his words a bit but he nodded. "I don't need her to be with me, because I can't experience life on my own, grow on my own, I want her with me for that ride. I want to experience life, explore, grow and learn, and each time I close my eyes, all the uncertainty that life brings doesn't phase me, because in the ups and downs, I want to have her with me - if she'll have me..." I added on the end, my face so red by then I'm sure it looked to anyone else that I was coming down with a fever.

"Right... I believe you son, I mean you don't need her there but you want to share your life with her, I wouldn't expect anything else from the one that wants her to touch him all over," he laughs and the others in the room, their faces tired, drawn and sad, his behavior sticks out.

When he had a good belly laugh, trying to ease the tension, Jonah leaned forward, "You know I was born in a time where, it was improper to even be around a woman alone, unless she was in some type of brothel, you know son. And my daddy he told us all, that we were different, we didn't need to rush to make a life with someone that we had the rare opportunity to not just settle for the convenient choice."

His voice so low, to the humans in the room, I'm sure it just looks like he's mumbling the words to a song; again, odd behavior for a waiting room but Jonah didn't let that stop him. "You had the option of waiting, searching for the right person, the one that you knew was special to you. The girl or guy that you felt so deeply connected too that it transcended any physical bond before you got there... not like these days where everyone is all loose-e-goosey with their affection." I remained silent, his words taking the edge of my thoughts, and the worry of Fatima, I had heard all of this before.

I knew that others in our position, maybe even my own family members didn't mind just 'hooking up' with different people, but that wasn't me... in fact... that had been Silas. I wanted real love, afraid of it, but still witnessing it around me blooming between others. Only for the person - I think my person - to come in the form of a small shy type of girl, with a past I hated for her, but couldn't fault because it led her to being in my life now.

"Your Faith is in good hands with Trevor," Jonah said - again - when I remained silent, "She isn't mine... yet... I'd like her too be." Jonah just smiled, "You keep treating that girl how I saw today, and you and her will be just fine," I nodded.

*** 

Faith POV

My hand was being held and my head was aching, but as I turned my head to the side, it felt like I was underwater, "Hey Fatima," Samson whispered, sitting next to me, but behind him was Jonah, Antone and Ansel.

"You're okay - well you're in the hospital, you blew out your eardrum, and you had a nose bleed, and clear wax liquid coming from your ears too," I just blinked trying to get my vision to focus on one Samson "Twin Samson is back," I mumbled, "two of you," I kept my eyes closed.

"Uncle Trevor is going to come back-"

The door creaked and rolling my eyes to glance in that direction I saw Trevor my self. Bringing my bed to a seated position he sat across from Samson.

"Okay so Faith... I have a few questions because well Samson here didn't want to break your trust and answer anything to in-depth but I need to figure out these headaches you keep having, we did a CAT Scan and found no obvious reason for your symptoms."

"Can you tell me when they started?"

Tired I just close my eyes not needing to keep them open to answer, "In August - they would feel like mild, but I could take pills Patricia gave me and it went away. Then I started having dreams, memories, and Dmitri didn't leave me - I went with him - I could remember that - I'm the one that told him about the air not being good for us - Cynthia left me but I was still afraid of the air - thought I was always inside but Cynthia left me and took Andy but Wyatt tricked her - then I can hear Samson but each time I hear the headaches are bad like my head is going to pop," I ramble.

"Faith," Trevor interjects, "Do your gums hurt?"

I roll my head slowly to his side before I open my eyes squinting at him, "My teeth? Gums?"

Trevor smiled, looking just like Samson, like Ansel, like Twin Samson.

"No," I replied after checking to make sure.

"When you remember things - your own memories you get headaches?"

"No - when I get the memories I forgot I get headaches because I don't know sometimes what is a real memory or fake memory," I said smacking my lips which felt really big and heavy all of a sudden.

"Samson is - is she making sense to you?"

"Fatima, can I explain?" Samson asks while gently squeezing my hand.

"Yes." There's a moment of silence and then I hear him speak just when I thought he wasn't going too. "She started having dreams about the woman who left her when she was a little girl but she didn't remember that her whole life. Then she saw Cynthia, and she remembered that Cynthia left her."

"That started a bunch of new memories to come forward but they weren't any she knew, although they were real. Fatima believed that she spent her whole life inside in the safe house with Dmitri never going out but lately, since she's been with us, she's having dreams, and flashbacks of her life before she met Dmitri..."

"Safe house?" a voice I can't place asks and I turn my head opening my eyes to see it's Jonah, Ansel's father asking. "The air was bad to breath, couldn't go outside without a suit and air tank," I answered but his face only seemed to be more confused as he glanced at Samson who nodded.

"Faith," Trevor called again, so turning to him I waited, "So now when you have flashbacks you get headaches?"

"Yeah, bad ones..." I replied still not telling him about the other voices I had heard, the reason I think I was screaming, Imogen in my head, pleading, then everyone else I had met, everyone shouting in my head all at once.

"Will she remember Wyatt? We cannot trust Cynthia, we must have the child remember!" a voice I hadn't heard before, a woman with dark skin like Wyatt's speaks to him and I wince out in pain.

"Faith - is - is it happening right now?"

I groan out a whispered 'yes.'

"But - but not as painful," I pant when the prick I feel inside my head fades.

This headache thing couldn't be explained - not medically by Trevor so that Sunday night, I was able to go home with medication that once I took it, it put me so far gone I saw two of everything. Or maybe it was the headache? I wasn't sure but I couldn't tell Trevor and everyone else but I did want to tell Samson.

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