[ 16 ] 2014

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"I've been feeling the extreme fear and almost grief that is radiating off you."

-

It was several feet from their position in the parking lot to the right pier. From where Harley took off with Arthur, Michael, André, and Ashton, she could see there were a lot of people. They were all passing the small shops, smiles on their faces, while she was only suffering a pain that was in her heart. The way that Harley Quinn saw it was that she was the cause of all that was happening to Calum and the only way to redeem herself was to find him, to save him from the imminent harm he was in.

There didn't seem to be anyone particularly watching or stopping for something unusual. That dimmed her hope that Calum would be at that pier because she figured the crowd would notice if something was wrong.

She forced herself to move quicker across the dunes of sand at the beach and every step she took only served to heighten the worry she was feeling. Harley looked over her shoulder to find that the others had made about the same amount of progress as her and her group on their path towards one of their destinations. Each pier was about a mile apart from the other, according to one of the information signs in the parking lot. That would take them about five minutes, at the pace they were going. If Calum wasn't there, they would have to continue to the next one, which was yet another mile of walking.

They finally made it there, to the top of the pier where there were souvenir shops, as well as restaurants, and a few amusement park rides.

"This isn't the place." Michael concluded as he took in their surroundings. "The other pier was much smaller, and there weren't as many people."

"Michael, why won't you just touch my hands and look into my future?" She pleaded once more, her voice desperate and breaking, as she was on the verge of yet another wave of tears. "This is crucial, you could save his life."

Her half-brother shook his head, refusing again. "I told you I don't want to be the one to give you the bad news, if there is bad news. I don't want to be the one to cause something terrible to happen again." Harley did not seem to understand what he meant by that, but Arthur did. Michael was his son, and like Harley, he had been watching him as well. He had been taking care of him from a distance.

Giving a sigh of his lips, Arthur stepped forward, placing a hand on Michael's shoulder in a reassuring way. "You don't have to do this son." He said to Michael, and turning to Harley, he offered yet another bit of help that he could do for his daughter. "I'm really not entirely sure if this could help us in any way, but it's something I've been working on for the past couple of months." He started, pausing for a moment before he continued. "There are abilities we all have, as shifters, that we all share in common." By that, he meant the mind control, the ability to shield themselves from human harm, and other things. "But there are those who have one other ability that is specific to them. Mine is empathy; meaning that I can feel what someone else around me if feeling, if I focus on them. For example, I've been feeling the extreme fear and almost grief that is radiating off you." He looked at Harley.

She bit down on her lip. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He shook his head, "It's not your fault. The reason why I mention this is because I recently found I can use my abilities to track people down, almost like your friend...Sniffy, as Paul called him."

"Niall." Harley said his name.

"Yes, right." Arthur nodded his head. "I don't know exactly what the method is to make this work, but I found that I can pick up on an emotion you're feeling toward him, which is not difficult right now. Its almost like I can track him using the emotional connection you two have."

"Then please use it to find him." She said to him, the tears finally spilling from her blue eyes. In that moment, Ashton slipped a hand into hers and gave it a light squeeze of reassurance. He brought their intertwined hands up to his lips where he kissed the back of her hand, and he forced a small smile onto his lips. He couldn't deny it hurt to see how much she really cared about Calum. They weren't feelings of friendship she had towards him, hers were the reactions of someone who was in love and felt a terrible fear at losing the other person.

Harley turned her head in Ashton's direction and used her free hand to caress his face gratefully. "Thank you for understanding, and being so supportive, Ash."

Arthur looked from one teenager to the other, and his eyebrows knit together in a momentary confusion. The way his daughter had been acting, he would have thought that Calum was her boyfriend. Now she was hand in hand with a ghost and that seemed t clarify things for him.

"As your father, Harley, we're going to have to talk about this." And by this, he meant her relationship with spiritual entity that he thought couldn't really go anywhere, though he wouldn't put it as harshly. Since Aaron couldn't be the one to give her the talk, as her other father he would have to do so. "But right now I'm going to have to ask you to let her worry. I know it sounds harsh, but her grief level just plummeted a big deal. I can't follow the emotion if she's calm because you've calmed her."

Ashton nodded in understanding and she pulled her hand away from his hold like it was fire and she had gotten burned. 

"Now I need you to get worried, and feel that grief you were feeling earlier." Her father instructed as he closed his green eyes to concentrate.

"I can't now..." She replied, biting down on her lip nervously. "I felt so much better after Ashton held my hand."

"Michael." Arthur opened his eyes and looked to his son who was standing close by, a sour look on his face. There was Calum to diminish his non-existent chances with Harley, but then there was also Ashton. Michael could not figure out which of the two of them was a bigger threat.

The boy with white hair nodded his head, understanding what Arthur wanted without him having to say anything. He wanted Michael to worry Harley in such a believable way that Arthur would be able to use those emotions to find Calum. He had just opened up his mouth to speak when Harley's cellphone beeped in her pocket. 

She got it out with lightning speed and tapped on the message that had appeared on her screen.

andrea: sorry quinn, we found nothing. how about you guys?

harley: nothing. we're going to try the next nearest pier.

andrea: okay, us too.

"And?" Michael asked, awaiting news.

Harley shook her head in response. "Nothing. They're going to try the next nearest pier."

"Well the sun is setting and the tide is rising." Michael informed, gesturing to the roaring of the ocean behind them. "We need to find him soon before they close off the smaller piers for the night."

"Okay, I've got something." Arthur spoke up. "He's the opposite way."

"Take us there." Harley begged.

-

The group raced back in the direction they came from, with Arthur at the front. Within minutes, they were at the first pier Andrea, Niall, Dempsey, and Paúl had gone to. It was there that Arthur stopped in his tracks. This was a much smaller pier where fishermen spent their time fishing. Underneath, the tide was already beginning to rise. A sign nearby warned visitors that on Sunday nights was when the tide would reach its highest, and that it was recommended to stay away from the smaller piers.

"This is where he is." Her father told her.

But as she looked out a few feet in front of them, all she could see were two older men who were fishing. Harley gave a shake of her head. "Andrea was just here and she said they didn't find anything."

"This is where I was lead." Arthur reasoned. "He has to be here."

"You said it wasn't certain that this would work." She reminded him.

"I'm sorry, Harley. I really tried." He said to her, genuinely feeling bad about not being able to help her more.

Harley held her head down, circumstances had defeated them. It seemed that as much as they could try, they wouldn't find Calum. She was about ready to call Andrea and the rest of the group back when she saw her brother pulling off his black gloves. 

Without saying anything, he cut the distance between them and grabbed both her hands firmly in his. He closed his eyes tight this time, gathering all the concentration he could manage. There was a small jolt in his body as images flashed in his mind of what could have possibly been Calum's rescue, or his tragic end. 

He gulped back his fear at the possibility of giving her bad news and spoke of what he was seeing. "Its dark and cold...I can hear the ocean water and...I see large wooden pillars. He was left underneath the pier!" He finally said.  

Michael let go of her hands and she took off back down the end of the long pier. When she reached the sand again, she went underneath the wooden piece of architecture with Ashton, Michael, and Arthur following her. Her eyes squinted and struggled to become accustomed to the limited light, but it was then that she finally saw him. 

Calum was tied to one of the pillars of the pier, and his head was down. It was evident that he had lost consciousness. The water level was now reaching his waist and was rising fairly quickly, as the signs above had warned. 

Harley cut the distance between them, her clothes becoming soaked in the cold sea water around her. That was the least of her problems. Her hands pulled at the ropes, but they had been tied securely around him. She had to pull her hands back when she felt the burn of chrysanthemum on her hands. The next thing she thought to do was to use her powers to loosen the rope, but that didn't seem to work either.

Arthur soon approached them, pulling a switch blade out of his pocket which he used to expertly free Calum from the hold of the ropes. While he did that, Harley cupped his face in her hands and lifted his head to examine him. 

There were dark circles under his eyes and residue of blood in his mouth and nose. The damage, as she saw it, looked more internal than external. 

"Calum..." She called, shaking him gently, but got no response from him. After a short pause, she tried again. "Calum, please wake up. I need you to be okay, please..."

Ashton and Michael quickly moved in to help the unconscious teenager out of the water. The tide had already risen to their elbows, and that was considering that they were all much taller than Harley Quinn. The two other boys dragged him back towards the shore, with Harley and Arthur following. Harley was crying silent tears which were both of worry and happiness. They had found Calum, and for the time being it was enough for her.

-

yes. aNoTHER uPdATe. because i got excited and carried away. quite possibly because i've never felt more inspired and full of great ideas (since i started writing this series). when i first started out, i felt like it was one great idea after another each time i wrote a chapter (im not trying to sound arrogant or a kiss ass to myself lol). then halfway through phantasm i felt like everything i wrote was absolute shit. many of you know it was because i was very sick.

now im doing much better, and my hair is growing back quite quickly which is making me happy af! and i feel inspired. and i feel happy. so i will be updating 2-3 per week (sometimes more than that, sorry if thats too much). 

right this moment i was going to post the blurb for the new story bc i promised it last night. but i have to wait until i get back from church. its 'dia de la candelaria' (i believe its candle-mas in english) in the catholic world and i have to go to the religious ceremony with by baby jesus doll bc it symbolizes meaningful. for mexican culture (my homies) its this huge party too. and if you got the baby jesus plastic figure in your rosca, you are making the tamales for dinner tonight my friend.

qotd: did you all really think i would kill off calum? he's my boy. granted my fave is ash, but calum is a close second.

happy dia de la candelaria!

-clary xx