Free Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan

butterflies bloomed in my stomach at once.
    I waited for his car to disappear before I went inside. All the lights were off and the house was unusually quiet. With a single thought, I mentally turned on the kitchen light and almost died from shock. The kitchen was spotless. I turned around. So was the living room.
    I walked to Jake’s room and peeked in. “Jake?” When I didn’t hear a reply, I turned on the light. His bedroom had also been cleaned and his empty bed was made. A note on his dresser read:
    Tink,
    I’m sorry about earlier. You were right about everything. I promise things will be better. Don’t wait up for me, I’ll be home late.
    —Jake
    P.S. I hope tryouts went well!
    I carried the note to my room, reading it several more times. Jake had never done anything like this before. Maybe things would be different.
    *     *     *     *     *
    My eyelids snapped open sometime in the middle of the night. It was dark—coffin dark. I felt my way to the window and peered into the black sky. Storm clouds must be hiding the moon. I placed my palms on the glass and summoned Light to my hands; a soft bluish glow shined into the dark. Suddenly the wind blew and shook the windowpane beneath my hands. I stumbled back, surprised
    I was about to return to bed when I heard what I thought was a cat howling outside my window. It wailed and moaned, sounding like a creature from a horror movie. Once again I called on Light’s power. Squinting, I tried to locate the tortured feline. Without warning, a shadow, blacker than night, bolted past my window.

I FINALLY THREW THE COVERS OFF AT 6:00 A.M. WHEN THE morning sun warmed my room. I mentally turned on the lights and dressed quickly, anxious to get out of the house and away from the memories of such a horrible night’s sleep. After whatever had bolted past my window, I’d ran back to bed and buried myself in the covers. The shadow had moved so quickly I couldn’t be sure if the form had been human or animal. I didn’t fall asleep until I’d convinced myself that it had been a deer. I’d seen plenty of them in our backyard, so I logically figured that’s all it probably was.
    I peeked in on Jake, who was sleeping peacefully without the television on. I quickly scribbled a note, telling him I was going running and then placed it on his dresser. I stepped out our back door, stretched a little, and then raced up the mountain, toward the sun, and over to my favorite trail. When I returned an hour-and-a-half later, Jake was gone. A short note told me he had some errands to run and would be home before I returned from school.
    While I showered and got ready for school, I wondered what Jake was up to. As far as I knew, he didn’t know anybody in Utah.
    Once again, I ran to school. The moon would be full for at least another day, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the timing. If basketball tryouts had been one week later, there’d be no way I’d make the team.
    I headed straight for first hour instead of going to my locker. The last thing I wanted was to run into Christian. As much as I wanted to be near him, he was merely a high school distraction and one that would only cause me pain in the end. Eye on the prize, I reminded myself as I sat down.
    By the end of second period, I had to go running again. The tapping of my foot had bothered everyone around me, including the teacher. While no one was looking, I quickly darted outside and headed toward the track. I ran as hard and fast as I could to expend the most amount of energy (although I barely broke a sweat). I hoped that might help me pay attention in my next class, math. I was really starting to fall behind, and for the first time in my academic life, I was worried.
    By the end of Mr. Steele’s class, however, I realized the running had been wasted. I left his classroom feeling like I hadn’t learned a thing. I learned more math from watching late night talk shows than I did from Mr. Steele. What