Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own the Darkest Powers series- I just occasionally like to pretend that I do.

Simon Says

Simon woke with a start and glanced around the dark room for the source of the noise that had awakened him. It took him a few moments to figure out where he was- he'd been at the safe house for just over a week, and the bedroom was still unfamiliar. Simon checked the time on the alarm clock- 1:56AM- then stared at the rumpled sheets on the twin bed opposite his own. No Derek. That must have been it- Derek moved as silently as a cat (or a wolf, he supposed), but the house was old and the floorboards in the bedroom they shared squeaked horribly, especially under his brother's weight. Simon started to lay back down when he noticed that the clothes Derek had left carelessly piled on the floor were missing as well. Huh, he thought, not a quick trip to the bathroom then. That suggested that one of two things had occurred, and neither was good in Simon's opinion.

Simon's first guess- and the one he thought was most likely- was that Derek was Changing. Dad had told them that it was a myth that adult werewolves morphed into wolves whenever there was a full moon. The reality was they usually Changed about once a week in order to prevent the intense physical, mental, and emotional side-effects that occurred if they stayed in human form too long. Lately, Derek's body was starting to follow that cycle, although in the three times he'd tried he wasn't able to complete the transformation.

Simon had never watched his brother's attempts at Changing, and wasn't sure if he wanted to see it now. Their father didn't know much about the process- it was difficult to get accurate information on werewolf habits given that werewolves were both extremely rare and generally refused to have anything to do with other supernaturals (or humans, for that matter). What he did know was that the process was always excruciating... so painful, in fact, that most people who were bitten went into shock and died the first time they tried to Change. Simon wasn't a coward, but he didn't relish the idea of watching Derek go through that, knowing that there was little he could do to relieve his brother's discomfort.

Even worse, what if something went wrong? The Edison Group scientists had altered Derek's DNA, so there was a chance that he'd never to be able to successfully enter his wolf form. And what if he got stuck part way through the Change and ended up permanently in some weird human-canine shape? Or what if Derek's organs ruptured during the skeletal re-arrangement? A few years ago one of Simon's friends, who was allergic to bees, was stung when they were playing soccer after school. Instead of looking for the Epi-Pen he knew his friend always carried, yelling for help, or dialling 9-1-1 on his cell phone, Simon froze. Fortunately, a teacher in the parking lot had been watching and quickly handled the emergency, but to this day Simon was ashamed of his reaction and his inability to help. He worried that if Derek got seriously hurt, he'd panic again. Simon knew that if he was this frightened, Derek must be terrified. He had to find him- if Derek was Changing then this time he'd have Simon by his side.

Simon rummaged around in the dresser, looking for his warmest clothes and grabbing an extra sweatshirt for Derek. He dressed quickly then tiptoed out the hallway and down the stairs, trying his best to remember where the noisiest floorboards were and manoeuvring his way silently around them. A sudden groan from upstairs stopped him in his tracks, and he waited, heart pounding. A series of thuds followed, but when he heard the sound of a toilet flushing he knew he was safe. He listened as whoever it was returned to bed, and decided to err on the side of caution and wait a few minutes before opening the front door and heading outside.

As he waited, Simon frowned, thinking about the second reason why Derek might disappear in the middle of the night fully dressed: Chloe. Simon didn't understand what it was about Chloe, but for whatever reason, Derek took a special interest in her. It was bizarre, really- Derek never took an interest in anyone. He didn't have friends and had never even tried to make any, despite Dad and Simon's constant attempts to encourage him to do so. None of their efforts paid off, though, and Derek just seemed baffled by the whole concept- in Derek's opinion, he had his family, so why should he waste time seeking out anyone else when he already had everything he needed? He knew that Derek's isolation worried their father- Simon had caught him a few times reading library books on child psychology. Once, when Simon was upset by Derek's antisocial behaviour at school, Dad had explained that Derek's ability to connect with others hadn't developed properly because of the years of neglect he'd suffered as a child living in the Edison Group labs. So why, after all these years, had Derek suddenly decided to use his interpersonal skills to befriend Chloe? Sure, Chloe was cute, smart, and nice, but Derek had met plenty of cuter, smarter, and nicer girls and he'd ignored them all. Maybe it was the whole supernatural thing, or that she needed help... Derek did love solving difficult problems, and Chloe's out-of-control summoning was about as tough a problem as he could imagine. Simon shuddered, and really hoped that if Derek was off helping Chloe with an emergency zombie disposal that the job would be finished by the time he caught up with them.

I hope you enjoyed this story and if you did, read on... the next chapter awaits!