Light and darkness.

He blushed deeply but grinned behind her hand until the glass shattered and he jumped even worse than before. He got up quickly and started shoving blankets around the book case to keep out the cold air and rain. He glanced over at the computer.

"M-maybe you should go online a-and see what the news has to say about this storm...I didn't think to bring in a TV..."

Rema quickly nodded and moved to the computer, minimizing the creepy video and began to search for the local news, quickly getting it and turning it up all the way

-"This storm came out of no where, no one even saw it coming!"-

Rema slowly hugged a blanket, watching the newsman, who was feeding off a live cam

-"And its just getting worse, if you havent yet..seek shelter!"-

He called out over the winds

Kalbert looked back at the computer screen and frowned. He walked over and watched the newscast for a moment.

"This isn't natural..."

Before he could say anything else, there was a loud knocking on the front door that made him jump and look towards it. He glanced at Rema.

"...Think that was just part of the storm?"

Rema shook her head quickly

"Someone's there.. Go check, I'll keep watching this"

The newsman was outside, under an overhang to escape the hail that looked like golfballs.

He didnt say much else new, but she watched, hugging her blanket

"You go chec-"

There was loud knocking again and Kalbert gulped. He took a deep breath and went to the front door. He looked around the living room first and saw one or two windows had been broken and were letting in wind and rain. He was glad his Aunt and Uncle were helping him with the house insurance.

The rapping on the door smashed his thoughts again and he hurried to open the door. The wind was so strong with the hail and rain that he didn't bother inviting the person in. Even if he did, the long coated man all but burst inside and helped Kalbert close the door behind him.

~"Jesus...that is one pissed off storm, ya?"~

Kal didn't know it, but it was the man from earlier. He was drenched and wearing the same thing as before. Kal was amazed he didn't look injured from all the hail and just stared at him.

~"Thanks for let'n me in Kalbert. Was getting a might twitchy out there let me tell you...somebody pissed in Mother Nature's cornflakes this morning yeah? Where's that girlfriend of yours?"~

Blushing deeply at that comment Kalbert stood a little straighter and addressed the man.

"I'm sorry sir, you seem to know me but I not you. Who are you?"

The man blinked and looked at him.

~"M'name's not important...i-is that a fire in t-there?D'ya mind?"~

The man didn't even wait to be given permission, he just went into the study and over to the fire and started warming up his hand. Kalbert followed and looked at Rema helplessly, unsure of what to do.

Rema blinked, confused as the man walked in, and saw the look of helplessness on Kal's face

"Hey.. Who the hell are you?"

Her eyes narrowed, recognizing him from earlier

"I wouldnt let you in earlier.."

The man rubbed his hands together and blew into them.

~"Like I told yer boyfriend there...doesn't matter who I am...but who you are."~

Kalbert looked between the two of them before looking at the man.

"H-how do you know w-who we are...?"

Shrugging, the man turned and seemed like he barely cared about them or anything else for that matter.

~"Word on the street is...is there's anything weird and not...natural happening around here...Kalbert Stein is the kid to see, and I need your help to find someone. Just so happens this storm brought me back to yer door."~

Shaking his head a little, Kalbert looked to Rema again, clearly having no idea what the man was talking about.

Rema looked at the man, her eyes narrowed

"Find..someone?"

She sat up more in the pile of blankets, her eyes still narrowed on the man

"Who are you looking for.."

Kalbert frowned a little more and just waited for the man to answer. The man rolled his shoulders a bit and glanced at the bookshelf that was keeping the storm out.

~"Well, I'm lookin for a girl named Rema Dabatos. Do y'know her?"~

Resiting the urge to look directly at her, Kalbert only slowly looked over to Rema as if asking if she knew someone by that name.

"I've...never heard that name before. And...whose spreading 'the word'...?"

The man chuckled and shook his head as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out what looked to be a case file. He tossed it onto the floor between them.

~"Rema Dabatos. 18. Tracked her here to this city. Seems weirdness follows her like flies follow a cow...but I'm sure y'know how that is eh?"~

He grinned and looked at Kal then to Rema.

Rema's mouth was slightly hung open, looking at the file, then to the man, until she realized it and quickly snapped her mouth shut

"I dont know who this Rema is"

She wasnt sure if there was a picture of her in the file, but if there wasnt, she wasnt about to get caught

The man shrugged as if he expected that and Kalbert slowly reached down and picked up the file. He opened it and glanced through. He frowned a little before handing it to Rema.

"Why do you want to find her? What will you do then?"

Shrugging again the man looked to Kalbert.

~"Find out why it happens to her...see if I can't help. It's sorta my job you could say."~

He looked right at Rema and watched her.

Rema took the file, and almost eagerly began flipping through it. There was almost every occurence where something strange had happened. Including one where about 4 students had ended up hospitalized in the 6th grade.

Her eyes were wide with surprise as to how he got the information on even the smallest things, and she closed the file, but held onto it

"How..would you help?"

Kal looked suspiciously at the man who despite his detached and indifferent attitude, actually smiled a little bit.

~"Honestly, I dunno. Till I meet her and talk to her and find out the hows and whys, there isn't anything I can do. But if I can find her and she talks to me openly and honestly well..."~

He smiled a little bit more before looking at Kalbert and losing his smile again. Kal glanced between the two before just watching Rema, unsure of what to say or do. Vaguely he was aware the storm outside hadn't let up and was still pounding on the house.

Rema wasnt sure of who this man was or what he wanted with her, but she said, basically under her breath

"Im Rema.."

She hugged the file to her chest, he obviously knew quite a bit about her, and she wanted to know why, and how

The man flashed that small grin again and nodded.

~"I know. J'st wanted to see if you'd admit it."~

The man then bowed with a small flourish and Kalbert could see at least one thing inside his coat. A medium-sized silver cross that looked very, very old.

~"M'name's Telken and I deal with the things supernatural. I came across this story of an orphan girl who was shuffled off from home to home and each time, something strange and unnatural happened, usually prompting her to leave if the parents dinna just toss her aside."~

Kalbert blinked surprised at how much the man knew and looked to Rema worriedly.

Rema nodded her head slowly as he spoke, watching him, almost waiting for him to attack or something.

She then looked at Kal, then back to Telken

"So why.. did you come looking for me?"

A piece of hail hitting the book case made her jump a bit

Kalbert slowly moved over to and sat beside all the blanket, glancing worriedly at the bookshelf, wondering what was causing the storm and if it would let up anytime soon.

Telken pulled the chair by the fire around to face them and sat in it without barely a care in the world. Then he shrugged.

~"Ain been much action this century t'be honest. When I heard about you I thought i better look into it and see what was what. Last thing I'd want to happen to you, s you getting jailed or something for a crime you didn't commit."~

Rema nodded slowly, still hugging the folder to her chest

"As, Im sure you know, almost happened several times"

She looked over at Kal, hoping that if he heard the stories, if this man mentioned half the things that happened around her, he wouldnt run off

Kalbert looked at Telken then to Rema and gave her a little smile. He wasn't sure what they were talking about but wasn't about to leave her alone with him.

~"Indeed...I"m guessing this storm isn't you though...it's too violent..."~

Kalbert jumped as a crack of thunder sounded just as the man mentioned it. As if it was a foreboding sign.

Rema quickly shook her head

"Even if I tried I dont think I could do something this bad.."

The computer was still on, still on the weather man, and suddenly, he start to speak louder then before which caught her attention

-"Tornado!"-

The word ripped through her like a hot knife through butter as she gulped

"....Thats.. not good.."

Kalbert jerked his head to the computer and his eyes got wide. He loved storms but tornados scared him quite a bit. Telken glanced at the computer and nodded a bit.

~"Right then. To the basement!"~

Kal looked swiftly at the man with even wider eyes and stammered a little but Telken waved it off.

~"Ain no spirits going to bother us down there with me there...'less they're something wicked powerful. Come on then! Hurry!"~

Telken got up as Kalbert scrambled to his feet and turned to help Rema get up.

Rema grabbed his hand as she stood, and pressed one of the pieces of paper from before into it

"In your pocket"

She said over the hail which was hitting the house even more often now. She pushed the other one into her own, still holding onto the folder the man had brought

"Trust us Kal.. You'll be fine"

She didnt let go of his hand, just incase he tried to protest going down there, she wasnt going to leave him behind

Kalbert looked very close to doing just that and suggesting he take his chances up in the study but Telken had already gone into the kitchen and was undoing the chains as if he had done it a hundred times before.

Looking pale and more scared of going into the basement than the tornado, Kal put the piece of paper slowly into his pocket. He looked ready to say something to Rema but the man yelled out.

~"Come on! It'll be here any second now!"~

He was already going downstairs as Kal reluctantly went with Rema, his hand gripping hers tightly.

Rema pulled Kal along, getting a chill thinking of the tapping at the door, but quickly dismissed the thought as she pulled him into the basement and quickly closed the door, still gripping his hand, unsure of if he was going to be okay.

She pulled him further into the dark basement, and accidently dropped the folder, several files spilling out and she said

"Ah..Sorry!"

Kalbert was white as a sheet as she had to almost literally pull him down. The storm kept getting louder and louder outside and they could hear it as they descended into the darkness. Kal was shaking by the time they reached the bottom and barely noticed Rema dropping the files.

His eyes darted around at any small movement. There was a little light coming in from the small windows but there was nothing to see until the man lit up a lantern just as the power went out in the whole house.

The basement was bare for the most part, aside from a few very old and dust covered boxes shoved in one corner and metal racks that had random bits of old junk on them. From his coat the man pulled out glow sticks that he cracked and tossed into the corners of the room as the wind whipped outside.

~"No worries lil Rema. Y'can keep those files...got a feeling we're gonna be in here for awhile...."~

Kalbert's eyes had settled along one wall that was straight in front of the stairs. It seemed like it was slightly taller than the rest of the basement, which itself seemed taller than most. Kal continued to shake worse and worse despite how normal and unimpressive the basement seemed altogether.