Hunting You, Hunting Me (Watty Awards 2012)

Chapter 27

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Not edited.

Chapter 27

You know how time slows down considerably and you can watch things occur in slow motion when in reality it all takes place in a matter of seconds? As I opened the door to the shack that's what it felt like for me. My eyes collided with the image of a circle made of worn-out steel. My brain immediately catalogued it as the muzzle of a gun and my body pumped copious amounts of adrenaline into my blood stream. My heart began pumping furiously in my ribcage as my eyes focused beyond the muzzle to the sight, the barrel, and the forestock; my brain putting together the various parts and identifying the gun to be a rifle.

A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes continued their exploration and identified the bright neon green manicured nails and tan skin that held the rifle as belonging to my ex-best friend, Abby. Electrical signals scrambled through my brain, transmitting this information to the rest of my body. My head jerked up to confirm my brain's hypothesis that it was indeed Abby who was holding the rifle to my chest. As our eyes met, Abby's upper lip twitched slightly before elongating upwards to form a smile. In response, my eyes grew wide and my mouth hung slightly open. When I had first met her, I had thought she was one of the most amiable and prettiest girls in school, and I was honored that she was my friend. Things couldn't be more different now. As I stood there, time moving at a snail's pace I could see every fault that lined her face. Her personality had seeped through her pores and made her face ugly to the point of being grotesque. As that thought formed in my brain, the clock was re-set and time sped up again.

She has no reason to be suspicious of me, so why is she holding that rifle? The next thing I do turns out to be one of the smartest moves that I have ever made. In the shrillest voice that has ever escaped my lips, I ask, "Oh my God! It's behind me, isn't it?" With that, I throw myself to the side and start to scream and wail like a baby.

I watch Abby, as she shuts the door and turns to face me. Please God. Please let it work.

Abby walks towards me, the rifle still in her overly tanned hands. "You are so paranoid," She quips. "There was nothing behind you." She laughs.

I begin to relax.

"Here, take the gun." She says handing me the rifle. The perfectionist in me wants to point out that it is a rifle and not a gun, but I let it go begrudgingly. I reach out and grab the rifle before she changes her mind, relieved that it is no longer in my enemy's hand.

"What's this for?" I ask, confused.

"I need to go out for a while to search for my parents since the phone isn't working." She explains.

I raise my eyebrows in response. Liar.

"If any other boys turn up...shoot them. And if you see that animal...shoot it." She says nonchalantly.

"Are you kidding me?" I shriek looking down at the rifle in my hands and back at Abby. "I don't know how to use this. I'll end up shooting myself."

"That would make things easier for me." Abby mumbles under her breath.

If it weren't for my werewolf hearing I would have missed that. So I pretend that I don't hear it. "What's that?" I ask.

"Nothing. It's already loaded. Just aim and pull the trigger." She explains.

I lift the rifle and aim it at Abby. Should I pull the trigger? That would be so easy. She won't even expect it. I don't know why I don't. Maybe it's that gnawing feeling in my brain that the gun isn't really loaded. What if she is testing me? And when I pull the trigger and nothing happens she will pounce on me and tear me to pieces before I can react... I put the gun down. Abby smiles knowingly. How can she know? It's my mind playing tricks on me. I'm just paranoid.