The toughest bitch

What is Happening? - 6

I walked back, falling into a jog soon to make it back quicker. This whole thing with Tae was stuck in my mind, was she really the woman my Aunt had described? I was just about to turn onto the gravel way when I saw someone at one of the windows. Who wanted to break in? Who was there? I was about to yell at him when I realized it was the window belonging to Taes' room, she sure knew how to defend herself. So I crouched low and watched as the figure jumped down, "what an idiot, falling down" I thought, but then realized the figure didn't want to break in, but break out. He had closed the window carefully, only leaving an almost invisible crack. He now made his way along the wall, closing in on the forest.

Not a single sound was heard from his heavy looking boots and as the figure turned his head to check for any prying eyes I was shocked to see the familiar fabric cover the lower half of the face "Tae" I thought "what the heck was she up to?" I wondered and quietly followed her, staying low to remain unnoticed. I tried to calm my breathing and have my steps as silent as hers, but I could hear my own steps on the ground. "How does she do that? Her running is so loud each morning" I wondered, remembering her heavy boots hitting the ground in such stoic rhythm. She turned around the corner of the house, I hurried to not lose her, but as I turned the corner she was nowhere to be seen. Sniffing the air I was once more frustrated to realize she had no scent. "Damn it" I whispered, angry.

I went inside and was glad to not meet anyone on my way to my room. They had probably gone to bed already. A small breeze was heard from Taes' room and now I knew it was due to her absence. I wonder where she always goes I thought as I stripped down to just quickly rinse off before going to bed. We'll catch her I then thought, forgetting about everything Beth had said about her. She somehow intrigued me and I wanted to know where she went at night and what her secret was. Why the fabric on her face? Why the missing scent? Who was this woman and why did it feel so weird to think about her? So exciting...

I had nightmares, a horrific fear filled my entire being as my mind travelled from one scene to the other. The smell of blood filled my nose, horrible sounds pierced my ears as I seemed to stagger along sceneries of war. A large hand grabbed me and pulled me backwards, my backside hitting a metal chair hard. "Let's see how much you can really take" a man grinned right into my face. I didn't know who he was, I had never seen him before, but I was somehow scared and angry, connecting his face to different deaths of people I seemed to know. He tortured me, slicing my skin open and dripping some liquid inside. Somehow I managed not to scream.

As I woke I was drenched in sweat and had the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. My stomach was rumbling and I checked my alarm clock at my bedside table, it was only four in the morning. I decided to get some juice to wash away the taste and tame the hunger before showering. The house was dead quiet as I left my bedroom and made my way into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of orange juice and drank it, suddenly also thirsty, most likely from sweating so much. I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to the window, staring into the darkness. Nothing, probably just the last effects of the nightmare. Never in my life had I experienced anything like it, how the heck did my mind come up with these vivid images? I was in fact not much of a dreamer in general, I hardly remembered any dreams, but the images clung to me somehow as I walked back upstairs.

I was about to enter my bedroom when a sound reached my ears, running water. I turned towards the direction where it came from and found myself staring at the door of her bedroom. Maybe she had only been for a very suspicious walk last night? But why was she awake so early? Probably preparing to be such a pain in the ass...
I ignored the weird feeling I had when thinking about her in the shower and walked into my room and in the connected bathroom, stripping away my shorts and stepping into the shower. If she had already turned on the warm water, I wouldn't have to wait for the water to heat up, so I turned the hot water on and ... was wide awake in a heartbeat. The water was freezing cold and I jumped out of the shower in shock. It felt as if no one had been using the hot water in a while, but she was showering just now. Did she take cold showers? Why would anyone do that?