Dead Dreams

Twenty-nine

I don't remember. At least, not what I said to him. I woke up this morning in the girls tent more than confused. It had felt like I had been outside with him just the second before. Maybe it was a dream. I don't care if it was real or not, but I'm getting tired of it, mentally and physically.

I keep the pace of a slug as I shuffle through the woods behind the others, and even behind Shiloh. He doesn't seem to mind, but checks behind himself occasionally to make sure I'm still there. I wonder if Iris is doing the same from the front...

Here I am, doubting what he's telling us even now and all I care about is if he's looking at me. I'm an idiot. A uselessly suspicious idiot.

Why the hell did I even bother asking that monster anything? He's more likely to lie about everything straight to my face then tell me the truth. I could have just asked Iris some of those questions...maybe. I guess I just feel bad. I ask Iris about all of these things and he only asks a few questions in return. In my defense, they are personal questions. On the other hand, Iris isn't from earth. It's not like he's going to be able to interfere in my life once I'm gone. If there was anyone I could tell my personal business to, it would be him.

So why am I still so worried?

Maybe because he won't react well.

Or maybe because it's hard.

It's not. It's easy to say things. I could go up to Iris right now and tell him everything.

It's hard to accept, not hard to say.

I stop in my tracks. No one else seems to notice, and keeps going. I scan them all, one by one until I stop at Iris, a far away mix of black, from head to toe. I don't really know what I feel as I look at him, but it's strong, and at the moment, makes my chest ache. He's so far away. A lot farther than he looks.

I don't like it. There's nothing I can do though.

I sigh, looking at the ground, and closing my eyes. This is not important right now. I take a minute to regroup myself before looking back up again. I take just one step forward before stopping again.

The forest is eerily quiet, and my eyes take a second to adjust to the darkness.

Everyone is gone.

My panic spikes, and I'm searching through the forest from my spot, spinning several times. They couldn't have gone in another direction that quickly. What's going on? I only looked away one time. I didn't see anything either. Should I just keep going forward?

Krrrrsshhh...

rrrrshh...

The sound of leaves crunching and rustling has me sharply turning to the left. There isn't any wind out here. When the sound starts again, I bolt. It was so close, almost in my ear. I run to the right as fast as I can, but try to keep aware of my surroundings. I don't have a flashlight, so it proves difficult.

I didn't have to see it to know it was there, and it's certainly not human. It came from at least nine feet in the air. My ears tune to several more sounds of rustling as I sprint through the woods. I dart away from each one, only to run into another a few seconds later. Fuck, Fuck, Fuck! There has to be at least thirty of them, scattered each and every direction. I can't see anything, but my eyes have adjusted enough to keep me from tripping. Whatever these things are they haven't made a move to grab me. That doesn't mean they aren't chasing me, so I'm not stopping until I'm exhausted. I weave through several more trees, In several directions. I never move in one direction for more than a few seconds at a time. I don't want to run straight into these things. My senses tell me they're still around even when the sounds quiet down. My hair stands on end and my lungs burn as I keep pace.