Run With The Wicked

Chapter 8: Stay

The above image is of Denae :)

The sound of a heartbeat roused me from unconsciousness. I couldn't say for sure where I was, but I felt a pillow under my head. A shortness of breath in my lungs caused me to stir. Streaks of midnight blue and warm yellow seeped into my vision. Fluttering my eyes awake I gazed at my surroundings. I was back in my dorm room, the curtains were still open, and showing the endless dark sky that gave away the fact it was still during the night.

A single lamp on the nearby dresser radiated a golden glow. I was able to see through my bedroom window that the moon was still in the sky, and navy shadows curved around the areas of the icy dorm that weren't shrouded with lamplight.

It was only when I shifted beneath the blanket covering me, I noticed a peculiar weight on my stomach. I looked down, Zeke's head was turned away from my face. His hands were folded under one another, and his cheek lay on top of his hand. I could smell his hair from where I laid. The warm undertones becoming obvious in his proximity. Citrus scents invaded my nostrils as I angled my head closer to Zeke's.

I decided not to wake him. I didn't want to waste the few moments I'd have with him that didn't involve witches. It was safe to say I didn't know Zeke very well, about where he came from, how he'd found out about who he was. I deemed that the knowledge I sought from him, was indeed a double ended sword, and the point was glimmering at my throat.

I placed my head back and closed my eyelids, willing myself to seep back into the solace of sleep. Even though my eyes were closed, my mind ran amuck. How did I get back up to my dorm? I considered that fact that Zeke carried me, and as petty as it sounded, I wasn't awake to enjoy the closeness.

My eyelids had only been closed for a matter of moment when I felt a movement shift on my stomach. An undistinguishable groan came from the figure sprawled over me, it made me think it was my empty stomach making noises.

Zeke blinked away the fogginess in his eyes.

"Hey, you're awake." He said in relief. He sat up, taking his torso off the top of me. Secretly disappointed, I tried to sit up only to be met by a sharp pain rushing from my fingers to my toes.

Zeke pulled out the nearby desk chair and sat next to me. Zeke's hand lingered over my arm.
"I'd be careful if I were you." He edged forward. Warm air escaped my lungs, and I sat blinking away the remnants of pain. Zeke's smouldering eyes met mine.

"What happened?" I asked, eyes wide. My hands clutched at the sides of my single bed, arms locked.
"I carried you down here after you collapsed." He cautiously explained. I furrowed my brow.
"Why would I collapse?"

Zeke chewed the inside of his cheek.
"Wolf thinks that something went very wrong, but in our case very right."

"Wait what does that mean?" I said, puzzled.

Sighing deeply Zeke continued, he intertwined his hands together in thought.

"You hit your head, that day the bus went over didn't you?"

I dug through my mind, although my leg had healed I did recall hitting my head. 

"Yea so?"

He shook his head.
"The ritual Wolf performed shouldn't have done what it did to you." He said concerned. I raised an eyebrow. "Instead of catalysing a reaction to kick start your powers, you're body shut down."

"So you're saying what exactly?"

"You died, when you hit your head there must have been some sort of internal bleeding."

I sat for several moments, processing.

It was beyond my understanding how I came to know people who could explain the complexities of my new life without going insane. Everyone's heard of zombies, vampires and even werewolves. The few fabricated creatures where death and destruction rarely affect them. It was now becoming more and more obvious that if witches, elites, magic auras and borderline homicidal silver eyed ass hats can exist, then anything could.