The Curse ~Completed~

The Curse ~Chapter Four~

TWO YEARS LATER

I woke up Monday morning hanging from my branch. In the past I have found myself a number of times waking up on this branch that I have named it mine. I tried to carefully swing around on the branch to start climbing down, but I was off balanced and fell from the tree.

I landed on my right arm, pain shot through me as I let out a yelp. I rotated my shoulder, it hurt but I could still move it so that was good.

I slowly made my way back towards the cabin. When arrived I looked at the calendar to realize today was my eighteenth birthday and the first day of my last year in school.

"Happy birthday to me," I whispered.

I walked into the bathroom and grabbed a quick shower, then walked to the fridge. When I opened the door I saw I had nothing but some old orange juice in the fridge.

"Need to go shopping," I reminded myself. I drank what was left of the out dated juice and then left for school.

I kept my promise with Gavin and still attended school, I had no friends left. After Gavin's death I ignored everyone, distanced myself away from them.

I barely paid any attention to what was happening around me, I had heard small rumors that a new girl had started. Her name sounded familiar in some way but I couldn't place it.

After lunch I had English literature, I use to sit by myself in that lesson but because there was new girl she now sat next to me. I paid her no attention but could feel her staring at me.

It wasn't until my English teacher started asking the students about poems when my neighbor raised her hand and walked to the front of the class.

"I'll admit I wasn't the one who came up with this poem, but it's been in my head for about a year now after...well that was this incident and it's been in my head since.

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunset, Sunrise,

Sunrise, two legs,

Sunset, the skies,

Creature of the night,

Being of the day,

This is your curse,

Forever it shall stay."

As the words left her mouth I looked up to see the face of the girl who's voice I now recognized.

"Chloe?" I whispered.

When she had finished the poem the bell rang and everyone filed out of the classroom. I grabbed my bag and raced after Chloe.

Once out the classroom I saw her heading towards the gym.

"Chloe!" I shouted after her.

I raced after her and saw her stop and turn to face me.

"It really is you," I said as I stopped in front of her.

"So now you're going to talk to me," she asked.

"I'm sorry, I've been sort of like this for a few years now, Gavin died two years ago. Left me all alone, I broke down that day, was never the same again. I'm so sorry to have ignored you, but well it was about that poem you read out." I said.

I saw her tense. "What about it?" she asked, with caution.

"Where did you hear it?" I asked.

"From this man, I met last year."

"What did he do to you?" I asked her.

"What makes you think he did something to me?" she replied, she had fear in her eyes. I looked around and saw we were now alone in the hallway.

I stared at her. Not saying anything.

She gasped, "You've met him too, haven't you? Whatever is happening to me is happening to you too."

"Yes," I told her.

"What is happening to me?" she asked. "I wake up in the mornings, in nothing but my birthday suit, in the middle of the forest. Tianna, what the hell is going on?"

"Come with me and I will tell you everything I know," I told her and started to walk out of the school grounds and back towards the cabin. Chloe followed silently.

When we arrived back I told her about everything, the day my mother died that led to the night I met the mysterious man, to waking up in the woods, meeting Gavin and discovering that when the sunsets we turn into animals. I explained to her how Gavin had really died to what led to us meeting today.

"So let me get this straight," she said after I explained everything. "We've been cursed. And now every night we change into animals?" I nodded. "What animal do you turn into?" she asked.

"A barn owl," I smiled.

"What did Gavin turn into?" she asked.

"A bear," I mumbled.

Chloe gasped. "He was the bear!"

I nodded.

"Oh my god. I don't even know what I turn into. Oh god what if it's something bad too, and then the town have to hunt me down. What if I kill someone. Oh my god!" she started to rant.

"Chloe, calm down. No one has reported any strange sightings so I'm taking it that your safe." I reassured her.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"We try to act normal. But I've also been trying to track down this guy who cursed us. But that's going nowhere as I don't know how to." I grumbled. I looked up at Chloe's expression. It screamed scared.

"You can stay here if you want to," I told her.

She nodded, "Thanks. At least one good thing came out of it. Not alone anymore."

I smiled. "Yeah that's positive thing."