Not Your Average Nerd

Chapter Twelve

‘You animal. Look at yourself.’ I scolded mentally, licking my finger and hands completely clean until they nearly shined like a fresh polished diamond. A feeling of satisfaction washed through my body, finally, as I pivoted from the fridge, hopefully, going back to my room.

But of course. The nightmare wasn’t over. There were no fat ladies singing just yet.

Another feeling began pumping though my veins, a yearning that clung to every fiber of my body. I looked down at my hands, which made tight fists, and then opened as wide as they could go. My fingers slowly curled down, back into another fist. The beating of my heart was just as loud as it had been before. Each joint, from my ankle to my jaw, ached as if I were about to break.

‘What is this?’ I screamed in my head, desperate for an answer. ‘WAKE UP. RISE AND SHINE. OPEN SESAME, DAMMIT. I KNEW BEING HARD HEADED WAS GOING TO BITE ME IN THE ASS ONE OF THESE DA---’

There was a howl.

A howl unlike any dog I had ever heard.

 Any normal human being’s natural response to hearing a blood curdling howl at the late hour of the night would be to, well, run. Hide. Get the hell off the ground floor, at least. Flee! Scat! Mush! There was something though, in that howl… In that howl… In… Howl… Run.

The burning desire in my muscle, joints, and bones ached. From the middle of my kitchen, I found myself outside, cold, in the (perfectly timed) pouring rain. “HELLO?” I screamed, looking from left to right. Something told me to go behind the house, to, of all places, the darkness of the trees.

My body screamed, telling me to run faster, push my muscles to their limit… To hurry. There was something I needed to find, something I needed to catch hold of… Something… Someone… My head was spinning. With each stride, each breath I took, I could feel myself losing even more control of what little I had. A clap of thunder shook the ground as I, now engulfed in the shadows of the forest, continued to chase what my very core yearned for.

Another howl.

 

“What’s happening?” I cried, pushing my now burning feet as fast as they could possibly go. This speed, this direction, the way I avoided trees… It was. Inhumane. My heart, beating at what had to be a dangerous rate, was going to explode. I just knew it. Right after I ran out of my own skin. Tears streamed down my face as my vision began to blur. The rain, thunder, and sound of my near-bursting heart filled my ears until… Finally.

Silence…

Darkness…

And finally,

Complete peace.

* * * * * * *

‘Damn, I need a new mattress. This is killing my back. At least the heat is on.’

There was such warmth on my skin, it was as if the sun was shining directly on me. I gingerly opened my right eye, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. Why should I have? It was an average night… I helped mama clean the dishes, Anica and I argued over which Avenger was best, and tată brought out the baby books to reminisce over until we all were sick of each other’s company. Just like any other first night back home.

Wait… Rewind a sec…

“What the…” I spat, lifting my head with both eyes wide open, getting a double take at the forest all around me. I sat up, in the middle of a frikin’ forest, with no idea what was or had been going on.