The Skylar Experiment : Beginnings

Chapter Three - The Morning After

I WOKE UP STARTLED and jumped out of the covers.

I breathed deeply as I recognized my new room with its bed, my bookshelf and my desk. My surfboard leaned untouched against the wall in the open closet.

My window was not shut, which I don't recall sliding open before. Fresh morning air ruffled the curtains. Stepping up on wobbly legs, I spread them wide open, checking the outside of my window as if I'd find a lurker behind it. This was the second floor. No way anyone could be this high up. But the creature...

The breeze caused my clammy skin to turn ice-cold, from my forehead all the way to my palms. I closed the window with shaky hands and pulled back the curtains, eyeing the alarm clock over my nightstand.

9:00 am.

"How the hell..." I murmured to myself, walking over to my door. Did I dream all that?

How did I get to my room without any recollection whatsoever? All my memories stopped at the point where... where the thing was inches away from having me. A chill rolled down my spine, and I got out. I tiptoed down the stairs. Dad was either at work or sleeping. If it was the latter, I didn't want to wake him.

I took the small corridor next to the living room and made my way to the kitchen, only to find Dad calmly settled by a stool behind the counter. Eyeing me disapprovingly. Arms crossed. This couldn't be good.

"Good morning," I squeaked, lowering my head.

"Not really," he said without a trace of humor. "Not coming back by sundown or giving me a call is just unacceptable."

"I'm so sorry, Dad..."

He got to his feet and rounded the counter. There were dark circles underneath his eyes. "Do you know how I waited on the couch to see you come through our front door?" he asked. A fine pick of anger vibrated in his tone. "I went out looking for you, and then I ran out of options."

I could barely wrap my mind around what happened last night. I didn't remember how I came back in one piece.

"I cannot explain how furious I am, kiddo, or how much you scared me. I thought something happened, that I should call the police to search for you."

"I..." I started, then decided it was pointless to try and defend myself. "How did you know I was back?"

"When I woke up at midnight and hadn't seen you come in, I checked in your room. There you were, asleep in your clothes." He gestured at my outfit from yesterday. "You didn't stop to wake me up. Where have you been, Riley?"

A few seconds ticked by. I almost chose not to tell Dad, but I couldn't bear the idea of hiding something so big from him. I could always talk to him, even when he was mad. It hadn't changed.

"You should sit down," I said slowly, pulled a chair and waited for him to do the same. A glimmer of confusion shone in his gaze. "So, I went for a walk into the forest, and I hadn't seen the time pass until I got lost..."

As the words poured out of my mouth, his expression shifted from puzzled to straight-up horrified. His face paled all of a sudden, his eyes alert as if the danger were still present.

"Dear God, Riley..." He unfolded his arms and gripped the counter. "This is not a park for kids, it is a wild forest with animals that roam at night—not just raccoons or foxes, but bears and coyotes. Animal attacks are a risk for the locals, here."

I knew all this. But what kind of animal had unreal blue eyes like those I'd seen? I went on to tell him about that and the size of the thing, then refrained from sharing how I had no recollection of getting home. It just... it was too mysterious.

Dad rubbed his chin, stare narrowed like I was a medical mystery. "I don't know what type of animal that was, Riles. Your survival instincts could have taken over and your imagination played tricks on you. It could have been a startled bear rising on its hind legs that you saw. It could have decided to leave once it was clear you weren't a threat. Anything is possible."

I nodded. It felt good to get a logical explanation. My muscles relaxed, and I realized I'd been squeezing my own hands so hard they hurt. I suddenly remembered my sprained ankle. My fingers touched it, and there was no pain, nothing swollen. What in the world...

He didn't notice, instead he said, "I'm glad we talked, kiddo. We'll find you a new phone asap." He got up and went for his jacket laying on a chair. "I have to go to work now, can't be late on my first day. You should worry about yours for school. It's tomorrow, and there are a lot of books unchecked on the shopping list."

My lungs deflated. I couldn't escape reality, but at least the talk went better than I imagined. Dad slipped on his jacket and grabbed his keys. Then, as he was about to cross the kitchen threshold, he smiled.

"You're still grounded, kiddo. One week with limited access to internet, and I don't ever want to see you take off so suddenly ever again, you hear me?"

I rose from my chair, wishing I could rip a banana from the fruit bowl and chuck it at his head. "Dad!"

"Love you."

He closed the door on his way out. The rest of my morning was normal compared to yesterday and to the past week with all the moving arrangements. I'd walked to the store and bought what was left on the back-to-school list.

But when I dropped off all the stuff in the living room, I couldn't stop thinking about last night. It felt like a bad dream. Was that really a bear? Could it have been that my imagination made it into something much scarier and darker? Part of me wished the answer was yes, but another thought it was hard to believe.

Those screeches seemed as real as this house.

I straightened from the shopping bags, eyes darting to the clock on the wall. Dad would not approve of this, but I might be able to recover the phone with several hours before sunset. It'd save us the trouble of getting a new one, and I knew to prepare this time.

Unfortunately, it took me searching the basement to realize that the codes to the firearms had been recently switched. Even the single one in the kitchen was changed. Damn it. Change of plans.

Two minutes, a pepper spray and pocket knife later, I closed the front door and tumbled down the porch stairs, starting up on the same trail as yesterday.

✩  

A confusing beginning for this chapter. Do the explanations Riley's Dad offers hold up with what might have actually happened? Also, it's pretty gutsy of her to return to the "crime scene" so soon. This will either be a strength or a weakness in her.