Tree branches pulled on my fur and clothes as I sprinted through the forest, rain pouring hard against me. My lungs felt like they were being ripped from my chest but I couldn't stop running. I won't stop running.
All I could hear was my heavy breathing and the distant footsteps of the animal chasing me. I knew if I stopped to see where it was, I would die. Where am I? Why am I being chased by another carnivore? Why was it chasing me with such blood lust? All these questions and yet I couldn't answer any.
It felt as if the branches were trying to slow me down just so my attacker could catch up and kill me. I can't die yet. Legoshi. I need to see Legoshi. Tears started streaming out of my eyes as reality hit me. Legoshi is gone. I am going to die. I will die and no one will ever know. Is this how this is really going to end?
These thoughts kept running through my mind as the ground below me got muddy with the rain, leading me to my downfall. My legs gave out as exhaustion took over me. I must of been running for hours. I tried to get up, pushing my now dirty arms under me. The sound of the rain seemed to get louder; that sound of footsteps that followed me for hours were drowned out with the rain.
I looked around into the dark trees, trying to see if I can recognize where I was but to no luck. It was so dark that I could barely see the big, dark figure staring at me from in front of me. My body felt cold as my attackers piercing red eyes stabbed through my soul. It felt as if I was being choked but no one was touching me. The figure stepped closer to me; I wanted to move away but it was as if I was chained down with fear.
My attacker got closer and closer, eventually climbing on top of me. My body couldn't move as the animal pinned me to the ground, saliva dripping onto my face.
"P-please. Don't," I whimpered as the animal's jaws slowly opened, showing the rows of sharp teeth and saliva. My eyes widened as it's teeth moved to my head without hesitation.
—
"Come on, you're gonna be late for class!" I jolted up as sweat covered me, Kara sitting on the edge of my bed with a concerned look on her face. "Have a bad dream?"
"You can say that," I mumble as I start to pull my shirt up to wipe the sweat off of my face. I was stopped by a small hand pulling my shirt back down. Kara already had a small towel (where in the world did she get that??) and she started patting my head gently with it.
"Do you want to talk about it? Whenever I have a bad dream I always feel better after I talk about it," Kara smiled sweetly, wiping most of the sweat off of my face. "Hey Bella! Toss me the water bottle on my bed please."
How can I possibly tell her that another carnivore tried to devour me? Especially since Tem's death was only 6 months ago?
"Kara," I mumble. Bella threw a water bottle to the panther and she handed it to me.
"Drink," she said, holding the now open bottle in front of me. I grab it with shaking hands and take a sip. It felt like I haven't drank water in years; I couldn't resist chugging the contents in the bottle seconds after it was given to me. "Now, let's hear about that dream of yours."
I debated telling her, it was definitely not normal for a carnivore to do that. But what if it was a warning? I heard about people having nightmares and it actually coming true. "Do you think a carnivore would devour another carnivore?" I asked, glancing at the cat. She looked confused.
"Of course not, was that what you're dream was about?"
"Well, yeah. I was being chased and I fell and before I knew it I was being devoured by another carnivore," I said, staring at my hands. Kara stayed silent for a moment before grabbing my hands with hers.
"It was just a bad dream, something like that is not going to happen, it isn't normal. You don't have to worry," she smiled softly before pulling my head into her chest, hugging me. Kara was definitely the mother of this dorm room, there's times where we would talk about random stuff for hours; she's just so easy to talk to.
Kara played with the fur on my ear. "You feeling better now?" I nod, burying my face into her chest. "Hey (Y/N)? You're squishing my boobs."
"They're my pillows now," I say into her chest. Kara let out a small laugh.
"Come on you need to start getting ready. Try not to think about the dream to much, hun."
—🌕—
"Extra, extra! Find out the truth behind night two of the drama club's performance! It's a special issue so don't miss out!"
The hallway was littered with students reading the school newspaper, with one thing on their minds. The fight at the play.
I rolled my eyes after hearing a girl twist the whole situation up, saying how Legoshi had a machine gun. Jack walked next to me, a annoyed look on his face.
"You got to be kidding me, bend the truth much?" He quietly said to me with a bag and paper in his hands.
I chuckled slightly. "This will all settle down in a few days. I wonder how Legoshi is handling it," I said while studying the bottle of (F/D) in my hand.
"Yeah, you're right. Let's hurry up and get outside."
—🌕—
"Hey, we're back! Think fast!" Jack called out to the grey wolf in front of us, tossing the white bag to him. "That's an egg salad sandwich and soy milk, the unsweetened kind."
Legoshi replied with a thanks and opened up the bag while me and Jack took a seat on either side of him. Jack happily bit into a roll of bread while I took a sip of (F/D).
"Good call on not going to the cafeteria," I said while leaning back on the wall of the pool.
"I knew it, how did it go?" Legoshi looked at me, curiosity swirling in his eyes.
"Let's just say your little improv last night made the front page of the school paper. Everyone bought one."
"The front page?!" Legoshi said, shock laced into his words.
"Oh yeah! It's a great picture, huh?" Jack spoke up, holding the paper up so both me and Legoshi could see it. "Bought myself a copy as wellll~."
I watched Legoshi as his ears drooped down, his expression unreadable as he looked at the paper. I felt horrible for the wolf, the whole incident and the aftermath must be stressing him out. I know he isn't used to being the center of attention like that. Jack laughed as he asked when Legoshi and Louis got so close.
I spaced out slightly, leaning into Legoshi's figure as I stared at the clouds above me. The whole day I wasn't focused on anything, the nightmare I had plaguing my thoughts. It seemed to... weird to be a dream. Why would a carnivore devour another carnivore? I sighed quietly and stood up, receiving a curious look from Legoshi and Jack.
"I'm going to the library, I have to catch up on some work. I'll see you two later," I said, pecking Legoshi's cheek.
I grabbed my drink and left before the two could say anything.
—🌕—
The smell of ink and paper filled my nose as I pushed the door to the library open. Quiet chatter and light from the windows filled the room. I made my way through each tall row of books, stopping at the librarians desk.
"How can I help you, dear?" A older white and orange cat said.
"I need a book on devouring, please," I gave the librarian a smile as she nodded. She looked at her computer and typed something in.
"Is there a specific book you are looking for?"
"Um, dreams about devouring, I guess," I scratch the back of my neck as the librarian shot me a concerned look. "I had a dream last night of me getting devoured by another carnivore. I was just trying to see if that is a thing that can happen."
The concern on the cat's face melted away as she typed something into her computer again. "Section D-261. Look for a book called 'Once Upon a Time'. I had a student come in once with that same dream and that is the book he read." I gave the librarian a smile again and left to look for the book.
The tall shelves full of books stood over me as I searched for the section I was given. The old paper smell was even more evident the more I looked. Eventually my eyes fell on a small sign that said "D 250-300". I scanned through each of the books until I found it. The spine of a book that said "Once Upon a Time" in silver letters. I could tell from just the spine alone that the book was extremely old.
I carefully slid it off of the shelf, the black cover of the book dirty, as if no one has touched the book in years. I slid onto the floor, my back pushed against the shelf behind me. Gently, I opened the book, the yellowness of the pages giving me a sign that I needed to be careful.
I flipped through to the table of contents. Tons of different topics of devouring covering the page.
'Signs of a devouring. What can make someone devour a herbivore. What to do when a friend/family member devours another. Ahah, dreams of devouring,' I thought to myself as I read through the page. I flipped to the page I needed as soon as I saw it. The words "Devouring Dreams" covered the top of the page.
'It is very possible for a carnivore to have a dream where they are the ones getting devoured, although it is very rare.
However, during my studies on this very topic, I discovered something very interesting. All of my subjects did the exact same thing after the dreams kept reappearing. They al-.' My eyes widened after the paragraph ended abruptly.
The part I needed to read was ripped out.
————
I know this chapter kinda booty 😂 but if any of you guys are confused the mc goes to the library to find info on the dream you had in the beginning and finds the book. However the section that discussed carnivores getting devoured is missing. I'm not sure if I was able to write it well enough so it's easy to understand so that's why I wanted to add this :)