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Annie
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Running through the forest, the branches whip my legs. I am barefoot. The stones hurt with each step, but I move forward anyway.
Fear pierces me from the inside. What is going on? I hide and stay hidden until I don't hear the footsteps that followed me earlier. Feeling safe for the first time, I collapse, exhausted.
When I open them again, I find myself in the hollow of a tree, hidden under its roots and surrounded by leaves and mud.
The smell of decomposition does not bother me. I have always loved nature, and it reassures me. This place could be home for an animal and a large one since I could enter.
The pit in my stomach pushes me to move forward. I crawl my way out in a haste. In a state of alertness, I feel it. I don't want to meet the beast that this cavity belongs to. How did I get here?
An image of two muscular men chasing me emerges before me for a split second.
Then it clicks. It's that dream again. The one that keeps hunting my dreams for the past few years.
Someone sent kidnappers. Davon was the name. I don't need to know why he sent them. I know I don't wish to be a part of it. My body hair blisters in response.
The chilly morning wind makes my skin tingle as I stand by the tree. Teeth chattering, arms clutching my abdomen, I walk.
But where? Where am I?
"I have to retrace my steps." I glance around, trying to remember.
"Because you drew a mental map while clinging to your kidnapper's shoulders," she is sarcastic.
Where is this voice coming from? I search around, but I am alone. Aside from the trees, pine trees, and chirping birds, I see no one.
"Who are you? Are you my conscience?"
"I'm Leah, and I'm going to help you get out of this alive." The female voice beams with confidence.
I am dreaming. It's insane. Now I hear voices in my head. Yes, must be dreaming.
"Okay, Leah, where are we?" I test the voice. Maybe this dream, I can control it to my liking and find answers before I wake up.
One thing is certain, don't know this forest well, but I know we're not home anymore. Do you see that tree? It's not a hardwood or a conifer. It moves and turns toward the light. Look at its leaves.
I am puzzled. What she is talking about. Can dreams teach you new knowledge? I hesitate. What is this place?
Reality strikes, this dream, I know it, this dream. After I last woke up, Mother sent me to college.
This is the dream that carved a gap of two days in my life.
I look around with interest.
The tree that looked like a normal spring tree was leaning like an umbrella, its branches full of leaves opening up to the sun. As I look around at the other trees around me, I notice one turning toward the sunlight.
"I will follow your instructions, I promise," one thing is for sure,
I want to know what's next. How dangerous can this be?
As if I paused the dream, the scenery moved again as soon as I spoke.
"I've seen these trees before, the day some men captured Dad after a fierce fight. An ally took us back home, but before leaving, he told us that this was our home, our real homeland. Though he wished we could stay, it was premature, and we needed to hide until our power unleashed. They would wait for our return," Leah continued.
My mind was spinning. "What? Pa? Do you mean I saw him being taken away? He didn't leave us on his own?"
I wish a break from the dream and swallow the information in, but the voice, or whatever Leah is, controls my body. I can only see through her eyes. She walks and night ascends. The forest appears gloomy, changing night shades and claw-like branches of the canopy..
An arrow flies next to my ear, cutting a mesh of hair. Before me, a massive wolf growls. A hand pulls me back into a white furry coat. I grab the fur with my small hands and hide my face in it.
"Hold on tight, princess." safety lingers from within, reducing the speed of my drumming heart. It's Dad.
Voices I don't recognise speak around me in a language I can't understand. My head turns to the right, but hoods that match the surroundings cover them, offering a perfect cover. Some spar and others jump from a tree to the others throw arrows as they move. Together, they keep us safe while dad runs with me on his back.
The ground shakes, the white wolf jumps with me over his back as they carved a crevice under his paws. The sorceress made it into the battlefield.
"Love, go with them. They will keep you safe. If I am caught, know that I don't regret the suffering if it keeps you safe. Now go. One day we will meet again." Jumping again over another crevice, the roots of the trees follow him, snatching his paws.
I scream as the roots yanks me along with dad. After a split second, an arm rolls around my waist and pulls me. All I can see is my dad tied by the roots bitting and fighting back to get his freedom back.
Struggling against my saviour to go back to my father, he hits me, and everything turns dark.
"He came for us. He understood that his wife, Ma, was tampering with our memories, altering them, slowly erasing all traces of magic, but she didn't know I was there."
She keeps walking with my body in her dream and heads to a lake where the men are drinking. I don't know where I am. If Leah is in my body, where am I? How could Mother erase my memory? This is absurd!
"But how did she find out? And how could she erase my memories?" I can't help but ask.
"She did. She erased them from your brain, but she can't tamper with a wolf's memory. Witnessing everything through your eyes. Hiding, I waited for Pa."
She is smart, but can I believe this information? Yet I know magic exists, so maybe werewolves too. Pa? I feel myself waking up and I don't want to.
"You mean Dad was a werewolf?"
"Look, Papa went away for long periods, but he always came back. When he realized what was going on, he tried to intervene, but she cast a spell. Only Pa and I it did not affect us because of our active wolf gene. Realizing that Mom couldn't contain her blistering magic putting our siblings at risk, he brought us here."
Walking to the lake, I see my teary eyes, the grey pupil dilated in equal size with the iris. It is me, but I am younger. I must be 12- 13 at most.
My head swirls with many thoughts, the images fading away with every question. I emerge from the dream.
Fighting against my impending awakening, I try to relax and succumb to the dream. I want to know where it is leading me.
But I can't.
I wake up in tears. My heart is light. My heart is light and happy. It was a frightening dream, but pleasant at the same time. Unless it was a memory?
Pulling my arm over my eyes, I sigh. I no longer know what is real. My dream was so vivid. Can I believe everything I saw? I wish I could believe bits and pieces of it. Like dad.
Letting my arm slide across the pillow, I look up at the ceiling. Then I realize someone is watching me.
Turning my head, I notice that Tom is sitting next to me. I can see the concern in his eyes. Why is he here? Did I speak in my dream? Did I scream? This is creepy. Stalker!
I move to the other side of the bed.
He clears his throat.
"Finally! You're awake. We can talk now."
"Do you realize how scary you are?" I reply as I walk away from him, getting up and going into the bathroom, smashing the door without meaning to.
I can hear his voice shaking as he speaks.
"I'll give you 30 minutes. I need to talk to you. This is serious business."
I close both doors, mine and the one that leads to his room.
Opening the bathroom door, I grimace and slyly close it. Tom is waiting for me on my bed. Who does that? Besides, I'm only covered by a towel wrapped around my body.
"Get dressed comfortably." The sound of a door followed it closing.
Ready and dressed in a jogging suit, he grabs a bag and asks me to follow him.
I cross my arms and turn away in response.
He sighs.
"I've arranged a lesson for you. Phil is waiting for us."
Curiosity overcomes me, and I follow him. My first lesson was about to begin. What lesson was he talking about? Does he know about Lina's lessons?
Sitting in the car, he gives me a sandwich for the road and takes me back to the campus where he always parks.
We get out of the car, and without a glance or a warning, he heads into the forest.
I'm too bewildered to ask anything. My brain is mush. I fell into a comatose state when I laid my head on the pillow yesterday. Despite the many hours of sleep, I am still not myself. I am trying to piece together the latest events in my mind.
There was that dream, and before that, we argued. What was it about? Fudge, my box. I never secured it.
Raising my voice, I ask.
"Did the girls find a box with my most prized possessions?"
He remains silent and continues walking.
"I swear if they did it, they will pay, and so will you! "
I yell, as he is too far away for me to reach.
He continues to walk and answers nothing.
I take a breath. I feel the walk is weighing me down. This path takes us higher up the mountain and deeper into the forest.
Why has he been acting strange since this morning?
I choked up, remembering how I looked in the mirror last night.
I gather my strength and trot over to him.
"Did you notice anything unusual yesterday?" My heartbeat quickens, but he doesn't answer and I fall back, unable to keep up with him.
He's driving me insane. I play with my nails while working on the rhythm of my breathing.
An image pops into my head and sends shivers down my spine as it unfolds in my mind.
He was so close!
He aspired to grow into something else than a half-brother. I gulp.
Was he serious? I look at his back as I walk behind him. He stops for a second, but it's not enough for me to meet him.
I don't have the cardio for this kind of activity. Panting, I take a break while holding onto a tree trunk.
Dang! My body reacted to him, and so did his.
He coughs and I look at him. His ears are red and I wonder what is going on in his head.
"We are almost there. Just keep going. Keep walking." He then turns back and walks again.
He came back to me because he was far away not so long ago. He doesn't walk as fast either.
"Who are we meeting?"
I ask him, but he didn't answer.
"When did you set this up?" Silence keeps me compagnie. after a moment, I try my luck again. "Are we meeting Lina there?"
I gasp, a little surprised to get an answer.
"No, we're not and she can't know about it.'"
"So much mystery! Tell me why?"
Out of breath again, I close my mouth and used it to breathe.
My legs are shaking from the effort, but he tells me we are about to reach our destination. My foot gets caught on a rock for a second, causing me to lose my balance.
I run for a while, trying to regain my balance without falling. My forehead lands on his back. He's not even sweating and I end up soiling his shirt.
He hands me a bottle of water. I look at my watch. It's been 60 minutes of walking, it felt like an eternity.
"Our destination is five minutes away. Would you like me to help you?"
Instead of answering, I walk, and he keeps pace with me.
Finally, we reach a clearing with a cabin in the middle. I stop in my tracks, hoping that this little adventure won't end like Hansel and Gretel.
He tells me to follow him to the cabin and opens the door.
"You'll find the last piece of the puzzle inside." He opens it wide and waves at me.
A puzzle? Maybe it's a surprise, a gift that says: I'm sorry for being the jerk I am all the time! Okay, most of the time.
I walk for the door. The creaking floor makes my skin crawl. Annoyed, I reprimand my vivid imagination. There's no noise after I came to a halt. Tom didn't follow. What is there to see? My eyes slowly adjust and I notice movement inside, followed by a groan. Stumbling, I fall on my rear.
"T-T- Tom, there's something inside that cabin!" I get back on my feet. "Run! "
A grunt invades my ears, and my face turns livid. Tom stands back, a spectator, without making a single movement.
My trembling legs no longer carried me. I was the perfect prey, reeking fear.
The horrible sound of an animal being torn apart from the inside did not seem to disturb him.
Walking backwards, I keep my gaze on the sharp-toothed beast, ignoring Tom in its path. The beast seems to have chosen me as its next meal.
The further I back up, the further the beast advances.
My heart is about to burst out of my chest. I fix the beast looking at my every move.
Frozen, I know that my life turned into shit and there is no way out.
(っ＾▿＾)💨
breath people.
xoxo