Dedication: _hateful_, you get the dedication! Wooooo! I'm sorry for giving you nightmares, but I get a lot of inspiration from my nightmares, so I guess in a way, you're welcome! ;D
Chapter 9
I awoke suddenly and simply remained tangled in Jake's strong arms. As I fidgeted under the sheets, he tightened his grip around my body automatically. With a content sigh, I sank into him and nestled into his chest. Listening to his gentle snores reverberate through the otherwise silent night, I had to admit that when Jake and I first started sleeping together, I thought his snores would keep me up, but all this time later, they became a lullaby of sorts. I mean, Jake only snored when he was really tired; it wasn't like he did it constantly. I found myself smiling as I nestled my head against his warm flesh.
Despite the heaviness caking my eyelids, I couldn't sink back into unconsciousness; his lullaby seemed to fall short. Weariness lingered throughout my body from the workout Jake bestowed upon my body just a few hours prior, and my mind felt fuzzy from exhaustion. Blowing out a frustrated breath, I wiggled out from under Jake's touch, paying careful attention not to wake him.
Jake had the next day off, and he deserved to sleep in.
As I stretched, my elbows cracking in a loud protest, I lulled over the fact that Jake worked two jobs without a single complaint. I barely managed to function normally on a day to day basis. How in the hell did he manage working so much plus dealing with me?
Too tired for self loathing, my subconscious grumbled, and I agreed. All I needed was sleep, but the desert that formed in my mouth screamed otherwise. I began towards the bathroom for a sip of water but heard Lump crying downstairs. With a quick, slightly annoyed eye roll, I unsteadily hobbled down the stairs. Yawning and rubbing awareness into my eyes, I found Lump standing in the window once again.
It stood on its hind legs and pawed frantically at the glass as a near constant low whine escaped its mouth. A floorboard creaked under my feet as I neared the cat; the sound echoed like a cannon ball blast through the night, and Lump sharply yanked its head in my direction. In the moonlight, I could see its eyes; they burned with something that looked almost like concern.
"What's wrong?" I asked; my voice sounded like it was riddled with gravel.
Lump leapt from the window and caught me utterly off guard as it sat just an inch away from my feet. Taking its paw, Lump began gently pawing at my toes while looking up at me and meowing frantically. It's little cat face appeared to almost wrinkle in distress.
My first thought was that Lump needed to go outside. "You're such a diva," I groaned, stepping towards the front door. I figured Lump refused to use its litter box much like it refused to eat its food; however, when my hand made contact with the doorknob, Lump let out a howl that instantly caused my skin to prickle.
"Jesus," I gasped, stepping back from the door. "What the hell's up with you?"
Lump howled again, louder and jumped back into the window. Back on its legs, it began scratching at the glass.
It's trying to get your attention, my subconscious whispered.
A chill crept down my spine as I wrapped my arms around myself. Inhaling deeply, I inched towards the window and stared out into the clearing. As I did, Lump stopped its pawing and fell deathly silent. Together, we stared across the clearing, and our eyes settled on an all to familiar sight; the ancient tree stood like a glowing beacon in the moonlight.
Blinking a few times, I groaned loudly and ran a hand down my face in total exasperation. "Well," I grumbled, "that's not surprising." I had hoped that everything would just stay normal; I hoped that we could just forget all the weird crap, but I knew deep down that I didn't have that luxury.
"Mrooooooooooow," Lump wined, causing me to glance down at it. Its little cat face held a furrowed, worried brow. Something flashed through its gaze; I couldn't quite place what it was.
"You know what's going on, don't 'cha?" I asked aloud. At this point, talking to a cat didn't seem so strange anymore.
Lump's ears flickered, but it remained silent. After a rather intense moment of staring at each other, the cat turned its attention back to the clearing for another long moment before leaping from the window.
Following its actions with my eyes, I watched as Lump padded confidently towards the door, sat its fat behind down, and began scratching at the wood.
"Do you want outside now?" I furrowed my brow in confusion.
In response, Lump scratched at the door again then shot me a narrowed look.
"Weird crap's happening, Lump. I'm not just going to let you run outside."
Lump narrowed its eyes farther before letting out a short, defiant, "Mrow," before returning to pawing at the door.
When I held my ground and began tapping my foot, Lump growled and let out another howl. "Jesus!" I whisper shouted. "Fine! Christ..."
The cat stared at me with an almost smug grin as I unlocked the door. As Lump darted into the darkness, it made sure to give me a good view of its butt.
"You're an ass," I mumbled under my breath. As the cat bounced through the clearing, moonlight seemed to ignite its orange fur. Fearlessly, Lump approached the tree; however, it stopped short and glanced over its shoulder in my direction. Its eyes shone like green flames in the darkness.
Locking Lumps gaze, sometimes inside my head nudged me forward. Almost like a gentle whisper through my brain, I stepped into the darkness, completely fixated on Lump's eyes. As I walked bare footed through the dew soaked grass, my gaze broke from the cats and instead focused on the tree.
In the moonlight, the tree seemed to glow even brighter, and as I neared it, I noticed how the light flowed through its limbs like blood through arteries. At that proximity, I noticed how now the roots under the earth now seemed to glow; their reach spider-webbed through the ground all around the tree's trunk.
My mind pacified, something inside me beckoned me to reach out, and without thinking, I extended my hand slowly, placing my palm on the trunk's smooth, alabaster bark. Much to my surprise and shaking the fog from my mind, I noticed how the tree seemed to vibrated under my touch. Unmoving, I stood my ground as the tree hummed under my finger tips. "What the f-," my curse fell short as a painful piercing jolt of electricity shot through my fingers and straight into my brain.
My body went rigid as my jaw clamped shut; thankfully, I didn't chomp my tongue off. After an excruciating few seconds, the pain ebbed as a sound began to grow inside my mind. It sounded both familiar and alien simultaneously. Closing my eyes, I tried to recall where I'd heard it before.
I wracked my brain, digging into the area that held the fragments of my dreams, and as I did, the whisper grew into a beautiful, melodic hum. The sound traveled through my brain and eventually slithered through my nerves, relaxing my every muscle. All at once, I recognized the voice as the one from my dreams!
Serenity, pure tranquility, overcame my every fiber; a smile tugged at my lips, as my heart calmed. Everything felt so peaceful, so good. Every worry that riddled my bones and clawed at my mind evaporated into thin air.
The humming intensified, becoming more urgent as a word began to form in my mind. The word formed so solidly that I felt my lips move as the word echoed through my consciousness.
"Soon," a voice breathed. More words jumbled together, but I couldn't comprehend them. "Must survive long enough to..." Each word uttered grew weaker, transforming into an incomprehensible whisper once again. Slowly, awareness crept back over my skin as the vibrations stretching through my being withdrew.
I gasped for air; my knees gave out from under me. Collapsing onto the ground with enough intensity to shake my bones and jar my teeth, I raggedly raked air into my lungs as if I'd been holding my breath for ages. My head swum as my vision danced before my own eyes. Blinking a few times, the outer edge of my vision darkened and seemed to draw closer with each blink.
"Jake," I breathed, but the word came out as little more than a strangled hiss. Wavering, I lost the little balance I had on my knees and collapsed onto my side. Had I been able to breathe, I would have sworn and maybe sucked air through my gritted teeth; instead, I fell with my cheek pressed against the damp earth and simply stared through the overgrown grass at the tree before me.
Even with my head swimming and my vision closing in on me, I felt the ground vibrate under my body. Despite my current state, my thoughts were surprisingly calm. I found myself thinking of my parents.
My mother was always so beautiful in this effortless way, and her smile always seemed so contagious. Her beauty didn't seem to radiate from her skin, but instead, it glowed from within her. I couldn't recall a single moment where I hadn't seen her smiling.
That thought made me smile. She'd always told me how much she loved being a mother; she'd always told me how happy I'd made her life. "You are my sun, moon, and stars," her voice echoed through my brain. Suddenly, I felt like a child being tucked into bed.
Closing my eyes, I felt the softness of a blanket around my tiny body. I felt her long, elegant fingers brush my unruly hair from my eyes.
"I guess he doesn't need a story tonight, huh?" My father's smooth voice echoed from around me. "He must have worn himself out climbing that tree all day."
"Shh," my mother warned. Her tone still warm.
I heard my father chuckle and the familiar snap of a camera shutter.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't a child falling asleep in my bed surrounded by my parents; instead, I was still on the ground staring at a freakin' glowing tree. Tears dripped from my eyes and across my nose, as my vision began to flicker. Lump sat next to my face and meowed. As it settled next to me, it began to lick at my tears; its rough tongue scraping at my cheeks.
"Oh," I managed, "so now you're nice to me?" I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me.
When I finally came to, a warm, spicy scent filled my senses. I let out a content breath and tightened my grip around Jake's neck. Absentmindedly, I brushed my lips to the soft skin under his ear and smiled into his flesh.
Jake tightened his hold on me and said something I didn't catch.
Lifting my head but keeping my eyes closed, I sleepily trailed gentle kisses across his jaw. I felt his lips smile against my own as I met his lips. "Mmm," was all my brain could muster.
Suddenly, Jake pulled me from him and sat me down onto the edge of the bed. The loss of contact instantly cooled my skin, causing awareness to blossom around the edges of my dulled senses. I became aware of the dampness of my skin, and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room, I finally noticed Jake kneeling before me.
His lips were moving, but I couldn't make out his words.
"Wha..?" I asked; my lips feeling heavy.
Jake's brow furrowed as he began to speak slowly, over enunciating each word. "Are you ok?"
Blinking a few times, I started to nod but stopped. Instead, I shrugged. "Not sure," I mumbled. My voice sounded hoarse, and I became acutely aware at just how thirsty I was. My lips and mouth were dry and gritty like I spent the last few hours licking sand.
Jake blew out a breath and placed his hands on my thighs, gripping firmly. "How long were you out there?"
Thinking silently, I shrugged again. "I don't know." A quick look out the window proved to me that it was still dark, and since I doubted I spent an entire day passed out in the clearing, I guessed I was out around an hour. "Couldn't have been too long," I admitted with a yawn.
Lifting a hand to my cheek, Jake lowered his head, touching his forehead to mine. "If that cat hadn't woken me up, you'd still be out there, Faron." He paused to place a kiss on the tip of my nose. "I didn't even notice you weren't in bed."
At least Lump didn't leave me outside to rot... or get eaten by a monster...
I made a mental note to buy it a new toy or something as thanks.
Feeling mostly like myself again, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "You work a lot; you were conked out." Another yawn overtook me, and when it passed, Jake had a brow lifted in the air. "What?"
He licked his bottom lip. "Well," pausing, he took a deep breath, "the tree was, uh, doin' that thing again, and you kinda look like... uh.... well, you don't look all that great."
This time my brow shot into the sky. Sighing deeply, I felt myself frown. "When are things not weird around here?" Another yawn shook me; I felt utterly exhausted. "I feel like I ran a marathon," I admitted.
Worry wrinkled the skin around his emerald gaze. "What can I do?"
I threw my arms in the air dramatically. "I'm not going to lie to ya," I began, "I have no freakin' clue. My answer to all this," I gestured around the empty air erratically, "is to ignore it and take a bath."
A sly smile briefly tugged at his lips, but it quickly diminished as he cleared his throat, obviously forgetting the seriousness of our current situation. "I can run the water while you tell me what the hell happened out there?"
"Only if you join me."
A wide, boyish grin stretched his smile. "Of course." Standing and extending a hand to me, he lifted me to my feet.
Taking a step, I found my knees wobbly and a tiny headache began to throb on my left temple. Quickly, Jake's arm snaked around my waist, steadying me. 'Thanks," I mumbled quietly. As we walked together, I noticed just how worn out my body felt. Every muscle ached as if I'd just spent a few hours at the gym; simply walking left my leg muscles shaking. I assumed I still felt tired from the state Jake left me in, but this feeling was completely different. I felt tired to my very core as if something sapped nearly every drop of energy my muscles held.
Jake sat me down on the edge of the bath as he ran the water. "Bubbles?"
Tiredly, I smiled. "Do you even have to ask?" However, my smile broke when I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. My already pale complexion seemed ghostly now, almost grey. My eyes were framed in dark circles, making me look like a zombie. Hell, even my lips were pale! "You didn't say I looked like death!" I gasped, touching my cheek to double check that the reflection belonged to me.
Jake winced slightly, sucking air through his teeth. "I didn't want to upset you."
I turned to meet his gaze. Under the bright lights in the bathroom, I noticed the traces of exhaustion that shown on his own features. His eyes, though still bright, shone with worry, and the bags under his eyes were purple. "You look so tired..." My voice trailed off as I touched a hand to his cheek.
Jake closed his eyes and leaned into my touch. "More worry than tired," he admitted.
A pain stabbed in my chest; I didn't want his worry for me to leave him so exhausted. "I'm sorry."
He opened his eyes and grinned up at me. "It's not your fault. We'll figure all this out." With his smile unfaltering, he pulled my damp shirt over my head. "Now, lets get some color back into your skin."
Nodding, I let him pull me to my feet and held onto him as he helped lower me into the bath. Though the water steamed, when I sank into the bubbles, the water felt almost cold against my skin. Once I was settled, Jake stepped out of his jogging pants and climbed into the water. He sat on the opposite end of the bath and beckoned silently for me to come to him.
Moving slowly, I inched through the water and curled against his chest, resting between his knees. Without speaking, Jake wrapped his arms around me. "You're so cold," he mumbled as he rubbed my shoulders.
His touch felt so nice, but I began to shiver anyway. "This is all my fault," I groaned, sinking deeper into the water in an attempt to warm my bones.
"It's not," Jake affirmed, but I ignored him.
"I drug you into all this," I went on. "You don't deserve to get caught up in all my crap along with all this other..." my words trailed off as I searched for a half decent word, "crap."
Jake kissed the top of my head tenderly, leaving his lips against my hair as he spoke. "You might not wanna accept this," he drawled, "but I want you and everything that comes with you. Got it?"
Twisting around, I stared up at him. Maybe my exhaustion was to blame, but tears welled in my eyes. "Do you mean it?"
Laughing, he trailed a thumb along my jaw. "Every word."
Content, I settled back against his chest. His fingers worked through my hair while his free arm anchored me to his body. It was silly to think everything happening was my fault. I mean, I didn't control what was going on around me; it wasn't like I was standing outside banging pots together screaming, "Weird crap, come to me!" at the top of my lungs. I didn't ask for any of this.
Hell, we didn't even know what was going on!
"What happened out there?" Jake asked, stirring me from my thoughts. I hadn't noticed that I sank farther into the water until I readjusted myself against Jake's chest. "Lump was acting weird," I began.
"You named the cat Lump?" Jake chuckled above me.
I furrowed my brow. "I told the thing that I would give it a better name if it stopped being so mean to me," I defended; though, I fully accepted how loony I sounded.
"What are you talkin' about? That's one of the nicest cats I've ever been around, and I'm not a cat person."
Spinning around again, I shot a glare his way. "It hates me!"
Jake chuckled some more as a grin grew on his lips. "Well, she's been sweet to me. I tried puttin' her down, but she kept pawing at my feet until I picked her up again."
I harrumphed and sank back into the water. "Well, I guess it just hates me..." I blinked a few times. "Wait. She? How do you know it's a she?"
He lifted a brow. "I, uh, looked?"
I blinked dumbly. "It let you physically pick it up, flip it over, and look at its bits?" I asked completely dumbfounded.
Jake laughed as he nodded. "Her bits," he corrected then added, "You're so cute when you wrinkle your nose like that."
Heat touched my cheeks as I sank deeper until the water touched my bottom lip. "Shush it," I mumbled while trying to stifle the smile pooling at the corner of my lips.
"There," he began proudly, "the color's finally comin' back to your skin."
I hadn't noticed, but I did feel warmer and all around more relaxed. "I feel better," I admitted aloud.
"Good. You look better too." Jake wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and rested my face against his neck. "Anyway, cat aside, what happened?"
Hooking my arms around his neck, I sighed. "Lump was acting weird and pawing at the window like she was trying to get my attention or something, so I looked out the window and saw that the tree was glowing again."
Jake nodded, slowly rubbing my back reassuringly.
A content moan escaped my lips, and my cheeks burned once again; however, Jake didn't react. Instead, he continued working my back over while adding more pressure. "She wanted outside, so I let her go, but it felt like she wanted me to come with her." I fell silent for a moment. "That sounds crazy."
Jake's fingers continued messaging my back and shoulders. "Let's be honest; everything sounds a bit crazy 'round here, Faron."
I smiled into his neck and placed a kiss on his skin. "You're right about that." Stealing another content breath, I went one. "Anyway, I started towards the cat, and something pulled me towards the tree. It felt like I wasn't controlling my body anymore, and my mind went kinda... blank." Recalling the events made my skin prickle.
"Blank how?"
Jake applied more pressure into my shoulders, and another moan slipped from my lips. I remained silent as he worked through the tension knotting my muscles. "Blank like I wasn't in my head anymore," I began when I could finally speak. "It felt strangely out-of-body in a way, but when I touched the tree, it felt like it vibrated. This pain shot through my body and paralyzed me while this humming filled my brain."
"Humming?" He asked as his hands froze. "Like a voice?"
I groaned sleepily, urging his hands back into motion. He chuckled lightly as his hands went back to work. With a smile on my lips, I continued. "It didn't sound like a voice at first, but after awhile, I realized it was the voice from my dreams."
"Did it say anything?"
"It said, "soon," and then something like "survive long enough to..." my words fell as I rummaged through my brain for the rest of the sentence, but after a few moments of silence, I blew out a breath and gave up. "I don't remember the last part."
Jake silently rubbed my back for awhile before he spoke again. "Obviously, you're tied to this somehow."
His words shook me. Pushing myself from his chest, I met his emerald gaze. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Faron," he began. "If the voice is the same voice in your dreams, they have to be connected somehow. Right?"
I shrugged. "I guess."
"What if you're the thing connecting all the other things?"
A chill shot down my spine. "Why would I be connected to any of this? There isn't anything special about me, Jake. The only reason I'm even here is because my parents died." Speaking so plainly about their deaths made me paused for the briefest of seconds, but I pushed through. "If they were alive, I would have stayed in school and never moved out here."
Jake's eyes darkened for a moment as a frown threatened to fall onto his lips. "You're wrong, Faron. You're very special. I'm not exactly sure what makes you different, but there is something different about you." He brushed a hand through my hair. "I noticed it the first day I laid eyes on you."
I pushed his hand away even though a smile tugged on my lips. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."
He shook his head. "It's the truth. Since I met you, I've had this urge to be near you, to protect you." Falling silent for a moment, his cheeks reddened.
It was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.
"There's just something about you," he concluded.
What if Jake was right? What if I was somehow connected to all the crazy stuff happening? As much as I didn't want to admit it, a part of me knew that I'd been too aware of some things. Why could I feel physical dread in the air?
Why did the voice in my dreams come from the tree?
All I had were more questions and even less answers.
I furrowed my brow in annoyance. "I just want things to make sense."
Jake suddenly lowered his face to mine claiming my lips in a kiss. Despite the exhaustion lingering in my limbs, my body responded immediately as the kiss deepened into a passionate battle. Our tongues danced as my fingers found Jake's hair and locked myself into place.
When we finally pulled apart, Jake cupped my face in his hand. "That's why I know you're different, Faron," he admitted. His words came out breathlessly. Placing a hand on my chest over the place where my heart pitter-pattered away, he aimed a glowing smile my way.
Speechless, I opted to show my appreciation a different way. As steady as I could manage, I stood from the bath. Still dripping wet and covered in suds, I extended a hand to Jake. With an eyebrow arched, he took my hand and pulled himself to his feet. Silently, he followed me as I led us into the bedroom.
Gently, I showed him; however, he didn't budge. Glancing up to him, I found my delivery man smirking down at me with a sly smile plastered across his lips. "You at least have to play along," I play wined.
"Oh," he began playfully, "my bad. Try again."
Rolling my eyes, I shoved him again. This time, he fell onto the bed dramatically as if I had the strength to actually topple his giant stature over. With a sly smile of my own, I climbed onto the bed and settled between his legs.
Keeping my eyes glued to him, I showed him every single bit of appreciation I had left in my body.
Once again tangled in each other's arms, I rested my head against Jake's chest. We were both nearing slumber when I spoke. "Where's the cat anyway?" I mumbled sleepily.
Jake sighed contently, tightening his arm around me. "She wouldn't come in, so I left her outside when I carried you in."
"Oh," was all I could manage as I nuzzled my face into Jake's neck. An exhaustion fueled sleep took me quickly. I slept contently and dreamlessly with Jake's now spicy scent laced with a light floral note from the bath encompassing my senses. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep nearly enough when Jake's sudden, jarring moves beside me yanked me awake.
"What the fuck is that," Jake spat as he leapt free from my arms and the sheets.
Shaken, I jumped from bed after him. "What's goin' on?" He didn't answer and seemed to take the staircase in two jumps. I trailed behind him, barely reaching his side by the time he opened the front door.
Bright morning light flooded in as the open door revealed a very freaked out Lump cowering with all of her fur on its ends. When the door opened, she didn't waste a second to leap backwards into the house. I turned and found her standing behind us with her fur still erect. Her cat face appeared horrified.
My heart sank, and I nearly went to my knees to comfort the cat, but before I could lower my body, Jake's hand gripped my forearm roughly. "Ow," I began, spinning around to stare up at him, "you're hurting m-,"
"Look," he demanded, keeping his voice down and cutting me off.
I followed his eyes across the clearing and my heart didn't just fall, it completely ditched my body and decided to live on its own for awhile. At first glance, I wouldn't have noticed anything in the distance, but as I stared, two giant red eyes came into focus across the clearing directly in front of the cabin.
Because it remained in the shadows, the only visible features were its eyes, but after a moment of it staring at us, it took a step into the sunlight, causing Jake's grip to tighten painfully on my arm.
If I hadn't been transfixed on the creature's movements, I would have cried out in pain.
"Is that what you saw that on-"
"Yes," I interrupted.
"What is it?" Jake asked; his voice shook despite his rigid body.
"I don't-" I began to answer, but as I opened my mouth, the creature launched itself towards the cabin. Reacting quickly, I slammed the door just as it climbed the stairs leading to the porch.
Instead of kicking the door down with its long, twisted taloned, bird-like feet, it slowed to a walk and stopped just in front of the door. Jake and I froze; neither of us dared to move. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as I stared through the glass.
Wide-eyed, I absorbed the creature's every detail. It's skin was as black as the night's sky and caught the sunlight as if it were damp like an eel. It appeared almost humanoid in shape, but its limbs were entirely too long; its arms were thin and almost drug the ground. The monster had hands that resembled human hands save for the fact that each finger ended in a long, yellow claw that twisted inward and came to a dangerous point.
As the monster leaned closer to the door, I stared into its bloodshot, ruby eyes. It's skin seemed to hang loosely from its body like it had once been much larger than it currently was. Its lips were pulled tightly against its distinctly human face, and long fangs extended pasts its stretched flesh. Unlike its talons, its fangs were stained pink.
Blood, my mind concluded.
Instead of hair or fur, the creatures slick skin held feathers that sparsely lined its twisted frame; they were mostly focused on its face, arms and legs. The thing looked like some messed up science experiment!
It pressed its face to the glass, visibly sniffing. After a moment, it grunted and spun around. Seemingly uninterested in us, it began towards the tree. When it turned around, I saw a set of wings attached to its back, and as if on cue, it extended its wings briefly before tucking them back behind itself.
The wings were almost beautiful. Though their colors were muted, and the leather-like membranes were torn and tattered, something about them hinted at a once prominent beauty. I was reminded of fairy wings that were depicted in story books, but these wings looked wrong.I also noticed that horns protruded from its spine and along its thin whip-like tail.
We watched as the monster approached the tree, lowered its face to the trunk, and inhaled deeply. For a moment, it did nothing; however, it lifted a talon to the air and harshly cut into the once pristine trunk.
Seeing the tree get damaged called out to a part of my being. Something inside me nearly lunged through the door, but the rational part of my brain kept me still.
In frozen horror, I watched as the creature lowered its head to the gash and drank the amber sap that oozed from the wound. Its entire body rippled in pleasure as it drank; its leathery wings fluttered behind its back in excitement, and all at once, it yanked its head into the air and screamed.
The sound pierced the silence and sounded like a cross between human and something completely different; I recognized the sound from the woods.
Its cry seemed to echo though the woods and my mind; however, the most horrifying part were the other screams that followed promptly after. They sounded like they were coming from every direction.
Hearing it again made my blood run cold as every part of my being begged to run away. Falling completely silent, the creature turned its head our way and smiled at us before extending its wings and propelling its gnarled body into the air. With a few flaps of its giant wings, it disappeared into the woods.
Even though the creature fled, the suffocating sense of dread remained. My heart beat erratically in my chest as my knees gave out from under me. As if his reflexes weren't affected, Jake caught me and pulled me against him. Pressed against his flesh, I felt him shaking.
He was terrified.
Jake's fear must have transferred into my own flesh because I felt my own body tremble as I finally began to breathe. With our ragged breathing the only sound breaking the silence, we stood at the door watching, waiting for more creatures to appear.
Thankfully, none did.
"I think it's safe to say I'm not going to work for awhile," Jake mumbled more to himself than to me. He finally released my arm; though, I anchored myself to his body.
What in the world were we going to do?
"We should probably put some clothes on..." I mumbled
---
Thank you for all being so patient while I was away on vacation. Sadly, we didn't find out until after we were in our hotel that they didn't have wifi, but in a way, it was beneficial to unplug for awhile.
I should be able to resume a regular posting schedule now that I'm settled back in at home.
Things are really staring to unfold for Faron, huh? All hell is about to break loose.
As always, please take the time to vote for this chapter and leave a comment down below. What do you think of the creatures? Are you enjoying the story so far?
I also always pick a dedication from the comment section, so if you would like to have a chapter dedicated to you, make sure you leave me a comment!
++ We've reached over 2k reads on this story, all! Thank you to all my readers, and thank you to everyone who has shared this story with their friends. You are all too rad for words! ++