Nathan stood in the middle of the woods, gusts of cool wind ruffled his hair. The scent of an approaching storm was in the wind.
The cool twilight air brushed against his skin, making goosebumps appear on his arms. Nathan shivered and rubbed his arms.
“Nathan,” a feminine voice called. “I need your help.”
A glowing figure stepped out of the trees.
Evelyn spoke again. “Help me.”
Her skin was a translucent blue, her hair almost the color of navy. A flowing white dress swayed in the wind; her hair danced around her face. But her eyes…. they were pitch black. The pupil blended into the iris, and her eyes looked like bottomless depths.
“Help me, Nathan,” she said. “Please help me.” Her voice echoed, but was soft and quiet.
Thunder clapped through the sky, and it reverberated off the mountain sides. The wind picked up.
She stepped closer.
A bolt of lightning streaked through the dark sky, lighting up the world for a brief second.
Another clap of thunder rumbled the earth.
Evelyn inhaled, sounding like she was choking. She clutched her chest, and panic crossed her face.
A rotting finger with jagged black fingernails pushed out of her chest and then back out with a sickening slurping sound.
Bright red bloomed like a flower across her chest, staining her white dress. The crimson dripped down from the wound into a puddle on the forest floor.
Suddenly, she changed. The blood was still there, but her skin turned into a bright angry red.
“You,” she hissed. “You could’ve helped me. You could’ve saved me.” There was an almost inhuman shriek to her voice.
“I’m sorry!” Nathan cried. “I tried, I really did!”
Evelyn chuckled, devoid of all humor. “You didn’t help me. You left me!”
With a shriek, her fingers grew long with black talons. She lunged.
Her claws dug into the flesh of his arm, beads of dark blood finding its way to the surface.
“Please! I didn’t mean to!”
Sharp pain exploded behind his eyes. A prick and then warmth dripped down his neck and soaked the collar of his shirt.
“I’m sorry, Nathan. I have no choice.”
The flesh around his neck started to tear, and blood continued to weep from his wounds.
Nathan’s eyes shot open, the irises of his eyes swallowed up by his pupils. Sweat poured off him and soaked the mattress below. His heart knocked against the inside of his ribcage, begging to be set free. HIs hands flew to his unscathed neck, searching for open wounds and blood.
His chest rapidly rose and fell.
“Just a dream,” he told himself. “It was all just a dream.”
He slid out of bed, his feet silently padding against the cool wooden floor. Pain radiated in waves with every step.
His hand grasped the brass knob of his door. The knob turned without a sound. He swung the door open and came face-to-face with his little sister.
“Sage!” A hand clutched his chest. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” The blonde girl stood hesitant in the hallway, her hair a mess of waves. One hand tugged on the cotton material of her shirt. “I heard you having a nightmare and came to wake you up.”
“It’s cool. I’m fine. Get back to bed now. Sorry I woke you up.”
Nathan took a step forward. Red hot pain laced up his leg. His knee buckled.
“Nate! Are you all right?”
He waved her off. “I’m fine. Go to bed.”
“No,” she crossed her arms. “Something’s wrong. Are you hurt?”
Nathan sighed. “My feet are pretty torn up.”
Sage ushered him to the upstairs bathroom.
Fluorescent light reflected off the mint green bathroom tiles, making Nathan slightly nauseous. The bathroom fan whirred! on overhead.
Nathan sat on the edge of the tub.
“Give me a foot.” Sage sat on the floor beside the tub, a wet washcloth in hand.
Reluctantly, he did so.
“Ouch, Nate. What did you do?” she exclaimed as she started to wash the dirt out of the shredded flesh.
“Does it matter?”
“I suppose not.” A crease dented in her forehead as she gently dabbed his foot. “There’s some gravel in here. I’ll be back.”
The rain outside pattered against the bathroom window, and the soft rummaging of Sage in a cabinet was oddly comforting.
“I’m back.” She returned with a pair of tweezers. Nathan shifted a bit at the sight of the silver device. “Foot.”
Sage carefully started to dig out little pieces of gravel and drop them beside her.
“Thank you, Sage, for all of this.”
She grinned. “What are little sisters for?” She suddenly stopped tending to his foot, the pair of tweezers forgotten. “You know, Nate,” she began, “that you can talk to me. Right?” Sage’s stormy eyes looked up at him with guarded hope.
“Yeah. Of course”
She looked like she wanted him to say more, but after a pregnant pause, she continued tending to his feet.
The following morning, he brushed aside yesterday as nothing but a dream. Evelyn, the hand and freak storm… nothing but a dream.
HIs father looked up from his newspaper as Nathan entered the kitchen. “Are you sure you can handle this?”
“I have to face school sooner or later,” Nathan said. He grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl on the counter and walked outside.
Outside, in an old blue Ford pickup truck sat Aeron.
“Hey, Nate. Are you sure you want to…”
“Why does everyone keep asking me this? Yes, I am ready to go to school.”
“‘Kay. I just thought that you’d want to know that I’m not going,” Aeron said as he pulled away from the curb.
“Oh,” was the only thing Nathan could say.
The rest of the car ride was awkward and silent, and Nathan kept his eyes glued to the passing green and brown blobs out the window.
“See you after school?” Nathan asked when he got out of the car.
“Sorry, but I’m busy.” Without another word, he drove away.
|<>|
The gym was packed full of bustling students. People milled about below, searching for a place to sit on the blue painted bleachers.
Nathan sat at the top of the bleachers, his back resting against the white brick wall. He sat with some people from track, a few he actually got along with.
“Some girl was saying earlier that we’re in here for a memorial service,” a boy with curly red hair said.
Uneasiness wormed around in Nathan’s stomach.
“Did you hear? I think it was that chick from volleyball, Evelyn, who died,” another guy replied.
“Attention!” The word echoed around the gym. A couple of taps on the microphone, and the crowd died down. “Some of you may have noticed a certain student missing from us lately.”
A chorus of whispers erupted. The redhead gave the other boy a look that said I told you so.
“Evelyn Rose is unfortunately no longer with us.”
The whispering grew louder until the crowd of students were full on gossiping. It disgusted him.
“Quiet! Quiet!” The principal yelled. The gossip died down. “Now, for those of you who knew her well*were close to her*, I’d like for you to come down here to say a few words.”
A girl that he’d never seen before walked down the bleachers and grabbed the microphone from the principal’s hand.
“I would just like to say that I think we all feel the loss of… one of our fellow students.” She flashed a smile about as fake as her blonde hair. “We will all deeply miss… Evangeline-”
“Her name’s Evelyn! Get off the microphone you disgrace !” A girl yelled from the crowd. A murmur of approval swept through the students.
Nathan felt instantly grateful for the girl. It was obvious that the blonde bimbo hadn’t even talked to Evelyn before.
She scowled, handed the microphone back to the principal and stormed off to the bathrooms.
“Please don’t come up and talk unless you actually knew Evelyn.”
Quiet filled the gym, only occasionally interrupted by the occasional cough *get rid of an occasional*. Just as Nathan was about to stand, a girl did.
Olivia.
She looked no better than she did at the funeral.
A shaking hand took the microphone, and she clutched it to her chest. A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Evelyn and I have been friends since third grade. Before then, I can’t even remember her.” She cleared her throat. “We were inseparable. Literally.” A little laugh. “We would always transfer to be in the same class.”
The crowd hung on to her every word.
“There’s nothing quite losing your very best friend. It’s like… losing a part of you. I will never ever forget Evelyn. She helped shape who I am today. She made me a better person. I owe her so much.” Silent tears rolled down her cheeks.
A few girls in the sea of people who probably never even properly looked at Evelyn, burst into tears and sobbed on their boyfriend’s shoulders. Nathan stared at his hands, willing himself not to cry.
“That was a very emotional speech given to us by Name. Thank you.” The principal paused and wiped away a tear. “Is there anyone else willing to share?”
Overcome with emotion, Nathan stood up. Eyes flickered to his direction. No going back now.
He began the descent down the bleachers, aware of every single pair of eyes on him. Sweat broke out on his forehead. He wiped his hands off on his jeans.
Numbly, he took the microphone and then turned to face the crowd. Seven hundred pairs of eyes looked back.
He braced himself and lifted the microphone to his suddenly dry mouth. His throat felt dry. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Nathan Everson, and I dated Evelyn.”
He swallowed hard. His eyes traveled over familiar faces until they landed on one in particular.
“I’m sorry. I can’t do this.” He gave a sad smile and handed the microphone back.
Sage got up and took the microphone. “Go,” she whispered.
He walked out of the gym, Evelyn trailing close behind.
Oh yeah, things happen in this chapter. :P Post your comments below and tell me what you think! Ask questions! Don't be afraid!!! I don't bite (usually).
Vote/ Comment/ Follow!!
-Sophia ^_^