The Hunt
Content
Chapter One
Dreamer
“Oh-ehm-gee, you died your hair? Why? You know everybody loves your hair! Dying it will make your hair all frizzy and nasty! Orlaith!” “Sorcha! Shut up, you know I hate my name! Besides, all I did was chop it all off in this new rugged boy hair look and died the edges bright red. It wasn’t much, but it looks way awesome.” “Really? Brady’s bound to notice you now . . .,” she trailed off. “Still, now you’ll get split ends from that dye. Even though it will look awesome and such. But, still. Oh, I bet that red compliments both your golden skin tone and your lovely golden locks.” “Sorcha, please tell me you did not refer to my hair as ‘golden locks’. And you said golden twice. It sounds weird. Anyway that is so far beyond cheesy it isn’t even funny.” Through the phone I could hear her giggling. “And it will compliment those big round yellow gems you have for eyes, and your cute little button nose will be complimented with the style of hair you have, and that cute little bow mouth you have will look just as cute as ever, and . . .,” she couldn’t finish her sentence because she was giggling so hard, and I couldn’t help it. I laughed along with her. It was so cheesy and stupid it was funny.
“You do realize you ‘cute’ about ten times and that you referred to my eyes as ‘big round yellow gems’, right?” She snorted and I knew she did it all on purpose, just to make me laugh. “Lia, you do know that you are pretty any way you look right? You don’t need to cut your hair or anything like that.” “Sorcha, yes I do know that. However I didn’t do it just to get Brady’s attention. I did it because I was bored of my old look. I didn’t know you would think of me as so shallow that because a boy doesn’t notice me I change my whole look for him? Come on Sorcha, get real. I gotta go.” “Bu--,” “Bye Sorcha,” I said as I was hanging up the phone. Right after I hung up the phone I felt bad, Sorcha was probably only trying to be nice, and I turned it completely around. For some reason, that got me thinking of how we met.
On the first day of sixth grade I felt lost, and completely alone. It was going to be a complete nightmare. All those new people are going to make fun of my name. Plus, everything here was covered in iron. I needed clean steel, or something. Next thing I knew I bumped into a girl. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” I said nervously. “No problem, I wasn’t either. Hi, my names Sorcha, what’s yours?” I stared at her in shock. She had lovely blue-black hair that came to waist, and was colored so darkly her skin seemed black, which was only intensified by the all black ensemble that
she so proudly wore. She had eyes that seemed almost violet, only a shade or two lighter, with a hint of yellow. It was gorgeous. And she had a marvelous British accent. “That’s your name? Sorcha? My name is, um, well, Orlaith,” I said quietly. Sorcha then beamed at me. “Ah, another person with a crazy parent, huh? Who was it, mum, or dad?” She smiled at me again and this time I smiled back. “Mom, you?” “Ditto, although dad agreed though so technically it’s both of their faults. What classes are you in fair Orlaith?” “Um, I prefer to be called Lia, and I don’t know.” We then took out our schedules and found out we had all the same classes. And, I knew then that we would be friends for a very long time.
I always found it weird that she wasn’t ashamed of her name. She never wanted a nickname, it was so bizarre. I was always hiding from my real name, a pretty nickname in its place. Most people would shy away from her name. Well, at least, I know that I would. But then Sorcha wasn’t most people. That was what I loved about her. She was independent and strong, and full of youthful vibrancy. She helped me cope with my problems and gave me unique and insightful answers. I need lunch, I thought to myself, a nice big lunch while sitting on the porch. The porch is where I go when I need to think things through. It was quiet and peaceful, right next to a forest that hummed with life.
I sat at my steel out-door table, with the rather uncomfortable metal chair. I couldn’t stand to be around iron. I always break into a weird burning rash/hives. It sucks. I’m like a stupid metal detector. I plopped down with my sandwich and thought about what I did. Okay, so I hung up on my best friend of five years. What do I do? Plan an apology, that’s for sure. A long one, because Sorcha isn’t the type of person you just hung up on. So tomorrow at school I will apologize saying I was caught up in the moment. Well, I kinda was, so it’s not technically a lie. I could never lie. I always chocked on the words, so I could never get them out. So usually I just tell half-truths. Works for me, well, usually. I finished my sandwich and went back inside, flopped on my bed and took a cat nap.
A man was shoved in my presence. He showed promise, young athletic build, golden hair fine as flax, and warm green eyes. He just wasn’t right for me. “Show him away.” For a hundred years now my father has been shoving suitors down my throat. I sighed upon my golden throne. “Father, how many more do we have to choose from?” “You know something, fair daughter? I am tired of your persistence to reject. You need to choose someone, I want grandchildren. You know how hard it is to conceive. Well, to conceive and have the baby live that is. If you don’t choose someone of your own will, then I will be forced to choose one for you. For my own gain too.” “Father! Why would you do such a blasphemous thing?” “You heard me,” he barked, “Bring in the next suitor!”
A peasant boy stumbled in, by the looks of his clothes. Amazing thing to attempt, considering that most suitors depended on money and status, rather than looks alone, and it was clear this boy had neither. He bowed, which caught my attention. The other men hadn’t bowed. “Look up, please.” I heard myself say. He did. His eyes were pure silver, and his hair was startlingly black against his skin. He smiled at me, and I saw that his smile lit up his already handsome face. This was it. He was it.
I woke up, and I saw that it was dark out. I looked at my alarm clock and I saw that it was twelve a.m. I groaned because I missed dinner. Oh, well, a midnight snack won’t hurt anyone. I meandered down to the kitchen, and grabbed a handful of cereal. While I was a-munching I thought I saw something out in the window. I looked, and I saw nothing. A couple of minutes later I saw something again. I walked over to the window peered out and saw a small person, only it wasn’t a person. Whatever it was it was short, was dressed in white, and had giant globes for eyes. They were about the size of my fist, with no pupils or irises. I shrieked and jumped back, well it actually came out as a garbled squeak. I blinked and it was gone. This was normal for me. Ever since I was a little girl, I had seen these strange creatures. They seemed like they were watching me, but I could never be sure. They were all horrifying in unique ways. This one time I saw one with scales, and spider legs coming out of his head. And he had no eyes, but I felt as though he was, like, soulsearching me. Not the cheesy kind of soul-searching either. The kind that made you feel
as though someone was rifling through your very being looking at your life, your memories. I started to fan myself, and walked away form the window. After I finished my cereal I headed back up to my room, tip-toeing when I passed my parents room. I laid down on the bed and thought about that dream. Hmm, I liked that last suitor, or whatever he was. He was just yummy. She didn’t notice but he had a nice bod, too. He was practically edible. Ungh! I forgot to do my homework! I leaped out of bed, unwillingly, and sat at my vacant desk. I pulled my backpack up, started rummaging around, and remembered that I completed all my homework in resource. I groaned in frustration, and jumped back into bed. I was still wearing my clothes from earlier, so I rolled over and started to yank on the draws next to my bed. My dresser was right next to my bed so it was simple to just grab a pair of pajamas and slide into them. I huddled into a little ball and I sighed peacefully. Soon I fell asleep with no more dreams.
Chapter Two
The Note(s)
“L-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a! Get up, Lia, get up!” I groaned. Ariell is my little sister, and the most annoying alarm clock you have ever heard. “I’m up, I’m up! Just go away!” I heard her giggle and walk away. I sat up, and rubbed my eyes. It is unnatural for anyone to be perky this time of morning. I was the perkiest person I knew, too. Therefore I conclude that it is impossible, for anyone to be perky at this time in the morning. I sauntered over to my closet, shrugged on my favorite pair of jeans and added my cami and my favorite off-the-shoulder top. I slicked on some lip-gloss, added some mascara, and headed out the door. I stopped in the kitchen to grab some food, more cereal, when I noticed both of my parents in the room. They looked over at me and grimaced in unison. Dad stood up and come over to me. “Hey, kiddo, I have some news for you.” I put my hand up to cover my still full mouth and asked, “What?” “A few months ago, I was offered a job at a high paying company, and we have decided to take it.”
“That’s great daddy,” yes, I still call him daddy. Get over it. “What’s so bad about that?” He didn’t deny that there was bad news, and I started to get worried. “Honey, we are going to move. In three days.” I opened my mouth in shock. “That quick? Dad it usually takes months to even plan . . . that was why you were waiting to tell me. Am I right?” He looked miserable, and I took that as a yes. “You know, you could have told me, I thought we were over that don’t trust the teenage daughter thing. I never lie to you! Why would you lie to me?” He just steeled his expression, and looked away saying, “We start packing today. We already have the house picked out, your new school has put you in the system, and it’s right next to the forest. Not the meek forest outside of here, but a real forest.” Okay, no matter how pissed off I was that sounded pretty cool. The coolness was soon forgotten, though. “Great, bye.” I walked out the door with tears in my eyes. I headed over to school. I was a walker because my parents were trying to go green, so I walked to school, and it wasn’t far away, so I was fine. Usually on this walk to and from school I was free from sound and disturbances, and the walk took me next to the forest. I always have loved to forest. I feel at home in it. Especially in summer. Summer is my favorite season. Not because there is no school, I just feel drawn to it. And this new school thing just added to the stress. All I could think about is telling people how to properly pronounce my name, and having them snicker at me. I was going to be miserable. And how could my parents do that to me. At least I would have been able to warn my friends. Arg! I am so mad at my parents right now.
I reached school, just in time for Sorcha to come bouncing over. “I have some bad news.” She sniffed. “Other than you hanging up on me?” She smiled, so I could tell she wasn’t that mad anymore. “Oh, and nice haircut slash dye job!” She gave me a little thumbs up. “Nah, though I’m sorry about that. My dad has been going behind my back for, like, three whole months. And he just now decided to tell me we’re moving. In three days. And thank you.” Sorcha’s face went blank, and she grabbed my shoulders. “You can’t move, you just can’t! Not only will you ruin a friendship bordering on six years, you risk losing our invaluable friendship, because everyone knows that if you leave your friends, then you grow apart! How will daddy pick you up?” “Sorcha, what do you mean ‘daddy’? Your dad died before I even met you!” “No he didn’t, you see he’s actually--” “Sorcha. What are you talking about?” All the sudden she went pale, and got really quiet. “Nothing. Sometimes I just do that when I’m stressed.” Oh, poor thing! She hates sympathy, so I didn’t say that out loud. Both her parents died when she was younger. She was adopted from England. I was sort-of adopted, too. I was a porch baby -- literally. I was left in the porch of the house of the people I now called Mom and Dad. It was a huge legal debate as to what was to happen to me. For a little while, I was in a social services department. When my parents
officially decided they wanted me, they had to go through all of this paperwork. It was a nightmare. I was happy now though, and that’s what counts. Sorcha walked away, her face all pinched up like someone made her eat a lemon. I sighed and walked away to the dreaded Statistics. I hate math, but I’m good at it, so I feel like its one giant scheme of evil that god has made for me. At least Brady is in my class. That’s something to look forward too. Allison is there, too so I’ll have nothing to worry about except the actual math. I walked into the room and groaned really loudly when I saw that we had a sub today. I took my seat next to Allison and she gave me a sympathetic look. The bell rung and the rest of the stragglers huddled into the room. We all took our seats and the stout sub waddled over to the white board to write his name. He was a pudgy old coot, with a receding hairline and a sweating problem. His name was Mr. Gournashelly. Strange name. He waddled back over to the podium and started to call roll. He actually reminded me of a penguin. “Harry Smith? “Here.” “Susan Thompson?” “Here.” This continued for a couple of minuets. “Um, Or-lith Smithers? Is that how you pronounce it?” I sighed again. “It’s pronounced Orla, but I go by Lia.” “Okay, Adam Black?”
After that was done, he headed over to the white board and started droning about “illustrating the central limit theorem”. I leaned over my text-book, and started to write notes, when I saw that one had been placed on my desk.
Hey, what’s up? Brady
Oh. My. God. Brady just passed me a note! My dreams have come true. Then reality came crashing down on me as I replayed every chick flick I ever saw. The popular dude gets interested in the not so popular chick, later she finds out that he was only using her.
Nothing much, you? Lia
I passed the note right in front of me, as, coincidentally, he was sitting there. I tossed the note onto him as Mr. Gournashelly turned back to the white board. I saw his chest move and I thought he was chuckling, although I don’t know at what. I felt slightly miffed. I didn’t write anything funny. He pretended to stretch dropping the note back onto my desk.
Heh, ik how you feel. That guy must’ve pissed you off, with the whole name thing. You really sounded pissed off. I know I would be the same if that happened to me. Lol, what’s ur # Brady
I started scribbling back my reply.
Lol, your right. He did piss me off, EVERYBODY asks that! Why do you want my number? Lia
I repeated the process of tossing the note over his shoulder. A couple of seconds later the back of his neck went bright red, and he hastily scrawled back a reply.
So I can call u Brady
I was the one who blushed this time. I hastily wrote my reply and threw it over his shoulder. I knew not to get my hopes up, but he was still single, so I had no real competition, right? I hung my head in defeat. Everybody wanted Brady to be their boyfriend. Well, all the girls and the gay guys. Then my mood picked up as I remembered that he could have anyone he wanted, and he chose me to talk to.
Class was pretty uneventful after that. I continued to take notes, and when class ended, I headed out the door. Not before I looked over my shoulder and saw Brady wink at me. I nearly swooned on the spot. I smiled back and headed out the door in a rush nearly knocking over someone in my haste. The rest of the day passed by in a blur. I had to tell everyone the bad news, and we all had a good drama session. We decided to spend every minute together. We became one giant blob of friendship. We acted as if the world was ending in three days and this was our last chance to be friends. Which in a way it was. The only person missing was Sorcha. I felt alone and unprotected without her there beside me. Like I was missing my skin. I walked into lunch, with my protective formation of friends and looked around for Sorcha. I sighed when I didn’t see her anywhere. I walked over to the lunch line, hesitated, and then went to sit back down. I didn’t feel that hungry, per usual. Lately I just haven’t been hungry, a sure sign there was something wrong with me. I was always hungry. And I just sat there, alone, until one of my friends got through the lunch line and came to sit with me. Just then Sorcha burst through the doors, movie style. If anyone knew how to make an entrance, it was Sorcha. She sauntered over to where I was sitting and held up some paper and a pencil. She slammed her hands down on the table. “I demand to have any and all information on where you’re moving to.” “I don’t know anything yet! I swear.” “Then when you get home suck your parents dry, and then report back to me.” “Why don’t you just do it?”
“Because I have to be somewhere, duh. Call me at seven o’clock sharp.” “Can I come with you?” Hey, I’m not the perfect student. She looked a little conflicted. “Sure, why not.” “C’mon, let’s ditch this hole then!” We left the cafeteria and headed toward the exit.
Chapter Three
The Mysterious Stranger…or Just Good Speaker Phone We headed back to our lockers and grabbed our stuff, just then my phone buzzed and I saw an unknown number. I flipped up my screen and opened the message. Its brady where u goin? I shut my screen because I didn’t feel like telling him all of this through text. Shit! I’m still moving! I totally forgot about that! I still have to tell my teachers to! Fuck! This blows big time. “You have some major explaining to do, hun,” I heard Sorcha say. I looked over my shoulder to see her perched chin up, eyes downward towards my screen. Now, how do I explain this fiasco to her? That is the prevailing question. “Hmm, well, you see, it all started with a kiss . . .,” Her mouth was agape at that one. “Nah, it was more like all the sudden he started talking to me. And he didn’t even really talk to me. He passed notes to me.” Her mouth was an “o” of shock, and the emotion was written in every crevice of her face.
“Uh, honey. That is not nothing. That is one giant ball of huge. Tell me everything right now, or die. And I mean it.” Her face said she meant it, but her eyes were glittering with humor. “I’ll tell you later, now lets go before someone catches us.” We finished grabbed our stuff, and fled the building. Once we were clear of the building we slowed down from the run. I was panting a little, but Sorcha wasn’t in the slightest. She was on the track team, so that made sense to me. I wasn’t much of a sports person, so I stayed at home in the summer and ate potato chips, while she was running her butt off. And every September I had to work off the fat I gained in the summer. It was a vicious cycle, but I wasn’t about to change it. I was a few pounds over “just right” but I liked it that way. At least I had curves. “Okay, so this is right after our sub, Mr. Gournashelly, mispronounced my name.” She grimaced at that. And I patted her back to let her know I was over it. “He started blathering about the central limit theorem or something. I’m bending over to take notes, and I see a note on my desk. That’s when I notice that he’s sitting right in front of me.” I was nearly squeaking in excitement now. Although I’m not sure why. “I open the note, and Brady was apologizing for him, him being the idiot sub, not Brady, and I replied. Then I remembered in all those chick flicks, you know, the ones with popular guys getting together with the losers? Yeah that’s what I thought he was doing. So I passed a reply to him. He wrote back, and flexed then dropped the note onto my desk. He has killer biceps, by the way. And he wanted my phone number! I was practically swooning with joy the entire class, and when I left, he winked at me!”
Sorcha looked about ready to pop. That or her face was going to split form that huge smile on her face. She leaped over and hugged me. “Oh my god! And when exactly were you planning on telling me all of this?” “It’s not like I was the one who totally derailed this morning. Speaking of which, where were you?” I could see her floundering around for an answer. “Hun,” I said, “if you can’t tell me that’s okay. I mean I’ll be crushed for forever, but that’s okay.” She smiled at my joke and leaned over to hug me again. “You know I love you, right?” “Oh, you know I do.” “So, where were we going again?” She was starting to look panicked again. “Dude, I can’t let this one slide. If we’re gonna go somewhere, I need to know where.” She continued to look panicked. I spun her around to face me. “Sorcha. Either you tell me where we’re going or we go somewhere else.” She nodded in a vague fashion. “I have to call someone. Like, now. Because I now know the error of my ways. I cannot bring you, and I can’t just ditch you, so I have to go call someone.” I sighed. “Fine! Just go do it then come back so we can go and get ice cream at Ernie’s.” She smiled and wandered over to where I couldn’t see her. I followed her, because I wanted to know why. Why she was acting like this. Why she had to make secret phone calls. And why she ditched school this morning and was going to again after she talked to me. I waited for a few minuets, and then went to go eavesdrop on her.
“…told you, I couldn’t just leave her lying around! She’s moving dammit! I want to spend time with her!” “That doesn’t give you reason to disobey me. Send her away. Now.” That voice was rang with authority, and had a deep masculine timbre. It dripped with condescension. Either that girl had a great speaker phone, or someone was actually with her. “I-I can’t. She told me to stay with her.” “Fine. Don’t disobey me again, or you will be dragged back to your home.” “Yes sir.” I detected a few moments of somber silence, then I could hear crunching and knew that she was coming back. I jumped lithely back to where I was standing. What was all that about? “Everything go well?” I asked. “Just fine. Now to Ernie’s!” She chanted, raising her fist to the air. I giggled and followed her lead. I have to admit, though. That little chat was definitely weird. Since when did she talk to older men? That certainly didn’t sound like someone I knew. I let those thoughts drop. Sorcha probably had a good reason for not telling me about that. She’s never lied to me about anything important, why start now? It took a little while, but eventually we made it to Ernie’s. We walked in and a blast of cold air swept my hair out of my eyes. I grinned. I loved Ernie’s, because they had the best ice cream in three counties. It was so creamy and smooth. We walked over to the display freezer and contemplated our choices. I finally chose on Oreo cookie with some gummy bears. Sorcha got orange sherbet and sprinkles. We sat down together.
Just then a guy walked in. And I have to say, he was hotter than Brady. And that’s hard to do. That boy was flamingly hot. He sat down at a table right behind ours. I looked over at Sorcha and waggled my brows. Then I saw the pinched look on her face. She was looking at the wall, her eyes flickering to him and back. “Um, hello! Earth to Sorcha! You there honey?” She glanced at me, the sour expression gone. “Yeah! Right here.” I gave her a look. “Okay, I really wasn’t supposed to ditch my date with the person, but I did, and I need to go so that I can get back together with them.” I sighed. “You do know that you could have just told me no earlier, and we could have avoided this whole mess right?” “Well, yeah, but your moving, and I wanted to spend time with you.” “Honey. We can do that any other time. Go do what you need to do and I’ll go do something else. Like finish my ice cream. Meet me back here as soon as you can.” I smiled at her. She continued to frown, and I got up and hugged her. “Go. Save the world from mass chaos. I’ll sit here and eat ice cream till you get back.” This time she smiled and I sat back down. After she left I sat back down and continued to eat my ice cream. I heard the scraping of chair against linoleum, and heard the super hot guy get up. “This seat taken?” I looked up to see him smile charmingly at me. I shook my head, and he sat down. “Sorry,” I said, “but I don’t think I know you.”
“You don’t, but I figured why not.” He smiled again and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. I wasn’t quite used to super hot guys hitting on me. I looked down at my ice cream as if to hide. All the sudden he leaned in really close. “Can I ask you one question?” he asked. “You just did.” I smiled weakly at my joke. “Fine then, can I ask three?” “Sure.” He leaned in even closer to me. His breath tickled my ear. “Do you believe in faeries?
Chapter Four
Where am I?
I jumped up from my chair. He stood up too, slowly, though. His head was hung, and I couldn’t see what he was staring at so intently. He looked up at me and it was horrible. His flawless tanned skin had turned into mottled purple scales. His bright green eyes had turned into dark, unforgiving, opaque black orbs, and they had no pupils, well that I could see, anyways. He grew three extra arms out of his shoulders, and his ears grew really long, slender, and pointed. He grew a pair of fangs on the top and bottom, and the only reason I knew this is because he snarled at me in an almost . . . playful way. I backed away, frightened. I opened my mouth like a fishes, and then closed again. I had a huge lump in my throat, and it blocked any attempt of screaming. I kept backing up until I hit a table. Finally, the lump in my throat let through a few whimpers and squeaks. Ernie had stepped into the back room, so I was all alone with this monster. The lump started to dissolve, and I felt tears flood my eyes.
Soon I was full on sobbing. My body was shaking, and I could not see a thing through my haze of tears, I couldn’t hear anything through the sobs. Then I realized something was wrong. I opened my eyes to see a field. The long grass was tickling my ankles. It was covered in sweet smelling flowers. I looked to right and saw a huge castle. It was magnificently built, with elegant spires, and delicate detail work. It was gorgeous. I lifted my arm to wipe the tears off my face, and saw that I was wearing a purple silk renaissance style dress. I took a closer look, and realized that it had more a bustle styled skirt, though, which looks a little and the bodice was beautiful. It had tiny seed pearls, colored rocks, and metallic thread all sewn in a pattern that complimented my body style. It was more floral than anything, but I’m not quite sure what the design really is. Where was I? I heard a noise, and I looked to my left. I saw a man. He had black hair, and was nice and tall. He turned around and I saw high cheekbones full, sensuous lips, and a straight nose. He also had shocking silver eyes. He seemed very familiar, although I couldn’t place where I could have seen him before. I walked towards him, hoping to get some answers. The grass tickled my bare soles, and I was careful not to crush the beautiful flowers with my feet. When I got closer to him I saw teardrops running down his face. He was faced to the side, and his face was hard, the tears trickling slowly and constantly down his face. I got closer to him, my hands clasped to my chest. “Are you okay?” The tears just continued to flow from his eyes.
“Hello?” I was right next to him now. I reached out to tap him on the shoulder, and then pulled back. After all, what if he was ignoring me for a reason. “Are you okay?” I seemed to elicit a reaction from him, as I saw his hand rise. All he did was wipe his eyes. Okay, I was starting to get angry with him. I raised my hand to tap him on the shoulder, again, but this time no hesitation. My hand came down hard. Then my hand flew past his shoulder. It was weird because I could have sworn I was dead-on. I put it out of my mind, and went to wave my hand in front of his face. All he did was blink. “Um, hello?” God, this guy was pissing me off. I’m right here, dude. Answer me! All he did was blink really hard and long. Now, I am officially mad. I went in to poke him again, and missed, again! What is with my aim today? He shifted away from me, turning around. What, did I know have a disease? Seriously, what was his problem? I tuned to face him. He wasn’t crying anymore, but I could see that his eyes were still watery. “Um, if you don’t want me to be here you can just say so, and I’ll go.” He didn’t respond at all. What is with this guy? I stood on my tip-toes, so I could look him in the eyes, and all he did was look out into space. I started to wobble after a few seconds of doing this, and I knew I was going to crash. I started to go back down, but before I could I fell. I was expecting the thud if flesh on flesh as I crashed, not me hitting the ground. I lay there disorientated for a minuet, waiting for something. How did he move so fast, and why didn’t he help me? I looked around trying to find out where he moved to.
After a few seconds of this, I gave up. I flipped stomach up, and closed my eyes. I slowly started to massage my temples, protecting myself from an approaching headache. I let out a groan, and a few choice words. I think I have officially flown the coop. God short-changed me and made me a few cents short of a dollar. I groaned, again, at the unfairness of it all. Nobody else saw things that weren’t there, nobody else hallucinated that they were in a magical field. I opened my eyes and screamed, The man’s feet went right through my stomach. I stuck my hands out trying to do . . . something. I am not quite sure what, maybe to try and get him off me. Then my hands passed right through his legs. I was shrieking, now, a high pitched whistling sound. I crawled backwards and his legs just kept going right through me. I got up, and started running. I had no idea where I was going, but it was anywhere away from here. I tripped over a log, or stick, or something, and I fell to the ground. Hard. My hands had deflected most of my fall, but I still felt a throbbing pain in my nose. I felt ad though someone had punched me in the gut, and left me gasping for breath. I also felt a burning pain running up the side of my calf. I reached down and felt a wetness. I pulled my hand up and I saw my fingers stained with my own blood. I felt lightheaded, and the world spun for a minuet, and I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes. My hand started trembling, and I let it fall to the ground with a resounding thump. How did I even cut my leg like that? After the world stopped spinning I laid my head gingerly on the ground, and I tried to stand up. It was a slow and painful process, but I finally got to the point where I didn’t need to hold anything to support myself.
Okay, so I’m not crippled, so where am I? I thought to myself. I looked around, and saw that I had run into forest. It was a sparse forest, but in my book, since I could see nothing but tree’s this was a forest. It was a forlorn forest. It spoke of death, and decay. It hid the sun from my eyes, which made the whole “dark and ominous” factor raise a couple of notches. Then I noticed that there was no birdsong. There was no sign of any animals anywhere. I mean, I know this place is creepy and desolate, but there has to be something besides tree’s here. Just then I heard a branch crack behind me. I whirled around, but I couldn’t see anything out of the norm. I heard another branch crack, and I got prickles at the back of my neck, that indicated that I was being watched. I started to slowly back away. Then I took off in a dead sprint. Again, I had no idea where I was going, I only wanted to escape whatever was watching me. But I was slowing quickly, my hurt leg giving out a steady burn. My limp slowly grew worse, and the feeling that I was being watched increased ten-fold. All the sudden, I heard a growl. But, it wasn’t really a growl. It was a like a snort mixed in with a growl. It was a very strange sound, like a pig trying to be a tiger, or lion. It would have been funny, except for the fact that I was practically scared shitless. I slowly turned around and found myself staring horror in the face. It almost looked like a panther at first glance, but once you looked harder, it clearly wasn’t. Sure it had the body shape and head of a panther, it just wasn’t a panther. Actually, it looked like a cross breed between a spider, a panther, a dragon, and some kind of insect.
It had the head of a panther, and the same general shape, but I had the tail, and armor of a dragon. It’s scaled skin gleamed sickeningly at me, and I saw the light play off of membranous wings, veined like a dragonflies. It had for wings, two on each side, and you could see little rainbows reflecting off of it. It had multiple legs, four on each side, much like a spider, and multiple eyes. It opened it’s mouth to snarl at me again, and I saw that it’s mouth opened like that of a carnivores plant. Triangular flaps of skin peeling out. The skin in the mouth was green, and it’s saliva looked purplish. It let out and ear-shattering scream, and I saw it back legs bunch up behind it. I was going to die. I was going to die. It was the only thing I could think of, and it wouldn’t leave my mind. I shut my eyes right before I saw it pounce. A million thoughts crashed around in head. I waited there for some time, and then I realized that nothing had happened. I opened my eyes to see that the thing was frozen, in mid-leap, it’s eyes glowing a furious red, it’s gleaming fangs ready to snap shut. Then I felt like a vacuum was sucking on me. The world started spinning, and I couldn’t help but let out a yelp of terror. All the sudden I was on the floor of Ernie’s, no bloody gash in my leg, and no strange creature about to eat me, frozen in mid-air. Ernie himself was right above me, and he immediately asked, “What’s wrong sugar? What happened?” in a concerned, almost fatherly voice. I have known Ernie since I was little. He was like a second father to me. Except for the fact that he was British, or Australian, I could never tell which, and therefore it actually sounded like “Whut’s wroong shuga? Whut hahpenned?” I saw the guy standing away from me with
a very confused expression on his face. No purple skin, no fangs, and no extra limbs. And no insanely long, pointed ears. I was worried now. This had never happened before. Before it was something that was not really there. Now it’s people morphing into horrible monsters. And seeing magical scenes. That is one huge leap after another. When I was little I realized that no one else saw what I saw. I knew that if I told someone then there would be issues. I think now it’s time to tell someone. This is getting out of control. I wiped the tears off my face, stood up, and left. Without explanation, without looking at that strange guy, and without knowing whether or not I was going home.
Dreamer
“Oh-ehm-gee, you died your hair? Why? You know everybody loves your hair! Dying it will make your hair all frizzy and nasty! Orlaith!” “Sorcha! Shut up, you know I hate my name! Besides, all I did was chop it all off in this new rugged boy hair look and died the edges bright red. It wasn’t much, but it looks way awesome.” “Really? Brady’s bound to notice you now . . .,” she trailed off. “Still, now you’ll get split ends from that dye. Even though it will look awesome and such. But, still. Oh, I bet that red compliments both your golden skin tone and your lovely golden locks.” “Sorcha, please tell me you did not refer to my hair as ‘golden locks’. And you said golden twice. It sounds weird. Anyway that is so far beyond cheesy it isn’t even funny.” Through the phone I could hear her giggling. “And it will compliment those big round yellow gems you have for eyes, and your cute little button nose will be complimented with the style of hair you have, and that cute little bow mouth you have will look just as cute as ever, and . . .,” she couldn’t finish her sentence because she was giggling so hard, and I couldn’t help it. I laughed along with her. It was so cheesy and stupid it was funny.
“You do realize you ‘cute’ about ten times and that you referred to my eyes as ‘big round yellow gems’, right?” She snorted and I knew she did it all on purpose, just to make me laugh. “Lia, you do know that you are pretty any way you look right? You don’t need to cut your hair or anything like that.” “Sorcha, yes I do know that. However I didn’t do it just to get Brady’s attention. I did it because I was bored of my old look. I didn’t know you would think of me as so shallow that because a boy doesn’t notice me I change my whole look for him? Come on Sorcha, get real. I gotta go.” “Bu--,” “Bye Sorcha,” I said as I was hanging up the phone. Right after I hung up the phone I felt bad, Sorcha was probably only trying to be nice, and I turned it completely around. For some reason, that got me thinking of how we met.
On the first day of sixth grade I felt lost, and completely alone. It was going to be a complete nightmare. All those new people are going to make fun of my name. Plus, everything here was covered in iron. I needed clean steel, or something. Next thing I knew I bumped into a girl. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” I said nervously. “No problem, I wasn’t either. Hi, my names Sorcha, what’s yours?” I stared at her in shock. She had lovely blue-black hair that came to waist, and was colored so darkly her skin seemed black, which was only intensified by the all black ensemble that
she so proudly wore. She had eyes that seemed almost violet, only a shade or two lighter, with a hint of yellow. It was gorgeous. And she had a marvelous British accent. “That’s your name? Sorcha? My name is, um, well, Orlaith,” I said quietly. Sorcha then beamed at me. “Ah, another person with a crazy parent, huh? Who was it, mum, or dad?” She smiled at me again and this time I smiled back. “Mom, you?” “Ditto, although dad agreed though so technically it’s both of their faults. What classes are you in fair Orlaith?” “Um, I prefer to be called Lia, and I don’t know.” We then took out our schedules and found out we had all the same classes. And, I knew then that we would be friends for a very long time.
I always found it weird that she wasn’t ashamed of her name. She never wanted a nickname, it was so bizarre. I was always hiding from my real name, a pretty nickname in its place. Most people would shy away from her name. Well, at least, I know that I would. But then Sorcha wasn’t most people. That was what I loved about her. She was independent and strong, and full of youthful vibrancy. She helped me cope with my problems and gave me unique and insightful answers. I need lunch, I thought to myself, a nice big lunch while sitting on the porch. The porch is where I go when I need to think things through. It was quiet and peaceful, right next to a forest that hummed with life.
I sat at my steel out-door table, with the rather uncomfortable metal chair. I couldn’t stand to be around iron. I always break into a weird burning rash/hives. It sucks. I’m like a stupid metal detector. I plopped down with my sandwich and thought about what I did. Okay, so I hung up on my best friend of five years. What do I do? Plan an apology, that’s for sure. A long one, because Sorcha isn’t the type of person you just hung up on. So tomorrow at school I will apologize saying I was caught up in the moment. Well, I kinda was, so it’s not technically a lie. I could never lie. I always chocked on the words, so I could never get them out. So usually I just tell half-truths. Works for me, well, usually. I finished my sandwich and went back inside, flopped on my bed and took a cat nap.
A man was shoved in my presence. He showed promise, young athletic build, golden hair fine as flax, and warm green eyes. He just wasn’t right for me. “Show him away.” For a hundred years now my father has been shoving suitors down my throat. I sighed upon my golden throne. “Father, how many more do we have to choose from?” “You know something, fair daughter? I am tired of your persistence to reject. You need to choose someone, I want grandchildren. You know how hard it is to conceive. Well, to conceive and have the baby live that is. If you don’t choose someone of your own will, then I will be forced to choose one for you. For my own gain too.” “Father! Why would you do such a blasphemous thing?” “You heard me,” he barked, “Bring in the next suitor!”
A peasant boy stumbled in, by the looks of his clothes. Amazing thing to attempt, considering that most suitors depended on money and status, rather than looks alone, and it was clear this boy had neither. He bowed, which caught my attention. The other men hadn’t bowed. “Look up, please.” I heard myself say. He did. His eyes were pure silver, and his hair was startlingly black against his skin. He smiled at me, and I saw that his smile lit up his already handsome face. This was it. He was it.
I woke up, and I saw that it was dark out. I looked at my alarm clock and I saw that it was twelve a.m. I groaned because I missed dinner. Oh, well, a midnight snack won’t hurt anyone. I meandered down to the kitchen, and grabbed a handful of cereal. While I was a-munching I thought I saw something out in the window. I looked, and I saw nothing. A couple of minutes later I saw something again. I walked over to the window peered out and saw a small person, only it wasn’t a person. Whatever it was it was short, was dressed in white, and had giant globes for eyes. They were about the size of my fist, with no pupils or irises. I shrieked and jumped back, well it actually came out as a garbled squeak. I blinked and it was gone. This was normal for me. Ever since I was a little girl, I had seen these strange creatures. They seemed like they were watching me, but I could never be sure. They were all horrifying in unique ways. This one time I saw one with scales, and spider legs coming out of his head. And he had no eyes, but I felt as though he was, like, soulsearching me. Not the cheesy kind of soul-searching either. The kind that made you feel
as though someone was rifling through your very being looking at your life, your memories. I started to fan myself, and walked away form the window. After I finished my cereal I headed back up to my room, tip-toeing when I passed my parents room. I laid down on the bed and thought about that dream. Hmm, I liked that last suitor, or whatever he was. He was just yummy. She didn’t notice but he had a nice bod, too. He was practically edible. Ungh! I forgot to do my homework! I leaped out of bed, unwillingly, and sat at my vacant desk. I pulled my backpack up, started rummaging around, and remembered that I completed all my homework in resource. I groaned in frustration, and jumped back into bed. I was still wearing my clothes from earlier, so I rolled over and started to yank on the draws next to my bed. My dresser was right next to my bed so it was simple to just grab a pair of pajamas and slide into them. I huddled into a little ball and I sighed peacefully. Soon I fell asleep with no more dreams.
Chapter Two
The Note(s)
“L-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a! Get up, Lia, get up!” I groaned. Ariell is my little sister, and the most annoying alarm clock you have ever heard. “I’m up, I’m up! Just go away!” I heard her giggle and walk away. I sat up, and rubbed my eyes. It is unnatural for anyone to be perky this time of morning. I was the perkiest person I knew, too. Therefore I conclude that it is impossible, for anyone to be perky at this time in the morning. I sauntered over to my closet, shrugged on my favorite pair of jeans and added my cami and my favorite off-the-shoulder top. I slicked on some lip-gloss, added some mascara, and headed out the door. I stopped in the kitchen to grab some food, more cereal, when I noticed both of my parents in the room. They looked over at me and grimaced in unison. Dad stood up and come over to me. “Hey, kiddo, I have some news for you.” I put my hand up to cover my still full mouth and asked, “What?” “A few months ago, I was offered a job at a high paying company, and we have decided to take it.”
“That’s great daddy,” yes, I still call him daddy. Get over it. “What’s so bad about that?” He didn’t deny that there was bad news, and I started to get worried. “Honey, we are going to move. In three days.” I opened my mouth in shock. “That quick? Dad it usually takes months to even plan . . . that was why you were waiting to tell me. Am I right?” He looked miserable, and I took that as a yes. “You know, you could have told me, I thought we were over that don’t trust the teenage daughter thing. I never lie to you! Why would you lie to me?” He just steeled his expression, and looked away saying, “We start packing today. We already have the house picked out, your new school has put you in the system, and it’s right next to the forest. Not the meek forest outside of here, but a real forest.” Okay, no matter how pissed off I was that sounded pretty cool. The coolness was soon forgotten, though. “Great, bye.” I walked out the door with tears in my eyes. I headed over to school. I was a walker because my parents were trying to go green, so I walked to school, and it wasn’t far away, so I was fine. Usually on this walk to and from school I was free from sound and disturbances, and the walk took me next to the forest. I always have loved to forest. I feel at home in it. Especially in summer. Summer is my favorite season. Not because there is no school, I just feel drawn to it. And this new school thing just added to the stress. All I could think about is telling people how to properly pronounce my name, and having them snicker at me. I was going to be miserable. And how could my parents do that to me. At least I would have been able to warn my friends. Arg! I am so mad at my parents right now.
I reached school, just in time for Sorcha to come bouncing over. “I have some bad news.” She sniffed. “Other than you hanging up on me?” She smiled, so I could tell she wasn’t that mad anymore. “Oh, and nice haircut slash dye job!” She gave me a little thumbs up. “Nah, though I’m sorry about that. My dad has been going behind my back for, like, three whole months. And he just now decided to tell me we’re moving. In three days. And thank you.” Sorcha’s face went blank, and she grabbed my shoulders. “You can’t move, you just can’t! Not only will you ruin a friendship bordering on six years, you risk losing our invaluable friendship, because everyone knows that if you leave your friends, then you grow apart! How will daddy pick you up?” “Sorcha, what do you mean ‘daddy’? Your dad died before I even met you!” “No he didn’t, you see he’s actually--” “Sorcha. What are you talking about?” All the sudden she went pale, and got really quiet. “Nothing. Sometimes I just do that when I’m stressed.” Oh, poor thing! She hates sympathy, so I didn’t say that out loud. Both her parents died when she was younger. She was adopted from England. I was sort-of adopted, too. I was a porch baby -- literally. I was left in the porch of the house of the people I now called Mom and Dad. It was a huge legal debate as to what was to happen to me. For a little while, I was in a social services department. When my parents
officially decided they wanted me, they had to go through all of this paperwork. It was a nightmare. I was happy now though, and that’s what counts. Sorcha walked away, her face all pinched up like someone made her eat a lemon. I sighed and walked away to the dreaded Statistics. I hate math, but I’m good at it, so I feel like its one giant scheme of evil that god has made for me. At least Brady is in my class. That’s something to look forward too. Allison is there, too so I’ll have nothing to worry about except the actual math. I walked into the room and groaned really loudly when I saw that we had a sub today. I took my seat next to Allison and she gave me a sympathetic look. The bell rung and the rest of the stragglers huddled into the room. We all took our seats and the stout sub waddled over to the white board to write his name. He was a pudgy old coot, with a receding hairline and a sweating problem. His name was Mr. Gournashelly. Strange name. He waddled back over to the podium and started to call roll. He actually reminded me of a penguin. “Harry Smith? “Here.” “Susan Thompson?” “Here.” This continued for a couple of minuets. “Um, Or-lith Smithers? Is that how you pronounce it?” I sighed again. “It’s pronounced Orla, but I go by Lia.” “Okay, Adam Black?”
After that was done, he headed over to the white board and started droning about “illustrating the central limit theorem”. I leaned over my text-book, and started to write notes, when I saw that one had been placed on my desk.
Hey, what’s up? Brady
Oh. My. God. Brady just passed me a note! My dreams have come true. Then reality came crashing down on me as I replayed every chick flick I ever saw. The popular dude gets interested in the not so popular chick, later she finds out that he was only using her.
Nothing much, you? Lia
I passed the note right in front of me, as, coincidentally, he was sitting there. I tossed the note onto him as Mr. Gournashelly turned back to the white board. I saw his chest move and I thought he was chuckling, although I don’t know at what. I felt slightly miffed. I didn’t write anything funny. He pretended to stretch dropping the note back onto my desk.
Heh, ik how you feel. That guy must’ve pissed you off, with the whole name thing. You really sounded pissed off. I know I would be the same if that happened to me. Lol, what’s ur # Brady
I started scribbling back my reply.
Lol, your right. He did piss me off, EVERYBODY asks that! Why do you want my number? Lia
I repeated the process of tossing the note over his shoulder. A couple of seconds later the back of his neck went bright red, and he hastily scrawled back a reply.
So I can call u Brady
I was the one who blushed this time. I hastily wrote my reply and threw it over his shoulder. I knew not to get my hopes up, but he was still single, so I had no real competition, right? I hung my head in defeat. Everybody wanted Brady to be their boyfriend. Well, all the girls and the gay guys. Then my mood picked up as I remembered that he could have anyone he wanted, and he chose me to talk to.
Class was pretty uneventful after that. I continued to take notes, and when class ended, I headed out the door. Not before I looked over my shoulder and saw Brady wink at me. I nearly swooned on the spot. I smiled back and headed out the door in a rush nearly knocking over someone in my haste. The rest of the day passed by in a blur. I had to tell everyone the bad news, and we all had a good drama session. We decided to spend every minute together. We became one giant blob of friendship. We acted as if the world was ending in three days and this was our last chance to be friends. Which in a way it was. The only person missing was Sorcha. I felt alone and unprotected without her there beside me. Like I was missing my skin. I walked into lunch, with my protective formation of friends and looked around for Sorcha. I sighed when I didn’t see her anywhere. I walked over to the lunch line, hesitated, and then went to sit back down. I didn’t feel that hungry, per usual. Lately I just haven’t been hungry, a sure sign there was something wrong with me. I was always hungry. And I just sat there, alone, until one of my friends got through the lunch line and came to sit with me. Just then Sorcha burst through the doors, movie style. If anyone knew how to make an entrance, it was Sorcha. She sauntered over to where I was sitting and held up some paper and a pencil. She slammed her hands down on the table. “I demand to have any and all information on where you’re moving to.” “I don’t know anything yet! I swear.” “Then when you get home suck your parents dry, and then report back to me.” “Why don’t you just do it?”
“Because I have to be somewhere, duh. Call me at seven o’clock sharp.” “Can I come with you?” Hey, I’m not the perfect student. She looked a little conflicted. “Sure, why not.” “C’mon, let’s ditch this hole then!” We left the cafeteria and headed toward the exit.
Chapter Three
The Mysterious Stranger…or Just Good Speaker Phone We headed back to our lockers and grabbed our stuff, just then my phone buzzed and I saw an unknown number. I flipped up my screen and opened the message. Its brady where u goin? I shut my screen because I didn’t feel like telling him all of this through text. Shit! I’m still moving! I totally forgot about that! I still have to tell my teachers to! Fuck! This blows big time. “You have some major explaining to do, hun,” I heard Sorcha say. I looked over my shoulder to see her perched chin up, eyes downward towards my screen. Now, how do I explain this fiasco to her? That is the prevailing question. “Hmm, well, you see, it all started with a kiss . . .,” Her mouth was agape at that one. “Nah, it was more like all the sudden he started talking to me. And he didn’t even really talk to me. He passed notes to me.” Her mouth was an “o” of shock, and the emotion was written in every crevice of her face.
“Uh, honey. That is not nothing. That is one giant ball of huge. Tell me everything right now, or die. And I mean it.” Her face said she meant it, but her eyes were glittering with humor. “I’ll tell you later, now lets go before someone catches us.” We finished grabbed our stuff, and fled the building. Once we were clear of the building we slowed down from the run. I was panting a little, but Sorcha wasn’t in the slightest. She was on the track team, so that made sense to me. I wasn’t much of a sports person, so I stayed at home in the summer and ate potato chips, while she was running her butt off. And every September I had to work off the fat I gained in the summer. It was a vicious cycle, but I wasn’t about to change it. I was a few pounds over “just right” but I liked it that way. At least I had curves. “Okay, so this is right after our sub, Mr. Gournashelly, mispronounced my name.” She grimaced at that. And I patted her back to let her know I was over it. “He started blathering about the central limit theorem or something. I’m bending over to take notes, and I see a note on my desk. That’s when I notice that he’s sitting right in front of me.” I was nearly squeaking in excitement now. Although I’m not sure why. “I open the note, and Brady was apologizing for him, him being the idiot sub, not Brady, and I replied. Then I remembered in all those chick flicks, you know, the ones with popular guys getting together with the losers? Yeah that’s what I thought he was doing. So I passed a reply to him. He wrote back, and flexed then dropped the note onto my desk. He has killer biceps, by the way. And he wanted my phone number! I was practically swooning with joy the entire class, and when I left, he winked at me!”
Sorcha looked about ready to pop. That or her face was going to split form that huge smile on her face. She leaped over and hugged me. “Oh my god! And when exactly were you planning on telling me all of this?” “It’s not like I was the one who totally derailed this morning. Speaking of which, where were you?” I could see her floundering around for an answer. “Hun,” I said, “if you can’t tell me that’s okay. I mean I’ll be crushed for forever, but that’s okay.” She smiled at my joke and leaned over to hug me again. “You know I love you, right?” “Oh, you know I do.” “So, where were we going again?” She was starting to look panicked again. “Dude, I can’t let this one slide. If we’re gonna go somewhere, I need to know where.” She continued to look panicked. I spun her around to face me. “Sorcha. Either you tell me where we’re going or we go somewhere else.” She nodded in a vague fashion. “I have to call someone. Like, now. Because I now know the error of my ways. I cannot bring you, and I can’t just ditch you, so I have to go call someone.” I sighed. “Fine! Just go do it then come back so we can go and get ice cream at Ernie’s.” She smiled and wandered over to where I couldn’t see her. I followed her, because I wanted to know why. Why she was acting like this. Why she had to make secret phone calls. And why she ditched school this morning and was going to again after she talked to me. I waited for a few minuets, and then went to go eavesdrop on her.
“…told you, I couldn’t just leave her lying around! She’s moving dammit! I want to spend time with her!” “That doesn’t give you reason to disobey me. Send her away. Now.” That voice was rang with authority, and had a deep masculine timbre. It dripped with condescension. Either that girl had a great speaker phone, or someone was actually with her. “I-I can’t. She told me to stay with her.” “Fine. Don’t disobey me again, or you will be dragged back to your home.” “Yes sir.” I detected a few moments of somber silence, then I could hear crunching and knew that she was coming back. I jumped lithely back to where I was standing. What was all that about? “Everything go well?” I asked. “Just fine. Now to Ernie’s!” She chanted, raising her fist to the air. I giggled and followed her lead. I have to admit, though. That little chat was definitely weird. Since when did she talk to older men? That certainly didn’t sound like someone I knew. I let those thoughts drop. Sorcha probably had a good reason for not telling me about that. She’s never lied to me about anything important, why start now? It took a little while, but eventually we made it to Ernie’s. We walked in and a blast of cold air swept my hair out of my eyes. I grinned. I loved Ernie’s, because they had the best ice cream in three counties. It was so creamy and smooth. We walked over to the display freezer and contemplated our choices. I finally chose on Oreo cookie with some gummy bears. Sorcha got orange sherbet and sprinkles. We sat down together.
Just then a guy walked in. And I have to say, he was hotter than Brady. And that’s hard to do. That boy was flamingly hot. He sat down at a table right behind ours. I looked over at Sorcha and waggled my brows. Then I saw the pinched look on her face. She was looking at the wall, her eyes flickering to him and back. “Um, hello! Earth to Sorcha! You there honey?” She glanced at me, the sour expression gone. “Yeah! Right here.” I gave her a look. “Okay, I really wasn’t supposed to ditch my date with the person, but I did, and I need to go so that I can get back together with them.” I sighed. “You do know that you could have just told me no earlier, and we could have avoided this whole mess right?” “Well, yeah, but your moving, and I wanted to spend time with you.” “Honey. We can do that any other time. Go do what you need to do and I’ll go do something else. Like finish my ice cream. Meet me back here as soon as you can.” I smiled at her. She continued to frown, and I got up and hugged her. “Go. Save the world from mass chaos. I’ll sit here and eat ice cream till you get back.” This time she smiled and I sat back down. After she left I sat back down and continued to eat my ice cream. I heard the scraping of chair against linoleum, and heard the super hot guy get up. “This seat taken?” I looked up to see him smile charmingly at me. I shook my head, and he sat down. “Sorry,” I said, “but I don’t think I know you.”
“You don’t, but I figured why not.” He smiled again and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. I wasn’t quite used to super hot guys hitting on me. I looked down at my ice cream as if to hide. All the sudden he leaned in really close. “Can I ask you one question?” he asked. “You just did.” I smiled weakly at my joke. “Fine then, can I ask three?” “Sure.” He leaned in even closer to me. His breath tickled my ear. “Do you believe in faeries?
Chapter Four
Where am I?
I jumped up from my chair. He stood up too, slowly, though. His head was hung, and I couldn’t see what he was staring at so intently. He looked up at me and it was horrible. His flawless tanned skin had turned into mottled purple scales. His bright green eyes had turned into dark, unforgiving, opaque black orbs, and they had no pupils, well that I could see, anyways. He grew three extra arms out of his shoulders, and his ears grew really long, slender, and pointed. He grew a pair of fangs on the top and bottom, and the only reason I knew this is because he snarled at me in an almost . . . playful way. I backed away, frightened. I opened my mouth like a fishes, and then closed again. I had a huge lump in my throat, and it blocked any attempt of screaming. I kept backing up until I hit a table. Finally, the lump in my throat let through a few whimpers and squeaks. Ernie had stepped into the back room, so I was all alone with this monster. The lump started to dissolve, and I felt tears flood my eyes.
Soon I was full on sobbing. My body was shaking, and I could not see a thing through my haze of tears, I couldn’t hear anything through the sobs. Then I realized something was wrong. I opened my eyes to see a field. The long grass was tickling my ankles. It was covered in sweet smelling flowers. I looked to right and saw a huge castle. It was magnificently built, with elegant spires, and delicate detail work. It was gorgeous. I lifted my arm to wipe the tears off my face, and saw that I was wearing a purple silk renaissance style dress. I took a closer look, and realized that it had more a bustle styled skirt, though, which looks a little and the bodice was beautiful. It had tiny seed pearls, colored rocks, and metallic thread all sewn in a pattern that complimented my body style. It was more floral than anything, but I’m not quite sure what the design really is. Where was I? I heard a noise, and I looked to my left. I saw a man. He had black hair, and was nice and tall. He turned around and I saw high cheekbones full, sensuous lips, and a straight nose. He also had shocking silver eyes. He seemed very familiar, although I couldn’t place where I could have seen him before. I walked towards him, hoping to get some answers. The grass tickled my bare soles, and I was careful not to crush the beautiful flowers with my feet. When I got closer to him I saw teardrops running down his face. He was faced to the side, and his face was hard, the tears trickling slowly and constantly down his face. I got closer to him, my hands clasped to my chest. “Are you okay?” The tears just continued to flow from his eyes.
“Hello?” I was right next to him now. I reached out to tap him on the shoulder, and then pulled back. After all, what if he was ignoring me for a reason. “Are you okay?” I seemed to elicit a reaction from him, as I saw his hand rise. All he did was wipe his eyes. Okay, I was starting to get angry with him. I raised my hand to tap him on the shoulder, again, but this time no hesitation. My hand came down hard. Then my hand flew past his shoulder. It was weird because I could have sworn I was dead-on. I put it out of my mind, and went to wave my hand in front of his face. All he did was blink. “Um, hello?” God, this guy was pissing me off. I’m right here, dude. Answer me! All he did was blink really hard and long. Now, I am officially mad. I went in to poke him again, and missed, again! What is with my aim today? He shifted away from me, turning around. What, did I know have a disease? Seriously, what was his problem? I tuned to face him. He wasn’t crying anymore, but I could see that his eyes were still watery. “Um, if you don’t want me to be here you can just say so, and I’ll go.” He didn’t respond at all. What is with this guy? I stood on my tip-toes, so I could look him in the eyes, and all he did was look out into space. I started to wobble after a few seconds of doing this, and I knew I was going to crash. I started to go back down, but before I could I fell. I was expecting the thud if flesh on flesh as I crashed, not me hitting the ground. I lay there disorientated for a minuet, waiting for something. How did he move so fast, and why didn’t he help me? I looked around trying to find out where he moved to.
After a few seconds of this, I gave up. I flipped stomach up, and closed my eyes. I slowly started to massage my temples, protecting myself from an approaching headache. I let out a groan, and a few choice words. I think I have officially flown the coop. God short-changed me and made me a few cents short of a dollar. I groaned, again, at the unfairness of it all. Nobody else saw things that weren’t there, nobody else hallucinated that they were in a magical field. I opened my eyes and screamed, The man’s feet went right through my stomach. I stuck my hands out trying to do . . . something. I am not quite sure what, maybe to try and get him off me. Then my hands passed right through his legs. I was shrieking, now, a high pitched whistling sound. I crawled backwards and his legs just kept going right through me. I got up, and started running. I had no idea where I was going, but it was anywhere away from here. I tripped over a log, or stick, or something, and I fell to the ground. Hard. My hands had deflected most of my fall, but I still felt a throbbing pain in my nose. I felt ad though someone had punched me in the gut, and left me gasping for breath. I also felt a burning pain running up the side of my calf. I reached down and felt a wetness. I pulled my hand up and I saw my fingers stained with my own blood. I felt lightheaded, and the world spun for a minuet, and I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes. My hand started trembling, and I let it fall to the ground with a resounding thump. How did I even cut my leg like that? After the world stopped spinning I laid my head gingerly on the ground, and I tried to stand up. It was a slow and painful process, but I finally got to the point where I didn’t need to hold anything to support myself.
Okay, so I’m not crippled, so where am I? I thought to myself. I looked around, and saw that I had run into forest. It was a sparse forest, but in my book, since I could see nothing but tree’s this was a forest. It was a forlorn forest. It spoke of death, and decay. It hid the sun from my eyes, which made the whole “dark and ominous” factor raise a couple of notches. Then I noticed that there was no birdsong. There was no sign of any animals anywhere. I mean, I know this place is creepy and desolate, but there has to be something besides tree’s here. Just then I heard a branch crack behind me. I whirled around, but I couldn’t see anything out of the norm. I heard another branch crack, and I got prickles at the back of my neck, that indicated that I was being watched. I started to slowly back away. Then I took off in a dead sprint. Again, I had no idea where I was going, I only wanted to escape whatever was watching me. But I was slowing quickly, my hurt leg giving out a steady burn. My limp slowly grew worse, and the feeling that I was being watched increased ten-fold. All the sudden, I heard a growl. But, it wasn’t really a growl. It was a like a snort mixed in with a growl. It was a very strange sound, like a pig trying to be a tiger, or lion. It would have been funny, except for the fact that I was practically scared shitless. I slowly turned around and found myself staring horror in the face. It almost looked like a panther at first glance, but once you looked harder, it clearly wasn’t. Sure it had the body shape and head of a panther, it just wasn’t a panther. Actually, it looked like a cross breed between a spider, a panther, a dragon, and some kind of insect.
It had the head of a panther, and the same general shape, but I had the tail, and armor of a dragon. It’s scaled skin gleamed sickeningly at me, and I saw the light play off of membranous wings, veined like a dragonflies. It had for wings, two on each side, and you could see little rainbows reflecting off of it. It had multiple legs, four on each side, much like a spider, and multiple eyes. It opened it’s mouth to snarl at me again, and I saw that it’s mouth opened like that of a carnivores plant. Triangular flaps of skin peeling out. The skin in the mouth was green, and it’s saliva looked purplish. It let out and ear-shattering scream, and I saw it back legs bunch up behind it. I was going to die. I was going to die. It was the only thing I could think of, and it wouldn’t leave my mind. I shut my eyes right before I saw it pounce. A million thoughts crashed around in head. I waited there for some time, and then I realized that nothing had happened. I opened my eyes to see that the thing was frozen, in mid-leap, it’s eyes glowing a furious red, it’s gleaming fangs ready to snap shut. Then I felt like a vacuum was sucking on me. The world started spinning, and I couldn’t help but let out a yelp of terror. All the sudden I was on the floor of Ernie’s, no bloody gash in my leg, and no strange creature about to eat me, frozen in mid-air. Ernie himself was right above me, and he immediately asked, “What’s wrong sugar? What happened?” in a concerned, almost fatherly voice. I have known Ernie since I was little. He was like a second father to me. Except for the fact that he was British, or Australian, I could never tell which, and therefore it actually sounded like “Whut’s wroong shuga? Whut hahpenned?” I saw the guy standing away from me with
a very confused expression on his face. No purple skin, no fangs, and no extra limbs. And no insanely long, pointed ears. I was worried now. This had never happened before. Before it was something that was not really there. Now it’s people morphing into horrible monsters. And seeing magical scenes. That is one huge leap after another. When I was little I realized that no one else saw what I saw. I knew that if I told someone then there would be issues. I think now it’s time to tell someone. This is getting out of control. I wiped the tears off my face, stood up, and left. Without explanation, without looking at that strange guy, and without knowing whether or not I was going home.
