What LURKS in the DARK

CHAPTER 13

I am running amidst the woods. I can feel the leaves slapping against my face and tiny thorns sticking into my flesh as I run.

I am running at an insane speed, faster than any human should be able to move. I suddenly notice that I can see very bright even though it is night. I see it very clearly. Almost as clear as day.

I feel anger. And pain. And the thirst for revenge. And insatiable hunger, the hunger that felt like it had persisted for hundreds of years.

I do not know where I am going, but it feels like my legs are accustomed to the floor of the forest, because they are moving on their own accord, leaping over shrubs and turning corners I do not know.

I vaguely register at the back of my head that I am running on both my hands and legs. Like an animal. Like a wolf.

Different scents waft through my nose and spark my brain. It is coming from the direction where I was headed in the first place. With renewed agility, I launch in the direction where the scents are coming from. I streak past a body of water and I catch a glimpse of my reflection, just a little glimpse. Black, shiny, sleek body of muscle and fur.

I stop behind a tree and quietly creep forward. I stop just a few yards from the burnt house of the wizard. It is a wonder how the house is still standing after all these years.

Wait, how do I know this house and the owner? I ask myself. But I do not have the time to wonder because I see the familiar blonde hair of Grace and Lucas in the house walk past the window. Their scents waft to my nose again and I salivate.

I salivate?

My stomach growls and I creep forward.

I do not know why I do it, and neither can I stop myself from doing it.

But I know what is on my mind as I approach. I want to kill and eat them.

"PSST!" "PSST!" A sharp whisper cut through my mind.

I shake my head and open my eyes.

I realize that I've been dreaming the whole time.

But it felt so real. It felt like it was really happening.

I blink multiple times to let my eyes get used to the darkness. After a few seconds, I can see the sharp outline of Carmen outside the cage.

"You were growling in your sleep," she whisper.

I mumble something inaudible and wipe my face with my hand. "What's going on?" I ask her.

"You're locked up," She says. And then I remember what happened and how I am locked behind bars.

"Have you gotten through to Grace?" I ask. I have a deep unsettling feeling in my gut that it was not a dream.

Carmen shakes her head vehemently. Her bangs fall across her face and cover her eyes. "I haven't. But that should be the last thing on your mind right now."

"Oh, yeah that's right," I say and crawl forward urgently. "What is happening up there?" I ask.

"Freddy said they might stake you up," She says.

"Freddy? Who is that?"

"The bartender we spoke to earlier," she whispers. "He's keeping watch outside."

"He should have defended me when I was being pulled away," I snap.

"He said that if he had interfered, he would have been seen as an accomplice," Carmen explains. "And then he would have been in the cell next to you." As if to explain she points at the cell cage next to mine.

I nod abstractly. I can not get the dream out of my head. "How long have I been in here?" I ask.

"A couple of hours," She replies. "It's almost dawn. Some of the village men have been hanging around… it's almost as if they know that you are not alone, and they were waiting to see who would come for you."

I run my fingers through my hair. "I'm in big trouble, aren't I?"

She nods. "Yeah. It was the chief's daughter that was killed."

"Damn…"

"Yeah," she says. "And they are pretty sure that it was you. They are not hearing another thing."

"What?" I can not believe what I am hearing. "Can't they see the manner of death? Those marks were made with thick, long claws. Can they see that on me?" I stick out my hands at her face.

I vaguely remember seeing those types of claws in my dream as I ran through the forest.

"Get those things away from my face," she twists her head in disgust. "Listen, I know you are not some weird wild animal because you were with us when it happened. I will try to talk to the chief,"

"No no," I whisper. "Don't do that. Go to the woods around Con-Hagen. Go there –"

"Where is Con-Hagen?" She disrupts me.

Oh yeah, she was in that trance-like thing when we were talking about the place. "That's the next village on the way," I say. "That is where the rest of our friends went."

"Isn't that the cursed village?" She asks.

So, she caught that part from the argument on the bus.

I shake my head. "Of course not. It's not cursed. Those are just superstitions and fictional stories." I lie and try to convince her.

"And what of the 8-foot-tall wolf that stands like a man?" She asks again.

Where is this girl getting these questions? I ask myself.

"What 8-foot tall man-standing wolf?" I ask her innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me, Henry!" She snaps. "I know you know what I'm talking about. And you know why I have these blank spots in my memory too."

That caught my attention. I drew closer to her. "What blank spots?" I ask.

"Like, how we got here," she says. "The last thing I remembered was us on the bus. I don't remember leaving the bus, but I find us on the road. Then I don't remember walking into this village, then I see you being pulled away like a criminal."

I rub my eyes with the heels of my wrist. "Don't bother about that now. I want you to go find Grace. They all went to Con-Hagen, and are most likely to be in the woods around. Go there. Make sure that she's alright." I plead. I have a deep feeling that it was not just a dream.

"Are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Carmen asks me.

"PSST!" A whisper calls from behind us. "Carmen! Hurry up."

"That's Freddy," Carmen tells me. "I'll be just a minute." She calls back at him.

"Hurry. The sun is starting to rise and I'm getting some strange stares from the villagers." He says.

"You see, the sun is coming up," I say to Carmen. "It should be easier to find them now. Go."

Carmen raises her eyebrows as she stands up. "Are you sure I shouldn't try and talk to the village chief? Freddy says that you might either be burnt on the stake like a witch, or left down here to rot. I don't know which one is worse."

Those are terrifying options and I feel a shiver run down my spine, but I shake my head violently. "No no, don't do that. He has sent us out of the village before. If he sees you, you will be in the cells next to me."

She nods and stands up. "Stay alive, Henry." She wipes her hands on her jeans before walking away.

I hear her walk out and Freddy slams the gate shut. Leaving me in darkness and silence. Except for the dripping sound coming from the deep darkness.

Drip… drip… drip.