Welcome to the Shit Show

Chapter 7

I was lost. Hopelessly lost in a dangerous unknown sea of crimson, orange, and aquamarine. I was surrounded on all sides by mountainous volumes of fabric. Currently there is a very pointy needle in my hand and a little dish of small plastic sequins on the table before me. My nimble fingers, which had done actions like this many times before, let my mind wander as my body went on auto pilot. I don't even remember exactly how I got here.

The night before was such a blur that I couldn't help but think back on it now as I sit in my new employer's shop.

For the second time that day I raised my fist instinctively and almost hit the same man in the face. I can't help it if my reflexes work faster than my brain sometimes, trauma will do that to you. And it was kind of his fault anyway, because he had been in the situation before and didn't even think to make his presence known before touching me. I hate when people touch me without my consent. No, actually, I just hate being touched in general.

"Are you going to almost hit me every time I touch you?," his face was stoic as ever, not annoyed like I expected it to be.

"I don't know, keep touching me and find out,"I said. I was in no mood to be tested just then. I turned back around and stared at the daunting woods before me. The world of shadows I had seen only moments ago had disappeared in my moment of shock. Gee, thanks a lot Klein.

I turned back to the idiot who had almost run into my fist for the second time that day. He was studying my face, but seemed unconcerned about the woods behind me. Surely he had seen or heard what I had just heard. I know I'm not that crazy yet, I mean, earlier that day I did commit attempted murder, but I did it of sound mind and body. Wow, I can already hear the judge laughing at my trial.

"What were you staring at just now?," He finally looked past me. Staring instead at the woods, but he didn't look alarmed in the least.

"Didn't you hear that?," I turned back to face the woods once again, and strained my ears for any sign of the sounds I had heard just a few minutes ago. All I heard was the rustling of leaves in the wind. Loose strands of my hair got caught up in the breeze, whipping out behind me gently.

"I don't hear anything, you must've just been hearing things. The woods will do that to you after a while," After a while sure, but I had just gotten there no more than two hours ago. Granted, I was also sleep deprived, and maybe I was really just seeing things. After all, the shadows like to play tricks sometimes. Especially on the living people that could see them, but it was usually followed by some creepy child-like laughter. All I could hear was the quiet stirring of the night all around us.

What alarmed me though was that I knew I couldn't have imagined that sound. I had never heard anything like it before. I also couldn't have imagined the rustling of movement that had stopped a few feet in front of me.

"You should come inside, it isn't very safe out here at night, and Felix wants to talk to you and your friend together," It probably isn't wise to keep your back turned to a complete stranger, but at the moment I was for more concerned with the unknown danger before me than the assessable threat behind me.

"What else is out there? Why would it be dangerous for me to stay out here?," I was still staring out at the darkened abyss of trees. I tried as hard as I could to heighten my senses to the best of my abilities. But even though I could only see a few flickers of shadow now there was no hair raising sensation like before.

"It's dangerous because no one that lives here knows you yet, and if they were to find you out in those woods they would probably chase you away, or kill you for fun," I snorted at the thought. I would love to see them try. I've always wondered what it would be like to fight an animal with the same intelligence as me. Well, basic intelligence anyway.