Gifted Ones

Chapter 11 Haven

I stand in an empty hotel room. The walls are pale blue, the ceiling white. Light streams in from a curtain on my left and I can hear the sound of a shower running. For some reason this place feels familiar, like the last moments of a dream I just woke up from.

"Haven?" I hear someone ask behind me. I turn around to see a woman in a white dress, her wet hair streaming down her back like a dark waterfall. It's my mom.

"What? Mom? I-I don't understand!" Suddenly the memories come back to me and I remember what happened in this hotel room. "Mom! You have to get out of here! They're coming! They'll kill you!"

"What?" She laughs. "I'm already dead."

Blood starts to pour out from the left side of her chest, the red color staining the fabric scarlet. Her face goes slack and her eyes close. As if in slow motion I watch her eyes roll back into her head as she collapses to the ground.

"Mom!" I scream, falling to my knees beside her. I press my hand over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "Mom, please!"

"Haven?" A man's voice asks from behind me. I whip around to see my dad standing there, his usually cheerful face grave.

"Dad! Please help me! Call an ambulance!"

"I can't do that."

"What do you mean you can't?" I ask. "She's dying, we have to help her!"

"They're coming for us, Haven. We'll join your mother soon enough."

I hear a click and a bang as the wall behind him is blown to pieces. The force of the explosion sends me flying into one wall, knocking all of the wind out of me as I slide to the floor. My ears ring and my head pounds. I fight to catch my breath, choking and gasping. Miraculously, I see that my father is still standing, his eyes downcast as he stares forlornly at my mother's body.

We only have a few seconds before they're upon us. Dozens of wolves burst through the hole in the wall, their jaws open wide and their eyes feral. I scream as five of them pounce on my dad, taking him to the ground in one collective leap.

I try to stand, but I am immediately pulled back to the ground. A great black wolf has it's jaws clenched on the cuff of my jeans, not letting me up. Three more join it and I know i am going to die when they bite into the skin of my leg, causing me to cry out. I struggle against them, but they're too strong. They start to pull me back towards the gap in the wall, their snarls causing me to shake in fear. I fight and kick, but I am no match for their powerful teeth.

"Dad!" I cry out, my fingernails scratching against the carpeted floor. For some awful reason I can bring myself to look away at the wolves attacking him. They rip and tear, gathered around him so thick I can no longer see his body. Their claws tear into him and their jaws rip his flesh. His yells fade into nothingness, replaced by the predators' howls and grunts. The sounds of his body being torn limb from limb echo in the small room, along with the sounds of my screams.

My eyes fill up with tears and spill over as I try to kick away my attackers to no avail. They only dig into my legs harder and harder until I leave a trail of blood in my wake. As I watch them devour my father, I open my mouth to scream. . .

My yells cut through the still air as I fight against my enemie, smothering me mercilessly and in tight bonds.

"Haven! Wake up! You're dreaming! Jeez, you're strong!" A female voice calls to me. Someone grabs my wrists and pins them roughly to my sides. I fight and shake, screaming all the while.