Chimera

Chapter 6

I slept like shit. My mind kept racing around with images of Maddy and with fear for Logan. I even tried making sense of the figures we saw just past our encampment but that only made the sleep even more impossible.

I stayed in the tent, tossing and turning until I heard someone outside. Thinking I would rather have someone to talk to than be alone with my thoughts, I decided to head outside.

Everything was so quiet. No one stirred in their tents as I noticed the sun starting to hint at the coming day. This day was supposed to be Halloween, and we had plans for a bonfire, ghost stories and candy, but that slipped away like the life out of Maddy.

Thinking of her made my eyes drift towards the space she now occupied. Luckily her face was covered, as I didn't think I'd have the stomach for the pale white deformity that embellished her once-beautiful features. The image of the contortion stuck with me as I saw the black, hollow eyes in my mind's eye, the white complexion, the way her face looked as if she had some reptilian implants that could be found in the metamorphosis movies of werewolves. It was an image I wished I could erase.

I looked around wondering where the sounds were coming from that had made me get out of bed, but no one was there.

Maybe it was a woodland creature. But something told me that neither my hopes nor wishes were correct. It felt like I was being watched. I turned around in the campsite, trying to see if I could find someone, but the shadows were the only answers. The image of the shadow people we saw the previous day ran through my mind, and immediately a shiver ran down my spine.

Taking another look through the woods, I could have sworn that I saw something. A shadow playing tricks? A ghost lurking in the darkness? Maybe it was something else entirely. Just as I wanted to head back into the warmth of the tent, a snapping twig drew my attention back to the surroundings.

"Hello?" I half-whispered, wanting answers but fearing what those answers might bring. Silence surrounded me. Not even a creature stirred. That was when I saw it. A face. Or I thought it was a face. Pale, deformed, hollow. Eyes that looked into my soul and made me feel uncomfortable. It was as if it saw things that I hid from myself. I wanted to scream, but the fear and curiosity kept me in place. My attention drifted when my name was called.

Raven.

The sounds wandered through the air like a lullaby of a forgotten song. I could have sworn that I recognized the voice, but I couldn't place it. I turned circles trying to pinpoint the voice's origin when my attention wandered towards where we had laid Maddy. The sleeping bag had moved, and the spot was empty. My roommate's body was gone.

I started freaking out. Who the hell would have moved her? Where did she go? Had I just imagined she was there the whole time? Was this a dream? Various scenarios ran through my mind. Each more impossible than the next. That was when I heard it again.

Raven.

The sing-song voice echoed through me, but it sounded as if it was coming from everywhere. When I turned around, I came face to face with a sight that I wished I'd never seen.

Right there, in front of me, stood Maddy. Eyes as dead as I thought she was. Her contorted face illuminated by the rising sun rays. She reached out towards me with skeletal hands. Stepping back, I tripped over something and ended on the ground while she still floated towards me, trying to touch me with her clawed fingers. I crossed my arms in front of my face and started screaming while waiting for her attack when I was shaken.

"Raven? Hey, Raven!" The voice sounded different now. The hands on my arms were warm and caressing. I opened my eyes and moved my arms away from my face and stared into Munroe's eyes.