The Adventures of Missus Myrna

Chapter 2

Suddenly it went dark. My body felt numb, making the pounding headache the most obscure feeling in the world. I didn't remember blacking out after the light, an irony I'm sure I couldn't yet appreciate with the pain and confusion swirling around in my head, concentrating around my temples. I sat up - or at least I think I sat up - rubbing my eyes, trying to make sense of the strange shapes and colors swirling around my room. Fortunately my headache gradually faded as I regained my senses. My bed seemed harder than usual, my room seemed darker and the smells more...earthy. On my lap, "Missus Myrna" sat open to a sadly blank page in the middle; my messenger bag strap had hooked onto my foot, splayed out on the ground - the grass.

"Shit!" I hissed to myself, scrambling up to my feet, "What the hell...?!"

The book fell with a dull thump, a sound that seemed to confirm my welcome back to reality with a flourish. I looked up at the dark canopy that replaced my ceiling. Light beamed through the gaps between the trees that lined the clearing I found myself in. A dull hiss caught my attention, drawing my eyes down at the book again. From the top left hand corner of the page, a bright, shining scrawl appeared, gradually worming it's way to the right and back down again to start a new line. The glow died down, revealing words in a rich black font. It was surreal: "Suddenly it went dark. Quinn's body felt numb..."

I seized the book firmly in my grasp and scanned the lines of text furiously, though I could barely get past the first line before the book slipped from my hands and back down to the earth again. Was I dreaming? This couldn't have been real-this can't be real!

"Wake up, Quinn, wake up," I muttered to myself with closed eyes and fists rapping gently against my head. I had forgotten about my headache.

The searing, dizzying pain had made itself known to me again and I sat back down on the earth, the book beside me. The glow returned to the book, just as intense as before and died, leaving more words in its wake. I had to admit that at this point I was pretty freaked out. Why was this book recording my every move, my every thought? I couldn't wrap my head around it. And then, just when I was certain the book was finished, it began to glow again, and something new appeared on the page. With a defeated sigh, I began to read: "Thud... Thud... Thud..." My brows furrowed with confusion at the words written on the page and I immediately slammed the book shut and stood.

No sooner after that, the earth began to tremble beneath my feet. Thud. Thud. Thud. I rushed to pick up the book and find its center, but I couldn't seem to find the words among the hundreds of blank pages. The thudding was becoming louder now and the earth shook with more force. I quickly searched for my messenger bag in the darkness, one hand frantically patting the ground for signs of the strap while the other held on tightly to the tome.

"Ahh!" I cried out joyously as my fingers finally made contact with the vinyl strap. Suddenly the book began to glow again with the same searing heat as before. When I let it go this time, it did not fall, but... was suspended in midair. A gently glowing beam of light shone upward through the canopy and into the heavens.

To say that the situation was getting weird would be so much of an under-statement that it would be offensive to whatever higher power it was that thought to put me here. But I couldn't run; my body didn't want to, as if I wanted to see what would come next in this obscure performance. Intently watching the book, and the thudding still echoing in my ears, I failed to notice the distinct rustling of leaves coming closer, getting faster. Time seemed to slow down as I turned towards the sounds and spotted a brutish silhouette among the trees growing larger and larger with every delayed second. Trees from all sides were trampled, cracking and breaking under the mysterious thing as it rammed its way towards me.

A horrible shrieking roar silenced everything else. As if it were a prompt, I dove to the side - the thought of whether or not it would be effective didn't have time to cross my mind. And right on cue, the figure rammed through the final row of trees, flew past me, and crashed back into trees on the other side, missing me by inches. Time resumed normally as I scrambled back to my feet. The creature was stopped by a larger, bulkier trunk it couldn't destroy. It seemed to be stuck, shrieking as it tried to free itself.

It looked like a boar, but was the size of a bull. Its tail, like a horse, swished back and forth violently behind it, whipping at its hind legs and stripping away shreds of matted brown fur. With a final jerk of its bulky head, the creature freed itself from the trunk and turned to face me again, revealing 3 sets of tusks around its flat snout, and small red eyes that constantly blinked. I may not have been familiar with this thing, but I know a frenzied animal when I see one. My heart was racing. I couldn't think. My body seemed to do its own thing and I didn't trust it, but was too freaked out to do anything else. I backed away slowly, trying to make myself smaller - less of a threat, nothing worth attacking. It was watching me, its quick blinks the only things breaking its gaze. I eventually reached another side of the clearing when suddenly, the creature repositioned itself, lowered its head and started to paw the ground with its large, bear-like claws.

A barrage of squealing snorts erupted from the creature as it charged toward me at full force. Its beady eyes were full of rage and its claws ripped up the earth, sending topsoil everywhere. What was I to do? Pinned between a ravenous beast and an impenetrable thicket, I had no means of self-defense. Pepper spray would probably do nothing but anger the damned thing more, but buried within my messenger bag, it was of no use to me now. Time seemed to slow down again as I searched around for any possible tool I could use when suddenly I remembered-the book! The humming tome still glowed intensely and such a bright light could certainly disorientate the creature long enough for me to find a way out.

Time resumed at its normal pace and I made the split-second decision to race over and grab the book. It was hot to the touch, though I had no other choice. Either I would face this creature head on, or get mauled by it. The light shone directly into the eyes of the frenzied animal, causing it to skid to a stop, all the while squealing in anguish. It sauntered backward, violently shaking its head to rid itself of the pestering light, but to no avail. I could no longer bear the burning sensation of the book and threw it down. I collapsed right after, holding my hands to my chest and gasping for air as if I couldn't breathe. By now, I was certain that the monster had regained enough composure to come back and trample me to death. Severe pain coursed through my body like electricity; I felt as if I had been paralyzed. Unable to move from my current position, I accepted my fate. I was a goner, and this was the end. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.

"Gotcha!" a voice boomed among the panicked squeals.

My eyes shot open immediately at the sound of a voice other than my own. I lifted my head up as high as I could only to get a glimpse of the boar being dragged backward by its hind legs. It desperately tried to evade capture as it squirmed, squealed, and clawed the earth, but disappeared into the darkness. The squealing began to fade and then stopped all together. It became deathly silent. All but the humming of the book, which still glowed, though its light began to fade along with my vision.