Nevermore Academy || Marilyn Thornhill and fem! OC

Chapter Five

Grey clouds of hot breath steamed from Eris' mouth in steady rhythms. She had made her way to the main road in a haste, surprised that she had even found it in this impenetrable darkness. Now she was walking briskly, arms wrapped around her body against the cold. She hadn't taken a winter jacket and felt the cold of the late evening crawl into her skin, making itself at home in her bones. But Eris had already walked so far it would be senseless to turn around now. She'd make it to town and warm up in one of the shops. Hopefully one would still be open.
And then she'd see from there. She needed to get put of this place, away from the school. Away from her life.

Suddenly Eris halted in her tracks. She had heard a crack in the murky trees beside her, that hadn't sounded quite so typical for night life in the wild. Her green eyes searched through the darkness and her heartbeat quickened. She couldn't make out anything, but the hairs on her neck were standing on end as she felt the peculiar, skin crawling sensation of being stared at by something hidden from her sight. She listened intently and her heart skipped a beat.
It sounded like breathing.
Her head screamed for her to run as fast as she could, but it was as though her limbs had frozen, not listening to the neurones firing away in her brain. And then the overwhelming need to walk into the darkness drowned every thought of running. She wanted, she needed to go to it. She had to find it. Everything depended on it.
What depends on it, a small voice in the back of her head yelled. Don't walk into a foreign wood in the dark, you idiot.
But Eris barely registered that voice. She knew she had to follow whatever this was, guiding her. To give in to this pull and simply let it happen.

In that moment headlights came zooming around the turn of the road and a car came to a skidding halt in front of Eris, inches away from her body.
A disheveled looking Miss Thornhill stepped out of the car.
"Eris, I nearly ran you over. What are you doing?"

The teacher stepped up to her paralysed looking student and gently put her hand on her arm.
Eris didn't move, didn't even acknowledged her presence. Miss Thornhill gave her student a soft shake and at that Eris flinched, releasing a breath she hadn't reslised she was holding and stared at the red-head with her eyes wide and clouded.
"Miss Thornhill? What are you doing here?", Eris asked, voice a little dreamy as though she was experiencing a light buzz.

The older woman watched her closely, with a concerned look on her face and shortly glanced at the woods beside them.
"Come on, honey, get in the car. You're gonna freeze to death out here."

Eris let her teacher guide her to the car, barely registering the pet name and the hands on her back and shoulder.
The warmth in the vehicle revived her a little and her mind cleared.
God, what was that, Eris thought wildly.

Miss Thornhill sat in the drivers seat and made to turn the car around, but Eris put out her hand, without thinking, gently grabbing her teachers hand on the steering wheel.
"Could we not go back yet? Can you drive me to Jericho?"

Miss Thornhill surveyed her for a moment. Eris looked like a scared teenager now. For once the tough, emotionless mask had slipped off and you could clearly see a storm of emotion on her face.

"Yeah, sure", Miss Thornhill said softly.
They sat still for a second, keeping eye contact, Eris' delicate, cold fingers still on her teachers warm hand. Finally she pulled her hand back, avoiding to look at the trees to her right.

Miss Thornhill restarted the car and kept on driving, down the road, in the direction of Jericho, her mind racing.
Eris had stood in the middle of the street, starring trancelike into the dark woods. She had only snapped out of it when she'd actually shaken her arm and then her student had looked as though she hadn't known where she was or how she'd gotten there.

They drove silently until they reached the illuminated main road of the small town. The car stopped in front of the local coffee shop and Eris stepped out of the car without waiting for her teacher to speak. She walked into the café and took a seat at a round booth, as far from the window as possible.
Miss Thornhill came in after her, but walked up to the barista, a teenage guy with curly redish-brown hair and ordered something. Soon she took a seat next to Eris on the round bench, placing a steaming Cappuccino, and a chocolate croissant in front of her student.