The Awakened

Chapter 19

A slight breeze while overlooking a blank canvas of what seemed to be an ocean was all my eyes could see. Although the wind was there, any other noise around was drowned out, it felt like I was under water. An unfamiliar presence was to my left, as I turned my head I saw a mess of auburn hair, similar to my own. The face that looked at me was blank, and I couldn't seem to find any facial features at all. The person made chills run up and down my spine, as though I had placed my foot in a bucket of cold water. That's when, suddenly, they disappeared.

It was nighttime, and a warm campfire sat in front of me. A group of teenagers sat around the circle, James and Chase beside one another, along with numerous unfamiliar faces. I looked off into the distant tree line, hearing waves crash onto a not too far shore, and once again I saw the same person with auburn hair. However, this time I could make out their face, silver eyes looking at me. I stared in the distance, confused, unable to make out words, or thoughts. I moved my gaze away for a split second before the person was gone once more.

"What're you looking at Makayla?" Some unfamiliar female asked.

"I could have sworn I saw someone in the tree line," the girl looked from me to the trees in front of us.

"Nobody is there, it could have just been a phantom," she offered lightly, patting my hand.

"Yeah, it probably was," I mumbled as we all went back to talking around the fire.

Chase sat directly beside me, his hand beside my own, when no one was looking he'd steal glances my way, but at that time he looked younger, not by much, but he definitely used to be a lot scrawnier than he was now.

Suddenly, as Chase and I made eye contact, the horrible scream of a young woman rattled throughout the camp as everyone noticed someone who was in the circle had disappeared.

***

My eyes jolted open, causing me to almost jump upright until I felt the warm presence of not only Chase, but James as well. He sat in the open space of the bed beside us, watching the tv. Off and on he'd chuckle, I could only assume he was watching something he found funny. I rolled onto my opposite side, turning away from Chase.

"Morning," James said, in a slightly cold fashion. Was he going back to his old ways? I asked myself looking, at him groggily. "Bad dream?" He questioned; his brown eyes filled with an unfamiliar emotion. He had a box of candy in his hand, eating it as though it were popcorn.

"I think I'm starting to remember things," I whispered, not quite believing myself. "I don't know if I want to remember, I don't know what pain I'd been through before, or what life I lived, none of it." I stared into his eyes seeking an answer, trying to be as quiet as possible as not to wake Chase.

"What did you remember?" I closed my eyes trying to think of how to summarize my memories, or maybe they were just dreams. I couldn't explain them properly, as they tended to become cloudy.

"I just had a dream, well I don't think it was a dream, it seemed too real. I was at a beach and there was this boy with silver eyes, and brown hair, much like my own, and we were all camping and-" I swallowed, trying to piece things together, "and I think someone on the trip died, but it ended before I could know for sure."

For several moments James blinked slowly at me before asking something else, "Have you remembered anything else?"

"One of the first dream-memories I had was about someone who looked like me fighting with a person who looked like Chase and him losing control. Then a creature knocked the girl out and it went dark." I looked at him as his interest seemed to be peaked, he grabbed a piece of his candy taking a bite, raising his eyebrows in expectation. "Then there was another one where I was in the hospital and Chase and Jackson were crying and I-" I pressed on my temple, feeling a headache coming on, "And I, I don't know that's all I can remember." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, why couldn't I remember the rest?

James sighed quietly, running a hand through his messy blonde hair, something that he seemed to do when he had to think. "To put it simply, all of those dreams are memories, at least from what I know," he paused, tapping his chin, "the man with silver eyes? That's one thing I'm not too sure about, you never mentioned seeing anyone in the woods when we were there. As for the girl," He cracked his knuckles at that point, "She did die." I cringed at the thought, feeling guilty for even forgetting that happened in the first place.

"How did she-"

"She was mutilated, beyond recognition, by what the average person would call a vampire, however, unlike the fairy tale stories they're grotesque, pale demon like creatures who have no eyes, only black holes where they should be. And unlike the folklore, they don't look human, they're more like a slug, and usually, the corpse they create looks mummified by the end." I quivered at the thought of something like that. Was this what life was before?

"That's terrible," I choked out.

James ate more of his candy, averting his gaze from me to the TV once more. "Sadly, that's what many of these creatures do, although many aren't bad, but some truly scar you for life. I guess that's what being awakened, or one with the sight will do." He sunk lower into the bed sheets, although I didn't realize earlier, he wasn't wearing a shirt. The silky sheets covered up much of his tan skin though. "But all we can do is try to protect. Now Makayla, get to sleep, there's no telling what tomorrow will bring."

His words didn't seem to come out as much of a warning as it had made me think, but after those words escaped his mouth, my chest filled with a great amount of anxiety at the thought of what tomorrow could become. With that, I closed my eyes, trying to shake away the fearful feeling rising in my chest.