When He Calls (Moons of Nibiru - Book #1)

chpt - 10: trail of blood and tears

i rewrote this chapter so many times 🙃

also, happy woman's day 🌸

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MANFRED PARRISH AWOKE TO HIS WIFE'S strained sobs.

Instinctively he wrapped his arm around Suzy Parrish's body and he pulled her in closer. He kissed her temple and snuggled his face into the back of her neck, inhaling the coconut scent in her hair.

With the warmth and security of her husband embracing her, Suzy Parrish released her sobs and dug her face into the pillow where she let out a muffled scream.

Manfred Parrish had to be strong for her, so he bit back his tears as his wife released a fraction of the amount of pain she was holding back so that her remaining child wouldn't worry about his parents.

"I'm here." he whispered into her neck. "I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"

Suzy was now shaking her head in the pillow, smearing her tears all over her face and the fabric. Cole didn't need to say it, but he also promised not to leave her. Ryan was eager to leave Marbel after high school, and Suzy didn't mind because she'd still have her baby.

Cole disappeared in the blink of an eye, and she didn't even say goodbye. What did that say about everyone else she loved?

Ѻ Ѻ

Ford Walker pushed open the front door with the intention of showing how angry he was. His mother had interrupted a very important game, clearly not understanding that an online game of Call of Duty could not be paused.

"I'm already doing it!" he yelled when his mother asked if he was taking out the garbage. He tossed it in the blue dumpster standing by the road waiting patiently for the garbage truck to arrive.

Ford dusted his hands off his jersey and made way to head back inside and ignore his mother with his headphones on. He walked up the driveway, his eyes set on the front door left wide open, then a loud crunch made him turn around.

The road he'd walked next to on his way to school, the houses he'd passed with his headphones over his ears, the volume deafening, were now replaced by trees Ford had only seen once.

Ford looked back around, hoping to see his house, but all he saw were the same trees. He didn't usually smoke grass before a game, but he made an exception that morning. Was this the result? His supplier (some dropout that used to go to his school) didn't say where he found the joint, or its contents. Ford was short on cash so he was happy to find a cheap joint that didn't look like it was made by an amateur.

"What the hell?" he asked to no one in particular. Hesitant, Ford reached out to one of the trees surrounding him and touched the bark. It was rough, cold, and the smell of dirt made him realize this was all real.

The air was cold, making Ford regret the tank-top and trousers.

He looked up at the sky, watched the grey clouds passing by fast. The branches moved above him, and if the situation were different Ford would have liked watching the green leaves shuddering. He used to like the outdoors before the boys around the corner gave him reasons to stay indoors at all cost.

Another crunching of twigs made Ford's breath halt in his throat. He turned in the direction of the sound faster than he could blink, and what he saw was nothing more than a blur of black and white hurrying past the distance but still close enough for him to be scared.

"Who's there?" he asked, his voice broken with fear. He spun around repeatedly as the black and white missed his glance by a second. The continuous spinning, looking, heavy breathing, it all made Ford stumble away from the spot he thought he felt safe in. Then he started running, his shoes kicking back dirt. He dodged the trees like he was familiar with them — like he knew where he was going.

The crunching became stomping, and Ford immediately knew someone was chasing him. There was hoarse breathing coming from whoever or whatever was running after him. Ford didn't even want to look behind him. When he listened carefully he realized the hoarse breathing had become panted giggles, proving it was a person chasing him.

Still, Ford didn't turn around. It may have sounded like a person chasing him, but he knew it wasn't a person.

"Leave me the fuck alone!" Ford practically screamed, tears stinging his eyes.

His lungs were filling with cold air, but the organs were warming up with every passing second Ford didn't listen to his body and stop to take an actual breathing.

Ford's mind seemed to calm down when he heard the stomping disappearing behind him. That didn't stop him from speeding up. He jumped over rocks to avoid tripping and bruising himself.

When Ford was sure enough he had given much distance between him and his pursuer, he hurried behind a tree to catch his breath. He placed a hand over his chest as if it would slow his racing heart. His entire body heated up and he felt prickles all over his skin, especially his hands.

"God, please help me." he pleaded silently, ignoring the fact that he'd never entered a church since the passing of his father.

He admitted to himself that he was terrified. This was far worse than being chased by a group of boys who wanted to shove their spit into his ears and poke tiny holes into his fingers using a safety-pin.

Ford carefully looked behind the tree, his breath quivering through his lips. His pursuer was nowhere to be seen. It was just trees as far as he could see. When his body seemed to calm down — though still fuelled with adrenaline — he was sure this time that the woods were very much familiar.

He was near the Loch, that much he knew.

Ford scanned the area behind him. There was no sign of any human or animal or fast blurs of black and white.

With tears lingering in his eyes, Ford rested against the tree. He prepared himself to get back up and make a run for it; maybe he'd reach the edge of town or a road. After that he could sit in silence figuring out how he ended up in the woods.

Before Ford could even inhale and get up on his feet, before he could even blink, his face was attacked with claws from above him.

Ford screamed as his skin was sliced through, feeling the claws penetrating the muscle and tissue and scraping his skull. Blood ran down his face. His screams caused him to breathe in droplets and he choked.

Pumped with adrenaline Ford rushed forward, the claws managing to pull open his right cheek.

He crawled away, his legs quivering too much for him to get up on his feet. Ford knew he was going to die when he felt the ground shake with the impact of the creature that attacked him jumping from the tree he thought he was safe behind.

The giggling echoed past the throbbing pain all over Ford's face. He heard the stomping behind him, and he could feel the monster towering over him.

It happened so fast. One moment Ford was on his hands and knees, blood falling from the gashes and slashes on his face, and the next a growl befell him and the dirt was littered with his blood and entrails.

***

had to remind y'all there's still danger in this town 😱

thoughts? 😙