Helheim

CHAPTER 18

I was in the woods alone. It was freezing, and I was scared.

I could hear them, their laughs at least, they were calling my name, mocking me. They even howled as they had done once. Do not leave me here, do not leave me alone, I pleaded with tears pooling in my eyes.

I could tell there was something getting closer to me. I knew I had to run, so I did. My legs moving as fast as they could, but it was not fast enough. After what felt like an eternity, I arrived to the small wood bridge that cross the creek. I stopped there, contemplating the water crashing furiously against the rocks. I began trembling then. My mind was numb by fear. I didn't want to do it, but curiosity drove me to look over the edge, although I already knew what I would find. And there it was, a body, a girl, with blonde hair that was stained by blood; she laid there floating. Her face was white almost gray, and her lips had turned blue. The cold had frozen her. She was thin, her face soft like a doll, and her now empty eyes stared straight into mine. Little snowflakes fell over both of us. The first storm of the season, I thought.

I suddenly heard the rumbling of leaves to my right, and when I looked in that direction, I saw The Seven standing there, all dressed in black, staring at me coldly, with each second there was nothing but hate drawn in their faces, they blame me.

I didn't do it, I said, I swear I didn't.

I had woken up from that dream sweating and terrified. And the nightmare hadn't left my mind in days, coming back spontaneously, like now as I was staring out the window of the library with a view of the yard of the Institute that was beginning to be covered by snow.

-Soph!- called me Amelie- Are you even listening to me?-

-I'm sorry- I apologized trying to concentrate on her.

-Doesn't matter- shrugged the blue-eyed girl- Anyways...how did you do in your epidemiology test? –

-Honestly, I would be surprised to pass it- I sighed tiredly.

A week and a half had passed since we came back from the cabin, a week and a half since I had that nightmare, the same night that Zian had made a disaster in the living room. The next morning, I had woken up to a headache and also a perfectly clean house. Nox, with probably some of the others help, had left the place intact, as if nothing had happened; and the whole day they had acted as if everything was normal, no one mentioned anything, however, everybody kept a little to themselves, which I had thanked enormously. Everything about that night had been replaying in my head, I was always somehow in an alert-tensed mode, barely able to concentrate on studying.

-Are you ready for the big game tonight ladies? –questioned Elio appearing next to us.

-Huh? - I muttered confused.

-That's what I was trying to tell you Soph- added Amelie slightly annoyed- Today the boys play the basketball final, did you forget? –

Realization settled in, they had been talking about that for a month. Everybody was super hyped by the tournament; it was sort of what marked the grand finale of the semester, played on the last school day before the winter break against the school's "lifelong enemies". It was a Thursday, and the next morning everybody was heading home; situation I feared profoundly.

-Oh- I muttered- I'm sorry-

-It's alright, we've all had a lot going on with finals- comforted me Elio- But tonight after we crush those guys from Midgard, we will throw the biggest party of all time, we must set the bar high-

-True...-I said softly, as I felt a sort of bittersweet feeling- This is your last game-

The boys were graduating the next semester, and by February when classes resumed, basketball season would be over. I had attended most of their games with the girls. At the beginning I hadn't understood a single thing, but I always had fun, and by the end of each game I was completely proud of them. They were ferocious out in the court, and I was sure, that night wouldn't be the exception.