The House Of Hellfire

Chapter 3 - Taco Tuesday

Somewhere in the depth of the night, where the forest meets the field, nature grows restless.
The night birds that usually occupy the area have long since taken flight.

There upon the forest floor, the very earth begins to churn, as if being stirred by an unseen hand.
Black tendrils snake upwards, like a warped and twisted version of a botany time lapse.
Soon they crawl serpentine across the ground, pulling.

The very earth they caused to churn, begins to groan as the ground is being split asunder, covered by a milky flesh-like membrane, backed by a faint glow.

Once the black vines stop rending the earth, the glow grows from ember like to that of blood red light.
A shadow on the other side peers at the membrane.

Reaching out to touch it.
Stretching it.

Until finally it breaks through, and a large hairless clawed paw reaches through, digging into the earth of the other side pulling itself up.

***

Eddie's eyes slowly fluttered open, to be met with the warm light of morning. He stared up at a somewhat unfamiliar ceiling, blinking away the sleepiness and confusion.

It didn't take long for the previous day's events to come flooding back to him, coupled with the fact that Iris's warm body lay sound asleep on top of him.

He almost hated to admit that it was the best night's sleep he'd gotten in forever.
Yes, he had woken up from the horrific nightmare, but apparently just talking with her had put him at ease enough that he didn't have anymore for the rest of the night.

How late into the night had they talked?
3 am? 4am? He honestly couldn't remember.

He did however remember falling asleep at some point, and waking up with her snuggled against him.
And his sleep addled brain made the executive decision to pull her back down with him to sleep.
A decision that he now hoped wasn't a total screw up on his part, and he prayed she wouldn't freak out when she wakes up.

He watched the steady rise and fall of her back, as he realized he hadn't moved an inch since last night. 
Iris laid on top of his right side, her head on his chest with her arm wrapped around his waist, and her legs tangled with his.
His right hand rested in the small of her back, with his left resting on her shoulder.

Eddie slowly and gently pulled his arm out from between her and the couch, flexing it slightly to relieve the numbness.
He couldn't remember the last time that he slept with someone.
Actually slept with, that is.
The slight movement caused Iris to shift.
He quickly halted all movement and snapped his eyes shut, while internally arguing with himself.

Pretending to be asleep? He thought, Seriously Munson?

She let out a deep sigh, then stilled, breathing returning to what it had been.
He slowly opened one eye to see that she was still sleeping deeply.
She had moved her head up from his chest to his shoulder, tilted upwards allowing Eddie an unobstructed view of her face.

Jesus Christ, so she's pretty. He thought to himself, feeling a swarm of butterflies begin to stir in his stomach.
Which was somewhat aggravating to him, since he considered himself much too old and cynical to get butterflies.

Yet here he was, seemingly mesmerized by the face of a sleeping girl, mere inches from his.

He took in the way her eyelashes rested on her cheek, and the way her flushed pink lips parted slightly in her sleep. A tendril of her light brown hair fell over her face, and Eddie's ringed hand moved before his brain could catch up. He very gently brushed the strand with his middle finger back behind her ear.