I n d o м ι т a в l e

(3)

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"Fear isn't so difficult to understand. After all, weren't we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It's just a different wolf. This fright complex is rooted in every individual."

― Alfred Hitchcock

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{Chapter: 3}

Unedited ✖

{ A S P E N M O N T G O M E R Y }

I don't wake up to any sort of noise, like you would expect. I wake up to silence, a serene calmness blanketing me in peacefulness. In my sleepy state I don't recognize where I am, nor do I bother to open my eyes and find out. Deep fatigue traps my body in a half-awake half-asleep condition, my brain barely registering the slight roughness beneath my body.

I dimply notice the large amount of heat wrapped around me, a softness rubbing against my back. Whatever it is seems to heat up my whole body and seeming to be much bigger than I, whatever it is.

I push myself backwards and further towards the source of pleasant warmth. The warmness seems to shift, rubbing up against me slightly sending electricity currents through my body and causing my toes to curl. A blissful sigh escapes my lips.

The feeling is highly enjoyable and I relish in the feeling of the strange softness that begins grazing my cheek. Still in my trance-like state, I shove away the thought that I could potentially be in danger by whatever - or whoever is touching me, inhaling a large breath of air. A heavenly scent floats up my nostrils and causes my nerves to spaz out in oddly pleasant ways.

I can't pinpoint exactly what the fragrance is, my only excuse for sniffing the air like a dog is that it's too enticing to resist. I can't seem to gulp in enough of the amazing smell, an earthy and woodsy tint to it.

I can feel myself slowly start to wake up, my body no longer influenced by tiredness. I wiggle my fingers a little but my eyes stay closed. My brows furrow as the heat slowly begins to disappear, a coldness washing over me and a pout hovering over my lips. The delicious smell, although not as strong, still hovers in the air, seeming to stick to me.

My hair blows over my shoulders as a gust of wind hits my me, a shiver racking my body. I hear soft footsteps walking in the direction opposite of me. I force my eyelids to open, blurrily revealing a small patch of leaves, but out of the corner of my eye I catch a short glimpse of movement before everything stills.

I squint my eyes into focus. I yawn and rub my eyelids, forcing myself in an upright position. I take a look around myself and realize I'd slept all night in the forest causing another wave of confusion to wash over me. The sun has barely just risen, glaring at me from over the tree tops. I frown as my memories haven't quite caught up to me yet, but once they do the color instantly drains from my face.

The woods, the paw print, the huge wolf-like creature, the man...

I frantically begin looking around myself, the strange presence all about forgotten from my thoughts as my nerves begin spazzing out in a completely different way. My eyes catch site of my injured hand and a gasp leaves my lips. The cuts are not as deep as they'd felt but still ach profoundly, starting from above my wrist and ending jut above my fingers, although I still see a few marks on a couple of my fingers. I flex my wrist, inhaling sharply when a bolt of pain radiates up the length of my arm.