Connection

Chapter Eleven: Cliff

—

Chapter Eleven: Cliff

—

Cliff had never heard anything as deafening as the shadow that moved behind him. It screeched so loud it felt as if someone was plunging a knife through his ear. His breaths came in short puffs as he sprinted through the dense forest. Rain poured from the sky, pounding onto Cliff's body and turning the ground beneath him to mud.

Behind him, the monstrous mass of black blundered on, knocking trees and rocks out of the way as if they were nothing. Cliff's heart beat faster as he heard it growing closer to him.

Suddenly a steep hill appeared out of nowhere and Cliff tripped. He slammed into the ground and slid down the hill, his clothes becoming heavier as the mud clung to them.

The shadow was close now—only a few feet away. As Cliff hit the ground at the bottom, he pushed himself up immediately and sprinted again, squirming through the trees as best he could. But there was no hope to outrun whatever was chasing him.

Only two more steps until it caught him.

Just one more step . . .

A scream erupted from Cliff's mouth as the shadow enveloped him. Everything was icy cold. All he could see was darkness. A searing pain exploded from his right arm. A voice was shouting his name.

Then, the picture dissolved.

Breathing heavily, Cliff awoke to a throbbing arm. He yanked it toward him with a yelp to see a pinch mark where Jean's long, black nails had dug into his forearm.

"What was that for? Why are you guys here?" he asked grumpily, rubbing his arm and looking between Adam and Jean.

"'Member that thing they set up once in the field? Had those cool rides and stuff?" Adam questioned.

"Yeah, kind of," Cliff responded, vaguely remembering his fourteen year old self, sitting in a large teacup alit with fire as it hurtled through a course.

"Well, they set it up again!" Jean exclaimed, glee pouring from her gleaming eyes and large smile.

"Really?" Cliff questioned. He could hardly believe his eyes when both Jean and Adam nodded. The community so rarely had things for the sole purpose of entertainment that it was treated like a holiday. Until it disappeared, the Preceptors often let the students out of school early, and should it be a day without school, the entirety of Mallowkeep could be found there.

"Let's go!" Jean shouted, grabbing Cliff and pulling his torso out of bed. He groaned as she yanked the rest of the sheets off of him.

"Go? What time is it?"

"Six in the mornin'," Adam said. Cliff groaned again. "And if ya move we can 'ave some time there before school."

"Okay, just get out for a second," Cliff said, rolling off his bed into a standing position.

"Are you talking to someone?" Cliff heard his mother's voice call from down the hallway as Adam and Jean moved out of the room. She was moving toward his door faster than he'd seen her move in a long time. She tread with light feet, but it didn't slow her. Her eyes were darting back and forth crazily.

"It's just us, Sylvia," Jean answered, raising her hands in surrender as her and Adam left Cliff to his own devices.

Moving over to his desk, he pulled out the sheet of paper which he'd begun writing everything that could be important on. What Tony had said to him was scrawled under the information of his first dream and a reminder to look into the protection of Charlotte's house.