Lofty trees enclose around me. It's dark. The moon is an orb that makes the mountains look like rolling shadows and the snow is a sheet of crystal. A light radiates brightly in the distance as I hike through the forest, heading deeper into the trees, moving for it, my mind begging me to get closer.
As I step through the last of the bushes and out into the open, the light glows resolutely, like the stars above my head. I want to touch it–need to touch it.
"Don't touch it," a deep voice that I know very well rises over my shoulder.
I turn around to face it. "Why not?"
He's resting against a tree with his arms folded and he's dressed in dark jeans and a long-sleeve, black shirt. The radiance of the moon illuminates his face, making his eyes sparkle. "Because you don't want to. Trust me."
"You're standing out in the middle of the woods at night," I reply. "That doesn't scream trustworthy."
An amused smile tugs at his lips as he stands up straight. "I followed you out here." He walks toward me, narrowing the gap between us. "I thought I told you to wait inside the house."
I glance behind me at the light in the center of the snow, which has faded into a weak glimmer. "What is that?" Right as I say it, the light suffocates out.
Alex stops inches away from me and the warmth of his breath brushes my chilled cheeks. "Gemma, you shouldn't be wandering around out in the woods by yourself. It's dangerous." He leans in a little as he says it and our lips almost touch.
"It's just a forest," I say, breathless, and then joke, "I'm pretty sure all the bears are in hibernation."
He lets out a soft laugh. "That's not what I'm talking about." He places a hand on my upper arm and lets out a sigh. "We should go back to the house."
I move forward and graze my lips across his. "What if I don't want to?"
The connection of our mouths causes a zap of static to erupt and I let out a soft moan. His body tenses, but his warm tongue willingly enters my mouth. He tastes like mint and it melts me on the inside as his hands slip up the sides of my neck to my cheeks and then up to my hair. He pulls at the roots, tipping my head back so he can search my mouth more thoroughly.
"You feel so good," he murmurs against my lips as his hands slide around to my back and he pulls me closer. "So fucking good."
His words make me want to rip his clothes off. I feel around until I find the bottom of his shirt and then I sneak my hand underneath it, feeling his cold, but soft, skin, and his sculpted muscles.
"Fuck! Your hands are cold." He inhales a sharp breath, his muscles tensing, and then he lets out a low laugh that sounds very close to a growl. Suddenly he jerks back and his eyes dart over my shoulder. "Run."
"What?' I say, but he's shoving me forward, back toward the house that's on the other side of the trees.
I stumble backwards as groups and groups of soaring figures ascend from the trees. They're everywhere, their eyes reflecting against the snow and the ice like fireflies.
Alex's arm snakes around me and he guides me behind him. "No matter what happens, make sure you run." Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a knife and poises it out in front of him.
"What are you going to do—"
Before I can finish, he runs at them with the knife out. One steps forward, while the others open their mouths. The pale glow of the moon lights up the swirls and lines of their breaths as it fogs and laces around us like smoke. I duck to the ground as a cloud of it heads toward my face and envelops my body. An arctic chill sucks the breath from my lungs as I sink into the snow, no longer in control of my body.
I'm so cold and I can't breathe.
The last thing I see is Alex's body sinking lifelessly into the snow, then screeches envelop around me as a blanket of ice encircles my body, crushing my skin into my bones.
I'm dying, being smothered by the cold, and Alex is already dead.
I open my mouth and with every ounce of pain I'm feeling, I force out a scream that cuts through the night like a jagged blade.
I bolt upright in my bed, screaming at the top of my lungs and clutching at my blanket. Sweat drips from my forehead and trickles down my neck as my heart threatens to leap out of my chest. My gaze zips forward at a barrage of blinking eyes surrounding my room. They're everywhere, so blinding I can't tell where they're coming from. The air is cold and I can feel a breeze engulfing my body.
I jump up, flailing my arms as I trip toward the door, but by the time I reach it, the yellow eyes are gone. All that's there is the emptiness of my room and the darkness outside. I hurry over to the window, daring a peek at the parking lot outside. Most of the parking spots are filled and the lights on the carports are on. I can't see anything; no yellow eyes... no monsters...
I flip the lights on and press my hand to my heart as I slide to the floor. I feel defeated and alone as I take in my limited surroundings; the single nightstand with a simple lamp and my empty bed where no one else has ever been.
Empty. It's the one word that sums up my life.
Gripping on to the last of my will, I push myself to my feet. I need to try and get some answers; maybe then things will be a little easier. Heading out to the kitchen, I turn on the coffeemaker and then drop down at the computer desk in the corner of the dining room and open my laptop. I type in 'realistic, reoccurring dreams.' Links about physics pop up.
Even though it seems crazy, I click on a link and begin to read the article. "Reoccurring and very vivid dreams may be the window into future events that are going to happen. Or, some people believe that it may be a surfacing memory that a person has repressed as a coping mechanism."
Are my dreams either of these things? Have they happened and I just can't remember? Or are they going to happen? Sighing, I shut down the computer and get dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. I pull on a coat, slip on my boots and then pour coffee into a stainless steel mug before heading out the door; feeling exhausted and emotionally drained.
I've been dreaming about the monsters for two months and I'm worn out. I just want a break from the images, and the feelings they manifest. It would be nice to maybe get an explanation, too.
I feel hung over and it's my busy day, too; three classes and work. I'm sitting in Astronomy, half-alive with my eyes shut, an elbow propped against the table with my head resting against my palm. I'm just about to fall asleep when someone drops down in the chair beside me. The zap of electricity hits me at almost the same time the person sits and I jump in my seat as my eyes fly open.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Alex sets his book on top of the desk and smiles. "I thought I'd sit by you today, if that's okay?"
I check over my shoulder, making sure there is no one behind me that he might be talking to. "Are you being serious?"
His eyebrows dip together as he shoves up the sleeves of his black shirt. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
I sigh, sitting up straighter. "Because I thought your nice-guy act would be an exclusive, one-time event."
He seals his lips together, stifling a laugh. "Well, it's not. Besides, Aislin isn't here today and usually I cheat off her, so I thought I'd cheat off you instead."
I shake my head as a smile slips through. "Whatever. You know the quizzes in this class aren't multiple choice. There are questions that you have to answer in your own words."
"I'll just change a few words. No biggie." He raises his hips to take out his phone from his pocket as it begins ringing with "Save me" by Unwritten Law as the ring tone. He checks the screen and then presses the side button until it shuts off before returning it to his pocket. "So how's your day going?"
"Fine, I guess." He's being normal and it's weird. Maybe he suffers from a mental illness too, because he is about as bi-polar as I am.
"You seem unsure." He slants his head toward me, grinning. "I thought that was a pretty simple question?"
"It was," I say, unzipping my jacket as the heat amid us intensifies. "I'm just a little out of it."
"Tired?"
"Yeah, kind of."
It becomes quiet and I find myself wishing we'd go back to arguing, just so I don't have to endure the silence.
"Wasn't class supposed to start like five minutes ago?" Twisting his wrist, he glances at his watch.
Kinking my neck, I confirm the time on the wall clock behind me. "Yeah, but Professor Sterling is generally fashionably late."
Alex stares at the doorway as he deliberates something. "I say, if he's not here in five minutes, we skip out and go do something else. I need a break anyway. We could go on a short-lived road trip."
I start opening my notebook, but pause. "You want to skip out on class? With me?"
He shrugs, his gaze situating on me. "Yeah, why not?"
I shrug coolly, but, on the inside, I'm a nervous wreck. "Because you'd be with me."
He looks a little bit guilty. "That doesn't sound so bad. Think about it. You, me, coffee and an endless amount of road."
I attempt to read him, but he's a book full of blank pages. "Where would we go?"
He holds my gaze forcefully. "Where do you want to go?"
The possibilities are infinite and my mind begins to conjure up all kinds of ideas. "How about the beach? I've always wondered what the ocean looks like and how the sand would feel between my toes."
He rubs his lips together, thoughtfully. "It feels nice." A dark smile breaks through. "Especially, when you're at a nudist beach and you can be completely naked."
Something heats from inside, like I'm beginning to get embarrassed, so I say the only thing I can think of. "Yeah, but what happens when sand gets lodged in uncomfortable places."
He snorts a laugh and smiles. It's a real smile, too. One that doesn't convey heaviness beneath it. "Good point." He pauses. "So you've really never been to the ocean?"
I shake my head. "I've never left Wyoming. At least, I don't think I have. I might have when I was a baby and still lived with my parents, before they died, but I..." I realize I'm rambling.
The guilt in his eyes magnifies. "What happened to your parents?"
My shoulders stiffen as the heaviness of the topic falls against my chest and crushes the oxygen out of me. I can barely breathe—barely think. "They died in a car accident."
Frowning, he looks down at his watch again. "Who did you live with while you were growing up?"
I reply with as minimal disdain as possible. "My grandparents."
There's a hint of compassion on his face. "You don't like them?"
I focus on the front of the classroom, wishing he'd stop talking about the subject because it feels like a knife being plunged into my heart. "No, they're fine."
He examines my face with disbelief. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
I open my book and fan through the pages to distract myself from the pain. "It's fine."
His eyes explore my face, my eyes, my hands; like he's trying to unravel my thoughts. Eventually, he relaxes and his mouth curves upward into a playful smile. "Should we go?"
Outside the window is a layer of white snow, covering the grass and parking lot. It looks like a winter-wonderland out of some fairy tale; a kingdom made of ice and snowflakes. "You seriously want to go on a road trip with me?"
He verifies it with a nod. "I seriously want to go on a road trip with you."
My heart pounds inside my chest, enthusiastic and willing. There's a pause. We turn heads, lock eyes, then start to rise to our feet, but Professor Sterling chooses that moment to come whisking in with a handful of tests.
Alex's mouth curves into a lopsided grin. "Guess I'll have to take a rain check."
"I guess so." Sighing, I lower back into the chair.
Professor Sterling has a briefcase in his hand, as well as the tests, and he sets everything on the podium in front of the classroom. He looks a little off today; his suit is wrinkled, his face is unshaved and his hair is a little shaggy. He appears grungy as if he's travelled back through time to the 90's. He stares at the whiteboard for the longest time, with his arms crossed and his chin propped on his fist. When he turns around, his eyes scan the classroom. It doesn't seem like he's even looking at us; more like he's looking through us, as if we are nothing more than transparent statues.
"Today, I'm going to tell you a little story." He walks up to the board and picks up a marker. The tip squeaks as he draws several lines across the board and then puts the cap on, before returning the marker to its place on the tray. "About a fallen star."
I exchange a glance with Alex and he smiles, elevating his eyebrows. "I think someone's had a little bit too much to drink today."
"I don't think he drinks," I say, staring at the picture on the board. It's drawn in blue with lines that shoot out from the end of a very sloppily drawn star.
Alex leans over the desk toward me. "Trust me; he does. I smelt it on his breath one day."
I nod, but pick up my pen and take notes anyway.
Professor Sterling paces the front of the classroom with his hands behind his back. "There's a legend that a very long time ago a meteorite fell from the sky and landed up in the mountains that surround this valley."
People in the classroom glance around at one another and an eerie calm sets in, as if we all agree that he's snapped. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, however, since I know what it is like to potentially be crazy. Plus, there is something about what he's saying that strikes a nerve and a vibration of a memory whispers a story I can't remember the words to.
He strolls behind the podium and I swear his gaze loiters on me as he takes in everyone. He picks up a marker and climbs up in the stool behind the podium. "Although, some believe that it wasn't a meteorite, but an actual fallen star."
A hand shoots up in the air and Professor Sterling points the marker at the culprit; a straggly built guy that has very bad acne. "Yes, Philman."
"It's Philip," the guy corrects and slouches forward as he flips the page of his notebook. "And if a star actually hit earth, we'd all be dead,"
Professor Sterling shakes his head as he hops off the stool. "Not if it was a piece of a star. Sometimes, when stars get spinning beyond their normal acceleration speed, pieces break off. Some may be large while others are as tiny as my finger." He strolls up to the board and scribbles jagged lines across the star, making it look like it's broken.
"But, if it hit, wouldn't we all know about it?" a girl from the front row calls out as she fans through the pages of her textbook.
He readdresses his attention back to the class, facing us as he throws the marker onto his desk. "Not if someone hid it before it was discovered."
"But who would do that?" the girl responds and picks up her pen to take notes.
The grin on Professor Sterling's face is haunting and sends a chill up my spine. "Someone who wanted a lot of power."
I'm engrossed in the irrationality of the story. Fallen stars. Power hungry people. It's the making of an interesting novel.
"Maybe, he's high, too." The feel of Alex's breath steals my focus.
I look away from Professor Sterling to Alex and am stunned by how close he is. "I think he's just telling a legend."
"Maybe." He smiles as he reaches over and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. He slides his finger down my cheekbone and jawline before moving it away. There's a slight tremble to his hand, but he plays it off with a cocky smile. "Or maybe, he's just high or drunk."
Touch me again. Please touch me again. I've never been touched like that before, except in my own imagination. I'm hypnotized. Petrified. Controlled. I can't look away from him, even when he reclines back in his chair and concentrates on the front of the classroom while chewing on the end of his pen. I forget about paying attention. I forget about everything for a moment.
We don't talk for the rest of class, but halfway through Professor Sterling's lecture, Alex moves his leg toward me, inching it closer until his knee is resting against mine. The contact is mind-blowing, amazing, and mystifying. I'm not sure if he's done it on purpose or if he is just getting comfortable. Either way, I'm glad.
I'm glad about a lot of things at that moment.
Alex leaves in a hurry when class is over, barely uttering two words to me. I try not to take it personally since the guy is more up and down than I am, but it does bother me. How he'd been acting during class was great and fun and I've wanted both of those things in my life for a while. He takes those things with him the moment he exits the door, though.
I head around the back of the school where my car is parked. I usually park out front, but it was overly crowded today. The snow is coming down hard and I can barely make out the outline of the cars. With my chin tucked down and my hood pulled over my head, I fight my way to where I guess my car is parked.
As I near the back row of the parking lot, I'm overtaken with the strangest feeling that someone is following me. I shift my bag up my arm, telling myself I'm overreacting, but then I hear a whisper. It's feeble at first; however, it grows noisier and more coherent.
"Gemma." A hand grabs my arm and I'm basked in the warmest rays of sunshine that have ever touched the earth. It's magical and makes me feel powerful.
As a warm sensation sails across my skin, my legs give out and I crumple to the ground, hitting the ice hard. As I shoot upright, I don't feel pain, but I'm off-balance. With my hands out to the side of me, I squint through the flurry of snow. In the distance, there's a figure; lofty, with wide-ranging shoulders. It looks an awful lot like the figure I've seen in the alleyway near the front entrance; the one with the glowing yellow eyes. Shit.
I move to run, but a thick fog swims out from behind a car and heads toward me. It's tinged black, like ashy smoke, and it gyrates around me, starting at my feet and working its way to my head. It mixes with the snow that floats up from the ground. I can't see a damn thing, except for the eyes moving toward me.
It can't be real. Things like this only exist in dreams, but, as the temperature plummets, and my skin turns a gruesome shade of blue, I make a decision.
It's time to run like hell.
I drop my bag and whirl around, preparing to run, but I slam into something rock solid. I swiftly back up with my hands out in front of me and panting for air. Through the fog, Alex surfaces, and relief washes over me. He puts his fingers up to his lips, urging me to be quiet as he takes my hand. There's no spark of electricity from the contact this time, and I feel hollow. It feels strange and unnatural, but as he pulls me to the left, I run with him, trusting him completely.
As we near the cars, I glance over my shoulder and search for the monster. The fog has divided and I have a clear view of it. It's more terrifying to look at in real-life. It is excessively tall with rotting skin and purple and black veins. There are bits and pieces of flesh missing, revealing bones and muscles. A black cloak drapes down its body to the icy ground. The fog that conceals the parking lot is streaming from out of its mouth and it makes a hollow noise with each breath. It's terrifying and the fear sears the image of it into my mind like a tattoo I'll never be able to get rid of.
Alex jerks me around a car and we hunker down behind its side. Fog dances around us and the wintry air is like needles to my skin. I begin to shiver and chatter uncontrollably.
"It's going to find us," I say through chattering teeth as I turn to face him.
He doesn't respond and he looks a little out of it.
"Alex," I whisper, waving my hand in front of his face. "We should run. Those things... They... they'll kill us both."
He seems unaffected, stoic and immobile. I wave my hand in front of his face again, but he doesn't blink. What the hell is wrong with him?
I'm about to pinch him to snap him out of his trance when a deafening shriek cripples the air. I jump to my feet as the monster steps out from in front of the car. I spin toward Alex to shout at him to run, but he isn't there. I reel back around, but the monster has vanished, too. It's all gone; the fear, the need to get away. Everything transfers back into place; the fog lifts and my body warms up.
There's a swishing sound and then I'm being pulled back. I'm no longer standing, but lying alone in the middle of the parking lot; my face pressed against the ice, and my cheekbone feels swollen and bruised. I sit up and cup my cheek. There isn't a single speck of fog in sight, no monsters, no Alex. Everything is just as it should be.
Except for my head.
It's like I zoned off in the middle of the day while I was walking and fell down. I'm pretty certain that I'm going to have a bruise. Letting out a massive breath of air, I search between the cars in the parking lot and behind a nearby tree, just to make sure. All seems right in the world. My skin has turned to its normal shade of pale and the memories of what just happened are already drifting away.
How many damn times is this going to happen to me? Maybe it's time to see someone and get my head checked out.
I scoop up my bag, dust off the snow and watch the cars back out of their parking spaces. I'm losing it. I'm really going crazy. Either that, or someone is seriously messing with my head.
