The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 7

My stomach feels nauseous and I feel like I am about to throw up. I probably would have if I would have eaten anything for lunch today. Alexander pulls me down closer to the ground, "Don't worry, that feeling will only last a minute, I think. It's important that you stay out of sight for now."

I look into his eyes and notice that the jump must have taken a bit out of him also. He picks up on my curiosity and gives me a quick smile before returning his gaze to the back of the house. "How did you..." is all I can spit out as my stomach feels like it wants to lurch. "There's no time to explain it right now, there are going to be a lot of things looking for you, things that you aren't ready to face on your own. So whatever you do, stay out of the house, stay here and stay hidden."

"Things?" I say confused, but before he can answer he's gone. Rather than jumping over the fence, he disappears and then a split second later he reappears on the other side of it making his way toward my house. The sky is beginning to darken which means that it must roughly be five o'clock. In February, the light doesn't last very long, eight hours at most. When the sun does start to set, it happens quickly. Based on where the sun is now, just falling behind the houses, I give maybe twenty minutes left of useable daylight, maybe less.

I can see through the small spaces in the fence that the lights aren't on in my house. If I'm anywhere near correct on the time, maybe dad's just not home yet. Maybe Alexander isn't right. Maybe whatever it is that is after me, doesn't know who I am. I'm still trying to put my money on this being some elaborate hoax or a new dream. There has to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for the lights being out, like dad needed to get groceries, or he's out looking for me because I didn't check in. Both of these seem like feasible answers. Especially when you factor in that I technically left sick but didn't quite make it home. My dad is going to kill me for that. I imagine that as a teenager it's going to be pretty tough for me to explain any of this to him. He'll probably just take it as some stupid teenage story that I am spinning to get myself out of trouble.

I'm very aware that dad is usually home a lot earlier than this, early enough to make me Tuesday night's dinner, homemade pizza. If he was ever late, he always called, just to check in. I can't even do that since Alexander has half my phone in pieces in his pocket, which will make my dad even more angry if I get to see him again.

I curse Alexander silently under my breath and peek through the boards again. I can see him looking carefully through the windows for any sign of life, good or bad. How would he know what my dad looks like?

He gets to the door, tries the knobs and disappears into thin air, materializing inside the house. What a neat trick, I need to ask him about that when I see him next.

The sky is almost completely dark now. I wonder how long I've been waiting, it feels like forever. In the distance traffic passes by as well as the shadows of all kinds of people on their way home from work, one of them has to be my dad. He has to be safe. The people seem to pass completely unaware of me curled up in the darkness of the alley. I start to feel a little ridiculous about this whole situation and my knees are starting to hurt from being crouched down for so long. I let out a sigh and go to stretch my aching legs when I see some movement out of the corner of my eye. Slowly my head turns in the direction of the movement but there appears to be nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was a mind tricks from hunger or just the paranoia I don't see anything. The darkness of the alleyway is swallowing up almost all of the light and the brief light provided by the traffic isn't much help. I squint, hard, to try and make anything out but can't see any better. I contemplate moving but if there was someone out there, they would surely hear me. Just then, there is a noise from the darkness in the direction of where I saw the moving. It's not a pleasant noise. It sounds like something...chewing. There are small grunting noises that accompany it. It almost sounds like something is trying to chew through bone.

I can hear the crunch of whatever lurks in the darkness chewing and I begin to feel eyes on me. This feeling makes my heart skip a beat and I can feel the palms of my hands getting a bit clammy. Where is Alexander?

I adjust myself in my spot and my foot accidently kicks my neighbor's smoking can. He likes to keep a smoking can out here to try and fool his wife into thinking he doesn't smoke. She's no fool though. The can clumsily rolls down the asphalt before coming to a rest in the middle of the alley. Whatever the dark figure is, it definitely heard it. Not only did it hear it, but it seemed to be attracted to it rather than frightened by it. Whatever noises it was making have ceased and it seems to have zeroed in on the can. My heart begins to race as the figure, stands up and begins to make its way toward me. It moves slowly but with purpose, almost as if it is taking in the entire scene to ensure that nothing is overlooked. I am paralyzed with fear watching the figure move ever closer. I have never been in trouble before and my body is having a hard time adapting. My brain is telling my legs to get up and run but they refuse to do so. I am trapped. Whatever this thing is, it will find me. "Things" I think to myself. Maybe this was what Alexander was talking about.

I curl my body up as tightly as I can into a ball hoping that I will be small enough to remain in the shadows as this 'thing' inches toward me. It's now about fifteen feet away and it looks huge. I cannot make out any specific details of it because of the darkness but from my vantage point it looks like it could be almost seven feet tall. I don't think it's human. It doesn't move the way a normal human would move. It's jerky and erratic, almost like it is struggling to control its own body. I hope that whatever this is, if it is trying to kill me will make it quick. I wonder what will be worse, dying or waiting to die? This whole waiting to die thing is torture!

It only needs to take a couple more steps and it will expose itself to the dim light coming from the porch of neighboring houses. I will hopefully be able to catch a glimpse of what is lumbering toward me before it stumbles upon me. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I can feel tremors beneath me as it takes each step closer to my makeshift hide-out.

The cars drive by unaware of what is going to happen to me. I wonder when they will find me, if ever and if they do what the condition of my body will be. I wish more than ever that a car would turn into the alley, even if it buys me a few more minutes of breath. Maybe by some miracle, it will overlook me or this is all just a figment of my over-imagination.

I squint in the darkness at the figure trying to determine my next course of action but that decision is made for me when I feel a hand slide over my mouth and grip tightly.