“Wakey, Wakey,” David said from somewhere above me. Something tickled my cheek and I swatted at it but caught nothing but air. Again the tickle came and I waved both hands above my head and all around just in case I missed the direction he was coming from. Still nothing. I opened an eye and glared at a very cheerful looking David.
He hung over the headboard smiling like an idiot. “You know you’re very close to death right now,” I threatened. His smile grew even wider. A throat was cleared, the sound coming from the opened doorway. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.
“I thought you might like to go for a run,” Ellie said, plopping down next to me on the bed.
“Let me guess, you’re a beasty too?”
Ellie ripped the covers off my head and nodded and showed a perfect set of teeth in what I assumed was supposed to be a really big smile. It looked more like she had gas. “Though I’m not sure I like being referred to as a ‘beasty’,” she said.
“This explains so much. Your freakish running ability, for starters.”
“Mine?” she scoffed. “You know how hard it is to keep up with you without breaking the rules. But just you wait.” She grabbed my hand and yanked me out of bed. “Out!” she said, shooing David. He continued smiling like a fool as he dodged a pinch from Ellie.
“Who are you people and what have you done with my friends?”
“I brought your running bag and some extra clothes from your house. The rest is being brought over today,” she said, ignoring my comment. “The bathroom is over there.” There were two doors on the other end of the giant room I hadn’t noticed before. I’d fallen on the bed the minute Elizabeth left me. I’m not even sure how I ended up under the covers.
Ellie ducked out the bedroom door and left it open. I got up and shut and locked it.
“You’re going to have to get used to open doors,” Ellie yelled through the door. I left it shut and locked and headed for the bathroom. The first door I assumed was a closet and took the second.
The bathroom was nearly as big as my bedroom back home. I peeled open a package that contained a brand new brush and ran it through my hair and pulled it up with one of the many choices of hair ties that were available.
The bathroom was stocked like there had never been a woman in the house and whoever had supplied it wasn’t sure what girls used, so they got at minimum, three of everything. Thankfully they had the same uncertainty when it came to toothbrushes. There was a little monkey adorned childrens toothbrush with the soft bristles. I ripped it open and brushed my teeth with the matching monkey toothpaste.
I could hear Ellie grumbling to someone, presumably David, when I came back into the bedroom. It was nice to have my own clothes. I changed into my running gear and yanked open the door. Ellie stumbled a little but grinned at me, thankfully not showing her teeth this time. I wasn’t sure how much more of their good moods I could take.
“Lead the way,” I said. Ellie obliged, her long legs carrying her away from me more quickly than I’d anticipated. I had to run to catch up. I didn’t want get lost in the maze that was my new home.
There were people everywhere. I was beginning to believe I was living in some kind of mob compound. There were large, muscled men at every turn and occasionally rooms full of computers with people in headsets typing and talking away at them. No matter where we went or who we saw though, everyone stopped and stared as we passed.
YOU ARE READING
A Tail of Stars
FantasyThere is nothing average or ordinary about Casey Miller's life. She has no illusions about that. She's been having visions since she was six. At seventeen these waking dreams have become so intense and overpowering they have put her in danger, lu...
