Secret Society

The truth

My eyes flew wide open with fright, though I was so exhausted and muddled that I was not yet positive whether I was awake or asleep. Someone was looking at me, I'm positive of that. Confused and clumsy with sleep, I stumbled out of bed, blinking the lingering tears from my eyes. A huge, dark shape was standing right in front of me, I staggered back, terrified, my throat closing around a scream. I knew it! I choked back the building scream. I would have to keep quiet through this, I will not give up without a fight. I'm ready to launch my fingers to the one in front of me when ...

" Ouch! Damn it! Janna, stop that! " a familiar husky voice said from the dark and jumped through the window to escaped from me.

I needed two seconds to shake off the horror before I could move, but then I hurried to switch on the lights to see who it was.

" What are you doing here? " I gasped. 

Shane was clinging precariously to the top of the spruce that grew in the middle of my dad's little front yard. His weight had bowed the tree toward the house and he now swung -- his legs dangling twenty feet above the ground --- not a yard away from me. The thin branches at the tip of the tree scraped against the side of the house with a grating squeal. 

" I'm trying to " -- he huffed, shifting his weight as the treetop bounced him --- "protect you."

I blinked my wet blurry eyes, suddenly sure that I was not dreaming. 

" How would you protect me if you'd kill yourself from falling out of our tree?"

He snorted, unamused, swinging his legs to improve his balance. " Get out of the way, " he ordered. 

"What?"

He swung his legs again, backwards and forward, increasing his momentum. I realized what he was trying to do.

"No, Shane!"

But I ducked to the side, because it was too late. With a grunt, he launched himself toward my open window. 

Another scream built in my throat as I waited for him to fall to his death --- or at least maim himself against the wooden siding. To my shock, he swung agilely into my room, landing on the balls of his feet with so much gracefulness that created a soft thud.

A wide grin spread slowly accross his face; he seemed extremely pleased with himself. That was a bit much for me. 

 " Get out! " I hissed, putting as much venom into the whisper as I could.

He blinked, his face going blank with surprise.

" No, " he protested. " I came here to do my duty. "

" I don't accept! "

I tried to shove him back out the window --- after all, if this was a dream, it wouldn't hurt him. It was useless, though. I didn't budge him an inch. I dropped my hands quickly, and stepped away from him.

He was only wearing a shirt, though the air blowing in the window was cold enough to make me shiver, and it made me uncomfortable to have my hands on his chest. His skin was hard and cold, like ice. Like he was sick, but he didn't look sick. He leaned over me, he blacked out the window, tongue-tied by my furious reaction.

" I've been here ever since you started having your weird dreams, I'm the reason why you're having them. And I know what you're dream means in your life. " he told me. 

Suddenly, it was just more than I could handle --- it felt as if all of my sleepless nights were crashing down on me en masse. I was so brutally tired that I thought I might collapse right there on the floor. I swayed unsteadily, and struggled to keep my eyes open.