The Hidden World

Before

*10 Year Old Autumn's P.O.V*
"ASHLYNN!!!! YOU LITTLE BITCH!!! GET YOUR FAT ASS OVER HERE NOW!!!!!!" I heard my dad yell to me in a drunken rage from the front door.

I was outside by the road playing with a stray dog, which I had recently named Max, that came to visit me every week or so.

I turned my head towards the house and watched my father throw a beer bottle down on the porch in anger.

I was afraid, yes, but I was so used to this that it hardly effected me anymore. And he hated it.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!!! DON'T JUST SIT THERE LOOKING AT ME LIKE YOU'RE RETARDED!!!! GET OFF YOUR ASS AND COME HERE NOW!!!!!" He shouted again. I looked down the road in both directions.

People were looking out windows and opening doors to see what was going on.

I looked back toward the porch where my dad was now stomping off the ramp towards me.

I stood up and braced myself for a punch, slap, kick, anything. I watched as he got closer and closer to me. I heard Max growl from behind me.

Max knew that my dad was going to hurt me. I talked to him about it all the time. I showed him the scars, recent cuts, and bruises (old and new) when ever there were some and he wanted to see how bad they were.

Max got in front of me protectively when my dad was at least a foot away from me.

My dad stopped. He was drunk out of his mind, yes, but he wasn't completely unaware of how badly a stray dog slightly taller than he was (When Max was standing on his two back legs) could hurt him.

My dad looked between me and Max. I could tell that he didn't care if Max was there or not. He was going to get ahold of me somehow.

I met his eyes, finally, after building up enough courage to do so. I found that he had already been glaring daggers at me.

Max, still growling at my dad, backed up a bit until he was literally up against the front of my legs.

'What is he planning? Read his mind and tell me so that I know when I need to attack.' Max spoke to me.

I didn't even nod to indicate that I would do it because he already knew that I would.

I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed with my mind. I heard a bunch of different peoples minds but I focused on my dad's and tuned the rest of them out so I could hear only what he was thinking of doing.

'He says I'm a little bitch for having a guard dog. He says he should have that dog to attack me when I don't do what he says. He should be beating me within an inch of my life right now for not listening the first time he called my name. He was scared of that stray dog attacking him though. He didn't know what to do other than just give his best shot at grabbing me and running or beating me right then and there. That's what he'd do. Yeah. It's just a dog, how hard can it be to kick him off to the side and get me.' I heard his thoughts speak loud and clear.

I told Max what I heard and his growling increased. He snapped at my dad's leg whenever my dad would move even the slightest bit closer towards me.

"ALRIGHT! THAT'S IT!!!! I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU AND THIS DUMB ASS DOG OF YOURS!!!!!" My dad yelled at me in a fit of rage.

He ran at me.

Max barked and jumped at my dad while he was running to me.

My dad managed to throw Max into a tree off to the side, which he hit with a yelp and a thud.

I started to run for Max, calling his name, trying to see if he was okay, but I wasn't even able to get four feet away from my spot.

My dad grabbed a fist full of my hair and yanked me back. I cried out in pain and fell backwards into him.

He pushed me off of him and to the ground.

He turned me over to where my back was now on the ground instead of my stomach.

He punched me across the face over and over again. I tried to block my face but my hands were ripped away harshly.

My dad grabbed a fist full of my hair again and slammed my head into the ground over and over until he abruptly stopped and yelled out in pain.

He turned and I looked after him through the already swollen skin around my left eye and my puffed up, split open lip.

Max had bitten my dad on the back of his calf and was pulling him off of me.

My dad tried to shake Max off but Max only bit down harder, causing my dad to yell out in pain again.

I pulled my legs up from under my dad and kicked him straight in his no no area.

He yelled again and put his hand over that part and fell down, with me having just enough time to get away from him so that he wouldn't fall on me.

Max had torn the back of his calf off and was now proceeding to do the same to the other so that my dad couldn't follow us while we ran. But I yelled for Max to stop and just come on.

He did as I said and we ran down the street. But I saw that everyone up and down the street had seen everything that just happened.

I stopped and quickly looked at everyone and cleared their memory of ever seeing the scene that had unfolded before them.

My dad was up and limping towards me, but nobody was able to register or actually 'see' it because their memories were still being swiped.

"Max, come on! Let's just go! Leave him here!!!" I yelled as I tried to pull him with me down the road.

Max had stopped and turned to face my dad when he heard him limping towards me.

I turned Max's face to look into my eyes and we made complete eye contact.

"We have to go. He won't be able to catch up to us. Just come on and we won't have to worry about him." I spoke softly, but sternly to him.

He nodded his head to me and then turned back to my dad for a split second to growl at him for the last time, then he turned with me and we ran down the road and to my friend Alison's house.

I hadn't realized it, but I was crying. Silent tears were falling rapidly down my cheeks and onto the paved road below as Max and I ran.

I tried to blink away all of the tears, but it didn't help. My vision was just re blurred in a matter of seconds.

We made it to Alison's house and ran around back to her bedroom window. I knocked on it with the secret knock we used to tell that it's us.

I was sniffling and clearing away my tears when she opened the window and looked at me. She went wide eyed and pulled me through the window and onto the bed faster than I had ever imagined possible.

I tried to explain through my tears what had happened, but in the end, I just sat there sniffling and sobbing, saying unintelligible words.

I pointed at Max, who was outside the window just watching and waiting to see if he would get permission to come in.

Ellen looked at me as if asking if I wanted him inside with me and I nodded as I leaned on her for support.

She nodded to Max and he hopped through the window and climbed up beside me onto the bed.

I pet him and then laid down on him instead of Alison so that she could get up and shut the window. I cried onto Max's fur and he laid close to me, comforting me as best as he could. Alison curled up at the head of the bed in a blanket with our favorite book.

She started to read out loud a few tails from the book, which was The Brothers Grim, and slowly I started to calm down.

I laid, cuddled up beside Max, and soon felt myself getting pulled into a deep, dark, dreamless slumber.

I watched Alison get up and put a blanket over me before I finally fell asleep.