Mountain Air

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The air is still. Nothing in the forest moves. Silence wraps itself around me like a thick blanket.

My breath comes out slowly and I see it swirl up and into the tree covered sky.

I am relaxed. The forest calms me.

Wait, the forest? Where's my bedroom? My house?

I don't know how I got here. I turn in a circle, gazing at the darkly lit evergreens. Nothing. No civilization. How did I get here? I'm in the middle of the woods. I look down. My feet are bare. I start to feel the cold seep into me, into my bones. Shivers rack my body.

A twig snaps. My head whips up. My shoulders tighten. The muscles coil.

Out of the shadows walks a person. I don't recognize their form. "Hello?" I call to the stranger. They give no response but come to a standstill near a mighty pine a stone's throw away from me.

My heartbeat picks up. I wring my hands. "Excuse me? Could you possibly help me out?"

The person's head turns toward me. They have no face. My heartbeat is off the charts now. I step back abruptly and my breathing is labored.

A howl rips through the wilderness surrounding me.

The person whispers, "they're coming."

The silence is completely broken. Growls, the sound of paws on underbrush, snarls, swiftly moving animals - it's all coming closer.

I stand still as a statue for a second before taking off. I feel an indescribable need to run away, fast, as far as I can, as quickly as my legs will carry me. I don't want them to get me. I can't let them get to me!

I run and run but before long I can feel their presence. They've surrounded me. But I can't give up. They can't get to me. I can't allow it!

I run faster. I feel the breath of a beast on my back.

Something lands on me.

No!

I'm consumed by darkness. The animals won't get off of me. I fight for air. I fight for my life. I scream until I cannot scream anymore. Until my throat is hoarse. The darkness never leaves. The beasts lay upon me. They constrict me. I am surrounded. I am trapped and I cannot get out. The tears fall. Panic sets in. I claw the beasts on top of me in a desperate attempt for air. They beleaguer me and I begin to give up.

A growl like no other sounds through the dark. The creatures get off me. I lay there, on the forest floor, my clothes in shreds, my head throbbing from hair being pulled from my scalp, my skin cut up, and tears streaming down my face. A beast, bigger than any of the others, comes up to me. The rest have left. They have left me broken. This one, this black monster, bows its head to me with its eyes closed tight, and lays beside me. I am ridged. I suck in a stunned breath and the creature opens its eyes.

Green. Green eyes.

And that's when I wake up, covered in sweat and tears, with my bedroom window wide open.

My alarm clock is blaring at me, telling me it's time to get up, that I only have half an hour before school starts. I lay still for a few minutes, taking in my dream. That was the third one this week, the tenth in total. Since school has begun my dreams have gotten more intense. I don't know why.

After calming my heart, I get up and turn off my alarm clock. Then I proceed to close my bedroom window, which I don't remember opening, and hop in the shower with a hope that the hot water alleviates my physical and mental stress.