Skin

Chapter 7

I can't believe I passed out, I thought when I woke to huge headache pounding the back of my head. Feeling the warmth of a fire crackling, I opened my eyes. I could remember everything which I wish I didn't. Just thinking about a bloody arm flying across my face made me what to throw up my lunch and what ever I had the day before. What the hell is going on?

What a stupid question. I knew well, that I was and is in a book. I'm trapped. As soon as I get out of here, I'm going to kill Mr. Heller and quit my job. That is if I don't die! Oh, god what am I going to do. I didn't sign up for this, this is not even in my contract for god sakes.

My head hurts, I wined to myself. Shaking my head I let my eye drift towards the ceiling of... the cave. I'm in a cave, I wined again. There are bugs, please don't be giant bugs please god don't be any. I should have made a will.

Dear mom and Logan,

I love you both so much. I give you all I have. All my money will go to mom's bill and the bills to the apartment. All my things, please Logan sell them so you can have money for college. I'm sorry I don't have much but please know that I'm in a better place now.

Love, Barbara.

I lowered my head in defeat. I give up. This stuff never happens in real life and look at me. I made the impossible, possible. With a red leather book.

Glaring at the fire I felt like I was waiting for deaths door to show up. Why did Mr. Heller give me the red leather book? Did he know that this would happen? Real emotion, real passion, and real sorrow. Was this some kind of test to help my writing? To make the story more real?

That's it, I thought lifting my head up with a smile across my face. My boss is a wizard! ...no that's... not right. Okay, okay think. I'm a writer so I think I know how this goes. I just have to play along and get there the book. If this is a romance then the couple would end up being Gwendolyn and the Dark One and since it seems to be an adventure, action, kind of story that means the story ends with Gwendolyn taking her thrown back and stopping the war. Okay I can do this. Doesn't seem all that hard, right.

Who am I kidding?

Inhaling deeply, I exhaled. I glanced over the fire and stared out of the cave. I hear the sound of the wind hitting the trees, the sound of water crashing on rocks and the sound of the forest animals sang. Even though it was dark I could also see little from the bright full moon.

Getting to my feet, I decided to check my body over. My clothes looked untouched but covered in dry blood. This is so gross. How do women in books handle these things? I want to change, take a bath, and take off the bodysuit. Its starting to rub me the wrong way.

Snap!

Huh? Lifting my head so fast I felt my heart skip a beat. My heart was pounding so loudly that I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. This it. Mom, Logan, I'm sorry. But I'll be meeting dad first. Within the shadows, I inhaled as I say two pair of legs show themselves into the light of the fire. Holding my breath I waited for the person to so themselves.

"Your awake," exhaling from relief, I felt my heart ease down.

"It's you," I said placing a hand over my chest.

"So it is." His eyes drifted towards the fire as he made his way to it to sit.

"What happened? Where am I? And why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?" I said spilling out question after question.

"You already know the answer to the first two. As for the last one it was out of pity," he replied without glancing up to me. He pitied me? For some reason I felt really passed off.

"Ha," I said with a smile looking away from him. "That's funny. They Dark One feels pity. What a surprise?"

"There is a lot that you witches don't know about our kind," he said glaring at me making me jerk back. "Just like how we know nothing about you. So, tell me, who are you?"

"What?" I did a nervous laugh. "What are you talking about? You know who I am, I'm Queen Gwendolyn."

He got up and walked towards me as I backed up hitting the wall of the cave with my back. He then slammed a side fist over my head and leaned in. I could feel the heat of his body against mine. The feel of his breath against my neck made my blood rush to my cheeks. Feeling my body stiffen up I felt like I was paralyze. "No you're not," he whispered in my ear making my body shiver by his hot breath. He lowered his head and inhaled, "You smell nothing like her."

My eyes widen by surprise as I pushed him away. I quickly held my burning ear with my one hand. Knowing I was blushing, I gave him a dirty look, not like he could see it. Breathing heavily as if I ran a marathon, "Stay away from me, you jackass."

"You say strange things, like before. Who are you?"

"I told you!" I yelled to embarrassed to look at him.

"I'm not Queen Gwendolyn. This isn't real. None of it is. You're a fictional character someone made up and now I'm stuck in the book." He said emotionless.

Smiling nervously I refused to look at him, "You have a really good memory". Well I screwed up, didn't I?

"Who are you?"

"Like you would believe me," I said glaring up at him.

"You said that last time too."

"Well it's true. Because you think your real, and I know you're not! It makes no difference who I am and if you're real or not. All I know is I have to finish this book while playing the lead role. Only then I can go back home. And when I do I'm going to kill my boss for giving me that god for damn book." I waited for him to say something but he just had a blank stare. "See you don't believe me."

"If what you speck is true then how does this story end?"

I felt some sort of relief when he asked that, "Well I am a writer so if I'm right, it will end when Queen Gwendolyn gets her throne back and stops the war from starting or something like that."

"You have a wild imagination," he said turning away, walking toward the fire.

"See! What I tell you!"

"There is a waterfall, follow the sound of water and take a bath. If you run away I will not chase you."

What's going on? "Your... letting me... go?" I don't understand. I thought the Dark One would want to kill me, or rape me, something between those lines. Taking a side step towards the exit, I hesitated out, watching to see if he was telling the truth. Or if he wanted to play cat and mouse.

Slowly turning away, keeping my eyes on him. I followed the sound of running water. Bath would be okay right. I mean he doesn't seem like the kind of person to brake his word. Nervously I wondered around, mingling my fingers together. Looking from left to right whenever I hear something in the dark I felt scared shitless. I hated the dark, I hated shadows, I hated strange sound not knowing what or who was making them.

The moment I pushed there some bushes I had fell from one other roots that had grown out of the ground. "Damn," I said crawling the rest of my other half out of the bushes. Lifting my head up, I sat on my knees. Amazed I was staring out at the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

The waterfall was not very large but is large. Large stones surrounded the waterfall except for a little walkway. There was a good five to ten feet between the water and the trees that acted like a shield. Stepping towards the waterfall the water looked like it was glowing from the moonlight.

Slowly taking the mask off, I inhaled the fresh water as the cool air hit my face. Figuring out how to take off the bodysuit I was grateful that Queen Gwendolyn's body was well fit looking unlike her sister. Stepping out of the suit I picked it to put it on one of the stone rocks. Something fell out. Landing by my feet, my eyes widened. The red leather book.