Fantacy Woods

Chapter One Lekcie

For as long as I can remember I have had a timer branded into my skin counting down to 10:13 this morning. I barely slept last night; I watched as the numbers got smaller and smaller. Three hours, forty seven minutes and twelve seconds are all that's remaining of my life.

I can't help but believe that when the numbers are at zero then my life will be over. I am the only person I know that has numbers on their forearms that are counting down. There has never been a person to help me understand them because I'm the only one who can see the numbers. Since I never had anyone to tell me what the numbers meant I made up stories of what they might bring. When I was between the ages of six to ten years old I was convinced that when the numbers had finally reached zero I would meet my true love, my soul mate, my knight in shining armour. Lately though I have been under the impression that with the end of the numbers will be the end of me as well. 

There are things that I wanted to do with my life, I have a bucket list that will remain unfinished. I spent my entire summer break working two jobs saving up for university next year; it's not as if I could tell my dad that I thought I was going to die before I got the chance to go to university. If I told my dad he would send me to a shrink in a heartbeat. But I don't want to die, and if I told my dad he would think I was planning on offing myself. So to keep myself preoccupied and my dad happy, I worked every day of the summer, leaving me no time to think about my impending death. Besides, I got all the gossip about every party from my best friend Dylan. That's how I found out about what Jackson did.

Not wanting to think about my failed relationship I decide that now is the best time to take a shower. I leave my room and make the short walk to the bathroom. I flick on the light switch and it very slowly illuminates the room. The vintage bathtub is a deep crimson which makes the rest of the neutral coloured room look lifeless and dull. I turn the shower on and wait for the water to be the perfect temperature before stepping in. My long, curly, blonde hair is full of static and tickles the middle of my spine so I duck my head under the water. I rush through washing my hair and body because I feel like there is something pulling me. I turn off the water and step out of the tub. My skin is an angry red colour and the mirror is so fogged up that I can't see my heterochromia eyes. Having one blue and one brown eye is not very common, and is one of my favourite features. I quickly wrap my hair and body with towels and head to my room to get dressed. I dry off as quickly as possible and throw on a simple sundress. 

The pulling sensation is getting stronger and is making my body physically ache. It's becoming almost unbearable so I follow what feels like an invisible rope that's pulling me out the door. Before I leave I quickly grab a paper and pen and leave my dad a note saying "Going Out. Don't know when I'll be back. Lekcie". The invisible rope pulls me into the woods behind my house.

After a few minutes of walking I am taken off the familiar, well beaten down grass path that leads to the treehouse that me and my sister built. I haven't been to the treehouse since the day of her funeral. I would love to go back now, but I can't control my own feet anymore. When fallen trees appear in my way it is as if I knew how to get over them, when in reality I had never climbed over a tree with a diameter as wide as I am tall.

An old abandoned building comes into view and the pulling sensation fades to the point where it is almost non-existent. I can feel my feet again and when I look down I see they are covered in dirt and blood. I had forgotten to put shoes on before leaving the house this morning. I go to the building in hopes of  finding a chair so I can rest my feet for a while. I keep walking, determined to reach the very old and rusted building. The walls are crumbling down and there are holes in roof. From a distance you would think it was made out of wood, but close up you can see the walls are made of sheeted metal that is caked in rust. I'm almost too scared to go inside, but with only 1:00:03 left on the ticking time bomb I say "what the hell" and walk inside.

I had to throw my whole body against the rusted door before it opened; there was no handle. The floor was made of cracked concrete and many large support beams stretched up to meet the eighteen foot ceiling. Pools of light illuminate the floor in various shapes and sizes from the many holes in the metal roof. I can't find a chair so instead I sit on the dusty, dirty floor. That is when I notice that my right shoulder is caked in rust from being thrust against the door. As I try to rub off some of the rust I hear a loud creaking coming from above me. When I look up I can see a piece of the metal roof dangling down, barely attached to the rest of the structure. Just as I get up it falls. I try to get out of the way but it hits me in the back of the head. The last thing I see is the outline of a man.