The Mark of Ilman

Chapter 3 - A New Strange

My mind was spinning in confusion. There was this strange feeling I kept getting and my hand would tingle. I tried to ignore it but there was something wrong.

I sat down in my last class of the day. I was terrible at French but it was worth trying to learn another language. The teacher came in and greeted us. The same familiar reply came as a murmur from my mouth but I didn’t care to pay attention. My mind wondered.

My attention drifted and I stared out the window. A slight movement by the shrubs near the parking lot made me jerk a bit. It was a small creature unlike anything I had ever seen. It was small with lumpy, dark brown skin. It crouched like a rabbit by the base of the shrub, nibbling on the wood with it’s long fangs. It had small human hands and legs. It had no ears or nose, but it’s eyes were big and red. Suddenly those eyes turned to look at me. I jumped in my seat as it opened it’s mouth wide, revealing sharp rotted teeth, and snarled.

"Amarie?"

I looked up at my french teacher as she asked me in french if I was okay. The class giggled as I stood there, thinking about how to reply. I just nodded and sat back down, lowering my head, wishing that I could just disappear.

I looked back over at the window and saw that the creature was gone. What in the world was that thing?

I was just about to turn away when several brown bodies salmmed against the window, snarling and snapping at me. I screamed and fell back out of my chair. I didn’t wait for the teacher, I got to my feet and ran out the room just as the last bell rang.

I bursted from the school and headed toward the language class window but there were no brown creatures left to see. I took a deep breath. Maybe I imagined it.

I turned away and started walking. I wasn’t going to take the bus after running out of the class like that. I knew it was dumb and that I’d be in so much trouble when I got home but I didn’t care. There was torment and embarrassment waiting for me on that bus that I might never live down and I wasn’t willing to take it.

My legs pumped fast down the sidewalk. I took deep breaths to try and calm myself. It wasn’t long till I started seeing other creatures too. The brown lumpy creatures lurched around the bushes and trees while more animalistic creatures with razor claws, dripping mouths, and deformed limbs limped after me. I picked up my pace and walked after.

What was going on? What are these creatures?

I felt my body start to fall before I realized a new creature had crawled in my path. I stumbled but found my ground again. I turned to look at what creature had tried to trip me and I felt my body lurch in revolt at the gaping mouth that dripped with blood. I looked down to see a large gash on my ankle. The pain slowly came and I gasped in quiet agony.

It slithered toward me with it’s snake like body, liking it’s lips and turning it’s human eyes on me with a burning hunger.

The creature moved fast and latched onto my ankle. It’s razor like teeth cutting vertically into my skin. I cried out and fell into the bushes where the brown creatures sprung towards me. They too bit into my skin with a feirce hunger. 

“No!” I cried, trying to shake them off.

A tingling sensation burst to life on my right hand and the tattoos began to glow. With slight desperation I waved towards the brown monsters and they quickly scattered. The snake creature quickly let go of my ankle and hissed. I scooted away from it, trying to stand but the ache in my ankle made me stumble. The snake raised to it’s full high, hissing menisanly.

I rose my hand and pointed it towards the creature. It backed away a little, still hissing.

“Get back!” I shouted.

It hissed once more and slowly backed off. I sighed in relief as it slunk away to the other side of the street and disappeared in the shrubs. There were no more terrible creatures in sight. My body shook slightly as I stood. My ankle was bleeding and it hurt terribly to walk on. I decided there was nothing to do about it since I didn’t have any extra clothing. Slowly, I limped away from the shrubs and made my way home.

Once I was in sight of the townhouses I did my best to stay out of sight of my mom’s window. She would be furious and angry to see me. That i didn’t take the bus and that I was injured. She frowned down on fighting and she’d never believe me if I told her that I was attacked by evil creatures. They may have been small but they were strong.  

At the back door I slide it open quietly, expecting to enter the house undetected but of course she knew what I was doing.

“Amarie! Where have you been? You weren’t on the bus,” she shouted from the front room. I heard her stand up and her foot steps as she made her way to the back. She stopped mid stride when she saw me. A dark shadow fell over her face and she marched towards me. With a firm grip she pulled me in and sat me down in the kitchen.

“What happened?” she demanded.

I was silent as she went to the sink and got a rag damp. She came back and pressed it on my ankle, wiping at the excess blood and applying a balm.

“Tell me.”

Her voice was more gentle this time but I still felt that she wouldn’t believe me.

“You won’t believe me,” I whispered. "I swear though, I didn't get into a fight."

She chuckled, “I can’t promise I will believe your story but I’d still like to hear your explanation.”

She was mocking me. She wanted to hear something outrageous because she knew I was capable of getting into a fight.

“I was attacked,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “These creatures were small but they were strong. They were drawn to me but they were afraid of my tattoos.” I paused to see my mothers calm reaction. I waited for a response but she kept on cleaning my cuts. “They first attacked the window while I was at class, these ugly lumpy brown creature and then on my way home there were so many. One tripped me and bit me. It was like a snake but it’s eyes were very human. It bit into my ankle and stayed there till-” I paused again. “Till my tattoos began to glow. It tried to stay but it eventually went away. I think my tattoos scared them.”

With absolute calm she went to the sink to wash her hands. My ankle had been wrapped up and it throbbed slightly with the dulling pain. She sighs as she looks out the window. I turn from her as she turns to look at me. I feel her pull close and place her hands on my shoulders.

“Oh honey,” she whispered in my ear. “Forget this fantasy. You only fell darling, running to the back porch.”

A strange heavy feeling started to cloud my mind and I felt my body relax.

“It was all a mistake, just a dream.”

I found myself repeating, “Just a dream.”

“Just a dream darling,” she said again, running her hands up and down my face.

“Just a dream.”

I slipped from the kitchen and climbed the stairs to my room. There I layed down, the words “just a dream” repeating themselves over and over again till I fell into a deep sleep.