Hiding in the shadows

Chapter 9

"That was..."

For the first time tonight it was Elijah who was speechless and not me.

"How are you finding school? I have never seen you around before." I said.

"It's good. Yeah, I just moved here from Canada." Elijah said.

"Ah, that explains the accent."

"Yeah." He said awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry, maybe I should-"

"Yeah I should go."

I climbed down from my tree with my guitar on my back and stood there awkwardly, waiting for Elijah to leave first.

"I'll just..."

"Yeah, I'll..."

Then we both scurried away awkwardly. I didn't feel like going home just yet so I walked along a nearby creek, thinking about what had just happened. I sat down and took my guitar off, then considered taking off my shoes to put my feet in the water but then decided that going swimming in the middle of Autumn probably wouldn't be the best idea. Instead I reached into my bag and pulled out my thought journal and wrote about what just happened. I was still in complete amazement of what had just happened, like, I, Ari Faust, had just talked to the guy I liked.

I can't believe I just spoke to you, like, actually spoke to you. And to think you heard my terrible singing and my rap poem. What was I thinking????

Why do I like you? In all honesty, I have no idea.

After writing two things that were in my head, I couldn't seem to stop myself from writing, I wrote at least 4 more pages before I looked up. The air was becoming crisp but there was still another hour at least before the sun set. I grabbed my guitar again and closed my eyes and played. I played anything and everything that came to mind, cutting through songs and replacing them with others. Suddenly I felt like I had a bucket of ice water thrown over me, however, I knew that feeling all to well. I chucked everything in my bag and grabbed out my torch. I must have been sitting by the creek for at least 2 hours, but it felt like I was there for only half an hour. It had turned dark, and while I stumbled to my feet, I frantically looked around for the Shagara. I saw a flash of bright blue in amongst the trees of the forest. 'Great,' I thought 'It's blocking my way out.' Freaking out I ran along the creek side. Shagaras were twisted and contorted creatures that ran with their body close to the ground. Their knees were up around their ears and elbows were splayed outwards at odd angles while their hands were drawn in towards their chest. They were dressed completely in black and had dark eyes that constantly cried black tears. Along with terrifying feature, they had a stitched mouth and a chalk white face. I felt another wave of cold wash over me and as I turned to see where the Shagara was, I felt its long, pointed nails scratch the back of my jeans. I stumbled out of fright, and fell to the grass face first. Turning around and pushing myself backwards with the heels of my hands and my feet, the Shagara made for me again, trying to grab my leg. The rip it had created on the back of my jeans was dangerous enough as it was, if it had gotten its black, pointed fingernails into my skin, it could have emitted poison into me, turning me violently ill, then starting the slow and painful process of me morphing into one of them. I rolled to the right, forgetting about the guitar on my back. I heard the snapping of strings and the breaking of wood and my beloved guitar was now well and truly broken. I took the strap off of my torso and ditched my guitar. Holding back my tears, I had that guitar since I was 8, I reached for my torch which I dropped when I fell, but missed as the Shagara reached for me again. this Shagara had incredible speed, as most do. I leapt out of the way, but it managed to catch my jacket and pull me backwards with enough force to knock the wind out of me when I fell on my back.
"AHHHH!"
I let out a high pitched scream,  releasing my pain. Seeing the Shagara out of the corner of my eye, coming towards me, I tried to get up, my wrist fell from under me, causing me to fall into the mud of the creek. I crawled towards a large rock that I saw and used it to help pull me up. The Shagara, still coming towards me, suddenly cracked its head violently to the side, it was the most unhuman thing I had ever seen in my life, still, it made its way towards me. I looked for my torch, not finding it anywhere before realising it was in my hand, as I clicked it on and looked up, the Shagara was so close I feel its breath encasing my body.  I took a step back, and slipped into the creek. My arms and legs flailed, and a splash was made. Panic filled my body. I couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. Swimming in a direction that I didn't know, I realised I was swimming downwards. My body was starting to ache, and my head was starting to spin, I passed out.

When I woke up, I realised I was lying on the bank of the creek. Elijah stood over me. I sat up and looked around. No Shagara in sight. When I fell into the creek, the light from my torch must have hit the Shagara and killed it.

"Are you okay?" Elijah asked.

"I...what...how did you find me?" I asked, baffled.

"Well, I don't live far from here and I heard a scream. At first I thought it was just a couple of kids mucking around, like usual, but then I heard a splash and I came as fast as I could. This creek can have a really strong current at times and can become dangerous, I hate the thought of someone drowning. When I found out, you were face down in the water and not moving, so I jumped right in and got you."

"Thank you. So much." I said, getting up. The thought of Elijah saving me was enough to make me giddy, both good and bad. I can't believe he would have seen me in such a bad state. We were near the rock that I had used to prop myself up on during the fight. I looked around and saw my backpack not far, then a small lump on the ground, which I assumed was my guitar, well, pile of wood now. I walked to get by bag, but when I tried to take a step forward, I stumbled, my head spinning still. Elijah caught me as I stumbled.

"Here." He said, sitting me on the rock, then walking to grab my bag and what was left of my guitar.

"Sorry about your guitar," he said, real concern was evident in his voice. "So, what happened?" He asked.

Quickly thinking, I answered "I was sitting down, playing my guitar, then seeing the sunset, I got up to go home, I must have tripped and landed on my back, breaking my guitar then, when I got up, I lost my balance and fell into the creek. I must have hit my head as I went into the water and blacked out." I offered.

He didn't question my story, so I thanked him once again and started to turn around to walk home.

"I can't let you walk home in wet clothes," he said, "not in this weather. Come to my place and we can get you cleaned up so your parents don't worry so much."

He grabbed my hand to lead me to his place before I could protest and my heart skipped a beat.