Pebbles pierced my bare feet as I sprinted up the beach into the woods. Sweat clung to my temples and the air was thick in the back of my throat. My vision was blurred as thick leaves slapped me in the face. My back and legs stung and I could feel the blood running down my body. As quickly as I entered the woods from daylight, the world turned black as pitch. My ankles bruised by protruding roots and my arms sore.
Before I was completely consumed in jungle darkness, lights pierced the dark veil. Candles lit in the darkness. I ran towards them, hoping find refuge from the beast. My heart raced in my throat and my thoughts spun. I reached the source of the light. A tiny log house stood in the middle of a field. Lights inside the house burned bright in my eyes, but forward I ran. Scanning the sky to see if the beast was close. I saw nothing but sped up. I reached the house, but the door was locked. I pulled on the door as hard as I could. Putting all of my 120 pounds into my effort. I felt a cold blast of air that stopped me dead in my tracks and made my blood run cold. He was behind me.
I turned to face him. He was once a beautiful man. Rippled in muscle with long white hair though he was not old. His eyes glowed a lilac purple, but I was hypnotized. His voice was like butter and his presence calming. I had never in a million years even thought he'd turn into what he did.
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As I turned towards him sapphire blue invaded my vision. Before me stood one of the most beautiful dragons my dreams had ever presented me with. He glowed a vibrant blue with solid black eyes. Dangerous eyes, nothing like the violet I had gazed into before. His neck long and prominent topped with a thick skull was armed with harsh spikes. Great horns curled out from his temples and his nostrils flared with smoke. His shoulder blades protruded powerfully accenting his strong wings. They turned from scale vertebrae into dense feather like material, they spread into the sky cloaking the white moon. I stood frozen staring at him. I knew what was about to happen...
Just as he lunged at me with a powerful roar, the bell tolled. I shot up out of bed soaked in a cold sweat. It took me quite a few minutes to return my hyperventilation to a normal breath. I heard the bell rattling, it was the nuns calling for breakfast. I knew I had to get cleaned up.
I slipped out of my bed and tip toed over to the mirror on the wall. I lifted my shirt and turned so my back faced the mirror. Crimson gashes lined the length of my shoulder blades to my lower back. They looked like an arrow pointing downwards. Four gashes on each set. I winced in pain as I touched my fingers to them. They were really deep.
I slipped into the bathroom and turned the shower on. This was normally the worst part of the day. I stripped my pajamas off very carefully as to not stretch out my wounds. I looked down to my feet and saw nothing but black and purple bruises. I stepped into the shower, as the water hit my back I couldn't help but let out a convulsive shudder. It vibrated every part of my body sending excruciating pain up and down me.
When I was done showering I dressed in a baggy sweatshirt in caution to keep fabric off my wounds and moved to my bed. Every morning when we had to do chores I'd sneak my bloody sheets into the laundry room, bleach the shit out of them, and grab a new set. For as long as I've been doing it, much to my surprise they never caught me.
I went through the day on auto pilot. Rachel and Jenny figured it was because of the night i'd had. Even though she knew it brought me much pain and frustration, Rachel always tried to cheer me up. She'd prance around me her golden waterfall curls bouncing off of her shoulders and her smile ear to ear. I just shrugged her off. I knew it hurt her feelings but I didn't care.
In art I drew the dragon that had attacked me in my dreams. The religious aspect I added was a woman tied to a cross waiting for the dragon to come and get her. In my mind the story was, she was accused of witch craft. Back in the day Catholic and Christian religions thought that people who practiced witch craft were possessed by the devil. So they'd tie them to crosses and leave them for the dragons.
So I explained this to the art teacher. Sister Liza, she is the only adult in this building that I trust. She knew about my strange dreams, but she never knew about the gift I had. She was always there to talk to and she's really understanding. She reminds me of my aunt before she turned me over to the orphanage. She was quite shocked at the detail I put into my project. I told her that the dragon was in my dream and she went quiet. She knows how much my dreams mean to me and how emotional I get when I have to explain them. So she got the hint and just smiled, wrapped her arms around me and sighed. I melted into her arms, feeling comfort. Comfort that I hadn't felt for quite a while. I was grateful I had her.
At dinner that night I sat with Rachel and Jenny. They sat on the opposite side of the table than me, because they knew that I had issues with people being too close to me or tight spaces. Besides they liked to hold hands under the table. I never mentioned this before but they're together. They met in the orphanage.
Jenny got there first, at age 14. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were unfit to have a child. They tried so hard for as long as they could to support and care for Jenny. They eventually ended up losing their house and living with their cousins. They decided that they didn't want Jenny to be around their cousins because of their history. Mrs. Peterson's cousin Shelly had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, while her cousin in law Ben, had a history of sexual assault. They figured they were saving her by giving her up. Little did they know it hurt her more than helped her.
When she first got to Harmony pastor Aaron was still working. Pastor Aaron was a quiet man, very well respected. A few weeks after she arrived he announced that he would be taking Jenny under his wing, training her to be a priest. No one knew, but during his "training" sessions, he was molesting her. He raped her and abused her. She tried to tell one of the nuns, but she didn't believe her. No one did until one night, Pastor Aaron got drunk. Jenny says she saw the devil in his eyes. He raped her and beat her to a bloody pulp and left her in the girls bathroom. A nun working the night shift went into the bathroom and found her body, unconscious on the floor. About 3 days later they relieved Pastor Aaron of his duties and he was put in prison.
Jenny had a really hard time adjusting to life in the orphanage after everything Pastor Aaron did. She says things got better after she met Rachel.
Rachel had been placed into the orphanage at age 13 after her mom died of a brain tumor, and her dad abandoned her. When she entered Harmony she was severely depressed and had lots of scars. They helped each other. They started out as best friends, that grew into more. Jenny says she wants to turn 19, get out of Harmony, wait for her to get out and marry Rachel.
No one at the orphanage knew except for me. It being a christian place and all, gay couples were not allowed. If they were to be found out, they would either get kicked out, or locked in sells for the rest of their lives being put through all day conversion therapy. I find that rule ridiculous but I'm not going to go into my opinions and what not.
