The Book Keeper

Chapter Nine

The Book Keeper

Chapter Nine

            It’s Friday morning and Jason still hasn’t shown his face. It’s odd and I can’t help but have a bad feeling about it. Ever since I realized he hasn’t come back, I’ve been on edge. I know something big is going to happen soon, but I don’t know what.

            I sigh as I put my hands on my face. I am so very tired. Last night I had three nightmares in a row. I didn’t get much sleep after that, so I am running on maybe two hours of sleep. I groan. Tonight I’m going to try and take some sleeping medicines.

            I lay my head down on the desk and start dozing off.

            *Dream*

            There are trees all around me. It seems that I am standing in a meadow. Soft grass is tickling my bare feet. I look down and see that I am wearing a baby blue dress. I smile. I like this shade of blue.

            Wild flowers are scattered around the field. I lean down to pick up a daisy. I put the daisy in my hair and start to walk towards the middle of the meadow.

Before me stands a huge oak tree. Its width is longer than my arms span. The tree stands around twenty feet tall. It is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. I smile when I see a mother bird feeding her young in a nest on a low branch.

I feel peaceful and calm. I do not know where I am, but I know that I am safe. I think I’m starting to fall in love with this place.

I look to my left to see a path leading into the deeper woods. I wonder where the trail leads, but I do not investigate. I am enjoying the peacefulness of the meadow and do not want to leave.

I faintly hear the swooshing sounds of a nearby stream. I look to my right, and see that my hearing was correct. I walk over to the stream.

The clear water gives me a perfect view of the rocky bottom. There are large boulders along the stream’s edge. I climb on top of the biggest rock and look down. There beneath me are fish swimming around, looking busy.

All of a sudden, I feel a wave of emotion take over me. I feel myself slipping, slipping farther and farther towards the edge of the rock. I fall into the river, and suddenly the calm waters turn violent.

I am roughly moved around by the strong currents. As if they hated me, they throw me against rocks, pull me underwater, and push me further downstream. I try to catch my breath every time my head is above water, but that proves to be a challenge.

Finally, the violent attacks made by the water stops. I drag myself out of the water, breathing heavily. I cough up some water. I lie on my back, trying to catch my breath. I almost died. DIED.

I open my eyes, not realizing that I had closed them. I sit up and somewhat look around me. I am in a deeper part of the woods. Unfortunately, it is not a safe haven like the meadow was. I stand up quickly and take a good look at my surroundings.

The sky is dark, no longer sun shining. The grass is still below my feet. There is no wind. There is no moment. Not even from the river that was once violent.

The trees are black, charred from being burnt. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. “Where am I?”

I turn around when I feel a presence behind me. What I find is a man in a suit. I can’t see his face. That is the only thing that I cannot see. It is blurry, as if someone censored his face. My breath catches in my throat.

I hear him chuckle at me. It’s a dark, menacing sound. It was not a laugh of joy, it was a laugh filled with pain. He takes a step towards me, but I step back. He growls.

I look at him in confusion. Suddenly, I realize something. He is a werewolf. The man—werewolf—notices my tense form. He seems to realize my conclusion.

His shape starts to change. I hear his sickening bones cracking and just a few moments later, a large brown wolf is glaring at me. I yelp in shock. What is he going to do?

He stalks towards me, as if I am prey, answering my question immediately. I feel fear. I feel it in my bones, making its way to the surface. Fear is gnawing my insides.

My mind quickly focuses on the wolf stalking me, and I find myself retreating towards the stream. He sees this, and lunges for me, with eyes ready to kill.

I close my eyes, bracing for the impact that never came. A few moments later, I hear snarling and I open my eyes. There is a large black wolf fighting the brown. At that moment, the brown wolf runs off and I am alone with the black wolf.

He looks at me and takes off after the other wolf, leaving me standing there, in shock. What just happened?

            I jolt myself upright. I am sitting in my office. That dream was so vivid, my heart is still racing. I cover my face with my hands. That dream felt completely real.

            Who was that black wolf and why did he save me? I felt like all he wanted to do was protect me. I didn’t feel the paralyzing fear when I looked at him, like I did when I looked at the brown wolf. I came to a confusing conclusion. He saved my life, whether it was a dream or not.

            I looked at the clock. It was time for me to go home and get ready for my date. After that weird dream, I feel as if the date is going to be a disaster. I don’t know why, but I have a gut feeling that something bad is going to happen.