Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Fifty Eight

     He didn't have to be told twice to leave the premises, and he took Link by the sleeve and they sidestepped the sheriff. As they were walking out of the auditorium, they saw several groups of people being spoken to by a handful of police. They kept their eyes downcast as they made a beeline for the door, and once they were out in the dusk, they sprinted for the van.

     Link shakily tossed the keys to Rhett, not feeling much up to driving when he felt like his head was racing about as fast as his heart was. Rhett snatched the keys into his hands and they hopped into the van, Rhett not wasting a single second to get it started up. They pulled out of the parking lot and drove onto the main street, heading directly for Terra's house. Link felt the bile toiling in his stomach like the raging sea, and it crept up his throat, burning the insides like he was swallowing fire.

     He laid his head against the window and closed his eyes, watching as the streetlights made odd shapes and patterns behind his eyelids. His lips parted slightly as he continued to follow the patterns, feeling himself being sucked into them. His heart beat slowed considerably as his eyelids grew heavier, the lightened patterns growing darker and darker as they were warped into his subconscious.

     Link opened his eyes and he slowly turned his head from side to side, finding himself in a circular room. The ceiling was dome shaped as he looked above him, painted a lush navy blue. He lowered his eyes to the white walls that circled around him, finding a single picture frame that didn't have a picture inside. Instead, it looked like static that you would see on an old television when it wasn't receiving any channels.

     He slowly turned on his heel and found another frame just like it, and then another. There were three in total, and he stopped in front of the last one, narrowing his eyes. It looked as if the static was beginning to clear, and he was looking into a painting of a vast beautiful field. Rows of crisp green grass, miles of clear blue skies, and right through the middle was a dirt road that seemed to lead on into the horizon forever.

     He admired the picture for several seconds, finding himself drawn into it. He imagined himself walking down the path, feeling his shoes sink into the dirt. He felt the warmth from the sun's rays melt through his body, a slight breeze briskly cooling him off. The smell of fresh cut grass wafted to his nostrils and he closed his eyes, sighing contentedly. For some reason, it brought him back to his childhood in Buies Creek and he crept forward. He wanted to climb into the picture and actually be a part of that world.

     He wanted to go back home. He found himself taking a few more steps, then stopped suddenly. He was watching as it looked like a horse was galloping toward him down the dirt path. The closer the horse came, the bigger it grew.

     His lips parted and he leaned forward a bit, trying to get a little closer. Dirt was being kicked up and it created a massive cloud of debris. Link stumbled backward with a cry when he realized it wasn't a horse. The thing was massive, with a humped back and matted grey fur. Link's heart raced in his chest as he took several steps backward, listening as the thing grunted from the exertion of its sprint as if it was captured in surround sound.

      Link turned his head to the side to look into the other picture frame and his eyes widened as he realized it was coming at him through that frame as well. He quickly turned his head to the left, the last picture frame, his heart stuttering in his chest. It was coming at him from all three angles and he felt small, stepping back far enough that his back hit the wall. He lowered himself to the floor just as the animal tore through the frames, the sound resembling paper being ripped. Their simultaneous leap into his reality resulted in them colliding, and Link cried out and covered his eyes as a blinding white light flashed through the room.

     When he lowered his arms, his lips trembled as he watched the three of them slowly morph into one. It was like watching pieces of jello jiggle and stick together, becoming one huge blob or in this case, a gigantic wolf. Its back was facing him, and it rose to its feet slowly, a cracking sound emanating from its back as it straightened its spine one vertebrae at a time. It slowly turned to face Link with a low grumble in its chest, and Link was met by the wolf with three heads. The wolf began barreling toward him with three sets of fangs bared and Link writhed in his spot, screaming shrilly.

     "Link! Link!" Rhett watched with wide eyes and terror gripping his heart as Link writhed, kicking the dashboard and punching at the door and seat. Rhett nearly forced himself on top of him, grasping him by the wrists and pinning his arms down. There was nothing he could do about Link kicking his legs, and he prayed Link didn't make contact with the family jewels. Rhett bared his teeth as he struggled to hold Link down, who was now arching his back away from the seat. Rhett finally released his grip on Link's arms and Link took another swing, Rhett just dodging it by a millisecond. He grasped Link by the face and hovered just above it. "LINK!" 

     Link gasped and his eyes flew open, Rhett quickly scrambling away from him. He heaved for breath, holding his hand over his chest and eyeing Link with wide eyes. Link looked about him frantically, straightening himself up in his seat. He was also breathless, his cheeks rosy red. He finally looked at Rhett, worry in his eyes. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" 

     Rhett took another set of deep breaths before shaking his head. "No man. You alright though? That was a pretty nasty dream you were having." 

     Link's eyes seemed to wander to the house that they were parked in front of and he shook his head. "You think the wolf having two heads was scary. This thing is gonna have three," he said as he moved his eyes back to Rhett. 

     Rhett seemed to stop breathing for several seconds as he registered what Link had just told him. "You're kidding, right?"

     "I wish I was. Three of them morphed into one and there were three heads. This is way beyond our control, man," Link said, his lips trembling into a frown as his eyes watered. Rhett didn't want to believe that something like that could be possible, but after reading about the German legend and witnessing the wolf with two heads, he had to believe that anything was possible. He had not the slightest clue how they were supposed to arm themselves against something that dangerous, and he had to admit that Link was correct.

     It was way beyond their control, way beyond their comprehension. Either one of those two or any number of their loved ones could wind up dead because of this. But who else was going to be able to take care of it, that knew that this sort of paranormal creature existed? Rhett ran his fingers through his hair, his heart racing in his chest. His eyes fell on the door of Terra's house and he watched as the light flickered on.

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