Heart Of Stone - Male!Medusa

Found

Waving to Stelios, I turned to face the pathway into the trees of the island, once more ready to explore the pathway I had found yesterday. Although, today I was more prepared for what I might expect, having grabbed a couple of books on local flora and fauna so I could verify potential poisonous and venomous plants and animals, as well as spiders that could do me harm.

I had also brought with me a much larger lunch, as well as a few snacks and lots of water to keep me going through the day. I didn't want to burn myself out like I had yesterday, still creeped out a bit by the memory of warm breath ghosting over my skin, even if it had been my imagination.

Hefting the backpack into a more comfortable position, I turned and began my second trek into the forest of this island.

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Stifling a yawn, I sat down on a familiar rock as I mumbled to myself about how foolish it was to stay up so late last night reading my new book. Sure it was great to familiarize myself with the things that could harm me, but it might have been a good idea to take today off from island hopping while I did so. Deep inside, however, I knew I would never have taken a day off from my exploring.

Taking the backpack off and resting it on the ground next to my feet, I pulled out some of the lunch I had packed inside and began eating, trying to regain some of the energy I had felt earlier in the day.

A few minutes later, I found my eyes refusing to stay open, my half-eaten meal resting in my lap as I leaned back against the tree growing beside the rock. Maybe just a quick nap wouldn't hurt.

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I'd had strange dreams while I napped on the rock, filled with snakes slithering across my feet and spiders crawling across my skin before climbing through my hair. After a while, I had awoken with a scream trying to escape my throat, held back only because I didn't want to chance startling any creatures that might be nearby.

Who knew if there was a real snake close to me that might be upset by the sound of someone screaming loudly. If snakes hear things that way, that is. I was never sure how a snakes hearing worked, being more along the lines of just wanting to know which ones to simply avoid and which ones to actively be ready to run away from.

My dad was the one to ask about snakes on a biological level, having considered becoming a herpetologist, specializing in the study of snakes over other lizards and amphibians, before he ended up chasing his other fascination and choosing architecture instead. A good thing, since it ended up being the catalyst to meeting the woman he married.

Ahh, but I had no time to let my mind wander like this, not when I was sure I felt something touching me as I woke up. Thinking about it, I brought a hand up to my cheek, feeling the raised trail of scars running across my skin. Although I could see no people or animals around, I swear it had felt like cool fingers tracing my scars.

Maybe I should head back earlier than planned today and get some rest. Tomorrow I could take some time to read the book and study up on the local snakes and spiders. The island could wait a day or two...

Picking up my backpack and heading back to the trail, I shivered a bit as I could swear I felt eyes watching me, but when I looked back at the clearing there was nothing to see.

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Stelios had been surprised at my request for a day or two away from exploring the island, concerned something had happened to me. I had quickly explained that I merely wanted to read up on the creatures that could live on it, avoiding mention of how I thought something touched me or like I had been watched when I left the clearing.

Even though the feeling had remained until I was on the boat, I didn't want to chance him refusing to bring me back there, still almost certain it had to have been my imagination. Even the touch on my cheek could have simply been due to the dreams I'd had, although I was not ruling out some creature having done it. All the more reason to read that book!

I grabbed lunch on the way back with the money I had thought I would be using for dinner, my stomach complaining loudly as I recalled falling asleep while eating, whatever food remaining from what I had pulled out left behind in my rush to leave the island. Strangely, I couldn't recall seeing anything when I'd glanced back at the clearing, but it would have been easy enough to miss if it had fallen to the other side of the large rock.

Once more, I ignored the whispers that filled the small cafe as I ate the food placed in front of me, the salad's rich flavor from the variety of vegetables and the freshly made cheese like ash in my mouth as I heard a mother whispering to her child after the little girl started to cry. The light shawl I used to cover my arms had slipped and I hadn't pulled it back up quickly enough.

Shortly afterward, I had paid for my meal and left, the remaining food packaged up and stuffed into my backpack with the rest of what I'd had. At least dinner tonight would be an easy fix.

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After making sure the door was locked, I began pulling things out from the backpack resting on the bed. Leftover food was put in the mini-fridge nearby, spare clothing was carefully refolded and settled in the dresser, and the camera I had brought with me was gently settled on top of the dresser. Digging my hand through the backpack, I felt my eyes widen in shock. The book was gone, the backpack fully emptied and nothing left inside. But worse than the book missing was that my journal was missing too.

All the notes I had been taking on everything I'd seen on each of the islands, all the sketches I had made of things I had seen, even a few photos I had taken and gotten printed out early. But worse was that it held notes on the thoughts and feelings that sometimes rampaged through my mind.

The overwhelming guilt when I thought of the mother and her son, the gut-wrenching sorrow when I thought of Tomas and everything I had lost when he left me, the near hatred I felt for the scars that wove across my entire body, I had written about it all at some point within that journal. Everything was hidden within the notebook's pages, released with ink and emotion onto the simple lined paper like some kind of wound slowly being emptied of that which infected it.

Writing in that journal had been something that helped me deal with all the painful thoughts and feelings I still had and the very idea that someone else might read it filled me with dread. That someone would be able to read my deepest thoughts, my darkest moments, my shameful sin that cost so much... I could feel my heart sink and my throat beginning to close in panic.

Someone was hiding on that island and right now they had access to all the thoughts and feelings I'd had since the accident. I had to get it back.