Hollow's Grove (The Revised Version)

Chapter Ten: Plans For Escape

I threw open my bedroom door and slammed it shut, making sure to lock it behind me. My head was spinning from everything that had just occurred, what on earth was happening? If this was a prank to try and terrify me, then I was impressed, Marcus had won, he had gone all out and it worked. I wiped my brow, droplets of sweat ran down my face. My breathing was heavy and laboured, my heart felt as though it was about to burst. My entire body was trembling, I ran over to my bed and threw myself upon the sheets.

I was trying to calm down, only it didn't seem to be working, instead it felt as though all my anxiety was making a comeback and a serious one at that. I felt as though I was having some sort of rebound, I tried to rationalize it and say it nothing more then the worries of my next transformation that were manifesting themselves into severe fear and terror, but I knew that was not the case at all. Marcus had really outdone himself, I knew that he hadn't liked me the moment I arrived, but really, I was honestly impressed at how quickly he had been able to create such an elaborate trick in such a short period of time.

But still, something just felt off, something didn't feel right. I couldn't pinpoint what I was feeling, it all just felt too real.  The whole thing with waking up in a laboratory that was hidden right in plain sight, that was unbelievable. The whole encounter with the young man in the cage, the figure with the needle, it was so well done, I couldn't wrap my head around it. I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, not caring about class or breakfast, I didn't even care to check the time. I had too much excitement for the day and I didn't feel like going to a class where I would be a major laughing stock.

I wondered how many other students were involved in the joke, there seemed to be a lot of help. I lay there, my head spinning, my mind clouded, this wasn't good for me, I needed to take it easy, my transformation would be soon and I needed to stay calm, otherwise the wolf would become overwhelmed and possibly cause me some harm during the shift. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. Finally I felt my heart rate slow and my mind was no longer racing, I was finally able to think clearly.

I lay there on my bed thinking quietly to myself when out of the blue, there came a loud knock at the door. My heart skipped a beat and my blood ran cold. I didn't dare get up off my bed, something didn't feel right. "Hello, Tobias O'Brien, are you there?" The voice, I did not recognize it. It was a shrill, cold, unwelcoming voice. I didn't say anything, I just hoped that whoever it was would go away. The knocking didn't cease, instead it got louder, intense, "Tobias Carter O'Brien, are you in there?" That was what caused the chills to run down my spine, no one, except for my family knew my middle name.

I stayed as quiet as I could, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. The knocking was now becoming frantic, aggressive, I was inwardly panicking. I glanced over at my window, it was the only way to get out of of my bedroom at the moment. "Tobias, come out here now, I know you're in there!" That was when it hit me, what if everything that had been happening wasn't to do with Marcus. It just didn't add up, why was it that I could recognize Marcus' scent when I was in the laboratory earlier. I couldn't think properly at the moment, the knocking, it was beginning to sound like someone was pounding their fists against the door.

That was when I decided to test my luck, I threw myself off the bed and ran to the window, I pushed it open, the fresh autumn air washed over me, it felt so welcoming, luckily for me, the ground wasn't too far, I knew that I could make the jump and manage not to injure myself. The banging was getting louder and I knew that the door could only deal with so much. I hastily made the decision to leave and leapt out of the window, my body hitting the grass with a heavy thump. I had nothing with me, I had left all my supplies in my room.

All I had were the clothes upon my back, that though didn't matter at the moment, what mattered to me was my life. I needed to get as far as I could from this place. There was something off about this place and I was not about to stick around to see what was going on. With no more hesitation I began to run, my legs ached, but I didn't care. I could hear the woman, she was still screaming for me to open the door. I just hoped that I would be able to get as far as I could from the school before she managed to break the door down.

I headed through the many succulent gardens, there weren't any students around, I honestly found that slightly disturbing. Where were they? What on earth was going on here? I hadn't seen anyone except that poor boy in the cage and that figure with the needle. I dashed down one of the garden paths, I found that as I got farther away from the school, this path that I had taken seemed to lead out into a large cornfield. I felt slightly relaxed, I knew that it must have meant that the school boundaries were close, I was going to be safe. I quickly concocted a plan, once in the cornfield I would fall to my knees and crawl as far as I could.

It wasn't the greatest plan, but I knew that if I crawled then they wouldn't be able to distinguish which way I went. The plan actually worked quite well, I even found that I covered much more ground then I would if I were walking. Finally I exited the cornfield and to my great surprise, I found myself near a large tree line, I couldn't believe my luck, this was perfect. It seemed that it was coniferous forest, I suddenly felt much better, I was a werewolf, a creature of the wild, it wouldn't be that hard to survive in the wild.

'Besides, I need to get as far from that place as I can, I need to find a town, somewhere I can get the authorities. Something isn't quite right at that place and I want to know what's the matter with it...' With that in mind I began to head into the thick tree line, even with the warm morning sun shining down upon me, I felt cold, chilled, an uneasy feeling had wrapped itself around me and it wouldn't let go...
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"Ma'am, we seem to have a problem." She sat at the mahogany desk, her gaze trained to the many piles of papers that were spread across the desk. Marcus coughed, tugging at his dress shirt's collar, he was nervous. He had just managed to lose the newest member of the 'school', he knew that the Mistress would not be pleased with his inability to keep students at the place. The woman wasn't paying him any attention, she just continued to stare at the many papers that were sprawled across the desk. Marcus coughed, a little louder this time. The older woman's silver eyes flickered only for a moment at the young man, an unamused expression curling upon her thin lips.

"What is it Marcus, can't you see I am very busy at the moment?" She spat, waving her arms at him. Marcus sighed, realizing that the Mistress was not interested in knowing what had happened. He turned and headed for the office door, his head hung in embarrassment, he wasn't doing a great job at his job and he knew it. Once out in the hallway Marcus took a few minutes and just stared off into the distance, "Well, what did she say?" A familiar shrill voice asked him. Marcus turned, acknowledging the young woman who was standing beside him.

The younger woman didn't even need to hear the answer, Marcus' expression was all she needed to see to know what had happened. "Come on, let's get going, we need to find him..." With that said, Marcus and the younger woman headed off down the hallway, both plotting on how to capture the newest student back. Tobias O'Brien was in for a big surprise, Marcus would be sure of it...