The Boundary Line

Chapter 7

It hurt to breathe.

Every inhale of air felt like a substantial amount of pressure was being forced on my chest. My body had a dull ache, tense and strained and I could feel it deep in my bones.

But the pain was incomparable to the throbbing wound on the back of my neck. The raw pang of the bite mark was excruciating.

Amidst all this, I could hear the quiet sound of chatter, it was faint but enough to make me open my eyes. I blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the dark room.

Rubbing my eyes I looked around at my surroundings. Noticing the familiar objects placed throughout the room and judging from the smell, I knew I was in my room.

The pain in the back of my neck intensified when I moved my head. I cringed as the burning sensation soared through my body.

Groaning, I lay my head back to its original position and the memories of how I ended up here suddenly came at me in a rush. The red eyes of the ghastly creature and long pointed teeth consumed my thoughts. Just remembering being in the presence of the unknown creature had unpleasant shivers running through me.

I heard footsteps approaching and watched as the door opened and a second later my father appeared.

"Luce" he said. He breathed out a sigh of relief and made his way into the room. His face was a mask of concern as he sat down on the bed beside me. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Hey dad". My voice came out a bit raspy, I never realised how dry my throat was until now. Dad must of being thinking the same thing, for as he leant towards my bedside table and grabbed a glass of water.

"Here," he said, offering me the glass. "I brought it up earlier thinking you might be awake."

I eyed it greedily and wasted no time on grabbing it and chugging down the refreshing goodness. I sighed as the cool liquid soothed my parched throat.

Careful not to move my head to much, I placed the now empty glass back on the table and turned to my father.

"Thanks" I said gratefully, glancing at my father. He only frowned and looked at me with worry. "Luce are you okay? You had me so worried."

I closed my eyes and shook my head at the unsettling memories. What the Hell even was that creature last night?

Opening my eyes, I grabbed my dads hand before giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm fine dad," I replied sending him a smile.

My father gave me a disapproving look, as he knew I was anything but fine. My body was aching and my neck felt like hot metal was being placed on it.

I watched with tired eyes, as dad brought a hand to my face. Staring into his green eyes, I could tell that he was exhausted as anything. He must of been worried out of his mind, not knowing where I was and what was happening.

"What happened last night Luce?" I inhaled through my nose and brought my hand up to my fathers that was cupping my left cheek.

Tightly holding it, I let the memories of last night wash over me. The sound of my mothers voice had left me reeling. I still couldn't get my head around it. Looking over at my dad, I could see he was waiting for and explanation. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; it was time to tell.

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Silence.

Silence consumed the room. I was beginning to stupidly think that my dad had frozen or something as he sat, perched at the end of my bed. His fist was clenched tightly and he closed his eyes, growling lowly.