Before Morrow

Chapter 4

    Lila kicked off her plums lazily, cracking her neck and hung her jacket on the hanger just by the door. She let out an exhausted breath, contemplating whether to take a shower before she called it a night.

    She had been looking for a decent job around the town for an entire day and as soon as she found one at the local diner she was called in. She didn't mind being busy all the time, in fact it was exactly what she needed in order to stay sane, but her body didn't quite agree. It was determined there was a limit to the amount of exhaustion it can function past.

    Lila was even more determined not to give in though. There was too much to think about and acclimate with and she wasn't ready. She doubted she would ever be ready. There was just too much, and it was all bad news. Surely life would pass by her anyway, so why bother? For tranquility and self peace you'd say, but she was getting herself too busy for a time of tranquility anyway.

    The next couple of days passed by her quickly and she developed a routine. She would wake early in the morning, shower, drink her tea and head to work. Work dragged on till midnight, because she would always volunteer to help cleaning after her shift was over. It was a very busy diner and so she wasn't forced to make friends since no one had time for a conversation past the usual greetings and the customers orders. At her lunch break, Lila would sit at the back of the kitchen and sip some more tea quickly before she got back to work. Her boss was very impressed with her hardship to say the least.

    Lila didn't dream of that meadow again, mainly because she would be so exhausted when she came home, her eyes would be shutting down for a deep sleep even before she reached her bed. Or so she thought.

    A month later, when it was her payment time, she got a bonus and a push from her boss to go out early. She would have argued about not minding a late shift, but it was a holiday and he was closing up early anyway. She sauntered back home, but not before Ellen caught her and invited her over for the party.

    She was not only forced to attend, but she had to play dress up with Ellen too. However, Lila knew to take advantage of the crowd once everyone arrived and took off. In the little while that she stayed, she was forced to converse too much for her liking. A greeting, then a talk after the other and everyone is curious to hear her story. A story not even she could hear again.

    So she stayed by the fire place at her small apartment, sipping her steaming lavender tea. The tea burnt her tongue, but the taste was far too sweet and satisfying to her taste buds, she knew now why she saved it for times like these. Not that the likes of such a day had happened before, but she only drank an ordinary brown tea every morning. Not this bliss of lavender. She needed that brown tea to spasm her metabolism. Lila was well aware that she drank brown tea too often, but she never noticed that it had turned into a tea addiction.  

    Lila's head finally tipped to the side after she finished her tea and drifted off to sleep. Or so.

    She woke up to find her hands buried deep within dark, freshly watered dirt that blended with the darkness of the night. She stared at her hands for a moment and took note of her crouching position. She then lifted her gaze and stared at somewhere familiar, somewhere fascinating, yet her memories of it made it seem only cunning today.

    She certainly didn't want to be here.

    But how do you escape a nightmare?

    Lila slowly stood up, her feet getting lost amongst rippling grass in the wind. She slowly stepped forward getting lost in this endless meadow. She took cautious, slow steps, her ear perked up involuntarily for any sound. For any sign of her.

    For a long moment she walked  indifferently, before her body came to the conclusion that nothing was happening soon. Adrenaline got washed off her system and her shoulders relaxed a little. All not by choice, but her surrounding was deceiving, way too calming she couldn't deny it.

    This time a cynical rumble got her jerking. She stiffened, her body becoming tense again as she thought she heard a growl.

    She stood still, lost in the midst of rippling grass. Her gaze warily raiding all around her as she spun around herself, breathing heavily.

     Where am I? She'd wondered being deceived by her ears, but she didn't  wonder for long. A meticulous howl surging into her a dose of spasm that had her sprinting deeper into the dark. Not by choice, because it wasn't like she could see else other than dark. Though the lucid moon glimmered from the sky, its induced light reflected against nothing to favor her sight.

    Another penetrate howl got her jerking this time. Her body quivered with terror and tense, eye sockets almost bulging out as she gawked at what's before her. Her spit caught up on her throat, choking her, but she couldn't swallow. She was definite every bit of her was paralyzed. Not like she could go anywhere now anyway. She was surrounded. Not only by rippling grass and hooting owls, ravens and a good for nothing lingering moon, no. A route of wolves had joined the party.

    Snarling lips that showed of gritted jaws, piercing eyes that promised anguish and shaking forms that told away their impatience to pounce at their prey.

     Me, apparently, she thought to herself, almost sure there weren't any meals near but her.

     Appearing absolutely out of the blue, a luminous silver ray seemed to cross the night and her vision. In her fright, she couldn't be sure of the conclusion, but didn't spare it a thought anyway until a pierce yelp severed the night, after. She traced after the sound and met the silver arrow pinned into a wolf's front, causing the animal to sway off balance and interrupting the circle they trapped her in.

    "Sprint!" she thought the word had sounded elsewhere other than in her thoughts in a peculiar raspy tone, but she was quick to doubt it, but keen to follow the command, glaring at the opened pathway.

     Sprint, indeed she did without a second of hesitation, fear and adrenaline the motives for the spasm of her legs. She ran heedlessly, only aiming to storm away from the predators. Her mind continuously chanting prayers that another arrow wasn't meant for her.

    As she ran further, she could barely make out the path before her. Something was always better than nothing, but when nothing was really all you could see, what did that tell her? She felt trapped, running in a direction and the darkness seemed to race opposite to her so she remained in place. She refused to stop though, the adrenaline flowed through her blood unconditionally. She was sure she'd never ran like this before.

    Her continuous dose of energy only washed out when nothing was once again changed to darkness. A difference that by now she was very well aware off. Soon she crashed into what felt like a slap of metal and got knocked off to the opposite direction a few feet away. She felt the impact from top to bottom, pure agony. Then it all happened so fast. Her head throbbed for a moment, her brain went mute from the siren that went off inside her ears.

    Then she blacked out.

    Lila woke up with a start. She moved around helplessly for a moment as if trying to wiggle away from the fear, until she noticed she was still on her couch. The lavender tea half finished and the other half soaked her pants. She released a breath she didn't notice she was holding and stood up shakily.

    It was just a dream, She insisted. It just felt so real, her subconcious argued.

    She brushed those thoughts off her head and decided to clean herself up before calling it night. She rushed to the bathroom and ran the tab, her hand shakily handling her soaked shirt and pant. Then she noticed her entire body was shaking furiously. Panic shot through her as she let out raged breath. She cupped her hands together to scoop some cold water and splashed it at her face. The cool water dripped off her face, to her shirt and some droplets traveled her locked eyelids and dripped to the sink. Lila breathed in deeply once before she decided she could open her eyes.

    Then she wished she hadn't.

    Staring back at her from the mirror was a similar reflection of herself, but Lila couldn't recognize the budging lump that grew on her forehead. After, she noticed the pain that shot through her entire front and she remembered the impact that could have caused it.