Inhuman

Chapter Three; Making Plans

Sorry it's so short... I wrote it in math class instead of doing homework.

"Well," Luke said, pausing for a moment, looking immersed in his own thoughts. "What if I said that with your help, I could change that?"

I froze, the silence deafening as the beautiful- but fake- forest scene melted away from around us, leaving us alone in my blank mindspace.

He could change... what? My mouth worked no sound coming out as I struggled to comprehend his words. An unfamiliar emotion overtook me, my heart racing as the endless possibilities suddenly bombarded my brain. I could eat candy. Ride a bike. Climb a real tree. See the sky. Feel a cool breeze.

A howl bubbled up in my throat as the ground flew towards my face. Suddenly I was on four legs, only coming up to Luke's thighs- even standing. I yipped and barked, tail wagging as I bounced circles around him.

"I take that's a yes, then?" he asked, sounding nervous but hopeful.

Hope. That was the word I was looking for. I was feeling hopeful. I barked in agreement, and now that my shock had worn off a bit, called the forest scene back. As the foliage sprouted around my paws, I crouched at Luke's feet, bowing my head and sticking my rump in the air, tail wagging. I needed to do something with this energy- I needed to explore.

Luke shot me a quizical look, but only for a moment. His eyes lit up as he took in my stance, and he shot me a playful grin. "Wanna race?"

I shot off without answering, imagining new trees and plants into life as I ran.

"Hey!" Luke whined from behind me, his footsteps thudding against the dirt. "I never said go!"

For the next few hours Luke and I roamed the forest, me far too excited to shift back(thankfully I wouldn't rip his shirt, afterall, this was a land made purely of my own thoughts). He would jump from branch to branch overhead in the trees, sometimes racing me, sometimes just talking. At one point, he described a lake for me, and together we sat at the shore of the glimmering water, him leaning against me as he talked about the outside world. He told me stories about his family- his brothers- and the crazy pranks he'd pull, his eyes glazing over as he described them with a happiness I had never dreamed to feel.

Until now.

Suddenly, my days didn't consist of staring at blank walls and trying to imagine the outside world into life. Not only had he given me the gift of knowledge, knowing about everything I was missing so I could experience it through my mindspace, but he had told me he could show it to me. For real. Leaving my room and seeing the real outside.

Now, as I laid in silence at Luke's side, soaking up the sun's comforting warmth, I enjoyed the weight of his body, leaning against mine. Before I knew it, my breathing had evened out, my drooping eyelids fluttering shut as the exhaustion my excitement caused caught up to me.

~Luke's POV~

I stared out at the surface of the lake, watching the sparkling water gradually recede. The scene around us was disappearing as Sang fell asleep next to me. It wasn't long before the space around us was completely white, just a blank canvas made for daydreams. Then, even that melted away, and I found myself once again stuck in a tiny storage closet.

How the heck was I supposed to pull this off? I promised Sang I'd help her escape- I knew I'd be able to- but I wasn't sure how. I couldn't wait until this was behind her. I already wanted to show her the world, eat chocolate together, climb trees, pull pranks- there was so much we could do! Not to mention the heart attack I was about to give the others when Sang shifts in front of them.

For a time, my mind was distracted from the necessity of planning our escape. I daydreamed about the possibilities, about my brothers' faces. I imagined that on my return home, Sang would come with me. We'd walk side by side, her in wolf form, and I'd wait for the others to spot me through our house's windows. Everyone would be freaking out because I was standing next to a wolf. Sang would be nervous because North is an asshole sometimes, and-

A noise drew me out of my thoughts.

Again, a soft whimper sounded, drawing my eyes toward the only other person in the room. Sang.

She was curled up in a ball on the floor, my shirt tucked around her as she trembled. A whispered cry escaped her.

"Sang," I said softly, shifting to reach out. My fingers hovered over her arm. I was afraid if I shaked her awake I'd startle her and she'd lash out. "Hey, cupcake, wake up."

No response. In fact, the room was suddenly so silent, I couldn't tell if she was breathing.

"Sang," I tried again, more urgently this time. She didn't move. "Sang!"

Sang jolted up as my hand made contact with her skin, scrambling back away from me. Her body wracked with painful-sounding coughs, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. Shit.

"Sweetie," I breathed, inching forward, approaching her in the same way I would a wild animal. I didnt' want to scare her. "It's just me, Luke. Can you take a few deep breaths for me?"

For a moment, she didn't respond, but as I inched closer, her coughing subsided, tapering off into sobs. She leaned against the wall, an arm wrapped around her knees as she trembled. I closed the distance.

She flinched at my touch, but upon recognizing me she threw her arms around my neck, allowing me to pull her into my lap. I held her for a while before she calmed enough to speak, her trembling lessened. "I-I'm sorry," she hiccuped.

"What for?"

"I just-" she drew in a deep breath. "I get nightmares sometimes. I remembered something i-in my dream and it scared me. I'm fine."

Her death grip on my shoulder told me otherwise. "Sweetie... what was your nightmare about?"

She shook her head, burying her face in my chest. Her tears were cold against my skin.

"Do you want to talk about something else?" I asked, dropping a hand from her shoulder to her back, massaging gently in an attempt at comforting her.

She nodded.

I thought for a moment, searching for a topic, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "I have an escape plan." I wanted to smack myself.

"You do?"

No. "Yeah."

"What's the plan?"

"Well..." I drawled, frantically going over everything I had learned about this place and Sang so far. "You said they let you out of this room every now and again, right?"

"Yup."

"And you can show anyone one of those vision thingies?"

Another confirmation.

Then, a plan really did come together.

This is what I've done for the past forty five minutes instead of studying for exams. I should stop procrastinating, now.

All thoughts of procrastination aside, how was the chapter?

Are you excited for Sang to meet the others?

Do you think they'll be able to escape?

Who do you look forward to Sang meeting most?