Shift

Chapter 3

Esper ran. She ran as fast as she could. Everyone hated her. Even jay, the one thing she loved most turned on her, barking and nipping at her heels, forcing her to go faster. Yes faster, she must run faster. She had to get away from there, all the people yelling and screaming in her face. They all hated her, but why? what had she done? Maybe she could understand everyone from school yelling and chasing her but her own brother? And even worse jay, her best friend. He was always happy and she loved him! Now he hated her. But for what? She kept running. She couldn't take much more of this. Her breaths were short and fast. Her calves burned. The yelling behind her stopped. What was happening? Where did they go?

Everyone seemed to just disappear. There was a deep growling noise behind her. She slowed her run down. An idea forming in her mind about what was behind her. She came to a stop breathing heavy. Her heart raced and her head pounded. She could hear deep slow breaths but, hey weren't hers. She slowly turned around not ready to face what was behind her. There touring over her was a giant looking wolf. The creature was pitch black with burning red eyes. It had large fang like teeth that dripped blood. She could smell it in the air. Swirling around and enclosing her in a tight circle with its stench. The creatures paws were 100 times bigger than a regular wolf. It smiled of rust, death, and blood. Esper stopped breathing. Her heart froze. Her body stiffened in the beasts shadow. She couldn't move.

The beast started slowly rocking from side to side. For a moment she felt attracted to the creature. A twig snapped, and once agin fear reinterred her body. Her legs shook threatening to give out from under her. Without thought she turned around and fell into a dead sprint. Esper just wasn't fast enough. She could her the beasts paws like the sound of a thousand wolfs running in a pack behind her. Getting closer and closer. Espers shirt clung to a low limb. She pulled as hard as she could before the limb gave way and she fell to her back nocking out the air from her chest. Esper screamed as loud as she could.

The beast now toured high above her. At any moment he would lower his head and open his jaws and she would be gone in a bloody painful death. Something touched her hand. She screamed agin. It was jay but, jay hated her. What was he doing. He nudged her arm. Esper turned to look back up at the beast but he was gone. She screamed for a third time not sure what else to do. Jay barked an ear piercing bark and her body shook. She was still lying on the hard ground consumed by dirt and grass. Jay nudged her to stand. He looked over at her own house as the front lights flickered on and Casey came rushing out of the house. What had just happened. She now knew where she was and where she had been trying to go. She was lying on the ground in the woods next to her own house. She was almost half way to the big circle of trees.

"What happened? Are you ok? It's one o'clock in the morning. What are you doing out here? " Casey helped her to her feet. Esper stood there dazed. The rest of the world swimming around her as she tried to focus on her brother. She didn't know how to answer him. "I.... I don't know." She spit out in a small shaky voice. Her brother looked down at her. Everyone seemed to do that. She wasn't that short. She was about 5'4. But everyone was just, taller. Much taller. Casey tilted his head in concern. He finally realized what had happened. He pulled her into a tight hug and stopped himself from shedding tears. It took a lot for her brother to cry.

What had happened? They all walked back to the house and sat down on the couch. Her brother didn't let go of her arm. Even as they sat there he squoze her arm. "Casey." She said almost in a whisper. "What happened?" That was the one thing she really wanted to know. And he seemed to know. "Um." He ran his other hand through his hair and sighed, still refusing to let go of her arm. She could tell he didn't want to tell her. So she looked him in the eyes " tell me."

"We'll it's a long story, I'll tell you in the morning. You need some sleep."
"No! I need to know now."
He hesitated. "Please Casey."
"Fine." He sighed agin. " when you were very young,You would get these .....things. Like bad dreams. mother called them night terrors."
"Like a night mare?" She replayed slowly.
"We'll sorta. You see, it would be like a night mare but you would kinda act it out." He gripped her arm even tighter. It hurt a little but she didn't want him to let go.

"There was one night." He continued. "You had some how gotten out of your bed and to the kitchen. You were crying and you had a knife in your hand. we had no idea what was happening. Dad wanted to snatch the knife away but mother didn't think that was a good idea." Espers eyebrows ferried an confusion fell over her face. "I would never hurt them. Would I?"
"Well in your night terrors, as mother put it, you had no real control over yourself. You couldn't see what was around you, but only what was in the dream."
"So, I would hurt them." She said looking down at her dirty bare feet. " but you didn't." He quickly answered. "Mom started singing and it seemed to calm you down. She slowly inched closer to you but, dad grew impatient. He lunged forward and grabbed you free hand."
"I stabbed him didn't I?" She was too caught up in the story to think straight. His grip loosened around her arm. "It was like.... It was as if you were trying to get away from him by sawing your arm off. You cut yourself with the knife."
"I what!?" He rubbed his thumb over the scar on her arm. She looked down at the scar that had always seemed to be there. Like she was born with it. "No.... no. She said again a little more firmly. "When I was a baby I fell off the swing and cut my am on a rock." She said, her eyelids shut tight trying to remember falling off the swing. But she couldn't.
"You were bleeding bad. Dad was sacred you might bleed to death. You were so little-"
"No! No,that's all wrong! Mother told me. She-"
"She lied." He interrupted. "Now, do you remember anything from the dream?" He asked calmly.
"You all lied!"she screamed. She really didn't mean to yell, she was just so full of confusion and anger and longing for her mother.

She ripped her arm away from him.
"Esper!" He yelled for her but she wouldn't listen. She kept walking towards her room. "Esper!" He yelled agin but she slammed the door behind her. She crouched down in the corner of her room and raped her arms around her legs. They had lied to her for years. She had almost killed herself and they lied about it! And the night terrors. Why had she not known about this. Maybe this was all still a dream. Her life, the world. And maybe one day she would wakeup. And.... And then what.

She could see her dad lying to her and maybe even her brother. But her mother? They told each other everything. Or did her mother lie about that stuff too? She din't know what to think any more. Her day had already been so crapy and now this? She had never felt so alone in her life.

She pulled off her ring and threw it across the room. It made a clank sound as it bounced off the wall. She sat there for a while staring into the darkness of her room. Then dug her head into her knees and eventually fell asleep.