That Makes Three

Chapter Three

The next day I woke up from a deep sleep, thanks to yesterday's activities, late. I had minutes to get to school. Throwing on the same thing from yesterday but a different plaid shirt I grabbed my bag, keys and was out the door within ten minutes. Pulling into an empty space I jogged up the steps and ran through the doors. Breathless I held myself up against a nearby wall, my vision blurring. Breathing deeply I walked slowly down the hallway, my heartbeat ringing in my ears.

When I got to my locker I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans before fiddling with the little lock.

"Hi." I jumped at the sound of Roman's voice, my fingers shaking as I tried to remember my code.

"Hello." I said, glad I wasn't panting anymore.

"Did you have a good night?" He asked, a smile in his voice. I looked up at him then, my face growing warmer very quickly. His hazel eyes looked me up and down while I stared at him. His full lips... I turned away and back to my locker, only to see his big soft hand lounging ontop of my locker. After fiddling with the dial I punched my locker door and fully turned to him.

"My night was fine. Uneventful. Completely boring - just the way I like it." I said quickly, going to move only to have him in my way. I leant against the lockers and avoided eye contact. Feeling my mouth go dry I looked up at him and smiled wearily. "How was your night?" He seemed pleased by my interest in him but when he opened his mouth there was a high pitched groaning. Our attention was turned to a crowd in the hallway that were terrorising Shelly. Swearing under his breath Roman pushed off the lockers and marched off in her direction. I, on the other hand, was frozen. Shelley's shriek playing over and over in my head until my chest was tight and head throbbed.

I turned so that my head was pressed against my locker and took steadying breaths. My heart squeezed. She was in so much pain... I shook my head and banged it on the lockers. She's fine. Romans going to take care of her... I groaned, digging my hands into my palm though it was no use. I was starting to drift.

"Miya!... hey, are you okay?" At the sound of Peters voice I turned and smiled at him. His hand was hovering over my shoulder, for a reassuring pat I'm sure, but he thought better of it and dropped his hand. His blue eyes looked worried through strands of scraggly brown hair.

"Nothing. I'm fine, thank you. But could you tell Mrs Franklin that I went home?" I asked, wiping a sheen of sweat from my forehead. "Or actually just tell her I didn't come in." I hated doing this to him. I'd grown to like Peter, he was one of the only people that were genuine in this stupid town. And he was being bullied for being different. He would be ok. He could look out for himself. Though he began to nod he looked sad.

"Sure... see you later, I guess." Before he turned I pulled him into a big hug. Patting his back I laughed wearily.

"Take good notes." I said, releasing him. He laughed before walking into the classroom opposite us. I rested my head against my closed locker again and whined slightly. I could feel my pulse quicken and my vision getting blurry.

"...that'll teach those little bastards." I heard Roman whispering under his voice when he came up behind me. I pulled on my bottom lip with my teeth. I couldn't drive home. Not like this - and I couldn't risk someone seeing me like this so hiding in the girls bathroom was out. They already think I'm a freak. Maybe they were right.

"I don't feel good. I have to go home." I said, picking up my bag and walking towards the door. Just as I thought, he followed.

"What? Before I even get to tell you about my night?" He joked, opening the door for me. Fishing my keys out my pocket I threw them at him. Instinctively he caught them.

"Then you can tell me about it on the way." I said, the world turning on its side. Grabbing hold of the stone wall for support I walked rigidly down the steps.

"What?" He asked, completely puzzled. Sighing breathlessly I turned to him sharply.

"This is very important and I'm not sure what I'm doing but... I'm running out of options. I just - please Roman, I need you to take me home and stop asking questions." I looked up at him then, and saw that my seriousness was reflected on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, the shield in his eyes melting and I wondered if I looked scared.

"That's another question. Just take me home." I whispered, grabbing hold of his hand and dragging him in the direction of my car.

Once we were inside I moaned, my head feeling like a jagged piece of metal had been stabbed through it. When we began to back out I turned the heater on and folded my clammy hands in my lap. I gave a breathy laugh.

"You gunna tell me about your wild night then?" From my peripheral vision I saw him look at me for a second before his eyes were back in the road and he was shaking his head. "You get lucky and don't want to tell me about it? Wow. Roman Godfrey that is a first."

"It doesn't matter."

"Then distract me." I placed my hands on either side of my head and slowly began running my fingers through my hair. It didn't help, and the pain only spread to my eyes. We weren't going to make it home in time.

"Whatever you do, k-keep driving." I forced out my words, my eyes rolling back and my chest heaving. Gripping the seat I let the feeling consume my body, and faded out of reality.

Blood trickled across the floor and spread in between my toes. It was warm. I shivered when I looked up and saw a pile of bodies in front of me, some of the bodies so twisted and blooded that I couldn't recognise them. When I took a step closer I began to be able to make out who they were. At the bottom of the pile I saw a bandaged hand. Shelley? Bending down I was blasted back by a blow to the chest, the Hemlock police logo fading in and out of focus along with a smoking shot gun. I screamed, taking hold of my right shoulder and turning to run when I saw a  woman at the base of a tree, bleach blonde hair the same colour as her pale dead skin. Only half her body was visible, her torso ending in a bloody mess. The stench of her rotting flesh invaded my nostrils, making me retch hard. Suddenly I saw Peter grab a blurry figure and growl, his eyes an atomic yellow as he clawed at the person with paws. Blinking I stepped back from the two fighting dogs. When the dog with the yellow eyes got clawed in the face by the dog with the blue eyes I felt it's claws somehow rack across my cheek. Feeling a scream bubble up in my chest i pressed my hand to it and closed my eyes as the pain vibrated through my skull.

When the image completely dissolved I took a large breath and was about to scream when I felt the car under me. Letting out a harsh breath I began to sob, my body aching and my head pounding, the smell of corpses still in my nose. Then I remembered that I wasn't alone and closed my eyes momentarily, wiping my now bloody nose.

"Im sorry" I whispered, my voice shaky. The air shifted and I knew he looked away. I nodded to myself. "I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do, but first could you help me out of the car?" I asked, unclipping my seatbelt.

"Why are your eyes still white?" He asked, his voice curious.

"Because I'm blind."