Lucent Shadows

Chapter Two: Hallucination?

I walked towards the forest hidden behind the school. As I approached a small ditch leading to a trail, Zandra stopped following me.

"What's wrong?" I paused to look at her before sliding into the ditch.

"Isn't this the forest that everyone is talking about?" She asked, toying with a piece of lace from her bag. "You know... The one everyone said is cursed?" She explained and repeatedly tied knots into the thick lace.

I scratched my head and looked at the dark forest that I've found comfort in for as long as I could remember. I turned back to Zandra and lightly laughed, "Do you honestly believe those rumors?"

She stood awkwardly and glanced in my direction. "Not really."

"Good and even if they were true, you have a man here and no one messes with The Devlin." I slightly puffed my chest out to appear more masculine. She cracked a grin and followed me into the ditch. I grabbed a rope tied to a branch and used it to pull myself up the steep hill and onto the forest trail. I tossed it back down to her and watched her carefully climb up to me. She gripped my arm in attempt to steady herself when she lost her footing and quickly examined her surroundings. I smiled and pulled her along the jagged trail.

"So what other rumors have you heard?" I asked, swiftly jumping over a log and waiting for Zandra a few feet away.

She placed one foot over it and then the other and was cautious of the slimy moss on the ground.

"About the forest?" She paused to think, "Just that the reason it's cursed is because of an old man that lives in it. But I suppose that's not true either is it." She stated as she walked in my steps. 

Zandra Looked up at me curiously. "The old man's curse isn't true right?" She asked as if I didn't hear her before.

"Well..." I started and watched as her eyes widened. "The curse part isn't true but there is an old man that lives here. He's completely harmless." 

"Do you know him?" Zandra quickened her pace to keep up with me.

"Kind of. I ran into him a few years ago. And he's seen in the town sometimes. He's probably in his seventy's or eighty's. Maybe older, he looks ancient." 

We came to a fork in the path and we took the one to the left which would lead to a small shopping plaza. Zandra was quiet for the rest of the walk and I kicked rocks, desperate for some noise. I was always content with the forest's silence but today I was restless. We soon came to a clearing and a few buildings stood in a small parking lot.

"That was quick." Zandra spoke with a smile.

"Yeah, if we took the road, it would have taken at least twenty minutes longer, maybe even more than that."

We walked toward the plaza and examined each sign. 'Taylor's Tailor Shop', 'Shoe Repairs', 'Julie's Salon', 'Thai Food', and 'The Coffee House'. I watched as Zandra opened the door to the Coffee House and walked in with fascination. I turned to look at the old wooden sign and felt like I've been in this exact same spot and position before. But I never come here, I only pass it. I huffed, ignoring the feeling and started walking to the door.

"Devlin."

I turned to look behind me, startled. The wind blew against my back like it was trying to pull me away from the shop and back into the forest. I held my breath as I felt a presence behind me that made my hairs stand and stomach lurch.

Long black fingers slowly folded around my neck and gripped it tightly, cutting off my air supply. I panicked and tried to pull away but my body failed me and stood frozen in place. My skin prickled with goosebumps as I felt a cold hand rest on the back of my head then move down to my occipital bone near the back of my neck.

I cried out as I felt the long nails begin to cut into my skin and impale my skull. Screaming in searing pain, I willed my body to work so I could stop the sound and feeling of my skull slowly giving way in favor of the monster behind me. Then the pain stopped only to be replaced with a deafening scream. Images flashed through my mind but I couldnt seem to get a long enough look at each one to process it. All I knew was that these images were my life, the life I wished I knew but realized I had been lucky not to and I didn't know why. I screamed as these pictures refilled my head and I wanted it all to stop before my head exploded.

I felt my body drop and I blacked out.

"Deeevliiiin. Earth to Devlin. Heelloooooo!"

My vision refocused and I saw Zandra flailing her hands in front of my face as if trying to recapture my attention. I grasped the back of my head, expecting to find a large hole seeping with warm gooey blood and cerebral fluid but found it perfectly intact. I massaged my temples and closed my eyes as a headache came along. 

"What's wrong? You zoned out for a second."

"Nothing, just have a headache."

She frowned and stared at me, slowly inching closer. I stepped back and froze when she extended a hand to my forehead.

"Looks like you're starting to catch a fever. Oh." She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the coffee shop. "One herbal green tea, please." She called out to the guy behind the counter who was already working on a coffee.

"Right away." He called back to her with a wink.

I glanced in his direction as I held my head in my hand. "I hate tea."

"Well, if you want that headache to go away, now's a good time to start loving it!" Zandra said with a smile as she took a seat at a small table. 

I sat down across from her and watched as the boy that made our drinks began walking our way. I groaned and rubbed my face. He carefully set each of our drinks in front of us and smiled.

"Your food will be up in just a few minutes." He said to Zandra and she thanked him.

"You make friends fast." I grunted as I watched her eyeball the teenage boy.

"Hm? Oh, I hope you like chocolate pancakes by the way because that's what I ordered for you." She winked.

I rolled my eyes and stared out the window at the empty plaza. A woman in the salon swept away at the floor and I allowed my mind to wonder back to the creature I came across earlier. What was it? Now that I thought about it, those long stained black fingers seemed familiar. I know that cold touch.

"Here's your chocolate chip pancakes. Enjoy!"