Cobweb Head

t w e n t y - t h r e e

I didn't remember much.

The moment I opened my eyes I realised I'd been closing them, and my breath left ragged and chipped. My chest rattled uncomfortably. Everything hurt.

Dappled light filtered in through the treetops, the brightness making me wince. It was day? How long had I been out for?

I sat up. My bones ached with every move. I didn't recognise the trees around me, and when I looked down, my chest was bare and freckled. I had lost my shirt.

When I stood on shaky feet, I hoped to see Rosebud Tower from where I stood, or some sort of building in the distance. There was nothing – I was lost. I cursed to myself.

I staggered into a tree when I tried to walk, kicking up dead leaves and dirt beneath my bare feet. My head ached numbly; my bones felt cemented in place, every movement was strained.

I was lost in the forest, that just happened to be infested with nightmare people that wanted me for some unexplainable reason. I immediately felt sick, suddenly aware of the rustle of leaves and moaning of wind. I continued moving with a grimace.

I thought back to the party as I walked, wrapping an arm over my bare stomach. The cold bit into my skin. Mae was going to tell the Frights about what I knew, they were going to put an echo in my head, my blood had gone cold. Red ice replacing the blood in my veins.

And then I'd panicked.

My stomach twisted awfully, and I could feel the colour run from my cheeks. I moved faster as my limbs warmed – I needed to get back to Leo quick.

I couldn't help but think about the fire that'd lead me here. It'd happened again. I'd turned into Mae's fear. The stale taste in my mouth fouled. What was wrong with me?

I didn't know where I was going, which was hardly a surprise. I had the same sense of direction as a fish on land. What good Scouts had done to me.

The trees swayed with the bitter breezes, every sound was a threat, the aching in my joints passed. I looked up again, only to see Rosebud Tower rising up through the trees ahead – far ahead. My shoulders slumped as I continued on walking.

It was almost nice, by myself in the woods at what I guessed was the afternoon. If only the cries weren't replaying over and over again in my head, if only Mae's terrified face wouldn't appear on the inside of my eyelids every time I blinked. Was Leo okay?

Shit – what if something had happened to him?

I hastened my pace, with nails digging into flesh as I closed my fists. Bees, wasps, spiders; swarms of them. That's what had appeared when I'd vanished, it had to be. It's what I'd heard – what I'd seen.

I stumbled slightly against a squared stone and my pulse quickened. The scattered remains of Rosebud Tower spread out before me, where the building soared up above the treetops.

I came up near it, finding the large gap in the walls which I'd come out of a few days ago. The memory made my skin crawl.

I made my way back quickly, feeling a new sense of familiarity as I recognised the old, crooked path leading up to the school. The haunting building soon appeared behind the trees, as well as the Lacrosse field.

I looked down at myself before parting through the trees – I was covered in dirt, in my boxers, with hair strewn out in all directions. I ran a hand down my face with a begrudging groan. I would have to sprint it.

My reputation had already been one big pile of shit beforehand, so I couldn't imagine what running across the Lacrosse field half naked and covered in mud would do to it. Terrible things.

My footsteps sounded through the dorm halls, no matter how much I tried to quiet them. I didn't have my key, so instead resorted to knocking rapidly against the door, my skin itching with unease. I didn't stop knocking.

The door swung open, and Leo appeared at the threshold. His eyes widened, and for once he seemed to be at a loss of words. I was immediately relieved to see him.

I moved inside, quickly closing the door behind me with little delicacy and sucking in a long breath. "If Mae told you anything, I need you to know—"

The sentence was cut off as Leo pulled me into a hug.

I froze, thoughts whirring, until the tension in my shoulders dropped and I breathed out. My face burned – but, even when he didn't let go, I was okay with it. I liked the way my chest warmed.

"Where have you been? You disappeared after—after..." He said, his words muffled.

I pulled away and could see the relief play across his features. Were his eyes glassy? I couldn't quite tell.

"The party was cut off when – when swarms of bugs tore through it. It was crazy. I could barely see anything, and you'd disappeared. When I found out you didn't get back, I – there are people out looking for you." He took his lip between his teeth.

I watched him as he drivelled, watched as his eyes went pearly and red, as he ran a panicked hand through his hair. I stood there in my underwear silently.

"I need to tell you something." I finally broke through his questions and comments and concerned ramblings.

He paused, looked at me and sniffed. "Yeah – of course, yeah, I'll get tea."