It Lives In The Woods

Chapter Eight

-2008-

Andy ran up and down the empty gym floor, sneakers squeaking on the floor with every leap and bound. It was practice, practice until he graduated, until he was drafted by some big college team, until he achieved his dream. Sweat beaded down his forehead, dripping from the tips of his black hair, falling onto his tan skin. "Hey King Andy, nice form!" Andy skidded to a stop, looking into the doorway where one of his teammates stood, leaning against the metal doorframe, his skinny white hand placed on his bony hip. Andy resisted the urge to frown and roll his eyes, it was his biggest rival at the school for the spot at captain, a spot that would be assigned for the next year soon. "Thanks David, you don't have to call me that you know, I don't know why anyone does." He explained, walking over to the ball rack and taking one down, his muscles tensing, preparing to run the familiar drill. "Well it's because you're royalty Cho, a legend amongst mere normal folk. Isn't that what you think?" David asked condescendingly, walking forwards with an ungodly amount of swagger. Andy rolled his eyes, shooting the ball, listening for the satisfying swish as he turned towards David. "No. I'm just a good ball player, that's all." David snorted, snatching the ball from the air as it fell. "But not the best." Andy's face contorted into an amused smirk, "Well, I guess that's for coach to decide." David checked the ball to Andy, who caught it with a thud against his chest. "Why don't we settle it now? Outside on the blacktop, an old fashioned competition." Andy looked out the small window on the double doors, only seeing darkness. "You do realize it's dark out right? It wouldn't be fair. Besides, I've got plans with my girl tonight, no deal." Andy hissed, checking the ball roughly back and heading towards the bleacher where his bag laid. David followed behind him, "Come on Cho, don't you have something to prove? Aren't you the best?" Andy felt his back muscles tense in anger as he clenched his jaw, annoyance coursing through him. "Not to you David, the only people I need to prove myself too are those college scouts that come to our games. Not that you have to worry about that." Andy knew it was a cheap shot, but he'd had enough of David and his snide remarks during practice, his dirty looks in the hall. He was just like any other player on a team, and he needed to fall in line before Andy was made captain. He thought of what Bee would say if she heard him being so curt with one of his teammates, definitely something along the lines of "bad sportsmanship" and "toxic masculinity". "Yeah right !" David said following Andy out of the gym. "You're just jealous that I'm going to become Captain! You're just jealous because you won't be the king anymore!" David growled, shoving Andy to the ground where the gravel scratched at his knee, drawing fresh blood. "WHAT THE HELL MAN?!" Andy yelled, jumping up and getting in David's face, till the two were nose to nose. Andy frowned as he saw David look beyond him, blue eyes widening in fear. "What the fuck is that?!" David whispered, finger slowly raising and pointing to the end of the parking lot. Andy frowned and turned around, his breath catching in his throat. There, at the end of the dark lot was a beast, made of vines and bark, black rock teeth glinting in the moonlight as it growled. "Blue?" Andy called, frowning in confusion. Why did he send one of his dogs here, and now? The dog slowly approached, snapping and growling menacingly. "Get inside, go!" Andy urged, realizing with a pounding heart that this dog did not have the light hearted feel the other Blue had grown for them did. Andy turned, fear pumping through his veins as he saw David staring at the door in shock, the handles were tied shut together with thick, prickly green vines, vines that had shot right out of the ground. "We need to run!" David cried, grabbing Andy's arm urgently. Andy shook his head, stomach flipping. "No, no we shouldn't. It might charge if we made too sudden movements." His mouth turned into a desert wasteland as he watched the dog focus it's burning blue eyes on David, green drool foaming at its mouth. "What is it?! WHY IS IT LOOKING AT ME?!" David yelled, stumbling backwards towards the expanse of parking lot, moonlight shining innocently off the hoods of the parked cars. Andy felt his breath caught in his chest, like someone was strangling it out of him, that was a particularly good question, why was the dog's eyes focused on David, when it was Andy whom Blue knew? "Stop moving!" Andy growled, trying to stay as still as possible, trying to calculate the beasts movements. "No! Screw that, I'm not going to stay here and die!" David cried, turning on his basketball shoes, the heels squeaking against the wet concrete. "NO!" Andy screamed, watching the scene in slow motion as David pumped his skinny arms at his sides, running through the moonlit parking lot, the beast howling into the night, leaping forwards on its hindlegs. Andy felt his stomach drop, and eyes water as the dog leaped into the air, pinning David to the ground, ripping into his back with it's razor sharp, gravel claws. "STOP!" Andy screamed, his senses on high alert as he sprinted forwards, blood spraying in the air as David wailed and screamed in pain. The dog growled as Andy approached, kicking it in the side of the ribs, but instead of attacking, it simply looked towards the woods, the balls of flames in it;s eye sockets glowing brighter, and it walked off into the darkness, back into the woods where it belonged. Andy watched it go, standing there in a daze, his heart pounding in his chest. He was finally broken from his daze by David's moans of pain, and the cold sensation of blood pooling around his feet. "Oh shit!" Andy whispered, looking down at David, holding his stomach as his lunch tried to come up at the sight of the shredded flesh, of bone and muscle. With shaking hands Andy pulled his phone out of his bag, still hanging limply at his side, and dialed 911. "911 emergency, how can I assist you ?" Andy ran a shaking through his sweaty black hair, looking towards the woods where the beast had retreated, what was he supposed to say? "Uh, there's been...an animal attack at the high school, someone was hurt, he's hurt pretty badly, please send help.''He said, trying to steady his voice. "Okay sir, there's an ambulance and animal control on the way. Is the animal still there?"

"No, no it went into the woods, it lives in the woods."

-2020-

Bee and Tanner drove in an uncomfortable silence, Tanner at a loss for words, something to say that would summarize how horrible he felt about passing out in the woods, all from withdrawal. Bee herself was lost in her thoughts, her memories, and her fears. Her mind was racing with all the new information she and the other women had obtained that day, though it wasn't significant or set in stone, she knew it was better than nothing, an explanation for what Blue was, and why he was here in Crescent Point. "Bee," Bee jumped in the passenger seat, her mind rushing back to the present. "What?" She asked, turning her head towards him. "I-I just wanted to thank you, for taking care of me after I passed out." Bee clenched her jaw, frowning. "I'm use to it. I just assumed since we're both adults now, you wouldn't need taking care of. Stupid of me to assume you'd stop popping pills." She said bitterly, instantly feeling guilty about her words. Tanner frowned, guilt swelling up like a tsunami inside him, washing over him. "I've tried, I'm two months sober right now, I just, I've been struggling these past few years. I can't sleep because of the nightmares, and I see Blue's face, his true face, I see it everywhere, even in the daylight. He's still haunting me." Bee sighed, "We've all been struggling Tanner, that year changed all of us, we were all traumatized. If you think you are struggling, just imagine how Noah feels, how he's felt these past years. His parent's we're already pieces of shit, they always favored Norah, he had to grow up in that house, without her." Tanner shifted uncomfortably in his seat, thinking back to all those days when he'd see Noah in the hallway, reeking of weed, long curls pulled over his eye to hide the purple bruises on his face, after Bee had left, and Norah died, there was no one else left to ward off the beatings, no one else was brave enough. "I know, I guess we all just deal with it differently. At least Ava and Jamie are having a good life, or at least they were until this week." Bee nodded. "I could help you, help you get sober. It's quite simple." Tanner frowned, "Really?" She grinned, nodding with a devious smirk. Tanner frowned, he wasn't sure if he trusted her, but then he thought back to all the days when she'd help him detox, the hours upon hours of arguing over treatment options, struggling to hide it from the others. She was always the one he confided in, up until the day she and her parents left Crescent Point. "Okay, okay let's do it." Bee clapped her slim hands together. "We'll have to be fast, we can do it outside the parlour." Tanner felt his pulse quicken as he thought about the bag full of little white pills in his middle console, and his fingers twitched to feel them, touch them one last time. "Okay."

*****

Back at the library, Stacy had just finished her phone call with her young son, she walked back into the library, heart heavy with homesickness, with a maternal aching for her son, hours away. Ava looked up in alarm at Stacy's heavy footsteps, instincts on high alert ever since Jamie had been taken. Stacy smiled warely, "Sorry to spook you, I just finished facetiming my son." Ava relaxed, leaning back in the wooden chair she was planted in, "It's fine, I don't get spooked easily." An awkward silence filled the space between them as Stacy sat across from her, looking around uncomfortably. Ava's eyes found the small, purple bruises on the edge of Stacy's pale face, in the shape of her fingerprints. "I'm sorry, for you know, assaulting you." Stacy's dark blonde eyebrows shot up in shock. "Oh, it's okay. I understand why you did it." Stacy stood up, uncomfortable at the table now that they were discussing their confrontation. "It was still really immature of me, if i'm going to be a good mom, I need to learn how to control my temper." Stacy laughed shortly, eyes scanning over the books as she wandered over the childrens section next to them. "I'll tell you a secret, becoming a mom doesn't improve your temper, it worsens it. There's nothing more infuriating than a little child pissing on you right before a big date." Ava giggled, imaging one of Stacy's silky dresses covered in pee from her small son. "I can imagine. I know Jamie's going to be the real parent, I'll just be the cool mom who teaches them about voodoo." Stacy shrugged, picking up one of the popular picture books that was displayed on the top of the shelves.

Beware the woods, a cautionary tale for children

Stacy frowned, looking at the cover which was a painting of a cluster of dark, ominous trees, with a small child's frame standing before it, like it was looking up into the woods. "Hey Ava, look at this book."