"What the hell is that?" Scar gasped loudly.
"In my dream, Austin was there and when he grabbed my arm he left a mark," I explained, examining the intricate pattern.
"Lucy that's not possible," Scar told me.
"Well there's no other explanation. The only other person that was with me was AJ and he's not strong enough to make these imprints," I countered.
"Hey, I'm strong," AJ cried in offense as he wrapped his hand around his own arm and squeezed tightly. He only succeeded in making his skin turn red.
"No one is that strong," Scar mumbled.
"Obviously they are cause this is living proof," I snapped, aggravated. We all paused for a moment, not sure what to say. My eyes flicked over to the oven where the time read, 11:02.
"It's late, I'm going to head off to bed. Maybe the prints will be gone tomorrow," AJ told me, his eyes full of sympathy which was a rare thing to see.
"Right," I muttered. "I still can't believe you drove back."
"I didn't know what to do so I thought I should take you home," AJ replies.
"Hospital or Nana's house didn't come to mind?" I asked him.
"Maybe," AJ said.
"You just wanted to drive. What if you got pulled over?" I asked him.
"Good thing I didn't. We would've been so screwed," AJ laughed.
"Oh my god, go away," I groaned, tracing the fingerprints. They didn't hurt but they still made me feel uncomfortable that they were so apparent and obvious.
"What's really going on?" Scar asked when AJ was out of sight.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"What happened back there?" she inquired.
"I don't know. I've never... remember when I used to go to the house with Austin? Well, I'd sit on the bed and just daydream that my parents were still alive. But today, when I went into the room it was different. Something was off and then I don't know what but something hit me and I was suddenly back to the day when I came in on them. Everything was so... red," I explained, staring down at the granite counter. "And then Austin came, and I just- I don't know what was real and what was a dream."
"But Lucy, those marks are real. They didn't transfer over form your dream, that's just crazy," Scar told me.
"Don't you think I know that," I snapped.
"Maybe you should wait a while until you go back again," Scar suggested. I didn't reply. There was no way I couldn't not go back.
"I'm going to head up too. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better," Scar said, giving me a quick hug before turning away.
I thought about heading back to bed but I really wasn't tired. Plus, I was a little skeptical about having another nightmare. They were becoming more frequent than I cared for. Instead, I walked to the front, slipped on my shoes, and stepped out into the night. Heading around back, I continued down the make shift trail. The forest was dark and very quiet. I could barely see even with the dim light from the moon shining down. A cold shiver ran through my body and I began to regret not grabbing a sweater before heading out. I wrapped my arms around my bare shoulders and continued to walk.
My eyes zeroed in on an orange light ahead. Figuring it was just a couple teenagers camping out or something, I proceeded towards it. I was right, there was about six guys standing beside a bonfire. As my eyes scanned each one, they stopped on one that was very familiar. It was the guy from the park; the one that Mason couldn't seem to stand the sight of. I must've spent too much time staring at him because suddenly he turned and our eyes met. I curse loudly when a slow grin spread across his face. He began to walk towards me like a slick predator after his prey.
"Sweet thing, what brings you in these parts?" The guy asked me slyly.
"Uh, I was just taking a walk," I replied, having the urge to turn and walk away.
"So you live around here," He assumed.
"No," I lied quickly. He stared at me for a moment before laughing lightly. What was so damn funny?
"We didn't get to introduce ourselves the other day. Mason seemed to be in quite the rush. Nothing new, after all he has certain responsibilities as Alpha. Right?" The guy told me.
I frowned, confused as to what he was talking about. He noticed this and suddenly he let out a raging laugh. My eyes snapped behind him and noticed his friends watching us intently.
"This is absolutely fantastic. I didn't think it could get any better than this, well except for the fact that you're human," The guy exclaimed, amused.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, frowning when he called me human. Then what the hell was he?
"Oh nothing, nothing. Let me not spoil it for Mason. On to other matters, my name is Collin. You, my lady, are?" he asked me.
"Lucy," I replied.
"Beautiful name," He complimented. I smiled softly at him. He didn't see that bad. A little crazy, but not evil.
"Well, Lucy, you just happened to walk in on me and my friends just goofing around. Care to join?" Collin asked me. There seemed to be an underlying meaning to his question.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Mason," Collin grinned, stepping aside to let me walk in front of him. I didn't have a chance to reply because suddenly there was growling all around us.
"I lied, this is probably the best it can get," Collin cackled in pure amusement. He actually jumped and clapped his hands in excitement. He reminded me of the joker.
I soon became aware that we were now being surrounded by 8 feet tall, wild, beast-like wolves. They were growling and baring their large, sharp teeth. My heart rate spiked and I almost passed out from my revelation: we were going to die.
"Don't worry, they won't hurt you," Collin reassured me. I turned to look at him in astonishment. This guy was out of his goddamn mind.
"Can you feel him? He's here," Collin sing-songed to me. "I've got to go now. Maybe next time we won't be so rudely interrupted," Collin told me, grinning. I watched as he twisted on his heel and at an inhuman speed, he took off. To my complete amazement, the wolves literally passed me and began to chase after him. His friends were long gone, I noticed. In less than thirty seconds I found myself alone. Or so I thought since when I turned around, I faced the wolf; the one I encountered almost every time I came out here. Its eyes were glowing their dark color and its pitch black fur blew softly against the wind. As it passed me, it purred lowly before taking off quickly in the direction Collin and all the other wolves went.
I didn't think there were anymore wolves left but I wasn't taking any chances. Hitching up my dress, I began to quickly walk back home. Lucky for me, I knew exactly how to get there. I was not trying to get lost so I made sure when I was coming to walk straight. With that set in my mind, I took my Ms. little piggy ass right back home. I didn't stop until I was in the safety of my room. Collapsing on my bed, I looked out my window. In the far distance I heard a powerful howl and I welcomed the vibrations that it made within me.
As I drifted off to sleep I thought about the fact that, that was the second or third time I had put myself in a situation where I was less than a footstep from death. And while that was a nagging thought in my head, what was more important was if I was going to tell Mason and what exactly I was going to say.
