Chapter 4

 "He keeps staring at you." I look over at Natalie "Hm?" she smiles "Mr. Moody. You know, Kathel." "Oh, I didn't notice." I lie. I had felt his gaze boring into me all class period. It was as if he was trying to gaze into my mind. I give a silent sigh of relief as the bell rings. I'm walking out of English when I hear a low, proud voice behind me "Krystal." I jump, yelping lightly "You're to jumpy." I turn to find myself gazing into his almost golden eyes, the purple standing out through his intense gaze. "Come on. We need to talk. Now." he starts to walk away, and I follow him. I'm not sure why, though. Was it his tone? The way he carried himself? Or, was it simply the hypnotic quality of his eyes?

          I see my friends out of the corner of my eye, but I push them to the back of my mind. I see him going for the side door of the school and hesitate, but then keep going. I step outside and feel a sudden thrill *I'm skipping class! Me, of all people, skipping class! Oh my goodness, I'm skipping class, mom is going to kill me. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.* He turns to face me "How'd you do it?" I look at him, confused "Do what?" "You know what I mean. Answer me. Now." I see anger flit across his features, making his eyes glint. My grip tightens on my books out of fear. "Hey, calm down, Kathel." I hear the gruff voice from my dream and feel confused. My eyes widen as the huge guy, Derek, come into view. I see Kathel about to shoot off a retort, but Derek puts a hand on his shoulder "You're still there, aren't you?" the boy, Kathel, just glares at him "Still where?" I ask "He's right here...isn't he?"

          Derek sighs "Yes, but he's somewhere else, too." he looks over at me and I expect to be taken aback by his eyes like with Kathel's, but I'm not. His gaze isn't as deep, intense, as alive. Kathel looks at me once more "Close your eyes." I freeze "Why?" "Just close them." he commands impatiently. I hesitantly obey, wondering what he's going to do. I feel a hand on my forehead, the skin rough, muscles tensed, like they're under strain. "Open them." I stiffen as I find myself back in my dream. The landscape is barren, trees, what few there are, are blackened and small. Tufts of brown grass and aged ivy grow rampant over fallen walls and cobblestone pathways.

          "How did you get here by yourself last night?" I stare at a shape in the distance "I don't know." "You had to get here somehow. How?" he demands "I-I don't know." He grabs my arm, making me look at him, his eyes glinting once more "Honestly! How can you not kno-" "I don't know!" I snap, yanking my arm out of his grasp "So stop asking me! I don't know! I don't know how. I don't know why. And I don't know where we are. I just don't know!" I look around, a feeling of dread settling in my gut "I don't know." I say quietly. He looks at the shape in the distance, narrowing his eyes "Great." he mutters "Now I've got two issues to deal with."

          He grabs my shoulder and I start to scream from the pain, but he clamps a hand over my mouth "Be quiet if you want to live, weakling." he growls, then takes off running, dragging my with him. We reach an abandoned barn, and he shoves me at an old, rickety ladder "Get into the loft." "Why do I-" he glares "Just get in the loft!" he barks. I go up it out of pure fear, looking over the edge. He takes the ladder and shoves it aside, making me wonder if he's trying to trap me up here. My eyes widen as he jumps, his hands grabbing the edge of the loft. He easily pulls himself up into the loft, then glares "In the corner, now." I start to ask why, but shut my mouth after I see the look in his eyes. He pulls something out of his pocket, a matchbox.

          I hear footsteps, coming closer. "This way." I start to move, but Kathel puts a hand over my mouth, glaring into my eyes. He shakes his head, then lets go. I got the message: Don't talk, don't move, stay still. The footsteps come closer, and I hear the barn door opening. "The dogs smell them in here." I freeze, fear making it hard to breathe. Kathel closes his eyes, and it looks like he's struggling, then I hear the doors close. "Who closed the door?" Kathel opens the matchbox, taking a handful of them out. He strikes them, setting them aflame, then throws them down. He shoves me the rest of the way into the corner, close enough that I can feel the heat of him.

          I hear a roar like an angry, wild beast, and heat surrounds us. He mutters a curse, then moves away, dragging my with him to the far wall. He kicks at one of the boards, then another, then another. "Come on!" he leaps out the hole, and I look, eyes wide, over the edge to the ground. "Come on! Jump!" he shouts. I hesitate, the ground spinning. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. I don't do well with heights. "Jump! Now!" he yells, aggravated. I take a breath, close my eyes, and do one of the most dangerous things I'd ever done: I jump.

Author's Note

Okay, this one's mine. Please tell me what you think!
Love,
CreativeCookie