'Sylis' Chapter 6

  The alarm buzzed on my phone. I pressed the snooze button angrily and buried my head back in the pillow.   For the second night in a row I was able to sleep through, but not only that, it was the second night that I hadn’t dreamt about the accident.  I lifted my head and peered at the screen.  There wasn’t any missed call from Shakey.  I rolled on my back and stared up at the ceiling. Was she still there with Luke? My stomach rolled with a sick feeling. What if she was missing?  I sat up and checked the call history in a panic. I didn’t want to be the one to call her but I had to make sure she was safe. 

 

I glanced at the clock. It had just gone nine. Shakey would just be asleep anyway.  I flopped back down onto the pillow and stared at the bandage on my wrist. I flexed my arm and panicked as a faint grey mark rose to surface.  I rubbed at it quickly and shuddered remembering the dark stains on Shakey's shoulders. Everyone was completely oblivious to it. Even her.  I had no idea what the hell it was, or what it could be doing.   

 

  I sat up quickly and scrolled through the contacts list until I found her number.  My finger hovered over the call sign.  What if she was still mad at me?  I shrugged and pressed it down, she could be a mad as she liked as long as she was alive.  I listened as my heart skipped a beat with each long unanswered ring.

 

‘’Sorry Shakira can’t get to the phone right now, you can leave her a message, but she is going to be busy All . . Day . . Long’’’        

 

‘’Luke?’’ ‘’Is that you?’’ I asked confused.  The phone ruffled in my ear. 

 

‘’Grace?’’ Shakey said in a groggy voice.  ‘’Do you have any idea what time it is?’’

 

‘’Yeah sorry.’’ I said smiling, relieved just to hear her voice.

 

‘’Call me later ok, I’m a bit tied up right now.’’

 

‘’Quite literally.’’  A voice laughed in the background.

 

‘’On second thoughts, I’ll call you.’’  The line went dead. I threw my phone angrily across the bed. I was stupid for even caring.

 

  I stretched out and stared at the blood stained sheets thinking about Luke's words last night. Would it be days before anyone found me?  I ripped off the bandage, and stared at the scabby wound. What did she see in him anyway?   Her last boyfriend was a complete bum, the one before that was a biker but at least they didn’t act like potential serial killers. 

 

  I rolled off the bed and walked towards the bathroom.  Despite all the weird things that had happened last night, I actually felt quite positive.  I showered and dressed quickly and headed downstairs. I pulled the curtains open and smiled at the sunny day outside and decided that today, would be a perfect day to visit the lake.

 

  I drove twenty minutes to the edge of the woodlands and parked my car on the side of the road. I looked at the couple of cars dotted about and smiled that it wasn’t busy.  No one would notice if I sneaked down the cross-country route instead of walking the half mile to the lake. I didn’t want to see anyone.  I needed time to think, to make sense of things without distractions.   

 

  I grabbed my water bottle and put my phone in my pocket, locked the car door behind me and made my way towards the woodland.  I had been coming here for years.  My mum used to bring me all the time when I was little. She said I was always happy here.  Ben had said the same thing too, like I was a completely different person.  After they died, I was reluctant to return. I thought it might change how I felt about the woodland, turning it into a place of sadness instead of a sanctuary.  Yet I found myself here more and more frequently, clinging on to it like a security blanket.  Sometimes I would be gone for hours just aimlessly walking around, listening to the birds sing and smelling the fresh pine smell. Sometimes I would go all day without seeing a single person.

 

  I remember one time, when I was finding it harder than usual; I walked to the lake and sat on the bench opposite the huge weeping willow.  The rain was pouring down, like sheets of water but I didn’t move.  I sat all day on that old rotten bench, completely soaked through but the cold and wet didn’t affect me at all.  I could barely feel it.  The lake was majestic. I swear it could heal wounds.  It helped make mine bearable.  If you sat still for long enough you could become part of it too.  The woodland would come to life all around you.  That day I sat like stone, completely focused on the drooping tree that dipped its leaves in the water.   Even a group of ducks waddled past my feet, completely oblivious to me being there.  I sat watching the water ripple with the slight breeze, when a squirrel ran along the back of the bench and stopped completely still, centimetres from where I was  sitting.  Both of us just sat there staring out at the lake.  I was tempted to try and speak to it, but I had become more like the bench itself than a person. I was rigid and solid and had lost my ability to talk or at least the will to.  I don’t think I ever really left that bench, not mentally, until now. 

 

  I walked straight past the public walkway sign and headed in the opposite direction towards the cluster of tall conifers. I peered over my shoulders and pushed my way through the bushes and headed deeper into the woodland. I couldn’t see the road or my car any more. Finally I was alone. 

 

  I smiled and drew in a deep breath, smelling the woody earth as my body relaxed. The air felt great like it was cleaning my lungs.  I walked quickly down the sloping bank of trees and headed towards the sea of old cedars at the bottom.  So many times I had come here in sadness, today I just wanted to appreciate it.  I smiled that today for the first time, I felt I could. I propped myself up against a tree trunk and looked back at the route I had taken.

 

  I took a long swig of my water and watched the little bugs make their way up the bark.  They all looked so busy, collecting bits of leaves, dashing off to be somewhere.  I watched an ant crawl over my fingers and gently placed him back with the crowd.  I smiled at it.

 

‘‘It must be nice belonging to a colony,’’ I said, ‘’always fitting in.’’

 

  I closed my eyes and rested my head against the bark and felt the sun warm my face.  The trees swayed above my head casting little shadows behind my closed lids. I listened to the peaceful sounds of the trees blowing in the slight warm breeze.  To the birds singing to each other, as one started the song and the other returned the call.  I relaxed further against the tree.  I could hear a faint woodpecker rattling against a tree way in the distance, drilling hard and pausing before starting over again.  I breathed in the scent of earth and flowers and listened to the bumblebees slowly humming around.

 

‘’Click Click Clack Tap Tap Juasoiysa Click. ..’’ I opened my eyes. 

 

What was that?  I turned my head slowly and searched for the foreign sound and stared at a rabbit as it hopped near the bushes.  It twisted its ear towards me like a radar, testing to see if I was threat. I leant forward to see what it would do, it panicked at my movement and hopped into the bushes. I looked around again but couldn’t see anything else to explain the strange sound. I rested my head against the bark and frowned.  Weird things kept happening. I thought I was being paranoid at first but now was I hearing things too? 

           

‘’CLICK CLICK TAP BANG CLICK SHOAISH CLICK.’’ 

 

  I quickly stood up and turned 360 degrees as the noise grew louder. I desperately searched but couldn’t see anything.  I grabbed my water bottle and walked nervously through the trees towards the silver birches shimmering in the light. I stroked the bark as I walked past and rolled the flaky skin between my fingers like pieces of tissue paper.

 

‘’BANG TAP . . .SHOAISH.’’

 

  I paused and looked quickly over my shoulder at the empty woodland. I turned back feeling frustrated and walked quickly ahead. Whatever the noise was, it was following me.

 

‘’Click click clack tap tap juasoiysa click.’’  I heard again.

 

‘’Agghh, stop with the annoying noise already.’’ I shouted. 

 

  I started to jog.  Sweat broke out on my skin as I panted for breath, struggled my way up the hill until I saw the huge oak trees ahead. 

 

The oak trees were my favourite.  I always thought of them as the old wise trees, like they had seen it all and nothing would shock them. I reached my arms out to greet them, like an old friend but stopped as the bush shook next to me.  I squinted my eyes at it but couldn’t see anything through the branches.  It’s probably just an animal I shrugged and walked towards the oaks again.

 

  Goosebumps washed over my body, all the little hairs on my arms and neck stood on end.  I paused and looked around.  The birds weren’t singing, I couldn’t hear anything not even the strange click click noise that was irritating me so much.  I looked again, trying to find any signs of life. The woods looked darker too like it was dusk not day.  Dark angry clouds covered the sky through the tree tops, like a big storm was coming.  I looked back to where the bush had been shaking and shuddered as dark spindly shadows danced around me, cast by the branches above.

 

  I froze as the rustling started up again and heard my heart thump loudly in my chest.  I thought about running as fast as I could back to the car but knew if I ran away now I would forever be frightened, forever wondering what it was behind there. I didn’t want to be afraid any more, I had been running away from my nightmares my whole life.

 

  I stepped towards the bush and watched the dark eerie shadows creep around me, like longs arms reaching out to my skin. I took another step forward and felt the alarm bells ring in my head again, something was wrong. I placed my foot back down and turned to run away and heard the bush shake behind me.  I listened to the whispers all around, echoing off the trees.

 

‘’Nacara-Na-Aeo.’’ Over and over again.

 

  I took another step towards it.  I didn’t want to but it was like I had no control, I had to touch it.  I jumped as it shook again. I fought against my shaking fingers as they reached out and brushed the edge of the pointed leaves.  I took another step and . . .

Author's Note

This is a DRAFT version of ‘Sylis’. I am aware that there may be a lot of technical error’s but at this stage I’m trying to get feedback on the story line, character’s etc. Any technical advice will be gratefully received and I will look to edit the whole story with everyone’s suggestions in mind.
Thanks for reading
Michelle J

Reviews

[Forest Green]

Closing with quite a tease...;) I've not seen that done before, but it was kinda cute. The chapter is a nicely structured one, building suspense with each line...Grace is finding her legs again it seems...strengthening her resolve to know...to know what is out there, and what is inside...very nice work.

[diaphanous]

I wish you would finish, the anticipation is awful! but i loved these chapters, they were captivating. I hope you do take the time to continue with this story, because I'm eager to find out what happens to Grace next! Very well done.

[Reaching for the clouds]

Well this is a change isnt it? The storyline seems to have shifted a bit. I can still identify since i am shy and i have always liked my alone time.....and my imagination comes up with things like Graces does......

i like it!

[Christie Moses]

oh! you kept me dangling lol I gotta know what is out there! I won't make this review long cause I"m going on quickly to chapter seven.
I will say I love how in tune with nature Grace is. I really like the way she feels and thinks. You describe things quite beautifully.
on to the next.

[Coyote Poetry]

I had to re-read the early chapters. Hard to find time lately. I like this chapter. I like her vision of the park. Her thoughts jumps around watching her world.
"The oak trees were my favourite. I always thought of them as the old wise trees, like they had seen it all and nothing would shock them"
Thank you for the entertaining chapter.
Coyote

[Mark]

You employ physical aspects of what I am so far imagining will be some version of vampirism that I have never seen or read before, incl. the blue aura aroung the red-headed woman, and the inky stains seeping into the skin of the two girls. Your imagination, and your ability to create credible and unique physical phenomena is pretty exalted, for a first time writer--are you sure you're not sandbagging?? Another reviewer mentioned the suddenness of Shakira's personality change, which I attribute to some evil essence emanating out of Like, but if that is the case, why is Grace not similarly affected? Is Michael not as wicked? Do we have a good-vamp-bad-vamp scenario a-working?
I tell you, Michelle, yours is only the second full-length book I've read on this site, and your style is really very engaging. I even recommended you to the author of the OTHER book--Chris Cooke ("Dragonfaerie", just out by Reliquary Books)! I wish I could read this in longer chunks, but, honestly, if I had it at home, I'd be worthless at work the next day, having stayed up all night! Gush! Gush! Sorry, can't help it!

[Althelia Marie Caine]

OMG! I am loving this story

[Megan S.]

Okay, so, I'm to the point where I'm simply going to ramble about how much I love this because I don't even notice problems anymore. Even when I read it four or five times to give you something you can work on. So, I love how she simply wants to go on to a little quiet place to relax and it just happens to be there that something happens to her. I love how you ended this, I don't really think you could have done that any better. I think I simply must say that you are awesome. I am sorry my reviews are slowly getting shorter and I warn you, the next one will most likely be me yelling at you for not having anything else up yet! So, amazing yet again!

[The old me]

great cliffhanger. cant wait till the next chapter. normally I hate when it goes to a cliffhanger but in this case it was there in a great moment and made me more invested in the story. great job overall too.

[Chris Smith Welshpoetcs]

Liked the description of nature, but you are being very naughty......excellent ending (going to check if chapter 7 is there ; ) )

[?]

OMG what is it???? Thats terrible how long you gonna leave us hanging??
It is also awesome!!! Anxiously awaiting the next