Chapter Three: Awakening

A Chapter by Dann Stack

My sleep was unfortunately short-lived, as I was quickly awakened by a loud knocking at the door. The knocking soon turned to banging and pounding, and it was obvious someone was trying to break in. I saw Lee-Ann emerge from her bedroom, rubbing at her tired eyes. “Who the hell...it’s three in the morning, what’s so damn important?” She slowly walked over to the door and look through the peephole, and let out a loud sigh. “Go away jack, I’m not doin this today, especially not at three in the morning. It’s over, get over it already.” I stood up from the couch, intrigued at who might be at the door. It was obviously someone she knew, not a stranger as I had thought. Though it also seemed it was someone she had no intention of dealing with, yet the banging persisted.

And then it happened, the door burst off its hinges and almost knocked her over. “LEE-ANN!” I rushed to her side. “I'm fine. But what the hell jack! You can’t just go breaking my door down at three in the morning!! Hell, you shouldn’t be breaking it down at all!” The man in the doorway slowly lowered his foot, almost falling over. The smell of booze and cigarettes that emanated from this man was almost unbearable, and it was obvious he had more to drink then he could handle. He was a tall, gruff man; with large arms, a five-o-clock shadow, and a wild look in eyes that scared me slightly. Though he couldn’t have been any older than Lee-Ann, he certainly seemed like he had been beaten around for a very long time.

That was when he noticed me standing there in my trench coat and hat. “Who the hell is this loser? This what you bringing home these days Lee-Ann? Come on, this is bull. Screw the loser and come back to me.” This made her very upset, but whether it was sadness or anger I couldn’t tell. Perhaps a mixture of both? “Jack. Get out. Now.” “I ain’t goin nowhere unless you’re going with me!” he grabbed for her arm and she pulled away. “I’m never going anywhere with you ever again jack. You better get used to that. Now get out before I have to call the cops on you again.” He grabbed for her arm again, “wanna bet?!” She pulled back just in time and in an instant slapped him across the face, without even thinking. His face burned bright red with rage and I could almost see the thoughts running through his head, and none of them pleasant. I stepped between him and Lee-Ann, there was no way I was going to let him near her. “Get out of the way loser, this isn’t your damn business.” “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I won’t let you near her; this woman was kind enough to let me in and has asked you politely to leave. I suggest you do so.” And to this he just began to laugh as he reached into his pocket, and the next thing I knew I was face to face with a shiny black revolver. “Who’s gunna make me? You? Haha, I don’t think so.” “Jesus Christ, Jack what the hell are you doing!?!” He pointed the gun past me and at her, “You shut your damn mouth! This is all your fault! I asked nicely! You made it come to this!” he was shaking now, scared and angry like a cornered animal. That’s never a good thing when said animal happens to be holding a loaded firearm. “Jack…just put it down…” I could hear the fear in her voice as she tried to talk him down. “Please, listen to her...” I pleaded. It was too much, and he snapped. “EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!!”

Then it happened, the room became slow motion as I watched his finger pull against the trigger, aiming straight for Lee-Ann. “NOO!!!” Without a second thought I leaped back, surrounding her in my body like a bubble, my coat and hat falling to the ground as if the man inside them had suddenly disappeared. For a moment, it was actually sort of nice, and it was a feeling I won’t soon forget. While surrounding her, she became my whole observable world, and all of my senses were filled with her; smell, taste, touch. I can imagine this is the closest I could ever get to the feeling of making love, and it was just as wonderful. Until the bullets hit that is, three of them slamming into the wall of flesh I had just made around her. It wasn’t the force that hurt as much as it was the searing heat, but I forced against the pain, adding more skin to the places were the bullets had hit and pushing back against them. I fought against the force of the speeding bullets, pushing them back, ignoring the piercing, searing pain. The only thought rushing through my mind was protecting her. After a few moments, though it felt like hours, there was a clinking sound as the bullets fell to the ground like fallen coins.

I could see Jacks expression on the outside of the bubble I had become, he stood there shocked and horrified, unsure if he was really seeing this or was just that drunk. I brought my mask around to where he was to give him the impression of staring him straight in the eyes, and he looked directly into the two holes that represented my eyes. “Leave.” I said to him softly, but with a calm rage. And with that one word, he stumbled back out the door, and ran down the hallway, tripping over his own feet and falling down a few times along the way. Once he was out of sight I slowly slithered back from around her and lifted into my original shape; that strange silhouette of a man. She lay there on the ground, huddled in the fetal position shaking and crying. I stood there, just looking over her for a time, unsure of what to do or say.

Finally she looked up at me, tears flowing from her eyes like a river, and I could do nothing but stare. What could possibly be going through her mind? First this crazy ex-boyfriend tries to shoot her, and now she finds out her house guest is a walking blob monster with a steel face, which is currently staring down at her, emotionless as far as she can make out. Great, I thought to myself, now she’ll need years of therapy and it’s all thanks to me. Boy I'm good at this. To my surprise, she stood up slowly and wrapped her arms around me, sobbing. I was shocked, this was definitely not the reaction I expected, but I guess had just saved her life. I hesitated before placing my arms loosely around her; I wasn’t used to this kind of thing. She leaned up and whispered through her tears, “Thank you…” “Don’t mention it. If you got shot, where would I stay?” This managed to squeeze a small chuckle out of her before she fell limp in my arms.

I panicked, checking to see if perhaps I had let a bullet get through without realizing. Checking the pulse at her neck, I realized she was still breathing, and had most likely just passed out from all of the stress. I lifted her up and placed her in her bed gently, pulled the covers back over her and closed the door behind me as I walked out. I slid under the fallen door, and pushed up, lifting the door as I stretched forward like a diagonal car jack. Once the door was in upright in the frame, I placed a chair against the handle, more for keeping the door standing then to keep someone out. I then slunk into the couch, looking like a melted ice cream cone. I was too tired and in too much pain too keep my shape. I stayed awake until morning, watching the door just in case. Any minute I expected Jack to burst in with a semi-automatic and try to gun down the place and kill us both. Granted, as far as I know I can’t die, but I don’t know how many bullets I can hold back at once and I’d rather not find out.

I decided then and there I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. My whole life I’d been nothing but a wandering monster. A freak. Maybe I could finally be more than that, maybe I could finally be a hero instead of a beast. It was a stupid thought, but the first happy one I’d had in a long time, so I held on to it as tight as I could. Not a monster, but a guardian. I could live with that.

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© 2013 Dann Stack

Author's Note

only half a chapter, im afraid i haven't yet finished the rest. might just end it here though, we'll see what happens.

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Reviews

BrynnaW.

Sorry it has taken me a while to review this though I read it a long time ago. I love how you ended this with such commitment toward Lee-Ann and I love how he protects her. Great capture of emotion in this chapter too. It is so different with the way you incorporate this "monsters" form. With him being a strange sort of mass and glob to change shapes in this is so unique and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Post more soon :) I look forward to see where you go with this book. Great job and keep on writing :)