Chapter 3

Chapter 3

                        There is a light and a dark in every situation. You cannot have lightness without darkness. The shadow of ourselves holds our deepest, darkest desires and regrets. It is only when there is light shown on our shadows that our shadows can weaken. Though the light may be temporary, relish the moment. Always remember the feeling of pure joy during your darkest hours. Fighting something or someone that is new can be challenging, but it is times like those that we remember who we really are and grow into a better person because of it. Though the shadow seems to keep growing, remember that the tiniest of lights can chase away the blackest darkness.

                             -Nora’s Journal

           

“Steph, please don’t set me up, I really don’t want another pity date. Besides I don’t even know how to dance.” I explained. It had only been two months since Steph and I became friends, but it seemed like we had known each other since birth. I was able to quickly pick up on my best friend’s personality and habits, saving me from moments that could have easily made me want to die of embarrassment. I took a bite of my salad shoving my mouth before I say anything else. Nervously I looked around to make sure no one was listening. I hate talking about my feelings when there are strangers around.

            “Dang girl, I just merely suggested that I ask my brother who he is taking to the winter formal. Besides they just barely told us the actual date of the dance anyways, no one has asked anyone yet. Chill, I doubt I’ll have to force anyone to ask you. You’ll never guess who might take you, so I wouldn’t worry quite yet.” Steph hinted, as she took another bite of her sandwich. Just then I felt a tap on my shoulder, making me jump.

            “S**t! Damn Nora, you shocked the crap out of me!”  Brian said with his finger in his mouth. “I feel bad for the poor sucker that tries to pick a fight with your beautiful self.” He finished with a grin. He sat down with his sulky sidekick following slowly behind him. Turning back to my food, my face instantly turned into a frown. The feeling that I was being watched consumed me again. Even after two months since the weird feelings first started, I still haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly who, or what, was watching me. I’ve come close once to spotting who it was, but the feeling left before I could. I searched the room for repetitive faces, but the feeling was too general for me to narrow it down. A sense of dread filled me as I scanned. Something bad was going to happen tonight. By the time that the feeling passed, my table was launched into a deep discussion on whether or not socks with sandals are, or have ever been, stylish. I focused back on the table taking a bite of my salad. I glanced over at Shane who was studying me, a hint of what looked like alarm on his face.

            “Hey, Nora’s back! Why do you always do that? Zoom out randomly? Your expression goes really weird.” Brian stated with a mouthful of popcorn chicken. Steph looked a bit shocked but then rolled her eyes. I felt Shane’s eyes drill into me, as I pushed my food around in my bowl. I started talking about the winter formal, my friends quickly understanding the hidden hint that I didn’t want to talk about it. For some reason I felt like I was betraying Shane for quickly changing the subject, and the fact that I know something’s not right. Brian nudged Shane really hard and gave him a sharp look when he realized that he was making me feel uncomfortable.

            For the rest of the day, the feeling that something bad was going to happen kept getting stronger, as well as Shane’s intense and obvious stares. Once the dismissal bell rang I shot out of the room and booked it to my locker, glad that I could get away from Shane’s glare, even if it was only going to be for a few short seconds. Steph came bouncing around the corner, her curly black hair flying with every step. As she headed my way, quick snapshots of the creature with the yellow eyes coming towards me flooded my senses. They were different images than the ones in my dream; they felt like they were more personal. It felt like I was actually in that ally, watching as my impending death came closer and closer towards me. I stood there, frozen with fear, not sure if it was actually happening to me right this second. A silent tear escaped my eye and outlined the side of my face.

            “Nora, are you okay? What is the matter? Why are you crying?” Steph quickly asked me, bringing me back to the school hallway, the eyes still haunting me when I blinked. I turned to where I heard my best friend’s voice. Worry was plastered on not only Stephanie’s face, but Brian’s as well. I felt Shane behind me, standing protectively over me, his whole body alert and tense. It should have freaked me out, the way that our bodies touched whenever one of us breathed, but it oddly made me feel safer. Realizing that I was just standing there, I quickly smiled and nodded my head looking back at my locker and swiftly wiped away the tear.

            “I’m fine, don’t worry about it. I just thought about my Grandmother for a second. It’s nothing to worry about, Nothing out of the ordinary. I promise.” I said, as I closed my locker. That’s not a total lie. I was thinking about grandma, and this has been happening more often lately. My friends didn’t look totally convinced, but it made Shane relax a tiny bit beside me, though he still hadn’t moved. “So who can keep me company tonight while I work?” I asked, hoping that they wouldn’t push me on the subject. To my relief, they dropped it, but my relief didn’t last long.

            “I’m so sorry, Nora, I can’t tonight, neither can Brian. My parents invited their boss over for dinner, and they want us to go straight home and help out. I’m sure Shane would love to go with you though.” Steph ended with a suspicious smile. Shane’s body immediately tensed up beside me, and, honestly, I couldn’t blame him. I shot her an, “I-hate-you-with-a-passion” look, as I closed my locker.

            “I can take you to work if you want.” I heard Shane’s gruff voice state behind me. Steph’s smile grew as she contemplated the idea. Knowing that smirk I tried to say that it was ok but Steph cut me off before I could. Brian rolled his eyes at his sister, knowing that she had something to do with Shane’s generous offer.

            “She would love that! See you two tomorrow!” Steph said as she grabbed her brother and headed towards her car before either of us could protest.  I turned around, and my nose grazed Shane’s hard abs, electricity flowing where my nose touched his body. Quickly stepping back, I laughed awkwardly and adjusted my bags. Shane silently motioned for me to follow him. As the car pulled out of the student parking lot, I soundlessly watched the world blur past me, catching as much detail as I could. At red lights, I could feel Shane’s eyes on me, studying me like I was some mouse in a maze. What is his problem? One minute he is a huge jerk to me, the next he wants to take me to work? I swear I feel like I’m in a Katy Perry song. Focusing back on the streets I saw what looked like the yellow-eyed creature reflection off of the dark windows moving as fast as we were, following us. I tensed up, and my breath started to become shallower. I closed my eyes and wished for it to just disappear, but when I opened my eyes, it was still there, gazing at me, piercing my soul with those bright yellow eyes.

            “Nora, are you okay? What’s the matter?” Shane asked, as he kept on catching glances of me, his voice strained. I laughed nervously and shook my head, focusing on what was in front of me, avoiding the chance for Shane to see the pure terror in my eyes. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. 1 2 3 4. 1 2 3 4.

            “Everything is fine. I just thought I saw someone I recognized.” I responded, my voice small and weak. God I’m such a wimp. Shane’s right hand fell down and slowly came towards me but stopped and rested on top of the gear shift, as he took a deep breath. We pulled up to the store and quickly parked. I grabbed my bags from the back of the car and headed towards the open door Shane was holding for me. I slipped passed him, saying a quiet thank you, and headed to the restroom to change. Walking back out, I spotted Shane exploring the mythical section. I walked towards him and looked at the shelf, scanning for any books that might be out of place.

            “You like mythical creatures?” I asked politely.

            “Yeah, I’ve always thought the lore behind the creatures was fascinating. My mother used to read me stories about different mythical creatures every night. I guess I got my interest from her.” He casually stated, pulling a book about shifters out and looking at the old text. I glanced up at him, shocked at the fact that he not only said something not mean or weird to me, but also the fact that he said something about his past. Looking back at the shelves, I grabbed a misplaced history book.

            “Me too, my parents have tons of mythical creatures books at home all marked up and corrected.” I replied smiling, giving a short chuckle. I stood there awkwardly, hoping that maybe he might bear the burden of keeping up the conversation, for once.

            “Can I buy this book? I shockingly don’t have this copy in my stash of books, and it would be nice to see this author’s point of view of shifters.” He said abruptly, breaking the silence.

            “Sure!” We walked over to the counter and he handed me the book.

            “I’m sorry, Nora, but I need to go. I didn’t realize that you were going to be alone, otherwise I would have scheduled my meeting with my boss at a different time, but I need to go talk to him about my hours this week. I’ll see you tomorrow” I handed him his book, and he left the store, leaving the ringing of the doorbell echoing in my ear. He doesn’t even have a job. Brian always got mad at Shane whenever he bragged that he didn’t have to give up his free time, because he didn’t have a job. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Steph is going to get so mad tomorrow. I quietly placed the history book in the right section and started alphabetizing the new books that people donated to the store, carefully placing each book in a specific pile and spot. By the time I got to the end of the third box of books, Mr. McCay came out of his office with his little briefcase in hand.

            “Nora. It’s closing time. I need to head home as quick as I can, so if you don’t mind locking up for me, I would really appreciate it.”

            “Yeah, I don’t mind! I’ll finish this box, then head on home. Don’t worry about it.” I finished with a smile. He nodded and slipped on out, slithering into his old 1998 Collora and sputtering off. Laughing at the classic older man in his old car with his brief case scene, I placed the books back in the box in alphabetical order and set it with the other boxes that I was able to complete. I grabbed my bags and keys and switched off the lights. Walking out of the store, I felt the nice cool New York breeze, so I decided to walk home again tonight. I locked the store and headed down the street that was lit up by the faded yellow glow of the street lights. Smiling, I replayed images of the day, at the thought of Brian asking me to the winter formal. It was only a month away, and I had nothing in my closet that was even close to fitting for an event like that. For once I was actually looking forward to going dress shopping with Stephanie. Slowly a feeling crept up from the bottom of my spine and finally made its way to my heart. Something bad was going to happen. I glanced around looking to see if there was someone following me. Seeing nothing, but the feeling not fading I started walking faster. Hugging myself, I walked a little bit faster.

            Turning a corner, I started in a light jog. Looking around again, and still not seeing anything, my heart started picking up the pace. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in my right ankle, and I was thrown off my feet, falling to the concrete and being dragged by my ankle. I tried to scream, but nothing would come out. I was able to flip myself over, trying to get a look at my attacker, as he dragged me into a dark building. There was black fog with the shape and face shape of a human whose claws were as sharp as a shaving blade piercing my skin as it dragged me deeper and deeper into the darkness. I tried kicking at it, but it had no effect on my attacker. I looked around trying to find something to grasp onto and realized that there were more of these things. One of them looked straight at me and I screamed. Two bright yellow eyes from my dreams glared at me. I finally found part of a metal railing and grabbed on for dear life, hoping that I had enough strength to fight against these monsters. One of the creatures by me slashed my back, trying to get me to let go. I screamed in pain as I felt my flesh tearing. I twisted my body while kicking and the one holding my ankle lost some of its grip on my leg. Using that moment of distraction I was able to yank my leg from it, but hearing a loud popping sound and a crack. Pain shot through my leg as it slammed down onto the hard concrete. I screamed and pulled my legs to my body, my adrenaline starting to kick in.

            There was a loud growl that echoed in the building. The creatures hissed and looked around trying to find the source of the disturbance from their hunt. I started crawling towards where I saw light, my vision spotting up, and the bittersweet blissfulness of unconsciousness calling out to me. Fighting it as hard as I could, I looked up to see how far it was until the exit. Standing there was the silhouette of a man, with eyes that were glowing blue. As my eyes focused more I saw Shane standing there. I screamed at him to run, to go get help, but instead he started heading towards me. He started running full force until he started crawling on all fours. I blinked and there was a massive wolf running towards me. The splotches in my vision started getting bigger, and I couldn’t move anymore. I felt the sharp claw grab my ankle once again sending a fresh stream of pain up my leg. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I fell to the mercy to the back fog once again. I looked to see if I could find Shane again but the wolf jumped over my head and slash the fog. It was able to grab ahold of the head with its strong jaws and started shaking with all its might. I closed my eyes, not able to fight to stay awake. Opening my eyes I saw the wolf come towards me with the black fog on its tale. Only half conscious I felt myself being dragged across the floor. I use the last ounce of my strength to open my eyes and saw Shane holding me, running in the middle of the brightly lit street, the lights seeming as if they were radiating from his body. Finally I lost the battle and darkness claimed me as its victim.

Author's Note

Please write what you think of the Chapter. If there anything that you don't like please fill free to tell me. Any reviews will help. Thanks!

Reviews

[Jackson H. Harley]

The plot thickens ;) love the poetic introduction to the chapter, and a great build up to the weird and wonderful end :) I've decided to read the entire book and do one big comment as apose to commenting on every single chapter, unless you want feedback on every chapter? :p