Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Nathaniel Zachary Shores

It was only in the back of my mind that I registered the rain soaking through my shirt. I just kept running trying to catch up to Elly. Her white shirt shown in the dark but she was slipping away. “ELLY STOP!” I screamed as loud as I could. She turned around and stared at me. I caught up to her and saw how terrified she was. “It’s okay Ells, I’m here. I won’t let anything hurt you okay.” I touched her arm and a shudder racked her body. I noticed we were on the edge of the woods. They were a symbol of beauty and mystery in the town and I had a quick thought about how Elly and I always ended up back here.

A loud snap echoed behind me and I turned around quickly putting my arm in front of Elly. My eyes strained to see in the darkness and I held my breath so I could hear the faintest noise. “It must just have been the wind” I stated turning back around and came face to face with a twisted figure. “What the..!” I jumped back and took in the snarly thing in front of me. Its hair was black and fell in thin strands around its face. Its clawed hand came up and tried to grab me. Immediately I tried to run away calling for Elly. What was this thing? Tripping over a tree root I paused for a moment and it’s disgusting hands gripped my arm. I pushed it off but it presumed to chase after me. Finally as it grabbed my shirt I pushed the ugly thing down and grabbed a tree branch that had fallen due to the storm. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” I yelled slamming it down into the twisted side of the creature. Once wasn’t enough though and I crushed the branch into it over and over again releasing all aggression I had ever felt. The thump of the branch sounded in my head and was strangely comforting.   

Small screams started to come out of its mouth and one sounded like my name. I stopped for a moment looking horrified and breathing hard. “What did you just say?” I asked holding the tree branch directly over it.

“Please stop Nathaniel. Please.” It whispered. How did this thing know me? I looked closer and the image started to shift. The black hair suddenly wasn’t black and stringy but instead just wet and dark. The hands weren’t snarly but were smooth and pale, and the nails were short not long. No way was this happening. Cautiously I nudged its right shoulder so it rolled over onto its back. With a sharp intake of breath I realized that it wasn’t a crazy unknown person chasing me, it was Elly. She clenched her right side in pain keeping her eyes tightly closed as if anticipating another beating. What had I done? There was no way that it had been Elly before, I would have recognized her. In shock and fear I stumbled backwards. Hesitating for a moment I turned and ran away. Who was I?

 

          I sat up in bed quickly and relief washed over me as I realized it had just all been a dream. None of that had actually happened, and Elly was probably home safe and sound in her bed. Looking at the clock I realized it was only 4:00 am and I passed back out until my alarm clock went off a few hours later.

 

Eliah Razor Dess

          Every time it stormed I went for a walk. I don’t know what it was about the cool sting of the rain that was so appealing, but I couldn’t even sleep without going out in it first. The edge of the woods called my name and I looked deep into them. I had been playing in them since I was little and they felt like home. The woods were as much a part of Worthington as were the people. Almost everyone here had been raised on how to survive in them since we were little, and parents didn’t worry about their kids getting lost in them.

          I took in a deep breath of the fresh air, it smelled like soil and fall. I stopped and tilted my head back letting the drops of water fall directly on my face. Shaking out my hair I looked forward again and was startled by what I saw. Rushing forward I tried to help whoever it was that was limping out of the edge of the forest. Getting closer I realized it was a girl, and she looked strangely familiar but I just couldn’t place it. Her boxy Worthington High shirt clung to her skin caked in mud. When I reached her she only screamed in protest and tried to run away.

“Hey, it’s okay I’m not going to hurt you I promise. Let me help you please. What happened?” I asked her trying to stay calm and chase her down at the same time. Finally when she looked at me something just wasn’t right. Her eyes seemed far away and it’s like she didn’t really see me. After a short while of trying to catch up to her without frightening her she ran out of energy and easily slumped into my arms. Pushing her hair out of her face I was able to realize how I knew her. This was Nathaniel’s girl, or former girlfriend at least. “Hey where do you live?” I asked her but it was too late her eyes were fluttering closed. “Are you sleeping??” I shook her slightly. Giving up I racked my brain trying to remember where she lived. I had dropped Nathaniel off at her house a few times and knew the streets around it. Hesitating to pick her up due to the mud I took a deep breath. “Ah what the hell” I said to myself and threw her into my arms and headed off into the general direction of her house.

          After a short while of walking I started to question what I was doing. Should I of called 911? I mean she seemed pretty beat up, but who knows she could have just fallen down. What was she doing out here anyways, and why was I carrying her? Shrugging off all these questions I spotted her house, recognizing her tiny black car in the driveway. I was about to go to the front door when I realized a window wide open on the side of the house. Feeling slightly creepy I looked inside and saw what looked like her bedroom. What confirmed it was a picture of Nathaniel sitting on the table, which struck me as odd since they had just broken up. Just sticking her in the room would save me from a lot of awkward questions later, like what I was doing with her so late. With a little difficultly I climbed in the window without dropping the sleeping girl I was holding.

          Once I got inside I debated what to do with her. My first instinct was to just put her in bed but all the mud she was caked in would for sure ruin almost all of her bedding. Standing there lost for a moment I finally made a decision. I grabbed a rag towel I saw and wiped off all the mud on her arms and legs. I held my breath and pulled off her shirt, trying to do it without looking in her direction whatsoever. I grabbed the nearest shirt (another school sport shirt) and threw it over her head. It went almost to her knees thankfully and with a deep burning in my cheeks I pulled her muddy shorts off and threw her into bed.

          I looked around to make sure I wasn’t missing anything and then quickly went to the window to leave. As I was sliding the window pane up she turned over in bed and I froze. She let out a painful gasp but didn’t open her eyes. Holding my breath I waited until her breathing was back to normal and I slipped out into the night. As I reached the front part of my house I started to wonder if leaving her alone had been such a good idea after all, but even more pressing, that I had just done the most awkward, creepy and difficult thing in my life.

 

Elly Elizabeth Bell

          I was glad to wake up in the morning from the horrible dream I was having. Running from something black, a terrible storm and Nathaniel hitting me repeatedly with a tree branch replayed in my head; thank goodness it had just been a dream. I started to stretch my arms over my head and suddenly noticed the pile of muddy clothes on the floor and the soaked carpet over by the window. Had I been sleepwalking again? My hair felt coarse and when I went to reach for the light the pain in my side screamed. Lifting up my shirt I saw a deep black and yellow bruise on my ribs. Was that from getting hit at practice?  It definitely did not look like that yesterday.