Pretty Predator

Chapter 4:Michael

I was out of breath. That huge, red lava monster was still chasing me. I had been running for a while, and I was ready to give up until I saw a huge, bright full moon in the sky. I felt drawn to it, so I ran in its direction. I was panting now, and I just wanted to give up. I felt something hot on my back, and I dared to look back. There was lava on the ground, and the monster was not far behind. I was not going to make it, but suddenly, I leaped and started to change. I became a freaking dog, and the moon looked closer than it was supposed to. I whimpered, feeling super scared, but I continued running. I was faster, but how did I do that?

“Michael?” I heard someone calling me in the distance. The voice was coming from the direction of the moon, so I followed it when it suddenly started raining. I jumped up, and I was back to being me. My mom was staring at me, looking scared and holding an empty glass. My clothes were drenched, thanks to my mom, but I was grateful to her because I managed to wake up from that horrible nightmare. That was so scary, and I was freaking out. I started crying, so my mom put down the glass and held me in her arms.

“I’m sorry, my child. It was just a nightmare. You are okay now.” She comforted me. I didn’t like to see her worried, so I stopped crying.

“It's okay, Mom. It was just a bad dream.” I assured her, but I don’t think it worked.

“What was it about?” I couldn’t tell her the truth because she would think I was weird.

“I don’t remember anything.” I lied, and she seemed to believe me.

“Well, that happens. Are you not going to church today?” She asked me, and I took my phone and looked at the time. It was still early, so I guessed that's why my mom was in my room to wake me up.

“I’m going. I never miss Sunday services, and I’m not about to start now.”

“Then I will leave you to get ready.” She left the room, and I went to the bathroom to get ready. After I was done showering, I wore black jeans, a white shirt, a black blazer, and my black sneakers. I combed my black hair and styled it nicely. I wanted to dye my hair blonde, but I hadn’t found the time to yet. However, I was going to do it soon. I was interested in dyes and piercings but not tattoos. I was never going to ink my body. Tattoos are beautiful. They are art, but they are not for me. When I was ready, I went downstairs.

“Are you okay?” Justin asked as soon as I came downstairs.

“Yes, I’m okay. It was just a bad dream,” I said, and then left the house. I was hungry, but I wasn’t going to eat before the service started. I got into my car and drove to church, which was five minutes away. In my family, I was the only one who went to church, and when I asked the others why they didn’t go, they said they didn’t believe in that. That was surprising, but I wasn’t judging. I was a Christian all the way. I think I started believing in Christianity when I was 13 years old, and a group of people came to school to tell us about God. That day, I felt something inside me—there was a light—and I wanted to know what it was, so I convinced my mom to let me go to church. At first, she was totally against it, but I wasn’t giving up, so she gave in. When I stepped foot in that church for the first time in my life, that light returned in full force. I felt complete and like I belonged. I experienced something in my heart, and that’s how I started attending church every Sunday. As soon as I arrived, I greeted everyone I saw and then went to the front to sit beside Fatima. She was my church friend. We met in Sunday school, but we no longer attended it because we were already past 18.

“Hey.” I greeted her and she smiled before greeting me back.

“Hey. How are you?” she asked, looking at me weirdly.

“I’m good and you, but why are you asking?”

“I’m good.” She replied. “You look tired,” I smiled at that.

“I didn’t sleep well last night, but I’m okay,” I realized that ever since I entered the church, I felt lighter and more at peace. This place was my haven.

“That’s good then. How is your girlfriend?” She asked, and I looked at her. I didn’t like talking about my girlfriend with my ex-girlfriend because it was so weird.

“Let’s not go there, please,” I begged her, and she looked away, nodding.

“I’m sorry,” she said without even looking at me, and I felt bad. The choir started singing, and the service officially began. I stopped worrying and concentrated on the service. After church, I drove home, but I was thinking about Fatima the entire way. Our relationship hadn't ended on a good note, but since we were going to see each other every Sunday, we decided to be civil. That’s how we grew closer and realized we were good friends. We were 15 when we started dating, and a year into it, I thought she was my forever until I found out she had another boyfriend. Yep, I broke it off and moved on with my life. I told her about Mae, and she was happy for me. Still, I felt uncomfortable every time she asked about her, and I told her so, which made me wonder why she kept on doing it. When I got home, I found my girlfriend waiting for me, and I completely forgot about Fatima but before I could say anything, she said,

“I missed you, so I thought I would pass by here, but now I have to go back home.”

“It’s okay, babe. I’ll drop you off. Just let me freshen up quickly.” She nodded, and we went up to my room. I took a quick shower, and when I was done, we left the house, and I dropped her off at her place. I had a strange feeling that something was wrong because why would she leave immediately after seeing me? We didn’t even spend time together, and the whole way to her house, she was silent, but I decided to let it go. On my way back home, my vision blurred, so I pulled over and stepped out. I heard someone calling my name, so I followed the voice into the forest, and then everything changed. I found myself inside an abandoned building. The walls had crumbled, and the remaining ones were cracked. Bricks were scattered on the floor, and the ceiling had collapsed. I walked through it, but it felt like I was going in circles. It was like a maze, and I was getting frustrated—how did I get here? Five minutes ago, I was in the woods, and now I was here—somewhere I didn’t even recognize. The huge, bright, full moon reappeared, and I ran toward it. I felt like that was where I needed to go. Suddenly, I felt hot, and when I looked back, lava covered the ground and the walls. I frantically looked around, but when I spotted the lava monster, I fled for my life. I ran toward the moon, and after a while, I saw a girl running in the same direction. She was far away, with long, beautiful blonde hair, wearing a blue gown, barefoot. Her hair was stunning, adorned with flowers, but who was she, and how did she get here? My main goal now was to reach her, so I ran harder. Suddenly, I felt myself changing again—I became a dog. It wasn’t cute anymore, but I kept running. Then, that girl disappeared, replaced by lava encasing me on all sides. I felt something hot on my body, and then everything became dark.