Aurora

Chapter 3

Just as the dream before, I find myself in the forest once again. "Why am I here?", I say to myself.

"I have many things you need to see, child", an ethereal voice sounds around me. I spin around in every direction, trying to locate the source of that voice. I didn't speak out expecting to be answered.

"Who are you?" 

"I am your goddess, Selene"

"My goddess?", I ask, confused. Instead of a response, a glowing figure forms to my left. The featureless figure of a woman in a long dress with long hair appears before me. Her wispy locks flowing to the lush, moss forest floor. "I am bound to not speak a word of your truth, but, I may show you", she says. I stare back in awe, I've wanted nothing more than to know the truth all this time. The scene begins to change, just as I'm shook awake. 

        "Minnie? Please wake up", Thea says, shaking me. I can hear the fear lacing her voice. Sitting straight up, I look to her, "What's wrong, T?"

"Um..I heard noises in the other room. I think your kitchen. They were loud but I didn't want to look by myself." It's too dark to see her clearly, but, I can tell she's shaking. Grabbing for the bat I keep next to my bed, I ready it on my shoulder as I climb out of bed. Thea runs up behind me, hiding in my shadow as we creep down the hall. The small and erratic sounds of babbling is heard from the kitchen. The drawers softly open and close with a clack as the invader rifles through my things. Snorts and snarls come from the intruder, almost as if it's a wild animal. Getting closer to the L-shaped counter, the sounds are coming from right behind it. As I round the corner, my face contorts in disgust and confusion. A humanoid figure no taller than three feet with a slight hunchback is rummaging through my cabinets and drawers, looking for something. It turns to me, showing faintly in the moon light a twisted, eyeless face. It shrieks as it sees me, running past with unusual speed and out of an open window. Panicking, I run behind it and slam the window shut. Thea and I both go into panic mode, running all over my living space to lock every opening to inside. Once finished, we collapse on the couch together, Thea snuggling close for comfort. I chuckle at how she snuggles to me for protection, like I'm so big and bad. She pouts, "Don't laugh at me! That was so scary.."

It's quiet for a minute, I look to the clock on my wall. 4:26 am, "Well, want to head to a diner then? I don't know about you, but, I don't really want to be here right now." I barely finish my sentence before Thea is on her feet, rushing for her shoes and hoodie.

                                                                                                           *

  "What the hell was that thing? It couldn't have been any taller than a toddler, but...it was SO fast", Thea says while shakily bringing her coffee up for a sip. I poke at my eggs, stuck in my thoughts.

"Uhh, earth to Minnie. Hello?", She says to me. I snap back, looking back to Thea. "God, T, I'm sorry. I-"

"Nah, don't worry about it. It's only normal that you're as shaken as me." She takes another sip of her coffee then pinches the bridge of her nose, rubbing the skin between her fingers. I start looking around, lately I feel more paranoid. For a good reason, I guess. At the back of the poorly lit diner sits that black cloaked figure from before. Then, a thought pops into my head. Am I going crazy? No one saw her before at the bar, I don't think she was really there. Turning to Thea, I ask, "Hey, do you see that person in the black cloak?"

I turn to point back to them, only for them to be gone. Thea gives me a side eye, "Don't start losing it on me, Minnie." I lean back in the pleather booth, releasing a defeated sigh. Maybe I am going crazy.

                                                                                                            *

  Thea left for senior week two days ago, it already feels kind of lonely without her. We've been together since the last day of school, I even went to her house for a while after that thing broke into my place. We were both too scared to sleep there for a few days. Graduation went by pretty uneventfully, the trio steered clear of me throughout the entire event. I'm impressed they haven't cried to their mommies and daddies, they're the type that gets spoiled rotten. 

I think I'm starting to get sick, it's so weird for it to happen to me in the summer. It's unlike any cold I've dealt with before. This morning it just felt like a light pounding in the back of my skull and I felt feverish. I thought a cold press and lots of water would help me. Boy, was I wrong. The symptoms just progressed from minor to near severity throughout the day. By mid afternoon, I was so feverish I was sweating. The headache flourished into a migraine, leaving the base of my skull sore to the touch with so much pressure pain. I was barely strong enough to get up for water, I had to resort to filling a soup pot with cold water and holding a straw with me to reduce my trips to the faucet. It's just my luck that I'm excruciatingly ill the day before my birthday. As night rolls in, I'm thoroughly convinced I'm going to die. My skull feels as if it's going to split in two, the pain causes my vision to blur and have dark spots. Everything looks off to me, the colors around me blending dimly in blue hues. My bed sheets and blankets are soaked with my sweat, feeling as though someone dumped a bucket of water on me when I was sleeping. The pot I once filled with water was sucked dry, but, I'm in too much pain to move. I'm thirsty, I'm just so thirsty. My throat burns in yearning. With every ounce of strength I have, I attempt to vault myself from bed and onto the floor. I land with a thud and groan from the impact. Collecting myself once again, I push the pot across my carpet with me as I crawl. Each movement feels heavier and heavier, my eyes having to stay glued to the floor to keep the migraine from being too unbearable. It feels like eternity before I finally reach the kitchen linoleum. One obstacle down, two more to go. Weakily, I try to push myself up to grab the counter. My fingers grip the edge as I try to pull myself up.

"Wow, you've got some mean fight in you to be moving right now", a male voice says from behind me. I freeze with fear as my blood runs cold, I know that voice anywhere. With the strength I can muster, I turn my head to see James standing behind me. His olive skin looks pale in the moon light streaming from the window to his left. His sandy blonde, curly hair just barely touches his bold jawline. His dark chocolate eyes staring at me with that familiar look. He always has this look when he comes for me. He towers over my hunched, shaking figure. He stands at 6'2", nearly a foot above my head. I quiver with fear, knowing I'm completely helpless in this state. He chuckles, relishing in my fear. "Oh honey, don't worry. It's not just me tonight", He says, keeping his unsettling grin. He reaches out, grabbing me by the hair and yanks, dragging me towards the door. I cry out in agony, desperately trying to support my weight to lessen the pain. The hair tugging agitates my migraine further, it feels like he's going to rip my locks right out of my scalp. He pulls me through the front door and into the grass, kicking me in the side with his steel-toed boots. I cough roughly, droplets of blood hitting my hand as I cover my mouth. Through my spotty vision, I see the rest of the family gathered around me. Something's wrong, very wrong. Everyone is wearing all black, as much of their exposed skin covered as possible. Even everyone's hair was pulled into a plastic cap underneath black beanies. Each one of them mirrored the same unsettling smile, looking down at me with the sinister intent flashing in their eyes. 

"W-what's going..on?", I force out. Silence begins to grow after my question, deepening my fear over the situation. "It's time for our payout, lovely. It was nice knowing you!", Judy steps forward to say, her voice dripping with sweet venom. The family begins to inch closer as I accept I really am going to die. It wasn't a maybe anymore, it was becoming my reality. I didn't really know anything but suffering anyway. I don't remember my real family, all the memories I have are with these demons. Thea was the only light in my life, I don't know if I ever would've made it this far if she didn't try so hard to be my friend back then. Tears fight to overflow my eyes, but, I keep them in. These people let me and caused me to suffer for all this time, they won't see my last shred of weakness. In my last moment, I feel drawn to look up at the full moon. It seems brighter tonight, more beautiful. My heart warms looking to it, longing for it. I've never felt more at peace gazing up to it. A sharp pain spreads through my skull, intensifying the splitting feeling. I force my eyes closed and howl out in pain, confused at deepness of the sound I've made. My hands fling up to my head, desperately pushing against my temples and begging for it to end. I open my eye slightly in time to see Sir and Miss looming over me, that foul glint in their eyes. Everything goes dark.