Anchoridge University

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I woke with a start. I quickly sat up and looked around my room realizing I was safe. I have had the same dream every night this week. Of me running through the woods into that cabin again. Only every night had progressively gotten more vivid. I still had yet to the face of the person chasing me though. I threw off the covers as I was hot, covered in sweat. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was 6am I wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep again any time soon. I let out a sigh.

I decided to go take a shower to freshen up and hopefully relax my muscles to relieve some stress. Luckily it was the weekend so I had no classes today. Tonight was the party so I would have to try to get some more rest later. I made my way down to the showers and relaxed as the cool water hit my skin. I pondered my dream, trying to figure out what it meant. Why did I keep having this same dream? Was this something that was actually going to happen? Or was this just some weird metaphor my brain was trying to get me to work through.

I have had dreams before that had come true. Like when my best friend Myah had broken her leg on a ski trip I had a dream about it the week before it happened. Or when my mom had gotten into a car accident I had a dream about that too. First things first I need to figure out if the woods from my dream are the woods that are surrounding the school. I’ll have to explore them and see if there really is a cabin there. Preferably not by myself just incase there are really wolves.

I rinsed off and headed back up to my room. Luckily I remembered to bring a change of clothes this time and I didn’t run into anyone either. I looked at the clock again and saw that it was 7am now. I decided to go get some breakfast. I had all day to do whatever before the party so I could take a nap later. I made it to the dining hall and saw that there was hardly anyone there. It was Saturday morning everyone else was sleeping in.

At least that means there would be no lines and I get first dibs. I grabbed a plate with a large Belgium waffle with some fruit and a side of bacon and eggs. I went and sat at a table in front of one of the windows so I could look outside and see the sky turning colors from the sunrise. The sky was clear so I had a good view of the mountains with a nice orange backdrop from the sunrise. It was beautiful.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice Darren standing next to me until he loudly cleared his throat. Startled I looked up at him. ”Morning, mind if I sit here?” He gestured to the open seat next to me. My mouth was full of pancakes so I just nodded for him to sit. I quickly swallowed my food and looked over at him. “And why are you up so early on a Saturday morning?” He sat his tray down and looked over at me as he took a bite of his bacon. “I always wake up early for training so it’s a habit.” I laughed. “Training? What are you a MMA fighter or something?” He shrugged his shoulders and gave me a grin. “Yeah something like that. So what are you doing up so early? Are you a MMA fighter too?”

I rolled my eyes. “ Ha Ha. I just couldn’t sleep. I've been having bad dreams lately . Well really just one bad dream over and over again.” He regarded me thoughtfully. “What kind of bad dreams?” I hesitated not really wanting to get into details. I just decided to give him the light version omitting the details of me throwing the stranger with my mind. “Oh you know the usual. Getting chased in the woods by some unknown bad guy to some cabin.” He looked at me with concern. “Sounds scary.”

I just shrugged. “I’m sure it’s just something my subconscious came up with after watching to many scary movies or something.” He looked surprised. “You like scary movies?” I nodded. “Oh yeah I’m pretty sure I’ve probably seen all the good ones by now. I like them all except for the super gory ones. They make my skin crawl.” He laughed. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a horror fan.”

“Do you like scary movies?” he shrugged. “I never really watched to much tv but I would consider myself a fan.” I took a drink of my orange juice and set it down and gave him a smile. “I’ll have to show you some of my favorites some time.” He laughed and wiped my chin with his thumb. I had some juice running down it. He put his thumb in his mouth and sucked the juice off of it. “Sounds like a plan.” I blushed profusely and looked away. Trying to change the subject. “So do you know if there are any wolves in these woods?”

He stiffened and suddenly had his notorious serious face back on. “Why did you see one?” he asked me. I sat my head on my chin. “I’m not really sure. I thought I might’ve seen one when I went for a run in the woods the other day.” He looked at me like I was the only thing in the room. “You shouldn’t go in the woods alone it’s dangerous. Next time call me before you decide to go for a run?” I was lost in his eyes when I realized he was waiting for me to answer him. I nodded. “Yeah ok…Actually there was something I wanted to check out after I was done eating, if you’re up for it that is?”

He finished his plate and nodded at me. “Yeah sure, I’ve got some time to kill.” I smiled at him. Today I was going to find that cabin. If there is one that is.