Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  He seemed to be keenly aware of his body. Not in an arrogant or awkward way—but with an assured gracefulness. And even though there was a slight limp in his walk as if his leg had been hurt at one time, he still moved with a self-assured strut that made my heart thump harder in my chest. His presence demanded attention.

  He turned to face us, and I couldn’t help the small gasp escaping my lips.

  ***

  When our eyes instantly locked, it was like fire shot through my frozen veins. Still shadowed under his hood, his eyes shone unnervingly bright, like someone left two lights on in a pitch-black room.

  His face was not what people would consider classically handsome. He was too manly to be considered pretty. The term that came to mind was smoking hot. He looked like the disheveled, rough, bad boy with an animalistic quality, which drew me to him and scared the crap out of me. Two deep scars lined the left side of his face, cutting into the stubble growing along his strong, chiseled jawline. His disheveled light brown hair skimmed over the top of his shoulders.

  My hands ached from wanting to reach out and touch him, to feel his hair between my fingers, but his face held such harshness that it made me step back. My reaction didn’t seem to go unnoticed. His eyes darted between the two of mine, and a whisper of a sardonic smirk crept across his features.

  I couldn’t believe I was face to face with the guy from the police station.

  If he was shocked to see me, it didn’t show. I was pretty sure he recognized me. The same hate I saw before at the station was there today. I couldn’t fathom why he regarded me with such disdain, but I was used to people fearing or hating me for no reason.

  Someone else stirred behind me. A tall, model-thin girl bumped my shoulder as she walked to where the guy stood. She smiled and squeezed his arm in the comfortable, familiar way you would with a close friend or boyfriend. He broke our eye contact as he turned and looked at her, giving her a small smile. I felt stupid for being surprised. Of course he’d have a hot girlfriend, if not several. Someone like him would not be single. And she was beautiful—breathtakingly gorgeous. She was dressed in black skinny jeans; a plain, white t-shirt with a scarf looped around her neck; sweater; and pristine, green and yellow checkered rain boots. She was what you’d picture on the cover of a GAP catalog, not at a school for troubled teens. There was something almost unreal about her, and she seemed at home in the forest even though her clothes screamed the opposite. She looked to be in her early to mid-twenties. She was a bit taller than me, with stunning long red hair, light blue eyes, and porcelain skin, all of which made me incredibly jealous.

  Her eyes caught mine, and she smiled. I could have sworn the clouds parted, and I half expected bunnies and deer to come out of the forest to dance and sing around her. I didn’t know if I liked or hated her. She was too pretty and sweet looking to be here. Her hair was unfazed by the dense mist swirling around us, which made mine look like an electrocuted poodle.

  I glanced around and saw I wasn’t the only one drooling on their boots. The unbelievably sexy couple enraptured everyone. I had to laugh watching the girls’ (and maybe a few guys’) eyes move salaciously over his body. The guys (and probably a few girls) looked dumbstruck and goofy, their eyes and pants bulging as they stared at her.

  She took a step forward. “As you noticed, your old O.A.R. leaders are no longer here. We will be your new team leaders. My name is Samantha Walker and …” She turned to the guy next to her expectantly.

  “Eli Dragen,” he said reluctantly. His voice was deep and husky, sending vibrations through me. His eyes narrowed in disgust at me before he looked away again.

  What the hell?

  “We will be building community gardens,” he continued. “Some of the food we grow will be used in our cafeteria, and the rest will be sent to a homeless shelter. We will be using compost from our kitchen here at Silverwood to help grow the plants. We need to build the planter boxes first. We’ll be splitting into two groups, each one building five frames.” When he spoke, I swore I heard a flutter of sighs from the girls, and, yes, definitely from a guy or two. The more the girls reacted to him, the more upset I got, which was stupid. I didn’t know why I felt angry. I barely knew him, and it was clear he didn’t like me, nor I him.

  My thoughts immediately put me in check. What was I doing? This guy could be some creep who might have been watching me from outside my bedroom window a couple nights ago. He could have been stalking my house, wanting to kill me in my sleep. Okay, the last bit might be a little over the top but better safe than sorry, right?

  There was no way I wanted to be with him. I started toward Samantha, when Eli’s sharp voice filled the space. “You guys will be with me.” He waved his hand around a group of people, which included me. His dislike for me was clear, so why would he pick me? He stared at me, his expression emotionless and hard.

  The tough girl from the cafeteria stepped closer to Eli, her voice twirling like honey in a flirty, girlie tone. “But, I want to be in your group.” I rolled my eyes. I had seen her stab a guy with a plastic fork at lunch. There was nothing sweet or girlie about her.

  "Fine," he replied sharply. "Let’s go."

  TEN

  Josh and I followed the group across the street to a cleared area where remnants of an old garden remained. We stopped in front of a shed where barrels, hammers, drills, gloves, and other supplies were bundled in piles.

  “Okay, everyone, grab gloves.” Eli nodded towards the stack.

  Right then, I saw something skitter deep in the shadows at the far end of the shed. The thing moved to the wall and scuttled toward the entrance. I squinted, trying to make out what it was. A large, brown rat stopped and turned to look at me.

  “Ewww … gross a rat,” a girl screamed.

  I could have sworn I saw the rat’s eyes narrow and glare at the girl. “I don’t find you much to look at, either.” The voice was tiny and gruff.

  My breath caught in my throat as I froze with fear. Holy shit. I looked around. No one else seemed to be reacting to the fact a rat had talked. I turned back to the rodent.

  A hazy glow surrounded it, and I found I was no longer looking at a rat but at a tiny woman, dressed in a long, green skirt and a white blouse. Her brown hair hung next to her face in two thick braids, and on her head was a tall, pointed green cap. She tilted her head and frowned at me, then turned and hustled out of the shed, in the direction of the forest.

  Without a thought, I started after it, a knee-jerk reaction since I knew the rat-woman was only a hallucination. I needed to go back on medication.

  I continued after her, and for as small and stocky as she was, she was insanely fast. “Wait,” I called.

  Adrenaline pumped through me as I ran after the little person, barreling through the old, dried-up garden. She stopped, and I came to a sudden halt as she turned and faced me. Her hands were on her hips, her stocky little frame all puffed up and angry. I could see her face more clearly now. The tiny woman was younger than I had first thought but still looked weathered and tough. Her eyes were squinty and lips were thin and pinched. Her hands were burly and thick and skin was coarse and cracked. She looked like she had worked extremely hard her whole life.

  “Get out of my garden,” a little, but strong, voice rang in my ears like sharp bells.

  “Oh, Jesus,” I mumbled to myself as I stared.

  The tiny, homely woman stomped her foot. “Did you hear me? Get your tall, scrawny ass out of my garden.”

  “Em?”

  My head jerked up to see Josh and the rest of the class standing behind him, looking at me like I had grown two heads. I continued to gape at him dumbfounded. Didn’t they see the small person standing in front of me?

  “Em, are you okay?” Josh’s tone was full of wariness. I looked to where my hallucination had been, but it was gone.

  I closed my eyes, sucking in a deep breath. “Yeah. Terrific.”

  When I reopened them, Eli’s piercing eyes drew my attention. I co
uldn’t make out the expression on his face, but it was intense and made me want to hide behind Josh.

  Samantha joined the group, her gaze fixed on me. Something about her stare made me shift uncomfortably. “Let’s leave the wildlife alone, shall we?” She smiled thinly and then turned to face the rest of the students. “Come on. Let’s get to work. Grab some gloves and a hammer.” She gathered the group, all observing me with wary expressions, but she soon distracted them with tools and plans for the new garden.

  Eli maintained his stance, his scrutiny still focused on me. I looked down, trying to ignore the burning sensation his gaze seared into my skin.

  My mind was reeling with the embarrassment of letting people see me splinter from reality. Hallucinations weren’t new to me, but it had been awhile since I had been caught by other people while having one. No one knew that right before my school in Monterey burned down, I thought I’d seen my awful math teacher turn into a troll with a huge, thick nose protruding from its hairy, ugly face. Dark, beady eyes gleamed as it watched me. It had felt so real, more real than anyone else in the room. It was a secret I kept locked deep down.

  When I was younger, it was easier to brush off these oddities. My mom would laugh, telling the neighbors that I had an overactive imagination and abundance of imaginary friends. I couldn’t do that so easily now.

  Eli turned away. “Today, we will be building the planter box frames. We only have two hours, so we better get started,” he said, motioning to the stacks of thick boards. He rambled on, but after a while I tuned out.

  “That also means you.” Eli moved to me. It took me a moment to realize everyone else had moved on and was at work, but I stood staring at the spot where the tiny woman had disappeared. “Hey, girl, do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?”

  My gaze snapped to his. “This girl has a name, you know?” I shot back. I was irritated by the way he had said “girl,” like I was something off the bottom of his shoe.

  “And what would it be?” He crossed his arms as he looked down on me. “Please, tell me it’s something like Tiffany or Brittany.”

  “It’s Ember,” I said as heat filled my cheeks.

  ***

  “Ember.” He repeated my name, and a slow smirk formed on his face. “Of course it is. Ember what?”

  “Brycin.”

  He looked at me patronizingly. “Brycin, let’s see if you can handle a hammer or if I should find something easier for you to do.”

  My eyes narrowed as we glared at each other. What was this guy’s problem? What had I ever done to him? The other students had stopped what they were doing, sensing the tension and looked back and forth like it was a ping-pong match. I was waiting for someone to do a low whistle like you hear in all the standoff-scenes in the old cowboy movies.

  I scooped up a hammer, gripping it tightly in my hand and stomped off toward the woodpiles. He scoffed in amusement as I walked away. I almost, almost, showed his face what I could do with the hammer, but I decided it might not help my case for getting out of here.

  “All right, everyone, get back to work,” he said and clomped away.

  Josh leaned down and whispered in my ear, nodding to Eli. “Okay, that was weird.”

  “Yeah.” It was the only response I could come up with as I grabbed a handful of nails, imagining it was Eli’s face I would be hammering them into. At that thought, a smile broke over my face.

  The two hours went by fast. Our team got into a good rhythm. The only thing that bothered me was every time I looked up, Eli was staring at me, glaring actually. I tried to ignore him and concentrate on my work. My arms felt like they wanted to fall off, but I wouldn’t stop. I didn’t want to show him any weakness or let him know he could get to me.

  After we’d returned our tools to the shed, Josh and I made our way back to Silverwood. He had a curious look on his face. “So, Ember, what’s up with you and that guy, Eli? You two have history or something?”

  “No, I never met him before.” What I said was technically true. “I don’t know what his problem is.” I didn’t feel like telling Josh about the police station incident. Plus that didn’t even really count as having history with Eli, right?

  “Really? Strange. I thought I picked up on some vibe there.” His eyebrows furrowed, and he shrugged.

  “Nope, simply some old-fashioned, predetermined dislike for me.”

  Josh smirked, looking like he didn’t quite believe me. We got back to the main building, and Josh wandered off for the dorm. He was one of the students who could no longer remain at home.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. And welcome to Silverwood. I’m glad you’re here. You’re already making things a whole lot more interesting.” He gave a slight wave before disappearing down the hall.

  I smiled, shaking my head, then turned in the opposite direction toward the classroom. I was exhausted. With no homework yet, I decided to spend the time relaxing and drawing until came.

  As I walked into the main classroom, I stopped short. I instantly recognized Eli’s body from the back as he talked to Samantha.

  “What the hell was going on earlier?” Samantha demanded.

  “Nothing you need to worry about,” he said tartly.

  Her blue eyes looked up at him in longing. “You sure?”

  She was stunning, captivating, and beautifully feminine—everything a guy would want. Obviously, it was what Eli wanted. From the way she looked at him, there was no doubt she felt the same. They were stunning together; they had that bad boy/good girl stereotype thing going on. My chest clenched as I watched them. Why did I have to notice every perfect detail of his body, especially his ass and strong broad shoulders? Fury stormed through me, but I turned it on myself. I shouldn’t be thinking this way about him. It was demented. He was scary and rude and clearly didn’t like me, which was now reciprocated. I pivoted, wanting to flee the room. Instead I ran straight into Mr. Kemp.

  “Hey, Ember.” He smiled. “Where are you running off to?”

  “I-I …” I floundered as I turned to look behind me. At the mention of my name, Eli’s head snapped up and whipped towards the door, his eyes staring into mine like lightning bolts. My head felt a little addled as fear rose through me, which made me defiantly hold his stare. Don’t show fear. The more intimidated I felt, the more stubborn I tended to get. Mark said I was headstrong and ornery, something I got from my mother.

  “Ember?”

  I turned back to face the teacher. “Sorry, Mr. Kemp, I was going outside and wait for my ride.” I tried to move around him.

  “Please call me Tim. It’s freezing out there. Hang in here until then.” His hand already lay gently on my back, guiding me again into the room. I let him direct me to the tables, where I sat in a chair closest to the door. I peered at Eli under my lashes. He stood with his arms crossed, watching me with disdain. Seriously, what was his problem with me? Sam tugged at his hand, eventually getting him to turn away. I tried to ignore them both as I took out my sketchpad from my backpack. I flipped through the sheets to find a fresh page.

  “You are really talented. May I?” Tim motioned to my tablet. I shrugged, as if it was okay; it wasn’t. Not too many artists like people looking at their drawings until they are ready to show them. It’s like reading someone’s diary. Sketching was release for me, and I drew things especially personal. However, I felt it rude to say no to him.

  He commented frequently as he looked through my sketchpad, but he stopped on one page in particular. “Wow, this is really interesting. I don’t know what it is. It has a haunting quality, as if you are looking into this person’s tortured soul.”

  Tim laid the drawing on the table. I froze. Of all the drawings he could’ve picked, it was the one of Eli’s eyes, the one I barely recalled drawing. At the time, I hadn’t known his name or anything about him, but I felt his stare had burned a hole through my retina and my brain. I recalled how scared I’d been that night, the feeling of being watched, especially with those eyes starin
g from the shadows of the forest.

  The same eyes on me now.

  I tried to grab the pad away from Tim, when another hand from behind snatched it off the table and out of my grasp. It was like a car accident I couldn’t prevent or turn away from. I sat helplessly, as Eli took my sketchpad, his eyes slowly recognizing his own. I don’t remember breathing. It felt like time stopped.

  I watched Eli’s reaction as he took in the drawing, his gaze wandering down to the corner of the page where I always put a date. His reaction was so minuscule I thought I imagined it; but for an instant, his pupils thinned to a vertical slit. Or at least I thought they did. I blinked and his pupils were back to their passive, cold state. Medication here I come.

  “It’s good.” Tim motioned at Eli and Sam to look. As she approached, her body moved possessively close to Eli’s.

  “It’s very good.” There was a trace of warning in her voice as her head cocked to the side, undoubtedly recognizing whose eyes were on the paper.

  Eli’s glance slowly lifted from the sketchpad and caught mine. As we stared at each other over the ridge of the pad, it was as if we were having a silent conversation, although I didn’t seem to understand the language. Looking away from him felt like tearing magnets apart. Even as my head turned, my eyes stayed on his until the last second, with my mind screaming: Don’t ever take your eyes off the enemy.

  “Yeah,” Eli responded evenly and put the pad back down.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from Mark saying he’d be there in five minutes. Relief washed over me. “Oh, I gotta go. My ride’s here. Bye.”

  I jumped up with joy. Getting away from this strange, awkward situation and Eli’s malice-laced stares was all I wanted. I collected my stuff and practically ran out the door.

  ***

  Mark and I talked about my day as we headed home. “It was a lot better than I thought,” I admitted. Nothing blew-up, which is always a plus, and there was a pleasant absence of nasty cheerleaders. Of course, I left out the part about my hallucinating in front of the entire class. Things like that would only upset Mark. He didn’t need to know.