by W. J. May
“Heads up!”
A football flew in our direction. I ducked out of the way while Grace caught it with one hand, not even pausing in her stride. A cute, dark-haired, athletic-looking boy came jogging up.
“Nice catch, G!” He skidded to a stop. “Whoa, wait a moment. Who’s the new hot-chick?”
“Simon, your ball.” Grace tossed the football expertly. “This is Rouge.”
Simon bowed dramatically. “Welcome to Port Q High’s unofficial before-school-starts official party night.” He held out his hand.
“Hey.” This guy babbled like a girl back at my old high school who drank Red Bull all the time.
“Let me introduce you to the rest of the gangstas.” He grabbed Grace’s and my hands, pulling us over to the group of guys waiting for the football. “This is Tommy, Damon, Sean and Jake.” Except for one, all were similar build to Simon. The other guy was absolutely huge with these dark, almost black eyes. He seemed to be shooting daggers at Grace.
I stepped close to Grace. “What’s with the big guy?”
“He’s interested. I’m not.” She rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand, making an “L” shape with her fingers. “Loser,” she whispered.
Simon stuck close by me, trying his best to entertain. Twenty minutes later, I needed space to breathe. I tried to catch Grace’s attention, but she was chatting away with Sean or Jake, I couldn’t remember which one. “Bathroom break. Where are they?”
“Up the hill. Over there.” He pointed in the direction. “Do you see the line of trees? Just follow them and where the one big tree is, they’re just behind there. See a few people heading back? I can take you.”
“No!” I’d rather die. “Uh, no thanks, I’m pretty sure I can find my way.” I stood and made a beeline for the trees. Glancing back, Grace stood by Simon, blocking my view of him. Quickly sneaking into the forest, I figured I had about four minutes before Simon came looking for me.
Simon was nice but a little overbearing. He seemed the long-term kind of guy. I planned on bolting after graduation. Now, Michael, he might be an interesting short-term thing. I scoffed. Who was I kidding?
The thick grass and leaves muffled the music and noise from the beach, making it peaceful. I walked farther into the trees. Enjoying the moment, I leaned back against a large oak tree, closing my eyes.
The cicadas, crickets and every other insect around me abruptly went quiet. A strange, hushed silence. The hairs on the nape of my neck rose. Holding my breath, I strained to hear something, anything, around me. Opening my eyes, I stared into the forest. Eyes not adjusted to the dark, I couldn’t make anything out but trees and shadows.
My heart hammered over-adrenalized and fight or flight screamed. Stumbling, I suddenly couldn’t remember the way back to the beach. Muffled music seemed to come from all around. Placing the sound grew impossible. The blood rushing in my ears made it even harder to concentrate.
Swallowing hard, I took a tentative step forward and froze. In front of me, a pair of large amber-yellow eyes with obscenely black pupils shone crystal-clear in the dark. A low, guttural growl escaped from the darkness. Hot putrid breath slid across my face. I nearly gagged.
Whatever the freakin’ thing was, it was mammoth. I couldn’t find an outline of its body, just a shadow. Terrified, I was positive if I screamed the thing would jump out and attack me before I could get the sound out.
“Crap, crap, crap…” Body still frozen, I looked left to right and tried not to move my head. Hadn’t Grace said she could take care of both of us? “Grace…Michael?” I whispered. Shuffling slightly around the tree, my eyes never left the spot where the wicked monster stood. Tears of fear ran down my cheeks when I bumped into the rough bark of the tree behind me.
This is it. There was nothing I could do. I’d walked straight into this den of death. Realizing the certainty, I exhaled a slow breath, willing my heart to calm. I began to hear and think more clearly. Someone called my name. The monster’s eyes shifted slightly, as if it too listened.
I managed a hoarse whisper, “Over here.”
A snarl filled the air and the yellow-eyed beast disappeared too fast for anything that size. Suddenly, Michael appeared, lifting me like a feather and cradling me tight against him. His hot chest, cool breath and husky scent distracted me from the terror behind us. In seconds, we were out of the forest, in the lightened area by the bathrooms. Grace came rushing over.
“What the heck happened?” Her brows crushed together and chest rose with fell in quick bursts.
Too soon, Michael set me down on the grass carefully, like a flower that might break.
The horrible eyes wouldn’t clear from my memory. “I, um, I, damn it! Sorry. Just give me a sec.” I pressed my hands on my knees, bending over and trying to fill my lungs with the air I’d forgotten to breathe. “I stepped into the edge of the trees to give myself a break…from Simon. Everything went all voodoo quiet, a-and this huge thing with funky eyes showed up!” I shivered, looking behind them to the trees and darkness. It had happened, right?
“Stay here. I’m going to have a look.” Michael disappeared into the forest.
I reached out. “You can’t –” I sputtered, but Grace held me back. “He can’t go in there. It isn’t safe.”
She pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh…It’s all right. Michael’s going to see if he can catch it.” She gripped my hand.
“Catch it? Are you crazy?” My voice rose and I pulled away. “I couldn’t tell where the thing ended or where the shadows began.”
Michael emerged from the tree line.
Relief flooded through my veins. Shaking his head, he looked ticked.
He grabbed our elbows and started to steer us towards the parked cars. “Time to go, ladies. This party’s over.” He turned to Grace, whispering, but I caught everything. “It’s gone…caught the scent but it took off as soon as it heard us.” His pace picked up.
Grace jumped in the backseat. Michael patiently, but not looking so patient, helped me into the front and clicked my seat belt in.
We pulled out of the parking area.
“Wait! The rest of the kids. Someone needs to warn them.”
“It won’t be back.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Positive.” Michael’s curt reply stopped me from asking again.
I didn’t argue. For some reason, I believed him. We drove the rest of the way in silence.
Parking the Mustang with the same annoyingly-crazy driving skills as Grace, Michael shoved the car into park. As he ripped the keys out of the ignition, he glanced into his rear-view mirror. “I need to talk to Caleb. Take Rouge inside. Get her something sugary to drink. It’ll take the edge off.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re in shock. Head to Grace’s room. I’ll come up later when I’m finished.” His fingers raked through his hair, he gave me a quick smile and then he ran into the house.
Grace and I made our way at a much slower pace into the house and up the stairs. I struggled into a pair of jogging pants and a tank top, my body too numb to function properly. Dropping onto the bed, I lay on my back, dazed.
“I’ll grab you something to drink.” She slipped out the door.
I thought about the creature and curled up on my side, hugging my knees. My heart thumped hard and fast again my chest. “What kinda creature were you?” I mumbled to myself. Something escaped from the zoo? A wild animal from the mountains? I kept seeing the weird, amber-yellow eyes flash against the white walls. They continued to stay there, except set against blackness.
Popping my eyes open, I forced them to blink and focus. I’d fallen asleep. The lights were still on in the room, but the house was quiet. Glancing at my watch, it was after two. I crawled out of bed to find Grace.
As I walked out of the room, Michael came up the stairs.
“You should get some more sleep.” The concern on his face made me melt a tiny bit.
“Is everything
okay?” I was paranoid I might wake someone. “I hope I didn’t cause any problems?”
He smiled and turned me gently back towards the bedroom. Dazed, I crawled back into bed and watched him sit down on the edge. My gaze followed the outline of his body. I didn’t realize he’d spoken. “I’m sorry. Can you repeat that one more time?” I whispered.
“Everything’s fine. We’ve been downstairs in Caleb’s office. You didn’t cause any problems. That’s silly thinking. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
“Do you know what that thing was?”
He sighed then finally nodded. “I’ve a pretty good idea.”
“Would you care to enlighten me?” I tried to read his face but, apart from a tiny frown, it remained expressionless.
“Not at the moment, but I’ll explain it when I can.” His answer was loaded with implications which only created more questions.
“Would it have killed me?” My voice was calmer than my insides.
He sat silent for a moment, his knuckles cracking as he squeezed them. “Yes.”
“And you tell me not to worry?” I straightened, tucking my legs under me.
Forced air pushed through his nose. “It was hunting, and you were in its path. It’ll not happen again. I promise you.”
The determination in his voice made me stare at him. His head bent slightly forward, his eyes intently watching his fingers pick at his clean nails. “I don’t know why it went for you. I think you just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.” His words came out slow and punctuated, like he’d been rehearsing them. “You need to rest.” He gently helped me lie back down.
As I drifted off to sleep, I hoped so hard he was right, even though I didn’t believe him.
Chapter 5
Something warmed one side of my face. My head instinctly moved towards it and the other side of my face cooled against the pillow. Fluttering my lids, the sun shined through the window, creating the heat. Burrowing deeper into the heavy duvet, I drifted, not asleep, but enjoying that wonderful half-awake feeling when you know you don’t have to get up and rush off to school. The scent of delicious male cologne filled my nostrils. I moved closer to the smell.
“You know, you’re very cute when you sleep.”
My eyes popped open. Michael lay on the bed, his head leaning against the headboard of Grace’s bed, arms crossed, hair perfect and an unbelievably sexy grin on his face. Last night’s memories came crashing through my mind.
I sat up, very conscious of my heavy, tired eyes and morning breath, positive the back of my head had a rat’s nest tangled in it. Why do guys always have to look so perfect?
His face lost its humor. “Are you okay?”
“I’m, uh, fine.” Just in dire need of a brush and a bottle of mouthwash. Maybe throw in some kind of manual on crazy beasts living in the forest.
“You feel like getting up and going for a drive?”
With him, no human would say no. Except…“I should find Grace, and see if she’s planned anything.”
Michael let out an intoxicating laugh. “She’s fine.” He paused, staring at the ceiling a moment. “Grace and Sarah are out running an errand. We’ve plenty of time to go for a ride and still be home before they get back. I promise. She’s not mad.” His hand came up in a Scout’s honor position.
“If you’re sure…” Guilt washed over me for preferring to hang out with Michael rather than Grace. However, if she’d gone out with Sarah, a short drive wouldn’t be so bad. “Give me ten minutes.”
I waited. Michael didn’t move. My only way off the bed would be to crawl over the top of him. Kicking the blankets off, I shuffled to the foot of the bed. Still unable to avoid not touching him, I edged over his legs and let my toes reach for the floor. My hands brushed against his shins, enjoying the hot and cold feeling his body gave off. Once off the bed, I stood in the middle of the room not sure where I’d left my backpack or what to do.
“I’ll meet you downstairs.” He dropped his legs over the bed and stood, relaxed and confident. He walked by me, his arm brushing against mine. When he opened the door, he turned. “I’ll make some breakfast while you get ready.” He pointed at the ground beside Grace’s closet and disappeared down the hall.
I looked down where he’d pointed. My bag. The door behind it led to a bathroom. Alone, I grabbed my backpack and dumped it on the bed, hoping I’d packed something decent to wear today. The leather book from the bookstore slid to the floor. I leaned over and grabbed it then tossed it on the bed, more concerned about dashing to the bathroom, showering and getting dressed in record time.
I did manage to get ready in a decent amount of time. Unfortunately, my sneakers decided to play hide and seek. Michael knocked on the door just as I was crawling around on the floor looking for my right shoe.
“Do you remember where I tossed my shoes last night when we got back?” Near the corner of the bed, a sparkle caught my eye. “Forget it. Found you.” I grabbed it and held it up triumphantly to Michael. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. Incredibly hot without even trying to be. Okay. Enough with the oozing over the guy. I was starting to annoy myself with my inability to let it go.
“I made coffee and Sarah bought muffins. She bought like ten different kinds. Are you almost ready to–” He stopped mid-sentence, dropping the travel mug on the nightstand, and muffin bag on the floor. He swiped something off the bed.
I reached out to stop the wobbling mug.
“Is this yours?” He held the book at arm’s length, by the corner.
I nodded.
He snorted.
In disgust? “I got it from The Eclectic Bookshop yesterday.” Pulling my shoe on, I peered at the cover. Why’s he acting so weird? “I haven’t had a chance to look at it. It looks really old.”
“Yesterday?” He glared at the book and mumbled something.
All I caught was “…makes sense now.” I had no idea what he meant.
“We need to get this out of the house before Caleb gets home. He’ll freak if he sees it.”
“Why? It’s just an old folklore book.”
“Let’s go.” He reached for my elbow and steered me toward the hall. “You can drink your coffee in the car.”
Gravel sprayed as we spun out of the driveway. Michael finally slowed the car when he turned onto a scenic route to the mountains. He sat rigid and quiet, so I sipped at my coffee and ate my muffin. I picked up the book and flipped it open to the middle. “Holy friggin’ smokes!” The hand drawn picture was of the ugliest, crudest looking thing I’d ever seen—some kind of ancient scary mythical creature. I traced a finger along the charcoal ridges. Some kind of fountain pen ink had been used in tracing it.
I turned to the first page and read the single sentence on it. “Grollic Monstrum. An aberrant occurrence that has the ability to produce fear or cause physical harm. Can the beast be tamed? Or controlled?”
I flicked through some of the drawings scattered throughout the book. Large, dark, omniscient animals had eyes that stared directly at you from the paper. A page on the left showed a drawn photo which had been painted in. Amber yellow eyes.
I gasped and then tried to catch my lost breath. What knocked the wind out of me was cold, hard realization.
“That animal last night, it…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. It couldn’t be. This kind of stuff was all myths and legends, folklores.
Michael continued to stare at the road, his knuckles white against the wheel he gripped. His posture confirmed what I didn’t want to believe.
“It can’t be. It doesn’t exist.”
The silence drove me crazy.”
“It isn’t real.”
“They are.”
What? Wait a sec. “Not just one, there are more? H-How do you know?”
“I just do. The grollic’s smell was all over the forest.”
Turning to face him, I studied his tense profile. “You could smell it? I didn’t even hear that thing until i
t was three feet in front of me. A grollic?” The word was foreign to my tongue. I needed to concentrate but it all seemed ridiculous. What normal human could hold a conversation on real-live monsters seriously? “You’re not one, are you?” I giggled. He did seem to have some peculiar habits, obviously not spooky, but, in my anxiousness, I couldn’t resist teasing.
“Never!” He snapped like I’d whipped him.
I exhaled, letting my head fall against the back of the seat. “Sorry. I’m only kidding.” Michael obviously wasn’t. I’d hit a nerve with my crappy humor. A reminder of why I should never use it.
He pulled over on the side of the road at a lookout point. Something about the intensity in his blue eyes captivated me. I didn’t bother glancing out the windows at the scenery. I had all I needed in the car.
Michael shoved the car in park and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “This is real. There are things I’m not allowed to say,” he scoffed, “and other stuff you wouldn’t understand.”
Crazy alert. Get out of the car and walk away. My brain seemed to think it knew better than my body. I sat silent, unsure what to do.
He stomped a foot against the car floor. “I’m not sure what to tell you.”
“The truth.” I barely knew the guy and here I sat, in his car, demanding he spill his guts. I crossed my arms, ticked at my inability to keep my mouth shut.
His eyes ran up and down me, obviously misreading my body language. “I tell you a hideous creature went after you, and you barely bat an eye. You just turn and ask if I’m one.”
“I was joking.”
“Yeah, you said that.” He shifted, turning back to the wheel and staring straight ahead.
My right thumb traced the pad of my left hand. If I told him my feelings, I’d step over a line I’d never crossed before. Totally risky, but is it as dangerous as the animal in the forest last night? Swallowing hard, I hesitantly laid my fingers on his wrist. When he looked at me, I stared back into his ocean blue eyes. “I…We haven’t known each other very long, but there’s something...I li-like you.” I wanted to add it was different, not like anything I’d ever felt before. Instead, I babbled. “This may sound weird, but I can’t get you out of my head. I hardly know you, but I trust you with my life.” Horrified at what I’d admitted, I pressed my lips closed tight. When Michael didn’t say anything, I sat back against my seat. Crap! I’ve just screwed up royally. I dropped my face in my hands.