by Ann McCune
A loud thud pulled my attention to the closet I had been trapped in. A second later, an ear-splitting scream erupted from the room, and I put my fingers in my ears to block it out.
I moved to get closer to the closet, wanting to make sure the guy who saved me was okay, but Heather put her arm up, blocking my way before I could get past her.
“Where are you going?” she asked, putting her other hand on her hip.
“I want to make sure your friend is alright.” I looked at her then the closet.
“He’s fine. The scream you heard was the mare dying. He will be out in a second.”
True to her word the guy came out of the closet covered in a gel-like substance, reminding me of the slime that covers fish, only it was neon green. “What’s all over him?”
“It’s what’s left of the mare he killed. Don’t get too close, it smells horrible.”
The guy walked over to us looking concerned. “Why is she still here? Didn’t you tell her to wake up?” he asked, wiping the slime off his face with his hand. Even covered with slime, he was still the best-looking guy I had seen up close in my life. I looked into his eyes, they were the palest blue, like ice when it freezes smooth in a pond.
“She was in a car accident and was knocked unconscious. I notified base, help is on the way.”
“This is the most messed up dream I have ever I had,” I heard myself saying, unable to take my eyes off the guy.
“Don’t worry, princess, you won’t remember a thing.” He smiled, showing off his dimples and straight, white teeth.
“Don’t call me princess.” I was anything but a princess, much to my mother’s dismay.
“Then what should I call you?” He took a step closer.
“Elizabeth, my friends call me Liz.” My cheeks started to burn but I didn’t back down. “What do you go by? Dickhead?”
“Only my friends get to call me Dickhead. You can call me Shawn.” He took another step closer and I could smell the slime dripping off him. Heather was right, the smell was somewhere between day-old fish guts, and a bloated dead cow right after it popped.
I tried to take a step back to find some clean air, but they had me in the corner and I ran into the wall. With nowhere to go, I took a breath and my stomach revolted. I bent over, grabbed my knees, and threw up everything in my stomach. What a nightmare, first I’m attacked by a monster then I throw up on the shoes of the hottest guy I had ever seen. Wait, I’m dreaming, how could I throw up in my dream?
“Way to go, Dickhead.” Heather pulled my hair out of my face. “Now her car is going to be covered in vomit.”
“Not the Jeep,” I murmured, feeling dizzy after emptying my stomach.
“It is probably totaled if she hit a moose,” Shawn said.
I tried to focus on him, but I couldn’t. My head was spinning, and I couldn’t make it stop long enough to see him clearly.
“They’re waking her up,” I heard Heather say as I closed my eyes hoping the spinning would stop. I forced myself to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they weighed as much as a bulldozer. “What’s happening to me?”
“Don’t worry, princess, they’re waking you up. You won’t remember any of this.”
I tried to say, don’t call me princess, but darkness enveloped me, and I was floating away.
CHAPTER 3
I was lying on something hard. It kept jostling forward and backward then it would shake like I was on a rolling bed going over a bump. I wanted everything to stop. I wanted to wake up and open my eyes, but they were so heavy. My head felt like it was splitting inch by inch and I wondered what would happen if it broke in half. I heard people murmuring and a woman crying. It was a familiar sound. I knew who was crying. Mom.
I forced my eyes open. “Mom,” I whispered. “It’s okay, I’m right here.”
She jerked her head toward me and squeezed my hand. “Elizabeth, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Mom, I’m okay.” There was something sticking in my nose, and I tried to bring my hand up to my face, but I couldn’t move it. I struggled for a second before I realized I was tied down. “Where are we?”
“In an ambulance on the way to the hospital in Spruce. Do you remember what happened?”
I thought about it for a second. The only thing running through my mind was the messed-up dream I had with the guy. I thought harder. “There was a moose in the road, it wouldn’t move out of the way.” I thought of the sickening thud as the front of my Jeep hit it, then the shattering glass as his antlers came through the windshield. “I did what Dad said. I didn’t swerve to miss it. His antler came in through the windshield and hit me a couple of times.”
“That’s right, honey. You have a pretty big cut on the side of your head, and they think you have a concussion.”
“Maybe that’s why I remember my dream.” When I closed my eyes all I saw were Shawn’s blue eyes. “They said I wouldn’t remember it, but I do.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I had a dream and there were these people, they saved me from a monster, Mom.”
“Just rest, sweetie, we’ll be at the hospital before you know it. Dad is right behind us.”
I was poked and prodded by a doctor and nurse when we arrived at the hospital. My head was stitched and CAT-scanned. I had a minor concussion, but they still wanted to me to spend the next two nights in the hospital.
When I asked my dad how bad the Jeep was, he shook his head and turned away, making me cry. I had it for almost a year and it was dead. When I asked about the moose, he told me it was still alive when the sheriff got there but had three broken legs, and the sheriff had to put him down.
Part of me was sad the moose suffered for so long, but I put my hand to my head, feeling the jagged line of stitches and thought about my Jeep, maybe he deserved it for hanging out on the icy road.
I spent the next day and night in the hospital. They thought I would be fine but my dad, the doctor, insisted they keep me for observation. I spent most of the time sleeping and being woken up by either my mom or the nurses to make sure I wasn’t dead. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep in my own bed.
The next morning, I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and take a shower. When I looked in the mirror I was horrified by what I saw. My normal ivory skin tone was now more like black and purple. Those darn antlers did a number on my face. I could only open my left eye partway because the skin around it was completely black and swollen. A blood vessel in my eye had burst resulting in the worst bloodshot green eye I had ever seen. There was a dark bruise under my right eye, and my jaw. My lower lip was a lovely shade of purple.
I was missing a chunk of my long blond hair where they had to shave it to clean and stitch up my head. I managed to get the blood and vomit out of my hair and wash my face without getting the stitches wet.
After my careful shower, I got dressed in a comfortable pair of lounge pants, and my favorite Denver Broncos hoodie. Once I was dressed, my mom had finished my discharge paperwork, and they forced me to ride in a wheelchair to get to my dad’s four-door Dodge truck. It was cold but clear when we made it outside, and I wondered where my sunglasses were as I squinted in the light.
“Can we at least go by my Jeep, so I can get my backpack?” I asked, turning to look at my mom, who forced me to ride in front. She thought I might get car sick sitting in the back.
“No, Billy is going to pick it up after school. You are taking a brain break today,” Mom said from the backseat, and Dad nodded his head in agreement.
“But I’ll get behind if I don’t work on some stuff today.”
“Your mother is right. You need to take it easy. You have a concussion; your brain needs to heal. Overworking it isn’t going to solve any problems.”
“At least I have my computer,” I mumbled to myself.
“Nope. You have two options today. Trashy television or sleep.”
“Seriously? You guys are not being fair about this.”
“Sw
eetheart, you were in a major accident. You need to rest, not worrying about school or getting into the Air Force Academy for at least the rest of today.” Mom leaned forward and put her hand on my shoulder.
“You guys are so unfair.” I slumped in my seat, closed my eyes, and pretended to sleep the rest of the way home.
After Mom tucked me in on the couch with an extra dreamcatcher hanging over it, she gave me the remote control and went into the kitchen to make lunch. Dad went back to work at the clinic and I was stuck with crappy daytime television to keep me company. I found an old X-Files marathon to watch, but I couldn’t stay awake for long.
I dreamt of the monster from my dream. I was standing on the dock at the lake. It was a beautiful summer day. The sun was out, and the air was warm. I was wearing my favorite cargo shorts and white tank top. I was waiting for Billy to come pick me up on his dad’s boat. I heard something growl and turned around to see the monster racing up the dock. I backpedaled until I reached the end of the dock because I didn’t want to jump in the water. I didn’t know why, but my gut told me I may not make it out if I went in, so I bent my knees and readied myself to fight the monster. When it was ten feet from me, it jumped, and I lowered myself even further to prepare for impact, closing my eyes tightly. Only the impact never came. I opened my eyes. The monster was flat on its back staring up at the sky.
“You think you’re safe Veiðimaður? You will not always have your protection, and when you don’t… you will be mine,” its scratchy voice said before laughing at the sky. “Yes, you will be mine.”
All I could do was stare at the monster. How had it ended up on its back? I held my hand up and waved it through the air. There was nothing there, but something had stopped the monster from getting me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jerked.
“Stay away from me,” I yelled, waking up on the couch and looking around.
“I love you too,” Billy said, walking around the couch to stand in front of me with a bouquet of flowers and a bunch of balloons telling me to ‘get well soon.’ He sat them on the coffee table and took a step back. “Wow, you look like you got into a fight with a moose.”
“Ha-ha, I did get into a fight with a moose, smartass. At least I survived. Thanks for the flowers.”
Billy sat on the coffee table facing me. “But you had help, I heard the Jeep isn’t going to make it and you’re welcome for the flowers.”
“My poor Jeep, it was the best car I ever had.”
“It was the only car you’ve ever had.” Billy crossed his arms over his chest.
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t the best.” I sat up and leaned against the armrest of the couch.
“You had insurance, you’ll find another Jeep. I hope you feel better then you look.” He grimaced.
“Thanks, Billy. Yeah, I’m feeling good, just tired. My mom thinks I’m going to die in my sleep and comes in every hour to wake me up and check on me.”
“I’ll be sure to thank her. I don’t want you to die either.” He patted the top of my head.
I pulled away from him as pain radiated from my head down my neck. “Ow, watch it. Just because you can’t see a bruise doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”
“Sorry, I thought you were tougher.” Billy sounded like he was being mean, but he was looking at me like I was a dog in an ASPCA commercial.
“I’ll be okay. Are you going to give me a ride to school tomorrow, or am I going to have to take the bus?”
“Are you sure you want to go to school with the way you look? Everyone is going to make fun of you.”
“Thanks for making me feel even more self-conscious than I already do, ass. I’m sure you will be there to protect me if someone makes fun of me tomorrow.”
“You know I will.” He smiled shyly, which was unlike him. “So, tell me what happened. Your mom and dad glazed over it for me, but I want to know what you remember.”
I spent the next twenty minutes telling Billy everything I remembered about the moose, and its collision with the Jeep, before my mom came in.
“Billy, I hate to chase you off, but Liz needs to rest,” Mom said, handing me a soda.
“Rest would be nice,” I said, looking at her instead of Billy.
“Okay, I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.” Billy stood to leave.
“Thanks for coming over to check on me.”
“No problem, I know you would do the same for me,” he said, walking toward the front door.
Mom put the Sprite down then followed Billy out. She came back soon after and sat on the coffee table. “He was really worried about you.” She pushed a piece of hair back from my face.
“I know. I don’t think I could ask for a better best friend.” I shrugged.
“Be careful, Lizzy. You are both getting older, and I have a feeling he wants more than only being your best friend.”
“What are you trying to say, Mom? Nothing is going to come between me and Billy, we’ve been friends for too long.”
“He has had a crush on you since you were in kindergarten, and I don’t think you feel the same way about him. Just treat him carefully.”
“What? Billy has a crush on me? Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Mom, but there’s no way Billy wants me to be his girlfriend. You should hear how he talks about other girls. Plus, if he did, he would’ve told me. We have always talked about everything.”
“Just think about it and be careful with him. I don’t want the two of you to get into a friendship-ending fight.”
“You can’t be right, but I’ll be careful, Mom,” I said as she got up and went back into the kitchen.
After eating dinner with Mom and Dad I went to my room and went back to sleep, hoping my mom would let me sleep through the night.
I was at school, walking into my history class. I kept my eye out for the monster who was making itself at home in my dreams, but the only person in the room was Shawn, who was standing at the whiteboard board.
“How are you?” he asked, staring at the board.
“I’ll survive,” I said, taking a seat at a desk in the front row with a hinged top. “Thank you for saving me from the monster.”
“You’re welcome.” He turned and approached my desk. He put his hands on the sides of it and leaned in. “It sounds like you’re lucky to be alive.”
“That is what everyone keeps telling me. If I’d had my seat any closer to the windshield, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
“I’m glad you made it. I would like to meet you in person at some point.” He leaned closer and his breath on my cheek made me shiver.
“Me too, but how? You’re just a dream. You were passing through town when I saw you at the gas station, right?”
“Were you checking me out?” He laughed, not answering my question, and taking a step backwards.
“No,” I drew the word out while I was coming up with an excuse. “You were too far away to check out. I couldn’t see much.”
“I could see you with oil all over your face.” He laughed again.
“Were you checking me out?” I couldn’t believe I asked, but this was a dream. I could do whatever I wanted.
“From what I could see through the windows of the garage, I liked what I saw.” He licked his lips and his eyes became hooded.
“You’re kind of an ass.” I wanted to get up and put some space between us, because even though he was an ass, his plump lips looked soft, and I wanted to know how they would taste.
“But I’m an ass who saved you from the goblin last night.”
“Why did you call it a goblin?”
“I don’t know. What would you call it?”
“A monster.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure it was a goblin, and I saved you from it. Do I get a reward?” He leaned in so close our noses almost touched.
His lips were so close to mine and I ached to press mine against his to see if they were as soft as they looked, but his snarky attitude stopped me. “What do you want?” I asked, unabl
e to stop myself from licking my lips.
“Oh, I think you know.” He moved into me to kiss me, and as much as it pained me, I pulled up the hinged top of the desk and he groaned when his face met the desk instead of my lips.
I scrambled to my feet and ran for the door. “You’re nice to look at and all, but you need to work on your manners.” The bell started to ring, but it wasn’t the short burst of sound it normally was. This was louder and didn’t stop. Finally, I figured out it was my alarm clock, time to get up.
CHAPTER 4
I hit the off button on my alarm and forced myself to get out of bed. My whole body hurt, partly from lying around for the past two days, partly from the fight with the moose.
I took a shower, being careful not to get my stitches wet. My face was a dark rainbow of black and blue, but the swelling around my eye was better. I could almost open it all the way. I got dressed in my most comfortable, non-stained jeans, and a vintage AC/DC T-shirt. I finished the look off with a hoodie, with a Jeep logo.
“Morning, Mom,” I said when I entered the kitchen. I grabbed a cup of coffee then went and sat at the bar.
“Morning, dear, I have your lunch ready and here is your breakfast.” She turned and put a plate with an egg burrito in front of me on the counter. “Are you sure you want to go to school today?”
“Yes, I don’t want to get any more behind then I already am.” I picked up the stuffed tortilla and brought it to my mouth. Pain radiated through my jaw when I chewed, but the melding of eggs, cheese, and ham was worth the pain.
“Hello?” Billy called from the hallway.
“Hey, Billy,” I said, before taking another bite.
“I stopped at your Jeep and picked up your backpack last night.” Billy put it on the ground at my feet.
“Why didn’t you bring it in last night?” I gave him an evil eye.
“Your mom told me not to.” He took the stool next to me at the bar.
“You didn’t need to worry about homework last night,” Mom said as she washed the skillet she used to make breakfast.