I opened the door and stepped out into the night. The cement was cool beneath my bare feet and I shivered. I should have thought to put on shoes and maybe some real clothes. The thin tank top and short-shorts, although cute (they were green and covered in cute little pink hearts) would not save me from the chill in the air.
At least it wasn’t pitch black out. The moon hung from the sky like a bright glowing orb, full, or close to it.
I stood there in the moonlight and simply breathed in the crisp night air, chasing back my panic. My chest rose and fell with every deep breath I took.
I stood there until my breathing returned to normal and my throat stopped burning. Since the nightmare started, I never understood how part of it could follow me out into the real world. It bothered me because I didn’t understand it and I didn’t enjoy being in pain even if it only lasted a short while. It scared me, the bad things weren’t supposed to be able to crawl out of your dreams and chase you back to reality. My throat burning was a physical reminder that I had drowned in a dream. That wasn’t supposed to happen and that’s why it was scary.
My dreams had always been weird as far back as I could remember. They’d meant something, I just wasn’t always very good at figuring out what it was. I had never told anybody about my dreams before. Then again, before coming here there had never been anyone to tell except for my mother and I shuddered at that happy thought. I could tell the guys and they’d help me to understand them and wouldn’t think they made me a freak.
I realized with a start that I missed them. I missed Tyson and I missed the Salt and Pepper twins. I hardly knew them but I knew them enough to miss them. Tomorrow I would go and see them, I had let it go for too long. What would I do if they didn’t want to see me? What would I do if they treated me the way I had treated them? That would crush me, break something inside of me I’d somehow miraculously managed to keep safe all this time. A place inside of me where I’d hidden away all of my hopes and dreams, if they rejected me that small place would be snuffed out. I always thought that I didn’t have hopes and dreams but seeing that place inside of myself for the first time, realizing it was there, I knew I had been lying to myself for the longest time.
It made me wonder, what else had I been lying to myself about?
I don’t know how long I would have stood there for if I hadn’t caught movement at the edge of the tree line. A dark, hooded figure moved, entering the forest. Another hooded figure followed.
Those now hidden figures were bigger than the average human being and they had moved in a way that was eerily similar. What were the Salt and Pepper twins doing out here, skulking through the shadows in the middle of the night?
Another figure disappeared into the forest, this one still tall but thinner than the first two. I was betting on Tyson.
If they were going to be traipsing through the forest they should at least do it on their own property and not on Mr. Cole’s. Not that it would be his property for much longer.
I waited a heartbeat, then two more. When nothing moved I figured it was safe. I turned and shut the front door as quietly as I could, the only sound it made was a soft click when it shut. It was still too loud for me and I flinched at the sound.
I whipped around and watched the tree line, looking for any sign of movement. There wasn’t any so I hopped off the front steps, landing in the soft grass. I had an urge to curl my toes into it but I didn’t have the time to waste. Who knew how deep into the woods they’d already gotten. And, they likely knew where they were going, I,
on the other hand, had no clue.
Mr. Cole would be so pissed if he found out I didn’t lock the door or re-arm the alarm. I would have to go back inside and find my keys if I wanted to lock the door. I didn’t have the time for all that.
I ran across the front lawn, towards the tree line where I’d once seen Quinton spying on me like some kind of creeper. I was thankful not to have shoes on when my feet made next to no noise as I glided across the grass.
When I made it to the edge of the tree line and stepped on something hard and sharp I mourned the lack of footwear. Suddenly, this didn’t seem like such a wise idea.
A branch snapped from somewhere in front of me and I fought the urge to scream. Swallowing down my fear, I did the brave thing, the stupid kind of thing and walked close to the trees and their shadowy depths. I looked up and let out a shaky breath. The glow from the moon bled through the trees in places, lighting up the forest floor.
This isn’t so bad, Ariel Kimber, you can do this.
Yeah right.
We’d see about that.
I put one foot in front of the other and forced myself to walk deeper into the woods. There were footprints in the dirt, boots, big enough to be male. At least I thought they were big enough to be strictly considered male. The thought of a woman with that size feet had me wincing. I followed them. It was a better idea than playing eenie meenie to determine the direction I wandered off in. If I played that game I’d likely get lost, fall into a smelly, weirdly damp pile of leaves and twigs, get tangled up in them and be eaten alive by rabid, foaming at the mouth, beady eyed squirrels. Death by furry little creatures? No thank you.
I was so busy paying attention to the tracks in the dirt that I wasn’t paying attention to what was in front of my face. A branch came out of nowhere and slapped me across the cheek, catching the corner of my mouth.
“Son of a bitch,” I swore, tasting blood on my bottom lip. My cheek stung from the impact. I’d likely have a small bruise come tomorrow.
I’d like to say it deterred me from going any further but sadly it did not. I was being braver than my usual self would and I think part of it had to do with the dream. I didn’t like feeling afraid. The dream, I couldn’t control. Real life, however, I could. There wasn’t anything out here that really would eat me.
I argued with myself in my head about the merits of turning back as I pushed forward. I was trying to talk myself out of being brave.
Fifteen minutes later and I was about to call it quits and head back when I spotted a clearing through the trees.
The sound of masculine voices drifted to me, carried on the wind. I had been right. Tyson and Abel and Addison. What were they doing out here?
I moved off the trail I had been following and crept closer, mindful of where I stepped.
I huddled behind a tree and peeked cautiously around it. The moonlight lit the clearing in a soft glow. A fire blazed brightly in a metal barrel.