Chapter 7
“How come?”
“I love how you keep forgetting that Nathan and I are older than you. Besides it was just a date Audrey. I don’t even know when he’ll be back.”
"Wait but did you know Nathan had feelings for me for a while and never told me?"
"Yeah I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but he said he wanted to tell you himself. I can't believe it took him this long to tell you!”
“I can’t believe he kissed me.”
“HE WHAT?!”
“It was a kiss on the cheek Audrey,” I let out a small laugh. “Calm down.”
"I'm going to call him. Him and I need to have a talk."
I laughed, "yeah sure.”
I always had terrible nightmares about things I couldn't understand ever since I was little. I couldn't describe or tell anyone about what I saw or felt for a while. After my parents disappeared, the nightmares only got worse. By then I was able to understand what I was seeing. I was a passenger in a female body. I knew this because of the things the woman wore and the way her body looked.
They left her body in pain and numb, leaving her wounds all over her body — mainly on her limbs and back. I felt it.
They starved her for who knows how long. Leaving the poor girl’s body to slowly eat itself, trying to stay alive. I felt it.
But it didn't stop there.
She and I, we both felt fear towards both, but mostly to the beasts. For we had never seen anything like them.
They were slowly breaking her.
And I felt it all.
It felt so real. I sometimes forgot I was a passenger in a woman's body and thought it was happening to me. I had to remind myself otherwise.
I saw green leaves and branches brown filling the sky. The lights and shadows danced across her face. I heard leaves shaking and rustling in the wind. The knobby roots underfoot and the dry leaves made the ground uneven.
Why was she in a forest?
Hanging from her neck were two string necklaces, both had a pearl and a circle made of gold with the initials 'O' engraved in them. Why did she have these? Had these always belonged to her?
Before I could ask myself more questions, a growl erupted from within the forest. She looked ahead at a distance, she could see a pair of eyes from within the bushes and they are staring back at us. A beast.
The girl took a step back and quickly turned around before running.
No matter how fast she ran the sounds kept getting closer and louder.
And louder.
It felt as if they were right behind us, but I didn't want to turn around. I couldn't. I was only a passenger in the woman's body.
What was she doing here? Who or what is after her? Why are they after her?
Suddenly, her right foot took a step further and her ankle got caught by something. She fell to the ground and everything went dark.
I needed food, at least for tomorrow morning. I could always go back and get more food. I grabbed my phone and l keys, and left my apartment. The supermarket was about a five minute walk from my apartment so I didn't use my car.
"Mommy! Mommy! I want that one!" Squealed the little girl. Her mother giggled, "okay sweetie, here you go. Hold on to it tight." Her mother said as she handed her the cereal box. The little girl smiled.
I slumped my shoulders and sighed, remembering the few memories I had with my mother. I looked back down at my cart and continued walking. At the cash register, my items were scanned and I payed the bill. The lady handed me the receipt, "have a great night miss.” She smiled.
I returned the smile, "you too." I grabbed my bags and walked out the store.
I didn't know what time it was but the sky was pitch black. The only source of light were the lampposts that illuminated the side walk and the headlights of cars that passed by. The place felt empty, there was no one else besides me. At least until I heard sounds coming from an alley up ahead.
A man grunted, "please... I'm begging you!" A violent cough later followed.
The sound of a single gunshot filled the air.
I stopped and immediately grabbed my phone. While dialing 911, I crossed the street and sprinted home. It would be stupid to continue walking in the direction of the crime scene. This wasn't like the books where the girl continues forward curious of what happened when she knows exactly what happened. Utterly stupid if you asked me.
"Hello, 911 here, what's your emergency?" Asked the operator.
"I heard a man speaking. I don’t know who he was talking to. I didn’t see who they were, but there was a gunshot."
"Are you by the scene? What's the address?"
"No I didn't stay. I'm on my way home right now. The address is—” Before I could answer someone had grabbed me from behind and snatched my phone out of my hand. My groceries fell onto the ground, spilling everywhere. “Let me go!"
I struggled to release myself from the person's grip. I was staring at the ground and saw a shadow in front of me. Shit. I struggled even more. A hand grabbed my chin tightly and lifted my face up.
"Hey! Let go of me! Who the hell do you think—" I felt something prick my neck. In a matter of seconds my eyelids felt heavy and my body felt numb, before falling into a deep slumber.