• Sweat beaded on my forehead as I sprinted through the forest. A white tailed deer darted swiftly through the trees in front of me and a strong, feral smell erupted from the fleeing from. I soon realized it was the smell of fear. I was closing in on my prey when that white bobbing tail disappeared and I knew the animal had tripped. I closed the remaining distance and soon finished off my prey. As I leaned down to take the first bite........


    I sat upward quickly, gasping for air from my dreamt chase. I found myself on the floor of my bedroom, chilled to the bone by a cold sweat. But worst of all a red, thick liquid dripped from my mouth and fell to the floor leaving a russet stain.




    It was a month later and I had told no one about my mysterious nightmare. To tell the truth I was scared to tell anyone. They would think I was crazy and I would become a joke, a joke who belonged in an assuylum. But I soon found out that the secret could not be kept.

    "Cheeseburger hats are awesome Rob!" cryed Maddy

    "Stop yelling! You girls talk to loud. Be mature for once. A reasonable hat is not a Cheeseburger hat."

    "How would you know? By the way I will NEVER be mature.......ever."

    Maddy was probably right about one thing; she would never be mature.

    Maddy was a hyper yet shy girl with long beautiful mouse brown hair. My little group of friends were a bunch of freaks and Maddy was an all to good example. Rob on the other hand was techincally in our group but did not apply to that rule. He was very mature and slightly boring with his intellect and a huge dork. He loved reptiles and had a tall, stalky figure that was similar to a corn stalk. He was lean, tall and skinny. Not to mention he had some freaky looking braces and wore the same pullover EVERY DAY.

    The other people sitting near me included Jessy, a complete pervert who forgets her lunch Monday, Tuesday, Wendsday, Thursday....and oh yeah Friday, Holly, another also very tall skinny person who enjoys others pain, loves martial arts, and is in love with an anime charecter called Itachi, Liz, an insane tree hugger, Sam, a girl you can never make mad and loves penguins, and Kristina, the school freak whom we don’t even like! Rob is the only guy and he still hasn't quite excepted that.

    "Yes I know....but a guy can try can't he?" said Rob, in a failure tone.

    "A guy can try, but your not one!" said Jessy in her abnoxious, perverted way.

    Everyone turned their gazes either in laughter or a warning glance. Usually I would have given her a high-five and Rob would've said something that was supposed to make me mad, but today I just sat quietly picking at my food in an uncaring way. Maddy, my best friend of all these people, had asked several times what was wrong but I was reluctant to tell her and always shrugged off the question. A month had passed and the dream had occured again but this time I noticed a similarity. Both dreams had happened on the full moon. Now I was freaked. I had woken with a deep scratch on my leg this time. In my dream I had been fighting a rabid racoon. It had bitten me on my leg, exactly where the scratch was. I felt sick; I didn't know if it was from the scratch or I was just scared, but I felt terrible.

    "Ash, you look really pale. Do you feel okay?"

    Everyone turned to look at me as I ran out the door and into the girls bathroom. I heard footsteps approach as I was puking but I was so sick I hardly cared. "What is with me?" I wondered. When I finished I slumped to the floor. Maddy came in and sat next to me on the floor. For a minute no one spoke untill Maddy's motor mouth found the on switch and started talking. Fortunatley it was a quiet, deep talk that she spoke and from the change I began to listen.

    "I know somethings up." Maddy said "Why won't you tell me?"

    "Ill tell you tomarrow" I promised and left the room.

    I went home and pondered what to tell my friend, for at the moment I had no clue. Should I tell her the truth? Or some lie?

    It felt wrong to lie but what else was I supposed to do? I didn't think even my best friend could handle the truth, not this one.

    As I mulled over my options my mothers bland voice called me down to dinner, I dragged myself down the steps.

    As we were eating my mother said "Ashley, would you get me a glass of water?"

    I stoodup and walked toward the cupboard when my mother screamed. I turned to see her gaping at my leg and next thing finding myself in the doctor's office, with some man with ice cold hands swabbing my cut. He asked personal questions that made me squirm and I couldm't answer. Then he left the room to get the results from the swabs.

    When he returned he had a deep set frown defining his face and I knew that meant bad news. Then he spoke,

    "Im afraid the cut was severly infected with rabies. Are you sure you don't know how you recieved it?"

    I glared at him in an unbelieving way, deeply disturbed by his words.