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Writing this now I will say that this is just another wacky dream I had a few nights ago. The only thing that has change is the point of view in which this story is being told in. Although this was a dream, it was strange because it came in handy. In my commix I had a character named Shane who was a hunter. If you’ve read some of my other journal entries you should know that by now. But recently I’ve been drawing my characters in their future forms. Ya know, what they would look like in so many years. Well the hunter, Shane, became blind in his right eye. I never had a story to follow up on how it happened but this was a pretty cool idea. I don’t know if I will finalize this to make this into reality but I just want to write this dream down so I don’t forget how awesome it was. Enjoy. And to the people who know me and my characters: I have no control over this dream thus! Do not be offended by any of it. If you do take these matters to heart it just shows us that you have no sense of imagination or humor.The characters that are included in this dream are:
Shane
Fox
Tobias
Shane’s P.O.V.
It began one day during mid-terms. I was in the library looking up some information about water creatures. It was for a report and maybe a little for myself; Being a hunter you could never know too much. As I was flicking through the pages of a certain book that was dated in 1968 my finger began to bleed. I knocked it off as a paper cut and ignored it. I grabbed a few books, checked them out, and left.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened at home and soon it was the next day. Back in school again I was sitting in study hall flipping through my portfolios. Some were good; many were terrible and needed to be rewritten. I went to grab a manilla folder full of information when I felt a p***k at the end of my middle finger. I began to suspect something this time because I hadn’t even touched the folder yet. I stared at my finger for a few seconds before wiping it on my jeans. It was nothing to worry over. Maybe I had angered the book keeper of the library in some way. And yes, even in college there were book keepers. Invisible to ordinary humans, these guardians watched and cared for the books in their charge. I couldn’t think of anything I could have done to have upset such a gentle being.
The bell rang and I went to meet my girlfriend. We usually chatted in between classes and today was no different. I caught her standing near my locker with books of Calculus and Physics in her arms. When she caught my gaze I couldn’t help but smile as I walked closer to her.
“Hey. Waiting long?” was my usual liner when we met. She smiled at me and shook her head, her hair following her.
“No. I just got here myself. You busy?”
“No. I just got out of the library? Wanna grab lunch?”
I knew she would never say no but I always loved to hear her speak. Her smile was dazzling and her eyes radiant with youth and knowledge. So I couldn’t ignore it when I saw her eyes widen in surprise and her mouth gape open.
“Is something-?” I began to ask but she cut me off.
“Are you alright, Shane?! Oh my God!” She set her books down onto the floor and she rushed over to me, her eyes transfixed to my forehead. I didn’t know what she was talking about.
“Yeah, I’m fine. What’s going on?” She touched my forehead and I winced a bit. Odd. She lowered her fingers to show me blood on them. I stared at it for a moment before I realized that it was my blood.
“I’m going to go get the nurse and some band aids, okay? Stay right here!”
“Huh? Hey! Wait-!” I watched her turn and run to get help. I sighed and touched my forehead with the palm of my hand to see how much blood was there. I looked down to see a lot in my hand. I hadn’t even felt the cut so when did this happen? ‘How’ was a better question.
This continued for several more days. Random episodes where a part of my body would start bleeding for no reason. It freaked my girlfriend out badly. The teachers were worried about me too but their concerns weren’t as great as her’s. She was the woman I loved and I was scaring her.
A week later I began to grow even more worried. We had decided to take a small break until I figured out what was wrong. I was walking to Home Ec when I felt this reeling pain in the back of my neck. It felt like someone just took a steak knife and slashed it across my spine. I dropped my books and covered the area with both hands, in pain and disbelief. This was serious and it wasn’t going to stop. I needed help. Professional help from someone who knew what might be happening to me.
As I dug around my bag for a bandage the answer popped into my head. I didn’t know which was worse. The pain I was in now or the pain I would be in later.
I couldn’t get a hold of her personally. She had done well to disappear after High School. It was like she dropped off the face of the Earth. No living address, no phone number; Her profile was deleted off of every database except for mine. The only way I could think of to reach her was through her friends. Luckily one of them was a friend of mine as well.
Tobias was a good friend of mine ever since High School, maybe longer. I trusted him because much of my information about the supernatural I got from him, and only because he got them from her. It took me several tried to contact him and a few days to actually get a meeting set up. By Tobias’ voice Fox was a very busy person these days. Also she probably still hated me.
But it happened and not a second sooner. As the days went by the attacks got worse to where I couldn’t go back to my dorm without a limp. We had set up the meeting in the college’s café. No one came in here unless it was around midnight to grab some caffeine for a midnight cram session. When I arrived I was surprised to see Fox and Tobias. Apparently she still resented me.
I grabbed a seat across from Fox. Tobias sat in between me and her on the other side. I tried to smile and shake hands but she wouldn’t even look at me. At least I didn’t have to fake being nice. Tobias gave me an apologetic smile for her rudeness. I waved it off.
They must have been waiting for a bit because there was two cups in front of Tobias and Fox had a toothpick in her mouth. Might as well not waste anymore time.
“I know we do have a good history between us but I need your help.” The only sign that she was listening was her wolf ears twitched. They even raised a little. Apparently she found this interesting. “It began a few weeks ago in the library. I began bleeding from the tips of my fingers randomly. I thought they were paper cuts of the book keepers doing. But then they gradually got worse. I’m bleeding from the forehead, arms, legs, neck; Hell, before I called to set this up something tried to kill me.”
Fox was listening, the toothpick bobbing up and down as she thought over what I just said. It was as if there was a hidden signal, Tobias leaned closer to Fox and she spoke into his ear. Apparently she wasn’t speaking to me either. Great. Tobias sat up straight and Fox looked the other way again.
“Have you hunted anything recently?” Tobias asked in place of Fox. I narrowed my eyes at her.
“I think I would have figured it out if it was a grudge curse set upon me.” She snorted as if she didn’t believe me but Tobias pressed onwards before I could say anything.
“Have you ripped, torn apart, or burned any books?”
“No. All I have been doing is studying. I haven’t ticked anyone or anything off in a few months. I haven’t hunted in five weeks this Friday. And no, I haven’t destroyed any literature.”
Tobias blushed as he asked the next question.
“Have you exchanged any bodily fluids with nonhumans?”
“NO!” I practically yelled, feeling my face light up as well but Fox seemed to smirk in my discomfort. Tobias coughed a little to clear his throat and leaned over again to hear Fox’s opinion. Tobias seemed to look at her in surprise but nodded quickly.
“She wants to see the palm of your hand.” I looked at her and she was now staring at me. I frowned but held it up for her view, fingers spread and muscles tense. Fox stared at me but looked at my palm with little interest. This was probably done for her own amusement. But my ideas changed when she tried to reach out and touch my fingers.
I can’t exactly explain what happened next but the next thing I know Tobias is standing up staring at the ground where Fox used to be sitting. I stood up as well in shock. As soon as her skin came in contact with my own she was sent toppling backwards in her seat. She was now lying on her back staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
“Are you okay, Master?!” Tobias tried to help her up but she regained her composure and pushed his hand away. As she sat on the floor she began to laugh. A small chuckle at first then a roar of laughter. Tobias and I exchanged glances worried.
We sat back down when she fixed her chair and she sat back in it. When her laughter died down Tobias bent forward and she muttered something. Tobias smiled and I felt my heart fill with hope. He looked at me and grinned.
“She says that there is a cure!”
“That’s great! What is it?”
A grunt came from Fox and Tobias looked back at her. He rubbed the back of his head in apology and turned back to me with a sheepish smile.
“Um. I can’t tell you. You have to pay a fee.”
My smile faltered but it was always business with Fox. I glared at her and she seemed to ignore me as she spat her toothpick out and replaced it with gum.
“How much?” I seemed to ask with a growl. Tobias looked down at his hands, counting his fingers.
“$150, I think. “He looked at Fox and she nodded. “Yep! One-hundred and fifty dollars.”
The price was a bit higher than what she normally dealt back in High School but this was important. If I was ever to get back together with my girlfriend I had to do whatever was necessary.
“Fine.” I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. I flipped through fifty dollar bills and handed them to Tobias. He handed them to Fox who stuffed them in her coat pocket without a second glance.
“The answer is simple.”
The voice was so much different from Tobias’. It was harmonious and it echoed in my ears; the tempting voice of a lycanthrope. I stared up at Fox as she began to speak to me.
“And that would be?” I asked impatiently.
“Cut your hair.”
“Wait. Hell No!”
Fox just stared at me as if she was waiting for a five year old to stop throwing a tantrum and that made me even angrier. I looked at Tobias who couldn’t believe the answer as well.
“The apparition won’t go away unless you do.”
“Yeah, but no.” I stood up and pushed in my chair. She just watched me. “If it’s an apparition I can deal with it myself.”
I stormed out of the café, but I could hear Tobias following after me.
“Shane, wait!”
“Did you hear her?! Cut my hair. What a load of Bull! She still hates me and she’s using this to her advantage.”
Tobias tugged at my sleeve for me to stop so he could catch his breath. I stopped and sighed.
“It’s not like that, Shane. She really is trying to help. It took me three straight hours to convince her to meet with you.”
“Yeah, enough time to plot something like this. This is my hair, Tobi! Hair holds power, just like names do. Do you remember the Bible story of Samson the Strong? She wants me to cut my hair so she can leave me defenseless!”
Tobias stared at his shoes, upset at my answer.
“Can’t you just trust her this one time? Please?”
Shane stared at him apprehensive and indecisive. It was his hair! It took him years to grow it out. It was his ‘thing’. I shook my head at Tobias.
“I’m sorry Tobi. I just can’t.” I left him standing there and I went back to my dorm to think. I had just lost half my paycheck and my question still wasn’t answered. I threw my jacket on my bed and dumped myself in my chair. I stare at the dark wall in front of me and sighed. What was that thing that sent Fox flying? Why was this happening? What apparition did he upset to have this happen to him? So many questions but no answers.
I went to bed that night exhausted and nervous. What would happen tomorrow?
The next day, everything seemed to be normal but better. I made it to homeroom without some much as a scratch. I had my homework and reports all ready to turn in, I wasn’t late to any of my other classes, I even got to eat lunch with my girlfriend. Maybe whatever had happened to me was gone now. Maybe it transferred to Fox when we touched?
Whatever happened I could have cared less because my day was going by perfectly, until I returned to my dorm to drop off my bags and books. I went into the kitchen that was hooked up to all the rooms to make dinner for myself. Frozen dinners were the usual choice besides ramen but today felt special. I went to the freezer and grabbed some fish. I carried it back to the sink and ran the tap to wash it out. Grabbing a knife I proceeded to gut and clean the fish. I left the knife on the counter so I could start boiling some water. Suddenly there seemed to be a draft. No windows were open but when I got the suddenly feeling of being followed I turned to look. It was too late.
The knife I left on the cutting board flew at me. I thanked God for my fast reflexes to turn my head barely in time. I would have been dead with a bloody knife imbedded in my eye socket. But instead the knife’s razor edge slashed open my right cornea. The knife clattered to the floor.
I fell to the floor in pain, hands at my eye. I yelled and screamed at the searing pain. Every time I tried to open my eye it was like I was pouring sand into the wound. Enough was enough! It was clear that whatever it was that was following me wanted me dead and to suffer through it. Before the apparition could grab a hold of the knife once more I grabbed the handle of the blade and brought it to the base of my neck.
My hand hesitated for seconds, thinking of the consequences of cutting my hair. But when the knife jerked in my hand by an unseen force I yelled and hacked at my hair. I yelled in pain, anger, and guilt. I tore at my tresses until I could feel the back of my neck.
I was left on my kitchen floor breathing heavily and bleeding from my eye. The feeling of another presence was gone. The temperature was normal and I let the knife fall from my hand and onto the floor. Fox was right.
My girlfriend was seriously angry with me. I hadn’t shown up for class in three days. When I finally saw her she started to cry. There was a bandage over my right eye. She could only guess that something terrible had happened to me. I told her everything except for my meeting with Fox. She wept and I comforted her as best I could. I told the bandage would come off in a few days and that I could come back to class tomorrow. The apparition was gone and nothing bad would happen anymore.
She didn’t believe me but it was enough for her to stop crying and smile at me. She said I looked like a pirate with the bandage over my eye. I laughed with her. It was odd feeling the sun against my usually pale and hidden neck. It was even stranger when the wind blew and I didn’t have to stop my hair form flying everywhere. It was just something I was going to have to get used to. That and being blind in one eye.
Later that week when I was allowed to walk around without a patch over my right eye I called Tobias to thank him for his and Fox’s help. He laughed and sounded happy that I took Fox’s advice. He didn’t laugh when I told him about my eye. We talked a little more but that was it. This month had been a little too exciting for my taste. I’d rather live a normal life any day.
 SikFox · Tue May 06, 2008 @ 12:30am · 4 Comments |
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