Creatura, Page 3

  “I’m five feet tall,” I said, feeling uncomfortable with the look he was giving me.

  “Your eyes are alluring. And your lush eyelashes, very exquisite.” He nodded.

  “Are you…” I said and cleared my throat, “…flirting?”

  “Pointing out your good traits is all. You’re quite lovely when you’re not being ill-mannered.”

  “Oh.” I pressed my lips together. I didn’t take compliments very well. They made me feel awkward. And if anyone should be talking about manners, it shouldn’t be him.

  “So… why is your skin gold?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “I’d rather not say, as I’m not allowed. You never know who or what may be listening.”

  “Well, that wasn’t a weird answer at all. I suppose I can’t ask you what you mean by that?”

  “No.”

  I felt uneasy sitting in silence with his constant stare. It made me nervous. I turned my head away, focusing on the flow of the stream. David inched closer to me, and a shiver of anxiety bolted through my body. A hypnotizing scent rose from his skin. It was the same scent of sandalwood that I had sensed before in the meadow’s breeze. It had an instant soothing effect, and my anxiety melted away.

  “Your cologne smells nice,” I said.

  “Right. I wouldn’t call it cologne.”

  “What is it then?”

  “Me.”

  “Sure wish real people smelled that good.”

  “Why can’t you believe that I am real?” he asked.

  “Because you’re not. Look at you with your golden skin and wings, wearing a skirt. How can I believe you’re real?”

  “I can prove it.”

  “Oh, yeah? I dare you.”

  “Do you, now?” David raised his brow.

  “Double dare. And you should wear a skirt that looks more like pants for the occasion.”

  “Your clever quips are very delightful, my lovely. Are you positively sure about this?”

  “I’ve been waiting for this for three months.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Bring it on.”

  “Very well. But I have to warn you, I’m quite the competitor.”

  “Then there should be a prize for the winner to make it more interesting.”

  “You’re proposing a wager?”

  I nodded.

  “If I win, you’ll leave my dreams forever,” I said.

  He gazed at me for a moment. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I thought I saw a trace of a grin on his face.

  “If I should win, you will believe me when I say I’m not a dream,” David said.

  “If you say so,” I snickered. “I guess this is goodbye since I’ll be winning.”

  “And…” he said

  “There’s more?”

  “And… you will never again come here.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Fair enough.”

  “And…” he said again.

  “That’s too many ‘ands’.”

  “And…” he continued, “I bid you not farewell, but good morrow.”

  David tipped his head as he disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of golden dust.

  ***

  When I woke up, there was a smirk on my lips. I was sure my nightmares were over. My life could go back to being normal.

  I got up a little earlier to make it in time for the Spring Festival pep-rally. The Spring Festival in Los Fresnos was an annual fundraiser for the senior prom. I should’ve been excited, but nobody had asked me.

  Instead of the usual spot, I met Andy in the gym. Bill was a football player, so he was off doing his football pep-rally thing, getting the crowd motivated. Suddenly, I remembered I had to leave the rally early to discuss university applications and the admissions process with my guidance counselor, Ms. Albright. I picked up my book bag, said goodbye to Andy, and headed off.

  The sign-in sheet at the front office had no other names on it. Just as I took a seat, another student walked into the office. From the back, he had a better build than the school’s football players. Nice.

  “How do you pronounce your last name?” the clerk asked him.

  “It’s like chaos but with a long ‘I’… Chios,” the boy sounded it out for her. He had a subtle accent that I couldn’t place. Foreign exchange student, maybe?

  “The counselor will see you in a few minutes. Take a seat, Mr. Chios.” The clerk pointed to the chairs where I was seated.

  I looked away so he wouldn’t know I had been listening in on his business. I pulled out my cell phone and started fiddling with it. The Chios boy sat one chair away from me, and I managed to catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my right eye. I was very sure he wasn’t from around here. I’d recognize someone that freaking gorgeous. From my first stolen peek, I saw that he had fair skin, high cheekbones, deep blue eyes, and black hair. On the second peek, I observed his cleft chin, his perfectly curved jaw line, and his dimples. Dimples! He looked like a model straight off of the runway. It was obvious he was a new kid.

  “Isis Martin.” The clerk’s voice startled me. “Ms. Albright is ready to see you, dear. Go on in,” she said, scratching my name off the list.

  I bent over to collect my bag from the floor and twisted my head a little to peer at the gorgeous boy. Embarrassed to find that he was looking at me too, I quickly turned away. When I stood up and took the first step, I tripped over my own foot. I was thankful that I hadn’t fallen, but I could feel the boy’s stare on the back of my neck. Could I be anymore pathetic? I glanced at him to see if he was really watching me. He was.

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  “Fine,” I answered, red-faced.

  I walked into the counselor’s office where I found Ms. Albright taking sips of her coffee and munching on a protein bar behind an altar of files. Her bright red curly hair sprung from her head without any particular direction.

  “Hi, Isis. What brings you by today?” she said, reaching for her desk phone and holding her index finger up to signal me to hold my thought. “Yes, I have his schedule right here. I’ll be a few minutes. Thank you, Gladys.” Ms. Albright hung up the phone and turned her attention to me.

  “You told me I should come by today to talk about my choices for universities,” I said.

  “Oh, yes.” She handed me a thick manila envelope. “Here are some applications for different colleges you might want to consider. Fill them out and drop them off at the front office for me, and I’ll get back to you.” She grabbed a mirror and red lipstick from her purse and began to apply it just as the first school bell rang. “I have a meeting with some parents in five minutes, Isis. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to review the list of colleges with you.” She blotted her lips.

  “That’s okay,” I said, getting out of the chair. “I can manage.”

  “Before you go, there’s something I need your help with.” She reached for her desk phone again. “Gladys, can you send in the new boy? Thanks.” She hung up the phone and veered to the door. From the hallway, she motioned me to follow.

  The Chios boy met us halfway down the hall where he sized me up. There was something about that beautiful blue stare that disquieted me.

  “I’m your counselor, Ms. Albright,” she spoke slowly, loudly and enunciated every syllable, as she talked to the new boy. “Isis is going to show you around today.” Her red hair bounced as she turned to look at me. “He’s foreign.” She winked at me like she was doing me a favor.

  “Is he hard of hearing or something?” I asked her in almost a whisper.

  The new boy stifled a laugh.

  “No, he’s foreign,” she said, again, as if it explained why she was talking to him like his IQ was three.

  Ms. Albright handed the Chios boy his schedule and welcomed him to the school. Without waiting to hear a response from either of us, she called in the married couple that was waiting to speak to her.

  The Chios boy would be the day’s gossip for the school. I was afraid to look him in the
eye or even talk to him. It was a new experience because boys had never intimidated me before. What was wrong with me? I exchanged glances with him while the clerk wrote us passes to class so we wouldn’t be counted tardy. At last, we escaped the clerk, and I ignored the butterflies that seemed to be break dancing in my stomach.

  “After you.” He opened the office door.

  I decided to begin our tour through the school at the cafeteria, which was right across from the office.

  “That’s the cafeteria.” As if he couldn’t see that by himself? He must’ve thought I was a complete moron.

  The Chios boy nodded and kept his eyes on me.

  “That’s the gym over there.” I pointed.

  He stared at me as we walked, and I could feel myself start to get a little flushed. We headed down the hallway passing the library, the nurse’s office, and some other small offices that I had never visited. He kept silent through the grand tour, which only made me more nervous.

  “I guess, I should show you where your first period class is and you can probably get someone in there to guide you to your second period.” I readjusted the bag on my shoulder.

  “You haven’t even asked what my name is,” he said. I knew I had heard his voice before, but I couldn’t remember where.

  “Oh. Sorry.” My face grew bright red. I couldn’t ask him now that he had put me on the spot. I expected him to tell me his name, but he didn’t. He only stared at me as we continued walking down the hallway. Right before we turned the corner, he stopped.

  “I see you’re shy.”

  “Not at all.” I threw my hair back over my shoulder.

  Without warning, he backed me against the white hallway wall. My heart started to race.

  “Well, aren’t you going to ask me what my name is?” he asked.

  “Don’t… don’t try anything. I can scream.” I could feel my throat drying up. “Campus police will come right away if you pull anything.”

  “I just want you to know my name,” he said. “That’s not a crime, is it?”

  I took a step to the side, but he was quick to follow.

  “I’m going to tell you my name, since you’re too shy to ask,” he said.

  My heartbeat was at my neck, while my mind sounded off all the things I should do: Scream! Kick him in the tenders! I wanted to listen to my gut instincts, but I couldn’t. I was frozen like a deer in front of oncoming headlights.

  Slowly, he leaned toward my face.

  “My name is David, and I am real.”

  I blinked, recognizing the voice at once.

  “I win,” he grinned.

  I opened my mouth in an effort to scream at the top of my lungs, but David pressed his hand over my lips, muffling my poor attempt at crying out for help.

  The blood in my head plummeted to my feet, making me dizzy. The only sound I could hear was my heart thumping deep in my ears. I felt cold sweep through me, and the outer walls of my vision turned into a black vignette that framed a white light. The world disappeared as my legs caved in, taking my consciousness with them.

  The school nurse was standing over me holding a thermometer in my mouth when I opened my eyes.

  “Don’t you dare sit up, young lady.” Her left arm rested over my chest.

  It had all been a dream.

  “I tried to get hold of your mother at the courthouse,” the nurse said, “but she was busy. I left her a message telling her you weren’t feeling well. She should be calling back soon.” She held the thermometer up to the light. “No temperature. Did you have breakfast this morning?”

  “Yes. Why am I here?”

  “You fainted,” she said. “If you’re not eating, I’ll have you in here every single day during lunch to observe you.”

  “That’s not necessary.” A male voice came from the doorway. “I’ll keep an eye on her for you.”

  I sat up on the gurney bed, the blood draining from my face as I saw him standing there. He had to be a hallucination, right?

  “That’s very thoughtful of you,” the nurse said.

  “You see him, too?” My mouth dropped open.

  “Did she hit her head?” The nurse said, examining my scalp.

  “I don’t believe so,” David said.

  David entered the room with casual steps. I started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The nurse leaned close to my ear.

  “Close your mouth, dear. Try to play hard to get,” she whispered.

  I jumped off the gurney and reached for my bag with my eyes fixed on David. There had to be some explanation for this. Was I still dreaming?

  “I have to go home.” I hung my bag over my shoulder.

  “You’ll have to sign yourself out at the office,” said the nurse, handing me an excuse slip.

  My hands trembled as I reached for the piece of paper, and the nurse offered to call Claire again.

  “No, I’ll be okay,” I told her.

  “I’ll accompany her. She’ll be fine with me,” David said, taking a step toward me.

  Triggered by instinct, I took a step back.

  No, I would not be okay with him escorting me. But what was I supposed to say to the nurse? How was it possible that this guy from my dreams was now real? Who would believe me? Not Dr. Jameson, Andy, or Claire. They would have me in a straitjacket before I could have a chance to run.

  Maybe nothing happened in the hallway. It could have all been in my mind—a hallucination. I had read about schizophrenia in those pamphlets in the waiting room at Dr. Jameson’s office. My brain might be playing this out by itself and making me believe it was real.

  David took my bag and let me lead the way into the hall. Once the door closed behind us, I turned to gawk at him again.

  He cornered me between the soda machine and the wall, towering over me.

  “You can tell no one. Do you understand?” His face was hard and serious.

  He took several steps back and let me through. My ears were hot, and I started breaking out in hives.

  “What’s wrong with you?” He frowned as he saw the red patches on my skin.

  I started to cry. “Are you going to abduct me or something?”

  “What are you saying?” David pushed me into the side of the vending machine again. “Why would I do that?”

  I slid to the floor weeping. David dropped my bag and knelt beside me.

  “Forgive me if I’ve frightened you. I didn’t think you’d react this way. You were the one that said…” He lowered his voice. “Isis, you were the one that said you were positive you wanted me to prove I was real. I took your word.”

  “This can’t be happening. You’re not real. You can’t be.” I shook my head.

  I heard footsteps approaching in the hallway. David turned his head in the direction they were coming from. He wiped my tears and helped me to my feet. I hooked my arm through the straps of my book bag, and as I looked at his stiff jaw, more tears streamed down my cheeks.

  “There’s a female approaching,” he told me. “Stop crying.”

  “I can’t.” I wanted to cry out for help, but the knot in my throat wouldn’t let me. I was sure David was some sort of psycho… or an alien. Psychos and aliens abducted people all the time according to the Discovery Channel. Would I be prodded or dismembered? I cried louder.

  “Isis, stop,” he said. “She’ll question you.”

  He looked over his shoulder and back at me. Then, with a desperate expression, he took my face in his hands. I stopped crying and held my breath. I thought he was about to snap my neck. Instead, he kissed me.

  My breathing returned, and I became aware of a subtle sandalwood scent. My body relaxed. My head felt numb, like I was anesthetized.

  “Get to class, kids,” Principal Miller ordered as she walked by.

  The click of her heels echoed a thousand times in my ears, and then I felt my body go numb. David caught me as my legs gave out from under me.

  “Careful,” he said, “I�
�m lethal.”

  “What did you do to me?” I asked, half conscious.

  “Forgive me.” David wrapped his arm around my waist. “I had to do something to tranquilize you. The effect will cease in a few minutes.”

  “Where are you taking me? You’re going to th… th… thlaugter me?” My tongue would not cooperate.

  “No. I’m not allowed.”

  David grabbed my bag and hung it on his arm. He then swooped me up and carried me down the hall. At the corner of the front office, where we weren’t visible to the office staff, he set me on my feet. He helped me walk—more like he dragged me—to the window and knocked on the glass to get the clerk’s attention.

  “She’ll be going home per nurse’s orders.” He handed the receptionist the nurse’s excuse, and then he used his fingertips to lift my chin up and closed my mouth.

  “Sign here,” the receptions said, sliding a clipboard to me over the counter.

  David put the pen in my hand, but my fingers were too numb to write. He scribbled my name on the paper and thanked the receptionist. Then he walked me around the corner where he lifted me again. I wanted to kick and scream, but whatever he had done to me was more potent than my body’s reflexes. With my eyes the slightest bit open, I tried to struggle.

  “Stop it, or I’ll put you to sleep,” he threatened in a whisper.

  “I don’t have rabies,” I slurred, and I thought I heard him laugh.

  In the student parking lot, he set me down next to a black, shiny car. David opened the door and put me in the seat. He buckled my safety belt and shut the door. I was trapped. My neck felt like gelatin; it was almost impossible to hold my head up.

  “You must be sober before I can speak to you,” David said, turning the key in the ignition.

  “I’m going to call the police.” My speech was less slurred as I pulled my cell phone from my pocket.

  “You will do no such thing.” He snatched the phone from my hand. “You will listen to what I have to say, and then you’ll tell me how you entered Terra Somnium.”

  I mumbled a few rude words under my breath.

  “That language doesn’t fancy your lips. I would have thought you more proper.”

  I felt embarrassed for my foul mouth, so I stopped speaking to him while he drove.

  The numbness was beginning to wear off. I regained feeling in my body little by little.

  “Where are you taking me?” I tugged at the door handle.

  “The doors are locked,” David said. “You haven’t given me an opportunity to explain that I mean you no harm.”