Shadow of the Beast

Blood and Dirt

I had woken up at the nurses station in the school. Mrs Moore and Aunt Kate were there, fanning me down and armed with water and sweet tea. I'd insisted that I was fine, but Aunt Kate had already gotten on the phone and made me an appointment with the doctor for the next morning. 

I sat up slowly, feeling a slight ache in my belly, and as I stood up and looked back at the bed, I noticed a small blood stain the sheets where I'd been lying. 

's**t' I said, instantly feeling a flush of heat coming to my cheeks. 

Mrs Moore followed my eye line to the bed, smiled comforting lay and said

'Ah, don't worry about that, I'll get that straight in the wash.' 

She went over to the storage cupboard, and handed me a sanitary towel and an old Hoodie from the lost and found box to wrap around my waist. 

'Ah, don't worry sweetheart, we're all ladies here and have had the same thing happen to us!'

'Thank you!' I said sheepishly. 'I'm not even due until next week. I'm so sorry!'. I just wanted to bury my head in the sand. 

'The full moon will do that to you'... She winked as she said it, and I almost felt as if there was some cryptic message she was trying to communicate with me. 

We'd gone home, and Aunt Kate had treated me like I was wrapped in bublle wrap for the rest of the day. She'd made me promise not to go out for another run alone until we had gotten to the bottom of my fainting spells.

I'd eaten dinner, and been sent to bed early to try and rest up and get over it all. The thing was, I wasn't tired at all. I didn't feel sick, in fact I felt better than I had in ages. I'd felt it the last time, when I'd woken up in William Wilk's cabin, but this time was even stronger. It was like there was a surge of electricity running through my body. My hearing was sharper, my vision was stronger, and it seemed like my bedroom was brightly lit, even though the blackout curtains were drawn and the lights were off. I longed for a run through the woods, just to burn off some of the energy I was feeling. But most of all, I felt a hunger, an intense, borderline starving kind of hunger, even though I'd had a big, healthy meal about an hour before. 

After lying in bed for a while, trying to force all thoughts out of my head, the rumbling in my belly forced me up out of bed, and I walked down to the kitchen. Aunt Kate was sat at the kitchen table, legs crossed, glasses perched on the end of her nose, a cup of hot coffee in her left hand, and her right hand resting on the laptop in front of her. I knew that she didn't need glasses, but she wore them at her laptop to get her into 'executive mode'. She looked up at me. 

'Ah honey, you should be in bed. Do you need anything? Cramps?' she said. 

'Um, no, I uh... I'm just really hungry' I said, feeling embarrassed to say it out loud, after the beautiful meal that she'd cooked for me.

'Oh, period muchies' she chuckled. I died a little inside. 'I have just the thing for that.' 

She headed over the a cupboard in the kitchen that, quite honestly, I hadn't realized existed. She pulled out a massive bar of chocolate and handed it to me. I looked at her wide eyed. 

'One chocolate isn't going to ruin your diet, Liv. I keep this stock for exactly these circumstances.' 

I pulled up a chair next to hers, and unwrapped the chocolate. The first bite was good, but I knew immediately that this wouldn't satisfy my hunger. I ignored it and had a look over at the laptop screen. 

'Wow, that looks incredible!' I said, looking at mockup pictures of a beautiful big hallof what looked like a hotel. 'what are you working on?' 

'Oh, um, I...' she started to stutter. 'well there's this big project on a remodeling of a hotel. I've been appointed to do the design. It's a really big job, and there will be a big paycheck at the end of it. I'm trying to get as much done as I can so that...' she paused, thinking about how she was going to say her next sentence. 

'I need to fly out for a few days, if I get the project rolling, make a few amendments when I get there, and then get the decorators out straight away, I won't need to be gone for as long. Uh, um... I'm so sorry honey, i need to fly out next week. I tried to postpone but this whole thing of you coming to stay with me a little more permanently was really sudden and short notice. I just won't be able to be there for your first week of school. 'the guilt read clearly across her face, and I felt an overwhelming sense of love towards this woman. Her whole life was turned upside down because of me, but she was feeling guilty for missing my first week of school. 

Before I could respond, she spoke again. 

'Barbara, uh Mrs Moore, passes this way every day so she'll get you to school and back every day. It'll give you time to get to know her daughter too, maybe you'll become friends? And she' ll check in with you from time to time to make sure you're okay. And you can call me any time you need me, and I want to hear about your first day, and... ' she continued to nervously rattle on, being a "parent" was very new to her. 

'Aunt Kate' I interjected. 'it's fine, I'll be fine! I've started at new schools more than once, and you've sorted out the logistics, I will be absolutely fine! I don't expect you to upend your whole life and come to a halt because of me.'

I gave her a big hug. 

'Are you sure? Is it irresponsible of me to leave you alone? Should I ask if you can stay with Barbara?' 

I shook my head and laughed. 

'I've spent lots of time alone. You are totally momming out right now.' 

We'd both laughed and I headed back up to bed. I tossed and turned all night, but at some point I'd closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, there was sunlight creeping through a crack where my curtains had opened. I felt a throbbing in my foot, and reached under the covers to feel what was going on with it. 

I felt something sharp sticking out of me foot, which felt strangely like a thorn. 'what the...' I thought to myself, and threw the covers off to get a closer look. 

My pajamas were crumpled up and ripped at the bottom of the bed, and I was completely naked. I looked down at my feet, and apart from the large thorn sticking out of my foot, I also noticed how dirty my feet were. My hands were also caked in dry mud. My heart began to race, wondering what had happened to me. It then also dawned on me... That strong, niggling hunger pang I'd felt the night before... Was gone.