Metamorphosis

Chapter 9: The creepy man and a sky full of stars

The Sirens rushed past me as I walked up the road. I smiled on the inside because I knew Brad's prized possession now had third-degree burns. It served him right, but now I realized I had to get back to Brad's before he did. I still had stuff over there. Hopefully, Annie wouldn't mind making a side trip with me. A loud honk made me look up the road at blinding lights. 

The car screeched to a stop. "Get in, girl! You must be freezing!" I was so relieved to hear Annie's voice and rushed to get into the car. She greets me with a tight hug. "I'm so f*****g proud of you. He was a horrible guy," Annie said. 

 "Yeah, I guess I was just blinded," I admitted. "Can we stop by his house? I have some clothes and stuff I left over there." 

 Annie's eyes grew wide; she reached into the back of her car and grabbed black trash bags. "Let's get your stuff and bolt, girl. You're staying with me," she says; I chuckle at her. My heart gleamed light, yet empty at the same time. I just couldn't put my finger on it. I was over the moon about leaving Brad, but the ordeal with my "mother" left me with an empty oozing black hole.

 I looked over at Annie. 'I wonder if she would think I was crazy if I told her about Eros and my mother,' I thought to myself. I yearned to talk to someone about this, and Annie was my best friend. I took a deep breath," Hey Annie, something weird has been going on lately-" I was cut off by a sudden screeching halt of the car. The seat belt dug into my chest. "What the hell is that?" Annie asked, her face pales. I followed her gaze; a man in a creepy hooded cloak stands in front of the car, about a yard away from us. Annie honks her horn, "Hey! Get out of the way, i***t!" She shouts. The hairs stand on the back of my neck; something about this man was off. It was like I could see a dark aura around him. He slowly c****d his head, I couldn't see his eyes, but I could feel them on me for some strange reason. Annie honked her horn again. "Hello?! Are you deaf?!" The fog started to come out of nowhere and surrounded the man making him disappear. "Okay, now I'm officially creeped out..." I said as I watched the fog surround us. A hard thud landed on the top of the car above our heads, my heart spiked, and I screamed; an eerie silence filled the air before a needle prick blade slices through the car hood like butter; Annie and I cried.

 "What in the holy hell!?" Annie yells as she bolts out of the car. I get out and run after her into the woods. 

"Annie!? Annie, wait!" I cry out; my lungs start to ache as I suck in the cold wind. I can barely see Annie's silhouette in front of me.I glance behind me, but the man is nowhere to be seen. Then, a blood-curdling scream cries out into the night. I freeze, realizing it's Annie's voice...

I force myself to keep going forward, and as I come to a clearing, I see the hooded man standing over a body. Annie's body. I choke up as I watch the blood drip off his blade. The man steps over Annie and stalks towards me. 

I knew I should be running, I was stupid for not fleeing, but my eyes drifted to Annie, whose chest still moved. 'She's still alive,' I said to myself. If I could get to Annie and make a run for it, I could save her.

"Running will do you no go; my blade has already tasted blood," the man's voice was unsettling and profound. It embedded itself in my memories, making sure I remembered him, and I would because it stirred up something that humankind has had forever...Fear.

"W-Who are you? What do you want?" I ask the hooded man. He slowly c***s his head again.

"Such a shame..." is all he says to me. Annie stirs; the man glances over at her and makes a backward step in her direction. My adrenaline surges.

"No!" Without thinking, I lunge at the man, hoping to protect my friend. But before I even make contact with the hooded man, something shoves me out of the way. I push back, "Get off of me!" I scream, then I see his cheeky smile.

'Oh, you have got to be kidding me...' I thought to myself as Eros held me back. I could see the hooded man raise his blade behind Eros' back. "Look out!" I shouted, but Eros contoured the hooded man's attack with his golden bow with lightning reflexes. A crisp clang rang through the air as the metals met.

"Leave, brother; this is none of your concern," the man says. Eros pushes him back with his bow.

"Oh, I think it is; you're the one interfering. Back off," Eros demands. His fists grip tight around his bow. The hooded-man seems to think for a second then turns in the direction of Annie.

"No, NO!" I cry out, pushing Eros out of my way, but he grabs me. I turn to him with a livid fury running through my veins, as I had never felt before. "Let. Me. Go," I commanded as I leered into his eyes. Something was burning within me, like a nuclear bomb.

I turn to the hooded man whose blade raised over Annie's head, ready to end my best friend's life. Annie's weak hand rises in an attempt to plead for her life.

I rip myself from Eros's arms and run to Annie. My body begins to have a mind of its own. My hand flares out, the burning sensation inside me pulses out of my hand, a blistering light of cosmic colors surges out of me.

And for a dash of a second, as the beam hit the hooded man, I could see his ghastly cold dark eyes. He wailed as it torched him; he moved quickly and got away.

My beam lasted for a moment, then my hand went heavy, thumping against my side as if it was full of lead. I felt drained. I dropped to my knees and slumped over Annie's body. I couldn't move; it was like my body just stopped working and clocked out. My eyes drooped, I could barely keep them open, but for a brief second, I saw what I had created.

It reminded me of a mist that looked like a galaxy full of stars and planets...soon, I could no longer keep my eyes open, and I let the darkness take me.