Chapter 6 Where the Hell Was I?

Audrey’s POV

I felt cold at first

The kind of cold that goes inside your bones rather than just touching the surface.  My back hurt as if I had been trampled upon or tossed from something. I blinked, squinting against the grey blur of trees overhead. The sky was overcast and very quiet.

 

And I wasn’t in my tent.

I lay flat on my back on the frostbitten soil and wet leaves.  My hoodie was stuck to the smell of earth, which blended with something that smalls like smoke… Ash?

I sat up fast and soon regretted it. My head spun as if someone hit me with a bat in the skull. My hands braced the ground instinctively and—

“What the hell,” I muttered.

My right wrist stung. I twisted it around and I was shock. 

There was a mark burned into my skin—barely visible, but definitely there. Thin, looping lines in a kind of spiral pattern. Not a cut or bruise. Almost like… a brand.

My spine tingled with panic.

Trembling and experiencing sensations throughout my leg, I staggered to my feet. My legs were hurt, one of my shoes was gone, and my knees were hurt. My socks were soaked through.

“Okay,” I whispered, heart hammering, “okay okay okay….”

Where the hell was I?

Spinning in my head, I saw nothing but trees. Pine, dead leaves and mist. No campfire. No tents and I didn’t see Derek. Just forest in every direction.

 My breath started to come faster, too fast, and that ugly, familiar tightness curled in my chest.

No…. Not now. Not here.

I reached for my pocket—my phone. Thank God it was still there. I yanked it out, but the screen was spiderwebbed with cracks, and when I tried to power it on… nothing. It was Dead.

Of course.

I shoved it back into my hoodie and picked a direction. Any direction. My thighs burned with every step I took. My left foot throbbed. 

There were voices in my head, jumbled memories from last night. None of them made sense. Trees, moonlight, a howl. Derek—God, Derek—his face, his eyes, glowing like some kind of monster—

A crack of branches ahead.

I stumbled back, heart climbing into my throat.

“Hello?” My voice was hoarse. “Is someone there?” I shouted. 

Another crack. Then silence.

No one answered.

I couldn’t see clearly but I managed to drag my legs along. By the time I stumbled back into the camp, the early morning sun had already begun to shine through the trees and the chaos had started.  

Ohh shit…someone called my name. All of the chaperones, teachers, and students had gathered around the fire pit, and they all appeared worn out and agitated.

 The trip planner, Ms. Carey, then started running toward me as if she were going to throw me to the ground.

“Oh my God, Audrey!”

“I—I’m fine—” I wasn’t.

“Where the hell have you been?” she yelled, grabbing my arms, eyes wide with pure panic. “You disappeared! We called the police! What happened to your leg? You’re bleeding—someone call—”

“I don’t know,” I croaked.

And that was the truth. I didn’t.

I didn’t know how I got out there. I didn’t know where Derek went. I didn’t know what the hell that mark on my wrist was. I didn’t even know if what I saw last night was real, or—

Was I going crazy?

No. No, that mark is real. And I know what I saw.

I was unable to say that, though.  I simply let them encircle me while I stood there trembling. 

Everyone stared.

Like I was some freak show that walked out of a horror movie.

Adrian showed up two hours later.

When they handed me over, he remained silent.  He merely nodded once, his arms crossed and his mouth clenched as if he were resisting the need to strike someone.

 He floored it as soon as we got inside his vehicle.  The windows whipped the trees. I was still shivering despite the heater running constantly.

  "Did you get any sleep?"  My voice was hardly heard as I asked.

Nothing.

He kept his eyes on the road.

“Adrian, please. I—I don’t remember how I got out there.”

Still nothing.

My nails dug into the sleeves of my sweater.  “But I think something happened. Like something real. Something… I can’t explain.”

He slapped his palm against the steering wheel.

I jumped.

Adrian’s voice came low and hard. "That wasn't meant for you to see."

And then he shut up again. Didn’t say another word all the way back to Ravenfalls.

I showered the second we got home. Every bruise was stung by the hot water, but I didn't mind.  I cleaned my skin till it was red. 

My wrist—the mark—didn’t fade. I wrapped it in a bandage just to avoid having to look at it. Or explain it.

I tried texting Derek. The messages wouldn’t going through.

Either his phone was dead… or he was ignoring me.

I lay on my bed in a towel, hair dripping, wrapped in a blanket, trying not to spiral. But my mind wouldn't stop talking.  I could always see the forest when I closed my eyes.  His eyes were glowing. The way his body had changed. Twisted and shifted.

He had fur. Claws.

Fangs.

That wasn’t human.

But then—then what the hell was he?

What was my reaction to that?

  I must have fainted at some point because when I opened my eyes, it was dark once more.

Everywhere was quiet in the house. I had not turned off the light.  With a 1% battery, my phone buzzed feebly from the floor.  I simply laid there looking at the ceiling after plugging it in.

 At that point, the dreams began.

 It wasn't until the wolves came that I realized I had fallen asleep.

They circled me in a ring. At least five of them. Big, silent, and watching. The forest was quiet again, but this time it was darker. Colder. The mist touched my skin like breath.

One of the wolves stepped forward—black fur, amber eyes. I knew that look.

Derek.

Like a memory I didn't want yet couldn't let go of, his presence hit me hard.

 He didn't snarl.  simply looked at me as if he was anticipating something. An answer. A choice.

 Another shape emerged behind him—a girl.

But not just a girl.

Me.

Or someone who looked like me. Same face. Same eyes. But different. Worn and hollow. Her eyes were too large, her hair was wild and matted, and her complexion was too pale. She didn’t speak either. Just stood between the wolves like she belonged there.

And suddenly, I felt wrong. Like an intruder in my own dream.

I took a step back, and the ground crumbled.

I fell.

And fell.

And fell.

With my breath caught in my throat, I leaped to my feet.

My room was dark and silent.

3:12 AM.

I waited for the dream to pop out of my flesh for a long minute while my heart pounded.  But it didn't. My fingers still felt cold. My legs ached. And that symbol on my wrist burned under the bandage.

I peeled it off, hands trembling.

The mark was still there. Even clearer now. A bright shape, vibrating softly under the skin like it had its own heartbeat. 

“Oh my god,” I whispered. It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a dream.

Something was happening to me. And Derek—he knew. Adrian definitely knew. And no one was talking. But they had to. Because whatever that mark meant, whatever happened last night—

It wasn’t over.

Not even close.

And if I didn’t get answers soon?

I was going to burn this whole damn secret down myself.