by Jill Sanders
The room seemed to twist and bend before finally settling down as darkness overtook everything.
He held onto Joleen’s unconscious body. He realized immediately that they were no longer in her bedroom when he felt the cold ground under them and the chill of a breeze bite through his skin. It was too dark for him to see clearly, but off in the distance was a light of sorts that he tried to focus on as he lifted Joleen into his arms.
He was barefooted and in nothing but gym shorts and a T-shirt, and the cold of the night stung his skin. He tripped a few times over the uneven ground as he moved further towards the light.
When he felt Joleen stir, he stopped.
“Joleen?” he asked as he held her close. He could feel her chilled skin next to his own.
“What… where are we?” she asked, tensing in his arms.
“I’m not sure,” he answered as she slid out of his arms. He kept a hold on her. It was dark, and he didn’t want to lose her.
“What is this place?” she asked.
“You tell me,” he said, trying to shake the chill that was overtaking him. His entire body was vibrating from the cold.
“How did we get here?” she asked him again.
“All I know is, one moment we were in your bedroom, and I was trying to wake you from a bad dream, then… zap, we were here, in this dark, cold place.”
“Dark?” she asked. “It’s not dark. It’s…” She turned, and he lost his hold on her. He reached out in the darkness to keep track of her. “Mason?” she asked, moving closer to him. “Are you okay?”
“Where are you?” he asked, panic filling him at the thought of losing her in the darkness, of her getting hurt.
“Right here.” Her hands gripped his. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Let’s just keep heading towards the light.” He motioned towards the faint glow in the distance. Taking her arm again, he started moving towards it. But she came up short and held him still.
“You can’t see this?” she asked, sounding a little shocked.
“What? There’s nothing here but blackness and cold.” He shivered again. “And we aren’t particularly dressed for this kind of environment.”
He felt her hands moving up his arms slowly. “You’re freezing,” she said.
“So are you.” He remembered feeling her cold skin next to his.
“No, I’m warm.” She laid her hands on his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of her touching him before his skin turned completely numb from the cold. Was it actually getting colder? “Here, let me try…” When she grew silent, he opened his eyes.
A quick flash pulsed from her, almost blinding him. The next time he blinked, it was almost too bright for him, and he had to squint just to see Joleen standing in front of him.
“How did you…” He dropped off as he blinked a few more times to let his eyes adjust. “Where are we?” he asked, looking around at their new surroundings. He could feel the warmth of the sun warming him already, and it felt amazing.
“That’s what I’ve been asking you,” she said, stepping back and looking around.
He frowned. “Is this what you’ve seen since you woke up?”
“Yes.” She turned to him. “What were you seeing?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
She tilted her head and crossed her arms over her chest. It was then that he noticed she was still dressed in a sexy almost see-through tank top and cute little sleeping shorts adorned with hearts and flowers.
“You can tell me,” she said, looking at him as if he was trying to keep a secret.
“No.” He almost laughed. “Seriously. It was so dark I couldn’t see anything. It was freezing too.” He rubbed his hands up and down his arms, warming them even further. Joleen frowned at him. “What did you do to me?” he asked, touching his temple where she’d run her hands.
“Nothing, it’s just… I don’t know,” she said with a frown. “Where do you think we are?” she asked, changing the subject.
He dropped his arms and glanced around once more. Since his eyes had adjusted, he could see they appeared to be standing in the middle of a park of sorts.
“It appears to be a park. It wouldn’t happen to be somewhere in Hidden Creek, would it?” he asked her.
She shook her head slowly. “It doesn’t look familiar. I think we’re underdressed.” She motioned to his gym shorts and T-shirt. “At least you look like you’re here for a workout. I’m…” She motioned to her pajamas. “Obviously not.”
He smiled. “I think it’s perfect.” He took her hand and started walking down the pathway. “I guess we’d better find out where we are and how we ended up here.”
They were halfway down the pathway, heading towards a large building, when he happened to glance up. He spotted a dark figure and froze.
“What the…” He stepped in front of her and shielded her behind him.
“What?” she asked, glancing around his shoulders. “No way.” She nudged him aside. “It’s… the same one from the other night.”
He tried to push her behind him again. “No, it’s not. It’s not jet black…” Then he realized that the creature was in fact the same from the other night. Its long neck, strange small head, and odd legs. However, instead of being jet black, its long fur was a rainbow of bright colors. “Are you sure it’s the same one?” he asked when she started moving towards it.
“Yes, see the scar just above its eye?” She motioned to the spot.
“I guess I was too busy being scared to really notice any features it had last time,” he admitted.
“Where is everyone?” she asked, looking around. “We can’t be the only ones who see it.”
He glanced around and noticed that the park and building area were void of people. Then he noticed that there wasn’t a sound. No cars, no airplanes, not even birds chirping in the sky. It was very eerie not even hearing bugs buzz around them. This was a park, filled with flowers, grass, and trees. Surely there would be creatures around other than the massive alien.
“Maybe it scared everyone and everything else away?” he suggested as the creature finally spotted them. It lifted its head, sniffed the air quickly, and started to charge them. Mason shoved Joleen behind him and braced for the attack.
He tensed, but the thing stopped less than a foot from them. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see Joleen scratching the creature between its eyes.
“See,” she said, smiling back at him. “I told you it was the same one.” It nudged her shoulder with its head when she stopped scratching the spot, and she laughed.
He glanced around again just to make sure someone wasn’t playing a joke on them. “This can’t be real,” he said with a shake of his head. “I know, I’m still asleep.”
Joleen frowned back at him. “Then we both are. My imagination isn’t this… farfetched.”
“How did we get here? I mean, one minute we were in your bedroom, the next we were shadowed in darkness, and now…” He did a circle. “We’re at a park somewhere…” He frowned as he noticed the trees and plants that surrounded them. “From the looks of it, we’re still in Georgia or at least still in the south.”
“Okay.” Joleen dropped her arm and nudged the creature’s head aside. “It’s obvious that we’re alone here in the park. Let’s get somewhere more populated, to see if there are others around or if it’s just us here. We could still be in some sort of dream. Hey,” she said after he made a face, “I’m not discounting anything yet. I did just make friends with this guy.” She frowned. “Or girl?”
He chuckled for the first time since they’d arrived. “Okay.” He took her hand and they started walking towards the building in the distance. He wasn’t surprised when the creature followed them, sticking close to Joleen.
“We need to name it,” Joleen surprised him by saying.
“Why?” he asked, glancing back at it. How he’d ever believed that it had been a bear that first night was beyond him. Sure,
it had been dark, and the creature had been black then, but beyond a few sharp teeth sticking out of its small mouth, it was no more aggressive looking than Stinky was. Then again, he supposed that some people were afraid of big dogs.
“Why not?” she asked with a shrug. “What are we going to do? Go around calling it the creature?”
She stopped and smiled when the thing nudged her shoulder again for more attention.
“How about Greedy?” he suggested.
She laughed. “No offense, but you’re terrible at naming pets.”
His eyebrows shot up. “This is not a pet and no I’m not. I name them what they are.”
“Stinky?” She shook her head and chuckled. “It’s a terrible name. You could have named him Reek or Ripper.” She smiled.
He chuckled. “Okay, I’m sure you could do better than Fred.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Hey, he came with the name.” She turned back to the animal. She laid her forehead down on the creature’s forehead and closed her eyes.
“His name is Spot. Because he has the ability to change.” The creature nudged her shoulder and startled nibbling on her shirt, making her laugh. “And he’s a trickster,” she said with a laugh as she nudged the creature’s head away.
“His? How do you know it’s male?” he asked as they started walking again.
“Easy.” She leaned down and motioned to its narrow groin area. “I got a better look and, well, it’s sort of obvious.”
He stopped and glanced down. “Okay, Spot it is.” He took Joleen’s hand again.
They walked for almost a full mile before stepping into a small town. There wasn’t a soul around, and they continued to wonder if they were really there or if they were in fact dreaming.
They were standing in the middle of the main street in a small town that could have easily been Hidden Creek. However, everything was in the wrong place and the shops appeared to have been empty for years.
Actually, everything appeared to have been abandoned years ago, overgrown and neglected. The fact that he had yet to see even a bird overhead alarmed him.
It didn’t appear as if there had been fighting or that bombs had gone off, it was just as if one moment every creature had disappeared.
“It’s empty,” Joleen said quietly.
“It looks as if it’s been that way for a while,” he agreed.
“Let’s grab some clothes.” She motioned towards a store. The door stood wide open and a mannequin wearing jeans and a sweater stood behind the very dirty window.
He followed her inside. Spot sat just outside the doorway as if waiting for them to come back out, as the creature was too big to fit through the doorway.
“Here.” Joleen grabbed a pair of jeans from a rack. “We might as well get out of our pajamas.”
He smiled. “I rather like you in your pajamas.” He moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. “If we are dreaming, we might as well enjoy a moment,” he said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
“I can get behind that.” She reached up and kissed him.
He ran his hands over her hips, pulling her closer to him as he felt himself grow hard.
“God, you taste and feel so good,” he sighed against her lips as he backed her into a display case full of folded sheets and towels.
“Mason.” She tugged on him until they were almost falling over the display. “I need you. I need this. Make me feel alive,” she added before pulling his head back down to hers.
He lost himself in the kiss, in the power she held over his own body. His hands pushed her clothing aside until he cupped her breasts. A low moan escaped from her lips. Then he bent his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth, enjoying the taste of her, the way she responded to him.
When she nudged his shorts off his hips and wrapped her hand around him, for a moment he lost track of time and place. His only thought was taking her, there, now, quickly. Then he realized that he was without protection.
Yanking up his head, he frowned at the empty store and sighed.
“You don’t suppose they sell condoms in here and that there’s a chance they aren’t expired?” he asked.
She chuckled and shook her head. “Who cares. If this is a dream…”
He stilled. “Joleen.” He watched her smile slip before she yanked down her shirt and righted her clothes.
“Right,” she said with a shake of her head. “Responsible.” She nodded then ran her hand over his face. “That’s one of the traits that attracted me to you in the first place.”
“Good, then you won’t be pissed,” he said, bending down and picking up a pair of jeans that had fallen to the floor. “I’ll…” He nodded to the men’s section as he handed her the jeans. “Don’t forget shoes.”
“Right. I’m going to pack a few extra things. You never know.” She grabbed up a large bag.
“Yeah, good idea.” He grabbed a backpack as he passed by the area.
He spent the next ten minutes trying on jeans and shoes and tossing a few shirts, sweatshirts, and jackets into the bag. He grabbed a bundle of fresh socks and underwear, and even some gloves and hats and a blanket. Then he found a box of condoms behind the cash register along with some granola bars and bottled water. By the time his backpack was full, Joleen was standing outside talking to Spot.
When he stepped outside, he could feel that something had shifted in the air.
“Something doesn’t seem right,” he said, looking around. When he turned and glanced back the way they’d come from earlier, he noticed a mysterious darkness moving towards them, as if something large was flying overhead. He blinked a few times to confirm what he was seeing. “Joleen.” He nudged her. “Do you see that?”
She turned around. “What?” she said with a frown.
“The darkness.” He lifted his hand and pointed at the massive blackness that was quickly approaching them.
“There’s nothing there,” she said softly. Just then, Spot let out a sound close to a cat’s hiss and shifted. They both watched as his beautiful brightly colored fur changed and grew dark until it was once again jet black.
“Something’s coming,” Joleen said as she took his hand, “and I can’t seem to see it.”
He jerked around and pulled her with him until they were both running with Spot on their heels. The creature nudged Joleen’s shoulder and she stopped and climbed on its back. “Here.” Joleen held out her hand.
“How do you know he can handle us both?” he asked, then glanced back and noticed the darkness was almost upon them. “Screw it.” He climbed on Spot behind Joleen.
Spot took off, moving faster than either of them would have been able to run.
He leaned into Joleen, who hunched down over Spot’s neck and held onto the thick black fur like she’d been riding horses her entire life.
He spared several glances behind them and noticed that they seemed to be outrunning the darkness.
“We’ve outrun it for now. Where do you think he is taking us?”
“I’m not sure, but he seems to know where he’s going.” Joleen sat up slightly and relaxed back against him.
He lost track of time as the creature continued to run effortlessly. The small town disappeared and instantly Mason wished they had been able to find something more than the granola bars he’d shoved into his bag.
When Spot slowed down and stopped just outside of an old home, he was thankful. He was beginning to ache all over. A dim light was coming from the window.
“It looks like we’re here,” Joleen said in a low voice.
“Yeah, but where is here?” he asked.
Chapter Thirteen
She didn’t know why she was nervous. Joleen took in the building and something close to familiarity ran through her.
Mason slid off Spot’s back and helped her down. “Thanks,” he said to the creature as he ran his hand over its neck. Spot nudged his hand then her shoulder before disappearing around the building.
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��He didn’t even look tired,” Mason said to her. Then he turned to the house. “Shall we go see who’s home?”
Since she hadn’t moved yet, he took her hand and they made their way up the narrow pathway towards the front door. There was a dark circle of what appeared to be soot surrounding the home, which they were standing just inside.
As they stepped up onto the large front porch, another wave of familiarity hit her. The front door was painted a bright blue and had an old brass knocker in the shape of an owl on it. She had the sinking feeling in her gut that she’d been here before.
As Mason lifted his hand to knock, the door flew open. Just inside stood a tall woman dressed in worn brown leather pants, black boots, and a black shirt. Her hands were on her hips, and she was scowling at them as if they were late for dinner.
“I told you not to come here,” the woman said, looking directly at Joleen.
The woman looked so much like Joleen that the breath stuck in her lungs.
“You never would listen to me,” the woman said, throwing up her hands and turning around to stalk away.
Mason glanced back at Joleen and shrugged.
Joleen stepped inside slowly and knew for a fact that she’d been there before.
The small basket that held shoes under a bench just inside the doorway was familiar to her. She knew that there were two bedrooms down the short hallway to the left. The kitchen was back to the left and the living room… She stepped into the space and stared at the piano she remembered playing as a child.
“Who are you?” She rushed to the woman’s side and nudged her to turn to face her again.
The woman sighed and shook her head. “You know who I am,” the woman said and touched her face. “You’ve grown so much, so quickly.” The woman shook her head as if dismissing the thoughts.
“Mom?” Joleen felt her heart kick in her chest. “But…”
“I warned you.” The woman smiled at Joleen with almost the same smile Joleen saw every day in the mirror.
How had she never wondered why she didn’t look like either of her parents? Why had they never told her she wasn’t theirs?
