Awake

CLAIRE'S POV

"Someone help me!" I screamed, but my voice came out hoarse, barely more than a whisper.

Panic tightened around my chest as I touched my throat and looked around the dark creepy forest. Why couldn't I hear myself?

My heart pounded as I looked down at my hands which suddenly felt different. As I looked at them, I saw that they were small, too small. Like a child that was twelve, maybe thirteen. Dread curled in my stomach at that moment, my body trembling slightly. What was happening to me?

With shaking fingers, I touched my face, searching for an explanation. My face too felt smaller, my nose and mouth shrunk way more. Still trying to figure out what went wrong, a sudden snap of a twig cut through the silence. 

I froze, my fear redirected at what caused the sound. My head whipped to the right, eyes scanning the darkness between the trees. I could hear my heart pounding as my gaze wandered fearfully. 

"Who's there?" I croaked, my lips shaking. As if being lost here wasn't enough, the moonlight barely reflected. Everything was dark and I couldn't see more than my own feet. 

The bushes rustled and my breath hitched as a massive black wolf slowly stepped out, its glowing yellow eyes locking onto me.

I felt myself freeze up as I stared at it, unable to form thoughts or even move. 

The wolf advanced slowly, growling and still staring at me with dread. 

I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. I just sat there. 

And then, with a sudden burst of speed, the wolf charged.

I sprang to my feet, crashing through the bushes as I ran with all the strength in me and the wolf chased after me. I pushed myself harder, but it was gaining on me and I could hear it behind me. 

I hadn't gone far when the wolf jumped and sank its claws into my arm, pain exploding through me as a scream tore from my throat.

I fell to the ground with the wolf on top of me, screaming and trying to fight it off. But it was no use. It clawed my stomach, blood gushing out immediately as I screamed in pain. 

Just as the wolf was about to strike again, something slammed into it, sending it sprawling to the ground beside me.

Barely able to breathe and still losing blood, I saw a figure wrestling with the wolf on the ground with effortless strength. I couldn't see his face because my eyes started to blur but he was extremely strong and very fast. 

He snapped the wolf's neck with a sickening crack and the wolf stopped moving, falling on the ground limply. Slowly, the figure that had saved me approached me but I couldn't still see his face, my eyes closing as I was about to pass out. 

He lowered beside me. "Claire…" 

I fought to keep my eyes open.

"Claire….Can you hear me?" 

My eyes fluttered open.

I groaned and lifted my hand to my head, feeling so much pain. I tried to glance around but my vision was still blurry. 

"Claire, how are you?" I heard a voice ask and I blinked repeatedly, trying to bring my eyes to focus. I weakly turned to the direction of the voice, squinting as my vision cleared. 

My gaze fell on Caius, standing at the edge of my bed. 

"You're finally awake." He smiled down at me. 

Exhaling, I swallowed, and my throat felt dry. I glanced around and saw I was in my room, not in a thick dark forest. So I was dreaming.

The last memories in my mind came rushing back and I remembered everything. So I was alive? Skylar and her friends didn't kill me?

I tried to sit up, but pain coursed through my body, forcing a groan from my lips and I sank back. 

"You're not strong yet," Caius said, taking my hand in his and adjusting my pillow. I licked my lips, feeling it chapped and crusty. 

"Ho—How long have I been out?" I asked, my voice raspy.

"Two days..." Caius answered, his eyes searching my face. "I was really worried, you know. But…..you're stronger than you look."

I smiled weakly. "I'm hard to get rid of." I said, then touched his hand on my bed. "Thank you for saving me... and taking care of me."

He gave me a small smile. "I really wanted to hurt them so badly, Claire," he said, his expression shifting into a frown. "Look at what they did to you."

I exhaled, shutting my eyes as I recalled the pain I experienced that night and how Skylar almost killed me. 

I wanted to hurt them too for what they did. 

Skylar's friends had clawed at me, punched me, and almost finished me off before Caius intervened. If only he hadn't arrived on time, I would have died. Tears burned in my eyes at the thought of it.

"If it's okay with you, I can crash here till you're fully recovered," Caius said, his voice filtering through my thoughts and I opened my eyes again to look at him.

I nodded.

He gave me a grateful smile and leaned back against the wall. He watched me in silence for some minutes before chuckling. 

"You must be starving and I didn't even ask." He said, shaking his head. "I'll go get you something."

He dashed out before I could say anything and I slowly lifted myself, resting my back against the wall. My fingers shook, and I couldn't even tighten my grip on the blanket as I held it. 

Glancing around, I looked for my phone but I couldn't see it. I wondered in my mind if my parents called even though I knew they wouldn't. They already had so much to deal with and would not even think of their daughter in this school. 

Mother must think I'm fitting in well here, if only she knew it was far from the truth. If only she knew I was lying here, completely weak after almost losing my life.

"I want to go home," I whispered, tears stinging the corner of my eyes. If I was at home, none of this would have happened. If I was never sent here in the first place, I wouldn't endure such pain. 

Leaning back with my eyes closed, Caius returned shortly with some food and lots of drinks. I watched as he opened them up and I felt grateful for a friend like him. I didn't know what I did to deserve someone who cared for me in a place like Carnemore. 

"I hope you're not a slow eater.." He said, sitting on my bed with a plate of food. "Because I'm about to feed you."

I smiled, my stomach rumbling slightly. He started to feed me and I chewed slowly, feeling my jaw moving painfully.

Silence lingered between us for some minutes. Until Caius said, "You had a lot of nightmares." I looked at him and nodded.

"I've been having them since I was like fourteen." I explained, my voice coming out like a whisper. "But it's not constant."

"What are they about?" He asked. 

I licked my lips. "I---um, I got lost in the woods and this black wolf attacked me. It tried to kill me and this faceless guy saved me."

"Faceless guy?" He cocked his brows. 

I nodded weakly. "I couldn't see his face. But every other part of this dream feels so real." I paused and stared down at my hands. "Sometimes, it feels like a memory of something that happened to me when I was young but my mother said I never got lost in the woods."

Caius nodded, looking down at the plate. "I'm sure it's just one of these repetitive dreams."

"I guess." I said, then lied down. "I'm tired again. I think I want to sleep."

He nodded, moving to cover the plate. "Get some rest, then. I'll be here when you wake up."

I smiled and then as I was about to close my eyes, a thought came into my mind.

"Caius?" I called and he turned to me.

"Yeah?"

"Did anyone come to visit me?" I asked.

He hesitated, but then shook his head. "I know you're asking about Zane. But he didn't and I'm sure he knows what Skylar did to you."

I simply nodded and looked away, feeling my heart clench.