Mixed Feelings

He calmed down just in time to see that it was just Chuck waking from his slumber, it seemed like everyone had passed out after the Ogre attacked.

"What happened? Where am I? Is this heaven?" Chuck kept on rambling, with his eyes half open. Derek was in no mood to watch him regain consciousness and his sense too, Derek silently hoped.

Derek lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, after a few moments he realized that he could no longer hear Chuck.

He turned to the side and moved the curtain aside and he could see him passed out again on the bed. He preferred it that way, at least it gave him a little leeway to think but his thoughts were cut short because the door soon swung open and Emily walked in along with Zayn.

"You're awake" Zayn commented. "Do you remember what happened after the beast appeared?" Zayn inquired hopefully, hoping to get something out of Derek but Derek slightly shook his head.

"Zayn, he does not remember anything. The boy has to get some rest" Emily cautioned him.

"Okay, okay" Zayn gave up

"Derek, you can return to your room for now, but make sure you immediately come back here if you experience anything weird" Emily instructed.

Derek was going to ask 'like what?' but he didn't think it was a good idea, considering his wounds were already miraculously healed. There wasn't anything weirder than that.

Emily concluded that discharging Derek was the best idea, since he had no physical or internal injuries, he was completely okay, to say in the least.

Derek spared Emily smile in appreciation for her treatment, even though she hadn't needed to do much for him.

He walked out of the clinic with only one thought in his mind 'what happened back at the expedition'

His thoughts were soon cut short outside of the clinic, Arya was standing outside the clinic like she was waiting for him to show up.

Derek was expecting the worst out of this meeting, he didn't think Arya came all the way here to have a meet and greet.

"Thank you, for saving my life back there" Arya said, bending her head slightly to show her appreciation.

"I'm the one that should be thanking you for the other night" Derek countered

"You shouldn't jump into fights to save others, when you can barely even save yourself. You could get killed"

'That's why I intend to become strong, strong enough to rid this place of those that look down on the powerless' Derek kept this part to himself. He didn't want to look sound like a nerd or someone with unrealistic goals.

"Same goes for you, trying to jump a beast. You could have been killed too" Derek replied

"Fair point" Arya muttered silently enough for Derek not to hear, but he had heard "Are you okay? I saw that beast hit you around just before I passed out"

Derek could almost hear his heart beating through his chest, good thing she had passed out before whatever had happened back there happened.

"Ye, yeah. I'm alright, turns out I was lucky enough not to have sustained any serious injuries" Derek stuttered slightly.

Arya blushed slightly, she turned her face away so Derek wouldn't see. She thought he looked cute getting flustered. But her face soon returned back to its usual emotionless mask.

She had purposely left out the part where she had been conscious up until Derek vanished from where he lay, she might have been even more cautious of him if she had realized he didn't vanish but moved at a speed her eyes just couldn't follow.

She had just wanted to see Derek's reaction when she brought up the incident and also to check if he was alright, even though she refused to admit to herself. When he had saved her back there, she began to see him in a different light and her coldness had dropped when she talked with him.

But she was having mixed feelings about what she saw before she passed out the previous day.

Derek was left to wallow in his thoughts after Arya had left, he walked in silence back to his dorm room. The day had already gone half way, so there was no point in going to class.

He lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling, staring up had now been becoming a habit of late, but Derek was convinced he had to do whatever to clear his mind.

***

Something was chasing, and Derek was the hunted, he was running as fast as he could through a thick forest. Whatever was chasing him was not slowing down and Derek was not about to let up either.

The trees and brushes in the forest were flying past in a blur, whatever was chasing him had just killed two of his friends in cold blood. Derek ran as fast as he could with tears in his eyes, he had no idea of where he was running to only that he had to get away from that thing at all cost.

Whatever it was looked very evil, like it was sent out from the deepest depths of hell, the fur on its skin was pitch black, like night itself, its eyes were blood red, he had no doubts that the sharp claws at the end of its long arms could cut a tree in half without much effort.

This monster looked like death itself and it was deathly fast, it was gaining on Derek with every passing second.

Derek stumbled on some fallen branches but immediately stood up and took off again.

'What exactly was it that was so important about life, about my life in particular that I have to preserve it. A life where I can't even save the people that are dear to me, is it really a life worth living?' he asked himself as a tear drop escaped his eye.

With tears dropping from the corner of his eyes, he stopped and turned around to face the monster. The moment he stopped, he could now hear the monsters' footsteps, so swift he wondered how he managed to keep this distance between them for so long.

'Was it toying with me?' he wondered. Just like how some predators played with their prey before gobbling them up.

In a flash, the monster was right in his front, its eyes looked even redder from up close. He could see the white teeth which shone like a beacon beneath all the dark fur, aiming for his neck, its long claw came down in one swift movement.

Derek jumped from his bed, panting and sweating and clutching his neck, it had all felt so real. He was almost certain that he was dead.

"What a stupid dream" Derek muttered to himself, it wasn't like he had any friends. But even as he wrote it off in his mind, he could feel the goosebumps on his skin.

The door to the bathroom came open and Chuck stepped out "Oh, you're finally awake" he commented.

"You've been asleep since yesterday, are you sure you're okay" Chuck asked. Derek wiped the sweat off his forehead and stared at the clock, it really was the morning of the next day.

Derek couldn't completely understand it, but he felt that his body resorted to sleep to completely heal the injuries he had sustained, he didn't know how but he could feel it.