The Hunters Of Aliron

Chapter 2

Did I get hit by a piece of dirty wood?

As I walked behind the shed I looked at where I thought Alex would be but he wasn't there. I didn't understand what was happening. I thought that Alex was behind here but maybe I was wrong. I was about to return to the library when out of nowhere-

Someone shouted.

I was about to see who it was when something hard and dirty came in contact with my face, wood. I dropped to the ground face flat again.

How could I have such bad luck? I must have looked like an actual fool. Before I went unconscious I heard a voice which sounded like Alex's say, "Sorry mate I had to do as I was told" He answered.

He must have thought I was already unconscious. I was just about to try and understand when I was washed with sudden tiredness as an image came to my mind. I'm not the type of person that gets dreams but that didn't stop me from having this one.

I was standing in front of what looked like the Lincoln building but it was on the verge of destruction. Pieces of jagged metal and glass were scattered all around the floor like weapons with intentions to harm. I could see drops of blood leading in a direction. I chose to follow where it was leading me. I knew that I was going to be led to something I don't like but it was like I didn't have a choice, like somewhere in the depths of my subconscious mind, I was compelled and had to obey.

The more I walked the bigger the drops became. It was like rain puddles now. My body shivered in terror and I tried to stop myself from fainting, again.

Suddenly, I was exposed to a bloodbath. I almost felt sick.

Piles and piles of rotting corpses were stacked on top of each other. Some were savagely torn by what I think we're animals with bits of flesh exposed. Others looked as if they were badly burned or killed. I couldn't help but feel like this was more than a dream. Everything felt real. I kept denying what I was seeing when I tripped over a piece of metal and fell on a dead body. Oh god, the smell. It was a mixture of decay and gasoline. I gagged. Had the body been burned alive?

I tried to stand up again but then someone caught my eye. It looked like a little girl. Fresh scars and scratches blanketed her face. Then she ran in fear as if she had seen a monster.

"Hey wait up!" I shouted as I ran after her. For a little girl, she was fast.

Then out of nowhere, she stopped to a halt. I gained towards her and took a proper look at her. She must have been no older than six. She had grey, torn rags for clothes and holes in her shoes. I felt so bad for her. I felt like I should take her somewhere where she can be fed and looked after. I drew a little closer to her but then she walked a little back. I don't think she had been looked after for a long time.

I knelt down and in a polite, calm voice, I said "Are you ok? Would you like some help?" She didn't respond.

Then she came a little closer and in a quiet voice she answered "Are you part of the bad people?" I didn't understand what she meant by bad people.

"I'm here to help you, is that ok?" I replied. I hoped that she would see me as someone that wanted her no harm.

"Ok" she spoke in a voice that sounded like a child that was about to do something bad.

Then she held one of her arms out like wanting a hug. I went closer and then she pulled a razor-sharp knife out with her other hand and stabbed my shoulder. My skin split open as blood gushed out from the wound.

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" She screamed.

Then I could feel my soul being reattached to my actual body.

With a voice saying, "Hey are you okay?"

I went closer to the voice.

My eyes shot wide open and I sat up, panting and trying to understand what had just happened. I could feel blood dripping from my nose, possibly from the piece of wood that whacked me in the face. I looked up to see an angel with bright light protruding looking at me. Her eyes shone brightly filled with concern. God, am I in heaven right now? Then I looked around and everything collapsed.

"ARE YOU OKAY JAMIE?!" a young girl screamed. My head cleared and my vision cleared: it was Hazel.

She had crouched down beside me, tapping me on the forehead with the palm of her hand. Her soft gentle voice made me blush. Whenever she tapped me, I could feel an electric tingle journey up my spine. I stood up and felt drained.

"Yeah, I am," I replied in a weak quivering voice. She looked at me with curiosity in her eyes as if she was trying to find out what was happening. I looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"So what time is it?" I said.

"It's lunch Jamie you weren't in the library so I came to look for you and found you lying here" she answered.

I could see the concern on her face for me. I just felt like hugging her and never letting go but I knew the truth. It was never going to happen. I felt a tear roll down my eye which I quickly wiped before Hazel saw.

"Wait, did you just say it's lunch? I missed TWO hours of learning?!" I shouted.

In my dream, it felt like a maximum of 10 minutes, not two hours. Then with that comment, she doubled forward and burst out laughing. I never actually heard her laugh. It sounded like an angel. I just looked at her with pure devotion. If she told me to jump off a cliff I wouldn't even think twice about it. What's wrong with me?

"Come on, let's get you up" She responded. She held out her hand, waiting for me to grab it. I took it instantly with no hesitation. We walked around the back of school watching the teens play sports terribly, eating lunch and talking. Hazel started talking and I just listened to her sweet voice, taking it all in. It felt like hours of talking and not one of us got bored. But a question kept bothering me which I had to ask.

"Hey, Hazel, have you seen Alex? I saw him at break but then he kind of disappeared," I asked. I could see that she was trying to form an answer to tell me.

"Well I saw him at break as well but then I heard people say that he skipped school," she answered. That was odd. Why would Alex do that? Something was happening and I had to find out. I gave her a nod and then we went to the first aid room because Hazel demanded that I should put a plaster on my forehead because of the impact of the wood.

We walked to the first aid room which was a tiny room that was filled with a lot of trash and wrappers from old bandages. I fell into a chair but pretended it was graceful while Hazel opened a draw and brought out the first aid box. She cleaned my cut and then wiped it with an antibacterial wipe. I winced in pain. She looked at me with sympathy and then carefully cleaned it. She put a plaster on and I could feel the scab forming already as if she was a healer. She then told me that she was going to the bathroom and told me to wait for a couple of minutes while she came back.

I winced in pain as I put my coat on. I touched my shoulder and saw drips of blood on my fingertips. Oh god please no! My mind said. My heart raced as I unbuttoned my t-shirt and saw a huge gash embedded in my thick pale skin. I remembered that in my dream the girl stabbed my shoulder but how could that hurt me? It was just a dream, right? I could feel blood oozing out. I looked in a mirror close by and saw how bad it was. A part of my shoulder started going a pale blue colour. All around the cut was black veins popping out. That's probably not a good sign. I was about to grab the box when Hazel stormed in with a mortified face.

"JAMIE WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" she screamed, causing the first aid box to fall on the floor spilling the contents everywhere.

I didn't know what to say or do. I was just frozen with fear. She ran towards me and took a good look at my shoulder.

"Jamie this is bad" She responded, I knew that this was terrifying and needed to go to the hospital but then my mom would find out so hospitals are out of the question. I looked at her and just gave her the face of I don't know.

"Okay well, the first thing we need to do is get you out of the school so your shoulder does not receive unwanted attention. I gave a slow nod. I started sweating a lot and felt like I was intoxicated.

" I feel-" I said. With that, I fainted. Not again.