"What the—?" I looked across the parking lot to the hooded man standing under the lamppost. Even from this distance he looked very tall, and very handsome, with shaggy dark hair that peeked out from under his hood. He had a lean figure and fair skin.
His eyes were what really got me, though. They were a sort of gold that looked brighter than what would be deemed normal. My eyes suddenly started to hurt, and I blinked a few times. When I looked across the lot again, he was gone.
"Great. Now, I'm hallucinating." I mumbled, rubbing my temples.
With a heavy sigh, I grabbed my purse and walked over to my car. I needed to sleep off this entire damn week. I started my car and drove off, the evening's events giving me a bit of a head rush. My mind wandered to the girl, hiding in the shadows of the kids' section. I tried to place her during the day, but I couldn't remember her to save my life. And how in the hell was she so strong? None of this made any sense. Between her and that man, I couldn't make heads or tails of anything.
"I almost forgot about him that quick." I whispered. He perplexed me, to say the very least. And I was always one who delighted in what I didn't understand.
The drive home seemed to take a bit longer than I remembered, but that didn't take up too much of my attention. My focus was to just get home and pass out. There was entirely too much to process and my brain was having none of it.
I locked my door behind me and left a trail of shoes, jacket, purse, and keys, in that order. I came to my bed and smiled, never happier to see pillows in my life. I flopped down on that comfy piece of heaven and almost instantly drifted off.
My eyes fluttered open and I found myself surrounded by an almost swirling darkness, incoherent whispers circling me. I looked around and around, but I couldn't make out anything clearly.
"Sylvia."
I felt the ice creep up my spine as I turned toward the voice. It was my mystery man from the parking lot. His face was partially hidden in shadow and his hand was extended to me. I reached for him, as malevolent laughter began to circle us. I don't know why, but I feared them. I shook like a leaf as he pulled me into his arms. I automatically felt safer and snuggled myself against his chest.
"What do they want?"
"Don't let them scare you." Even as he tried to reassure me, I could hear the worry in his voice.
I covered my ears, but it was no use. It was like their laughter was inside my head. His arms held me tighter and somehow, through the taunting voices, I was at peace. I looked up, wanting to see his face, but I couldn't make out much. Just his lips, that were pursed into a frown, and his eyes that gave off that same glow I had seen before. I brought my face closer to his and tried study his features.
The blaring of metal from my phone jolted me awake so hard, I jumped right out of bed and onto the floor with a painful thud. I stumbled to my feet and made my way to the bathroom, rubbing the sore spot where my ass introduced itself to the hardwood.
I checked myself in the mirror and didn't see anything too much out of the ordinary. My braids fell in every direction like an unruly mop, like always. The bags under my eyes were a little larger than normal, but I just chalked that up to the grand adventure I found myself involved in last night.
To be perfectly honest, it all felt like a trippy dream to me. Looking down at my bandage wrapped arm reminded me that I was mistaken. I found myself starting to regret that wish for a little more excitement in my life.
"Well, we've gone too far down the rabbit hole to turn back now, Alice." I chuckled quietly, trying to keep from picking at my bandages. I was letting my curiosity get the better of me, like always. Against the orders of the EMT, I removed the bandages.
Surprised wasn't even the word when I finally saw my skin.
"Okay, what the actual hell?" I exclaimed as I held up my supposedly wounded arm. The only evidence left of my attack was an imprint of her teeth, that also seemed well on its way to fading.
There was no way that was possible! That bite was deep and there was blood, a lot of blood. It shouldn't have been healed like that already. I looked at my reflection again, as if something would jump out and give me the answer I needed. The only thing that came to mind was my dream.
"What does he have to do with it?" I whispered to my reflection. "We need to know who he is."
Where would I start, though? Did anyone else see him? I was given the next few days off, but there would be no resting for me. To hell with waiting, I needed answers.