Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Heart of the Beast ❯ Dreams and Wishes ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Silver Moon Dragon 
Serena has a strange nightmare about the forest that keeps haunting her throughout the day.
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Mystery / Hentai / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.25.2012 | Updated On: 08.25.2012 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 249 | Status: Work In Progress
Serena has a strange nightmare about the forest that keeps haunting her throughout the day.
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Mystery / Hentai / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.25.2012 | Updated On: 08.25.2012 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 249 | Status: Work In Progress
The Heart of the Beast
Chapter 3: Dreams and Wishes.
Disclaimer: I Don't own Sailor Moon or the book "The Heart of the Beast" by Carla Cassidy. I just used the plot as inspiration.
----------<3----------
Serena woke to the peaceful sounds of birds chirping and the early morning sun warming her face. Frowning, she got out of her wonderfully comfortable bed and stretched before going to peer out of the glassed balcony doors. The sun was just rising over the mass of trees and she could already feel that today was going to be a rather warm day for early autumn. This bright, warm day is such a contrast to the cold darkness that had plagued her dreams.
In her dreams, she had been walking lost and cold through the forest by the mansion, confused. She couldn’t remember why she was in the forest or when she had stepped into it. The wind constantly whipped her thin nightgown against her body, and goosebumps jumped upon her skin. The trees were taller than skyscrapers and much denser than she remembered them being. Serena could hear her name being called and the voice echoed eerily along the wind. Every time her name was called, the wind picked up and chilled her to the bone. This voice was similar to her fathers, but it was drawn out and sounded just as lost and hopeless as she had felt. Every time she thought she was walking closer to her father‘s voice, he would call from a different direction and sound more agitated than the last time.
More than once, there had been a scream, and fear raced up her throat so fast she thought she would throw up. Serena had never heard such a horrible sound! It started off as an abrupt yell of pain and transformed into a low, dangerous growl that sent off warning signals in her heard. Right before she woke up, she came upon Darien standing in the mouth of a very large cave. He was shaded from the moonlight, but his eyes were unusually bright and he looked like he had been expecting her. Nevertheless, he asked, “What are you doing here? You need to leave, leave now!” His voice rose with each word until he screamed the last one at her, his blue eyes rapidly turning silver and his muscles tensing. His voice sounded more deep and gravely, scaring her more than the intimidating forest did. Just as she was turning to run away, she woke up to the birds singing outside her window.
Serena sighed and ran a shaky hand down her sweaty face while she waiting for her foggy brain to clear. The images from the dream were beginning to fade but she could still hear Darien’s desperate voice echo off the walls of her memory. Desperate? ‘Yes‘, she decided, ‘he had sounded desperate.’ This thought confused Serena. Why would he sound so desperate? She had thought he sounded rather angry at first, but now she felt that she mistook desperation for anger because she had been so scared at the time. ‘Why am I thinking about this so much? It was only a silly dream… You’re just stressed about being in a new, unfamiliar place, Buns.’, Thinking this made her feel slightly better, and as she went to her wardrobe to find something to wear, she promised herself today was going to be a good day.
Serena quickly picked a thin, comfortable pair of dark blue skinny jeans and an equally comfortable magenta chiffon top. This top was one of her favorites because it wasn’t heavy and the fabric allowed her skin to breathe on warm days like this. The top buttoned up the front to a cute collar, had white polka dots and three quarter length sleeves. The bottom of the top was elastic and hugged her hips in a rather form-fitting way. She also grabbed a simple, form fitting white spaghetti strap top to wear under her sheer one. Once dressed, she went to the balcony and opened the door to allow the cool morning breeze into her room. Darien’s molten look from last night flashed through her mind and she looked over the edge of the railing. She sighed, unsure if she was relieved or disappointed. He wasn’t there today. ‘You’re being foolish, why would he be there?’, She argued with herself, ‘It was just a coincidence to see him outside last night, he was probably on his way to his room.’
But something nagged at her mind. ‘Aren’t all the bedrooms upstairs? Plus, he was standing at the edge of the forest, like he was either entering it or just coming out of it.’, She was irritating herself, ‘This isn’t why you’re here, Buns! You’re here to be with your father, not obsess over the strange man your father works with!’ Pushing her inner conversation from her mind, she sat down at the vanity in the bathroom to tie her long blonde hair up into her signature bun and put on her makeup. She didn’t wear much, just some mascara, tinted moisturizer and chapstick, but she enjoyed her simple routine. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror before getting up and finding a pair of simple black flats to wear for the day.
As Serena was bounding down the stairs towards the kitchen, she smelt the rich scent of coffee and smiled to herself. Yes, today would be a very good day. Something about the smell of coffee always lifted her spirits. She remembered that her mother always had a couple of cups of coffee in the morning, at least until she got sick. It was her morning routine. First, her mother would slowly pour the coffee into her cup, then hold the cup under her nose and take a long sniff of it and only after she’d done that would she drink it. Then, she would wink at Serena and say, “My one, true addiction.”, and wonder over to the kitchen table to read the newspaper. After her mother got sick, she didn’t enjoy coffee anymore. Not the way she used to.
Pushing that thought from her head, she wondered if her father was planning on working today. It was Friday, after all, and even scientists had to have days off. She was turning the corner to the kitchen before she realized that the room wasn’t empty. Mrs. Medlock was standing by the sink, washing dishes when she came. She looked surprised but Mrs. Medlock quickly regained her composure and said, “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
Serena put her hands behind her back and grinned sheepishly down at the floor, ”Morning, ma’am and yes I did, thanks.” She noticed the dishes Mrs. Medlock was washing, “Am I the last one up?”
Turning back to the dishes, Mrs. Medlock said, “Oh goodness, yes! Your father and his co-workers are always up at five a.m. to start the day. They’ve already been down in the lab for a good two or three hours.”
“Oh! Well, they certainly are dedicated, aren’t they?” Serena gave a nervous chuckle. Something about Mrs. Medlock made her feel like an awkward teenager again. It wasn’t that she was rude, but she certainly made her feel young. Mrs. Medlock ‘hmm’d quietly, but didn‘t look up from her dishes. “Well, I just came to get some coffee. Do you know if they plan on working all day? I thought, maybe, he would take the day off to spend with me…”, she trailed off, hopefully.
Mrs. Medlock began rinsing her dishes and replied, “I doubt it, they all work very hard down there and don’t take many days off.”
Disappointment flooded Serena and she felt her shoulders slump, “Oh.” She replied, lamely. ‘I wish he would have make room in his schedule for me…’, She thought.
Mrs. Medlock turned around and Serena was surprised to see a small flash of pity in her expression, but it was gone quickly. “Why don’t you sit at the island counter and I’ll make you something to eat? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you shouldn’t miss it.”
“Oh, I don’t want to bother you…” Serena felt awkward having this woman she hardly knew wait on her like a servant.
Mrs. Medlock only shook her head, “Sit down, I’ll make you a bagel and cream cheese.”
Apparently, she wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so Serena sat down on one of the lush stools while Mrs. Medlock poured her a cup of coffee and got started on her bagel. The kitchen really was impressive, surely a chef’s dream. The refrigerator was to the right of the door and it was stainless steel with two doors. To the left of the fridge was a counter that held a caddy of knives, then the stove, then more counters that lined the rest of the wall, then wrapped around the back wall of the kitchen and onto the other side. Directly across the stove was the sink, and it had a charming curtained little window in front of it. To the left of the sink was one more counter cuddled by a trashcan that sat on top of a plastic rug. The counters held bowls of fruit, cake stands filled with pastries, a roll top bread container holding half a loaf, a microwave and the coffee maker. Everything was spotless and Serena found the pale-yellow of the tiles to be very comforting. She noticed a fluffy cream colored rug in front of the sink and a large rack of pans hanging above the island she sat at. If she was any good at cooking, or enjoyed it at all, she would want a kitchen just like this. But, Serena preferred to be the one eating, not the one cooking.
By the time Serena had looked at just about everything in the kitchen, including the cute lazy Suzan in the middle of the island that held napkins and a vase of daisies, Mrs. Medlock was setting her bagel down in front of her with a jar of strawberry jam. “Your father told me that you liked strawberry.”
Serena was surprised, “Oh, has my father told you a lot about me?” Calling him father still felt a bit alien to her, but she pushed the thought from her mind.
Instantly Mrs. Medlock stiffened, “It was just something he mentioned in passing. We don’t talk much, or anything. He’s always busy, you know.” Serena noticed she was wringing her hands in front of her slightly, almost nervously. ‘Why would she be so nervous?’, She decided not to say anything and move onto a different subject.
“I wonder if he would be okay with me going down to the lab to visit him?” she asked and opened the jar of jam. She didn’t notice Mrs. Medlock stiffen or clench her hands by her sides. But she did notice her tone of voice, “No, that’s not a good idea. He doesn’t like distractions when he’s working.” She said curtly. Serena looked up to see Mrs. Medlock looking down her nose at her with her lips pursed.
“I wouldn’t distract him, I would just like to see where he spends most of his time…” She trailed off as Mrs. Medlock’s expression got colder.
“No.”, Serena thought that was all she would say, but she added, “Maybe you should go find a good book in the library? There are thousands of them.”, and then she turned back to rinsing off her dishes.
Serena’s shoulders slumped and she had just opened her mouth rather wide to take a bite of her bagel when Darien walked in. She shut her mouth with a snap once she saw him and blushed. He noticed her and nodded a good morning. She gave a shy smile and nodded back. ‘Where’s your voice gone, Buns?’
Before she could think of something to say, Darien spoke up from his spot against the counter,” Still here, are you? I thought those awful screams last night would have scared you away.”
She blinked at him, ”I thought I dreamt those…”
He looked at her over the rim of his coffee cup and clenched the fingers of his other hand against the counter top he was leaning against, then shook his head. “No, we’ve been hearing screams like that for a few months now. No one knows who or what it is. Nothing has been seen.” His eyes were boring into her and she felt uneasy. ‘Is he trying to scare me?’
He turned to talk to Mrs. Medlock about what was for lunch and Serena felt glad to be away from the probing gaze. She noticed he had a bit of a stubble on the trim line of his jaw and his deep blue dress shirt and black slacks seemed wrinkled, like he just threw them on. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up in a casual way and showed off his muscular forearms nicely. She didn’t realize she had been checking him out until he turned to look at her again, “Well, I better get down to the lab,” he gave her a curt nod and passed his cup to Mrs. Medlock, “see you at lunch.” and with at he was gone. She barely had time to mumble a “see you” before he left.
Furrowing her eyebrows, she asked Mrs. Medlock, “He doesn’t keep the same schedule as the other scientists?”
Mrs. Medlock gave her a look, then looked in the direction Darien had left before saying, “He keeps his own schedule.” and began washing Darien’s cup.
Highly uncomfortable and more than a little confused, Serena let the conversation drop. Feeling the strange tension and mystery in the room, Serena quickly ate her bagel and sucked down her coffee before thanking Mrs. Medlock and escaping to the library. She stared longingly at the door that she knew led down to the lab before admitting that Mrs. Medlock was most likely right. After all, she had been around her father more recently than Serena and must know how he preferred to work. Still feeling a bit put out, she decided to take Mrs. Medlock’s advice and find a good book. She picked out a mystery book that seemed promising but quickly lost interest in it. Her dream from last night kept coming back to her. ‘What’s so scary about the forest? It just a bunch of trees… I’ll bet it’s just the fact that I’m in a new place that gives me the creeps about it.’, She thought to herself.
Sighing, she put the book back and walked to the window next to the door that led outside. The sun was out, not a single cloud in the sky, and there seemed to be a pleasant breeze fluttering the leaves on the trees. It looked welcoming enough, but there was still warning signals going off in the back of her mind. ‘I’m not going to let this silly dream keep me cooped up inside all day.’, She thought and squared her shoulders before pushing the door open. Serena stepped out onto a small patio that she didn’t notice before and felt the pleasant breeze on her face. The door shut behind her with a quiet snick sound and she saw there were a couple patio chair and a small glass table facing the forest. They looked like they were caked with dirt, like someone hadn’t actually used them in a long while. But, the air was fresh and the wind blew her bangs across her forehead, so she took a deep breath and walked to the forest. Serena stopped at the edge and noticed the sunlight slant through the branches, realizing the forest seemed pretty peaceful today.
Smiling a little, she stepped into the forest and listened to the birds chirping and watching them flitter from one tree to the other. She absorbed herself in the peaceful sounds and sights of the forest, like the birds and the bunnies munching by some bushes. She quickly lost track of time and didn’t realize that the trees were becoming denser until she scraped her arm on the bark of one. Serena paused to see if she was bleeding when she noticed that it was completely and utterly silent. Her eyes widened. The birds weren’t chirping, the rabbits and bush animals had stopped running around. The only sound she heard was the wind, but the pleasant sunlight from earlier was cut off from the dense trees. These trees were so much taller than the ones at the edge of the forest, and her dream flashed in her mind’s eye. ‘You need to get back to the mansion, Buns. Something’s wrong.’, She thought, and she turned and power walked back the way she came. It was warm outside, but she was freezing and her hands were clammy. Something in the forest scared the birds and animals so much that they got quiet, but what was the something? Did she really want to know?
A branch behind her snapped and she broke out into a sprint. Serena didn’t care that branches were scratching her arms and pulling her hair from her bun, all she knew was that something was following her and it was evil. Whatever it was, was bad and it meant to do her harm. Her rational mind was fogged over by her fear and all she could think of was that if this thing caught her, she was as good as dead. Briefly, relief flooded her when she saw the grungy patio chairs beyond the edge of the forest, but that relief was quickly replaced by a much thicker kind of fear. Forgetting the evil being behind her, her sprint came to a screeching halt and a loud shriek shot out of her mouth and echoed around her. Just at the edge of the forest was a dead animal, she knew that much. What she didn’t know is what it had been or how it got there. The poor thing was far too maimed to be recognizable and the blood that pooled around it was still fresh and flowing.
Her breakfast threatened to erupt from her throat and at that moment, she heard more branches braking behind her and at a faster pace. The thing! It was still chasing her and she was just standing there like an invitation! Adrenaline raced through her veins and she jumped over the mutilated remains of the animal and made a run for the door to the library. Goosebumps broke out on her skin and she lost a shoe, but was too terrified to even think about going back to get it. Serena could practically feel the breath of the beast on her neck as her fingers closed around the door knob. ‘I’m so close!’, She thought, but screamed again as the door knob was ripped form her fingers and the door flew open.
----------<3----------
*A/N:
Phew! I bet lots of you thought this story was never going to be updated! I’m sorry that I’m such a slow worker :/ But, I’ve said before that I will be finishing this story, and I mean to keep that promise! I really do hate it when people start stories, but never finish them. I don’t have much to say, but I hope this chapter wasn’t boring to anyone and if there’s any spelling mistakes, please let me know! Also, if you think something could be worded better, just tell me. Sometimes, I have trouble describing something, so I’m sure there are spots in this chapter that don’t make much sense. Thanks!
Chapter 3: Dreams and Wishes.
Disclaimer: I Don't own Sailor Moon or the book "The Heart of the Beast" by Carla Cassidy. I just used the plot as inspiration.
----------<3----------
Serena woke to the peaceful sounds of birds chirping and the early morning sun warming her face. Frowning, she got out of her wonderfully comfortable bed and stretched before going to peer out of the glassed balcony doors. The sun was just rising over the mass of trees and she could already feel that today was going to be a rather warm day for early autumn. This bright, warm day is such a contrast to the cold darkness that had plagued her dreams.
In her dreams, she had been walking lost and cold through the forest by the mansion, confused. She couldn’t remember why she was in the forest or when she had stepped into it. The wind constantly whipped her thin nightgown against her body, and goosebumps jumped upon her skin. The trees were taller than skyscrapers and much denser than she remembered them being. Serena could hear her name being called and the voice echoed eerily along the wind. Every time her name was called, the wind picked up and chilled her to the bone. This voice was similar to her fathers, but it was drawn out and sounded just as lost and hopeless as she had felt. Every time she thought she was walking closer to her father‘s voice, he would call from a different direction and sound more agitated than the last time.
More than once, there had been a scream, and fear raced up her throat so fast she thought she would throw up. Serena had never heard such a horrible sound! It started off as an abrupt yell of pain and transformed into a low, dangerous growl that sent off warning signals in her heard. Right before she woke up, she came upon Darien standing in the mouth of a very large cave. He was shaded from the moonlight, but his eyes were unusually bright and he looked like he had been expecting her. Nevertheless, he asked, “What are you doing here? You need to leave, leave now!” His voice rose with each word until he screamed the last one at her, his blue eyes rapidly turning silver and his muscles tensing. His voice sounded more deep and gravely, scaring her more than the intimidating forest did. Just as she was turning to run away, she woke up to the birds singing outside her window.
Serena sighed and ran a shaky hand down her sweaty face while she waiting for her foggy brain to clear. The images from the dream were beginning to fade but she could still hear Darien’s desperate voice echo off the walls of her memory. Desperate? ‘Yes‘, she decided, ‘he had sounded desperate.’ This thought confused Serena. Why would he sound so desperate? She had thought he sounded rather angry at first, but now she felt that she mistook desperation for anger because she had been so scared at the time. ‘Why am I thinking about this so much? It was only a silly dream… You’re just stressed about being in a new, unfamiliar place, Buns.’, Thinking this made her feel slightly better, and as she went to her wardrobe to find something to wear, she promised herself today was going to be a good day.
Serena quickly picked a thin, comfortable pair of dark blue skinny jeans and an equally comfortable magenta chiffon top. This top was one of her favorites because it wasn’t heavy and the fabric allowed her skin to breathe on warm days like this. The top buttoned up the front to a cute collar, had white polka dots and three quarter length sleeves. The bottom of the top was elastic and hugged her hips in a rather form-fitting way. She also grabbed a simple, form fitting white spaghetti strap top to wear under her sheer one. Once dressed, she went to the balcony and opened the door to allow the cool morning breeze into her room. Darien’s molten look from last night flashed through her mind and she looked over the edge of the railing. She sighed, unsure if she was relieved or disappointed. He wasn’t there today. ‘You’re being foolish, why would he be there?’, She argued with herself, ‘It was just a coincidence to see him outside last night, he was probably on his way to his room.’
But something nagged at her mind. ‘Aren’t all the bedrooms upstairs? Plus, he was standing at the edge of the forest, like he was either entering it or just coming out of it.’, She was irritating herself, ‘This isn’t why you’re here, Buns! You’re here to be with your father, not obsess over the strange man your father works with!’ Pushing her inner conversation from her mind, she sat down at the vanity in the bathroom to tie her long blonde hair up into her signature bun and put on her makeup. She didn’t wear much, just some mascara, tinted moisturizer and chapstick, but she enjoyed her simple routine. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror before getting up and finding a pair of simple black flats to wear for the day.
As Serena was bounding down the stairs towards the kitchen, she smelt the rich scent of coffee and smiled to herself. Yes, today would be a very good day. Something about the smell of coffee always lifted her spirits. She remembered that her mother always had a couple of cups of coffee in the morning, at least until she got sick. It was her morning routine. First, her mother would slowly pour the coffee into her cup, then hold the cup under her nose and take a long sniff of it and only after she’d done that would she drink it. Then, she would wink at Serena and say, “My one, true addiction.”, and wonder over to the kitchen table to read the newspaper. After her mother got sick, she didn’t enjoy coffee anymore. Not the way she used to.
Pushing that thought from her head, she wondered if her father was planning on working today. It was Friday, after all, and even scientists had to have days off. She was turning the corner to the kitchen before she realized that the room wasn’t empty. Mrs. Medlock was standing by the sink, washing dishes when she came. She looked surprised but Mrs. Medlock quickly regained her composure and said, “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
Serena put her hands behind her back and grinned sheepishly down at the floor, ”Morning, ma’am and yes I did, thanks.” She noticed the dishes Mrs. Medlock was washing, “Am I the last one up?”
Turning back to the dishes, Mrs. Medlock said, “Oh goodness, yes! Your father and his co-workers are always up at five a.m. to start the day. They’ve already been down in the lab for a good two or three hours.”
“Oh! Well, they certainly are dedicated, aren’t they?” Serena gave a nervous chuckle. Something about Mrs. Medlock made her feel like an awkward teenager again. It wasn’t that she was rude, but she certainly made her feel young. Mrs. Medlock ‘hmm’d quietly, but didn‘t look up from her dishes. “Well, I just came to get some coffee. Do you know if they plan on working all day? I thought, maybe, he would take the day off to spend with me…”, she trailed off, hopefully.
Mrs. Medlock began rinsing her dishes and replied, “I doubt it, they all work very hard down there and don’t take many days off.”
Disappointment flooded Serena and she felt her shoulders slump, “Oh.” She replied, lamely. ‘I wish he would have make room in his schedule for me…’, She thought.
Mrs. Medlock turned around and Serena was surprised to see a small flash of pity in her expression, but it was gone quickly. “Why don’t you sit at the island counter and I’ll make you something to eat? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you shouldn’t miss it.”
“Oh, I don’t want to bother you…” Serena felt awkward having this woman she hardly knew wait on her like a servant.
Mrs. Medlock only shook her head, “Sit down, I’ll make you a bagel and cream cheese.”
Apparently, she wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so Serena sat down on one of the lush stools while Mrs. Medlock poured her a cup of coffee and got started on her bagel. The kitchen really was impressive, surely a chef’s dream. The refrigerator was to the right of the door and it was stainless steel with two doors. To the left of the fridge was a counter that held a caddy of knives, then the stove, then more counters that lined the rest of the wall, then wrapped around the back wall of the kitchen and onto the other side. Directly across the stove was the sink, and it had a charming curtained little window in front of it. To the left of the sink was one more counter cuddled by a trashcan that sat on top of a plastic rug. The counters held bowls of fruit, cake stands filled with pastries, a roll top bread container holding half a loaf, a microwave and the coffee maker. Everything was spotless and Serena found the pale-yellow of the tiles to be very comforting. She noticed a fluffy cream colored rug in front of the sink and a large rack of pans hanging above the island she sat at. If she was any good at cooking, or enjoyed it at all, she would want a kitchen just like this. But, Serena preferred to be the one eating, not the one cooking.
By the time Serena had looked at just about everything in the kitchen, including the cute lazy Suzan in the middle of the island that held napkins and a vase of daisies, Mrs. Medlock was setting her bagel down in front of her with a jar of strawberry jam. “Your father told me that you liked strawberry.”
Serena was surprised, “Oh, has my father told you a lot about me?” Calling him father still felt a bit alien to her, but she pushed the thought from her mind.
Instantly Mrs. Medlock stiffened, “It was just something he mentioned in passing. We don’t talk much, or anything. He’s always busy, you know.” Serena noticed she was wringing her hands in front of her slightly, almost nervously. ‘Why would she be so nervous?’, She decided not to say anything and move onto a different subject.
“I wonder if he would be okay with me going down to the lab to visit him?” she asked and opened the jar of jam. She didn’t notice Mrs. Medlock stiffen or clench her hands by her sides. But she did notice her tone of voice, “No, that’s not a good idea. He doesn’t like distractions when he’s working.” She said curtly. Serena looked up to see Mrs. Medlock looking down her nose at her with her lips pursed.
“I wouldn’t distract him, I would just like to see where he spends most of his time…” She trailed off as Mrs. Medlock’s expression got colder.
“No.”, Serena thought that was all she would say, but she added, “Maybe you should go find a good book in the library? There are thousands of them.”, and then she turned back to rinsing off her dishes.
Serena’s shoulders slumped and she had just opened her mouth rather wide to take a bite of her bagel when Darien walked in. She shut her mouth with a snap once she saw him and blushed. He noticed her and nodded a good morning. She gave a shy smile and nodded back. ‘Where’s your voice gone, Buns?’
Before she could think of something to say, Darien spoke up from his spot against the counter,” Still here, are you? I thought those awful screams last night would have scared you away.”
She blinked at him, ”I thought I dreamt those…”
He looked at her over the rim of his coffee cup and clenched the fingers of his other hand against the counter top he was leaning against, then shook his head. “No, we’ve been hearing screams like that for a few months now. No one knows who or what it is. Nothing has been seen.” His eyes were boring into her and she felt uneasy. ‘Is he trying to scare me?’
He turned to talk to Mrs. Medlock about what was for lunch and Serena felt glad to be away from the probing gaze. She noticed he had a bit of a stubble on the trim line of his jaw and his deep blue dress shirt and black slacks seemed wrinkled, like he just threw them on. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up in a casual way and showed off his muscular forearms nicely. She didn’t realize she had been checking him out until he turned to look at her again, “Well, I better get down to the lab,” he gave her a curt nod and passed his cup to Mrs. Medlock, “see you at lunch.” and with at he was gone. She barely had time to mumble a “see you” before he left.
Furrowing her eyebrows, she asked Mrs. Medlock, “He doesn’t keep the same schedule as the other scientists?”
Mrs. Medlock gave her a look, then looked in the direction Darien had left before saying, “He keeps his own schedule.” and began washing Darien’s cup.
Highly uncomfortable and more than a little confused, Serena let the conversation drop. Feeling the strange tension and mystery in the room, Serena quickly ate her bagel and sucked down her coffee before thanking Mrs. Medlock and escaping to the library. She stared longingly at the door that she knew led down to the lab before admitting that Mrs. Medlock was most likely right. After all, she had been around her father more recently than Serena and must know how he preferred to work. Still feeling a bit put out, she decided to take Mrs. Medlock’s advice and find a good book. She picked out a mystery book that seemed promising but quickly lost interest in it. Her dream from last night kept coming back to her. ‘What’s so scary about the forest? It just a bunch of trees… I’ll bet it’s just the fact that I’m in a new place that gives me the creeps about it.’, She thought to herself.
Sighing, she put the book back and walked to the window next to the door that led outside. The sun was out, not a single cloud in the sky, and there seemed to be a pleasant breeze fluttering the leaves on the trees. It looked welcoming enough, but there was still warning signals going off in the back of her mind. ‘I’m not going to let this silly dream keep me cooped up inside all day.’, She thought and squared her shoulders before pushing the door open. Serena stepped out onto a small patio that she didn’t notice before and felt the pleasant breeze on her face. The door shut behind her with a quiet snick sound and she saw there were a couple patio chair and a small glass table facing the forest. They looked like they were caked with dirt, like someone hadn’t actually used them in a long while. But, the air was fresh and the wind blew her bangs across her forehead, so she took a deep breath and walked to the forest. Serena stopped at the edge and noticed the sunlight slant through the branches, realizing the forest seemed pretty peaceful today.
Smiling a little, she stepped into the forest and listened to the birds chirping and watching them flitter from one tree to the other. She absorbed herself in the peaceful sounds and sights of the forest, like the birds and the bunnies munching by some bushes. She quickly lost track of time and didn’t realize that the trees were becoming denser until she scraped her arm on the bark of one. Serena paused to see if she was bleeding when she noticed that it was completely and utterly silent. Her eyes widened. The birds weren’t chirping, the rabbits and bush animals had stopped running around. The only sound she heard was the wind, but the pleasant sunlight from earlier was cut off from the dense trees. These trees were so much taller than the ones at the edge of the forest, and her dream flashed in her mind’s eye. ‘You need to get back to the mansion, Buns. Something’s wrong.’, She thought, and she turned and power walked back the way she came. It was warm outside, but she was freezing and her hands were clammy. Something in the forest scared the birds and animals so much that they got quiet, but what was the something? Did she really want to know?
A branch behind her snapped and she broke out into a sprint. Serena didn’t care that branches were scratching her arms and pulling her hair from her bun, all she knew was that something was following her and it was evil. Whatever it was, was bad and it meant to do her harm. Her rational mind was fogged over by her fear and all she could think of was that if this thing caught her, she was as good as dead. Briefly, relief flooded her when she saw the grungy patio chairs beyond the edge of the forest, but that relief was quickly replaced by a much thicker kind of fear. Forgetting the evil being behind her, her sprint came to a screeching halt and a loud shriek shot out of her mouth and echoed around her. Just at the edge of the forest was a dead animal, she knew that much. What she didn’t know is what it had been or how it got there. The poor thing was far too maimed to be recognizable and the blood that pooled around it was still fresh and flowing.
Her breakfast threatened to erupt from her throat and at that moment, she heard more branches braking behind her and at a faster pace. The thing! It was still chasing her and she was just standing there like an invitation! Adrenaline raced through her veins and she jumped over the mutilated remains of the animal and made a run for the door to the library. Goosebumps broke out on her skin and she lost a shoe, but was too terrified to even think about going back to get it. Serena could practically feel the breath of the beast on her neck as her fingers closed around the door knob. ‘I’m so close!’, She thought, but screamed again as the door knob was ripped form her fingers and the door flew open.
----------<3----------
*A/N:
Phew! I bet lots of you thought this story was never going to be updated! I’m sorry that I’m such a slow worker :/ But, I’ve said before that I will be finishing this story, and I mean to keep that promise! I really do hate it when people start stories, but never finish them. I don’t have much to say, but I hope this chapter wasn’t boring to anyone and if there’s any spelling mistakes, please let me know! Also, if you think something could be worded better, just tell me. Sometimes, I have trouble describing something, so I’m sure there are spots in this chapter that don’t make much sense. Thanks!