A couple of knocks from the other side of my bedroom door was enough for me to wake up from the drowsiness of sleeping on the bed. Slowly getting up and sitting on the edge of my edge, I let out a loud yawn; stretching my arms and back. Sighing with relief, I wiped the drool off from my mouth and cheek.
Wasting no time, I stood up and casually approach the door, it’s continuous knocks of raps on wood. After a short delay in opening the door, I was greeted by someone I did not expect to be at my door.
Ruby.
That made me slightly frowned, curious to know why she would be waking me up in peculiar instead of Eve or my daughter, “is there something you need?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. Perhaps, this is not the time to be surprised like this; though, the fact that she is here, in my home, is already odd in its own right.
Not to mention, the sudden visit and waking me up from my slumber—it is not like we are friends or anything, I only allowed her to live with us for the sake of my wife and daughter; that is all to it.
She was hesitant at first in answering before awkwardly smiled in response to the question of why is she here, “I’m sorry if this is too late for you but there is something that I wish to discuss with you. Is now the best time?” Ruby replied with a slight tone of worry on her face. Releasing a small sigh, “ask away,” the tone of my reply sounded more like being irritated than a polite invitation to speak more on the matter at hand.
Her eyes widened at my curt tone before speaking, “your daughter asked me if you are interested in coming with us to hunt alongside Skoll? I hope I don’t sound condescending in asking this,” the girl glanced away from me.
She didn’t want to be rude on her first day; which is understandable considering Ruby is currently living in new environment that she is not accustomed to yet. Her mind must be filled with doubts and questions, yet she is trusting of the people that were like family to her.
Regretfully, I’m not interested in going with anyone at this moment, so I have to take a pass on this one, “sorry kid, I have other things to do,” my voice was flat and indifferent to the point where it almost sounds like I was scoffing.
“You sure?” She questioned with doubt written across her face. For an instant, she appeared to be doubtful of my response, “yes, absolutely; this is not the best time to go on a trip,” there was a hint of frustration in my tone, “and, it is not the best timing either.”
Ruby sighed from hearing my final statement on this, “well, if you need anything; your wife and that midget is already eating breakfast,” with those parting words, she walked out of my sight. From a short period of silence, I heard a door opening and closing from the first floor of this house.
“I guess they left,” I quietly said under my breath. Heading towards the stairs in the direction of the living room, the hairs on my arm stood out like needles—not to mention the chill that runs through my spine. A sensation of foreboding that makes me shiver with dread and anxiety.
An inexplicable fear that makes my feet feel heavier than usual.
I forgot to brush my teeth.
“Ugh,” groaning in displeasure, stopping and turning back upstairs before I entered back in my bedroom and then the bathroom itself, standing at the front of my sink with held toothpaste in either hands.
Using the toothpaste on my fingers to scrub the stains of the bacteria and dirt off my bristles; creepily staring at the reflection of the mirror above my sink, being more focused on my clone in the mirror than the brushing part in itself.
As the sounds of the splashing facet being slowly fade out of my ears, I began to feel detached from my own self to point that the body in the mirror is no longer mine. That this was not even remotely close to a reality in my current state of mind.
My chest feels tight, like an iron fist is crushing my heart into pieces and ripping it apart, while all the muscles in my body constrict and tense; all of them threatening to cramp up.
Dreadful memory resurfaced inside my mind, the words visualizing on the mirror as it reads: “If you truly value this Eve that you cherish so much, then her death will be the only thing that could make your precious lamb smile again,” those boding words had deeply embedded itself inside of me.What did that creepy woman mean? Is she just some nutcase or weirdo with delusions of grandeur and trying to scare us for funsies? Or does it imply something foreboding coming in it’s way?
Nah, it is probably nothing to worry about. Furthermore, nothing imperative happened in this six years of my new peaceful life I just built. So there is really nothing to be anxious about, need to focus more on myself, the present and those I care about than this false prophecy nonsense.
The eyes shut itself, feeling the weather today before I opened; when I did, the appearance of that woman wearing a black bunny suit appeared in my mirror. Seeing people, however, is not so terrifying; especially when I know that I am simply hallucinating from thinking too much.
However, what clicked me off was her face. It was not the beautiful features nor her ominous expression. No, it is something more than that…something otherworldly of that chick that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck and froze on my very spot.
Her entire head was not human, not quite. The idea of even comprehending and explaining it’s details is nigh-impossible for a person to do. Most or all men and women would really go insane from the mere sight of trying to understand what they are looking it.
And I am not one of those people; I did not feel like I am going insane, however, I do experience fear of this sudden appearance, resulting me to quickly take step back before accidentally slipping and falling on my back, creating loud thud by impact.
“Shit,” that hurts.
Atleast I am still alive and have not broke any bones, that is relief of sorts. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. There is no way to describe the level of terror and panic I experienced in that moment, it felt like an eternity of moments. Like it lasted hours and it was too long and tortuous to experiencing that hallucination of mine.
Wrapping up my thoughts and feelings, I braved myself for the worst as I carefully stood up, expecting to see that…thing again in the mirror, only to be greeted by no one except the reflection of myself in the mirror. That was a huge relief; though, it still crept me out of having another horrific event added to my collection of bad memories.
With that out of the picture, I spit out and then start picking up the falling stream of the facet to gargle with water in my mouth before spitting it into the sink. When all is said and done, I grabbed a towel to dry my face.
This is why the world is a horrible place; a man like myself could not even enjoy his first day like this. Everyday, I experience nightmares and memories of the past, not to mention that the constant haunting of my past is just not enough to stop the suffering, the guilt, the anger and the sadness.
I know they will never be gone from my life.
But if there are people like Eve—if I have the people I cared about, I will always be okay. Even though I had been scarred from past events, these are the things that is preventing me from going insane and losing the grip of sanity.Stepping outside the bathroom, I released another tired sigh; trying to control my breathing encase that I might have a heart attack or something along the lines. Besides, it is pretty difficult to focus when a person is heavily panting and struggling to catch their breath.
Heading downstairs to the kitchen, I watch the two casually speaking to one another, already finished with their meals. I could tell from the look on their faces that it is obvious that they were talking about Ruby and their departure with Skoll.
Stepping in their circle, Clover and Eve greeted me with a smile; though, there is an air of worry in her eyes and voice.
“What is the matter Eve?” I says as I sat down at their table, hoping to get a clear answer about everything. Yet, she looks away with a guilty expression like she is about to be caught with a crime. Or like she stole something or did something wrong.
And, she starts fidgeting with her fingers, only to release a small laugh, “just worried about the girls, that is all,” Eve answered plainly. Clover grins back at her with his arms folded together as if to say—well isn’t that what she expect from loved ones?
I had a different take on this one, “don’t be so worried Eve, they will be fine. Besides, they got Skoll; that tough son of bitch is incapable of being harmed,” my response had eased Eve’s concern. Though, it was like nothing really changed from how she looked before. That is probably because she still has doubts about Skoll and his intentions.
Can’t blame her though, even after six years living with him; the guy is far more uncaring and selfish than me. I suppose it is due to how he was raised and born. But still, I know for fact that there is some good in him and the best is yet to come.All it takes is time and effort to getting to know this new addition to the family, then everything will go smoothly after Skoll finally warms up to Ruby’s presence.
Eve, still tensed up about this, continued speaking, “do you think Skoll is the type of man that would leave others die because of his view?” She asked with a bit of unease.
Clover huffs, like this is not the first time he is hearing this, “oi, the big bad wolf ain’t that type of man. The dog is stoic and cruel, but he is not someone without honor as warrior,” his Irish tone sounds like he is defending Skoll.
“Trust us, okay? We have known Skoll for years and I know the type of person he is,” I add to his argument, which makes both Eve and Clover nod with a relieved expression.
Before Eve can continue the conversation, the door suddenly opened; revealing panting and exhausted girls while in the middle of them was Skoll himself, stoic as always but annoyed altogether.
Suffice to say, they had the time of their lives in joining one of Skoll’s hunting trips.
“You guys are back!” Eve quickly stand up from her seat and hurriedly approached them, embracing Lilim and Ruby in tight hug, “I am so glad you two are safe,” her voice was filled with relief.
To be honest, the sight of the girls—exhausted, but unarmed had made her feel content with the situation.
Skoll stands aside, “we were attacked by a bunch of wild beasts,” the werewolf grumbles; not like he is bothered by it but more like he is tired of explaining truthfully.
Hearing him being attacked, Eve quickly let go and frowned towards the giant humanoid mutant, demanding more information about this incident, “were there hurt anyway?” Desperately asking, she hoped there wasn’t.
The werewolf laughed off, “of course not! I managed to kill them all while protecting these tiny weak humans. It was a shame that they did not chose to fight alongside me…” trailing off with a disappointed tone; although, there is no malice or ill will to it.She smiled at the news, grateful for their safety and happy to hear there weren’t any injuries, “thank you,” Eve thanked him for not just being a cold mercenary, but as a person who risked their life in protecting her girls.
