Heavy, uneven breathing filled the air.
Grayson's feet slammed against the forest floor as another shriek tore through the night.
He could barely see. He couldn't tell if it was the wet slimy liquid that slid across his face, slightly blurring his vision. Or, the thick fog swallowing everything ahead.
He didn't look back, he couldn't. The creature's growl alone made his stomach twist.
One minute he'd stepped out for a smoke. The next, something was hunting him too fast he could hardly tell what it looked like.
He hid behind a boulder, his shoulders burning as blood trailed down. It was dark. He could only pray the fog affected whatever was chasing him, its sense of smell, sight, anything.
His body fell to the ground, gasping for air. His hands trembled as he peeled off his jacket to see the wound.
There was blood, too much blood.
"Shit.." he hissed. Pain exploded through him. The creature's claws had dug too deep, like the flesh had been peeled off.
Grayson exhaled, his breath shaky. He folded his jacket, and pressed it hard against the wound. His head dropped against the boulder.
Don't breathe too loud. Don't move. Maybe it lost you, its growl soon echoed somewhere in the fog.
Grayson's body stiffened. There was silence. No footsteps, no shriek. The woods stood still.
He swallowed, even that was too loud. He covered his mouth, trying to quiet his breathing. Seconds passed, then minutes.
His pulse slowed just a bit. Is it gone? The thought rang in his mind.
Then, a shock of cold struck his cheek. His gaze widened. He touched it and his fingers came back, wet and slimy.
Grayson looked up, his breath caught. Something stood right above him, where he had been hiding.
Long limbs, bent wrong.
Its body folded unnaturally above the rock, then reached for him.
"GRAYSON!"
He blinked twice, but everything was blurry. Light spilled across the room, causing his eyes to burn. His head throbbed as a voice broke through.
"...Grayson?" it was close, but muffled. His brows pulled together, as his vision slowly adjusted.
"Hazel?" his lips moved before his brain could process.
"Grayson…" she said his name again, her lips curved into a smile.
Weakly, he tried to sit up. "Ah.." a sharp pain shot through his shoulder and then collapsed back down.
"Don't move…" another voice reached him. Deeper and stern. His eyes moved slightly and Luke stood adjacent to Hazel.
Grayson shook his head. His body felt heavy. His vision wasn't completely blurry anymore. But nothing looked clear either. It throbbed.
Hazel leaned into his view, "Grayson look at me." She said, her voice steady now. He was stubborn. Despite his wound, he struggled to push himself up.
"Wh…where am I?" he muttered. His throat, tight. "What's…going on?"
"Relax." Luke gently held him down, "You are at the school's clinic."
School? Clinic? He tried to process it, but the words didn't fit right in his head. Grayson swallowed, which still hurt, but he finally relaxed. Although his vision still swam. "Why am I here…" he whispered.
Hazel studied his face, "You don't remember?"
He shook his head and instantly regretted it. Pain spiked again in his shoulder as he shifted.
"Don't force it." she said quickly as she noticed the formed crease on his head. "Hazel is right." Luke agreed. "You need rest…"
"What…what happened to me?" Grayson cut in. Hazel glanced at Luke as neither reached to answer. The silence made his muscles tighten.
Luke finally spoke. "We found you near the woods" his voice changed, "unconscious."
"Woods" then an image flickered in his mind. Dark, fog, and a sound. He shut his eyes hard and the image slipped away.
Hazel watched him carefully, her gaze softened. "You probably hit your head. Just rest, okay?" she held his face.
Rest. Grayson let out a shaky breath. His focus drifted around the room again. It all seemed safe now, but his body still felt like something was crawling under his skin.
Like something cold had followed him back. He watched them leave, then slowly shut his eyes but sleep did not come immediately.
Every time he did, he swore he could hear breathing beside him.
^^^^*^^^^*^^^^*^^^^*^^^^*^^^^*^^^^
The school's clinic door clicked softly. Hazel walked out first, next came Luke. The hallway smelled faintly of antiseptic and opposite the clinic was the nurses office.
Outside, a few people still lingered. Worried and wanting to check on Grayson. Conner straightened the moment he spotted them. His light blonde hair ruffled and stuck to his forehead from sweat.
"How is he?" He spoke first, alerting the rest of the football team of their presence. Tommy pushed himself off the wall, "Can we go in now?"
Hazel exhaled and shook her head. "He woke up." Her voice was low, gesturing for them to move towards the end of the hall and away from the room. "But, he went back to sleep."
Conner exhaled through his nose, his shoulders loosened. "So he's okay?"
Luke locked his fingers at the back of his neck. "He just needs rest." He huffed, "he's pretty messed up."
Conner frowned. "What the hell even happened to him." His voice agitated. Luke exchanged a look with Hazel before speaking.
"That's the weird part." He said as he began walking, the others followed behind. "He says he doesn't remember."
Conner's face drew tighter. "Nothing?"
Luke shook his head, "Not really." Hazel folded her arms. "He remembers stepping out. Every other thing is fuzzy."
Tommy released a sigh. "That doesn't make sense." He mumbled.
"No. It doesn't." Luke agreed. "We still need more medication and cleaner bandages though," he added. "The one at the office is barely enough to patch him up."
"And his shoulder looked bad." Hazel chimed in, "Like, really bad." No one said anything after that. The hallway went quiet, as they approached a turn at the end of the corridor.
Luke paused, nearly bumping into someone. Rain.
Nora stood beside her, and right behind them were Mason and Dave. Luke tilted his head. They all looked pale, but Mason looked worse. His face was drained of color.
"Good." Rain started the minute she set eyes on them. "Where is Grayson?" she asked quickly, "How is he?"
Luke's brow furrowed deep."Slow down." His gaze swept across them once more. "Where the hell have you guys been?" His voice sounded tense but he didn't yell. "Why did it take you guys so long to get back?"
Rain opened her mouth but Luke's attention moved to Mason. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"What happened to him?" Conner prompted first. Rain glanced sideways. "He's exhauted." She answered quickly. But he wasn't buying that, neither was Luke.
And Rain noticed the expression he had. "Look…," she leaned closer to him. "We really need to talk."
The sternness in her voice made him uneasy. Conner focus darted between them. "Everything good?"
Rain hesitated. She looked and the hallway suddenly felt too small, crowded even. Luke rubbed his forehead. "Conner," he called without looking at the other, "Can you guys give us a moment?"
Conner stood, confused. "But…"
"I'll explain later." he cut him. Conner lingered for a second before he nodded. "Fine."
One by one, the others left along with him. Though not without staring back at them. Tommy held Nora's gaze briefly, then she looked away.
"Alright." Luke turned to Rain, "What's going on?"
"Let's talk somewhere private.." She insisted. Dave adjusted the equipment bag hanging over his shoulder. Nora stayed quiet and Mason still hadn't said a word.
As they walked toward an empty classroom, a voice caused them to halt mid-step.
"Rain." Hazel came back. Rain raised her brows. "What?"
Hazel stared at her for a long second, "I just….Thanks." she said quickly. "For earlier."
Rain blinked. As she continued, "You really calmed me down." She said with a small grin curving her lips.
"I just did what anyone would have…" Rain claimed reciprocating her smile.
"Not everyone actually." Hazel said, her voice quiet.
Rain simply nodded, "You are welcome."
Nora's gaze flicked toward them,"Rain." She called, "You coming?" before pushing the door open.
Rain followed after them. Walking in and clicking the door shut. She was the last person to come in.
Dust particles floated lazily through the dim light of sunset, spilling from the windows. The room was strangely still, no one spoke. Not until Dave stepped forward.
He dropped the equipment bag on a table in the classroom, slowly pulling something out.
Folded and dirty. Dave tossed the red jacket across the table, landing with a dull thud.
Luke crossed his arms. He stared at the jacket for a while, his gaze slowly narrowed when he noticed the blood stains.
Dark red and dried up. His gaze shot back at them. "What the hell is that?"
Rain didn't look at his face, her attention remained on the jacket. "It's Grayson's" her tone heavy.