I sank onto my bed the moment I got home.
Lying there, staring blankly at the ceiling, I replayed everything that had happened today over and over again.
None of it made sense.
None of it should've been possible.
"Hey, honey. Can you come downstairs for dinner?"
Mum stood by my bedroom door, her voice soft enough to pull me from my thoughts.
I gave her a small nod before sitting up and undoing the buttons of my school uniform.
A few minutes later, I made my way downstairs to the dining room.
"How was school today, D?" Dad asked as he placed cutlery beside our plates.
"It was okay."
I kept my eyes on the table.
"Just okay?"
"Yes, Dad. Just okay."
He slowly set my spoon down and studied my face, worry flickering across his own.
"Well, that's good. At least you're not complaining about some weird teacher, a bully, or some terrible thing that happened." He smiled warmly and squeezed my hand. "You youngsters never really have anything to worry about."
My chest tightened.
Of course we have problems.
I just watched a girl die.
Do you have any idea what that feels like?
To watch someone die?
I'm being hunted by a monster…
In my dreams.
And you know what's even worse?
I'm not supposed to tell any of you that any of this is happening.
The words echoed through my head again and again until they became deafening.
My grip tightened around my fork.
Maybe this really was my new reality.
The screech of my chair against the tiled floor shattered the silence at the dinner table.
I stood abruptly, my frustration boiling over, and ran upstairs.
I slammed my bedroom door shut, locked it, then slowly slid down until I was sitting on the floor.
The tears came before I could stop them.
Pulling my knees tightly against my chest, I buried my face in them and cried while listening to the uneven rhythm of my own heartbeat.
…
At some point, I must've fallen asleep.
Faint voices drifted through the darkness.
"When do you think she'll wake up?" a woman asked.
"I don't know," a man replied. "But it better be soon. We can't stay here much longer. That thing is going to find us sooner or later."
"Should we wake her?"
"No. Let her rest. She was hurt pretty badly."
"You're right… a little more sleep won't hurt."
I tried opening my eyes.
A sharp pain shot through my stomach, followed by another throbbing ache in my head. I instinctively rubbed my forehead, hoping it would somehow dull the pain.
"Ah… you're finally awake."
The gentle voice of a woman startled me.
She looked to be in her sixties.
"U-Um… where am I? What happened? Who are you?" I asked, the questions tumbling out all at once.
"We found you lying in the grass, bleeding," the elderly man answered, folding his arms. "I still don't understand how a young girl wandered this deep into the woods without her parents noticing. Aren't you worried they'll be looking for you?"
"W-Wait… what are you talking about?"
I stared at him.
"What do you mean I was bleeding? I never left my house. The last thing I remember was crying on my bedroom floor…"
The realization hit me.
"…Wait."
My heart dropped.
"You mean I'm back…?"
I looked between them with wide, horrified eyes.
"The dream…"
"My dream… where that thing cut me?"
My voice cracked.
"Oh, honey…" the old woman said sadly. "It's a dream…
But it isn't."
My stomach twisted.
"Can you tell us exactly what happened?" the old man asked as he sat on a nearby rock.
Only then did I notice where we were.
A cave.
A small fire crackled between us, casting dancing shadows against the stone walls.
I swallowed hard before telling them everything.
The creature.
The scar.
Allyson.
The red-haired girl.
Everything.
Neither of them interrupted.
They simply listened, occasionally nodding or murmuring an understanding "Mm."
When I finally finished, the old man sighed heavily and began pacing.
"This is worse than we thought, Harold," the woman whispered.
"I know, Charity." His face hardened. "I don't understand why it's returned. We haven't dealt with this in forty-nine years."
I shot to my feet.
"Wait… you know about this?"
Both of them looked at me.
"We do," Harold admitted. "But there's no time to explain."
His expression turned grim.
"We aren't safe here."
"We need to move before it finds us."
…
"D?"
A loud knock pulled me awake.
"D? You in there?"
I blinked.
Reality rushed back.
"Hey, D, can you open the door? It's Nurys."
Without thinking, I leapt to my feet and threw the door open.
The second I saw my sister, I wrapped my arms around her.
I'd missed her so much since she'd left for college.
"Whoa there, puppy." She laughed, gently stroking my hair. "I missed you too, but breathe."
I smiled into the hug, breathing in the familiar scent of cinnamon and fresh leaves.
It smelled like autumn.
"Yo… can I get in on this sibling reunion?"
A familiar voice made my heart leap.
"Cameroon!"
I squealed before launching myself at him.
The impact sent both of us tumbling onto the floor.
"Easy there," he laughed.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you guys."
Fresh tears blurred my vision.
"So much has happened… and I really need someone to talk to."
"I'm just glad you're both here."
"Hey, puppy." Cameroon immediately became serious. "What's wrong?"
Puppy.
That was the nickname my siblings had called me ever since I was little.
It had started because "puppy" was one of the first words I'd ever said. I used to call Dad "Poppy," and somehow Cameroon and Nurys twisted it into "Puppy."
The name stuck.
"A lot, Cam."
My voice barely came out above a whisper.
"A lot is wrong."
I led them into my room and sat beside them on the bed.
Then I told them everything.
The past few days.
The scar.
Allyson.
The dreams.
The old couple.
Every terrifying detail.
Neither of them interrupted.
They only stared at me, their expressions impossible to read, as though they couldn't decide whether to believe me… or whether they even could.
I knew this whole situation was insane.
But somehow…
I wasn't as terrified as I had been the night before.
Now my brother and sister were here.
Maybe…
Just maybe…
Things would be okay.
I hoped.