Light by Adrienne Woods Read Free Book Online

choose.”
    “Choose, what?”
    He didn’t answer, as he drew back his bow and shoot another arrow at a clouded figure. A bright light appeared on my far left, just like Leigh said it would.
    “Go, don’t stop for anything. I have your back.”
    “What about you? Will you be okay?”
    He chuckled, killed three other beasts in a matter of five seconds and drew back the invisible string. I knew it carried another invisible arrow that will appear as a golden arrow when it mattered. “I’ll be fine. Just go.” He released the arrow and it turned gold right before it hit a dark beast in the shoulder. “Go!” Leigh yelled again.
    “Thank you,” I yelled as I ran for dear life. I was after all depending on a light. I prayed it was home, my bed.
    From the corners of my eyes, I could see two dogs on both sides were heading straight for me. I wasn’t going to make it, but I had to try. Images of plans formed in my head of how I was going to slip past the dogs and I sprinted like never before. Miss Haly, the athletic teacher at school would’ve been so proud of me. I was finally giving it my all.
    The shadow dog pounced straight for me, and I crouched as I waited for its bite or whatever these dogs did. Sand covered my body and I saw a golden arrow glinting inside the sand. It disappeared and I got up and ran again. The other dog was a few paces from me. My legs burned and my lungs felt as if they were on fire. The other shadow figure came in fast and nipped with long sharp claws at my leg. I cried out in pain and watched blood oozed out from four long vertical claw marks that could’ve easily took off my leg. Still, I got up and leapt for the light. The beast followed and exploded as light engulfed us. The pain seared through my entire body and I only realized then that I still had Leigh’s jacket around my shoulders. I jumped up, cold sweat rolled down the side of my face.
    I breathed fast and heavy, I looked around and I was back inside of my room on my bed. I was wearing my nighties again, and my hands, they were clean. I felt a bit sweaty but I was clean.
    It was just a dream , the voice in my head said, but why is my leg still aching?
    I pulled down the covers and found four gashes running down my leg. My covers and pj’s were soaked with blood and my leg hurt more than I’d ever thought it could. How could this be possible?
     

 

     
    THE NEXT MORNING I TOOK OFF THE BANDAGES. I’D put on the night before. It was clean, my leg was clean and the marks the shadow hound left were gone. Did I just imagine that?
    I ran back to the kitchen where the front loader held all my bloody linen and found Mom cooking up a storm. I glanced at her and then at the washing machine spinning the bed linen soaked with blood.
    Mom followed my gaze and stared at the laundry spinning in the machine too. “Are you okay, sweetheart?” She asked with concern pulling the corners of her eyes.
    “I’m fine,” I gasped. I was shocked, felt as if I was busy losing my mind and I turned around walking back to my room. I struggled to shake last night’s events from my thoughts. I could still remember every single thing that happened in that place. Dreams were not like that. You usually only remembered a fragment of what you dreamt about, not everything.
    I also knew I wasn’t imagining the blood and the pain I’d been left with when I woke up in bed last night.
I distinctly remembered the blood and the strong iron smell that lingered for hours in my room after I changed the bed linen and cleaned up my wound with whatever was in the first aid kit.
    I even struggled to sleep because for some reason I could still smell the blood, imaginative or not, the smell was real.
    I got dressed as I thought about Leigh. If he’d gotten away from those shadow dogs I didn’t know, but I hoped that he was okay, and alive. I would really like to see him again and thank him properly for saving my ass.
    When I got back to the kitchen a plate of bacon