Of Monsters and Humanity: The Genesis

Chapter 43 - Xander

Twenty-three days before....

"What are you doing?" she screeched from behind me.

I didn't even realize she was home or present in the room until I heard her scream at me.

I froze with my hands up, and her sketchbook fell to the ground, right next to my foot.

"You're looking through my stuff?" she asked in horror, her blue backpack dropping to the ground. Her face was of pure dismay, and I never thought that I would see such a look on the girl with the human face.

"I'm sorry, I was just--"

"You know how I feel about my drawings!" she screamed as she came over and grabbed the sketchbook from the floor. I could feel the pure heat and anger radiating off of her. She was mad, and not the funny kind of fake mad. I felt myself shrink back into the hollow place in my body. I felt terrible.

"I'm so sorry, Terra."

"What did you see?!"

I sat with my mouth open, shaking my head.

"You saw everything," she answered for me. Looking around, she noticed the other sketchbooks surrounding me. "You really did see everything," she murmured, a floored and angry smile touching her face.

"I didn't mean to."

"You looked like you meant to," she shot back, throwing her arm out to gesture to all of her sketchbooks. "Don't lie to me."

I didn't even know what to say.

The smile extends on her face as she nodded. "Go ahead," she murmured, the smile disappearing, and throws the sketchbook from her hand to the bed with the pile of others. "I don't care."

She reached down, took her bag, and stormed out of the room.

I sat on the bed for a moment, realizing what I had done. I knew that I was bored, but finding amusement in something so private to her.... I knew that I had one drawing, but that didn't give me access to all of them. What was I thinking?

I knew I would fuck something up as soon as I got here.

Standing up, I decided to follow her. She was walking down the stairs quickly, like no one in the house is there. She was angry, and her heavy footsteps echo up the stairs and to my head. Why did I do that? I knew she would be angry if she found out.

I followed her down to the kitchen, but she didn't stop. She tossed her backpack over the back of the couch and it landed on a cushion, but she didn't stop walking. In the open breakfast area now, she unlocked the glass back door and walked out. I think she knew that I was following her, because she left it open.

She didn't stop walking. She was in the fenced-in backyard, walking down the brick path to the wrought iron gate along the fencing. The only life in the backyard seemed to be the running water fountain, as the flowers and most of the greenery had died due to the cold. I felt bad for her. She deserved better.

When she reached the gate, she threw open the lock and continued to walk. The edge of the forest was closing in, but she just kept walking. She was treading heavily and quickly, like she had somewhere to be in that moment. Where was she going? All that was in front of her was woods.

Before I ran to her and ask where was off to, she stopped.

I did, too, and watched what she did next.

A loud scream tore from her little body and echoed down the forest. Her fists were balled up, and her body was completely tensed up. Birds sitting in the barren, dark trees flew to the sky, squawking and screaming back to her.