Splintering Souls (Strange Creatures - Book 1)

Chapter 0 : Prelude



THE UNIVERSITY

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THE SKY WEPT, alongside my silent cries, it roared as the pregnant clouds laboured. The sun, albeit hidden, peaked from behind the clouds as light streamed in through the window but was shrouded immediately.

I could taste bile crawling up my throat; the vivid taste of vomit filled my mouth as my stomach was carousing with my kidneys, tightening tighter than my throat. I held herself together, barely by a frayed thread and gulped.

Fragmented images bathed in crimson filled my nose with the metallic smell of blood and flooded my mind as I watched a phantom hand phase through the lecturer and present her beating heart, a scene I knew I was the only audience to. I could barely hear the lecturer as they droned on and on about words that sounded like gibberish; they might as well have been judging by the apathetic faces that filled the lecture hall. My only recurring thought was, 'Don't do it, Leora. Don't you dare throw up, not again. '

It would be the third time this week and would only turn the wheels of the rumour mill faster. "Lee, are you crying?"Farah whispered while nudging me, her eyebrows knitted together in concern.

I wiped my eyes. "Attending lectures makes me emotional. "

The corners of her lips twitched. "You are speaking for everyone, "Her expression fell. "Seriously though, are you okay?"

I nodded as the room filled with the sound of the shuffling sound of people packing away their notebooks and the zip sound as they hurried to close their bags and leave the room. I had no notebook in front of me, and Farah held my bag as I followed quickly after her; I held my breath and broke away from her and ran, raced towards the first toilet I could find.

I hunched over and wretched like a cat with a hairball as my stomach emptied itself faster than the lecture hall ever could. I saw her petrified face as he raced after her, heard her whimpers and screams as he dragged her along the ground with her hair, swung a glistening cleaver her last remaining foot while the remnant of another lay a few steps away.

"Deep shallow breaths, come on, breathe with me. "I felt Farah's hands pull back my curls and hold them in place.

I heeded her words while my stomach protested, there was nothing left in it to empty, yet it relented until it gained common sense and ceased its tantrum.

"You know, the best place to take deep breaths probably isn't over a public toilet filled with my own vomit and lord knows what else, "I mumbled, moving past her to rinse my mouth, although I was used to the bitter taste it didn't make it anymore edible.

"Try doing it over someone else's vomit during your lunch period ", she quipped. I heard the sound of the toilet flushing before she came out of the stall, the green in her face could rival her olive eyes.

"Touché, ”I said with a sheepish smile.

"Is it the same nightmare again?"I could've sworn the room darkened, but it could've been a trick of the light. I nodded, and she sighed. "Why won't you tell me what you saw in detail? I can't infer from drawings. This is the third time just this week, and I won't even talk about last week. You haven't been eating, and it's starting to..."

She cut herself off when my breathing became audible. "You can't drink your pills on an empty stomach, Lee. "She grabbed both my hands and squeezed them; her eyes held tears as she stared into mine. "Please, I'm worried about you. "

I knew, fuck, I knew exactly what I looked like. Who wouldn't notice even their tightest clothes starting to hang off them like clothes on a hanger? Who wouldn't notice that their chestnut brown skin was starting to look chalky and the lifeless curls that were falling limp on their head? The thread had frayed further than I could hide from her.