The Animal Within

Arriving to my first period was dreadful at best, I had no clue where to sit or why I was putting myself through the hell of high school once more. In my past lives, I was a English Professor, a warrior, a Historian, and an actor; diversity wasn't a problem with my sister and I seeing as she was many things as well, but it hindered or helped our search for Jeremy and Demetri.

Now here they were in this very school, which meant that we could stop searching, but, as always, it came down to them accepting who they were in their past life. We just found them after a long time, but a witch once told us that who they are now must accept who they were then or we would continue to wonder this world as immortalized souls forever to love the ones we lost so long ago.

I am tired of wondering this world forever in a state of constant limbo. I just want my Demetri so bad that it physically aches my chest just to see him here while he doesn't even know who I am at all! I want to cry every time I think about him, every time I hear his voice in my dreams, every time I catch a smell that reminds me of him, and every time how I swear I see a glimpse of him in my peripheral vision but when I turn around I see nothing.

Seeing him walk into the classroom, I try not to look at him - it's hard, but I manage to for a few minutes as I take a seat in the back while he sits up front; at least from here he won't realize I'm staring at him every time the teacher isn't looking.

I take out my sketch pad and start drawing him as he talked to Jeremy - I don't know their names in this day and age so I go by their past names. I start with his molten brown eyes that just beg me to draw them first before going on to his straight nose, full lips, strong jaw, and, before I knew it, I was looking back at a picture that made my heart ache and sing at the same time.

Why did it have to be so painful to draw him?

I shook my head, getting rid of the emotions I was feeling before I shut my book. I noticed everyone was looking at their cellphones and reading a message; I didn't have a cellphone so I didn't get the message, but the teacher came in and told me what the message was so I didn't have to sit there as confused as ever.

Soon class came to an abrupt end when birds came crashing through the windows to my left; I had a flashback of a man hitting me with a gun when I refused to move with the mob, but it passed as I looked around at everyone. Some students were injured by the glass, others had bird blood on their faces or clothes, but mostly everyone was just shaken up.

I looked to the front as I instinctively put my guard up just to see Jeremy and Demetri looking around cautiously - as if waiting for something else to happen and not wanting to be surprised by what would happen next. Then, as if by a trick of the light, I saw both of their eyes flash red, and it made me know instantaneously that both of them weren't as they appeared to be.

From that moment I knew, I knew from just that flash of red, that Jeremy's words had rung true - that he brought the villagers worst nightmares to life.

That he and the man I loved weren't as human as they seemed.

Through my daze of checking everyone out as well as coming to my conclusion of Jeremy and Demetri, that I hadn't registered the stinging in my calf until then which made me look down to see a piece of glass going through it from the back, and, due to my aversion to blood and pain, it didn't take me long to start collapsing to the floor, but, by some divine miracle, I didn't.

I was caught by the love of my life, and the very face that haunts my dreams. Demetri had caught me, "Whoa" he said softly as he slowly maneuvered me to my side to keep me from pushing the glass in the back of my leg further in. I tried my hardest to stay awake while he was examining my leg, but the pain and panic was just too great which forced me into unconsciousness.

The warm hands on my leg were the melody, and his breathing was the beat that lulled me into oblivion.