Chapter Text
|-Tuesday morning, March 19th, 2024. The Cordelia, 4721 Azalea Landing Drive, Room 3G, Wilmington, North Carolina-|
Try not to think about it... Try not to think about it... It was just a dream, Total coincidence it woke me up at half-past three in the morning. Definitely not connected to anything. Nothing at all...
I keep telling myself those things, yet I know it's all bullshit. It always is. This gut feeling that won't go away. What the hell was that dream? Why was I in the middle of someone's farm? Or was it a farm? Everywhere I looked it was just wheat. And then... a barren forest? No, that... that can't be right. Why would it change to a forest? And that damn bird... Was it actually there or did I see something else? I don't know. I don't remember. I don't want to remember. Just in case I'm back there tonight. I sit up on the air mattress, wiping away what little sleep is in my eyes. It's almost eight, and I've been awake since 3:30. Couldn't get back to sleep. To riled up and... I didn't want to close my eyes. I didn't want to see those little red dots in my peripheral. I slide off the mattress and start getting ready for the day. Brush my teeth, shower, shave, get dressed. I start making myself breakfast and while doing so, take not of how empty the apartment feels. I know Bo went out at seven to his job, I don't know what Reilly does and Maddy is a the university. I probably shouldn't worry about them, though. They're not dealing with... this shit.
I get my toast and put the bacon in between in. I start scrambling my eggs in the pan after getting the bacon grease out of it. While the eggs cook, I grab some coffee and put it into the machine, the beans getting ground up before hitting the filter. Before long, everything is done and I start eating. Maybe this can help me put that nightmare form my mind. I start scrolling through YouTube and find something that tickles my fancy. History of Roman architecture. Working in construction, I find this kind of thing interesting. Wish we could get back to the Roman's mentality. If we did that, buildings wouldn't be falling over every ten seconds. And they'd look good for once. You can still have functionality and utility with a good form.Balance is the name of the game here.
As much as I enjoyed this, the reprieve is is only temporary, as the thoughts come back after finishing my breakfast. The wheat stalks. The sedentary moon.The dead trees. The crows. Those red eyes. I just can't get them out of my head. It's like whatever that thing was is taunting me. Even while I'm asleep. What does it want? Why is it so focused on me? I'm the least interesting person in this apartment complex. Why target me? I need to get my mind off of this. There's a park south of here. Maybe that can help. Maybe... I rush back into Bo's room and grab my shoes, slap them on and then grab my hat with my car keys. Fresh air. That should help, right...
|-Later that day. Halyburton Park, 4099 S 17th Street-|
I park my car and step out. The early spring air is quite nice when paired with the salt of the Atlantic drifting in. The Cape Fear is right there as well. I walk over to the bay overlook and take in the vista. It's peaceful here, with the trees really starting to regrow their leaves and the flowers looking like their about to bloom. I stay here for a few minutes before moving again, starting down the Cross City Trail. Think I'll follow this for a few laps before changing to a different one. I walk down the trail for a few minutes, taking in how the trees cover the ground with shadow. I feel like I can forget about all my troubles here. It's nice. It's quiet. It's peaceful.
I continue down the Cross City Trail, not really thinking about anything, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Certainly isn't right now. I welcome the empty head. Allows for different and new thoughts to enter in. Things that don't fill me with existential dread and that I actually like. I pass by the park's playground, meaning I'm about to complete a lap. That would be one down, two more to go. I keep walking, the playground soon behind me as I continue on with lap two, taking in the NC spring coming to life around me. It's nice. Really nice. I think I'm starting to see why Maddy moved down here.
I'm about to reach the first turn of the trail when it hits me. This feeling of dread. One I've unfortunately grown familiar with over the past few days. I feel the eyes on me again, ending my brief respite of peace. God dammit. Where are they? Where are those stupid red eyes? I can feel them on me. I just need to see them. But I don't. I scan the trees and see nothing. Like I always do. I keep walking, hoping it was just a one off thing, but it doesn't go away. I still feel them. So I keep walking in the vain hope that it does eventually go away.
I come to a fork in the road, so to speak. The Green Trail. I start down it, hoping that this change of pace can throw off the eyes. Get rid of this dread I'm feeling. I can feel it start to alleviate, lift off my shoulders. But then, in an instant, it comes back. Back with a vengeance. And I hate it. I scan the trees again, and I think I see something in one of them. Little red dots looking down at me. But the second I do a double-take, they're gone. I think is see them again, but when I look, they've moved once more. I need to go. I don't want to waste anymore time here if it means I lose my mind.
|-Earlier that morning. Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve, University of North Carolina Wilmington-|
The flowers look nice this morning. Good place to go when I want to clear my head. And this feather business definitely warrants this little trip. That damn feather keeps coming back to my mind. Just thinking about it creeps me out and I can't explain why. It shouldn't. It's probably just some kind of party decoration. Yet a part of my mind is convinced it isn't. It's not rational. Not in the slightest. So I sit here, in the wildflower preserve, smelling the flowers and taking in the cool, morning air. It's crisp and wet. Just how I like it. I check the time and see it's half past eight. I have that BIO class at 11:00 I need to TA for. Vertebrate history. Hopefully, my mind will be clear by then.
I start to walk down some of the paths, looking at each bud that will start blooming in April. Can't wait to see what they end up looking like. I know they'll be beautiful. I keep walking, noticing that the trees are regaining their leaves more and more. As a result, the preserve is getting more shade. That'll make it more bearable in the summer with the heat leaking out of the Atlantic. Maybe I should head over to Wrightsville Beach at some point this weekend. Bring everyone with me for some R&R. I know Cam could use some, with how jittery he's been. He's been acting weird since he arrived. I chalked it up to his nerves since he did say he hadn't had a good night's sleep when I asked him if he had crossed into NC. But he's had a few now... and something is still off. It's not like him. I just hope I can help him in some way.
I keep walking and check the time. 8:50. I've got two hours before I need to head to Friday Hall. I should probably grab something to eat soon. Don't want to be TAing on an empty stomach. So I start moving in that direction. It's not too far, just by the Cultural Arts Building. As I head that way, though, I see a glint in a bush. I don't know what it is, but it does interest me. I approach the bush and kneel down, and what I see is a snake skin. That's odd. I know snakes are common here but... like that feather, it doesn't look like any snake native to the area. Against my better judgement, I take the skin and put it in a zip-loc before going on my way. And just like that feather, this feels like something I shouldn't be seeing...