rude awakening
○ the future looks like gasoline... crude oil... is the future before it has been refined. it is like a dream of the future, really, and like any dream, it ends with a rude awakening. ~ chris cleave ○
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"You can't keep hiding this from them, Samuel."
"Yes, I can! I need to protect them from this for as long as possible; my daughter, especially."
My ears perked up at the sound of voices faintly echoing down the hallway. As my vision cleared, I looked around to see that I was in my bedroom, sneaking a glance over at my nightstand to check the time on my alarm clock.
2:51 A.M.
"What is there to protect her from?" When I realized that it was a woman's voice, I sat up straighter, now even more confused about my surroundings. "There's nothing to worry about anymore."
I heard a light sigh before my father's voice gave an answer to the woman. "Yes, there is, Amber. There are people that-"
He cut himself off as a noise sounded from downstairs. It was too quiet for me to hear what it was through my closed door, but I could slightly hear the noise of footsteps making their way down the hallway and to the staircase.
I stood from my bed as quietly as I could and tip-toed my way over to my door. I silently cracked the door open and peeked out through the slit. At first, the most I could see was my father's silhouette moving down the stairs.
But then I was finally able to see the figure that I assumed was the one my father had been speaking to. She was a gorgeous woman- dark-skinned with long, shiny hair that flowed beautifully down her slender waist, the stick-straight strands accentuating her curves in a way I could only wish for. She wasn't supermodel tall, but she wasn't as short as me, either. Her face was contorted with nervousness and her hands were fidgeting in front of her as she stayed glued to the spot.
I slowly backed away from the door, aiming to climb back into my bed so the woman didn't know that I had eavesdropped on her conversation with my father. I had only just sat down on the edge of my mattress when I heard the woman scream- sounding like she was just outside my room. I frantically glanced around, trying to find a place to hide.
Finally, I decided on the roof, as crazy as that sounded. The tree that was right next to my window was somewhere that I liked to climb on often to listen to the sounds of the night all around me. The branches were grown conveniently in a way that let me scale all the way up to the roof of my house, where I could simply take a seat and ignore my problems for a while.
I scrambled my way towards the window, pushing it open as quietly but quickly as I could manage. I cringed at the loud squeaks that emitted from the window, stopping just at the point that would let me slip outside. I did so, stretching my foot out to the tree branch that was just in reach of my leg.
My foot caught a small ridge in the branch and I put my weight to my side before pushing myself fully outside the window. I climbed one ledge higher, swinging myself to the top branch and walking along it like a trapeze rope to where it connected to the lip of the roof.
Just as I pulled myself higher onto the roof to sit down, a deafening growl sounded from inside the house, nearly making me topple over to the ground below. There were screams echoing one after another, the sound bouncing around in my head like a chorus.
