In Control

Chapter 3

Overnight, I skipped falling asleep in my bed and took to the window bay that looked out over the woods that surrounded my new home. There is where I was completely enveloped by the mysterious feeling the dark, looming trees gave me. I can barely peer over the tops of the trees down into the 'valley' that sits between my home and the mountains. And supposedly about four acres of that was our property.

Don't get me wrong the woods here are captivating in so many ways, but for the love of all things holy, there were some weird vibes coming from there. It felt like they were calling to me. Plus don't get me started on how they moved, almost like they were breathing. The trees swayed all one way, then the opposite in the next.

I eventually fell asleep there, or at least, it felt like I was asleep. Fully conscious of everything going on around me, but not entirely awake at the same time. I believe its called lucid dreaming or something along those lines. The dream was very surreal. I could feel the earth in another part of the world, smell the charred dirt and smoke from some blast that wounded the life there. But something strange stood out to me about it. There were two beings there, a large beast that seemed to be out of its mind, and the little creature. I didn't really get to see much of what happened before my mother came and woke me up.

"Luna, sweetheart, why didn't you sleep in your bed? Is it too stiff? Too soft?" I shook my head and sighed. "Are you feeling okay? You've been infatuated with those woods out there..."

"They seem so... Inviting. But dark, gloomy, and doomy all at the same time..." The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I stopped before saying the next part.

There were whispers all around me, some saying my name, others saying run and escape. It's not safe.

...Come to me...

"If you find them so interesting, maybe you'd like to go camping out there?" She reached past me and pointed out the window. "Go... Exploring..."

...I'll keep you safe...

"U-Ummm, s-s-sure...." I stuttered and felt the cold air envelop me, slinking down my spine.

...Good girl...

...I'll find you, just wait for me...

Am I insane?

I kept looking out the window as I felt my mothers breath on the back of my neck, hot and heavy. It was rough and uneven breaths that gave me the impression that whatever was controlling her was still learning how to breathe properly. Her hand slowly lowered past and behind my visions limit and her footsteps softly got more distant. As soon as the footsteps were gone completely the voices stopped, but not before one last, little, innocent voice softly spoke. It sounded like it was rushed.

...She isn't your mother anymore, Luna. IT took her too, but she's fighting back...

...You will be able to tell when it's not her...

Then it was gone. About fifteen minutes passed and I finally had enough courage to look behind me. The door was wide open and she was nowhere to be found.

~----~

Hours later, I felt like it had been long enough to leave the safety of the room. That feeling of dread, death, and gloom was gone for a while now and I finally shook off the cold. There still wasn't snow, but the clouds were heavy and grey, promising at least an inch or two. I'll be honest, I've gone camping in the winter before, and it's not as fun as the spring, but at the very least there aren't as many bugs. I descended the stairs to find my mother in the kitchen cooking, a red mark on the right of her neck.

I stopped and took in everything about her in this moment. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled into a messy high bun. She was wearing a grey tank top and grey sweats. No socks on the tile floor. When she turned, her golden eyes seemed to droop and her small, thick rosy pink lips seemed a little pale, contrasting her sunkissed skin. I had taken a lot of my traits from her, such as the sunkissed skin, but mostly I had gotten her kind personality. I got my reddish-brown hair from the both of my parents, but I had blue-grey eyes.

She was doing the dishes and seemed to be completely unaware of my presence. There was still something terrifyingly different about her. How did she get that red mark on her neck, it's like something bit her and sucked the safe and caring nature out of her. The voice was right, she wasn't my mother anymore. Something had taken that away from me and given me a decoy in the faint hopes I would be okay with it all.

It may be her body, but it wasn't her mind in there. It was someone else's.

She looked up at me and her golden eyes shifted slightly, hinting at my suspicions. "I'm making some food for us to take on the trip, it's only gonna be a day or to. We won't need much, but I want you to pack some bags and our equipment. I know a place we can stay out there, it's not too far."