Wild Fire ━━ Gar Logan

𝟭𝟴. voodoo doll

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
old house and strange feelings

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     𝐓he fact that both of them had a bad feeling about the place was enough to freak the hell out the two teenagers. It didn't make it any better that Dick, Kory, and even Wonder Girl were nowhere in sight. She felt extremely unsafe for some reason whenever she strayed a little far from her friends. And Angela... there was something about the mother that made her feel cautious.

     They both found themselves outside, quickly barging out of the house after their own strange encounters. Aurora paced back and forth on the porch, and Gar was nervously wiping his hands over his mouth as if something was there when there really wasn't.

     Aurora ran her fingers through her hair as the memory played in her mind like a scary tune on repeat. She couldn't get it out of her head no matter how hard she tried. Besides, something tells her that whatever that voice had sputtered about her wasn't something to be taken so lightly.

    It was more than that. She was sure, but she couldn't point out why. Yet.

     Aurora watched her best friend hastily type on his phone and put it up beside his ear. She slightly shivered from the bone-chilling atmosphere, gripping the hem of her long sleeves tightly. He must be calling Dick (which was a good thing because she was also sure they were going crazy).

     She sighed in disappointment when she heard the three beeps, telling them that he didn't answer the call. 

     "I don't feel good about this place, Gar." Her voice cracked in the middle as she spoke, and Gar quickly walked towards her and gently placed her head over his chest as he hugged her dearly. 

    "I know," He gulped slightly. Once again, he dialed the detective's phone number, hoping this time he would answer. Dick didn't. He cursed under his breath, gripping his phone rather frustratedly.

     But then she felt him tense up. She glanced at his face, noticing the horrified look that appeared on his face. Her grip on his jacket tightened, worry flashing across her face as Gar froze upon seeing something she couldn't quite see. She followed his gaze towards the lone tree in front of the house a few yards away, but there was nothing there.

     Unbeknownst to her, Gar was seeing the same doctor he mauled as a tiger back at the now-destroyed asylum.

     The old doctor simply stood in front of the house, looking directly into his eyes. But the most disturbing thing was, he was drenched in his own blood, covering his white coat and all over his neck. Red dripped all over the dead grass. The most prominent color around him. It felt like he was staring right through his soul. Seeing every secret and memory he had trapped beneath his mind.

     Gar blinked profusely, hoping what he was seeing wasn't real, begging that it would soon disappear as fast as he could blink. But it never did. The memories from before replayed in his mind, starting from when he transformed into his tiger and mauled the doctor to death without mercy nor even a little hesitation.

     He felt his eyes water at the memories. Guilt eating him up for all the things he did that were out of his control. He was scared of himself, and what he was capable of doing.

     "Gar━" Aurora started to say but the door behind them creaked open. Rachel Roth appeared. She placed a hovering hand behind his back, and for a second, Gar calmed down. Even just for a while. That was all he needed.

     "Hey," Rachel said softly. "Are you okay?"

     Aurora stared at the floor, flashes of what happened earlier reappearing in her mind. But she only said, "Yeah."

     "No, I uh..." Gar shook his head, his eyes going back to where he saw the dead doctor standing from earlier. The man was no longer there. He rubbed his eyes, then turned to Rachel, looking both serious and frightened. His voice slightly trembling. "There's something wrong with this place."

     "What do you mean?" Rachel asked confusedly.

     "I don't know. I just have a bad feeling," Gar muttered, on the verge of tears but he masked it with a few forced chuckles. He inhaled sharply. "Maybe I'm just stressed out."

     Aurora sent him a look, not believing that he was just 'stressed out'. He shook his head subtly, probably telling her not to say anything. She sighed under her breath, and fiddled with her fingers, staring back down at the chipped wooden floors of the front porch they stood upon.

     Rachel shifted on her foot. "Well, I'm sorry I freaked out on you two."

     "It's, uh... It's been a weird day." He nodded subconsciously even though he wasn't offended that Rachel lashed out at him earlier. Truth be told, he was more worried about the things he'd seen in the past few hours to be upset.

     "No," Rachel sighed. "No, I suck."

     Gar shook his head in disagreement. "No. You don't."

     "You don't suck, Rach," Aurora muttered. "You're one of the best. I'm glad I met you."

     Rachel smiled faintly. "I'm happy you're both here, and I hope you stay. That's what I should have said."

     The corner of his lips quirked into a small smile, and he looked at the younger teenager who sheepishly smiled back at him. "Thanks, Rach."

    All of sudden, a deep, quiet growl emitted from his throat, and the two girls frowned in confusion. His brows furrowed, and he clenched his jaw. It almost seemed like he was keeping himself from transforming accidentally in front of their faces. 

     "Gar?" Rachel said, sharing a worried look with Aurora.

     "Oh," Gar said through gritted teeth, trying to play it cool. "Stomach just feels a little weird."

     Aurora held the small of his back, leaning close to his side. "What's wrong?"

     "Are you gonna be sick?" Rachel asked, oblivious to the fact that her two friends were literally having strange hallucinations in the form of their past and the things they regret.

     "I just need to, uh, I just need to lay down," Gar said forcefully, turning around to make his way back inside although he kept looking back at something near the tree.

     "Oh, okay," Rachel said unsurely, glancing between them.

     "I got him," Aurora mumbled as she guided the disoriented boy inside the house with Rachel following behind them.

     Then the door shut closed. None of them knew that was the last time they'd breathe the fresh air and see the morning sunlight.