Dark Matter - Episode 3

May woke up very early in the morning, which was very unusual for her. Turning to her bedside, she opened her school bag and brought out her wristwatch from where it was buried beneath her books.

“ 6 o'clock already !” she exclaimed, “argh! My head is on fire,” she said, lying back on her bed and putting her hands on her forehead. She felt like she had cried her eyes out. Putting her thoughts aside, she took a shower in the bathroom embedded in her room and freshened up. Today will be a big day for her, so she thought about all that Liam said to her the day before and…

“Hi, May” Stacey called from the wide-open door, making May shudder in surprise.

“ Damn it, Stacey! Don't you know how to knock or have you forgotten how to use your hands properly, "she exclaimed, forgetting that she had never locked her door.

“ Blah blah blah,” Stacey said sitting on her bed enthusiastically, “so tell me, what was Liam doing in your room last night ?” she asked, making May roll her eyes away. She needed to act as much as, and as fast as possible

“I couldn't help but notice…that" she paused and turned to May, then bouncing on her bed “he stayed for quite a long time,” she said out loud.

May motioned to cover her mouth but stopped halfway, and looked straight into her eyes with a sly smile drawn across her face “yes, he was in my room last night because he wanted my textbook…”

“Lies” Stacey disagreed, interrupting her

“But… If you tell anyone about this, I'll tell them that you have a massive crush on him”

“You won't dare,” Stacey said, staring back at her.

May just smiled at her and ran quickly out of her room screaming “Stacey has a crush on Liam !! Stacey has a crush on Liam”

“No !!… I don't, don't listen to her” Stacey shouted back anxiously as she chased after her

“May !! SHUT THE HECK UP !!”

She chased her until she reached the large dining ll, right in front of the buffet Mike and Liam were on, making her freeze on seeing Liam.

“Greetings Liam, Mike !” She greeted them jokingly, performing a curtsy. Liam greeted back impressed with how she acted, entirely ignoring yesterday's events, unlike Mike who wasn't doing well at it.

Stacey could feel her heart jumping out of her mouth since she thought that May will reveal everything to him, but she just hopped towards another table. She stood there with both her hands together behind her back for a while, hoping that Liam will at least notice her, which he didn't, so she walked towards May, staring back at Liam twice wishing that he would look at her or at least call back her attention, which neither happened.

“Oh,” she exclaimed sadly.

“She's good Mike, unlike you,” Liam said to Mike, finally raising his head on noticing that Stacey was gone.

“Yeah… I'm not good at these things "Mike replied drinking his juice soberly, “I hope I didn't reveal much”.

“No …not yet” Liam replied.

“Attention dear students," Mr. Matthew, or Mr. Matt as the students liked to call him beckoned, silencing the hall instantly.

“I would love to welcome you all (again) to this year's Asterian woods camping trip !!” He said joyously, which received applause along with the smiling faces of the students as an appreciation.

“Since it's Friday, the begging of the weekend, we would allow you all to feel comfortable and enjoy the entire day doing what you wish. Explore the woods and so much more supervised as usual," he continued, which aroused another thunderous applause.

“Isn't he cute?” Stacey asked May, admiring his curly hair, light blue eyes, and Chevron-styled beard.

“Ugh …! Every man is cute in your eyes Stacey "

“Of course not, Liam is way cooler than him”

Gesturing to the students to keep quiet Mr. Matt concluded by saying “So enjoy yourselves but don't do it too much and have a great! Fun! Camping TRIP !!” He shouted, returning to his conversation with the principal, leaving the hall a noisy place with happy monkeys smiling and chatting away their time as their breakfast was being served to them.

Jason woke up in the middle of the woods where he was supposedly buried and tried to open his eyes, but the morning sunlight was blinding.

“Aaaahhh” he groaned in pain as what seemed like black dust fell out of his eyes turning his eyeballs pitch black and putting kite-shaped scares in his face right from his forehead down his pitch-black eyes to his cheeks. He didn't know what happened to him after the dark hands grabbed him, nor what was happening to him now. He suddenly could feel the ground many feet beneath and around him, as well as the roots of trees and the dead animals that were there. Panicked, he couldn't feel afraid or his pulse, so he checked his heartbeat but couldn't feel anything. Frustrated he raised his hands and shouted making about six hands rise from the ground spontaneously with the same force as his anger startling him. So, he ran about the forest, but the feeling in the ground like a shadow kept following him. Dodging countless trees, he then turned left towards a clifftop.

“Yes the river will end this feeling,” he said before jumping into the river below but, instead of sinking, he stood right on top of the water.

“What the…!?” he exclaimed, astonished.

He saw beneath his feet the cause of what enabled him to feel in the ground beneath him. It was a blackish layer of sand stretching for about five feet away from his feet and several meters deep, probably floating and strong enough to hold him. His curiosity overcame his anxiety, so he gently but cautiously raised his right hand and a hand came out of the sand at arm's length. Staring in astonishment, he stretched his hand to feel the strange black hand, and It was like clay and sandy soil loosely mixed. He brought down his hand and the black hand disappeared back into the sand, normally his heart should have been pounding hard in his chest, but he couldn't feel anything but calmness. In an attempt to wake up from the nightmare, he ran about the water like a deranged person, but he was unable to sink. He jumped about the river and did everything in his might to sink, but he just couldn't sink.

“Hmmmmmmmm!!” a quiet hum was heard in his head.

“Who did that,” Jason asked as he turned around, but he didn't find anyone in the surrounding forest.

“I wished I found a rabbit as a host instead of you. At least rabbits have instincts, I'm not sure that you have common sense,” the quiet voice said like a loud whisper.

“Argh !” Jason exclaimed stunned.

He was very much frustrated that he could not feel anything but calm since he could be easily frightened before.

“What…what the heck are you,” Jason asked, running out of the water.”

“ Hmmmmm!!” It hummed again.

“Who are you and why are you in my body….”

The creature ignored his question.

“ Why me, please leave I can show you where you can find as many rabbits as you wish” Jason begged, he wanted nothing but his normal life back.

“I would, if I could a long time ago, but I need an intelligent life form as a host since I cannot view or feel the world on my own”

“OK, you could infect someone else… I… I know someone Mike, he has a good body” Jason responded, sounding more and more like a crazy person talking to himself.

“It would be difficult for me to enter and be sustained by a new host, besides if I leave your body you will fade, stupid .”

“I will die.”

“All your body's visible matter has disintegrated into dark matter, and I am the force that keeps it together and especially the remaining visible matter in your brain, so I can view the world”

“what the hell is dark matter”

“I'm seriously considering the rabbits” Dark matter muttered in seeming frustration.

“Oh no., don't worry,” Jason said, stepping back twice as if talking to Dark Matter face to face. If Jason was serious with his studies, he should have known what it was.

After a few moments of sitting on the floor with his hands on his chin, reflecting on what to do next, he suddenly remembered something significant.

“Ah geez! I almost forgot they may have already started searching for me, and they can’t find me with my face and eyes like this.”

“Where is your habitat,” it asked.

“Well, we are staying temporarily at the camp, east a few miles from here.”

“Jump in the direction you wish to travel”

“Okay….” He replied, not sure what it meant by that.

Kneeling on one knee to generate momentum, he jumped. As soon as his feet left the ground, sandy hands propelled him surprisingly very high into the clouds.

“Wow,” he gasped.

He soon reached the roof of the boy's lodge. Unfortunately, he didn't think of that possibility. Instead of crashing loudly on the roof, his body disintegrated into dust, which then went through it into a room.

The dust particles moved rapidly around the room, gradually forming back in his body. Once complete, he was so surprised that he almost fell, looking around in relief that he was in his room.

“Now seek something to shade your eyes from the sun. Everything is held by dark matter except the light, that’s why I react to Sunlight” Dark Matter said,

So Jason put on his sunglasses, making the scares disappear.

Checking the time, which was 7’o'clock in the morning, Jason collapsed exhausted on his bed and fell asleep very quickly.

Waking up later that evening, Jason almost thought that everything was back to normal. But he could feel the four corners of his room, so he wasn't normal now.

Sitting up, he concentrated on the floor and raised his hand. As expected, a sandy hand rose from the floor. He reached out and touched it, but this time it held his hand.

“ Please, could you at least tell me what you are?” He asked, but received no response.

“ Why can't you show me your face, and why are you even inside me? I'm I losing my mind?”

“ Hmmmmm! When it's time, you will know,” was the only reply he heard, as the hand left him, and disappeared into the ground.

Deciding to take his dinner, even though he didn't feel hungry, he walked to the edge of the noisy hall where he would be least seen.

Soon, the food was served, and he tried to eat. But something was wrong with it. It seemed to turn into dust the moment it touched his mouth. Again and again, he tried, until the spoon itself faded away.

“ What the heck!” he exclaimed.

“ You can’t taste nor do you need to eat you highly stupid one, I am now your life force” Dark matter muttered.

“Darn it,” Jason said scornfully he didn’t know what he would do from then on, so he just sat motionless on the seat. He was supposed to be feeling scared and to be wondering about how his life would become from then on, but he was just as calm as ever. Thinking about the day before, he regretted ever following May and neglecting his instincts, but time doesn’t go backward, so he decided to learn how to deal with his newfound demon or whatever it was, instead of dwelling in the past.

Finally coming out of the dining hall, he only thought of taking a deep sleep.

May was unfortunately around the corner with Stacey when she noticed him.

She cleaned her eyes thoroughly with her fists.

“ Wait a sec, Stacey!” She muttered," Who is that over there?”

“ What are you talking about? It's Jason!”

“ What? It can't be.” She exclaimed, and ran towards him, not believing her eyes.

“Jason!” She called and hugged him, and immediately he turned.

“ I can’t believe you're alright, we were so scared” she wept.

** Is he alive?** She thought.

Normally, this should have caused a chain reaction in Jason’s head, but he felt nothing, though he still loved her.

“What happened back there,” May asked crying profusely, she held his head close to hers in an attempt to comfort him through whatever trauma he must have gone through or is still going through.

“You guys left me there,” he said, trying his best to fake emotion.

“Jason, please understand we couldn’t do anything," wiping the tears from her eyes she drew him closer and hugged him, still confused about what had earlier occurred the day before, and still wondering how he was still alive. She thought he had died or was taken to hell by dark forces or something.

He was very cautious while in her arms because Dark Matter was still new to him and was very unpredictable, and he didn’t know what he could do. Feeling her heartbeat, he remembered that this is the part where he was supposed to cry, so he sobbed to the best of his acting capacity to fool her.

As they walked for a while in silence, May wondered why he wasn’t as emotional as he was usually, but decided that he was too traumatized to show emotions efficiently.

Trying to start up a conversation he decided to tell her how he had felt for her ages ago since he could no longer feel emotional.

“Um… May you see”

“Hmm”

“I kind of… have a… umm something to tell you” *What is wrong with me* he thought

“Uh go on”

“ I have a crush on you.”

May kept silent for a few minutes she wondered why he was telling her that now of all times

** maybe he just really appreciated my concern ** she thought

“Aww I knew” giggling she said

“WHA…you knew…, but do you feel the same for uh… me,” he asked

“Um NO! Sorry, I kind of have a boyfriend” they were now alone in the woods a few meters away from the school camp.

“Oh I understand, but who exactly if I may ask,” Jason said now losing hope.

“Mike !!” The words sounded in Jason’s ears like in slow motion.

“Mike”

“Yeah”

“Mike… Mike of all people on this earth you chose mike” Jason said

“What! He is not a bad person, you know”

“I’ve wasted a lot of attention on you, and you didn’t even notice me,” he said.

“No you don’t get it, it’s not that I haven’t been noticing you it’s just that … you won’t understand,” she said, not wanting to remember her unsettling past with Mike.

“ But I do like your character I…” she paused, not wanting to let her emotions burst.

Suddenly, Jason felt very uneasy. His head felt like it was about to pop out.

“ Oh no!"

“Oh no !” He exclaimed

“what? What is it ?” May asked getting worried. Jason instinctively knew what was about to happen.

“ May run."

“ What but … but why?" May asked, feeling terrified.

“Run NOW,” Jason shouted, making May take to her heels as fast as she could. Jason could feel Dark Matter taking control of his body, so he raised his hands high with all his might trying to stop him, making about six dusks (hands from the ground) stroke several trees, fading them instantly.

Finally, taking control he walked further away from the camp to avoid harming anyone but unknown to him Mike who has been stalking him, and May ever since followed.

If only he wasn't distracted by a bee when May took to her heels, and when trees suddenly faded into nothingness.