CHAPTER 11: FOREST (1)

Gavin abruptly wakes up panting. He’s covered in cold sweat and his heart is racing in his chest. His eyes wildly scan around his shack, body on high alert as he scrambled to sit up. When he finally recognized the room he is in, he lets out a shaky exhale, body deflating, trying to calm himself down. He counts his breathing in his head but he doesn’t close his eyes, afraid that he’ll see his dreams in the darkness of it once he does. He shudders even at the remnants of his dream, he can almost feel it again on his skin and he badly wants to shake it off, utterly disgusted.

When his breathing evened out, he groaned in frustration. This is not a rare occurrence for him, but it still feels so frustrating. The dreams, restless night and unsettling memories. He belatedly sees the rays of the morning sunlight filtering into the closed windows of his shack. He inhaled a lungful of air and winced when he smelled the bitter scent of his distress, caused