&& flashbacks [Akkii]

[C R I S I S]

It had been a few weeks since she had nearly been a victim of a group of boys who were so filthy it had tainted their very scents, driving her into a state of pure panic and fear. Nothing had happened to her, but the memory was still strong in her mind, and even drawing strength from her wolf, Storm didn’t feel the same calm usually felt, in fact, it was as though all her senses were on overdrive, every ounce of her standing on edge, waiting and watching. It had gotten so bad, it seemed as she was afraid of her own shadow—HER OWN SHADOW. Jumping at every sound, flinching at every possible touch, it was quite easy to say that Storm was a nervous wreck. Leaning against her locker, with her books clutched to her chest, the werewolf’s golden eyes were hazy, as though she was there, but at the same time, she wasn’t. Having been in school for about a week, she had yet to gain any friends, though Gabriel had managed to accumulate quite the hoard of people to follow him around, something that disgusted her. She couldn’t say anything for her brother though; he wasn’t seen in school, ever.

School was finally over for the week, slamming her books in her locker, Storm gathered up her stuff quickly, before the tides of people could come. She couldn’t deal with everyone today; today she had seen a face that reminded her of their leader, and it hadn’t gone over well. She had frozen, every muscle locked into place, but before he could turn and look at her, Storm had sprinted down the hallways, dark red brown hair flying behind her as she swung around a corner. She really didn’t want to see him again, even if it was an unreasonable fear, it was still fear, and everyone reacted to it.
He. Is. Dead. She just had to keep telling herself that, she had seen the news report. There was no way he was coming to get her, to finish what he had started, she had to convince herself that he wasn’t lurking in the shadows, waiting for her to blindly turn the corner, right into his trap. It was stupid of her to think that, her mind scolded, but emotion once more, decided to rule over logic. Carefully, Storm exited the large doors, slipping out just as the last of the crowds started gathering, panic flashing for a moment in her eyes as she did so.

Hands shaking slightly, Storm set out on a beaten down path, following it with her eyes, refusing to look up and see all the faces swarming around her. If she didn’t see them, she learned that she didn’t freak out as badly. She could still smell them of course, but here, nobody stank with the same drive that the other people had. Biting her lip hard enough to draw blood as a guy bumped into her, Storm had to fight the urge to run as fast as she could, or turn around and punch him in the face. These days it always seemed to be a tossup between hitting someone or running, and she couldn’t figure out why. Before, she had never been a really violent person, was something happening to her? Was her wolf taking over more? What was going on?! Taking a tight, controlled breath, Storm almost made it out alright, almost.
The problem with not looking at who is around you is that you never know who you are going to run into. With Storm, it was the biggest jerks in campus, and they knew about her fear. And judging by their scents, they were going to take advantage of it.

Not even speaking, they surrounded her, touching, feeling, and laughing. Storm’s eyes widened, fear flashing in them. It was like her reoccurring nightmare, and it made her want to scream. There was no way to run this time, drawing her hands into a fist, the teenager drew back her arm, and before the leader could even blink, slammed her fist into his face, sending him reeling. Seeing her opportunity, she dashed out of the circle, running to the only place she felt safe anymore, despite the hazardous footing; the park. Dashing along the trail, it didn’t take Storm too long to reach the park. Away from the stares, from the people, it felt almost as though nothing had happened. As though she was still the way she had always been. Flopping down on a bench, Storm pulled her knees up around her, burying her face in them for a moment.

How much more of this could she take? She lived a life of fear, that couldn’t be healthy. She couldn’t let her near experience get the better of her, she couldn’t be afraid of guys forever. She couldn’t let this one incident tie her down. But people…they scared Storm now. Horribly, enough to make her rather fail then deal with them, and if you knew anything about Storm, it was that she didn’t fail. It just wasn’t in her. Giving a cough in her elbow, Storm slowly put her knees down, giving a shiver.

At least she was alone in the park. Nobody came here during winter really.
Or so she thought…

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