Chapter 4

4

TANNER

Despite the nightfall shrouding us in darkness, I’m all sorts of attracted to Kovi. He’s been returning all of my flirty signals, and I can’t even remember the last time I’ve played the dating game. There’s something about him that’s so familiar, so homelike, so innate to me. My attraction to him is almost instinctual.

We’ve been chatting for twenty minutes, and it’s as if all the monsters around us have disappeared. Kovi knows so much about the layout and environment of the entire county and beyond.

“And if you stay indoors during the full moon, you should be fine,” he says.

“That’s what I’m afraid of! I barely met any monsters in high school! Now I have to memorize the moon chart?!”

We both crack up. “The school’s official Fangstagram account can inform you. Speaking of…” Kovi whips out his phone. “Do you want my number? That way I can text you all sorts of vital information.”

“Oh really?” I quirk an eyebrow as I plug in my number. “Are you sure you’re not going to contact me for nefarious purposes?”

He sniggers. “Cross my monster heart, I won’t.”

“That’s too bad,” I mutter. I scoot my chair closer to him, and now a few inches separate me from his tantalizing knee. His front is just as sexy as the back I saw earlier in the library. I could reach over and pat his thigh…

“You’re new, and I’m kind of an expert at environmental sci. So I can walk you through it.”

I snort. “Oh, so you’re an expert now? I thought you were a student?”

He laughs. “I’m trying to get my degree. But yes, I’m very well-versed at forestry specifically.”

“What, does the grass talk to you or something?”

“It sure does!” Seth says. We both look up to see him returning with Rachel, Shonda, and another dude in glasses. They all carry lawn chairs, and now we’re in a small sitting circle. We look like the diverse brochure of either a human or monster college. “The grass loves Kovi!”

Kovi smirks while Seth sips his drink. “Love is a strong word. I’m really more of a forestry guy.”

“So, you can tell us all about the monsters that live in the woods?” Shonda asks.

“That would be us,” Seth remarks, and everyone laughs.

I turn around at the trees a few yards away. In the darkness, I swear the branches sway back and forth. They don’t come to life, right? Fear creeps up my spine, and I turn back to the group.

“I can’t wait for the Intro to Monsterkind class,” the dude in glasses states.

“You really like monsters, huh, Owen?” Rachel asks with a snicker.

“I can’t help it! I find the study fascinating! Vampires, n?kks, basilisks…so many!” This dude, Owen, waves his hands around excitedly and nearly loses all of his drink.

I can’t concentrate on him, but instead, gaze at the nearby forest. Glimpses of my waking nightmares intrude on my thoughts; I see visions of sentient branches reaching down to grab my face.

“But tree monsters aren’t around here, are they?” I ask.

Kovi and Seth laugh into their cups, and the others murmur to themselves. “The dean told me tree spirits helped with the landscaping,” Shonda remarks.

My pulse pounds when I turn back to the woods. The dark branches sway, and I hear howling in the distance. Sweat breaks out on my face as flashbacks of branches flying at me resurface in my mind. Turning back around, I chug my drink and rapidly tap my foot. I’m not even listening to what Rachel is saying, I’m thinking of how I can escape back to my dorm.

“You okay, Tanner?” Shonda asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just…” I look around, and the group’s eyes are all on me. “I have this like…phobia. Of specific monsters.”

“Really?” Owen asks.

“Yeah. I mean, during the day, it’s fine, but…” I wave my hand and look down. “Being near all these trees at night…” I shiver and gulp. “I have a phobia of forests. I had this thing happen to me, when I was younger.”

“What makes you fear the forest?” Kovi asks. “If you…don’t mind sharing.” He seems so sincere, and the group genuinely wants to hear my story. This is gonna sound so lame to cool monsters like Kovi and Seth, but the liquor is making my truth resurface.

“Basically, when I was a kid, I played with this other kid in a playground. We were friends and became close. I didn’t even know he was a monster. We didn’t care about differences; I was the poor kid and he was a lonely homeschooled boy.” I take a deep breath, inhaling the smoky scent of burnt firewood. “Anyway, I guess he didn’t have his shifting under control. We got so excited one afternoon, and he became this massive tree monster in front of me.”

“A…dryad?” Kovi whispers.

“Yeah, exactly, a dryad.” I nod at the others, listening intently. “His branches got to me. Stabbed me right here.” I scratch my eyebrow. “There was blood everywhere, which freaked me out as a kid. Fortunately, it didn’t take my eye out. Anyway, since then, I’ve been afraid of big trees.”

Kovi stares at me in horror. Crap, I need to turn this around so Kovi will want to flirt with me again. “But um, I’m fine now! And I have this scar on my face. Some dudes I’ve dated have said it’s sexy,” I joke. Hopefully he’s not too turned off by my shocking past.

I lean to tap Kovi’s shoulder but he darts up. “Was it…Independence Park? Here in Creelin?”

My eyebrows furrow. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

Kovi drops his empty cup and hyperventilates. “What…what was the name of the kid?”

“I don’t remember, why?”

“No fucking way,” Seth murmurs. He looks like I just insulted someone’s mother. “You’re…you’re that human? You’re Kovi’s red-headed human?!”

What’s Seth talking about? I turn to the others, but they seem as perplexed as me. When I look at Kovi, he all but bolts away.

Huh?

I follow him for a few feet and witness him keel over. “Kovi, what―”

“Stay back!” he shouts.

“What?” I ask. Turning around, Seth approaches, looking almost as distressed as me. Fortunately, no one else seems to be paying close attention, with the party still going strong.

“Just stay back, Tanner. Auggh …” He groans on the ground and I take a step forward.

“What’s going on?”

Kovi glances at me, and even in the dark, I can tell his eyes are changing shape.

“I’m…I’m a dryad,” he grunts. My breath hitches. “All those years ago…I’m the dryad who hurt you, Tan. Augh ...”

Kovi groans, and his shadowy form becomes a massive tangle of wood and vines. My darkest fear manifests before my eyes. The wood and splinters I see in my nightmares takes shape in front of me. He’s exactly like the monster that nearly gouged my eye out.

Because he is. Kovi—the freaking dryad I’ve been afraid of my whole life—runs into the forest. All the blood is gone from my face, and my mouth is bone dry. I can’t even move when a hand touches my shoulder.

“Tanner…Tan…” After a moment, I shake my head. That’s right, Seth is next to me.

“What…huh…Kovi’s a dryad?”

“I’m sorry,” he replies, dolefully. “I…didn’t realize you were the kid he knew.” The bass is still booming, other students are laughing and chatting, but it feels like my whole world has turned upside-down.

“He…told you about me?”

Seth shrugs. “He’s my best friend. He gave me the gist.” He scratches his arm and looks away. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to stay at this party. Do you want me to walk you to your dorm?”

I look back at the woods to see some trees rustling. Is it Kovi? Is it the wind? Is it some other creature? I can’t be sure of anything anymore. Destiny scarred me as a kid, and now it’s brought me back to school with the monster who hurt me. Life continues to deal me a shitty hand.

I shake my head and walk back to the bonfire. “No need. I think I remember the path. I’ll just head back myself.”

Seth looks like he wants to argue, but closes his mouth. I bid him goodbye and head for the road that led me here. Once I walk away from the bonfire, I feel like I can breathe again. So much for my first college party, ever. It was fun while it lasted.

Strolling with my hands in my pockets, my memory resurfaces from when I was a kid. Despite the scar and my phobia of forests, befriending that young kid―a young Kovi―was still magical.

(TWELVE YEARS AGO)

“Boom! Pow!” I laugh as this dude, Cody, and I clink our swords to the metal pole. In our imaginations, it’s a giant metal robot. We’re saving the world as magical knights. Of course, the playground is anything we want it to be.

I’ve enjoyed playing with him almost every day for the past three weeks. He may not go to school with me, but he’s for sure my friend.

“You’re no match for us!” I holler.

“You’re no match for the knights of the fabled forest!” he proclaims. I giggle and watch him sway his branch. He always seems to find two massive pieces of wood, perfect for us to play with. And he always wants to hang out with me. He doesn’t care that I can’t afford a cool cell phone or new video games.

I really like Cody.

“I bet there’s more aliens to fight on the edge of that tree!” he says excitedly.

I nod and beam at him. “Race ya there?”

Without a word, we dash off. We run to the far end of the park, farther away from the parents and other kids. Under the shadows of the trees, we slash invisible foes. I wish other kids would play with their imaginations like us. But I have Cody, so I don’t need other friends.

“Boom! Pow!” he says.

“Pow! Slash slash!” I say.

“Let’s do a spin sword move!” he suggests. He begins to spin his body in a circle with his sword sticking out. I laugh and mirror him. After a minute or so of spinning, he falls down, and I follow suit. We’re laughing in the grass like a couple of hyenas. The world around us is still spinning, but it feels like we’re the only ones on Earth.

“That was awesome!” he says through his laughs.

“That was awesome!” I echo. “You’re…you’re awesome. You’re like my favorite person.”

I’m not sure why I said that, but it makes us both calm down.

I look over to Cody and sense the strangest pull toward him. I was always told boys have to like girls, princes rescue princesses, and so on. But this is different; Cody’s the coolest boy I know. He rescued me from loneliness, and I want to treat him like the prince who saved me.

I crawl over to him, leaning near his face as he lies on the grass. He sits up and his smile fades, and now we’re both staring at each other. “You’re the only person who wants to hang out with me. The only one who makes me smile,” I say. “I…like you a lot.”

“I like you, too, Tan,” he murmurs.

I shake my head. “No, I mean…um…” Without overthinking it, I crawl forward. I lean into his face and kiss him, right there on the lips. He doesn’t move at first, but doesn’t back away either.

Then, he moves his mouth. It feels good. Cody massages my lips with his, like he truly wants it. He’s soft, and tastes as sweet as candy and cupcakes. This is my first kiss, and it’s magical.

When I pull back, his face looks shocked. Then, his dark skin turns even darker. No, it’s turning into…wood?

“What the…?” I mutter.

Cody looks down at his hands in horror. Like Pinocchio, his whole body is shifting into a wooden person. Leaves are sprouting from his head and hands.

A woman from a few yards away shrieks, “Monster!” I turn around to see a crowd getting closer to us. When I turn back, Cody is gone. Instead, a giant tree monster is in his place. I try to crawl backward. I’m gonna die, aren’t I?

“Ah!” I yelp.

“No, I’m not a….” it bellows. The branch claws reach forward, and I shut my eyes. My head sears in pain, like I got a booster shot on my face. Something wooden, the monster I think, shoves me and I fall backward.

The next thing I know, grownups and kids surround me. When my hands come up, they’re red. There’s blood all over my palms. An ambulance is ringing from afar. My head throbs. Everyone’s muttering, but all I can see are giant trees floating around me. That’s the last thing I remember before going to sleep.