Chapter 1
A week later…
The nightmares don't stop. Every night, the person running with me is different… Last night it was Dad. I've never been more scared in my life… the eyes, the dark fur, the claws stained with fresh blood… it's all still there, in my mind, throughout the day…
"Penny…" I blinked a few times, hearing my brother beside me.
"Hmm? Oh, hey Will," I mumbled, trying to sound cheerful. Honestly, I felt like throwing up…
"Mum has been calling you for the last 5 minutes," He huffed, his red hair ruffled up.
"Oh. Sorry, I-I'll go now…" I placed the dirty plate beside the sink and walked slowly towards the door.
My long black hair flowed behind me as I came outside. The wind was strong, so strong that the robot was barely able to stand up, let alone me. I could see Mum and Judy doing their best to keep the chariot from blowing over, so I quickly ran over and pulled against the door.
"How do you expect me to keep this thing from falling?" I yelled, my voice nearly drowned out by the howling storm.
"Just… bear with," Judy gritted her teeth, getting into the driver's seat and starting the engine.
Mum and I guided the vehicle to the side of the Jupiter, where it could be protected from the wind trying to knock it over. I vaguely heard the robot yell danger, until I turned around. Giant red eyes peered down at me from the top of the Jupiter. They were attached to a muscular, intimidating body, and the scales on its back swayed violently in the wind. The entity's teeth gleamed a ghostly white and its claws raked across the Jupiter's roof. Its slender tail swayed a little, and its hackles bristled furiously. My vision blurred a little, and I rubbed my eyes, but the entity had gone. I was left, alone, laying beside the chariot.
I realised the wind was dying down now, and my hair no longer swayed swiftly, just lay against my back. I reached for the Chariot's handle, pulling myself up. Blowing the hair from my face, I walked back inside, ever so often looking over my shoulder.
"It seems the storm is passing…" I heard dad talking to mum from the cockpit. I remained just outside the door, hidden.
"Have you noticed Penny acting… strange, you know, recently?" my heart stopped when I heard my name.
"She's woken up screaming almost every night now," mum added.
"She doesn't eat much at dinner either. You don't suppose she's unwell, do you?" dad replied, worry quivering in her voice.
"Maybe she's having an allergic reaction to the atmosphere," mum agreed, "or to something she may have picked up on one of her explorations she does beside the river…"
"Then why is she screaming every night?" dad returned to the first point, "It's highly unlike her to be secretive. I ask her what's wrong and she just ignores me."
Not wanting to listen anymore, I jogged back towards my room, passing Don on the way. He glanced at me, concerned, and began following me. So, to stop him from bothering me, I closed the curtain, a sign to everyone that I didn't want to be bothered. And for a while, it stayed like that. Of course, parents tend to be nosy, and at that very moment the curtain opened and in came dad.
"Hey kid. What's up?" he was acting happy. Trying to cheer me up.
"Nothing much…" I mumbled. His mood dropped a bit, I could tell by his sudden body language change.
"Do you want to talk about anything?" he asked slowly and cautiously. I just turned and stared at him.
"No,"
"Are you sure?" his facial expression was moulded with worry.
"I'm fine," I grumbled, starting to get a little irritated. Dad raised his eyebrow, then sighed with frustration.
"Penny listen, I am your father. You can tell me anything. Are you ill? Why do you keep screaming at night? Has anyone hurt you?" his questions bugged me so much that I just got up and left, despite his protests.
In all honesty, I had no idea what the answer was to the first two questions, although the last was a no… or does the entity count as 'hurting' me? It hasn't physically done anything to me except in my dreams… And it seems only I can see it… Or… maybe not…