The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,24
and half fell off its hinges. Connor could see a dark shape on the other side but it was too hard to tell what it was with the blinding light that swept through the door.
“Who am I?” he screamed.
The door gave way to splinters and exploded from within as the dark shape bounded through the door and straight at Connor.
“Now you are ready for the truth.” The voice sounded pleased with itself.
The last thing Connor remembered before he woke up was two red eyes belonging to a large black shape sprinting toward him.
Connor knew he couldn’t ignore all the questions anymore, he needed to get to the truth. There was a lot more going on than he wanted to admit but this was getting ridiculous. He resolved that morning to sit down and talk with his mother about his dreams and see if she could shed any light on the situation. If that failed, he could always call Laren. He wasn’t sure exactly what she knew, but she knew something. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a nightmare, then Laren showed up and he was averaging one every other night.
He knew a run wouldn’t be enough to work off his frustration, not after his most recent dream. He threw his gym bag in the truck, then grabbed a box of Fruit Loops and headed for his old high school. Although he was a recent graduate, Connor’s coaches had given him access to the school gym. Many of them looked at him as a son and admired his work ethic and natural ability as an athlete.
Clouds covered the sky and threatened rain. Connor ignored this, and within minutes was pulling into the school parking lot. Heading straight for the lockers, he was changed and in the weight room in record time. Connor checked the summer class schedule posted on the door. The next class wasn’t scheduled until later on that afternoon. For now, Connor had the gym to himself.
Rows upon rows of weights, treadmills and workout machines lined the building’s walls. The familiar smell of sweat made Connor smile. He was at home, a place where he could be himself.
Pushing, lifting, pulling, he went through his normal routine, but increased the weight every rep. He channeled his feelings, the anger he felt at waiting so long to try and figure things out. Questions he should have tried to answer before, not just about Laren, but about himself, about who he really was, about his father.
He strained against the bench press and it felt his anger over Katie leaving him. He curled a weight on the barbells he never had before for the confusion he felt about Laren. He got on the stationary bike and peddled until he couldn’t feel his legs, taking out his anger about his father and why he had been so complacent all these years, and just let it go. The whole time he was at the gym, the rage was with him, the urge inside of him was forcing his body to go on when it had no reason. Connor lost himself once again and reveled in this inner force.
Two hours had passed before Connor looked at the time. Every muscle in his body yearned for rest and begged him for a break. Connor was drenched again, but he felt better. He would get answers today one way or the other. Exiting the building, he made the journey home. Like most days, his mother was already gone tending to the store. He let himself in, almost robotically ran through the motions of showering and dressing. Today he decided on jeans, his Converse and a white shirt, laughing to himself when he realized the outfit he picked was the same one he had seen his statue wear in his dream the previous night.
He was interrupted by the familiar jingle of his ringtone. It was his mother calling. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hey, honey, did I wake you?”
“Nope. Already been to the gym and back, and now I’m headed to see you.”
“Oh good. Can you do me a favor? Mrs. Hayes is complaining about her delivery yesterday. She said we brought the wrong product over or there was a mix up; to be honest it was hard understanding her.”
“I know what you mean. I can head over to her house on my way to the store. It’s not that far out of the way.”