Midnight Academy. Born at midnight - стр. 7

“Mom…” I wanted to apologize for the mistrust.

But she exhaled sharply, straightened up and interrupted me:

“Sally, this can’t go on any longer.” We need to hide you so that he can't get to you. I swear I didn't mean to bring you into this. I didn't think you'd spend your first eighteen years on the run. I wanted an ordinary life for you, like I once had. – Stroking my cheek with her palm, she smiled through her tears. “As long as you’re around, I can’t deal with him, because I’ll never forgive myself if I put you in danger.”

– Mom, you speak in riddles. “I don’t understand anything,” I admitted, but tears stood as a veil in my eyes.

Exhaling loudly again, as if she had gained determination, she started the car.

– Go. I'll tell you something on the way. For starters…” she taxied back onto the highway leading to Ashwool. – You should know that our world has another – the Dark Side.

Silence. It was cold, like water in a barrel that had stood outside the country house all winter. She was tense – my nails dug into the flesh of my palms to the point of palpable pain, while I waited for the end of the conversation that was happening without my participation on the other side of the wall. It drove me crazy, because the unknown is the worst creation of our imperfect world.

Out of the corner of my eye, noticing some movement on the dark, porous floor tiles, I suddenly jumped up and froze in horror. My lips immediately dried up at the sight of a disgusting white spider, which confidently moved all its legs, clearly intending to stroll past me.

Or maybe to me! It was impossible to predict his desires from his beady black eyes. But I knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to cross paths with this individual the size of my fist under any pretext.

Because I was terribly afraid of spiders. To the point of muteness. Until loss of consciousness. As a child, this was my biggest fear. The babayka, the brownie and the under-bed monster weren’t even close to them.

But this is in childhood. A large amount of free time and almost unlimited access to any literature through an e-book played a role. Using various methods, I was able to slightly reduce the degree of my relationship with these multi-legged creatures. Now I perceived them much easier. But if there was an option not to be in the same room with them, I did everything to get rid of these monsters.

Because to preserve the psyche of both of us, we should have stayed away from each other.

In one leap, I moved to the window, I opened it by touch, without taking my gaze off this big-eyed one. A light breeze with a pleasant evening coolness stroked my face and ruffled my hair, but I didn’t even think about wasting time getting myself in order.

Instead, she blocked the white furry man’s path, decisively and boldly placing her foot in his way.

Stopping abruptly, he looked at me as if with incomprehension, rising slightly on his front paws with indignation. I looked this way and that.

I tried my best to keep my cool.

In the end, probably considering me inadequate, the spider chose a workaround.

But stubbornness is my second self. This corridor is too small for the two of us and my great fear.

Take a deep breath, exhale slowly. Carefully grabbing the furry one by his disgusting body with my fingers, I instantly sat him down on the metal frame outside the window and slammed the shutter, locking it tightly.