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Not good.
I should have turned around and went back to the guys, so we could figure out what the fuck this new bullshit is. I’m almost positive Garrett will have some idea. The thought helps to calm me slightly, but enough for me to breathe.
Get to the guys. Sounds simple enough, right?
I turn slowly, careful not to alert any lurkers in the woods to my presence.
Once, twice, three times, I spin in place before stopping, forced to accept that there’s nothing here.
Whatever that sparkly stuff was that lined the ring at the park is missing. In fact, there’s no light anywhere, no sign of the ring or the floating flames.
Shit, those little fuckers tricked me.
With a start, I realize how limited my vision really is right now. I don’t have night vision that’s as good as the guys', but right now, I’m lucky if I see more than a few feet in front of me. I reach out to my beast, searching for her presence, and find nothing.
If I wasn’t panicking before, I sure as hell am now. I’ve never not been able to feel her. She’s just there, like a part of me.
A crack in the distance pulls me from my panic, and I stumble over a stick, almost falling on my ass.
Shit, if I don’t get it together, I could very well die out here, and I’ll be damned if I go out like every girl in the horror movies. Beast or not, I know better than that, and I know how to handle myself.
A strong wind blows, whipping my hair into my face, and I thank the gods I always have a hair tie on me as I throw it all up into a messy bun to keep it out of my way. Does it look good? Probably not, but I’m more interested in the ability to see what might try to kill me than how it looks right now.
As soon as my vision clears, I spin around again, making sure nothing snuck up on me while I was blinded.
I’m not dumb enough to think a forest like this would be safe. Predators are everywhere in every shape and size, even in the city, and this place is nothing like that.
I expect some kind of animal, but what I didn’t expect to find is a man standing behind me, still as a statue, just inside the tree line. I open my mouth to scream, but my panic grips me, and no sound comes out.
I’m not sure if that’s more or less embarrassing.
“Fuck, you scared the hell out of me,” I snap when my voice returns, pressing my hand over my chest to stop my heart from attempting to beat out of it.
“Who just creeps up on people in the middle of the woods like that?” I ask aloud as he stands deadly still. Creeping is definitely the right way to describe it. He’s hidden by so much shadow that I can’t even make out his face or really anything about him. All I can tell for sure is he’s huge, probably close to seven feet tall, and decently built. I imagine he could easily take down any of these trees with his bare hands.
“Who just wanders around the woods in the middle of the night?” he shoots back without missing a beat, making me pause. For some reason, I hadn’t imagined he would talk to me, much less with an attitude. Honestly, I half expected him to be a figment of my imagination, born from my panic or some other crazy thing to add to my already crazy life.
He has a point, but I’ll be damned if I admit that to him. Not to mention, I didn’t exactly choose to be here. I mean, I followed the stupid flame things, but I wasn’t expecting them to drop me here or anywhere if I’m honest.
I’m pretty sure there’s a lesson to be learned in all of this. One, I’m sure Lyle will have no problem explaining to me, in detail when I get back home.
If I get back home.
Nope.
Not going there. I’ll definitely get back. Maybe I can get creepy shadow man to help me.
“I wasn’t wandering. I’m not stupid enough to venture into the woods at night alone,” I tell him, purposefully leaving out how I ended up here. He doesn’t need to know that’s exactly what I did.
“I’m lost,” I admit because, as much as I don’t want to, I understand he might be my only shot out of here. Given what else could be hiding in the dark, I much prefer my chances with the enemy I can see.
“You’re not from here,” he says, and it’s not a question.
How does he know that?
“I never said that,” I tell him, standing up straighter and preparing to run if I have to. I might not be able to see his face, but I don’t need to. I know he’s a predator. Everything about him screams dominance.
“You didn’t have to. Your clothes aren’t from here,” he tells me, causing me to look down at myself. I don’t see anything wrong, other than the fact that I’m in sleep clothes, but even then, it’s an oversized tee shirt and shorts.
