2
Him
I groaned and rolled onto my back, my injuries making that small task difficult. Above me, the inky black canopy of a forest cut sharp edges against a star filled sky. It was like staring into an ocean of sparkling stones. The moon was so full the pine needles of the tallest trees were visible against its glowing shape. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw a sky like this. I couldn’t remember anything. Alarm seized me.
Time was running out. But for what? The sense of urgency pumped energy into my system. It kept me awake when all I wanted to do was succumb to the cold and the pain and sink into unconscious peace.
I tested out a deep breath out; it hung in the air above me like a little cloud. It was cold. Very cold. The cold wouldn’t normally bother me, but this form was weak. Shivers racked my body, causing me to wince and convulse. A broken rib perhaps? My head throbbed in ways I’d never experienced before. Something that felt like dried blood cracked on my skin as my face contorted.
What did I remember? Running through a forest. Getting close to answers. Then two bright lights . . . pain all over. Darkness.
There was more. It sat right outside the periphery of my mind. Reminding me to hurry. Get up.Move. I was forgetting something important. Very important. That I was running out of time. I needed to help the team. I needed to do . . . something. But when I tried to think harder, the shooting pain in my head only sharpened. My heart thrummed against my chest in panic; my body shook.
Easy now,I told myself and stared up at the sky as I steadied my breathing. Just watching the dancing stars soothed the fear that threatened.
I’m not sure how long I laid there floating in and out of consciousness, my mind tripping through the stars. It wasn’t until a twig cracked nearby I came to a sharp awareness.
Loud footsteps crunching through underbrush. Nearby. Less than ten feet away. And muttering? Cursing? A woman. My feet scrambled to push me out of her path but the pain was so sharp I winced out a gasp instead.
The footsteps and grumbling ceased immediately.
“Hello?” A high voice called out. “I have a shotgun and a short fuse and would love to shoot someone tonight. Just test me.”
I closed my eyes and focused. Maybe if I lay still enough she wouldn’t find me—
“Oh, shit. Oh shit, oh shit,” came her high-pitched and panicked voice from above me.
Welp, she found me.
I lay perfectly still, not wanting to frighten her. I peeked my eyes open to see my savior. With the glowing moon haloing her, she looked like an angel. If I could have taken in a deep breath, she would have taken it away with her beauty. Something deep in me reacted to her. Something that I didn’t have time to explore. I had been warned about the women here, about how they could confuse and wile us if we didn’t take proper precautions. I would not be sidetracked from my mission.
Whatever that mission may be.
I knew what she’d see looking down at me in the white light of the full moon: a full-grown man, unconscious and completely naked.
