A VERY DARK tale (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 38

"You too," I snapped back shoving the pack of dry food back into the pocket.

In the big compartment of my backpack, I found my winter jacket that I wore in New York. Swiftly I pushed my arms into the sleeves and using the backpack for a pillow laid down on the ground.

The Good thing was that it didn't rain recently, and the ground was dry. I tightened the jacket around me and began staring into the night forest. There wasn't much to look at. The night dressed everything in one deep dark brown color. The trees, the soil, the grass — all was merged into one living substance. On the background, I was still hearing Oengus grumbling, but soon even that became a distant whisper.

I flipped onto my back and fixed my gaze at a starry sky. The stars were twinkling, winking at me cheerfully, though of course, I couldn't find anything cheerful about that. The atmosphere was different. Something ominous was floating up in the air making the winking of starts look mocking.

The trail of my thoughts got cut off by overwhelming peacefulness. I didn't even notice how everything faded into oblivion. My consciousness was drifting in the blackness until a strange feeling paralyzed me from inside out and my eyes flew open. I turned my head to look at Oengus, finding him sitting next to me wide-awake. His face was hard and gaze directed ahead of him into the forest. The Sunrise was an hour away, but the darkness began graying, making the majority of the surrounding distinctive. I sat up straight and started looking in the same direction as him.

The noises of night animals and the shuffle of leaves in the wind seemed like sucked into a vacuum. All was too quiet. As quiet as I remember it to be. And my skin was prickling with awareness. The thickening emptiness confirmed my suspicious.

"They are here," I said in a whisper.

"About thirty or so," he replied under his breath reaching for his travel bag.

I followed his example, blindly finding my backpack and dragging it towards me. Softly, I placed the straps on my shoulders while watching Oengus opening the zipper of his bag. Inside was a big stack of cash and three guns that were carelessly lying on top of money. He grabbed all three throwing me one and zipped the bag. A long strap that was attached to his travel bag he pulled over his head and rested the bag on his shoulder behind his back. I looked around to make sure that we took everything and slowly rose to my feet.

My skin was vibrating with electricity. I scanned the area for a nice thick three and finding it just in a few feet away urged Oengus to follow me.

"Stay with you back to the tree," I told him. "I'll be right in front of you."

"How heroic of you," he muttered sarcastically but did as I say heading towards the tree.

"Yes, indeed. Make sure not to get hit. I can deal with the defense, but once you're out...we both are." I followed him stepping carefully on the leafy ground.

"You need to grow another twenty inches for me to stay comfortably behind," he said leaning on the tree slightly bending his body to shrink himself to fit behind me. My lips twitched in a faint smirk, finding his remark funny.

"Happy hiding," I said and turned around setting my stare at the dark gray vegetation ahead of me. "Oh yes," I whispered knowing that he could hear me. "Try not to touch me and thanks for the gun." I removed the safety and put my finger on the trigger. I didn't have long practice at shooting, this was my first time holding a real firing gun in my hand, but I grasped the idea of how to use it. Moreover, had all the personal skills that allowed me to press the trigger without batting a lash.

Behind me, I heard two clicks and in a second two handguns appeared near my head, sticking over my shoulder just a few inches of my personal space that was electrified with burning sensation of danger.