"I thought it was just shoes and sushi..." The gyoza is set in front of us, I attack the first crispy dumpling.
"It's a surprise, one I think you'll enjoy."
"Okay." The tether answers, not me, but I roll with it.
"Okay?"
"Okay."
"Ready?" He shoves out his elbow and I slide my hand between the bend. My bug sits on the side of the road, the estate line now behind us. He demanded we stop before sunset and with him having the keys I didn't have much of choice.
"I suppose. Is this where you kill me?"
"I couldn't harm you even if I wanted to." He retorts guiding me through the forest. Fear starts to take over, my heart hammering deep in my chest. Most nights I avoid this darkness severely terrified by what could be lurking, "Don't worry love, night vision remember."
He taps the side of his temple in a mocking tone, but it doesn't settle me, "Can we try to be back before sunset?"
"Then we better hurry."
Our footsteps pick up pace each one cracking the fallen sticks beneath. Levi seems very at peace with the forest, the dwellers spending more time in the green than most. Now it all makes sense and why that might be the case.
We stop at a cliff overlooking a beautiful crystal lake. It's a straight stretch down, nothing blocking the path and small fish can be seen swimming through the reflective water. The greenery of the tree's hands over the edge, a wall of vinery closing it off from the rest of the work. I hold in my breath afraid to disturb the true peace that sits in the place, only a boulder dead in the middle of the water to break the tranquility of the surface.
"What do you think?"
Pink and white flowers line the edges as well, signs of spring sprouting up wherever it can, "It's beautiful Levi."
"Yeah, it is." I turn to look at him, but he's staring at me already.
"Thanks for showing me this."
"This isn't the only reason I brought you here." He lets me go stepping back into the flat land of the forest. I stay near the edge looking over the lake, "It's time I showed you the wolf."
My body stills, thoughts smashing the front of my head like a car hitting a tree, "Levi..."
"He won't hurt you, Cherry. I swear on my life." And for some reason, that means something to me.
"Okay."
He rolls his shoulders, bones cracking as he get comfortable, "And whatever you do, don't run. Wolves love the chase."
I stay quiet watching him, he meets my eyes one more time before his body starts to snap. My hands fly to mouth, arms cracking in half, legs shooting backwards. I watch the hair sprout over his body, muscles swelling over his shoulders and down his back. He smiles viciously, teeth elongating from his gums, jaw snapping away from his skill to grow. I'm going to puke.
He keep cracking, breaking, moving. Every part of his body changes in a way I hadn't expected, the only thing staying the same being his beautiful eyes. The hair has come in fully now, less than a minute has passed. His body size is now double mine and on all fours. The wolf steps forward, the human eyes trailing over my shaking figure. I take a step back momentarily forgetting where I chose to stand.
The air surrounds me as I fall, only the calloused hands of another wrapping around the back of my hips and neck there to stop me from the blistering pain of hitting the water head on. I scream, the body above me dropping further under the water, its weight helping it get closer to me. My head falls back, my mouth moving up only to meet another's.
Whether it's the water or the world, everything around me slows, only the lips of my captor bringing me back to reality as we sink into the lake's abyss.
.
.
.
.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
