• Absolute •

][ XXXII ][

"Forget this." Ezra murmured, staring straight into the distracted grizzly's eyes. It moved its heavy head back and forth, looking at something in the trees,  and then back to Ezra with the slow, lethargic movements that every big animal seemed to have.

"What do you mean?" I whispered as I saw it turn its shiny, beady eyes towards me.

"We need to find and fight Lorin - not this beast." Ezra spoke calmly and lowly. "We either need to run from the grizzly, which I doubt - no offence to you - would happen. Or we need to find a quick way to divert it and kill it -"

"Or just leave it alone while we run for our lives?" I offered. I rather not kill anything - besides Lorin.

"Or that." I looked away from the bear and to Ezra. I could see him bending his knees, ever so slowly, switching to a defensive pose.

"Are you planning on tackling it?" I almost yelled. Sure, he was an angel - more human now than angel, but still - I doubt he could tackle a six hundred-pound grizzly bear.

"Nope. I plan on jumping over its head, onto its back - or behind it - and crack its head open with my bare fists." I stared at Ezra, not comprehending his sarcasm. But in my defence, and with a boy like Ezra - an angel like Ezra - who knew what he would do. What he was capable of doing.

"Okay. . ." I drawled out, and jumped as I heard the whoosh as the grizzly breathed out heavily, have gotten closer to us as we had whispered to each other. I saw Ezra smile a closed, secret smile and turned my head back slowly to the bear. It was staring right at me.

Ezra crouched down even further, the spring in his pose, the way all his muscles grew tense and taught in his arms and legs, and the way his eyes narrowed with concentration told me he was ready to jump any second.

"Well, then! This isn't really getting anywhere, us it?" A voice called from within the trees. I recognized it immediately.

"Lorin." I almost growled. So that jerk had set all this up - this whole crazy, stupid scene. But I was distracted from my angry thoughts when the grizzly bear reared backward, standing up on its hind legs, roaring with its gaping blackhole of a mouth. I screamed and fell on my butt, throwing up an arm over my face in a instinctual move. I saw, in all the chaos, Ezra take a step back, staring in shock at the startled bear that threatened to crush him with its giant, clawed paws.

"Ezra!" I screamed, frozen in my fetal pose on the ground. I didn't care if I got crushed, or clawed, or eaten alive, as long as Ezra didn't get turned to dust.

But my scream was futile. Because before I could even finish yelling his name in warning, Ezra had lunged out of the bears way - out of its clawed death trap - and onto me.

His hard body hit mine and I felt all the air escape my lungs instantly. But just as quickly he had fallen on me, Ezra had gotten off of my crumpled body, pulling me up to my legs in the confused daze that I had been sucked into. Without wasting a moment, he began pulling me, his long legs and inhuman grace making him almost fly above the tangled tree roots, underbrush and loose rocks and twigs.

"Ez - Ez -" I panted, while Ezra continued to pull me away from the whoever the bear was now. "Ezra!" I finally screamed and sucked in air as he stopped, turning to look at me.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked, lowering his head to gaze into my wife eyes.

"I'm - I'm tired!" I yelled in his face. "I'm human! I don't have long legs! I'm lazy! I've never ran this fast - this long in my life!"

"Oh. . ." Ezra said shortly. "We needed to get away from that bear - and closer to Lorin without him knowing that we were." He said as he searched my heated, probably pink face. I opened my mouth to reply, to say that I was sorry I shouted at him for saving my life just now, and - in a way - keeping me in shape, but the sudden sound of a twig snapping under someone's weight stopped me.

"See?" Ezra leaned down, his breath tickling my ear as he whispered. "He doesn't even know. He thinks we ran the opposite way." I looked up at Ezra in wonder. How the hell did he manage this! With his superhuman abilities? Or was it because he had planned all this in the split-second chaos? It didn't matter because I was impressed.

"Humph." We both heard the proud, defiant tone of Lorin's voice. He began to chuckle lowly, at our fleeing I suppose. The sound of his slightly deranged laughing got closer and closer as he unknowingly walked closer to us.
This was it. I was going to get him back. And all because of Ezra's quick, clever and impressive capabilities.

"This is it." I whispered and I saw Ezra nod silently beside me, both of us partly hidden by a thick tree. I guess we were going to jump out at him and start beating him up. But then again, I had Ezra: the 'not-so-nice-and-friendly-angel' beside me. I'm pretty sure he would rather jump in front of Lorin and slit his throat before Lorin would even know what was going on.

"Now?" I asked Ezra, a sickly eagerness to hurt Lorin overcoming me. Ezra didn't reply and continued to stare out at a random spot in the forest - the spot that Lorin would emerge from, no doubt.

"Now." He whispered and took my hand as Lorin walked past the two trees that Ezra had been staring at. Now, it was Lorin's time to feel surprised, and deceived. And hurt.

++++++++++

Damn! I know it took me a long time but there you guys go! I hope you liked it!

Raise your hand if your excited to see what hell I unfold upon you in the next chapter!! ;)

Thank you for reading! (˘ ³˘)♥ <--(yes, I know I'm super cool)