I don’t know how long I’ve been running. I can’t hear them anymore, but I can‘t get the images of blood out of my head. They just came out of nowhere. One of them told me to run so I did.
They just started tearing each other apart. They were growling and snarling at each other. Biting and scratching.
A stick snaps behind me; starling me from the flashbacks.
I spin around. “Who’s there?” What if they want to finish me off?
There’s no answer. There’s no one there.
I turn around slowly and scream when I see one of the men standing in front of me. I look around in panic, trying to find something I can use against him. What are the chances he caught me in the cleanest clearing in the world?
It is then that I notice that he is completely naked. In the light of the full moon I can see that he’s a freakin’ god! I swear I can see every single muscle in his body. My eyes drop down to his stomach just in time to see a huge gash heal over, not even leaving a scar as proof of the wound. I stare at his tan skin. Did I imagine the cut? No! It was there!
“Are you okay?” he asks in a voice like thunder.
His emerald green eyes are boring into mine. How can a man capable of causing such damage to another person have eyes so bright and beautiful?
“Are you okay?”He tries again. I shake myself out of my trance. You just saw this man almost tear someone apart, why aren’t you running?
“I think so.” Run, you idiot! Run! “What are you?” Yes, because asking questions like that and sounding like a scared five-year-old while you’re at it, isn’t going to get you killed. I drop my eyes so I’m not looking into his. Bad idea! My eyes snap back up and I try not to look down again.
He notices the movement and laughs. I can feel my face heating up.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He’s managed to at least pretend he isn’t laughing at me. “Do you know your way home from from here?”
I look around for a landmark. There’s nothing here I recognise. I shake my head, “No.”
“Alright, keep going that way” – he points behind him – “and you’ll come to a river.”
I nod.
“Follow that river up steam for about half a mile and you’ll come to a bridge. Turn left at the bridge and follow the road, it’ll take you to town.”
He starts walking away from me. Suddenly, I don’t want him to go.
“Wait!” He turns around. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Ukkonen.”
“I’m Marie.”
“Nice to meet you, Marie.” He says my name like he’s testing how it sounds.
He starts walking away again and I can’t think of a reason for him to stay. Well, besides the fact that I‘m standing alone in the middle of the woods with only the word of a naked, hot but make, lunatic for a way out. But I don’t really think I’ll be safer with the lunatic.
I shake myself out of it and follow his directions.
The river and the bridge are where Ukkonen said they’d be.
I turn left and see something move in the tree-line.
“Ukkonen? Is that you?”
No answer.
“Hello?”
Still no answer. I start walking in the direction Ukkonen told me, but I keep my eyes glued to the tree-line.
After a few minutes my heart decides to beat normally again and it’s actually quite boring, walking along beside the road. The ‘road’ is a dirt track wide enough for only about one car.
I hear the gravel crunching behind me so I turn to see if I would be able to get a ride with them. I smile at the sight behind me. It’s a huge, old green truck. Well I think it’s used to be green, it’s mainly rust now. The truck stops and my best friend gets out.
“Marie! Where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Most people think that Toby and I are dating, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
We met when we were about four and have been inseparable ever since. He’s the twin I never had. Toby’s hotish in that geeky way. His dark brown hair sort of sweeps across his forehead in a less-gay-Harry-Styles sort of way. He is majorly short sighted, meaning without his glasses he can’t see his hand in front of his face, but after this long he doesn’t really look right without his glasses. His muscles aren’t huge like Ukkonen’s but they’re still there and you would be surprised by how strong he really is. Even at 26, he still gets carded at clubs. Although I don’t think the beanie he wears all the time really helps with that, but it does suit him.
“I lost the others, so I tried to find them and I got lost.” I explain to him.
Toby starts checking me over for any injuries.
“I’m fine, I swear.”
I think my response satisfies him because he brightens up a bit. “Come on, the game ended an hour ago and I want pancakes.” I grin at that thought. The only place open at 2 in the morning that sells pancakes is Mama’s Cafe. They make the best pancakes in the world.
“Do you think Joey’s working tonight.......today.....now?” Toby asks as we start driving back to town. Something I forgot to mention about Toby is that not only is he bi, he’s got a major crush on one of the waiters at Mama’s. By ‘crush’ I mean he just stares at the poor guy and doesn’t have the balls to talk to him. Toby doesn’t believe me but Joey is head over heels in love with him.
“Are you going to talk to him if he is?” He goes bright red.
“What if he doesn’t like me?”
“Toby, I love you, you know I do, and it is because I love you that I am going to tell you this.” I say gently. “Grow a pair and talk to him!” I’m not so gentle anymore. “The reason he always catches you watching him is because he’s checking you out. He doesn’t have the balls to talk so you have to.” I punch him in the arm.
“But....”
“No. No buts. You’re talking to him even if I have to lock you two in a room and throw away the key.”
As it turns out Joey doesn’t work Friday nights, so Toby and I just got a booth and ate more pancakes than we probably should have. After leaving a generous tip for the poor waitress who looked like she was asleep on her feet, we drove home. I didn’t mention the fight or Ukkonen to Toby in case he over reacted and got the police involved. I know that I should tell the police what I saw, but for some reason I don’t think the police could have done much about it.
Toby and I get home and pretty much go straight to our room.
“Night, Tob,” I call as I walk into my room.
“Night, Fluffy.” One day I’m going to outlive that name. Probably not. I smile as I close the door.
I fall asleep with less than honourable thoughts about the naked man in the woods running through my head.
