I was falling.
Rather, I was tumbling through the air heading downward with no sign of stopping.
My body twirled and flipped in the air, leaving me breathless from every turn and sharp twist I made. The air slapped at my cheeks, tossing me almost violently as I descended.
I could feel sharp needles of pain dance over my skin as rain met my exposed flesh from every angle. The wind forcefully tugged my hair back with invisible fists, tearing my glasses from my face and sending them off into the darkness. This was far more vivid than any dream I'd ever had before.
Wake up already!
I crashed.
The impact was painful, and likely to have at least broken a few of my bones. My eyes snapped open, to gaze upon a nearly blackened stormy sky before water rushed in around me, encasing me in darkness. A terrifying suffocating darkness.
The waves rocked around me, pulling at my hair and clothes roughly as it pushed me down further into the unknown. It proceeded in yanking me this way and that, as it rolled over and around itself, with me as its helpless captive.
My arms extended, legs kicking automatically although I had no way of knowing which way was up. The water fought me every inch of the way, until mercifully my fingers were greeted with icy wind.
My mouth opened as my head broke the surface, lungs burning and craving air desperately.Yet water filled my mouth before the air could, overwhelming me as I was pulled back under. Tiny spots danced before my eyes, and my limbs slowed ever so slightly in their struggle.
I'm dreaming... I fell asleep reading about a storm... I'm dreaming...
A numbing sensation was spreading up my legs from my toes. It was uncomfortable, and a distant part of my mind was screaming for me to do something. Anything to make it leave.
Swim... My heart lurched painfully and my body seemed to kick into action once more, arms stretched up and my legs kicked wildly. They were sore from the struggle of pushing against the waves, and my legs seemed to only assist in dragging me down. Still I pushed. Until soon, I couldn't even find that strength, and slowly my limbs began to halt.
I sank down further, the darkness slowly growing deeper and deeper as my arms and legs abandoned their fight.
Don't you always wake up when you're about to die?
My arms slowly relaxed to float with the rest of my body as my eyes gazed up through the stinging water toward the surface, which seemed to light up at random intervals. Lightning, I realized. It would have been a great help had it appeared seconds ago during my search for air.
An invisible hand seemed to be squeezing my heart, as though testing its strength. Finally I released what little air I had left in my water-filled lungs, allowing my eyes close and the dizzying weight of the water to consume me.
A tight pressure formed around my wrist.
And then I was being tugged, my body as limp as a rag-doll through the water. Something thick and strong slid around my waist, dragging my dead weight through the currents. And for a tiny flash, I felt hope that I was going to survive.
My senses faded.
The scent of honey and lavender touched his senses.
Save her... A familiar voice slid through his mind, soft and feminine.
His eyes were drawn to what looked like a small falling star, twisting and curling about itself as it broke through a layer of storm clouds. It was close, and on a one way path toward the mass of water before them.
It fell slowly, slower than any star he had ever seen. The light surrounding it swirled a striking silver. It lit up the sky and the waves around it, casting such a bright light he could have sworn the sun was up. And then with one last flash, the light vanished just as suddenly as it appeared.
In its wake, a small tumbling figure descended.
A girl? He blinked, following the tumbling path of the long haired figure in the sky.
Save her... A soft whisper, but it sounded more insistent than ever.
"Shit." He yanked his gun from the belt of his jeans and tossed it aside, then easily kicking off his boots before bracing his foot on the railing. The wood groaned in warning.
"Ranger," Ethan began to approach, eyes wide. "what the are you-"
He jumped.
It was freezing, and he nearly shouted upon contact. He forced it to the back of his mind roughly, gritting his teeth as he broke the surface.
His arms worked against the sea, legs kicking strongly as he made it to the surface just in time to see her land with a splash audible even as thunder rolled overhead. He swam faster, eyes trained on the obviously struggling female in the water. The waves seemed almost to be attacking her, curling over her form and pulling her down just before she could get her head up.
In no time he was little than two yards away from where he had seen her land. He glanced about only for a moment before taking in a breath and diving under the surface. His eyes squinted, trying to search in the eerie darkness that surrounded him.
Save her. It was a command this time, and the voice was far more urgent than he had ever heard it.
Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the water around him just long enough for him to see her floating only a few feet to his left. She was closer than he thought.
He swam forward, reaching out blindly in the darkness before wrapping a hand around her wrist and giving a strong tug. She followed, her head nearly colliding with his chin before his other arm slid around her waist.
He kicked hard then, pulling both of them up to the surface with just a bit more struggle than he would have had on his own. The storm showed no sign of calming, but it didn't seem to grow worse and for that he was thankful.
With slight struggle he shifted the girl to his other arm, supporting her head with his shoulder to keep her nose and mouth out of the water. And then he began to kick again, using his free arm to assist in dragging them through the currents.
Already his muscles began to burn and ache with the strain of carrying more than his own weight. His eyes searched for the pier and landed on it in seconds, his legs already kicking toward the direction. It was closer than he thought it would have been, and it seemed luck would remain on his side for the moment.
And thankfully it seemed Ethan was on his side as well.
The man in question was on the end of the dock, a long rope swinging from his hands. It was likely it came from one of the many small boats tied up nearby. Ranger continued to swim closer even as his muscles protested. Soon he glanced up once more, only to see the rope sailing through the air plop not a foot away in the rolling waves. He almost sighed in relief.
He grabbed it quickly before it could sink, pulling closer to wrap it around his arm and give a firm tug. With Ethan's help, he towed the girl toward the wooden ladder hanging from the dock. And the moment he was able to hold on to one of the lower steps, Ethan was reaching down to offer his help.
His eyes had softened considerably upon seeing the obviously injured girl, but the worry for his friend clearly prevailed as his mouth opened.
"What-"
"Shut up and help me." Ranger cut him off, lifting the girl up the best he could manage as the waves continued to try and drag him back out to sea. Ethan nodded, although the look in his eyes said their conversation from earlier was far from over. Grasping her arm, he easily lifted her onto the old wood structure. Ranger followed close behind, shaking the water out of his eyes.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Ethan spoke the moment his feet hit (somewhat) sturdy ground. Ranger looked up, frowning as he met his friends eyes. He was once more enraged, but the same amount of worry was hidden in his gaze.
Ranger shot him a glance as he rolled the tiny female onto her back, moving wet clumps of hair away from her neck and mouth. His ear hovered over her mouth while he watched for any sign of movement of her chest. He felt no breath, nor saw any sign of movement.
One hand met her forehead, and the other tilted her chin back. His lips met hers, and for a moment he noticed just how cold and clammy she felt, before he blew two full breaths into her mouth.
His hands placed themselves at the center of her chest, steadily counting compressions as he watched her for signs of reaction.
Her body jerked forward by the 12th compression. He leaned back just in time to catch a glimpse of grey-blue hues before her body snapped to the side and an awful retching sound escaped her.
My eyes shot open, a horrible feeling rising suddenly up from my chest. In a split second I went from my back and over to my side, body heaving as water expelled itself from my lungs rapidly. My eyes stung behind my eyelids, and my lungs seemed to barely be functioning properly. They burned and ached, struggling to take in oxygen as I coughed up torrents of water.
My muscles screamed in protest as my hands braced themselves on the ground for stabilization.I could feel something on my arm, and then something in my hair. A small sharp tug near my left temple had me yelping, despite how breathless I was, and how much everything else hurt.
"Calm." A voice whispered suddenly into my ear, deep and rough against my senses. My body tensed. A delightful shiver ran up and down my spine, forming goosebumps on the back of my neck. My mouth opened, and then closed without a sound. I could vaguely feel a hand on my back, keeping me steady as my body began to tremble.
"She's in shock." The voice spoke once more, though the words were no longer directed towards me.
"Did you see how far she fell... she should be dead Ranger..." A second voice said, wavering slightly.
Ranger..?
"Who are you?" The first voice spoke, closer now. A reflexive blush raced to my cheeks as I felt a warm brush of air on my cheek.
I attempted to answer, but no words were able to escape my lips even as they parted.
My mind wavered, focusing first on their voices and then on the chill settling in on my body. The clothes I wore were completely soaked through, clinging uncomfortably to my frame in the most awkward ways. The sound of crashing waves registered in the back of my mind, but my chattering teeth drowned it out.
"She needs help."
Vaguely I could feel a pair of arms slide under my neck and behind my knees before the ground vanished.
It felt as though a band was wrapped around my skull, squeezing it tighter and tighter the longer I stayed conscious.
"But what if she's-"The hold tightened.
"She needs help."
This time, I welcomed the darkness.
A pale skeletal finger trailed over the glass of the windowpane, leaving a small trail of clarity through the dust spread over the smooth surface.
Not a few feet away, a figure knelt; unwillingly bound to the floor by a series of thick chains tightened around his muscular frame. And though his face was shrouded by shadows, the glint of canine like teeth broke through the darkness. His lips pulled back into a vicious snarl, though no sound escaped aside from his rapid breaths.
"You've failed me..." The figure by the window spoke; his voice was somewhat airy and distinctly male. He continued to trail his finger over the window, creating various swirls and connecting lines. His actions seemed lazy, but to anyone whom had heard of him it would be an obvious sign for the pain to come.
"I did as I was told." The words were snarled through clenched teeth, this time by a far deeper male voice. The man chained to the floor.
"And yet you failed." The reply came out as a sigh, and the skeletal figure turned to face the growling male. "Why would that be?"
The man on the ground shifted, raising his head to allow the faint light drifting in from an outside street lamp to illuminate half of his face. Yet all that could be focused on was the slight elongation of his jaw, and the pearly white teeth snapping around every spoken word.
"Ranger and Ethan. They killed my men."
"Ah... Your mutts..." The lanky man sighed, looking back toward the window and to the darkened street below. No cars, or pedestrians could be seen at this time of night. But he still seemed inclined to look, almost as though expecting someone.
"It seems I now have no further use for you..."
These words had a look of slight panic flashing across the mans face, and he straightened himself worriedly despite the pull of the chains on his wrists and neck.
"Wait! Wait I... I know more."
"And?" The words were said with disinterest, though the hesitation gave the werewolf hope for survival. Even as small as it might be.
"A light," He struggled to speak as the chains tightened around his throat, yet he still persisted. "I saw it. It fell from the sky not far from the warehouse after it burned. They saw it too. It was a person."
The cloaked man froze for a fraction of a second. Just long enough for hope to blossom into a flower inside of the wolf's chest like a blooming flower. The cloaked man was not one to hesitate, or show emotion of any sort.
And so he continued.
"I followed. But they were there. I swear, it was a person. Ranger and Ethan took them. I could track them; I could-"
The faceless man rose his hand, making a slight beckoning motion with his index finger. The action had the man on the ground furrowing his brow in confusion. He couldn't move, not chained as he was. So who-
Hands cupped his head from behind, and with a clean twist his neck was snapped and his body left to slump lifelessly to the floor. The executioner stood not a foot away, brushing his hands off as though having dirtied them with such an action. And though the man laying dead on the floor had indeed been large, this man was a mountain in comparison.
Intimidating, yet still under the control of the nearly fragile looking man by the window.
This was only proven further as he knelt to the ground, placing both fists knuckle down to the wood as he bowed his head. A sign of submission, though it was clear he was not in his nature submissive by the tremble in his shoulders and the obvious grinding of his teeth.
"So annoying... He was a rather awful general, even you must admit." The faceless man sighed, not sparing a glance away from the streets below as he spoke. And this time, his voice was hard and commanding. And it seemed to effect the man behind him almost physically, resulting in his large frame to tremble with muscles that refused to relax until the command was complete.
"Find me the best tracker available. Werewolf, Vampire, Witch... I don't care who. But find them fast. It seems He has added one more player to the game..."