Chapter 4
An invitation
I whipped my head around, green eyes wide with terror, and when I saw who the strange voice belonged to, my heart sunk even further, all the way to the worn soles of my converse.
He was taller and burlier up close, and I could even the catch a whiff of the musty scent that wafted off of his dark, thick clothing.
But more importantly...he was real.
It wasn't a dream.
It wasn't something I had made up. It wasn't all a figment of my imagination. All of it. The colorful forest. The bone chilling chase. And finally, whatever had happened in that stream, was one hundred percent real.
I think I'd preferred to be crazy or hallucinating.
It felt like my world was twisted sideways and I still had no answers as to why, how, or what that day was even all about. Yet there he was, standing before me, no longer just a memory that made me second guess my sanity. The mysterious stranger who I'd drawn in a frantic haze last night, leaning casually against the brick wall of an old crumbling school building like it was just a nice calm sunday afternoon.
As he picked at his nails with an air of haughtiness, I studied him thoughtfully, comparing him as he was before me, to my drawing interpretation of him. And I had to say, there was something about his demeanor that I had captured perfectly in the hasty sketch. Strong, courageous, and a bit overconfident.
He reminded me much of a panther. Something about the lean to his hips, his huge, muscular arms and legs, dark, feline face, and intense golden eyes made me assume no one would even think twice about getting into a fight with him if they ran into him on the street.
His lips formed into a smirk again, and I was so busy taking in his appearance I almost missed what he'd smugly said as he glanced up from his hands.
"I know I'm nice to look at, but I figured even someone like you would know better than to stare."
My head snapped back, and my look of pure bewilderment melted into a scowl.
What the hell does that mean, 'someone like me'? And where do you get off talking to me like that? I felt like asking, and opened my mouth to do so, but the words got caught somewhere in between my mind and my lips, and I was left standing there like a child with that idiotic scowl on my face, my mouth gaping open like I was trying to catch flies.
He laughed a quick, almost bitter laugh, and my face reddened. Partially because of my growing anger, but mostly in embarrassment.
I closed my mouth, trying to salvage whatever dignity I had left, but I could tell from the way he looked down at me, he thought I was a complete numbskull.
"What is it, little girl? Cat got your tongue?" He sneered, bending down and putting his hands on his knees so he was at eye level with me.
He was even more intimidating up close.
I ignored the sudden terrified thump of my heart and held my ground as firmly as possible, trying to stifle my fear.
Somehow, words found their own way out of my mouth.
"I wouldn't be going around talking to me so condescendingly if I were you, you pretentious bastard," I spat at him. "because just the other day you were knocked flat on your ass by a fucking pebble that I threw at you."
...Alright, alright. So maybe I didn't technically throw it, and sure, it wasn't exactly a pebble. But I was trying to throw up a façade of confidence, since what other option did I have? Obviously I couldn't try to seem tough, I was a foot shorter than him and he was clearly a lot stronger. I had a feeling playing the innocent oblivious child wouldn't get me too far in this scenario, it would probably just stroke his ego some more. Which was the LAST thing I intended to do.
The smug smile dropped from his face instantly, and with relief I felt a bit of control over the situation shift to me.
"So you CAN talk," He observed, slightly less cocky than before as he stood back up straight. He towered over me.
I glared up at him irritatedly, and he frowned back down at me, looking as if he wasn't quite sure how to feel.
No one said anything for a little while, and he seemed to be judging whether or not to reveal a vital piece of information to me.
I heard the thunder boom closer, and I fought the urge to look up anxiously. I couldn't break eye contact. Lighting struck somewhere in the distance, turning our entire surroundings a blinding white, and for a moment his face was perfectly clear and defined. In that moment, I could see the conflicting emotions fighting in his eyes. But then his face went blank as the sky darkened again.
It was all so quick, if you had blinked you would've missed it.
He leaned against the wall as he did before and went back to picking at his nails, once again the picture of indifference.
I thought he was just going to ignore me, and considered turning around or at least trying to get inside somewhere so I didn't get soaked-or even worse, electrocuted-when he spoke up, loudly and clearly.
"The way I figure, you're lucky you even survived." He stated simply, like we were in math class he was talking about the solution to an algebra equation, all while never looking up from his own hands.
My heart thumped so loudly in my chest I was sure he could hear it. The color in my face drained, and I took a dazed step back. Was he going to try to attack me again?
"You may be big but you're slow, and I can run." I think that was my weak attempt at a threat, or at least a fair warning of what would happen if he tried anything, but it was all I could muster up as my blood pulsed loudly in my skull. Could he hear the way my voice trembled with fear? I couldn't think straight over the sudden pounding in my head screaming
"Go! Run you idiot, he's insane!"
He glanced up at me, and surprisingly his expression had softened a little. It was a strange look on his cat-like face, and I could tell it felt foreign to him.
"I'm not going to try to hurt you." He said in what I'm assuming was supposed to be a soothing voice. "I was talking about when you..." He paused, looking sideways at a tall pine tree as he decided how to phrase what he was going to say. "threw, the rock at me." He finished delicately, looking back at me and doing his best to force a smile.
For all his effort, it looked more like a grimace. But I didn't say that, because I'd much prefer him trying to be kind to me over trying to kill me.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
So much for answers. All he was doing was confusing me even more.
"Why...would it hurt me to throw a rock?" I asked slowly, dragging each word out.
He sighed exasperatedly. He glanced at me once more as he did before, debating in his mind over something. Over what exactly, I had no idea.
He looked around, making sure no one was near.
Then he looked back at me, straight into my eyes, and said defeatedly,
"I could explain much better if you came with me."
I took another step back and shook my head, hard.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." I declined firmly, glancing instinctually back at my bike.
It was a decent distance away from where we stood, but if I ran fast enough, I could make it before he caught me. "I don't know anything about you! I don't even know your name!" My voice rose as my self control gradually faded and my anxiety leaked through.
He rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Alexander."
I stopped.
"What?" I half snapped, confused, yet again.
He sighed again, this time getting frustrated.
"My name," he said, more slowly, as if he was speaking to someone who didn't understand English. "is Alexander."
"I don't care what your name is! I'm not going with you!" I half yelled.
He looked anxiously at the few houses around us, and I was only confused further. What was he so scared of?
It didn't matter, a more sensible part of my brain said. I turned quickly and took off towards my bike, pumping my legs as fast and hard as they could go.
But he didn't even try to follow.
"I can answer all of your questions!"
He called after me, voice straining, and I stopped in my tracks, my hands frozen on the plasticky handles of my bike. "I bet you have a lot." He continued, lowering his voice. I didn't budge. "I bet you want to know how you did what you did." His voice got a little closer. "I bet you want to know what that place was." I bit my lip, considering his proposal. I could still run off if I wanted to...but then I'd never get answers. "I bet you want to know why you got so sick and weak this morning."
Suddenly, his voice was directly behind me, and I jumped and turned sloppily. But in doing so I tripped over the wheel of my bike, and I stumbled towards the ground. Thankfully, his hand shot out and caught my arm before I got a face full of wires.
I yanked myself out of his grasp and shoved him away, but he backed up on his own, putting his hands up on either side of his face, for once actually looking innocent.
"How the hell did you know I got sick this morning?" I hissed accusingly, knots in my stomach forming as I did so.
He shrugged nonchalantly and kicked at a pine cone.
"I assumed the second I saw you."
My brows furrowed. Was he trying to confuse me? It wasn't like I had vomit stains all over me, my cuts were all already cleaned up, and I hadn't stumbled or fell except for when he made me trip over my bike.
I scowled up at him, and he smiled mockingly, only making me scowl more.
"So...if I go with you..." I began hesitantly, "you'll answer all of my questions?" I asked, looking up at him hopefully.
"Minus the ones about the birds and the bees." He replied patronizingly, and despite my best efforts, I blushed. "You'll have to figure out those ones on your own."
"I am not a child." I protested, almost stomping my foot, but thinking better of it.
He laughed briefly.
"Whatever you say, little girl. So you coming or not?" He asked again, glancing at my bike.
I looked up the hill longingly.
As much as I hated home, what with the television that was blaring at all hours, the fridge and cupboards that never failed to be empty, and the revolting men my mom always brought home, laying in my bed and sleeping for a few hours sounded good right about now.
I sighed louder than was entirely necessary and propped my bike back up, then nodded quickly.
"Lead the way." I muttered.
I wasn't exactly happy about following a random stranger-who'd previously chased me down like a lunatic, mind you-to god knows where, especially before what looked like was going to be a big storm hit, but I couldn't sit around for the rest of my life wondering what would've happened if I had gone. It would drive me insane.
He smirked triumphantly-though unmaliciously-and walked back towards the school, not waiting for me to catch up.
"You never told me your name, by the way." He said loudly over his shoulder, giving me a sideways glance.
I hesitated, not wanting to give him any information about me at all, in case he found some way to hold it against me.
But he told me his name, so I gave in, figuring it couldn't hurt to tell him mine.
"Kaylee. My name is Kaylee."