Chapter 6
Adrianna froze on the spot at the sight of it.
Her breathing accelerated as she watched the skinny brown feline slink towards her with its ears flattened back and its yellow eyes narrowed at her.
In panic, Adrianna picked up a pebble and threw it at the cat. The stone missed her target and only caused to aggravate it more. It hissed in warning and revealed its sharp canines in the process. Then with a blink of an eye, the mountain lion sprang at her.
Without thinking, Adrianna rolled to the side and grabbed a stick next to her. As she scrambled to her feet, she shivered at the thought of how close the cat was to biting down onto her neck.
Although she had never encountered a mountain lion before, her parents had taught her all about them and how to defend herself from one. Normally these majestic cats wouldn’t attack a human, unless they were threatened or hungry. From what she could tell, the protruding rip cage demonstrated the latter as it was probably hungry and was looking for its next meal.
Too bad she didn’t feel like being cat food today.
Adrianna’s eyes never left the feline as it started to circle around her. She tried to make herself appear bigger by standing on her tippy toes and puffing her chest out. When that didn’t seem to faze the cougar, she swung the branch in her hand and started shouting at it. “Get away! Scram!”
The feline snarled and within seconds, it pounced again.
This time it managed to connect its paw with Adrianna’s left thigh and force her to the ground. She screamed when her head smacked against a tree root. Black dots swarmed her vision as she tried to blink them away. Blood freely poured out of her wound and stained the grass red.
Adrianna didn’t have time to think about the gash on her leg when the cougar suddenly appeared on top of her. It snapped its jaws at her, but she was quick to shield her face and neck with her arms.
The feline swiped its paw at her again and this time it connected with Adrianna’s arms.
She gasped in pain as warm blood ran down her arms. Every part of her body hurt, yet she was desperate to survive. She tried to feel around the ground for anything that could help her to ward off the animal. The first thing she grasped onto was a rock about the size of a tennis ball. Then with all the strength she could muster, she brought it down onto the cougar’s skull.
It roared in pain and stumbled off Adrianna in a daze.
Although the feline was stunned, she knew it was only temporary, which meant she had to find somewhere to take shelter fast.
Adrianna used the light from her cell phone to take a look around her surroundings in hope of spotting something to take cover under. At first she didn’t seen anything that could be of use to her, but then her eyes caught sight of a large fallen tree that lay over a shallow pit in the ground. It seemed to be small enough for her to go into, but large enough to keep the mountain lion out. The only problem about it was that the shelter was a few meters away from her and in the condition she was in, she doubted she could run there before she got attacked again.
Still Adrianna was desperate, and so she tried to drag herself there despite the pain in her arms and legs. Just as she was a meter away from her destination, she took a quick glance behind her to see if the feline was still dazed. To her alarm, it seemed to have quickly recuperated and was advancing towards her at a frightening speed.
Adrianna’s heart hammered in her chest as she heaved herself forward. She was so close—too close to die now. When her fingers touched the base of the pit, she almost sighed in relief. With a small triumph smile, she shimmed her way under the tree.
Right before Adrianna could pull her legs in, she felt something sharp clamp down onto one of her feet. She cried in agony as she struggled to kick free from the feline’s hold on her. At first, the action only caused her more pain and bloodshed, but soon the cat’s jaws loosened enough for her to slip her feet out from its mouth.
Unfortunately Adrianna’s victory seemed to be short-lived once again.
The mountain lion was relentless in its attempts to get her out from under the shelter as it shoved its paws into the ditch. She had to press herself into a tiny ball against the far corner of the pit to avoid getting scratched by its claws.
After what felt like years, all movements ceased and everything just stopped.
Although it appeared that the mountain lion had given up, Adrianna still kept herself alert. However when seconds turned into minutes without another sign of the animal, her consciousness started to wane. The combination of all the mental stress and physical exertion from today had exhausted her being.
There were cuts everywhere on Adrianna’s body, many of which were still bleeding. As the adrenaline from earlier wore off, every gash on her body increased in pain by tenfold. If that wasn’t bad enough, all the metallic smell of blood was overwhelming and made her feel extremely nauseous. Then without warning, her head suddenly started to spin and the world around her tilted.
Adrianna’s vision blurred and slowly everything around her faded away and went black.
***
The dark haired boy wiped the blood from his silver blade and replaced it within the hidden compartment of his shirt. For a few seconds, his emotionless blue eyes lingered on the dead animal before he silently made his way through the dark shrouded forest.
For an average person, it would be nearly impossible for them to find their around the forest surroundings without getting lost. But he was not normal. He was trained to endure and navigate through any environmental conditions thrown his way. Finding his bearings in the darkness just happened to be the easy part of his everyday routine.
After walking a couple of meters, he stopped in front of a large fallen tree and bent down to look into the shallow ditch underneath it. When his eyes caught sight of the small motionless figure curled into a ball, his breath almost hitched in his throat. Despite the lack of light, he could tell that the girl had been badly wounded from her encounter with the mountain lion and needed medical treatment fast.
The boy ran a hand through his jet black hair and sighed. He couldn’t believe that he had going out of his way to help her. It would be so easy if he let her perish. She would not survive long with the injuries that she had sustained out here by herself. His assignment would be easily completed, but there were still things he needed from her, questions that needed to be answered. A mission wouldn’t be complete without all the loose ends tied together.
So with that thought in mind, the boy gently pulled Adrianna out from the ditch and lifted her up with his arms. As he carried her through the gnarled path towards the roadside where he parked his car, she unconsciously shifted in his arms and tucked her head against his chest. The action made him pause for a brief second to look at her.
Although Adrianna looked like a complete mess with her brown hair sprawled across her dirt smudged face, something about her radiated beauty. Even when she was passed out, her relaxed facial features emitted an aura of unguarded innocence and defencelessness.
The boy felt a lump form in his throat and looked away from her. He almost envied her carefree expression. He almost felt like he needed to protect her from the cruelty of the world. Almost.
With one last glance at her, he blinked and steeled his resolve. He couldn’t start to have conflicted feelings about her. It was dangerous when he let himself feel. Emotions happened to be exactly the number one thing that interferes with an individual’s mission.
The consequences of a failed assignment were catastrophic. He had seen firsthand the kinds of corporal punishments that were given to people who fell short on their missions. Typical disciplinary actions included long term confinement, a dozen of beatings and 50 lashes. They were often harsh and unforgiving. It was meant to break the human spirit.
The boy shivered slightly at the thought of it and turned his attention back to finding his way out of the forest. Just as he was a couple of meters away from his car, he felt a prickle at the back of his neck. He immediately glanced back to scan the area, but saw nothing out of the ordinary through the darkness.
However, just because he couldn’t see anything, doesn’t mean someone wasn’t there. He stood on constant guard with his knife at ready as he walked onto the dirt road, towards his car. By the time he placed Adrianna in the back seat and drove off, nothing ended up happening but he couldn’t help feel unsettled about it.
When the boy arrived at his rented condo, it was nearly midnight.
He blew out a tired breath before he walked into his room and placed Adrianna onto the messy sheets of his queen sized bed. When he glanced down at her, he paused for a couple of seconds as he fully took in her haggard appearance.
The harsh lighting of the room made every gash and bruise on her body stand out in a painfully vivid manner. She looked a hundred times worse than when he had found her earlier. It was like she had been through hell and back—which was partially true.
Although he wasn’t there to witness the majority of her struggle against the mountain lion, he had seen enough to make him almost admire her courage. She was fighter. And despite her weak combat skills, she never gave up even when things seemed hopeless. Her intelligence was her greatest asset and she used it to her advantage. It was probably the main reason why she survived an attack from a starving animal.
He held a greater respect for her because of that. Too bad he had to kill her though. It was such a waste of a beautiful, intellectual person.
The boy ran a hand through his hair in frustration before he headed into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. For the second time today, he wondered why he had decided to help her in the first place when it would be so much leaving easier leaving her for the dead.
When the boy walked back into his plainly decorated room, he immediately noticed that Adrianna was awake and struggling to sit up. She appeared to be dazed and hadn’t noticed his presence in the room yet.
He leaned against the wall and tsked in disproval. “I wouldn’t sit up so quickly if I were you.”
Adrianna turned to look at him so fast that her head begun to spin again. She immediately groaned and fell back onto the bed. She was sure that her heart nearly stopped at the sudden sound of his voice.
“I told you so.”
“Shut up,” croaked Adrianna as she placed her arm over her eyes. When she did that, she had to bite down onto her tongue to prevent herself from screaming in pain. Every part of her body felt like some had stabbed her with a needle a thousand times over. She shifted her arm stiffly to the side and glanced at the boy again.
Adrianna’s mouth felt dry when she tried to speak. She tried to swallow a couple of times before she managed to get some more sound out of her voice.
“Where am I? Why are you here? Why does my body feel like I’ve been dragged through miles of sharp rocks?” she grumbled.
Without giving off any emotion, the boy pushed himself off the wall and walked to the bed where she lay. “Well let’s just say you had a rough night and I had the decency to bring you to my place so you wouldn’t die from your injuries,” he replied before giving her a small smirk. “Don’t I get a thank you for all my troubles?”
Adrianna narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “How did you find me there? It was nearly dark in the forest when I got attacked. No one would be out that late,” she said hoarsely.
“I was hiking when I heard you scream,” replied the boy indifferently.
“But how did you find the location I was hiding under?” she pressed further. “And how did you manage to find your way out of the forest after?”
He gave her a sour look. She’s too curious for her own good. Even when she’s injured she would not stop bothering him with questions. “Stop asking me so many questions. Can’t you just be thankful that I saved your ass and brought you here?”
Adrianna frowned and crossed her arms together. She immediately winced in pain when she did that, but tried to ignore it the best she could. “Well of course I am thankful, but why did you bring me here?” she questioned before pausing to look at the first aid kit he was holding. “No offence and all, but I think I would be better going to the hospital.”
“Well I’m not driving you there, so you can either take my help or not. And by the looks of it you’re not in the condition to argue with me,” he stated firmly. “Now, you need to take a shower and get cleaned up before I can work on your injuries—”
“Forget it!” she snapped tiredly. “There’s no way, everything just hurts way too much to move. Plus I don’t have extra clothes with me.”
The boy rolled his eyes at her. “You moved perfectly fine before, but whatever it’s not my problem if you get an infection from this.”
Adrianna stuck her tongue out at him in annoyance. “Fine I will get up,” she grumbled before she stood up quickly. The sudden movement caused all the blood to rush into her head and made the room tilt back and forth like a teeter-totter. What was worse was the burning feel that she felt on every part of her body. The pain was so immense that unwanted tears were falling down her face. She collapsed to the floor in agony.
When Adrianna saw the boy move closer to her, she tried to back away, but was already pressed against the bed. “No, no get away from me!” she cried.
Memories of that evening suddenly flashed into Adrianna’s mind—the fight with her parents, running in the forest and getting attacked by a mountain lion. But the worst thing she remembered was the pain and desperation of trying to escape.
She almost died today.
Adrianna’s breathing suddenly became shallow as the realization of intimate death dawned on her. The room spun around her at a dizzying pace. Her body started to tremble, but she stopped herself by clutching tightly onto the sheets around her. She let out a strangled cry. She wanted everything to stop moving so fast.
When a cool hand touched Adrianna’s cheek, the uncomfortable rush she had felt ceased. She let out a shaky breath and focused her eyes on the dark haired boy hovering above her. For a moment, he reminded her of an angel with those piercing blue eyes gazing down at her. But then when she took in his expression, he looked like anything but an angel. Those cold haunted eyes of his reminded her more of a dark angel.
Adrianna shivered. “I want to go home,” she muttered as her eyes fluttered shut.
His sapphire blue eyes were the last thing she saw before she slipped into the dream world.
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A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm going to try to update more often again. And just to let you know I sort of changed the formating of the chapters a little. The flashbacks starting now will be italicized, as well the chapter numbers won't have parts to it. Hopefully it's not too confusing because I keep on fixing and changing things. So comment, vote or fan if you enjoy this story! Criticism is welcomed as well. :)