Authors: Cindy Mezni
“What do I cling to?” I inquired in a voice still a little hoarse, despite the regenerative properties of his blood.
While I was trying to discover the answer for myself, Garreth’s voice, his tones more cavernous than usual, sounded and startled me.
“Climb on me and put your hands around my neck. You will feel something. Grab it firmly.”
Ignoring the oddity of the situation, I did what he told me. Despite the difficulties, I managed to climb aboard him, after some searching, I found buried in the hair on his neck a kind of strap...a necklace almost made of leather.
“Ready?”
When he spoke, his deep voice made his whole body vibrate.
“Yes,” I assured him and with that, he began to run.
The race through the woods was a test. In other circumstances, I would have enjoyed the experience. Only here I nearly released the strap because of all the shaking and speed. I thought I would die on at least four occasions, especially when I saw a tree in our path with one of its thick branches level with my head. I just had time to press myself flat onto his back to avoid being knocked out and ejected. Our journey seemed endless and I was sure I heard, from time to time, the screams or the underground rumble accompanying the movements of the monstrous snake. Each time, my heart raced like never before and the horrific images of my encounter with the evil beast came back to me with disturbing accuracy.
Fortunately, I finally saw a faint light in the distance, the sign we were approaching the edge of the forest. I nearly allowed myself to feel relief at the sight when noises sounded behind me. I turned my head and saw what I feared most. With the moonlight filtering through the forest's foliage, I saw the glow of the metal before seeing two ruby eyes sparkle in the night. The snake was there! And we hadn’t even heard it coming! I wanted to scream at Garreth to accelerate and escape the imminent danger, but my voice had deserted me. At that moment I prayed that he didn't come near us, for we were dead if he did, that was for sure.
Please, prevent him from catching us! Make the reinforcements arrive quickly!
Garreth eventually ran even faster, as if he had finally felt the presence of a congener. It was necessary, however, because a miracle happened, as if my silent cries for help had been heard. Wolves, of normal size with gray and white coats, arrived out of nowhere and jumped on the monster, of which now I could only distinguish some parts of its body. Garreth and I succeeded in getting farther and farther away from it. Another dark animal joined the wolf pack, but I was unable to determine what it was. Almost as soon as these animals appeared, they disappeared, taking the creature with them. Sounds echoed in the distance...a mixture of fighting sounds and screams of pain...before everything went deathly silent. With wide eyes, I looked at the darkness where nothing moved. What had just happened? Had Travis’ brother in his snake form been defeated? Was it the help sent by the community that saved us? I felt that I was far from the truth.
Garreth and I finally got out of that hell and found a car, the pick-up that Leighton had used to bring me back from school today. It seemed light-years ago already, as if I had lived a thousand lives since. I was exhausted both mentally and physically. I wanted to close my eyes and erase this terrible evening from my memory, even though I knew it would never happen, unfortunately. When we got near the vehicle, Garreth stopped so I could get down. I complied and he quickly changed his appearance. His gaze fell on the dark and menacing forest, not far enough from us for my liking. What if Travis’ brother wasn't dead and he returned to us in his monstrous form?
“I felt the presence of a congener behind us, just before we got out of there. Did you see anything?”
I nodded softly, my hands beginning to tremble and I couldn't stop them. Garreth noticed and took them in his in an attempt to reassure me.
“It was the brother of... It was the one that almost...” I tried to explain awkwardly before stopping, unable to go further. “There were also...wolves and something else...”
Totally shaken, I was silent, my intonations having become horribly quavering at the end of my sentence. Anyway, he had grasped the meaning of my words. He intertwined our fingers to assure me that we were together and I was safe.
“There were several people?” Garreth questioned me, looking surprised.
I understood the reason for his stupor when I remembered what he had said; he had felt only one presence. I began to doubt. Had I imagined the snake? Or was it the wolves and the other animal that I had fabricated? Had the beasts really caught the monster and taken him away from us or had something else happened? Could he really just have been one
Enimae
?
With all these uncertainties...
I felt like I was going crazy and losing touch with reality.
“I think... I'm not sure...”
Garreth had to understand something was wrong because I found myself with his hands resting on either side of my face, the concern obvious in his eyes. He began to make circular motions on my cheeks with his thumbs. Surprisingly, this little gesture relaxed me and I started to let the stress, fear and everything else gradually recede.
“You okay?”
Images of the evening came in flashes with disturbing vividness. My throat ached horribly. I was anything but okay, but I nodded weakly. Not fooled for one bit, Garreth rested his forehead against mine while our lips began to touch. He kissed me tenderly to communicate to me everything he didn't have the time to tell me with words and he did this without paying attention to my surely disastrous appearance. This sweet gesture broke down my last defenses and a river of tears began to flow in light of all that I had almost lost. Life. Hayden, Garreth, Leighton, and even Annabelle. I had risked never seeing them again. Garreth parted his lips from mine gently, but I clung to him desperately. The thought that I could be dead right now was still too fresh in my mind.
“Deliah, we have to...”
He paused when in trying to loosen my hold on his clothes; he saw that I was crying. Without a second's hesitation, he took me in his arms and held me against him, whispering soothing words until my tears dried up. Then, we got into the car without saying anything and hit the road. At one point, Garreth received a message from Leighton, saying that some insurgents had managed to escape, that reinforcements were all alive, and that she was getting back to their community to attend the trial of Travis. I immediately felt better after finding out she was fine, even though I was saddened at the thought that I wouldn't see her for a while. Her support would have been welcome in such circumstances, but I felt reassured in knowing that Garreth would be here.
I must have fallen asleep during the journey because when I regained consciousness, I was in Garreth’s arms as he carried me easily. Looking around, I realized I was in my own room with Garreth sitting on the edge of my bed. The emotion won me over. I was so happy to be alive and to be here in this place so comforting and familiar. However, a thought crossed my mind and I forgot my joy for a split second.
“Oh my God, Annabelle! If she...”
“Calm down. Don't worry. Leighton took care of her and she's sleeping quietly in her room and won’t even know you left the house with your stuff a few hours ago.”
This should have reassured me, but I felt just the opposite. If I had died during the night, none of my loved ones would have been concerned about my absence and no one would have missed me, especially not Hayden, who didn't consider me her friend anymore.
“I wanted to put you to bed but...” he grimaced slightly, “I figured you might want to wash away the traces of this evening.”
He pointed to the bathroom with a vague hand gesture. I stared at him and noticed that he was also covered in dried blood.
“Come with me.”
I could say with certainty that he didn't expect such a proposal. For my part, after this evening, all my inhibitions had been shattered. Life was short. I almost risked never seeing Garreth again. I didn't want to separate myself from him tonight, even if only for a few seconds.
“What?”
“I said, come with me. I'm afraid I might break my neck if I fall from exhaustion. Plus, you need a shower as much as I do.”
Silent, he looked at me as if seeing me for the first time.
“It's just the shock,” he whispered to himself. “That’s all.”
“This isn't the shock,” I assured him.
In fact, this experience allowed me to understand that nobody was invincible and we could die at any moment. Garreth was no exception. I had this irrational fear in me that if I went alone in the bathroom, when I'd come back to my room, it'd be empty.
“
Please,
Garreth,” I said, trying to make him understand how much I needed him right now.
It was necessary for me to feel him close to me, to have him constantly in my field of vision. At this point, it was vital.
“Lila, come tomorrow morning...I...I don't want you to feel like I had...taken advantage of the situation.”
How could he imagine such a thing?
“I would never think that of you,” I entrusted him before sighing. I resigned myself to explain my reasons to him. “I don't want to be separated from you tonight because I'm afraid that if I go into the shower alone, you...”
I was silent, a lump in my throat. His eyes softened when he got the meaning of what I was trying to say. After having nodded, he helped me get up and kept my body close, as if not touching me was impossible for him, which was probable after the recent events. He led me to the bathroom and closed the door behind us. I made sure it was locked, in case Annabelle came into my room, wondering why I was taking a shower at this late hour. If she saw my bloody clothes or Garreth in the shower with me, she would have an attack. Or she would scream and try to get Garreth out of here with a lot of kicks. Neither scenario was preferable. Slowly, he began to discard the clothes I wore, starting with his jacket before continuing with the rags that was my sweater. He then unbuttoned my jeans and helped me to remove them. Once my socks were strewn across the floor, I found myself in only my underwear and, in spite of himself, his eyes scanned my almost completely bare body before boring his eyes into mine.
Despite his contracted jaw and his face filled with guilt, his ardent eyes betrayed the pleasure he took while contemplating me. In other circumstances, I would be happy to see him like that, to know that I could create such a reaction in him. In this case, I was just sad that it took such circumstances for me to put aside my embarrassment. I saw his emerald eyes straying to my breasts and within seconds, I forgot everything. There was just him and me, and now, during which we were just two people discovering each other. Well, in reality, only Garreth made discoveries, since he hadn't removed anything yet. I clung to the lightness of the moment with desperate tenacity, wanting to keep the nightmarish reality far from this room.
“Uh... Garreth? It's better to take off your clothes when you want to shower, you know...”
He seemed to come down to earth. When he raised his head to settle his gaze on mine, I could almost swear that his cheeks had reddened a bit.
“Oh, yeah...right,” he replied while running a hand through his messy, black hair.
He was obviously nervous and I couldn't help but smile at that, being accustomed to his natural assurance, but enjoying this new side of him. I was sure his behavior wasn't linked to nudity, but rather to the fear of acting inappropriately with me. But I trusted him and I knew he wouldn't do anything I wasn’t ready for. We needed to be close to each other after this terrible night in which we had almost lost each other. I approached him slowly.
“Garreth,” I whispered while playing with the buttons of his shirt. “Stop torturing yourself. If you're not...comfortable with my proposal, it doesn't matter, I...” I bit my lower lip, seeking the right terms, “you can wait here while I shower quickly. Or you can wait in my room, if you prefer. I just wanted...”
His mouth came to rest on my forehead and reduced me to silence. He stepped back to stare at me. I had never seen him look at me like that, with pride, sweetness and wonder, but I liked it. A lot.
“Don't worry about me. Resisting you will be the hardest thing I've ever done, but I'll succeed. I will be a perfect gentleman.”
“I never doubted it,” I confessed with sincerity.
He smiled and, with incredible speed, he removed his shirt, closely followed by all other clothing. Unable to help myself, I observed his every move while he peeled off his clothes and the view was more than pleasant. Despite traces of his various battles that he strove to recreate in order to remember why he fought and never gave up, I thought he was perfect, and even if the chances were very slim, I was hoping to dream of him tonight. Unfortunately, as if to confirm my thoughts, flashes of my ordeal suddenly came into my mind and I couldn't help but tremble slightly. The warm smile Garreth offered me gave way to a worried expression.
“Just...give me a few seconds, it will pass,” I blurted out with difficulty, knowing he easily guessed what was going through my head right now.
A long moment after, when I regained my composure, I took off my bra and let it fall to the ground. The anxious look Garreth wore immediately became one of desire, which had the merit to make the bad memories go away. I felt my breathing become faster and I was sure I was blushing. His reaction was even more expressive than mine, because as he was naked, there was a certain part of his anatomy that I saw particularly reactive. Won by emotion, I wrapped my arms around my bare chest as if to protect myself. He smiled, looking softened and amused by my reaction. He approached me, his eyes sealed to mine, probably trying to reassure me. I noticed that this time, only a small gap separated our two bodies.
“Believe me, you have no reason to be embarrassed, Lila,” he assured me in his soothing tones. “You're beautiful inside...and outside. You're breathtaking. More than that even. And well, if you don't believe my words, there are some things that can't lie,” he told me, making a gesture downwards with his hand.