WILDly

WILDly

Published by T.
Swanepoel at Smashwords

Copyright 2010
T. Swanepoel

For
Clarissa

This ebook is
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***

Preface

My heart
pounded and my ears swooshed. I didn’t like asking questions in
class, especially not a full philosophy class, but I had to make
sure that I had heard correctly.

“But,
Professor, do you really believe it is possible for the sun, a
star, to be alive?”

I had to speak
up above the buzz of voices from where I sat in the third row. No
one was listening. They thought the Professor was just a big fat
joke. And his overweight, wobbly appearance made him even more
ridiculous, not to mention his bald Bozo-the-clown hairstyle.

He stopped
writing on the board and turned towards the class.

“Who asked that
question?” The noise level died down a bit. He had never spoken to
anyone directly before.

I raised my
hand slightly but enough for him to see me. He frowned before
answering.

“It is not a
question of whether it is alive. It is a question of form.”

The noise level
from disinterested students climbed even higher than before.

I nodded and
stuck my shaking hands deep into my pockets.

***

Chapter 1 -
Trigger

I didn’t make
any stops and the three hours flew by too fast. The sun had just
about set when I turned into the parking lot of my new dorm. I
slowed down, glanced into the rear view mirror to check, and
grinned. I was satisfied with the long brown hair and unusually
bright green eyes against the matching green sweater reflected
there.

There weren’t
many cars parked and after an indecisive moment, I picked a space
close to the building. The long drive had made me weary, but I was
also a little nervous at not seeing anyone around - or any other
movement for that matter. I sat in my car for a while, closed my
eyes, took a few slow breaths and concentrated on the music.

The next moment
I almost leapt onto the passenger seat. It took me a panicked
second to realize someone was knocking on my window. The radio was
loud and I hadn’t heard any footsteps. My hand was still clamped
over my throat when I peeked up through the closed window.

A huge grin
beamed down at me, a grin that showed off a pair of heart-stopping
dimples. Embarrassed, I looked down immediately.

“Sorry, I
didn’t mean to scare you.” His voice sounded friendly and
amused.

I didn’t know
what to say, so I slowly rolled the window down. It turned out to
be a mistake – the scent of his cologne only made me feel even more
awkward. I attempted a feeble smile before I looked at him
again.

He was tall and
tanned, and his blonde hair and blue eyes worked magnificently with
the baby blue t-shirt and beige shorts. The short sleeves of his
t-shirt fitted tightly around muscled arms. It was definitely the
type of look girls would fight over, and maybe that would include
me!

I didn’t manage
to get any words out, but I guess he took the opened window as an
answer.

“Hi, I’m Alex.”
He paused and waited for my reaction.

I couldn’t
respond.

“Listen, I
didn’t mean to scare you. I only came to warn you. The parking
spaces closest to the building belong to seniors. I haven’t seen
you around, so I assume you are a first-year?”

I realized I
was being rude and he was only trying to be friendly, so I forced
my brain to ignore my self-consciousness and answered with the
first words that popped into my head.

“Yes, I am a
first year.”

“Great news
everybody! She has a voice!” he shouted teasingly, throwing his
arms up into the air, as if playing to an audience.

“Hi Alex, I’m
Valerie.” My voice sounded strange. I swallowed and tried again.
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll move my car.” That came out
better.

“Nice meeting
you, Valerie. You’ll enjoy it here. Just keep a low profile for the
first month or so and you’ll be fine. Do you need a hand with your
luggage or anything?” he offered, looking into the back of my
station wagon.

I considered
the weight of the fridge and the microwave and nodded.

“Well… okay.
That… would be nice.” I couldn’t believe my luck. Not only was I
being offered help, but it came in a beautiful package as well.

He grinned at
me.

“I’ll wait out
here for you; you go find your room. Maybe it’s close to my
girlfriend’s.”

The message was
loud and clear: girlfriend; just being friendly; carry on. I was a
little disappointed but reasoned that there were more where this
one came from.

I moved my car
far enough to be out of the way and resisted the urge to look in
the mirror for a sneak peek at Alex again. Grabbing my coat off the
backseat, I rushed inside, as I didn’t want to keep him waiting too
long in case he disappeared. And I didn’t look forward to having to
carry the entire contents of my trunk all by myself.

In spite of the
fact that the hunk already had a girlfriend, I was happy at meeting
the first new person in my new life. The feeling of aloneness faded
a little. It was a better start than I’d imagined - meeting a
friendly, helpful person instead of an infamous senior bully.

There was no
one in sight and I looked around the reception. My first impression
was
hotel lobby
, and not any old hotel - a fancy luxury
hotel. Bright lighting spilled from the flight of stairs next to
the reception desk curling up into the building. Different soft
shades of blue and green coloured the room, giving me the crisp,
clear taste of a freshly brushed mouth after breakfast.

In contrast, a
homely little dining hall to the right revealed a luscious green
garden beyond its high windows. The garden had a lawn about the
size of a tennis court, with tall trees and colourful shrubs
rounding off the edges and filling in the gaps to make it a
delightful secluded area.

A notice board
in the centre of the room flashed a colourful ‘WELCOME’ banner. A
paper below this indicated the names of twelve newcomers, with room
numbers allocated next to them. I was on the second floor in room
five. I hesitated, but curiosity got the best of me and I decided
to have a small peek at my room first.

The thick
carpet completely dampened the noise of my steps as I ran up the
stairs. I liked the white wooden doors and neutral beige colour on
the carpet and walls, which also emphasized the hotel feeling. All
and all, it had a very easy, welcoming effect.

The hallway was
short, probably ten doors altogether and the second door to the
left had a small, golden number five fixed to it. The key was
hanging in the keyhole and I removed it before slowly pushing on
the door.

The door was
barely open enough for me to step through when I noticed a pair of
feet. I was still focusing on the running shoes when a strong hand
locked on my wrist and yanked me inside with a quick, forceful
pull. I lost my balance, and as I fell forward, I heard the door
close and lock behind me.

A wave of
exasperation hit me as I started to get up, but it quickly turned
to panic as I was pushed to the floor again and pinned down, a hand
over my mouth. I squirmed and wiggled ineffectually to get loose
from the strong grip, but my screams were too muffled for anyone to
hear.

“Listen
Valerie, I am so very, very sorry about this. I didn’t mean for you
to fall down. Please don’t scream. I am not here to hurt you.” The
male voice swallowed and whispered softly, sounding nervous and
rushed.

Had he really
used my name? I wasn’t sure if I had heard correctly, but the tone
of his voice did calm me down a little. At least he didn’t
sound
like a kidnapper or harassing senior.

“Please, please
don’t scream. I need to talk to you, very urgently. Please, just
don’t scream.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll remove my hands; please
just promise not to scream?”

I knew it was
my one chance to get help and I sure was going to use it. I filled
my lungs with air slowly so he wouldn’t notice and then gave a
small nod. He turned me around and I stood up.

The expression
in his eyes stopped the screams in my throat. An extremely tired,
very stressed, yet somehow content face looked back at me, a
strong, masculine, average-looking face, framed by yesterday’s
beard. His eyes were a pale grey that created a sharp contrast
against his black hair. Judging by his facial features, he was
maybe a few years older than me.

His presence
hypnotized me, so much so that I was startled when he finally spoke
again.

“Valerie.
Valerie! It is you. It’s really you. I’m so relieved to have found
you. “

He closed his
eyes and took a deep lungful of air, drawing breath to continue.
But with the spell on me broken, rage boiled up in my throat like
heartburn.

“What do want
from me? How do you know me?” I screamed almost hysterically.

“I’m Duncan.
Please just trust me and listen carefully.” His eyes begged.
“Valerie, there isn’t enough time to explain everything. Calm down,
calm down. Your…biological mother sent me. That’s all I can say.
But we need to hurry. Please, they are after me!”

A spark of hope
ignited. I would do anything to know my biological mother, to know
why she had given me up for adoption. Maybe she could also clear up
the mystery of my recurring dreams and the memories of being out in
the wild. I calmed down a little.

“Hold your
hands out to me, palms forward please. I need to give you
something,” he urged.

It didn’t sound
too dangerous and I was curious, so I opened my palms and held them
up. He did the same. He didn’t have anything in his hands and I
wondered what exactly he wanted to give me with empty hands.

As his
fingertips got closer to mine, my hands were drawn to his, more and
more strongly like two magnets attracting each other. The feeling
was unexpected and I was suddenly nervous. This weirdo could be a
science geek experimenting with funny viruses or chemicals, I
thought doubtfully, or an organ smuggler or something.

I tried to pull
my hands back, but they completely refused to obey. I tried a
little harder but the pull towards him only got stronger and
stronger, harder and harder. He must have sensed that I was trying
to pull my hands back: I was sweating and my arms were shaking.

“Don’t fight
it. You’re not strong enough yet, your body needs to adapt
first.”

I went cold
with fear. I should have screamed before. Nothing was stopping me
from screaming, I thought. I ordered my mouth to scream, opened it,
and only a small squeak came out. I knew it! I had no idea why I
had trusted this person and now to top off a bad situation, I
became aware that my thought processes felt slow, maybe
sabotaged.

“Valerie, this
might feel strange for a day or two, you will feel heavy in your
limbs and probably very tired for at least a week or so. You might
end up in hospital and a doctor might misdiagnose you with some
type of illness or virus. But don’t worry; there is nothing wrong
with you. This is part of who you are.”

He stared into
my eyes and I knew he could see the panic there.

“Calm down. I
won’t hurt you. You are very powerful; you just need to realize
it.”

The next moment
our fingertips touched. A cold shock wave blasted through me, and I
felt it echo through his body.

I froze on the
spot.

I couldn’t
blink or swallow or even take a breath.

Then a strange
warm sensation, almost like pins and needles, spread from my
fingertips through my hands and arms into my neck and back and down
into my legs.

His face was
contorted, as if he was in a lot of pain, but his voice remained
calm.

“Valerie, you
will
remember what is happening now and what I am telling
you, although you will probably only remember everything over time,
after you have recovered. A warning. There are people on the planet
who know about this gift and will do anything to take it from you.
It is very precious; it is immeasurable in worth. Beware. You
cannot trust anyone. You need to be extremely careful, suspicious
of every single person, no matter who they are.”

I could hear my
heartbeat in my ears and a terrible gust of nausea hit me, but a
weight was growing, pinning me in place. My eyes burned slightly
and everything shone brighter and brighter, as if the sun was
hanging right above my head. I tried to close my eyes against the
light, but got no response from my muscles. Everything around me
blurred as the world moved more and more out of focus.