KATRINA’S POV:
His heart rate was spiking as if it wanted to explode out of his chest. His palms felt clammy and his hands trembled uncontrollably. “It’ll stop eventually,” she whispered. The words were just barely audible, and her voice cracked slightly when she spoke. They felt like they’d been spoken through cotton, and she felt strangely numb. She kept glancing up, expecting to see Tyler lying lifeless on the ground before her and unable to help him. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes stung with tears that refused to fall.
She tried to keep calm, tried to think of something else. Her thoughts immediately jumped back to Tyler. She tried her best to concentrate on that, instead of focusing solely on her own panic. She focused on his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest. He breathed in the scent of damp earth, and i
“The sooner, the better. Before they find us and we’re dead.” He looked up, nodded once, and followed her towards the edge of the forest. He seemed determined to follow her wherever she went, but Katrina had already seen that determination in his eyes before. It was in the lines of his face, his posture, every movement. No matter where they were, no matter how much danger was looming over them, Tyler never faltered. Even more important than that, even though the fear that he was feeling was undoubtedly paralyzing him, he knew that Katrina would protect him. He was confident in her ability to do that. She knew that he trusted her to watch his back. It had been nothing like the first time. This time, it was different. He wouldn’t be able to run away, because she wouldn’t let him go anywhere. There were no boundaries. She would make sure that he stayed safe with her. She was sure of it. He wouldn’t get hurt. If anything happened, she would make sure that it didn’t happen. She wasn’t
He felt Katrina take hold of his hand, pulling him along behind her without hesitation, as they ran deeper into the woods. They hadn’t spoken since that horrifying incident, only listened to each other panting and struggling to keep their balance. She pulled him along faster, pushing him forward with a gentle tug of encouragement. He tried desperately to keep pace with her and stay conscious. But exhaustion overwhelmed him. He tripped over a tree root and fell forward, hitting the ground hard with a heavy thud. He heard her gasp and cry out his name, but she didn’t slow down for a second. She continued walking in front of him. He struggled to lift his head to look at her, but failed miserably, and his eyes closed again. The trees grew denser, and soon enough they found themselves running across a narrow path that led into a clearing. In the center of the clearing lay a dark
Tyler opened his eyes again and nodded, looking around the room. Everything suddenly came rushing back at him; what happened to her. She was gone. He couldn’t remember much, but he knew that she brought him here. He remembered how he was wounded and injured when she saved him. His throat tightened painfully at the memory. He had lost track of time, and he couldn’t afford to lose track of her. If she vanished, he would surely end up alone. He shook off his thoughts and cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. ‘I can’t think about that right now,’ he told himself firmly. ‘Not right now… please!’ The old man seemed relieved to hear that he was alright. “Do you want anything? Some water? Food?”
His whole body felt heavy. His heart was racing, his breathing was ragged. He tried to look behind him, but he could see nothing but darkness. He wondered for a brief second where he was, and then he knew. He was back in the basement of his house. How could this be happening? He couldn’t have fallen unconscious for real. For a brief moment, he thought that he had arrived where he had begun, but then he realized it wasn’t that simple. He tried pulling himself up onto the wall, but he couldn’t move. He tried pushing against it, but he just couldn’t budge. The wall was stuck tight against his body. Then, suddenly, he noticed that he was levitating slightly in the air. At first, he didn’t quite believe his eyes, but he soon discovered that it was true: he really was airborne. &
Tyler felt overwhelmed and confused, but he tried not to show it, even though he wanted desperately to tell the old man that he couldn’t control his feelings, and he didn’t want to die. It was terrifying. It was the same way that it was when the world started to change, or when things were finally revealed to him. He didn’t trust this man. But he knew that this mysterious man didn’t want to hurt him. So he nodded slowly. Tyler looked over his surroundings quickly, trying to figure out where he was. They were in some kind of clearing surrounded by mountains, a mountain valley in fact. It was breathtaking. Although there were no trees within sight, he could see patches of grass growing everywhere. Even the air itself seemed warmer than it should have been, even though the sun was
“How exactly do I communicate telepathically with them?” he asked, hoping that he hadn’t missed something important. “You don’t have to do anything, it’s already done. It’s instinct. Just listen.” The old man moved aside and pointed toward the wolf sitting on the ground with its head bowed. Immediately, the wolf stood up, bowing respectfully to the older man, before it turned its attention onto Tyler. It looked him right in the eyes, and Tyler could clearly see it in there — curiosity. It looked straight into his soul. There was a pause, in which Tyler stared into the creature’s deep blue eyes, unsure of what to say or do next. After several seconds, Tyle
Katrina had never seen Tyler act like this. He hadn’t seemed scared or uncomfortable around them, but now he seemed to have forgotten what he was doing for a moment and just kept staring at her hand in surprise. He shook his head slowly a few more times, as if to remind himself to focus on something else, and slowly began to eat his bread. Kat could tell by the way that Tyler’s eyebrows furrowed and the way he chewed on his food that he was struggling. And she wasn’t sure why. Was he worried that something was wrong with him? He was acting strangely and he wasn’t even touching the food that was placed on the ground, instead watching her and the others eat. They hadn’t spoken about what had happened. The last thing he needed was strangers finding out about h
Katrina watched him carefully as he stared up into the darkness in a seemingly hopeless attempt to find some sort of explanation in it. She couldn’t help but notice he didn’t seem to be bothered by being alone with her. He didn’t look like he wanted to leave. As his eyes flickered towards hers, Tyler’s pupils darkened and his eyes glowed orange. They were the same color as the glowing flames dancing under the night sky. She found herself mesmerized by the beautiful, hypnotic shade. His eyebrows scrunched up as the orange intensified, making his face more prominent. In mere moments the glow had spread throughout his entire body, illuminating the dim light of the fire that surrounded them. His hair started turning darker as the glow intensified and his