The pounding in my head woke me from my dull unconsciousness. I slowly pulled myself to my feet, ignoring the pain that shot through my leg. The night air whipped around through the trees of the foreign land. Twigs snapped in far off places and owls called to other owls. I wandered off, not knowing where to go or where I was. The door that led me here was nowhere to be found and I didn't know where it had left me. Was I dreaming? How is it, exactly, that a door can come out of nowhere and not have anything behind it, yet place me in some forest that I've never seen before? I really couldn't answer that. I wasn't exactly sure if I should be excited or scared or even confused, for that matter. But what I did know was that I had to find something familiar, and quick.
Above my head, the trees rustled and more branches cracked, but, this time, not from the wind. My heart pounded fiercely in my chest and the sudden quietness filled me with an eerie feeling of being watched and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have a knife or gun or even a bat to protect me. The only thing I could do was stand there and hope upon hope that it was only a squirrel.
I started to walk farther, hoping to find a road or a break in the thick forest of trees and shrubs. It was slowly getting darker as the reddish tint in the night sky faded to a dark maroon. The trees had stopped making noises so I figured I was safe for a bit.
I looked around at my surroundings and tried to make out if anything was familiar looking but I couldn't find anything at all recognizable. I wandered a little farther but pain suddenly shot through my body. The cuts and deep slashes I had gotten from the car crash were numb so I had forgotten about them, but the gash in my head had started to sting excruciatingly once again. The pain was so fierce that my vision was blurred and unfocused. I pressed a hand against the side of my head, attempting to stop the pulsing, but the pain refused to subside. Pulling my hand away from my head, I felt the warm stickiness of fresh blood, and the smell of salty iron made me even woozier.
As the pain in my head dulled, my vision cleared and I started to walk forward once more. The darkness mixed with the lightheaded feeling the smell of blood had brought along, caused my footing to be lost upon a rock. My toe stung slightly from the collision with the hard surface and I stumbled forward. Because of the darkness of the foreign night, I hadn't seen the small cliff that was inches away from the rock and I toppled over the ledge.
I screamed shrilly as the rush of sudden air blew past my falling figure. My arms, flailing helplessly and frantically, grabbed the first thing they could, which was a root from a tree that was sticking out of the ground. As I dangled I heard more twigs snap on the forest floor, as if someone a few feet in front of the ledge had stepped on them. I sucked in a sharp breath and tried as hard as I possibly could not to make a sound.
The wind whistled as the silence grew heavier and seemed to be louder than noise. Another burst of pain stabbed at my head and I lost control of my voice as a loud groan of pain escaped from my lips. I squeezed my eyes against the flicker of pain and prayed that whatever was out there was gone.
Suddenly the grip I had on the root loosened and I started slipping. "No, no, no, no!" I whispered, terrified of loosing my grip all together. I dug my nails into the soft, damp wood and tried grabbing on with everything I had (which wasn't much). "Please don't let me die. Please don't let me die. Please!" I begged. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold on much longer and panic started to overwhelm me.
My fingers slipped from their hold on the branch and I let out another terrified scream, as the thought of dying crossed my mind. Just as the hold on my life slipped from my fingers and I could no longer feel the rough, damp bark of the tree beneath my palm, a warm hand grasped my wrist. I was startled and scared and thankful all at the same time. Was this the person that I heard watching me earlier? Who was it? Were they truly saving my life? Or just prolonging my life for merely a fleeting moment?
As the strong hand pulled me from the edge, I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. I felt the ground return beneath my legs and the person, whoever he was, let go.
"Excuse me? Miss? Are you alright?" the deep voice questioned.
Slowly, I opened my eyes. I couldn't find the words to answer him. Lifting my eyes from the leafy forest floor, I let my eyes travel from his shoes and upwards. Since it was dark I could barely see, but from what I could make out he was wearing warn out jeans and black sneakers. His button-up shirt was a light color, distorted by the darkness. He was kneeling on one leg in front of me, holding his hand out for me to take.
"Miss?" he asked once more and my eyes lifted from his outstretched hand to his face. His dark hair almost blended into the darkness of the forest. It was disheveled and covering a little bit of his eyes. He was young yet older than me, but that's almost all I could decipher from the dark.
I finally found my voice and quietly spoke up, "... W- Who are you?" I stuttered.
He smiled. "Callum Frey," he said and moved his outstretched hand closer to me. "And you?" he asked.
"Shyla... Shyla Adams," I hesitantly answered, tentatively grabbing his hand and letting him pull me to my feet. The cuts on my legs stung and I wobbled a little.
"Are you alright?" he asked as he moved closer to me, trying to decide if I needed his help or not.
"Fine. I just got into an accident is all."
"Let me help you!" He placed one arm on the small of my back and the other under my knees, picking me up bridal style.
I tried to protest but my words were drowned out by the pain that suddenly shot through my head. I squeezed my eyes closed and groaned quietly. My hand held tightly to his soft shirt and I buried my head in his chest, waiting until the pain surpassed. With a sudden jolt of pain, the gash in my head felt worse. I cried out and tightened my grip on him. If I held any tighter I was sure that my hand would have bled.
Callum's pace quickened and he told me that I would be fine in just a moment. When the excruciating pain dulled down to a bearable twinge, I was breathing heavily. I slowly loosened my grip on his shirt and opened my eyes. He had slowed down and was looking straight ahead with determination. He suddenly stopped and I pulled my eyes away from his face to look at where we were.
We were still in the forest but we had stopped in front of a small cottage. It seemed strange, though. Like the small place was something out of medieval times, yet it didn't look old or worn down in any way.
With me still in his arms, Callum asked if I could twist the handle for him. He silently kicked the door open and entered the small cottage, setting me down on the couch before going back to close the wooden door.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
Callum smiled and sat down on the floor beside the couch. "Just... hold still." He placed his palm over the gash in my head and I winced. "It's okay," he whispered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It'll be okay soon."
My head began to itch slightly and I wondered what was happening. It was the same kind of itchy feeling you got when a scrape or cut was healing. The dull pain in my head subsided until it stopped completely. Callum opened his eyes and placed his hand on my head. He smiled and strangely my head didn't hurt when he put his hand on the stop where the gash was. He took his hand away and stood up.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked.
"Huh? Uhm... no. No, not particularly."
"That's good," he said, but by the time the words reached his lips, his voice was just a murmur in the background. My eyes closed and suddenly I felt overwhelmingly tired. I succumbed to the darkness of sleep and I hoped that this time I could actually sleep peacefully for a while. But... one thing stayed in my mind, nagging at me as the dull itch of my scalp also faded until it was gone completely.
… What is this place?
