Drifters: Unbounded -Chapter Four-

Why?

It was all I could think as I stood, helplessly choking for breath. We had been together for a year and a half...Why would he wait until now to kill me? More importantly, why would he want to kill me?

Not once did Dominic dare look away from me, his eyes locked with mine, as deadly and determined as his grip around my throat.

I waited for someone to walk out, to intervene this nightmare, but nothing happened. We were alone, and I was to die.

An overwhelming sense of anger washed over me, so surprisingly strong it was enough to make me gag had I not already been choking. What was happening to me?

My eyes began to shut, and I couldn’t tell if it was due to the lack of air, or the fear of being killed by the person I love. Er, loved.

Just when I felt the oncoming lightness that came with the urge to faint, the pressure was gone. Air leaked into my chest, causing my heart to race twice as fast as my body slumped to the floor. The white and green tile was cool against my skin, tempting me to lie there and curl into a ball to shut out whatever was bound to happen next. Yet I couldn’t, I wouldn’t allow myself to look away.

Through the deafening pulsing in my ears, I could hear Dominic’s raised voice.

“What the hell?” Dominic cursed, holding a bloody hand close to his chest.

I traced his gaze to the person standing towards the end of the hall, tall and dark, though too far away for me to make any specific connection as to whom it may be. I didn’t care. At least now I wasn’t alone. For a second, a sudden sense of power coursed through me, quick, but strong all the same. The air slowly began to feel prickly , almost like static. A bright light filtered through the hall, nearly blinding as it reflected from the metal lockers and white walls, blanketing the hall in a camouflage of white.

Dominic took a few steps forwards, standing just in front of me, “You.” He snarled in apparent recognition, “I thought I told you to stay out of my way.”

I tried to make sense of the scene. To me, it seemed as though neither one of them acknowledged the light’s effects at all. I strained my eyes so hard that my head ached in protest, but the light was just too bright. All I could make out was the faded silhouettes of their bodies.

The figure approached, stopping a few feet away, “I’m afraid I don’t listen very well.”

As though someone flipped a switch, the light disappeared. My eyes looked around when they adjusted to the dim hallway, but Dominic was nowhere to be seen. In his place, stood a guy, not much older than me it seemed. His dark hair covered half of his face as his tall form bent down at my side.

“Hm,” he uttered with a vague look.

I got the feeling it was out of disappointment, but I had no real reason as to assume why it seemed that way. I began to feel something hot running down my stomach. I spared a hesitant glance at the horrific amount of blood that was pooling down my side from the puncture wound left by the dagger in the side of my hip. Black lined the edge of my vision as I looked up to the person who had presumably saved me.

The last thing I saw before I lost all consciousness was his pair of blue eyes as dark and cold as an ocean’s abyss looking back at me.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

A dull thrumming echoed around me. Faint, almost like a heart beat- drub, drub, drub. It grew louder as time went on, until finally it was unbearable.

I opened my eyes, squinting at the daylight that followed. A canopy of green towered over me so thick I was surprised the sunlight managed to breach through it.

A dampness coated the underside of my body and I gradually mustered the energy to sit up. My neck instinctively turned as far as it could go both ways, following my eyes as I absorbed my hypnotic surroundings...

Trees. They were everywhere. The tall, thick trunks went on for as far as I could see in all directions. Plants of every kind sprouted around the roots, on the rocks, and scaled up the cankered, moss-ridden boles. Flowers of blues, yellows, and whites blossomed in the pads of sunlight that managed to sift through the treetops, attracting bugs galore.

The way the greenery swayed in sync with the will of the breeze was enchanting in a way, as though I had woken up in Wonderland or something of the sort. Then it dawned on me.

Where was I?

Not once had I ever seen somewhere so serene. It was almost unreal and only made my longing for answers all the more enthralling.

I got to my feet, wavering slightly as I began to walk forwards. There didn’t seem to be any real path, so I took the closest clearing in the trees that I deemed possible to trek through.

The moist earth sank under my weight, quieting the heavy steps of my nervous stride. Although it seemed as though the forest had remained untouched for many years, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to try to get someone’s attention.

“Hello?” I called out into the dense trees, waiting another moment before repeating louder, “Hello? Is anyone out there?”

There was no reply other than the return of my voice as it echoed through the close space.

I felt a sudden prick of doubt in the upper portion of the back of my neck. What if I was alone? Surely there had to be some sort of civilization nearby...

The soft sound of lulling water caught my attention, and I paused to make sure I heard it correctly. Yes, it was definitely there although it was subtle. I pinpointed the direction the best I could and started off that way, hoping it would lead me out of this forest if it was a stream.

I cursed lightly as my ankle twisted at a rather peculiar angle, causing me to fall on my hands into the dirt. Being so distracted, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that I was still wearing the heels that Rena had remarkably gotten me to wear.

I winced at the familiarity of the thought. Rena, my closest friend. I had known her since before I could remember, and not once did our relationship ever change. She may as well have been a sister to me... Where was she? Could she be looking for me now?

Hope ran through my body at the thought. I wasn’t alone. My family would be looking for me. They would find me.

The feeling died quickly as another thought entered my mind. I frowned, puzzled. Beyond Trig class this morning, I couldn’t remember much of anything at all. So, how did I end up here?

A loud crack from above spliced through the quiet of the forest, drawing me from my thoughts. It grew louder with each creak from the trees above me, though I couldn’t see anything through the entwined quilt of branches and vines.

“Hello?” I yelled, figuring it couldn’t hurt to try if someone really was up there.

The sound stopped, and for a moment, I wondered if they had heard me.

A giant blur fell from the tree, landing to the ground with a harsh thud that shook the earth beneath me.

My stomach knotted tight at the brown eyes that stared back at me.

A large cat crouched before me, its eyes level with my own. It bared its all too impressive seven inch canines in my direction, although it wasn’t entirely necessary considering they hung out of its muzzle in a nightmarish overbite.

At first, the tan, striped body looked like that of a tiger, but its build was too bulky, and its tail was too short to compare. Not to mention the spears that grew out of its mouth.

I didn’t even flinch as it emitted a low, gritty gnarl. It seemed I had lost control of my body, too paralyzed with fear to logically think of a way to put distance between us.

Its paws were the size of my face, each equipped with claws like spear-heads, and a vast affiliation of muscles rippled under its sleek pelt as it began to close the distance between us. If anything classified as the definition of power, this was it, and its target was me.