Chapter 12
The stranger held my gaze for moments too long. My heart raced and the chill of the water was slipping into my bones.
Goosebumps climbed their way up my arms and tickled the back of my scalp. I refused to look away, afraid that if I did, he would come closer.
There was a rustling of the leaves farther to the man’s right and he slowly backed away, disappearing into the blanket of leaves. I continued to stare where he had been as Grayson emerged from his trail.
In an instant, he was by my side in the water. Leaning down, two fingers tilted my chin up towards him, tearing my eyes from where the man had stood.
"What’s wrong?" He asked. He was apprehensive yet firm as he looked down at me.
I was half-naked, shaking, and on the brink of crying. I looked at him helplessly, unable to communicate who I had seen. He looked to the forest where I had been staring. His head tilted up and he sniffed the air, catching a scent undetectable to my own senses.
His brow furrowed and his eyes sparked with a golden glow, like fire growing out of control. His teeth became sharper and elongated. He stood and vanished from my side, running in the direction of the intruder.
I hadn’t wanted him to leave me, the fear of the stranger coming up behind me made me scramble towards the bank, glancing in every direction. I rung out my clothes and attempted to pull them on. The shirt had stretched out with the dampness and the jeans stuck to my skin too much to pull on.
Leaving my pants behind, I frantically stood and hopped to the hut, grasping at my ribs as I did so. I fell to the ground inside and shimmied the door shut, leaving a small crack to peer through while I waited for Grayson to return.
My breathing was coming in too loud and too fast. I placed one hand on my chest to try and calm myself. I took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth then closed my eyes only to see the darkness of his eyes, the color of a well, black and endless.
The door pulled open and I yelped before seeing Grayson’s moody and concerned face staring down at me. He grabbed my arm, just below my shoulder, and pulled me up. Yanking me into the sunlight, he searched me over.
His palms washed over me, looking at every bit of skin. I smacked at his hands, offended by his audacity. "I’m fine." I told him tightly.
He held fast to my wrist and turning it over, inspected the burn mark from the night he rejected me.
Once he dropped my hand, I held it to my chest. "Did you find him?" I asked, wanting to shift the focus from myself. He turned back towards the fire, content with the state of me.
Realizing I still had no pants, I hobbled over to the creek bed to retrieve my clothing.
"No." Was all he gave me and I could see the steam coming from his ears as he brooded.
I played with the legs of my wet pants until they finally made it over my hips and I was able to button them together. "What now? Do we move camp?"
"It wouldn’t matter, they already know we’re here. Anywhere we move, they will find us."
He was saying they as though there were more than just the man I had seen and an eerie feeling crept up my spine. "So, what do we do?"
He grimaced at my question, "We do nothing. I will handle it." I rolled my eyes at him, the alpha in him being more of a nuisance than an asset.
"Well, can’t we go back to the beach then? I mean, if they know where we are either way then we could camp there and I think I saw a spot where we could use the cliff as like a blockade against our backs and..."
"For fuck’s sake," he cut me off with a raised voice. "Have you ever been in a fight?"
He waited and I shook my head. "Have you ever been in a battle? Been in any danger at all? Has anyone even raised their voice at you before?"
You, I thought but with a meek voice answered, "no."
"You are a princess," he sneered. "You’re not meant for anything more than a title and to spread your legs when told to do so."
I grabbed the nearest rock and threw it at him. He ducked successfully and smiled at his own wickedness.
"I’d rather go with that stranger than be your princess. He probably wouldn’t speak to me in such a disgusting way!" I yelled at him.
"Go ahead then," his smile dropped. "I’m sick of taking care of you anyhow. You’re such a needy servant girl. Maybe a night with their cocks in your mouth would teach you some manners."
I picked up more rocks, this time landing the hits to his torso and shoulder. I didn’t stop, ignoring the pain in my ribs with each throw until he stood. For a moment, I thought he might come after me. His chest was rising and falling quickly with anger now. I waited and he turned on his heels, marching back into the forest.
Good riddance, I thought and leaned back against my log by the fire. With his words I imagined the strange man with several other shadows by his side, their manhood in their hands as they stared at me from above with dubious looks in their dark eyes as they rubbed at themselves.
I shook the thoughts from my mind. I hated Grayson for how he was and the things he said. I also hated that, at the same time, he made me feel safe from the unknown dangers.
I could hear rustling around the camp and recognized it as Grayson, catching glimpses every now and then as he hunted for small game nearby. He hated me as well, yet still felt the need to be close by in case the enemies returned.
I closed my eyes, wanting to return to my home or at the least a meditative state. Last time Grayson had acted so strangely so this time I concentrated solely on observing. I listened to my surroundings, hearing the birds and the wind in the trees while I waited.
Small critters moved sticks and jumped through leaves and bugs moved slowly and obliviously through the earth. A weight dropped into my lap and I opened my eyes to see a dead and bloodied rodent flopped across my legs.
I screamed and, picking it up by the tail, threw it away from me. Grayson chuckled and swooped it back up before settling down at his spot by the fire.
He went to work skinning the creature along with a second one that had been tied by its tail to his pants. I watched with disgust. He worked his knife through the skin so precisely it was barbaric.
Once he placed the skinned meat on a skewer and held it over the fire, the smell of blood and baking meat drifted towards me.
I hadn’t eaten at all today and it was nearly the afternoon. The sun was almost directly above us, the heat mixed the smell radiating from the fire made me sick. I pushed myself up from the log and with a trembling leg, hopped back towards the hut.
"Where are you off to?" He asked with little interest as he watched his feast cook.
"Back to bed. I’ve lost my appetite." He didn’t respond or argue and I closed myself into the room.
Making myself comfortable, I stared at the ceiling of the hut. Twigs and greenery twisted together, several layers sitting atop each other, protecting me from the outside world, from him.
I continued to stare, concentrating hard on keeping my mind as blank as possible. I didn’t want to think about Grayson or the other people on the island. I didn’t want to worry about the future or fret over my current condition.
My fingers twisted around the mark on my wrist, rubbing it softly as I continued to focus on not thinking until the stillness grew heavy and my eyes fell closed.