Subject 569

5

I felt my mind go blank. Everything around me blurred as tears started to form. The sound of Ryu's voice sounded as if it was echoing from a distance. I'm not crazy. It wasn't all a dream. Tigers surrounded me, and that blue tiger was there. He's that blue tiger...Why did he have to lie to me? Why not tell me straight up. Yes, I would be confused about how the blue tiger turned into the god-like figure in front of me. Why was it a secret? Just why?

I felt Ryu touch my shoulder, making me flinch and smack his hand away. The feeling of being confused, anger, and hurt swirled up inside. I trusted him with my life, and he lied to me. The tears ran down my face like a waterfall, and he tried to reach out for me again, but I pushed him away once more. I could hear him yell out my name and run after me as I beelined to the door we just had come in through.

Not caring that I was in considerably thin clothing for the wintery weather, I ran out the door. No shoes, no jacket, no nothing to protect me from the bone chill air and the frostbite that's to come as I ran into the woods once again.

I still can't believe he lied to me. He told me that I was dreaming and that none of it was real, but it is! It's truly unfair, in my opinion. Like why lie about it when it is about how I ended up in that mansion and what happened that night I escaped away from the Shadow Man. I told him everything. All the tests that ran on me, my abilities, my entire life. And here he goes lying to me. It's like I don't even know him. Well, I barely do, but this piece of information really brings whole new lighting on him. He's really a stranger to me.

I eventually stopped running and turned to see if Ryu was still running after me, but he wasn't. He was nowhere in sight nor earshot length enough to hear him call my name if he was. Maybe he found a tigress and forgot about me. Am I even that important to him? Or am I just some hopeless and mute girl that he had to be so sympathetic to and act like I was the special girl for him?

I tried walking back to the mansion because where else am I supposed to go? It's cold as a witch's tit out here, and I don't exactly have anywhere I can consider as my own home. But of course, silly me ignored the direction I was going and is now lost. Oh, goody me! Just my fucking luck. I'm going to die out here alone and cold. Just what I needed in my short free life.

I let out a silent scream and punched a nearby ice-covered tree, only for my hand to completely break from impact. The sound that came afterward scared the life out of me...an actual scream. I let out a loud painful high pitch scream that echoed in the silent woods. My hand swelled instantly, and I felt woozy before falling into the pit of darkness.

***

Ryu's Point of View

Fuck...I feel like complete shit now. Well, the cat is out of the bag...literally. Tears started to pour out of Maie's eyes as she processed the information that I just said to her. I made her cry. God, fuck my life. I reached my hand out to her to try and calm her down, but she flinched and smacked my hand, which surprisingly hurt for a tiny, frail girl. I came closer and tried to reach out for her again, only to be pushed away as she took off running. I chased her through the house but couldn't catch her in time as she ran out the door. For a small girl, she's fast, and that's something to say since I'm the fastest in all the pride in the world put together. Before I knew it, she ran into the woods and couldn't be found. Just what I needed. I sighed and pulled my phone out to call my best tracker, who's also my best friend, Addison. On the first ring, she answered.

"What can I do for you, chief?" she asked.

"I need you to come here and track the girl that we found. She ran out into the woods," I said.

"Mind if I ask, did you scare her away?" she said.

"No, I didn't. I did something worse," I said with a sigh.

"Lemme guess, she found out you were the blue tiger from her so-called dreams and ran away crying," she said.

"Yep. Wait, how you know?" I spoke.

"Did you forget I live in the woods? I caught her scent like 5 minutes ago and realized you weren't following her. She's 10 miles west of me. Still want me to get her?" she said.

I was about to reply to her when I heard a loud high pitch scream. My heart dropped into my stomach, and fear for her life formed.

"GO NOW! I'll meet you back at your place," I said as I hung up the phone and shifted into my Maltese tiger form as I exited the house.

God, I hope she's ok. Please don't let anything happen to her.