Heroes and Wolves [book 1]

Chapter eleven

Layla

My mind is flooded with questions, my brain racing with thoughts. I'm not able to take hold of one and truly consider it as they go by so fast and change course very quickly. What are the red and yellow orbs?    

     "Layla" I hear my name and meet his gaze. My thoughts lose track. "Did you hear what I just said?"

     "No" I frown.

     "I did wonder since you were staring into space. I asked why you were surprised by the name of the forest?"

     "Why do you say that?"

     "It doesn't take a genius to spot your reaction and body language when I said the name. You never knew of it did you? And you had a similar reaction when I asked about your parents" he wonders, wanting an answer from me.

     "You really don't have the right to delve into that part of anyone. You even said that curiosity is a harmful trait and you crossed the line" I defend myself.

     "Okay, I'm sorry"

     "Now I need to get going" I push off the bed but hardly move. My shoulder stabs with pain which is likely the cause for my lack of distance.

     "You can't leave Layla"

     "Yeah, thanks for that, I know I can't move" I roll my eyes. Idiot.

     "That scratch was very deep; it will take some time to heal" I don't look at him but I know he is gazing at me. "You will be fine here, you are safe" He calms but it's coming from a man whom I don't know and still suspect to be a weirdo or a murderer.

     "This could have just been a plan for you to get me here in an isolated place. I don't know where the hell I am"

     "You do realise that you are lucky to be here" his eyes narrow as he stands from the bed and his expression is in such a way that I don't know how to respond. This man is definitely not a Guardian Angel. I curse myself for even thinking he might have been, curse the fact that I always want to help people that are in trouble, curse my lack of barriers I have towards people like Maylock. I just attract the wrong attention; it's been like that ever since school.

     "Are you threatening me?" I rise off the bed in anticipation but then wince as my shoulder is engulfed in twice the amount of pain. 

As soon as he sees my discomfort, he darts to one of the wooden cupboards opposite me. I eye the screwlag, ready to grab it if he makes a move. I'll push through the pain again to be able to fight back. I don't care. 

He opens the cupboard and I cannot see inside as he is standing in the way but this makes my thoughts run wild. That's his cupboard where he gets his weapons from. I am going to get hurt. He places something in his trouser pocket and a wrapper crumples as he closes the cupboard. He then turns to face me. He has something in his hand as he walks toward my bed. Shit. I keep my eye on the screwlag while I await his advance since there is nothing I can do, nowhere else to go. Each of his steps produces a creak from the floorboards reacting with him. Each heavy thud of anticipation causes my heart to pound harder as he edges closer to my bed. When he reaches me, without a second thought, I bolt to grab the screwlag while at the same time he comes toward me and his hand clashes with mine in my frantic state making my only defence fall to the floor and whatever he was holding also.

     "Dammit!" he cusses out in dismay and bends down to pick up what he dropped. All I can see is the top of his head until he brings himself up. "That was the last pack" he throws what he had onto the bed and I feel like an utter idiot as I lay my eyes upon it. There are multiple curled, pale crisps and the blue rectangular wrapper beside it in a crumpled mess. Crisps! He had a packet of flipping crisps! "They were for you as you must be hungry. What did you think I was getting?" he frowns bewildered but I can see some humour in his eyes. "Your very self-defensive"

     "I know" I reply instantly.

     "There's nothing wrong with that. I think it's a bonus but I will be taking this" he shows the screwlag and tucks it in his top pocket of his jacket. "But as I said before, you are safe here, no harm will come to you. I was also getting you some medicine"

     "Oh"

     "Yeah oh" he smirks, raking a hand through his dark hair which flattens it, only for it to pop back into place when his hand leaves. "I can see that you're going to be a lot of work already"

     "What do you mean?" the pain from my shoulder shoots out again but I hold a reaction to it and the sensation mellows.

     "Eat this" he takes out what he put in his pocket earlier. It's a silver wrapper smaller than the crisp packet and it crackles from his touch as he opens it. He hands it to me and I tip it out on my hand. It's a cube. I poke it which makes it wobble. It's like jelly. "I don't think poking it will lead you to consuming it"

     "But its green, I am not eating it"

     "Eat it" he demands.

     "Is it poison?" I ask because why would he want me to eat it? Why is he so adamant that I do so?

     "You need it"

     "You don't know what I need. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind of consuming this unknown odd green cube that you keep pushing me to eat and I am not going too because its poison"

     He expels out a loud huff. "Layla, you're in pain from your wound and it will only heal if you have medicine"

     "Well give me medicine then" I roll my eyes.

     "That" he points to the cube. "is the medicine I got for you. It's called medilac"

     "This is medicine?" I look at my palm "So you don't want to hurt me?"

     "Jeez, who do you think I am?"

     "Well I don't know" I snap back and the atmosphere around us becomes a standoff between me and him. It's silent as we both look at each other. I wait for him to crack under it but he doesn't which takes me by surprise as normally people do when sensing this type of tension. I have so much experience feeling this from school that it doesn't faze me when it arises.

     "Fine" he stands back from me. "I'll prove who I am"