Hooked

Chapter Three: The Backstreets

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Chapter Three: The Backstreets

Three days.

That’s how long it had been since I’d sat in that odorous gym, waiting out the rain.

And also how long it’d been since I’d seen Adrian. To my utter confusion, my entire being missed him; his voice, his scent, his face, even his body. It almost hurt to not be around him, like I was suffocating from inside my own body. When I woke up this morning, on this third day, my chest was beginning to ache at longing to see him. And honestly, I was terrified by these emotional ties I’d developed in a span of ten hours. I’d know him for three days—how could I miss him more than I missed my friends from home? More than I missed William?

When simply thinking of him made the sting worse, I pushed the thoughts from my head and forced myself to sit up. It wasn’t even eleven o’clock yet, but I’d been sitting in the dingy bed in my ragged apartment since I woke up—or, in truth, since I finally gave up on trying to sleep, which I hadn’t succeeded in anyway. Standing sorely from the bed, I hoped a quick run would liven up my presence before I had to be at the college campus for the two afternoon classes I would have to endure today.

Changing into a tank-top and shorts, I walked outside into the warming air and pulled my hair into a ponytail. Since I really had no idea where I was in the neighborhood, or how decent the area I resided in was, I decided to take my run through the quieter, less populated wooded area behind my apartment building. Once I was a few yards beyond the tree line, I broke into a jog and tried to wake myself up in the morning atmosphere, wishing again that I could’ve just gotten to sleep last night.

I stepped up my pace as I neared the lake, wanting to scout out the area for anything nearby. I knew I was being overcautious, but my subconscious wouldn’t calm until I was sure there were no reasons for any people to come out this far into the woods. I slowed to a walk again, tracing around the perimeter of the lake and looking through the water. It was a semi-clear lake, but murky any farther than about two feet, and on occasion I saw fish swimming through it.

A small movement caught the corner of my eye, and I turned to see a small child stumbling through the forest. His petite structure couldn’t have been more than a year old, with his innocent smile and enthusiastic reactions to every movement in the water, and on slightly unsteady legs he progressed to the rocky edge of the lake. He crouched down and laughed, a shrill little noise that made the fish swim more quickly.

I quickly looked into the woods, searching for more people. Wasn’t someone watching this child? He could so easily injure himself, or be attacked by a wild animal--.

Splash!

To my horror, I whipped my head to see the last of the flying water as the little boy disappeared. I sprinted forward and leaped onto a rock, frantically looking through the dark water for the slightest sign of him, panicking even more when he didn’t return for air. Tossing one praying glance that no one was near, I pushed off the rock and launched myself into the water.

As the transformation took over, my eyes adapted to the watery expanse, and I quickly dove deeper under. The boy didn’t come into sight as I reeled about, hindered by my torn clothes, until I heard a gurgled noise from behind me. Blindly turning, I shot back to the sound and reached my arms out, moving the seaweed and plant-life out of my way as the child came into view. I didn’t stop to look at him, afraid I could be too late, but gripped him and powerfully shoved us upward to the surface.

I felt the air hit us as we broke the top, the choking boy in my arms coughing and wheezing as he inhaled shallowly.  I swam quickly to the edge and pushed him out of the water to the dry land, ignoring my surroundings as I tried to get the water out of his system.