Shield - A New Species Fanfiction (Wild at Heart Chronicles, Book 1)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Running.

She was running again. It was only a matter of time before they caught her.

They always did.

Her legs were growing heavy, and the path ahead of her was blocked. She skidded to a halt and tried to retrace her steps, but the trail behind her disappeared. Her lungs burned. With her throat constricted, she couldn't draw enough air to scream. She staggered back and trembled in the center of the clearing, the same one they'd been herding her to since the beginning. Running was pointless, she knew that. No matter which path she chose, her destination was always the same.

Always.

A dead end.

The forest around her swayed and whispered. Sometimes it laughed. Decrepit and devoid of leaves, the trees uprooted from the earth and with the help of their gnarled branches they dragged themselves in her direction. They surrounded her, closing the space in the clearing until she had no choice but to huddle on the floor.

That's when it grabbed her.

A claw-shaped branch circled her ankle and lifted her as though she were a ragdoll. Another snatched her arm and began to pull in the other direction.  She opened her mouth to scream, but not a sound escaped her. Tears blurred her vision, but she could still feel them. Those claws. Everywhere they touched, the warmth was sucked out of her until an unbearable cold took its place and left her paralyzed. This is the part where they'd gobble her up. Jagged teeth would smile and tear her to pieces.

She forced air into her lungs and sobbed.

"Calm."

A gruff voice penetrated her senses, the sound deep like a bass drum. Something about it was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't understand why. She couldn't think. A claw was pulling her hair now, another raked her leg. Her flesh tore and blood spilled from the wounds down to the floor.

Pain.

There was so much pain.

"Calm," the voice said again.

She felt pressure on her back, her neck, and finally her face. Something rough brushed the length of her nose and eyes, but this wasn't painful.

It felt warm.

"I will keep you safe."

More warmth seeped into her body, chasing the cold away. The dreadful forest around her faded. The trees released their hold. Someone had once said those words to her before. A softer voice. Feminine.

I'll keep you safe, baby.

Taking hold of that memory and the gentle tenor of her mother's voice, she surrendered to that promise until her nightmare ended at last.

*   *  *

A thread of awareness tangled itself to her subconscious and pulled gently, luring Paige from the depths of sleep. It was a slow process, as usual. She hadn't heard the alarm, so she probably had a few minutes to spare and doze off again. A distant part of her wondered how long she could dawdle in bed, before she had to rush to the bathroom, dress, and then jog across campus to her first class. Maybe she could skip? She'd never done that before, but the thought was tempting. Burrowing her nose deeper to the inviting warmth of her blanket, she decided one day without A History of Music and the Evolution of Lyrics wouldn't be the end of the world.