When The Heart Sings

Chapter 3

Darien's POV:

I watched the traffic go by, although I ignored most of it. It was the buses that interested me and I had watched dozens go by so far. None of them held what I was after. I glanced up towards the sun, although it was hidden by the thick leafy canopy. I was fairly certain that this was about the right time.

A twig behind me snapped and I glanced back, but it was only a rabbit. I doubted that the scientists would be searching this close to where I had escaped. They would assume that I had run for the hills and had likely already given up searching this town in favor of further locations.

I had made sure to drop my original clothing along the highway heading south of the town to reinforce that thought. My current clothing had been taken from a clothesline. I shifted my weight restlessly as I became increasingly agitated with my fruitless wait.

I had only caught a glimpse of her before that bus had disappeared behind the trees yesterday. The desire to go after her had been so strong that it had increased my strength and speed threefold. I had been much faster and stronger than a human to begin with, so the change even managed to surprise me.

The guards' specialized electrical weapons that could normally bring me to my knees had barely affected me. Thousands of planned escapes over the years had failed, but this spur of the moment attempt had succeeded. Because of her. Because I had to find her.

I hadn't been able to sleep since. The memory of her face kept appearing whenever I closed my eyes. I had no idea where she was and it was killing me. I had to find her again, and I wasn't leaving this forsaken planet until I did.

Even my increased speed had not been enough to catch up to that bus fast enough. It had been quite some distance away and had turned off somewhere while out of my sight. I was hoping that she was a regular passenger and would pass this way again.

My eyes closed and the image of her face in the bus window appeared like a vision. She had been looking at me, as if she could clearly see my face across the distance - which should not have been possible for a human. Somehow, though, her eyes had locked with mine until the trees interfered.

I had only seen her for six seconds, but even at that distance, it was enough to feel the bond stir. The distance should have made it impossible, yet I stood here as evidence of it. I had been nowhere near close enough to get a reading on her, yet the bond had somehow recognized her. The bond had not truly formed and it was still quite weak, but it was persistent.

To find one's soulmate was rare and the two usually needed to be quite close or even touching in order to recognize the bond. I had never heard of a Tarulk having a human as a soulmate before. Then again, most avoided this planet if possible. After being trapped by these scientists for almost thirty years, I could vouch for the wisdom of that plan.

I heard the deeper sound of a bus and opened up my eyes. I checked every window as it drove by to see if she was anywhere on the bus. A growl left my throat as this bus also lacked what I was seeking. My temper had always been fairly short, but it was worse with the strain of not knowing where she was or if she was safe.

Another bus approached and my breathing stopped. There she was. The bond hadn't stirred yet since our eyes hadn't met, but I knew it was her. She was looking back down the road with a sad and disappointed expression. Why would she look sad? I inhaled in surprise as I realized that she had been looking back towards the hellish place they called the research center. Had she been hoping to see me again?

I took a step forward, unable to stop myself from getting closer. Her head turned and her eyes looked straight into mine. The second our eyes met, the bond stirred again. She looked surprised and relieved to see me. How could she see me in these deep shadows? I wasn't sure, but she was looking straight at me.

The bus went behind another group of trees and I snarled as I lost sight of her. There was no way in hell that I was losing her again. I had already examined the main roads around here last night, halfway hoping to see her out taking an evening stroll.

My feet kept pace with the bus and I took note of the name of its next stop as it flashed along the display panel at the back of the bus. I ensured that I could see the bus occasionally as I tracked it by sound. I was keeping to the deeper shadows to avoid being spotted, but several times the bond stirred as our eyes met. She was somehow spotting me occasionally.

This park was large, but it didn't go on forever. I was running out of forest. This city did seem to favor numerous smaller parks, which would make things a bit easier. It nearly killed me to leave the bus, but the knowledge that I was going to beat her to the bus stop allowed me to alter my course.