Lux : The Protector

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Lenny couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned all night, tumbling across his bed but no matter what he does he just couldn't go to sleep. He's always had a hard time falling asleep. Sometimes he just couldn't help it. He groaned and sprang up from his bed, sitting upright and resting his head on his palms. He scratched his head furiously.

His eyes were heavy and he was tired yet somehow he couldn't get to sleep. The moonlight shone through his window and onto him. His head turned towards the window, looking out in the night. The darkness looked uninviting yet...

Maybe he could go out for a little walk.

Moments later, he was out in the open, riding his bike down the street in the night. The street lights were not much help but it was enough to provide him light to see his way. He pedaled faster and felt the wind on his skin. True, the dark could be terrifying at times but somehow Lenny felt free in the night. The streets were quiet, except for the chirping of the crickets and the occasional barks from a dog he may have disturbed as he passed by.

He breathed in the night air and rode on.

The houses and the streetlights became fewer and fewer as Lenny rode on until he reached the part near the woods. Here, the breeze was even chillier yet it was relaxing. Tall pine trees surrounded him, the moon shining through the slits between the trees.

Lenny pedaled slower and let go of the handles, spreading his arms to his sides. He closed his eyes and focused on listening to the sounds coming from the woods. He could hear the branches rustling softly against the wind and the flapping of a pair of wings. It could've been an owl or some other night bird.

Then he heard some soft snaps of twigs breaking. As if someone was slowly stepping over them.

He stopped and stepped on the brakes. It didn't sound right. Sure, you could hear all sorts of sounds from the woods but not something that sounded like heavy boots crashing against soft and rotting twigs on the ground.

Lenny turned and looked cautiously around him. Who could be out there in this time of the night? It could be someone like him, someone who couldn't fall asleep either and decided to wander into the woods for a walk. But what if it was something else? Gregory did tell him one time that the woods could be dangerous, especially in the night.

"There's talk about people disappearing in the woods especially during the winter months," his friend had told him. "They never heard anything about them anymore. But then again, that's just normal in here."

Gregory could've been just scaring him for fun since he's new in town. But then again, who would even dare venture into the woods at night?

There could be wild animals or even unknown creatures out there.

Lenny shrugged off the thoughts. It was ridiculous. The woods were perfectly safe. Besides, what could go wrong?

He was feeling a bit queasy. Something was telling him that he wasn't alone. He flexed his neck and shook his head, trying to shake off the feeling when he caught sight of something in between the trees. He felt a little whiplash when he stopped abruptly and wildly searched in the trees to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

He wasn't.

There she was, standing in the middle of the woods, the moonlight softly washing over her skin making it glisten. She raised a hand upwards towards the beam coming from the moon and tucked a strand of her long dark raven hair behind her ear. It felt like hours as Lenny gazed upon the girl from his bike when it was only in a matter of seconds.

But the girl turned away, deeper into the woods.

"No, don't," Lenny whispered and hopped off his bike.

He sprinted into the woods, ignoring the ferns whipping against his pant leg. He regretted running off into the woods. Bugs swarmed everywhere and buzzed towards his face, it was annoying trying to get rid of them. He wished he'd used some insect repellent lotion or spray before heading out.

He stopped and rested behind a tree as the girl trotted straight into the overgrowth. He caught a breath and for the first time realized that the woods looked freakishly straight out of a nightmare. The gnarled and twisted branches of the trees seemed to claw towards him and the mist that came out of nowhere made him see things in the dark. He brushed off a web that caught through his hair and followed the girl further into the trees.

"You're an idiot, Lenny," he muttered.

He stepped over damp ground and slipped, falling over with a loud thud. The girl stopped on her tracks and turned. Lenny held his breath. She looked, searching, but he stayed hidden and unmoving. The overgrowth covered him from sight perfectly but it was already making his skin itch. He couldn't see the girl's face against the moonlight, just her figure as she scanned the area behind her. Seeing nothing, the girl turned her back to him.

At last, the girl reached a wide clearing but Lenny stayed in the woods, hiding behind a tree. He poked his head out and watched as the girl gaze up at the moon. Her long dark hair drifted gently behind her as the wind played with her strands. Even from behind, she was pretty to look at but he still had to see her face. Lenny held his breath.

He could see the vast night sky clearly out there and it was beautiful. The sky was clear and the moon shone brightly over them. There were tiny dots lining up at the horizon and Lenny realized it was the lights from the city down below. It was a magnificent view. And for the first time, Lenny realized that the town wasn't really half as bad as he thought.

A tiny streak of light shot across the sky and Lenny inched a little to get a better view, oblivious of the piece of twig lying just beside his foot.

The sound of wood snapping made the girl jerk her head towards his direction, her hair whipping over her face. Lenny had just enough time to duck back behind the tree, his breathing elevated. He brushed off a sweat from his brow and slowly looked back at the clearing.

The girl had gone.

Curious and confused, Lenny stepped out from the woods and headed straight into the clearing. There was no way the girl could just disappear that fast. Where could she have gone? Surely, he would have heard her head back into the woods again.

Looking around, only trees and wild plants surrounded him. He was all alone in there and there was no sign of the girl.

He retreated back slowly when something hard bashed him against the head. His ears began to ring. His vision darkened and blurred as his knees wobbled like jelly and he fell into the soft damp ground.

He groaned. His head hurt like hell and everything was spinning sluggishly. He reached out a hand to the sore spot groggily. He could see the sky but everything was all muddled up, he couldn't make out a thing.

A shadow fell across his eyes as soft footsteps padded across the grass to him. He could make out someone crouching down towards him but it was too dark for him to see the face. He could feel the person's hair brushing over his face, tickling his nose. It was soft and smelled of a sweet scent that made him felt even drowsier. His head was lifted and cradled with soft hands. He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep, giving in to the darkness that swallowed him.