Unto the Shadow (Completed)

(Ch.15) The Run

Ryder stared at the unmoving stranger. She felt a flair of self-consciousness wondering how long he had been standing there.

She had no idea what he was doing here, but she did knew that her heart was racing again. She wasn't sure how to acknowledge him. Now realizing she had no idea what his name was, and she didn't feel calling out 'Hey Stranger' would give the right impression.

"Hello?" Was all she could think to say, despite how cliché it felt. It seemed to be enough though, as he silently began to move towards them, the tree branches hardly being rustled.

As the hooded man emerged Tairin quickly pulled Ryder aside, trying to place himself between her and the stranger. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" Tairin asked defensively.

The stranger did not answer him.

Ryder gently pulled her arm from Tairin's protective grip. "It's ok Tairin, I know him." She said, trying to ease the tension she felt radiating from Tairin. She moved around to stand in front of Tairin, as if she was the one who was supposed to protect him.

The stranger still did not speak. He simply stood there like a towering, ominous statue.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, staring hard at his shadowed face, hoping this time she might get a glimpse.

"You need to leave with me now, you're not safe here." The stranger said all too calmly. His strong voice sending chills down Ryder's spine.

Tairin was the one who answered. "What are you talking about, she's perfectly safe here. Who the hell are you?" His voice beginning to rise.

But he was cut short by Ryder gently squeezing his arm. "It's ok Tairin, I can handle this." The terror she had evaded from the attack was now finding her in crashing waves, she could hardly breathe.

She saw his internal battle between confusion and anger raging across his face. Tairin was not the type of person to be careless with his friend's safety, and she imagined those feelings were intensified by what had just happened between them. She forced the memory of the kiss from her mind, this was not the time to succumb to girlish thoughts.

"Why do I have to leave? What's not safe?" Ryder asked turning back to the stranger. She believed him but was not about to just throw her safety into someone else's care without understanding what was going on.

The stranger's hands balled into fists by his sides with her question.

A howl sounded somewhere in the distance, the wildness of the beast was disturbingly clear. Ryder noticed she wasn't the only one who had looked in the direction of the unearthly sound. The stranger had turned as well, exposing part of his face in a way she'd not yet seen. The low light revealed a strong cheek bone cutting through a porcelain complexion, and a rough layer of stubble along his firmly set jaw. She wanted to see more of him, but he turned back to her, positioning his face so that it once again was hidden beneath the shadow cast by his hood.

"That." Was all he said.

Ryder hesitated, trying to think through what was happening.

The stranger cut her scrambling thoughts short, "You need to come with me now, the more time we waste the more danger you put your friends in."

He had said the magic words, throwing other people's safety into ended Ryder's deliberation. She was not about to risk anyone getting hurt if she had the power to prevent it.