Forever Fallen

Chapter 3

My body slowly starts to tremble as the mountain lion produces a deep, low, throaty growl. This is the first hostile creature that I’ve encountered so I am for the most part unprepared. I try to regain composure and focus on the situation at hand, soon breaking out of my paralyzed state. I take note of the lion’s muscles tensing as it prepares to lunge forward. I quickly, and rather inelegantly roll out of the way, resulting in It’s head shooting into the trunk of the tree. With a yelp, it took a few steps back with a dazed look on it’s face I get to my feet with a grunt before running towards my weapons that I had stupidly set down a few feet away. I turn my head and see the lion charging towards me. I felt my pupils grow as I turned my head back, ready to grab my weapons. I am too late. The mountain lion hit my side before I could make it. We flew a good foot or two before landing with the animal’s claws piercing my shoulder, ready to tear into my soft flesh. I close my eyes, ready to take on any sort of agony that is ready to happen. As I waited for the inevitable, I heard a yowl of pain, a release of pressure, and a breeze pass over my head. I open my eyes and see a figure tackling the large cat. I scramble to my feet and grab my bow and knives to help him but to my surprise that the lion had already fled and the boy had blood splattered across his body, both human and animal. He staggered an inch or two before falling to his knees, and I couldn’t find myself to be able to help him for more than a few moments. Mentally shaking myself, I dash over to him after he let out a horrible cough, blood trickling down the side of his face. I grabbed his arm and swung it over my own shoulder, blood now staining my shirt. He gave a smirk and a raspy chuckle. I took it as a thank you and grunted in a faint reply. I laid him against the tree that I once slept under and moved to my small satchel. An angry growl escapes my throat when I found no medical supplies in my bag.

“Of course…” I sit back up and rip into the black sleeve of his t-shirt. The look on his face made it plain that he is going to protest, but a grunt in pain stopped him. I close my eyes, realizing I had to make off his shirt because of the major gash along his side. I pull out my knives and pulled at the collar of his shirt, tearing it enough to rip it apart with my own hands. A groan made its way painfully out from his thin lips as I struggled with the covering. I finally get it off and a smirk made its way across his pain stricken face.

“You,” He pauses with a moan as I start to wrap the cloth around his sides, covering his strong abs, “like what you see?” I tried to ignore the comment but a smirk formed across my face. He made a raspy chuckle as I finished the binding of his wounds.

“What is your name?” The teenage boy asked with a strange tone that reminded me of Thorn. It feels as though something gripped my heart and is squeezing it hard.

“Zera,” is the only thing that I could get out of her mouth without it cracking with grief, memories suddenly flooded back to me.

“Well, I’m Tyler,” He says, seeming not to have noticed my sudden change in mood. I nod curtly, standing up to look around, the grief sinking deeper and deeper and becoming more severe as he talked.

“P-,” My voice cracked, “-Pleasure.” He looks at me with a slightly confused face before saying awkwardly, “So, what brings you to this region of the forest?”

“I’m just walking.”

“To where,” He asks with an amused smirk. Tears start to swell in my eyes and I move away.

“He has no reason to see my sadness,” I think to myself, “He probably doesn’t care anyway.”

A violent shiver hits my body and I start to move farther away. I suddenly feel his eyes on me, not like before. It feels like his eyes are sharp daggers, digging into my skin.

“Zera?” Suddenly, I hear a soft, but sharp crackling noise coming from by my feet.

“Frost,” The grass by my feet starts to dies as the thin layers of shimmering frost starts to spread.