The Road Ahead

Jailbait

The Road Ahead 

   "Stand Beside Me" Chapter Three 

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   "We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The capacity for survival and renewal is awesome." Quote By: Isabel Allende 

   Zero ran, and ran, and ran. She would leap over fallen trees, dash through bushes, and almost fly through the air when she jumped over large holes. Her strength and will-power surprised me. Never had I seen a werewolf before this, but I had never, ever, imagined one to be and act this way. The way she maneuvered her wolf body indicated that she was happy, I've seen the way a dog acts when it first comes out of a crate after a long time. It moves in a playful, puppyish way. 

   That's what Zero was doing. She was being playful. 

   My legs tightened around her back and my fingers soon turned red because I was holding her fur tightly, I hope I wasn't hurting her by doing this. I looked at my hands once again and saw Giles' hands. They looked strong, rough, but soft and warm at the same time. I wanted to touch them. The fear of letting go of Zero's fur overpowered my desire to touch his hands though. 

   He rested his head between my shoulder blades, I felt his chest rise and fall when he breathed. I felt his belt dig into my lower back. I held my breath. Every thought that ran through my mind created feelings that I never had before. "I've never actually met you yet, my name is Giles. You're, Echo?" 

   I nodded, and laid my head down on Zero's back. She was really comfortable, and warm. Giles, was even more comfortable. As The wolf started to slow down I stretched my legs straight out. I think Zero got the message and she stopped, crouched down to the ground and let me jump down. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I collapsed. Giles jumped down quickly and helped me up, grabbing me around the waist as well and grabbing my forearm. 

   Zero looked at us, then trotted back behind a tree.

   I took this moment to turn and look at Giles, he looked mysterious. His eyes had an intensity I had never seen before, but they also hid the softness in them. I knew a soft side of him lingered in there somewhere, but where exactly? My eyes slid over his body and he raised an eyebrow playfully, my cheeks flushed. 

   "Good to know I'm liked." He said out loud, which only made me go redder. 

   "Maybe a little to much..." I muttered to myself and turned my body towards the tree our wolfy friend had disappeared behind. She stood there in shorts and a loose shirt, looking between Giles and I like we were her prey. A smirk played on her lips. 

   "We got out, what do we do now?" Giles asked breaking the silence between the three of us, Zero didn't move, or take her eyes off us. 

   "We have to find food, which I can do. Though, we also need shelter and plans to move into town. Giles, I know you're a survivalist, so shelter is your area. Echo..." She thought for a minute, "I'll take you into town tomorrow, I got some cash, but not a lot. See if you can get us a car, a fast one. Even if you have to steal it." 

   I had been under Yuri's control for so long I had forgotten where we were, "What state are we even in?" I asked stupidly. Giles laughed beside me and covered his mouth with his large hand. 

   "If I'm right, we're a on the outskirts of Kentucky." Zero replied, a smile formed on her lips. I looked at my shoes for a long time while Zero and Giles talked back and fourth about the plan, I didn't take an interest in it. I was with them, they won't leave me here to die. 

   Memories with my father soon flooded into my memory and I began crying, my body hunched over onto itself and I clutched my knees into my chest. I heard the shuffle of feet, a set of stealthy ones and lazy ones. "I'll be back with food, take care of her." Zero said. 

   I guess she shifted into her wolf because growls filled the air around us and the sound of paws against the ground died. "What;s wrong, Echo? We're out, we're free." Giles said gently, he knew nothing about me, and I wanted it to stay that way. I didn't want him knowing about my father, how I grew up, nothing. I wanted to be a ghost. 

   When I didn't respond his hands wrapped around my body and jerked me up. I've always hated it when people saw me cry so I flung myself into his arms. He didn't say a word to me, but simply held me while the tears poured out of me like a waterfall. 

   Why am I being like this? 

   I stayed in his arms for a long time, my tears died down and a large wet spot was on his shoulder. When I pulled away I looked at it and felt horrible, he must feel gross. It was a mixture of water and snot. My nose runs when I cry. 

   "I'm so sorry..." I whimpered looking down, I didn't want to look into his blue eyes. They intimidated me. 

   He grabbed my face in his hands and forced me to look at him. "Hey, it's okay." I looked down but he pushed my head back up, "I'm here, I always will be." 

    Something about his words made me feel better, no one had ever really said them to me. I felt like a small child in his presence, like the daughter he never met. I hated that. I wanted to be something more to him. A lover maybe, a friend. I just... I always want to be around him. 

   I felt safe. Home. 

   He smiled at me gently and I returned the gesture, it made his eyes lighten up. "We got stuff to do, kid. Let's get to work." 

   "I'm no kid." I said defensively, he chuckled and turned his back and started walking away. I followed. "Come on, how old are you?" I asked, staring at his shoulders. He ducked under a branch and held it back for me until I passed in front of him. 

   "I'm eighteen." He said, I heard his footsteps behind me. Surprisingly, I felt his heat on my back. His body was warm. "I'm getting ready to turn nineteen, actually. How old are you?" 

   "Freshly sixteen." I said with a smile, technically, I was legal now. 

   "Okay, good thing. You'd be jailbait if you weren't." 

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