Mirror Walker

Chapter 14

A man.

It was a man, his chestnut brown hair dangling from his forehead as he lingered above her- green, stunned eyes staring into her own. He was slender, handsome she dared consider, yet still had a strong grip on her wrists as his hands firmly clasped them beside her head. They were so close. She'd never been this close to a boy before, and most certainly never in this indecent position.

He was shaking just as she was, panting heavily with breaths that mirrored her own, keeping her firmly pinned to the ground while her mind failed to wrap around what was happening. But the only thing she could comprehend, was that she wasn't alone.

A person.

An actual person. Alive and breathing. She was so happy that there was someone else here that she didn't know whether she should laugh or cry, instead staring up at him blankly while her spine rippled against the cold soil, skin tingling at his calloused touch.

He studied her for a split second, both of them in a state of shock, till he trailed his eyes up and down her and broke into a mischievous grin that did a poor job of hiding his nerves, "Hi gorgeous."

Heart skipping a beat with butterflies, she was only reminded that they were about to be eaten by a fire breathing lizard when she felt the eruption of heat from not so far away, the flames almost licking them as they both startled and curled tighter into the ground. Charlie screamed a small shriek, closing her eyes so tight that she saw white spots appear in the darkness, not wanting to open them again. She didn't want to see anything. She could live in darkness now for all she cared.

Would be a pity though because her saviour did have a nice face.

"Come on!" his voice made her jump, his hands clasping her own so tightly when he hoisted her up. With no choice but to obey, she scrambled to stand like he commanded, swaying with fear as her legs felt like jelly. He kept his hold on her, steadying her with a hand on her waist as this time he surveyed her with concern, mouth pressed into a thin line without a shred of a smile, "You alright?"

She was about to answer when he turned his head away to the monster, eyes flickering with a clear strike of alarm when he shoved her away. Again, she fell to the earth, letting out a bark of pain when she sat, only just managing to swivel and stop herself with her hands. Everything quivered like it was going to fall apart inside her, sitting still like concrete while she grew faint when she saw the deadly flame blow straight past her.

ROAR went the blaze, so loud and threatening that all she could do was gawk at it and shiver.

It was so close, burning her face, causing sweat to drip from her neck. Yet she couldn't move. If it was any closer, she would be cooked to a crisp. But she was too scared to move, stuck in a trance, watching the spiralling hurricane of red flow like a river torrent in front of her.

She was so scared.

Then it ended. The man leaped out from the other side, looking down at the dazed girl and rushing to bend and hurry her up again, lunging for her arms and harshly yanking her as he cried, "Come on!"

His grip was painful around her wrist, wrapped so strictly that it made red marks burn on her skin as he began to race for a close set of boulders. She didn't feel it though, numb to everything with her mind as blank as an untouched canvas.

Lunging behind the rocks, he shoved her against them. Her legs failed her, and she toppled onto one, managing to press her elbow into it to stop herself from smashing her head, freezing straight after with breaths so disorganised that they came out as gasps. Noticing this, he let go, supporting her by gripping her shoulders as he clumsily apologised, "Sorry! Sorry, are you alright? I know I'm being rough, I'm sorry."