Hollowed

III: Control

I must've looked like a complete mess as I stood there trembling. My hands were shaking and I felt faint. "Li...listen, I'm in a hurry. I might miss my t..."

"Your train? Your train doesn't arrive until four PM," the man was now standing directly in front of me, looking down at my pathetic figure.

I swallowed as I allowed myself to fully take in his appearance. To say he was handsome was an understatement. He looked almost like a prince out of a fairytale book with his thick, shoulder-length blonde hair and his tall, confident stature. His outfit though was fair from fairytale-ish. He was wearing a thick, red flannel accompanied by dark jeans and boots, and on his wrist was some sort of makeshift rope bracelet. And those eyes.. why the hell were they throwing me off?

"Wh..what?" My eyes widened. 

Before he could repeat himself I shook my head. "You know what? It's fine, I can wait," I sputtered, grabbing onto my suitcase and turning to leave.

Suddenly I felt a hand slip onto my shoulder, firmly holding it to stop me in my tracks. I flinched, taking a shaky breath before turning to meet the stranger again. "What do you want?" I hissed, looking up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Why are you leaving? You've only just got here," he questioned as his head tilted to the side slightly, his voice genuine. 

"It.. it doesn't matter. Please just leave me be. I don't fucking know you," I huffed as I attempted to remove his hand from my shoulder.

"You're the new forest ranger, right? We need you here. You can't leave," he responded as he reluctantly removed his hand.

Normally I was a friendly, cooperative woman who was almost never rude... but the only response I could muster up was, "Fucking. Watch. Me."

The blond raised a brow before sighing, shaking his head. "Can you please just tell me why you're leavin-"

"Because I almost got killed by a fucking MONSTER, that's why!" I shouted in his face, my breathing heavy.

"You guys can't just invite me in, without telling me that there is something in the woods going around and tearing people to SHREDS! I didn't fucking sign up for this, now please fuck off," I ranted before turning away from him.

I didn't care if I sounded insane. I didn't care what Romeo over here thought of me. All I cared about was getting home. Even if that meant waiting at the station for five hours. 

 As I made my way up the steep path, I could hear footsteps behind me, causing both anger and slight fear to rise in me. I whipped around, my breathing shaky. Oh shit, I thought as I came face to face with his chest. Way too close. The scent of woodsmoke and slight citrus engulfed me, befuddling my mind for a moment. After a few seconds I came to my senses and slowly looked up at him, expression laced with annoyance. "You're going from annoying to just downright creepy," I muttered when I met his pale gaze. 

The stranger only stared back down at me, studying my face with a lazy expression. After a few moments he cleared his throat, stepping back and allowing me to let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. 

"Listen, all right? This town, including myself, have been waiting for a ranger sent from the state for a long time now... we need help maintaining things going on here in the mountains, especially the forest fires. You're the only person who has professional contact with those who could help, as well as yourself," he explained, running a slender hand through his hair. 

He seemed so genuine. So desperate to keep the area safe. I almost felt guilty for leaving. 

"Just-" He began again but I cut him off with a huff. 

"Fine, I'll think about it," I snapped, grabbing my suitcase and shoving past him down to the town. 

The stranger didn't say anything, although I could hear his footsteps trailing behind me as I made my down the path. No thank you? I thought. It was kind of odd but I shook it off.