Changed

Chapter Eight

A screech tore through the forest, and if we had been any closer our ear drums would have succumbed to it's volume. I was in Alec's arms and found myself struggling to breathe. Not because of how close we were, or how I could smell his sweet breath on my close face, or even because of his athletic body pressing me to him. It was because the air was being sucked out of me, the feeling in my lungs was like a reversed vacuum - constantly exhaling. Everything around me was a blur and all my senses faded out into nothingness.

"Alec what did you do to her?" 

"Nothing! I swear I just carried her over here!"

" You dumb ass."

"Would you rather have her die?"

"Apparently it wouldn't have mattered either way now would it."

My vision went from black to a slight fragment. I groaned and my head was a hornet's nest.

"Hey there sweetie," a calm female voice coaxed my eyes open. "You're safe, don't you worry."

A woman probably in her fifties had my head on her lap, stroking my hair. Her warm brown eyes and pleasant smile welcomed me to the conscious world. I was in some kind of modern tent from what I could tell, and a slight breeze comforted me enough to trust this being.

"Boys, she's awake." she murmured, obviously annoyed by the quarreling going on outside. She gently propped me up to a sitting position and I could see the small, minimally decorated living space. An old-timey lamp hung beside me, radiating a soothing light.

Alec came into the tent followed by the slightly shorter Hail. My cloudy brain wondered whether I should just pass out again to avoid this awkwardness when Alec knelt down beside me. 

"Sorry pretty lady," he said sweetly, brushing away a strand of hair that had settled across my face. 

"Stop touching her, you've done enough." grumbled Hail, still standing at the tent entrance, as if to stop my escape.

I shot him a look that would have made him spontaneously combust into flames if I could have made it so.

"I'd like an explanation," I stated as I propped myself up further and the nice lady I woke up to left the tent, leaving me with two extremely attractive guys and a lot of tension. 

"I saved you and ran you out of a danger zone, bringing you to camp," explained Alec.

"No, you ran so unnecessarily fast that you made her pass out for half a day." 

"At least he didn't ditch me." I shot back at Hail, who I've started not to like all that much. 

The words came out like daggers, and Hail huffed in disgust while storming out. 

Alec chuckled at Hail's toddler-esque dismissal and explained that a Scaevus was after us, so he tapped into his freakishly fast spurt and ended up at Camp Fourteen. The constant rush of air made me pass out, and he did not fail to mention how I drooled on his arm. 

"Couldn't the Scaevus track you? I mean physical contact between the Changed makes us a target, why didn't they follow you?"

Alec laughed his amazing laugh, but I failed to see what was funny.

"Hail has a ... problem with people touching him. He's not a people person and you're only going to see him smile once in a blue moon. I know it seems ridiculous, it's some kind of underlying issue from his past- I don't know. He just doesn't let people touch him. Poor baby. Yeah contact between the Changed heightens a Scaevus' senses, but doesn't give them a GPS memo to where we are," He reached for me and I gulped, hoping I didn't just flinch.

"We however," He tapped my nose. "Are just fine." He winked and left me in the company of a buzzing lamp.