Ranger [ON HOLD]

Chapter Fourteen - Von

Hours of concrete road ahead of us - on what was possibly the straightest road I had ever seen before - seemed to turn into days of travel. By the time dusk settled in I felt ready to run a mile despite how it would effect my leg.

Not a word had been spoken between us since we had left the shack.

In the past few hours, I'd probably taken down more ibuprofen than I should have, but my wrist and back no longer hurt(at least as much as they could have). The pain of my knee was only in the back of my mind, and I knew I would still be hobbling for a while.

The thought had me wondering how I hadn't noticed the pain before. At least as much as I should have. Granted it could have been the worry of seeing Ranger walk into an unknown building .

I hadn't actually checked to look at my knee in the past few hours, which was probably something I should have done. Though in all honesty, I couldn't quite bring myself to care at the moment. I was tired, and sleep escaped me. And oh how I wanted  to sleep...

She looked tired as hell. But anyone would be if they were in her situation. She was recovering from a fall that should have killed her. How she had escaped with so few injuries was almost worrying. It was a good thing, but he had to wonder how she hadn't at least been crippled permanently.

Once more he stole a glance at the girl, who seemed almost unable to doze without waking herself up at the same time.

They would be at Von's in little over an hour, but she didn't seem as though she would make it that far without falling asleep. She seemed to even be swaying just sitting there, but unable to doze off as her body desperately wished.

He glanced up into the rear view mirror, nodding as he caught Ethan's eye. There wouldn't be too much time to question her as they'd originally hoped. But she needed rest.

"Ranger," Ethan spoke up, leaning forward to brace an arm on the back of Ella's seat. "when we get to Von's I'll go check the boundaries. Von is already on the books, so you can help Ella get settled."

It didn't need to be said that she would be questioned as well.

"So I get to meet Von now, huh?" Ella's attention turned to Ethan, light blue hues curious, but with a tiny hidden glimmer of excitement to them. It had Ranger pulling a slightly more

"Yeah, he's a good friend." Ethan explained, turning his attention to her with a small friendly smile. "He'll like you. I'm sure of it." His words were meant to encourage of course - once she saw the hulking guy she wouldn't feel too safe. Hell, who did? Ranger had felt somewhat nervous around the guy for quite some time until they got to know him better.

The guy was practically cuddly. A hunter with such a kind heart shouldn't exist  - but it was good he did. It was only because of him that they were alive.

~ ~ Book One, Page 324 ~ ~

Ranger stood, glinting blue hues surveying his surroundings cautiously. Ethan stood to his back, rifle in hand and faring a little worse than his friend. The fight wasn't over however.

Ranger's shoulders rose and fell with labored breaths, posture strong as he mentally took this moment to survey the damage to his body.

A cut lip, stab wound three inches lower than his ribs, and more than a few jagged bite marks and flesh wounds. He'd hit more than his fair share of old tables, and jagged bits of furniture in this run down old house.

Blood nearly obscured his vision from a cut directly above his eyebrow - a lucky swipe from that damned Demon Cassandra. The little bitch had managed to claw him before running with her tail between her legs. He had Ethan to thank for shooting her, otherwise his eye would be gone and he'd be writhing on the floor. If he wasn't dead.