One-Shots of My O.C.'s Lives

Tree Climber

I'm not really the kind of borrower with special powers or anything, but I am pretty tall if that counts for something? Heheh, well my name is Adam Dahlberg, and uh... I'm a borrower. Yeah. I'm not a hybrid, I'm just a really inquisitive guy. I've never seen a predator before, but then again no one usually gets to see one without... Y'know, getting eaten.

Anyways, I've been told before that I would be an easy and satisfying meal for such creatures, but how am I suppose to get eaten when I've never seen one before? Not that I wanted to die, but I really did want to see one.

So one day, I was climbing up a really tall tree for fun and exercise. I mean like, really tall... High high up, the wind was pretty bad too. I paused for a moment to look down, grinning when I was just past the height of an average human's. I had wanted to see what it was like from a human's perspective. I gotta admit, it's really cool. I could almost feel the power, the strength, the-

I tensed when I saw a human, and I quickly ducked back a little behind a leaf as he slowly walked up to the tree, shaking his head in confusion and sniffing the air. My breath caught in my throat when I realized he was a predator as he looked up, and I shrank back before he could spot me. But I had witnessed the sharp fangs, the glowing-like eyes, and the hunger in his eyes. I was excited, afraid, but excited. 'I can't wait to tell the others about this,' I thought eagerly as the predator sat down at the base of the tree, his head hanging a little as he yawned.

I watched for a bit, seeing him remain immobile. What was he doing? What thoughts were running through his mind? I wanted to learn more about this guy and stay and watch, but I noticed the sun was beginning to set when a cool breeze ruffled my hair. I looked back down at the predator, seeing that he had lifted his head to stare at the setting sun. Since he was distracted, I decided now was the best time to go before I freeze to death, so I started making my way down as the wind picked up again, even more harshly.

Then when I was about halfway down, a really strong breeze suddenly smacked me in the face, and I gasped when I lost my balance, scrabbling to hold on to the bark. Then another forceful wind, and I found myself tumbling in the air with a screech of alarm. Panic slammed into me as everything grew disorientated, and after a few seconds of free-falling I landed on something soft and fluffy with a "Mmf!" Then I felt a jolt, and I was falling again, so I braced myself to hit the hard ground.

But the fatal landing never came. Quivering, I slowly opened my eyes, seeing that I was suspended in the air. Although below me was the lower half of the predator I had seen earlier, which meant...

My breaths quickly went fast and shallow as I started hyperventilating, and I slowly looked up with wide eyes. The predator had caught me by the scruff of my jacket, while saving me from dying by impact now had me realizing that I should fear that I was about to have a much slower death. I immediately gasped and thrashed in an attempt to break free, but then I was immediately surrounded by skin, trapped in a tight grip. Despite my legs and arms being pinned immobile, I still struggled to try to escape as I felt the predator walking.

Then I heard a door close, and a few seconds later the hand opened to a flat surface. I immediately sprang forward in an attempt to make a break for it, but I was easily picked up again by my jacket's scruff and set back down in the center of the palm. Again I tried, and once again I failed. After this repeated a few more times, I grew tired, so I stayed laying where I was, curled up and wheezing from both being out of breath and from apprehension.

I flinched when I felt the predator pet me, and I curled up tighter, a soft whimper escaping me. They were right. I was easy prey. I should have listened to them, or stayed up in the tree, or something-- anything that could have prevented this... And now I was going to die.