Saviour

3. I See Novalon

Chapter 3.

When Kara left the room my eyes instantly darted over towards the window, taking a few seconds to weigh up the options before deciding to climb out and make a run for it. As soon as my bare feet touched the ground I was running, with no thought about going back. In all honesty, I didn't want to be a hero. I didn't want the lives of a whole kingdom resting upon my shoulders, and I definitely didn't want to lead them into battle. The thought of it all was making me feel sick to the stomach.

My legs carried me forwards, not quite as strong as they had been a few weeks ago, but they were definitely doing the job right apart from a few small wobbles every now and again. Once or twice I stopped to give them a rest to make sure they didn't collapse from beneath me. Only when I had stopped did I take notice of the sounds of the forest that surrounded me; noises that my mind was exaggerating. Hellish hisses and groans, yelps and barks, even the sound of the wind through the trees was unsettling to me. More on-edge than usual, I walked forwards again, deciding to keep moving, even if it was at a slower pace.

After another ten minutes I stopped in my tracks as I heard a noise, turning around a few times to try and pick it out, my ears straining to work out which direction it was coming from. When I discovered that it was coming from behind me, it was already too late. A great force ploughed into me and tackled me to the floor roughly, holding me against the ground as I struggled desperately, my teeth gritted harshly as I thrashed around. A hand pressed my face against the floor to keep it still and I caught a glimpse of Kara from the corner of my eye, my body relaxing as I realised I wasn't in a life or death situation.

"Alex West, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Her voice bellowed in my ear, making me shy away from her as much as is possible when you're pinned against the floor.

"I was just going for a walk." I tried, struggling again as her knee pressed against the gap between my shoulder blades. My cheek was still being held against the dry, crackling leaves that littered the forest floor.

"Don't lie. You were trying to run away." She accused.

"I don't want to stay here! I'm no hero! I'm a nobody." I sighed and gave up struggling, knowing she was stronger than me. "Just let go of me."

"The only person who thinks that is you!" Kara moved her knee away from my back, shaking her head and looking down at me. "You have to stay. You really want the deaths of thousands of innocent people to be on your conscience."

Climbing to my feet, I looked over at her, hanging my head. "You really think I can do it? You're better than me, why can't you do it?"

"It's not my destiny. It's yours. You are going to stay here and you're going to fulfil your destiny, Alex. And you're going to be great at it." Kara paused and thrust her hand out at me, holding some clothes in her hand. "Now get changed."

"Here?"

"Yes, here. Get changed." She ordered and shoved the clothes into my hands.

"But you're watching me." I felt my forehead crease slightly, not wanting her to watch as I changed.

"Alex, I've seen people get changed before. I watched the doctors change you back at the hospital. Don't be stupid."

I figured that getting into an argument with her wasn't the  best idea so decided to co-operate, pulling off my shirt and changing into the clothes she had brought me. They weren't that bad. Light in weight and dark in colour; a deep green shade that was probably meant to blend in to the environment around us. I pulled on the trousers and then looked down at myself, shrugging slightly, "I guess these are all right. Not too bad."