The Unknown

Chapter One

A branch snaps, making me dread turning around even more than I already am. Fear gets the best of me, forcing me to spin around pointing the light in the direction the sound had come from. There I see my dog. She's just standing there in silence. It almost looks as if she is dead. I go to take a step towards her, but her image soon fades, and disperses into thin air. What just happened?

I look up from the ground to see even more pairs of glowing eyes. They're still somewhat far away, but that could change soon. I do a three-sixty turn to try and keep my eyes on them for as long as possible. My eyes began to water, and it didn't take long for my tears to now come streaming down both sides of my cheeks.

"Hey! Get out of here!" an unanticipated male voice calls out into the woods. At first I thought he must be talking to me, but now every pair of glowing eyes immediately trail over to one spot. As do mine. I figure that must be where the voice came from. The creatures screech and all flee in the same direction. They were out of sight in less than two seconds. The sounds of my whimpering dog come up behind me. I feel slightly comforted as I feel her rub against my leg, now knowing she must be real. I shine the light on her just to be safe. It was her, Sadie.

I suddenly become aware of what had just happened and look up at the silhouette of a man. He's still standing in the same place as he had been when he scared off the glowing-eyed creatures. What about him could've possibly scared them away? Fear begins to rush through me as I take a step back, not knowing what I should do.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asks. His voice was gentle and caring. I don't think he wants to hurt me.

"Uh, I think so. Who are you?" I reply. He begins stepping closer causing me to feel more frightened. I take another step back as he steps towards me.

"My name is Caden. You don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt you. Shine your light on me," he says. I do what he said and shine the beam of light towards his outline. He looks like a nice person, definitely not threatening in any way. His hands are held up next to his face as he begins walking  towards me again.

"I'm here to help you." He is now standing right in front of me. As he had walked over I kept the light on him watching his every move. The closer he came to me the farther up I had to look. I'm short, but he sure is tall. Caden looks about my age. He's wearing a skin tight white T-shirt that hugged his slightly visible muscles. He has shaggy light brown hair and bright blue eyes. His eyes are a dark shade of blue that I just can't seem to shift my gaze from. I feel comforted by him. All these different emotions that I have been through in just a few minutes are leaving me confused. I am exhausted. I step forward and leave no space between us. My arms slip under his and wrap around to his back.

"Thank you," I say to him. Tears begin to slowly drip from my eyes again. I feel his arms reach over my head and hug me back. His arms gently wrap around the back of my neck and pull me closer.

"Of course. What's your name?" He asks me.

"I'm Mila."

I think for a moment and decide to ask the question that has been on my mind for a while now. "Why were those things scared of you?" There's a long moment of silence. At first I think he's not going to answer. I wonder if I had offended him or asked a question too personal, but I deserve to know.

"Let's save that for later. I think you should be getting home. It's late."

"Okay," is all I say. I'm really not in the mood for fighting. Especially not with someone I just met who had also just saved my life. I may not be pestering him now, but I sure will tomorrow. He has not seen the last of me. I obviously have questions about everything that I had just experienced, and Caden has the answers. I look over at him. He gives me a soft smile and begins to turn around towards the woods. "Wait. Where are you going?" I ask.
"Home."
"But-,"
"I'll meet you here tomorrow morning at 9:00."
"Oh, umm alright. I'll see you then."
"See you." He turns back around and I watch him walk, but right as he reaches the wood's edge I add my thanks.
"Thank you."
"No problem." He turned to say that to me. Before turning back to the woods once more he gives yet another smile, and then continues on his journey 'home'.