The Chest of the Lost

Chapter 3: Wanted

My vision was blurred as I opened my eyes, realizing I had no idea where I was. I couldn't remember anything that had happened and the fact that I didn't recognize where I was didn't help my situation. The last thing I could remember was throwing my Crystal across the room then running into the forest. That was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder how I had ended up wherever I was. "Where am I?" I wondered aloud, not entirely sure that anyone would hear me.

My vision slowly returned and I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. I was laying on a big pile of fresh, autumn leaves, stacked about a foot and a half high. The dew on the leaves soaked my skin and clothes  and a sudden shiver ran up my spine.

Between me and the small hole which I guessed was some kind of door, was what looked like a small fire pit, with sticks leaning up against each other to create a small teepee. The walls around me were made up of broken pieces of wood, and big branches, forming a small tent that connected in the middle with what looked like vines. I noticed movement in the corner of my eye and turned to look.

I easily recognized the figure. "Griffin?"

He turned toward me in surprise. "Oh good, you're awake."

My head felt like someone has just used it as a soccer ball during an unreasonably competitive game that went into overtime. I groaned as I tried to raise my head from where it rested on the leaves, only to increase the pain by a landslide. "Where am I? And what happened?" I tried to recall, my brain shaken up and still not completely conscious.

Griffin never lifted his eyes from his work over the fire as he replied, "Oh, you got caught in a storm and blacked out, so I brought you here. Welcome to my...uh...house, I guess you could call it." He shrugged and smiled.

I glanced at him quizzically. "You live here?" I asked, rubbing my head where the pain still lingered. I felt a bruise the size of a baseball beginning to form near the back of my head.

He nodded, glancing around at his make-shift home, then turned back to tending to the fire.

I sat up on the squishy yet surprisingly comfortable pile of leaves and watched as Griffin added a few more twigs to the growing fire. "Something...pushed me and I...flew back," I said, still groggy. It was then that I noticed the big cut on my forearm. A thin cloth was wrapped around it, stopping what I guessed would be a blood rush, taking in the size of the red stain on the damp cloth.

Griffin continued adding to the fire, not even looking up at me as he replied, "Oh, I think it was probably just the wind. But I don't know, I didn't see."

"100-mile per hour wind?" I asked, unconvinced by his answer.

"I don't know." His arms flew up defensively and he shrugged. "I didn't get there till after you blacked out." Somehow, I felt that he was lying.

I continued my interrogation. "How did you know where I was?"

Griffin stopped working on the fire but still avoided my gaze. "I...um...just wanted to make sure you got home safely, so I...followed you."

"You followed me?" I asked in shock. "You didn't think I could get there by myself?"

He shook his head. "No, it's not that, it's just...I was making sure you found your way," he replied, innocently.

I rolled my eyes. "Someone clearly lacks trust in me."

He turned toward me. "We just met. And besides, I'm not the one who got lost out here in the first place." He smiled at me, almost laughing at my lack of direction.