::X-Men:: In The Claws Of An Angel ::Wolverine::

Chapter Two.

"Stay..."
"You're safe..."
"Don't be afraid..."
"Listen..."
"He is..."
"Safe..."
"Don't go..."
"Anabelle..."
"Ana...."
"......"
"......"
"ANA."

~~

I woke up with a jolt, sitting upright in total darkness.

It was quiet... I didn't know where I was... The only thing I could hear was the sound of my jagged breathing, and crickets faintly chirping.

I was chilled to the bone from the cool air outside, seeping its way into wherever I was. It pierced through my jacket, and I wrapped the fabric tighter around me. It wasn't much help, though... Shivers still quaked my body, erupting from my ribcage.

"Hello...?" I whispered breathlessly.

Someone had been talking to me; a man, I think... But maybe it was a dream.

When no one spoke back, I figured that was probably the answer... It was just a dream. But it seemed so real...

Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the dark, and I looked around at the small, unfamilier space I was in... And that's when my memory started to come back to me.

The bar, the attack, the parking lot... The man that had saved my life... And that blue truck with the camper. That was the last thing I could remember, that's where I had to be.

My body was sprawled on a compact, sort of scratchy couch, and next to it sat a tiny table with a single drawer.

Ontop of the table was a bendable desk lamp, and a digital clock that read 2:13 AM in neon red numbers and letters. How long had I been out...?

As I asked myself this question, my heart and head started to pound at the same time. I winced at the sharp pain in my head, but focused more on my heart... I closed my eyes for a second, but all I could see were images of that mysterious stranger, and the blades between his knuckles...

I wondered why he saved me, and where he was... As I caught sight of a small ladder that led up to a loft off to my right, I figured I had an answer to half of my question.

I stood up, taking in the rest of my surroundings. Next to the ladder and underneath the only window was a table with two booth style seats on each side. On the front wall was a door, in the corner to the left of it rested a mini fridge. Then on the wall adjacent the table and window was a set of cheap wooden cabinets, another small couch, and a door I assumed led to a bathroom. My duffle bag sat safely next to it.

All of a sudden, I was overcome with cabin fever. I slowly crept my way toward the front door, halting as the floorboards creaked under my feet. I heard a body sleepily shift up in the loft, and then there was peaceful quiet again.

I glanced over my shoulder just to make 100% sure I hadn't been caught, then released a tense breath that I'd been holding. My fingers grasped the brass doorknob, twisted it to the left, and popped it open.

A cool gust of air rushed inside and stole a gasp from my lips, cutting right through me, down to the bone. Now it felt like my jacket was almost nonexistant, but I ignored the cold and stepped out onto the dewy grass.

As I shut the door behind me and turned around, my hunch was proven right... I had been inside the camper attached to that old blue truck. It was parked in the middle of a vast clearing in the woods somewhere.

The full moon above casted a pale glow down onto the grass and trees, catching the drops of dew and giving them a glittery illusion. In the middle of the clearing were two lawn chairs, and the ashy remains of a campfire, just barely smoldering.