Souls' Collision | ✔

H E A R T B E A T

~ Chapter Three ~

Liz woke up with a start.

Her stomach was wreathing, pulsating; attacking her almost as aggressively as her heart. She rolled to her side with a pained moan.

Water flushed out of her throat as ferociously as it had forced itself into it.

She sputtered, coughed and, once she was done throwing up, gasped for air. The memory of drowning came back in harsh hits, making her fatigued muscles spaz and fight for their lives. Her eyes tried to open but everything was much too cold.

Despite her best efforts, her head fell back into a cold pillow. It felt like pins and needles on her scalp. Snow.

"You're alive," someone said. The voice was intruding and sharp.

Liz curled into a ball, tried to keep herself warm despite the wet fabric clinging to her skin and the snow feeling like it was burying her.

"What's the problem?" the anonymous someone asked, now louder. "Are you hurt or something?"

Despite feeling her mind drift away, Liz' mouth acted on its own accord and forced out a smelly, "Cold."

"Well, of course. You don't have any fur."

"Please... help me."

Something dug into her back, something else came up underneath her knees. Arms. Suddenly she was in the air, completely unsheltered from the onslaught of chilly air on wet skin. She gasped. Her eyes fluttered open but didn't find the strength to focus.

Her body was pressed against something warm, her cheek desperately absorbing the heat of what she could only imagine was skin. The arms underneath her brought her closer.

"Why did you jump in if you can't swim? That's dangerous. And foolish."

Liz' teeth were shattering so loudly she couldn't hear what he was saying anymore. "Watch out," she managed to get out as she heard the snow getting trampled underneath them. "There're wolves here somewhere."

The fingers resting around her back tensed, dug into her skin. The man choked out a shocked, "What?"

"Wolves," Liz said through a pained breath and tried to will herself into not fainting. "They're out here somewhere. A whole pack."

She felt him stop.

A nose came to lightly hover above the fragile skin of her neck, drew a few shallow intakes of air before pulling back as if burnt.

"Fuck," he then said with surprising intensity. His speed picked up. "You're human. You're fucking human!"

In her condition, Liz could only settle for a faint, "Yes."

"Oh no. We're gonna get you inside and patch you up and-- and you gotta get warm, right? Or you'll die."

"I'll die..."

Liz didn't enjoy that thought at all, but at the same time couldn't force it away. She sunk further into his chest, felt how draining it was to have her muscles contract and release from the cold.

"What's-- What's happening? What're you doing? What is this?"

"I can't..." Liz felt her head lull back and her lungs lose composure. "I can't breathe!"

The stranger said something but she didn't listen. Instead she raised her hand to grab whatever was closest -- which was his shoulder -- and squeezed. "I'm going to die," she hissed with her last conscious breaths. "You have to hurry!"