Wake Me

Chapter Fourteen

Dani was leaning against her mother's headstone with her eyes closed. She felt exhausted and the more she talked about her most recent experiences, she realized something. Her eyes sprung open, looking around.

"Where's that stranger?" She asked aloud. Getting to her feet quickly, she threw her blanket down onto her backpack. "Hello?" She called, to have no response.

Dani decided to walk up toward the top of the ridge, to see if the stranger was still looking for his dog. As she began up the hill, she kept her eyes glued onto the cottonwood tree's that she had observed the white dog enter through earlier, which were growing in an unnaturally straight line.

Dani crested the hill, looking down around the rows of headstones and grave markers on the other side. That's when a sound came from the cottonwood tree's; something or someone had snapped a twig.

"Hello?" She called, "Is someone there?" She continued, questioning the wind that carried her voice through the tree's.

A flash of white caught her eye, snapping her head toward the left. "I don't want to hurt you. I just have a question." Amazingly, her heart wasn't beating out of her chest, despite nearly getting mauled to death by a fearsome black wolf-beast not very long ago.

The stranger then stepped out from behind an old twisted cottonwood tree. "What is it that you seek?" His otherworldly appearance caused her to catch her breath.

"Your dog isn't maimed, like I'd suspected." She batted her eyes, looking at him as though she ought to know him.

He smirked, "That...isn't a question."

Her eyes narrowed, "I want to know if you know a very good friend of mine. His name is Gunner Pratchett. You said his name earlier, helping me recall my story."

The stranger raised his hand and ran his fingers through his towhead blonde hair. His blue eyes sparkled as a ray of sunlight streamed down upon him as he stepped out from the trees. "Ah, you are beginning to see." His flawless tan skin seemed to absorb the sunlight, his full lips curving up into a bright smile.

"See what?"

"You want to know my name." He took a few more steps toward her.

She shook her head, "I asked if you know my friend, Gunner."

His stunning eyes seemed to see through her, scratching his temple with a puzzled expression. "He said you would belittle your feelings for him. Why is that?"

"You're his...boss!" She gasped, her face felt numb. Dani knew exactly who the stranger was now. He wasn't ever looking for a white dog; he's the white dog. Her eyes widened, knowing he was the one who saved her life, nearly loosing his for her meaningless existence.

"How do you...nullify your feelings for someone who means so much to you?" His voice was lush and inquisitive, squinting his eyes as if to see her soul more clearly.

"I've done it my entire life." She paused, "How—Does Gunner know I'm here?" She asked, wondering if anyone had been looking for her as she'd been visiting her dead mother's headstone for quite some time.

He rapidly blinked, "How are you not afraid of me? Of what I am? I know Gunner has loosened his lips about...our purpose, against my commands."

She huffed, "He has a mind of his own; that's one thing I love about him."

"You are in love with my Seeker! And now you desire him for yourself?" He questioned, unable to guess her agenda with Gunner.

"I don't own him, like you think you do, obviously. You should let him be. His life has been difficult; troublesome." Flashes of Gunner's challenged life flipped through her mind like a deck of cards.