Returning to Life

Chapter One

"Stop him!"

Raiden Feng calmly looked up at the clatter and shout. His eyes widened slightly. He watched as a giant, solid black monstrosity of a dog charged in his direction. It's tongue hanging out of its mouth. It looked very pleased with itself as people dove out of the way, tripping over themselves and others to avoid the animal.

Behind the dog, a girl ran with impressive speed and agility. He watched, strangely captivated as she put on an extra spurt of speed. She was closing in on the dog. He knew the exact moment she made a choice. He almost stepped forward to tell her not to.

He had no idea why. It certainly had nothing at all to do with him. But there it was. A tiny urge to...do what exactly, he had no clue. He watched as she launched herself into the air and let out an ear shattering whistle causing the dog to briefly pause long enough to look at her.

The dog froze, probably as concerned as he was about the girl obviously trying to grow wings and fly. And then the dog seemed to remember he was enjoying his joyrun and tried to make a run for it again.

But it was too late. The girl barreled into the dog locking her arms around his neck and rolling with her fall, landing in a tangled up mess with the animal. It looked painful, but she had caught the beast. She quickly reached up and slipped the leash onto his collar before collapsing onto her back, breathing heavily.

He watched as another woman with startling blue hair and a young man with black hair came jogging down the side walk.

"Thank God you caught him!" They were both breathing hard. The blue hair woman took the leash the girl on the ground held up with one hand, her other arm across her eyes. She made no move to get up.

The man leaned over her. "Umm, you should get up now. People are watching you."

"I don't care. I'm pretty sure my lungs are more important. And I might be dying."

Her voice held his attention. It wasn't the voice of a child. A feint accent laced her words, softening the vowels. He couldn't place it. It was almost lyrical, and it made him want to take a closer look at her.

The blue haired woman looked around quickly, highly aware people were looking at them and obviously very uncomfortable with it.

"Oh my god, get up sis! This is not the bayou. You can't lay on the ground in public here!" Without waiting or making sure the dog catcher was umharmed, she quickly turned to walk away, clutching the dog's leash tightly. "I'm goin back. Josh, I'll meet you guys back at the house."

The man, apparently a bit more considerate, stood there waiting as the one on the ground slowly removed the arm over her eyes and set up. Her hair tumbling around her face. The man shook his head at her.

"Mom would die if she knew you were chasing Dimitri like that."

She nodded. "She'd really die if she saw what I did at the end of the chase. Help me up."

He hesitated but reached down and gripped her hand and hauled her to her feet. The way he helped her made Raiden think she may have been hurt prior to diving onto the concrete after the dog. The young man was extra careful and watchful as if he expected her to callapse.

She was short in height. Whispy hair fell slightly past her shoulder. It was a light brown with a definite red tone to it. It fell in a thick, wild, waterfall. She wore khaki cargo pants that hugged her hips snug but we're loose legged and a black tee that was a bit form fitting. She stood there with her back towards him for a moment, dusting herself off.

She slouched for a moment. Obviously exhausted and still trying to catch her breath. The man with her was watching her with a concerned expression.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He looked around, eying the hotel Raiden had just walked out of.

"They probably have places to sit in there if you want to rest for a minute before we head back."

She squared her shoulders and stood up straight. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? It was stupid of Jenny to take Meechi to that dog park. It's only our second day in here. We haven't even got the house unpacked. We don't know the city that well. And he was too excited to listen. He could have gotten hit by a car or a bus. If you didn't catch him, who knows what would have happened. And the 10 weeks isn't even up yet is it? You're not even suppose to--"

"Josh! I'm fine. Just don't tell mom. She freaks out too much. She'd have me back in the E.R. before I could blink. I'm fine. Really. Let's go."

Raiden waited still, fully aware that he wasn't acting as he usually did. He usually took no notice of random people on the sidewalks. Certainly never felt any interest in them. But he still watched, almost holding his breath.

Finally she turned a little and glanced in his direction. Whiskey colored amber eyes, fringed in dark lashed looked at him for a brief moment before moving on. He watched as she dismissed the onlookers, her gaze came back to him. He knew he was rudely watching as well. But he didn't care.

She watched him back for what seemed like forever but he knew was only seconds. She frowned, a small crease between her eyebrows appearing, and then blinked as if realizing where she was. She turned and walked back the way they had come, only slightly limping. He wondered how much control she was exerting to walk so normal.

"Sir?"

He kept his eyes on the amber eyed woman walking away. "What is it Michael?"

"Your car Sir."

"Thank you Michael." He stood there a moment longer watching. What an interesting human. He hadn't been interested in anyone for a while. He had forgotten what it felt like.

Maybe his stay here wouldn't be as dull as he had originally assumed. The thought pleased him.