HIDDEN (Hide Or Die)

Chapter 26

KYLE'S P.O.V.

All through my seventeen years of life, my mind had been programmed by books, science, people and plain common knowledge, to believe wholeheartedly that the possibility of human teleportation could only exist in science fiction; but now it felt like a veil had suddenly been lifted off my face. Standing in some strange woods and wondering how you got there is not something that just happens. Truth be told, it sincerely made no sense and yet again my existence was more senseless.

Poor Albert laid passed out on the dried carpeted leaved floor of our new environment, while Mathew and Becky both rallied around his unmoving pale form trying to revive him.

Mathew was panicking out of his mind but Becky looked surprisingly calm and focused while administering CPR to him.

I turned my attention to Andrew and as expected, he was as white as chalk. His beautiful green eyes were enlarged; a trail of goose pimples could be seen decorating the flawless skin of his arms. Except for the slight trembling of his hands, he looked absolutely petrified as his eyes fixated on our new surroundings.

Walking up to him, I took his hand in mine, -he didn’t object. Leading the way, we walked to the foot of a large oak tree while avoiding the fungus rotting tree stumps that seemed to be everywhere we looked. It was obvious these woods had human infestation problems and it wasn’t going be wise staying long enough to find out.

I made him sit on the ground while resting his back against the tree and then with both hands, I cupped his face so he could look at me.

“Are you ok?” I asked while staring into his fear-filled eyes and feeling extremely guilty for being the cause of his troubles.

“Did Miss Lillian just teleport us here or I’m I going crazy?” he whispered to me, his eyes straying from mine to look once more at the trees that surrounded us.

“Please Andrew calm down,” with my hands still on his face, I gently squeezed his soft cheeks, succeeding in bringing his wandering attention back on me. Once his beautiful orbs landed on mine again, something changed. This time around, the fear that once held his eyes had shifted and given way for confusion to flourish. It was like he had suddenly realized that something wasn’t making any sense at all.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, and almost immediately he let out a horrified gasp,

“Were you kidnapped as well?” His wide innocent eyes stared at my guilty filled ones waiting for an answer and all I could do was nod hopelessly in agreement.

I choose to lie even when I knew it was just going to be a matter of time before he found out my secret. At that moment I only wanted to be the Kyle he knew, ‘normal with a splash of weirdness’ the human Kyle that could hurt no one.

Andrew suddenly threw himself at me, hugging me tightly and shocking me momentarily.

“Oh dear, you must have been really scared.” He whispered while stroking my hair gently, “I will find a way to get us out of here and back home I promise.” He cooed into my neck while his stroking movements continued.

Instantly, an overwhelming amount of guilt engulfed me at the alteration of his shaky promises because I knew I would never be able to go back home even if he found a way for us to do so. I had seriously messed up our lives and deep down I knew nothing was ever going to be the same again.

I nodded at the impossible promise and shamelessly leaned into his hug. It was going to take a miracle for Andrew or anyone else in our little group not to find out about my secret so I might as well hug him now that I got the chance because there wasn’t a possibility that he would do it again once he got to find out what I really was.