Frigid Heart

Chapter Three - The Oath

Chaos broke out as every girl in the room screamed and backed away from the two boys. The boys, well they all encouraged it with their constant chant of, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Colby looked pissed, whereas Josh's cousin was circling him, almost as if he was a wolf, taunting his prey. A vivid flashback of the white wolf sent shivers up my spine as I shook the image out of my head. 

Josh had a look of panic across his face. His hands were trembling and his shoulders were all tensed up that you could see the muscles in his back already beginning to knot. I didn't know how to react . . . Should I be scared? Worried? Or even okay with the way they were acting? 

As Colby dashed forwards towards Josh's cousin, I ran in front of him. 

"Stop it!" I screamed. "Leave it here and walk away!"

Colby had stopped right in front of me with a look of amusement. "Step aside Viv," he smirked. "It's time Josh's cousin here knows his place."

Pushing me to the side, he held his clenched fist into the air. 

"Stop!" I yelled, this time with more anger instead of fear.

I didn't even see it coming, just felt a hard object make contact with my face. My vision automatically began to cloud up and spot as I felt my body make impact with the ground. 

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The first thing I felt when I woke was the pounding of pain in my head. The bright lights shining down from the ceiling didn't help too much either. Groaning, I tried to roll over, but was stopped by the explosive feeling of pain shooting through every inch of my body. 

Whimpering I called out. "Mum? Dad? Can anyone please turn off the light?"

With the sound of flicking switch, the light was turned off. Glimpsing in the corner of, what I thought was my room, I noticed a big bear with the words 'Get Better Soon' embroidered on the stomach. 

"Oh god," I whispered to myself. "I'm in bloody hospital."

If I had one fear in the whole world it would be to be here. I'm not scared of reptiles, bugs or clowns . . . But put me near a hospital and I cannot stand it. My stomach began to churn and my whole body turned cold. 

After a few more glimpses around the room, I noticed a dark figure in the doorway. Squinting carefully, I put my hand to my head and tried to sit up. I automatically felt a hand push me further down and back into a lying position. 

"Don't sit up," a familiar voice murmured. "It'll only make things worse."  

"Wait, what?" I spoke, being completely and utterly confused. "Who are you?"    

I heard a chuckle. "I'm surprised you can't recognize me."

Refocusing my vision I realized that it Josh's cousin, the guy with the emerald green eyes.

"Oh, you," I murmured.

I felt his cool hand brush up against my forehead. "He got you pretty good. You've got a bruise."        

"Lovely," I groaned. I had the sudden realization that I was lying in a hospital bed with a guy in the room that I haven't even known for more than 24 hours. 

"I felt bad for what happened. I started the fight, you tried to stop it and in the end you were the one who got hurt," he spoke, almost as if he could read the expression written across my face.

I didn't speak, but took hold of his hand and pressed it on my forehead. His cool touch soothed my burning forehead and I relaxed a little onto the hospital bed. I caught a glimpse of his green eyes out of the corner of my eye and all the images from my dream came rushing back.

Gasping I instantly let go of his hand and edged a little further across the bed. His facial expression turned to a bemused look with his eyebrows scrunched up in the middle of his face.

“You’re in my dream,” I breathed, trying to calm myself and think about what I was saying before I spoke it. I didn’t want to end up in a nut house after this. “Except you weren’t you, you were an animal . . .”

He cast a look out the window and back at me. “When did you have this dream?”

“A week ago, maybe a day or two earlier,” I murmured. Hopelessly shaking my head I studied the ground below me. “Don’t worry about it, it’s probably the medication that they are putting me on that’s making me a little . . . unusual.”

He didn’t speak, just kept looking around the room, his eyes darting in every direction. He let out an exasperated sigh before walking up beside the bed and gently sitting down beside me.

Taking one hand he gazed into my eyes. “I, Anthony Walker, solemnly swear to never hurt you . . . Intentional or not. I will not cause you any harm.”

I let a small smile creep onto my face before gently closing my eyes, feeling myself fall into a deep sleep.

{ }

 His snow white fur darted in and out of passing trees as he vigorously made his way through the forest. His heavy panting followed the loud thud of his paws clawing their way into the ground, pushing him further and further until no sound of civilization could be heard.

Slowly coming to a stop in a small, but dark meadow, he listened quietly; there were no incoming footsteps. Releasing a deafening howl, he waited and then listened again. There it was, his master’s footsteps heading in his direction.

Preparing himself for the news he was about to spill out, he kept a conscious thought on Viviana in the hospital. He had left her in a situation where he knew she would not be harmed, where there was a nurse only just outside her room filing and writing papers on patients’ records.

‘What is it?’ a superior voice boomed through his mind. ‘What is so important that you called me out here.’

‘She’s seen us,’ he whispered. ‘Not in person, but in her sleep . . . She spoke of it today when I checked up on her.’

There was silence, no sound was made from neither of us that we could even hear the crickets sounding from miles away. His master was more so shocked than anything. Seeing wolves in dreams was not a good sign . . . It meant only one thing, that someone was after her and he would have to defend her.

‘You know what this means, don’t you boy?’ his master spoke, looking up at him.

He nodded slowly, for he knew exactly what it meant.  He was now solemnly sworn to protect Viviana, regardless if she wanted him to or not.

He was about to turn away before calling out to his master. ‘Should we let her know?’

He shook his head firmly, ‘The more she knows, the more likely she is of being a major target.’

As he took off into the distance his mind pondered on the thought of protecting Viviana. Shaking his head vigorously he was disgusted in himself, he could not develop any physical or emotional attachment to this girl, or for he could endanger himself.