The stranger's action was proof enough to Olive that he was no human. Though she could sense that already, another worry of hers was the aura coming off him.
She had better be careful here, for from his scent, he was not anything she knew of - not a vampire, witch, neither human. But still, she was angry. He walks into her home and questions her.
"What am I ?" She said in an irked tone. "I should be the one asking the questions here, don't you think? Besides, this here cave, is mine. You have no right to come in here and ask me stupid questions. You want to know what I am, right? Well, I am a person and you are not welcome here."
"I am sorry. I guess you're right, I did come in here uninvited. The question I asked was sure to piss anyone off, I had no intention of getting you angry. I was just curious." He spoke in a surprisingly calm tone which sounded friendly. His appearance looked harmless, still, his aura told her otherwise.
"I don't need an apology, I need you to leave," Olive said taking a step back, realizing she was a bit too close.
"You're in such a hurry to get rid of me." The man stated and fell back on a carved mahogany chair behind him. "But, I won't leave. Not until I have gotten an answer to my question. I have travelled to different lands you see, but, I have never come across, should I say, 'your kind' before. Are you some sort of hybrid ?"
The anger in Olive grew seeing him comfortably sitting in her home and demanding answers.
"I am in no way obliged to give you an answer." She responded. "I also am curious as to what you are. I can tell you're different from what I've come across."
"Why don't we trade information then ?" He stood with a smile. Not expecting him to stand up so suddenly, Olive got startled and moved back a bit.
"Don't worry, I won't bite." He said. "I do wonder, what is a lady like you doing out here, in a cave, alone."
"Listen, I don't know who you are and there's no way I'm saying anything to you. You will only cause trouble for me, now leave the way you came." She spoke calmly this time.
"And if I don't leave, what will you do ?" He inched closer, this time scanning her body with his eyes.
She was uncomfortable and infuriated by his leering look as her dress still stuck to her skin due to its wetness. She backed away from him till she hit the wall.
"You want to know what I will do?" She said softly and as the man took another step forward, his feet felt so heavy and were suddenly stuck to the floor.
She didn't want a fight, but that was going to be hard to avoid. She just had to knock him out, to end it quickly. But it is not like he would stand there and just watch her do it.
"Stop whatever you're doing to me now!" He said in a firm tone and she could swear she saw a change in his eyes.
"Like hell!" She yelled back and threw a punch. He tilted his head to avoid the blow and caught her fist in his arm. But he was shocked by the power he was feeling. His arm got chucked back a bit.
He hadn't used his full strength, because he wasn't expecting her to be this strong. Just as he was about to come out of his daze, he was sent flying to the other side of the room by some invisible force. He hit the wall, leaving a dent in it.
It seemed to have come from the hand he held. He was glad after the hit he could now move his feet. Olive stood prepared for any attack.
"That hurt." He gently massaged his temples as he got on his feet. "Come on, I don't want to fight you. I just wanted to talk, you know." Looking at the expression she gave, it was either leave peacefully or forcefully but he had to go.
'Letting him leave here, is that even a good idea? Killing him will only bring trouble. What if someone comes looking for him? If he leaves here, he might just get some people and come back. I can't risk getting found out.
I have to do something about this man. His eyes earlier, they changed to something else. That colour, just what is he? This man is a force to be reckoned with.' Olive thought waiting for his next move.
Weighing her odds, what would be the best course of action? He looked to be plenty strong. But, she wasn't going to back down.
Suddenly, the man launched at her with great speed. Though she didn't expect him to attack suddenly, it wasn't time to be dazed and she quickly moved out of the way. He was fast, but not so fast, she couldn't keep up.
Noticing she moved, the man quickly twisted and changed direction to avoid crashing into the wall. He had, instead, placed his feet on the wall and leapt off it, this time crashing into Olive.
The force was so strong that she was sent flying out of the cave and deep into the forest. Her body ached, but she was fine.
She stood up and he appeared in front of her, but at a distance. She didn't know how he followed her to where she had landed.
"You threw me across the room earlier with ease, I just felt like showing off a little power as well." He spoke in his usual calm manner and gave a wide grin. "I am quite surprised you stood up almost immediately."
As he spoke, Olive realized just where they were and it was not a place to be at w
especially at that time of night.
'This place, it leads to the vampires' kingdom. Just one hit and I flew this far! This confirms I was right about his strength. I can't be here, I can't.' Worry settled in her mind. She couldn't risk getting caught.
She was not the only one who knew of the dangers of where they were. The man seemed to have realized it as well.
"You are nothing but trouble. First, you go where you're not invited and then, you bring me here." Olive snarled. "You said you've travelled to different lands, so you must know where we are right now."
"I do know. But, to add to my discoveries on every expedition I've been on, I need you to tell me what you are."
"That I can't tell you. Not you, not anyone. Please, leave me alone, just leave." The expression on her face changed from anger to that of worry.
Looking at how she kept glancing around, trying to sense if someone was coming, he realized whatever made her live in a cave must be serious. He wondered if it was just herself or something else she was hiding.
Whatever it was, he did not care to know anymore and decided it was best to leave.
"Fine, I'll go." He sighed. "I will no longer be a bother to you. Besides, we both have to leave here quickly." He turned to leave.
"Wait!" She called out, stopping him in his tracks. "I need you to make me a promise. Promise me you won't tell anyone about me and that you'll never return to my cave."
"Is it really necessary for me to make that promise?" He turned to look at her and looked away. "If it will ease your mind, I give you my word. I will never speak of the lady I met in the cave." With that, he vanished, or so it seemed.
He had just moved faster than the eye could follow. But, Olive could follow his movements. Relieved he was gone, she hurriedly and surreptitiously returned to her cave.
It was a mess, so she began tidying. She only hoped the strange man would keep his promise. She wanted desperately to stay out of trouble and live peacefully.
*******
In the woods, not far from where Olive had crash-landed, a man seemed to be walking through.
'What was that ?' He thought as two unfamiliar scents which seemed to have mixed got into his nostrils causing him to stop but the scents had vanished almost immediately.
It was faint. It vanishing just proved that whoever or whatever was there had long left that area. Still, he decided to look around. After finding no one, he resumed walking now quickening his steps as pellets of raindrops descended from the pale night sky without warning
'Strange,' He mused. 'He would have to report this. '