Two minutes had passed since she stepped into the woods. He had sat at the rooftop of the skyscraper opposite the alleyway, closely observing what she did. He did that most of the time, sitting at the skyscraper and observing people engage in their activities at night, it was his way of killing boredom. With his eyes sharp as that of an eagle and his elf-like ears, he could see and hear the dropping of a pin. She drew his attention the moment she walked into the woods and he wondered what she could be up to. His legs were placed on the edge of the rooftop and his hands folded across his legs, he watched her closely.
What could she be up to? He thought to himself.
He observed, as though watching the climax of a horror movie, as she walked into the woods ignoring the signs he gave.
"A brave one." He chuckled to himself. "This would be interesting." He said gazing intensely.
As he watched, she went deeper in search of Stella. The search was relentless, "Stella!" She screamed the deeper she went. As she got closer to the depth of the forest, she heard the snapping of a broken stick, one she didn't make. Immediately, she turned in fear "Who is there?" She called out, her feeble voice echoing in tin air. "Hello?" She screamed out. Her focus was now on what she heard than the cat. "Bella!" She called out again assuming Bella had come in search of her. After a few seconds with no response, she let her mind conclude it was probably just a mouse or something less. A few steps further, the snap got louder, accompanied by the noise of something gliding silently this time.
"Hello!" She screamed even louder. "Show yourself!" She said framing authority "I'm not scared! if you're trying to get me scared!" She continued, trembling, her hands shaking as she tried to hold her phone which she used as a flashlight firmly. Tears began rushing down her cheeks, recalling the rumours she had paid no attention to at work. She probably would have heed to the signs that Mother Nature gave if she had paid attention.
Now she was going to die together with the cat she had longed to save. She knew acting all brave wouldn't work here in the forest like it did at the office.
"Help!" She began to cry out, uttering under her breath, till she became more audible and loud enough for someone close by to hear.
"Help someone!" She continued shouting, running this time as she called out. As she took to her feet, she began hearing the thudding of something huge. Something way bigger than a or something less. With fear and her heart in her hands, she ran fiercely, determined not to die. Hitting her legs hard on a stone; she fell to the ground.
She sat up, her eyes blurry with the tears that had enveloped them. Then she blinked twice hoping the image she had seen with her blurry eyes was just an image created by her fear.
Bigger than the wolves she had seen on TV dramas, and novel stories, was an animalistic image hovering around her like a human scanning through their meal before they ate; this creature was ready to feast, and she was going to die. She strolled back, as the beast came closer, her hands carefully brushing across the wet ground, packing as many dirts as it could.
He watched her dive deeper into the depth of the forest, ignoring all the signs and putting herself in danger. Now he had to do what he never did; save a human. He couldn't just ignore her cry for help as she was being threatened by a werewolf; his kind. He knew she would be eaten if he didn't act fast. This was the first time a human went into Umbra forest at night since he kept watch on the rooftop. He wondered why she couldn't wait till daybreak before she went on a one-person search at night.
How foolish could she be to go alone at night?
Like the speed of light, he ran into the forest dodging every tree like he played a little game as he went. Just as his name implied, he knew the forest like it was a part of him. Kyle had been acquainted with the woods ever since he was young and the forest followed suit, leading him to its parts.
The animal drew nearer and nearer, sniffing like a dog the closer it came. A few steps closer, she turned behind in her framed bravery,
to pick a big stone she had noticed earlier, in other to hush the beast away. Suddenly, she heard the howling of another beast and a wind that lasted only for a few seconds.
She threw the stone at the beast which was now backing her and it ran away as fast as it could. At the dismissal of the beast, she caught sight of a human form silhouetted by one of the trees- tall, broad, and moving steadily towards her. Her stomach began to grumble in fear again. She stood up quickly sighting him faintly. As he came closer, she could see him better.
An intimidating figure at about six feet two inches, with round broad shoulders, and slightly grey-coloured hair whose curls bounced as he walked closer. Those were the only details she could pick of him as he suddenly came to a halt.
"Who are you?" she asked quickly, taking a step further. "You shouldn't be walking around scaring people at night." She panicked, bending in search of her phone"You're lucky I scared the wolf away before you arrived." She continued picking up the phone from the ground where it had fallen while she padded on the ground.
"I guess that's a thank you," Kyle said with disbelief in every syllabus, Lifting his eyebrows
"Are you kidding me?" She stared right into his face, flashing the light straight into his eyes which in turn revealed his moonlight silver iris. "You attracted the beast or whatever that was." She said widening her eyes in disbelief.
"Humans." He scoffed, shaking his head lightly as he walked away.
"Hey!" She called to him "You can't leave me here" she said walking faster than usual.
He stopped amused, wondering why she still wanted his help after denying the help he rendered earlier.
At the speed of her movement, she twisted her ankle, falling right into him. He caught her; the unexpected force she came with pulled them both to the ground. Nichole beneath while he stood a few inches above her.
In an attempt not to fall hard to the ground, Nichole's fist struck hard to his chest, hitting him as hard as she could.