In the dead of night, I tore through the dense foliage of the woods. My legs burned with exhaustion, and the numerous cuts on my arms and face stung with every movement. The cold air clawed at my lungs with each breath, and I could practically hear my body screaming at me, begging me to stop. But stopping wasn't an option. Not here. Not now. Not until I was far enough from that place.
I had been running for what felt like hours. The trees blurred into a never-ending maze of shadows and shapes, and my fear of being pursued made me paranoid. Every crack of a branch sent fresh waves of panic through me.
"Woooooffff."
I have to admit, this was not my proudest moment.
I don't even know when it happened. All I know is that my legs were the first to fail me. The pain had become unbearable. I tried to shake it off, but when I moved to take a step, my knees buckled, and I hit the ground. Hard. I struggled to push myself up, but my arms felt heavy, as if filled with lead.
"Woof⌠Woof."
"That's not the point! Just listen and please don't interrupt me."
I clawed my way forward, desperately dragging myself, but it seemed even my brain deemed this effort futile. I had become trapped by someone I never thought would be my wardenâmy own body. My feelings of despair continued to grow as I lay on the ground, dirty and bleeding, with not even the energy to cry out for help. Not that I would; that would be a death sentence if they were looking for me.
===============================================
The woods were livelier today than they usually were, and that was the first thing Luz noticed as she walked through them. She had grown accustomed to these walks since she was seven, passing the same trails in the summer with her dad. Even after he died, she continued to roam these woods whenever she had the chance. But today, her purpose was different from her usual casual strolls.
"Day 13 of trying to find the Runestone Compass," she said with excitement. She continued to explore the forest, hoping to find any clues that would prove the object existed. If she could just find it, maybe she wouldn't be such an outcast at school. Maybe people would finally want to be her friend. Maybe she could even become queen of Gravesfield Middle School.
'Queen Luzura has a nice ring to it,' she thought with a smile.
Chiiiiiirrrrrpppp!
Luz looked down from the branch she was holding onto. "Aaaaaaawwwwwww, look at you cuties!"
"Woooooffff?"
"I don't even know, buddy," the voice said in exasperation. AnywayâŚ"
As she continued to admire the little chicks, she didn't notice the mama bird flying toward the nest. Since Luz was much larger than the chicks, the mama bird decided she was a threat. That fucking condorâŚ
"Arrffff!"
"Yeah, yeah, sorry about my language."
The bird rushed at her, scratching at her face with its talons, barely giving her time to react.
"Whoa, whoa! I'm not trying to hurt your babies! I just wanted to take a look at the cute little nest!" she exclaimed, holding her arms up defensively.
But her words did nothing to calm the angry mother. If anything, they made her angrier. Luz instinctively stepped back, trying to look less threatening, and it seemed to work for a moment as the mother bird slowly backed off.
Then it finally happened. The mother lunged forward again, and in that moment, Luz was trying to descend the tree. The mother attacked, and in her confusion, Luz lost her grip.
"AHHHHHH!" she yelled, desperately trying to grab onto something to stop her fall.
THUMP!
The impact sent clouds of dust into the air. Luz groaned as she got off the ground, rubbing her sore backside. She lifted her gaze back up to the tree she had just fallen from, locking eyes with the mother bird perched in her nest. Their gazes met for a moment before the condor turned its back on her, and Luz felt irked enough to send the bird a very appreciative finger.
Luz continued forward, determined not to let the encounter distract her from her mission. It was around noon, and her clothes were completely caked with dirt and mudâso much mud, in fact, it filled places she would not be comfortable talking about. Although she wanted to keep searching, she was way too hungry to continue.
"Damn it, and I was so close too," she muttered as she turned back on the path toward home.
She glanced at her phone, noting the large crack that ran across the screen. "Arrgh!" she groaned. "How am I going to explain this to Mom?" Suddenly, a rustle in the underbrush caught her attention. She turned, squinting at the brush, but saw nothing. Dismissing it as a trick of her imagination, she continued on. The path narrowed, and without warning, a figure emerged from the shadows. Luz's breath caught in her throat as she realized she was not alone.
Before she could react, strong hands grasped her arms, pulling her into the darkness. She struggled, her heart racing as she fought against the grip, but the figure was too powerful. "Ahhhhhh!" A muffled shout escaped her lips as she was dragged deeper into the woods.
After what felt like an eternity of being pulled through the darkness, the captor and captive emerged into a small clearing. Luz was unceremoniously dropped onto her still-aching backside, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Finally, she caught a glimpse of her captor. Just like her, he was completely covered in dirt, but in a much worse state.
"Who are you?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"Whoa, buddy! Shouldn't I be asking you that?" the half-Latina shot back. "I mean, you just came out of nowhere and kidnapped me! Seriously, what kind of kidnapper doesn't know their target?"
"Who the heck are you calling a kidnapper?" the boy said, clearly agitated by her accusations. "Besides, you're the one wandering through the forest all by yourself, covered in mud, might I add."
"You can't really say that," she replied, pointing at him.
He glanced at his own arms and clothes. "TouchĂŠ."
"So, who are you?" he reiterated.
"Luz Noceda. What about you?" she replied.
"Lucian Ashford," he said.
"Lucian Ashford? Weird name, but okay. So, Lucian, what exactly are you doing here?"
"Well, you see, I recently moved here with my dad because he got a new job, and I got lost," the boy lied as easily as he breathed.
"Then why'd you kidnap me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I saw a bear passing through the area a couple of minutes ago, and you were walking through its napping spot. I thought I should get you out of there before you got mauled," he explained.
"As if I would get mauled by a beaâ"
Just then, a loud roar echoed through the woods, cutting her off. Luz stopped dead in her tracks, while Lucian looked at her with a smug grin on his face.
"Anyway, it would be best if we wait until night before we can leave," he said casually.
"Wouldn't your dad be worried about you?" she asked.
"Nah, he works most of the day. As far as he knows, I'm somewhere safe and sound. What about your parents?" he replied.
"Same here. My mom works from early morning and usually gets home by noon, so I'm often home alone for most of the day," she answered.
"Well, that's good. No one's going to notice two missing kids," he said with a shrug.
This was one of the few times Luz was glad her mom worked late. God knows what would've happened if she had gone home late, especially in the state she was in.
Lucian took a long look at Luz. In the heat of the moment, he hadn't noticed the cuts all over her arms, but now that things had calmed down, he started to feel guilty about dragging her around like that.
"Hey, Luz," he said.
"Yeah, Lucian?" she replied, pulling her gaze away from a nearby stick she had found.
"How did you get all those cuts?" he asked.
"WellI waslookingforsomethingthatcouldmakemequeenofmyschoolandthenIwasattackedbyastupidbirdwhileIwasclimbingatree," she said in one breath.
"Huh?"
"Long story short, I was attacked by a bird just because I was near its chicks," she explained.
"Seems justified on the bird's part," he responded with a smirk.
"Lucian, as my friend, shouldn't you take my side?" she said, crossing her arms.
"Friend isn't a word you should use lightly, especially since we just met," he said coldly.
"You don't look like you're emo," she pointed out.
"I'm not emo. I'm just saying you shouldn't call someone you just met that word," he replied.
"We are acquaintances at best," he added, causing Luz to raise an eyebrow
"Yup, you're an emo alright" she teased
What followed later was a couple seconds of just uncomfortable silence between the two teens. Lucian was the first to break it as he got up from beneath the space underneath the tree, as he did so he started to take of his clothes, starting with his extremely filthy shirt.
"Hey Lucian, What are you doing?" Luz asked a bit flustered
"Going to take a bath."Lucian said without hesitation
"Well,why"
"I mean look at me, I'm like a walking Cesspool, so I just need to clean up a bit"
"Sure" she mumbled
She watched as he jumped in the small lake near the center of the clearing in only his blacked boxers
1 secondâŚ
2 secondsâŚ
10 seconds. Had passed and Lucian still hadn't surfaced.
Luz started to panic seein that he hadn't come up. She started approach the lakes bank trying to look for him, hoping that he didn't sink. The boy in question resurfaced , but he looked much different than before. The most striking feature about him was his white hair, which had been hidden beneath layers of dirt and grime. Luz had initially thought it was just another shade of black, but she realized it was camouflaged by all the muck that covered him.She sat at the water's edge, her gaze fixed on him as he waded through the shimmering surface. Soon enough, Lucian emerged from the water, and Luz realized something else she hadn't noticed before: he was surprisingly muscular.,while he wasn't freakishly large, he was definitely more built than most of the guys in Gravesfieldâexcept for the powerlifters near the pet store, but those guys were just a different kind of freaky, but his body was completely covered with cuts and scars.
Lucian noticed that she was looking at him way too intensely
"Sorry Luz but can you not be oggling my body, I know I'm hot but this is just weird" he said a bit shyly
Acting like a deer in headlights Luz froze. As she finally turned around Lucian wore the still wet clothes and both sat down quietly .After a few moments of silence Luz finally spoke up.
"Okay, Lucian! We're stuck here, so we might as well make the most of it!" Luz exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
"Stuck?I was just trying to find a quiet spot to think," Lucian replied, crossing his arms and leaning back against the log.
"Well, thinking is overrated! Let's do something fun! How about a scavenger hunt? I'll make a list!" Luz suggested, leaning in closer.
Lucian raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "A scavenger hunt? Seriously? That sounds⌠childish."
"Come on! It'll be fun! I'll even let you pick the first item. What do you want to find?" Luz urged, her excitement palpable.
Lucian sighed, rolling his eyes but unable to hide a hint of curiosity. "Fine. How about⌠a cool rock? There are always cool rocks in the woods."
"Great choice! Let's find a cool rock right here in our little clearing!" Luz clapped her hands together, her enthusiasm infectious.
"In this tiny space? Good luck with that," Lucian smirked, shaking his head.
"Nope! We can search right here! It'll be fun!" Luz insisted, standing up and pulling him along with her.
They began looking around the clearing, and Luz started to hum a cheerful tune. Lucian watched her, a small smile creeping onto his face despite his initial reservations.
"You're really something, you know that?" he remarked, a hint of admiration in his voice.
"What do you mean?" Luz asked, glancing back at him.
Lucian shrugged, trying to play it cool. "You just⌠make everything seem more exciting. Most people just sit around and complain."
"Well, I refuse to let a little confinement ruin my day! Now, let's see if we can find that cool rock!" Luz declared, her determination shining through.
After a few moments of searching, Luz spotted a shiny rock partially buried in the moss. "Look! This one is perfect! It's shiny and smooth!" she exclaimed, holding it up triumphantly.
Lucian picked it up, examining it with a hint of interest. "Okay, I'll admit, that's kind of cool," he conceded, a small smile forming.
"See? You're having fun already! Now, let's find something else! How about a feather?" Luz suggested, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"In this clearing? I doubt we'll find anything else," Lucian replied, a smirk on his lips.
Luz looked around, her determination unwavering. "Challenge accepted! We can look for a feather or maybe even a cool leaf! There's got to be something interesting around here!" she declared, her spirit unyielding.
As they searched the small clearing, Luz resumed her humming. Lucian watched her, feeling a warmth in his chest that he hadn't expected.
"You know, Luz, I didn't think I'd have this much fun today," he admitted, his tone softening.
"See? Sometimes you just need a little push to enjoy life! Now, let's keep looking!" Luz encouraged, her smile warm and genuine.
As they continued their mini-adventure in the confined space of the clearing, the woods felt a little less lonely, and Lucian realized that maybe, just maybe, being stuck with Luz wasn't so bad after all.
Both of them were so engrossed in the scavenger hunt that neither of them realized it the sun had began to set
"Hey, Luz"
"Yeah" her voice was muffled from the height but he could still hear her voice
"I think we should call it a day" he shouted with much intensity
"Sure" she said while climbing down the tree
The duo carefully navigated through the darkening woods, making an effort to keep their footsteps silent. They hoped the beast that roamed the area was still asleep. After five tense minutes, they finally reached the edge of the forest.
 "So, I guess this is it, huh?" Luz said
"Yeah, I guess so."
"It sure was nice meeting you Lucian" she said with a smile
"Hope to see you soon buddy" and she took of then and there
"Sure too buddy"he mumbled and a small smile tugged on his lips as he walked back into the woods
"And that kids is how I met your mother"