Flutter (The Discover Series) (14 page)

I had been so lost in thought that I hadn’t realized the tingles that were prickling at my skin. It felt like my whole body had fallen asleep. I stopped pacing and looked into the forest where they would be coming from. I knew this feeling, and I knew what it meant. Sara was getting closer.

Aaron looked over at me, he felt it too.  He looked anxious. I knew he was nervous about his part, but he could do this. We both could.

“You remember what you have to do right? What to tell him?” I asked him, walking over to stand in front of him when he stood.

“Of course I do.” He frowned.

I nodded and we lapsed into silence, but it didn’t last long.

“I had seen it.” I said softly, staring into the distance at nothing.

“Seen what?” He said look at me with confusion.

“Her Shimmer.”

Adan

It felt good to be like this again.

I would have preferred to travel in this form, but since I had Aaron with me, it hadn’t felt right to drag him through the wilderness.

I planted all of my legs firmly into the ground, pulling up the damp earth below me with my claws. I stretched out my limbs and it felt so good. I had been caged up on two legs for
far too long. With everything that had happened recently I needed an outlet, and this was the perfect release. I was allowed to act like an animal when I was like this. It was my birth right. It had been weeks since I had had the chance to change, and I needed this escape more than I had realized.

Ducking my head, I poised my body in a launching position. I dug my nails into the ground and could feel my muscles twisting and flexing, getting ready for speed and agility. My eyes darted back and forth, between the trees that covered the forest in front of me, and my eyes narrowed. The space was tight between each tree, and I realized then that this was going to be fun.

Who doesn’t love a good challenge,
I thought.

1…2…,
I counted to myself.

3!

Then I was gone. I took off at a full on run, my feet hitting the ground in rhythmic thumps as I made my own music. I dodged tree after tree, using anything I could, in my path to my advantage. I jumped over boulders, occasionally pushing off of one to gain more speed. I’d miss one tree, just to jump on the side of another, exposing the green flesh underneath, leaving fresh scars on the trunks. I kicked up the snow with my feet, frosting the trees behind me.

It was easy for me to run like this. I could go on for days, my legs never knowing the feel of cramped muscles, my body never knowing anything that tasted better than this kind of freedom. My lungs never running low on fresh oxygen, the forest was filled with it; and as I ran, I breathed in deeply through my nose, allowing me to push harder, run faster.

Time didn’t exist to me.

I could run like this for hours, days, weeks before ever showing signs of my body’s exhaustion. My senses were alive, and I was reminded that right now, in this form, time was on my side, and I slowed my running.

I realized what Aaron had meant when he said the connection was intense. I had thought I could feel her strongly before, but obviously being human dulled my senses quite a bit. Her energy filled my entire being. I could smell her and taste her all at once. I breathed in deeply, and a growl escaped my chest as my head swam. I was buzzing. That invisible force between us tugged at me fiercely, pulling me
toward
her.

It wasn’t part of the plan, but that didn’t seem to matter.

I let myself be drawn to her.

Sara

I didn’t know how much longer I could go.

I knew we hadn’t been walking that long, but the fact that I was freezing to death –Ironic I know- and tired, made it seem like we had been walking for days. I hated not know where we were going.

With absolutely no light, not even from the moon, it was pitch black out here. I might as well have been blind; I stumbled over everything like I was.  Trying to keep the blanket around me only seemed to make it harder to walk. If I wasn’t tripping over small rocks, tree roots, or my own clumsy feet, I would catch the corner of the blanket, tripping myself. Every time I stumbled I would automatically use my hands to brace myself, and they were dirty and cut up. I kept forgetting about the cut, and I would rub them off on the blanket which would make my palms sting. I knew my hands and feet were going to be pretty beat up when all was said and done.

I had managed to stay clear of the trees. They were widely spaced, but the further we went into the forest the closer together they got. I tried to use that to my advantage, holding on to them as much I could, but that just caused problems trying to keep the blanket around me. I was a mess.

It annoyed me a little that Andres glided through the forest effortlessly, and his agility only improved the darker it got. I wondered if that meant he had spent a lot of time out doors, he seemed pretty comfortable with the wilderness.

Even though I was getting my butt kicked, I didn’t entirely hate it either. If I had been prepared I might have actually liked it here. The smells, the sounds, the wildlife, everything was so vivid and beautiful. If we hadn’t been walking, trying to survive, I probably would have enjoyed it more.

The lack of direction might have worried me more if Andres had appeared to be lost, but oddly I felt like we were heading somewhere. I knew that I was either paranoid or hopeful. Or maybe a combination of the two. I wanted us to have a destination. I didn’t understand the point in surviving an ice grave, and near drowning experience, just to die trying to find shelter. The minute I thought it, I scolded myself for being so ungrateful. There had to be something out here, and if Andres could believe it, so would I.

I was revamped with a dose of adrenaline at my attitude change, and that allowed me to pick up my pace until I caught up with Andres. He was worried enough about me and I didn’t want to make it worse for him. I walked faster, ignoring the stinging in my hands, the throbbing in my feet, and the over all aches in my body.

I focused all my energy on keeping alert. For the most part it actually worked. I no longer felt like I was wandering around with a blindfold over my eyes. My eye sight was brilliant. I didn’t need light to see the forest in front of me anymore. I could see exactly where I was going, and that made it so much easier for me to find my footing and keep pace with Andres

Although I could remember
him
, my memories
of
him hadn’t quite taken affect yet, and I was left wondering about my relationship with him. I didn’t know if we were close or awkward with each other, and I hadn’t found the right way to broach the subject with him. None of my questions seemed time appropriate, but I was so curious about everything. He didn’t seem rattled at all; and it made me wonder if he had lost any memories at all, or if he was just too distracted with the current task at hand.

He didn’t really talk, and the few times he did was sometimes in Spanish.  For the most part I could interpret what he was saying or asking, but he was starting to push the limits of my understanding. It took me awhile, but the meaning of the words would come to me and I was able to respond. It was funny the things that I could and couldn’t remember; and by
funny
I meant the exact opposite of funny. I could remember life’s basics, a memory or two, and few Spanish words, but everything else was a mystery to me, and I didn’t know why or how long that would last.

I shivered violently when a gust of winds nearly knocked me over. I had been so lost in thought that I hadn’t been paying attention. It had gotten insanely colder seconds after all light was gone, and we were left defenseless against it. I took a deep breath and focused my attention. I needed conversation, and I asked the first thing that popped into my head.

“How do I know Spanish?” I asked.  Out of all my questions I didn’t know why I had blurted out that one, but it was too late to take it back.

“You took Spanish your junior year of high school.” He answered, without skipping a beat, as if he had suspected I was getting restless.

“Did I pass?”

“You did. You did a lot better than anyone in your class, but I think it’s always easier to learn Spanish when you have a Spanish background.”

“And we have a Spanish background?”

I waited because he wasn’t so quick to answer this question.

“Yes.” He finally said.

He didn’t leave room for elaboration, and I didn’t understand why he was so hesitant. I hated that his one response, lead to a million more questions.

I wanted to know: what grade I was in now? Had I graduated? Where was my school? Did I like it? Did I have a lot of friends?  Did I stick to myself? What did I like most about school? What did I hate? Did I have hobbies? Was I a good student? What other languages did I know? Those were just off his first answer to my first question. I had a ton more regarding our background.

Then I thought of a question that outweighed the rest. If we didn’t find anyone or anything, I needed to have one last question answered.

“Where are my parents?” I didn’t know what to expect with this question.

He stopped walking then and I couldn’t read his face. He looked around us, pretty much at anything other than me. I didn’t know what that meant, but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer. He finally looked at me, and I could clearly see the sadness in his green eyes.  Because I suddenly knew what the sadness meant, my eyes watered over too. I couldn’t remember my parents and that should have made it easier, but it didn’t.

“How long have they been gone?” I asked

“You were a little over a year old.” He answered.

I felt oddly comforted that the reason I couldn’t remember them was because I hadn’t been old enough to create memories with them.

“How did they pass away?”

“A break in.” He said.

We both silently agreed, that for now, that was enough questions on the subject of my parents and their death. I didn’t want the conversation to end though, I liked talking.

“So do we speak Spanish a lot at home?” I then wondered where home was.

He laughed, “No. You know some Spanish, but not enough to keep up with me.”

“How come you haven’t taught me more then?” I frowned.

He laughed. “You weren’t that interested
sobrina
.”

“
Sobrina
?
”
I repeated the word. I didn’t recognize it.

“It means ‘niece’” he explained.

“I think I might be interested in learning more now.” I said honestly.

“We’ll start that as soon as we get home.”

“Do you know where
home
is?”

He paused, “
Flagstaff
.” He said

“
Flagstaff
? Where is that?”

“
Arizona
.”

I was faintly aware that he had continued on with the conversation, listing the pros and cons of
Flagstaff
,
Arizona
.

Something had caught my eye up ahead, and if Andres hadn’t been lost in our conversation he might had noticed it too. I wasn’t aware of what it was but I didn’t think it was dangerous, because I didn’t feel fear. Instead it was the same rhythmic hum that had constantly been with me since I had woken up, but now it was stronger. I took deep breaths, trying to calm my heart which had picked up speed.

I didn’t have to squint to search the forest, I could see everything perfectly. I searched between the trees, trying to find the movement again, but I couldn’t seem to spot it. I didn’t understand what I was feeling, but I knew if I kept going in the same direction, I might find the reason for this overwhelming feeling. At least I hoped I would. The feeling didn’t hurt, but it scared me because I didn’t know what it meant. Maybe it was just a sixth sense at work, and shelter would be just beyond the hill ahead of us. I stopped short when I spotted the movement again. It darted in front of the trees several feet in front of us. It stopped between two trees.  It was only a shadow, but it was huge.

Andres had stopped and was staring at me oddly, like he was trying to figure out the cause for my sudden stop. I looked beyond him and noticed the shadow had gotten closer to us. My eyes grew bigger when I managed to bring the figure into focus.

Massive, almond shaped, blue eyes stared back at me, motionless. I felt like some kind of fear should be there, but wasn’t.

I opened my mouth and screamed.