The Petals of A Dream - II

Gray Shadows ((Chapter 4))

"Nancy? Are you all right?"

Despite my effort to tune everything out, one voice managed to pull my attention back to reality. My throat dried as I faced him. I saw a faint sign of curiosity mixed with worry on his face.

Why is he having that kind of reaction? Do I look that bad?

I tried to let out a smile, but it didn't reach my ears. Who the heck was I fooling anyway? Not him.

"Same old," I replied with nonchalance. Under normal circumstances, I should be happy for his concern, but my lack of sufficient sleep made my body as heavy as rock. For some unknown reasons, I kept on having the same nightmare for a week, leaving me restless and fatigued. And each day, the situation got worse than before. On the latest one, the shadowy figure managed to grab my arm. What terrified me was the fact that when I woke up, I saw a faint bruise on my skin.

*****

"Yhuelle?"

"What did you see?" he asked in a stern voice. He was facing me with a serious look on his face, his hands on my shoulders.

"What do you mean?" I whispered hoarsely. My eyes wandered aimlessly. Where am I? I adjusted my specs with faltering fingers. We were in the school backyard. It was so dark that I didn't recognize the place sooner.

"Nancy, tell me. What did you see? You had a weird dream right?"

"How did you know? I don't remember telling anyone about that."

I bit my lip. I'm absolutely sure I never told it. I eyed him for a moment, my brows knitting together.

"Well," he smirked. "You rarely talked with anyone. But put that aside. Tell me what you've seen."

"It's nothing."

"Come on. Don't be stubborn."

A strong wind knocked the air out of me. In a split second, I was in his arms, and there was a loud explosion. Gray clouds of smoke surrounded us.

"What the-?!"

In the place where we stood just a while ago, there was a huge hole. I gasped as I realized we were on a tree branch. How - ?

"You're pretty fast," a deep male voice commented from the shadows. A tall hooded man stepped out from the smoke, followed by two smaller ones. I chewed my lower lip as I scrutinized them. I knew they're up to no good. Their clothes were suspicious to begin with, even without their actions.

"Leave us, Hernan."

I cringed from Yhuelle. I have never been this scared in my entire life. What's worse was that I didn't understand anything. What was happening? Nothing makes sense. Especially his reaction. He's smiling, just like a fallen angel at the end of the world. Beautiful and terrifying.

"She needs to return. We're here to escort her." His voice was impatient, I saw his fist clenched.

What did he mean? I stared at him, trying to comprehend in vain. I simply closed my eyes and tucked myself closer to my angel. His arms tightened around me in response.

"Sleep tight, my princess," he whispered gently to my ears.

"No," I said stubbornly. "And what princess-?"

His fingers touched my lips, a silent order for me to shut my mouth. My eyes opened in shock as my cheeks warmed up. I grateful of the darkness since he can't see my blush. But I knew my heart would betray me. With him this close to me, I doubt he couldn't feel the frantic beating of my nervous heart.

I scrambled to my feet.

"Let me go." I tried to hold my balance as I stepped on the branch. He tried to pull me back, but I pushed him away.

"Hmm... this looks interesting..." chuckled the hooded man. "I never expected this kind of twist, Argout."

Argout? I watched Yhuelle's serious face, but it was smooth and hard. Is he referring to him? Isn't his surname Linton?

"It's not what you think," he snapped back. The other man laughed.

"Very well. I'll be back again." In a blink of an eye, they disappeared. I staggered in disbelief. Yhuelle caught me before I fell, and carried me. He took a deft maneuver and landed safely on the balls his feet.

"You're tired. Rest now."

"I don't need you to order me around," I growled. What was he hiding from me? What was this all about?

He patted my head and smiled. "Good night."

Suddenly, I felt the weight of darkness on my shoulders. His words were like a remote control that suddenly willed me to turn off.

My suppressed fatigue flooded me at once, like a leaking faucet finally busted. Compared to the previous meeting with the hooded man, I would welcome with open arms the strange nightmare I always avoided. Blackness enveloped me before I had any will to resist it.