Species Unknown [Book 3: Canis]

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DAY 05
BLACKWATER
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

FROM ACROSS THE clearing, I stared at the man in a mix of awe and shock. Even in the dark, his features were distinctly recognizable.

He was the man from the laboratory, but how had he gotten here? And why?

Tightening my cold fingers around the gun, my brows creased in confusion as I continued to watch the man as he fully stepped out from behind the trees to making his way to me. All the while, his bright golden eyes watched me carefully, as if determining whether or not I would indeed shoot him.

"Please...I want to help you." His soft voiced echoed from across the way.

"Help me? Help me how?" I asked, my breath curling around my mouth from the cold night air.

"They saw you!" The man said, taking another step toward me.

I frowned. "Who did?"

At my question, the man's face scrunched up as he looked at me in confusion. Yet he didn't stop in his efforts to approach me. With each step across the grass, he grew closer and closer as I stood my ground. The closer he got to me, the more of him I could actually see. For the first time, I found myself examining him fully.

Even in the cold, he wore only a pair of dark ripped pants, leaving his muscled chest on full display. I let my gaze fall to the bare skin there, and I noticed something off.

My eyes widened as my gaze fell upon the dried patches of blood that covered his wrists and ankles, as if he was recently chained. Yet, one wound in particular caught my eye. It was the large red swollen mark on his shoulder, where a bullet had lodged itself inside his flesh. 

"What happened to you?!" I breathed, lowering my gun as I took in his compromised state.

Yet, despiste his numerous injuries, he seemed just fine. In fact, by the sturdy way we was walking, it seemed he hardly even noticed them at all.

He was only a few feet from me now, and I realized if I didn't move he would be standing before me before I knew it. However, I found myself frozen in place. I couldn't tell if it was curiosity of fear that made me stay, but I realized that part of the reason was that I needed to know more. And I had a feeling he was the key.

"Please there's no time! We have to-" He began before suddenly falling silent. I watched as his golden eyes flashed, suddenly stopping to glance somewhere behind me.

Confused, I turned to glance behind me to see what he was looking at. However, all I saw was my cabin sitting alone in the dark forest. The only light coming from the lamp that I had left on in my bedroom before coming out here.

Just then, I felt something warm close around my wrist. Snapping my head around, I saw that the man had enclosed his fingers around my wrist. Glancing up at him in shock, my words died on my tongue when I saw the look of fear and desperation marring his features.

Then without any warning, he began to pull me away from the cabin. The sudden movement almost made me drop my gun, but I managed to grab a hold of it with my free hand as he turned away to begin dragging me to the forest. I stumbled across the grass as I pulled against his shockingly firm grip around my wrist.

"Wait! Stop! Where are you taking me?" I asked quickly, my eyes darting to the dark trees we were quickly approaching.

"He's coming, you can't stay here!" The man replied quickly, hastening his steps.

"Who is?" I asked, stumbling to keep up with his fast pace. Meanwhile, I tightened my grip around my gun as my only source of calm.

I could shoot him...I thought momentarily, feeling a mix of fear and panic rise from within me from being thrown into such a bizarre situation. I had no idea who this man was or what the hell he was talking about, and in my mind I debated whether or not finding out more about him would be worth putting myself at risk like this.