Same Planet but Different Worlds

Chapter 12 Caught It

Kaya's POV

I gaze up at the bits of exposed sky between the trees and leaves, I find myself staring at every single individual sparkle that comes from it. The stars look as if they have exploded from one enormous star and scattered all across the sky. They look almost hypnotizing, putting me into a trance with their beauty. We never get to see the sky like this, only when we come up to the surface. So I soak in these moments as much as I can, because I know it will be a while before I get to see them again after this excursion.

My eyes lock on one twinkling bit of light until it jumps to the next, creating pictures in my head with the mass majority that I can see, turning this shift into a fun game for my amusement, just to pleasantly pass the time almost effortlessly. Light snoring can be heard coming from my friends as they sleep the night away. I glanced over to see all of them closely cuddled together, almost surrounding the fire. I sit on the outside of the group making sure that if anything happens, I am the first one to come into contact since I am the first defense in all of our safety.

My hands fidget with one another until I bring out my little knife to sharpen it before going to my arrows to do the same. I keep glancing up noticing how the clouds have moved all around the sky, only exposing the stars every now and then. They slowly move but just fast enough to keep my eyes bouncing back and forth between my project and the hopeful idea of being able to see the beautiful stars once again.

It doesn't happen much after this, which is sad because most of the night has passed by. I at least got some images to hold on within my mind to bring out when I want to see them again, probably later in time to reminisce about. So I keep trying to stay busy with little tasks, the next is finishing my arrows. I shave the edges of the feathers to the back of my arrows to make sure they are in pristine condition, to ensure they work as well as they possibly can every time I use them. That's very important for not just my safety, but for everyone else. But even knowing that, I still feel the exhaustion slowly creeping into my body.

I feel my eyes slowly closing before I pry them open as I shake my head to try to wake me up. I rub my eyes as I stretch, but it doesn't seem to do anything remotely close to waking me up. My eyes shut as I instantly open them, just for them to shut again, playing this back and forth game that is becoming tiresome in every sense of the word. My eyes feel as if they are being pulled shut as my head tips back automatically to lean on the tree just like my body already had.

Since fighting the sleep doesn't seem to be working, I just decide to give in for the moment, using the support of this tree to take some of the stresses away while also making relaxation much easier for my body in this state. But since my eyes feel too heavy to keep prying open, I decide that this time I will just listen to everything around me. At night, I can hear better than I can see, especially out here. I listen to the leaves rustling in the wind and the snores of my friends and the crackling of the fire beside us being the song that is starting to put my body to sleep.

That is before a cracking stick erupts off to the side of me, like a stick breaking under the weight of something, which is getting all of my attention. My eyes flip open with my adrenaline running full speed as I look in that direction but see nothing. I stand up as I slowly wander over to that area with my eyes bouncing from one form of nature to the next as I pull my knife out, gripping it tight within my hand, readying myself to attack.

I look back, seeing that my friends and cainine friend never noticed this sound, so maybe it was my mind making things up after a long and exhausting day. Like some sort of dream that was made up in my head without even realizing it. The wind continues to howl loudly as I keep looking around in the darkness, not seeing much at all. I stepped out further from the camp to investigate as a little rodent ran past my feet before a bird flew by right over my head, causing me to jump, but even though those startled me, they were nothing that looks out of the ordinary.

I shake my head feeling silly about getting scared of those, but I continue to stare out for a while longer to make sure there is nothing else out there and luckily I'm seeing no changes. So I slowly turn around and start coming back to the camp, until I feel something wrap over my mouth and stomach, I jump and push back as my knife is fumbled from my hand and to the ground. I watch it land in the dirt as I look up to see my friends and dog still fast asleep, not even noticing. That's probably because of the loud wind hiding the muffled sounds I am making while being pulled back into the deep shadows by a person that has warm skin that somehow is soothing to the touch.

Even though this feels threatening in the moment, the touch is gentle, as if this being doesn't wish to hurt me. But maybe doesn't want me to wake my friends. I struggle in the hold, knowing we are right by one of the traps I had set. I keep pushing us back until I hear, "Stop fighting, just be still.. I don't want you to hurt yourself." This is presented in a deep rumbling tone that sings to me somehow, like a song. But it's making my heart race faster than it ever had since I don't know that voice at all.

My body automatically jumps as I push back against his hold before I hear that same soft but deep rumbling tone saying "Shhh.. little creature.. don't despair.. I don't want to hurt you.. and I won't, unless you make me." He says this in a whisper that rings within my ear, sending a shiver through me. I stumble on a rock as he quickly catches my body before standing me back up to my feet until I hear a grunt as his hands are instantly ripped away from my lips and body.

The sound of the strained twine and vines is showing me that my trap had ignited and saved me once again. I quickly flipped around to see a large man that looked much taller than me, or at least that's what I would assume by the fact that he is hanging upside down at the moment from my trap, but not too far off of the ground. Those old trees surrounding us are much stronger than I ever imagined just to be able to hold him. He is not a small man by any means.

I am panting as I frantically look around, making sure there is no one else around us, while seeing and hearing no one. I instinctively get a little closer to him since his surprised gaze calls to me. His bright green eyes blend in with the greenery around him while his muscles flex with every move that he makes as he tries to stop himself from swinging over the ground. His hands swipe at every tree and rock around, but he can't get hold of it. His hands find the plants below him, but they just pull out and don't help one bit.

I step a little closer to figure out why these men are here and out of their boundaries, before I hear another grunt and sound of my twine straining in the distance, showing someone else was caught. I flip around to face the sound as I stare out, trying to see the other person I caught, since it didn't sound far away at all, but I see nothing. All I know is the direction the sound came from and where I placed the traps, so that's enough to give me an idea of where to go.

I take a step, but before I can get remotely close to the other sound, I feel my leg get grabbed as I am automatically flipped into the ground. I hit my stomach with all of my weight behind that fall, not having anytime to try to catch or brace myself as I groan out in pain, but without any air within me, the groans are sounding more like squeaks of air, making it very hard to ask for any help. Without a moment to lose, I am dragged across the ground and through the soft dirt until my leg is let go. I am flipped over onto my back before my arms are grabbed by this man's big hands that cover most of my forearms.

I try to pull them out, but his grip only tightens with every move I make. I gasp for air as he gets a concerned look on his face for me. "What is this?" he asks me as I shake my head gasping for air into my system as I look around for my knife. I see it on the ground but too far to grab for me at the moment. "You will not reach it." He declares to me as if I don't already know this, but I continue to look around for something to help me. But since my arms are restrained, I can't seem to grab anything to help, so I use what strength I have within me to try to kick him, but that is much harder than I thought, since his entire body is suspended straight above mine.

I barely make any contact as I finally feel some air that is being soaked into me, bringing a slight relief to my system. "Let me go." I demand of him in a straining tone, that probably doesn't sound even remotely threatening to a large man like him. I watch him swing over the top of me as the twine strains, creaking above me as he states right back. "You can talk?" He sounds surprised by this realization. My eyebrows scrunch together as I nod.

I struggle in his hold more as I declare once again but this time more clearly for him to hear and hopefully understand. "Let.. me.. go." He shakes his head. "You have to help me if I am going to help you." I shake my head as I try to move away from him, but he just pulls me right back without hesitation. But his hold isn't tight enough to actually hurt me. It's strange, it's as if he doesn't want to hurt me when that's all I have heard about the men from his compound.

I am so close to his face that his hair that is hanging down is tickling my cheeks as his warm breath feathers off of my ear and neck as he tries to face me but fails. But every time I scoot away he just pulls me closer until I am almost off the ground with him. "Help me, help you." he says to me in a tone that states he is running out of patience now and that probably has to do with the fact that he may be getting light-headed. But I am getting impatient as well, even though he doesn't seem to make me feel threatened at all, surprisingly enough.

"How many of you are there," I demand from him as he shakes his head before I add. "How am I supposed to help you if I don't even know how many are out there waiting to attack me at any second." I snap out as he lets out a deep breath. "There is only two of us here and by the sound of things I would assume you caught my comrade as well." He responds without hesitation which surprises me because I never expected that. "You swear on your life?" I demand from him as he nods. "Yes.. I swear on my life." he says as I instantly shake my head. "How am I supposed to believe that?"

He looks as if he is thinking about my words before he declares. "You can't.. But I need you to.. I spared you when I could have easily taken your life.. I hope you would have the decency to do the same for me. I thought I saw that within your eyes, but maybe I was wrong. I can be wrong sometimes, but I really don't think I am." I swallow the lump in my throat as I look from the sleeping lumps of friends then back to this man. "You're right.. I am a kind being, and I know you spared me within that moment.. but that doesn't mean I have to trust you." I retorted right back, slightly agreeing with him, making his eyes widen at my response.

"You're right.. you don't have to.. But you will need to trust that I have no intention of hurting you so we can help each other ok?" he asks me as I nod but not giving an outright direct answer. He stares suspiciously at me before asking, "So will you help us down then? You're not tricking me with your beauty?" I think about that, his response once again surprises me.. I did consider leaving him there when he let me go.. but can I honestly do that to someone who is trusting me? I don't know, but how could I ever trust them? They could turn around and attack or even trap us if I let him go and actually give him and his comrade a chance to be trusted.