A Luna's heart

WOUNDED STRANGER

LEILA'S POV

Darkness hung like a pall over Lair Falls. For the first time since I had gotten here, I had snuck out of the apartment and went out for a late night stroll because I couldn't sleep. Lair Falls was not like Ashville. In Ashville, the stores and streets would be brightly lit even at 2 a.m in the morning. People would be moving around, talking, laughing. Here, it was different. The residents of this town seemed to have scurried like frightened rats into their nests. There wasn't a single soul in sight.

I froze, sure I had heard a groan in the distance. My first instinct was to run away, but it had sounded like a groan of pain. The sound was repeated. With my heart beating fast, I walked in the direction of the sound. The place I had to pass was creepy. While the other parts of the street were at least dimly lit, this part was lit by only a flickering street lamp. It was hard to see. I followed the sound to the entrance of the alley beside a building.

"Hello?" I called fearfully. "Is- is anyone there?"

There was nothing for a second, then that low sound of agony again.

"Hey. Who's there? Are you hurt?"

I jumped as I heard the sound of something striking metal. I inched closer, heard laboured breathing and then there was a low muffled thud of something heavy falling. The breathing seized abruptly. I dashed into the alley. I cussed as I had not brought my phone with me. My sneakers slid in something that crunched under my feet. Blindly, I groped at the spot and my fingers encountered something. It was a phone! It was broken and cracked, but I kept on swiping and tapping at the screen, in the hopes that I could activate the flashlight.

By sheer luck, I did. The light was tiny and flickering. It did little to dispel the darkness. By it's light, I saw the vague outline of a man lying motionless on the ground. I hurried to him, knelt by his side. I gasped in shock shock and horror as I realized I was kneeling in blood. I touched his face and realized a brick was sitting on it.

With shaky fingers, I pushed it away. He must have been the one groaning and now he was dead.

"SOMEBODY HELP!" I shouted, but I was only answered by silence.

I decided to head over to the nearest building and call for assistance. I was on my way there when the panic receded a little. I had not checked his pulse. I hurried back to him, placed my hand on his wrist and waited. There was nothing for a long moment. Then a pulse, very slow, almost non-existent.

Sobbing in relief, I pinched his nostrils shut, clamped my lips to his and gave him mouth to mouth, compressing his chest in between breaths. I almost swooned in relief when he came to and groaned again. His features were so matted with blood and hair that they were unrecognizable.

"Can you hear me?" I asked softly. I placed my hand in his. "Squeeze my hand if you can." He did. "Stay here. I am going to get help."

His grip on me tightened almost painfully. He was gasping, trying to say something. I pressed my ear to his lips.

"No," he gasped. "The thugs...still here."

I shivered slightly and looked around. The whole place was in shadows. The people that did this to him could actually be lurking somewhere around.

"What should I do then?" I cried, starting to panic again.

The 'call making' days of the phone I had found was over.

"Take. me... home," he said again.

"There are no cars around here. I don't know where your house is. You will probably pass out before we get there."

"Building. over there."

"The one close to this alley?"

He grunted in agreement. As if reading my mind on how I could get him there, he said. "With. Help... can walk."

"Are you sure?" I asked skeptically.

Another grunt.

He didn't sound like he was in any shape to walk anywhere, but I had no choice. Summoning all my reserves of strength, I helped him sit, then stand up. I gave him some time to catch his breath. Then we began the slow, torturous journey to his apartment. We stopped at intervals for him to rest before going on. I was alarmed when he managed to tell me that his apartment was upstairs. Together, we plodded up the stairs as I feared that he would collapse any minute.

His room was also in darkness. Only the dim light from another building opposite his lit up the place. I led him to the dim outline of a bed, where he sprawled.

"Now. I'm going for help. Your neighbors will at least have phones. I can call for help."

"No." I was about to protest. "Wait." He caught his breath, then said, "It's... dangerous. They. think I'm dead. May finish the job... So. No."

Since I couldn't call for help, I groped my way into the bathroom he pointed me to. I got water, towels and cleaned his wounds. At a point, I had to take off his shirt so I could get at the other injuries.

It felt weird, touching him so intimately, running my hands over his wide, muscular chest and shoulders. My breathing became ragged. I called myself seven kinds of a fool for reacting this way, just because I was giving first aid to a man without his shirt on. I hastened up, cleaned up all the blood and dirt, working by feel rather than sight. I tore a strip of his bedsheets, wrapped it around his still bleeds head which seemed to be the worst affected part. I suddenly remembered that I had some pain relievers in my back pocket.

"I have something that might help with the pain," I told him. I returned to the bathroom, came out with some water. "It's some medicine for pain. I take them sometimes when I have migraines." I put two tablets in my palm, hesitated, added two more.

He drank them with a lot of water, lay back down and dozed off after a while. I sat very still, listening to his low steady breathing. When I judged he was deep asleep, I checked his pulse. It was steady and strong. It looked like he would pull through after all. The phone's flash light had long since gone off.

I gently stroked the man's silky hair. I was consumed with a desire to really see his face. I placed my hand in my pocket, touching the picture of Grey that I always carried around. He was all I had ever thought about these last few days. Strangely though, I didn't think of Grey now. All I thought of was this man at my side. Being close to him was like coming home. I felt drawn to him, even though the strength of that attraction was blunted by the fact that I was really worried about him.

Abruptly, I moved away from him, ashamed of myself. It felt like I had betrayed Grey by being attracted to the first man I had been in close quarters with. It was exactly two hours later by my luminous watch, that the man stirred. I hurried to his side immediately. On my way, I bumped into something and swore softly.

"You are still here," he said.

He was more audible now, though he still sounded weak.

"Yes. I- I couldn't just leave you here. I didn't know if you would make it."

"I will make it, all right. I always do." He sounded bitter for some reason. "How long have I been out for?"

"About two hours. I think I should still call for help... get you to a hospital."

"No," he said firmly. "Trust me. It is a really bad idea. I have to lie low for now and I don't want to put you in danger."

"Don't you think you should tell me what really happened to you?"

"Yeah. I guess I owe you an explanation. I was beaten and left for dead by three guys who I think are members of a gang. I had a run in with them before. I narrowly escaped. They found me again and decided to finish the job."

I gasped in horror. "That's terrible. You should call the police. They may come after you again when- if-they find out that you are still alive."

The man laughed mirthlessly. "The police you say? The police won't do anything in this case. Trust me. Oh and what were you doing walking along that lonely road at time of the night?"

"Where I come from, I used to do it all the time," I said defensively.

"Well, this is Lair Falls," he said sharply. "I have not stayed here for long, but I know that you are going to get yourself mugged, killed or... worse if you don't stop walking alone at night. Jeez! You are supposed to know this!"

I bridled at his tone. I knew that I had not made the safest choices, but he did not need to talk to me like I was a child.

"Hey," he breathed, his tone softening. "I'm sorry. Okay? I- I don't know what has gotten into me. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that." I saw the shadowy outline of his hand as it slid on the bed and held mine. He gently stroked my hand. I shivered and suddenly didn't feel upset with him anymore. I felt... something else.

"Please, say something," he pleaded. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I said in a shaky voice.

He shifted close to me, close enough to touch.

"You saved my life," he said. "I should be saying thank you. I was lucky you came along when you did and...." He paused. "I just realized that I don't even know your name."

"Leila. My name is Leila."

"Leila." My name on his tongue was almost like a caress. "That is a beautiful name." I flushed with pleasure. "Thank you, Leila. I owe you my life."

His hands trembled slightly as he raised my hand. I felt his lips brush my fingertips and I shivered again. I felt like throwing myself into his arms.

To break the spell I seemed to be under, I cleared my throat and asked, "What is your name?"