Within

Chapter Sixteen

We left in a car that I had never seen before. I was confused at why we were in the car in the first place, but Arthur kept on insisting that it was fine. That he handled it. Whatever that meant. Anyway, with my very, very light duffel in hand and Arthur’s literal nothing, we were off.

He didn’t say where we were going. I just rested my head on the window, watching the scenery fly by as we drove.

The setting sun was the prettiest, it bathed everything in a golden glow. Arthur was playing smooth jazz on the radio, which was putting me to sleep. I started to nod off after maybe forty-five minutes of no talking and relaxing music.

At first, I didn’t dream of anything. It was just blackness. Then I felt something touching me, constricting itself around my body and making it difficult to breathe. I started to wheeze, unable to draw in air like my lungs wanted to.

Foolish girl, a voice hissed in my mind, you intervene in matters that your mind cannot comprehend. You run, you hide, but my eyes will see all. You can only shield yourself for so long.

Shield? Shield from what?

A laugh.

No matter, there may be use for you. I see into your heart; I see your deepest desires. I will give you what you want if you do the same for me.

“Who are you?” I asked.

Irrelevant. Do you agree to the terms? This is your only chance, girl.

I didn’t trust it. It was probably a demon, anyway. Even if it wasn’t, and was some being from the dark crevices of my consciousness, I didn’t want to make a deal with it. “No?”

The thing that was talking to me didn’t waste time saying another word. It started to choke me then, dark tendrils wrapping around my throat and squeezing hard. I started to squirm, fighting against its grip and thrashing around in the blackness.

I wasn’t going to die like this. It wasn’t going to kill me.

I felt hands on me, shaking me. I screamed, it came out guttural due to the fact that I was choking.

Cam!

“No!” I shrieked, slapping at the hands. They were going to hurt me. And I was so tired of being hurt as of late.

“Cam! Wake up, it’s Arthur! ”

At his names, my eyelids flung open and the darkness’ grip on me vanished. Light assaulted my eyes, along with the sensation of being able to breathe and move freely once more.

I looked around wildly, taking in our surroundings. We were still in the car, but on some long, desolate stretch of road. There was corn fields on all sides. Arthur had pulled the car over and had the caution lights flashing.

“Jesus,” I whispered. “What happened? Where are we?”

“Currently, southern Ohio.” Arthur paused before continuing, “You were out like a light for, like, ten hours. Then you started screaming and freaking out--you must’ve been having a nightmare.”

A nightmare? Made sense. But unlike most dreams, I remembered it vividly. “I-I heard a voice,” I explained. “It was talking to me; it wanted to make a deal. But I turned it down so it just--”

Arthur’s eyes narrowed into slits. “What was the deal?”

“If I gave it what it wanted then it’d give me what I wanted.” I rubbed my head. “It also said that I could run and hide all I wanted, but it’d always find me in the end.”

He angrily put the car into drive, turning off the cautions and veering into the road.

“What?”

“I didn’t think he’d get to you.”

“Who’s he?”

Silence.

“Arthur! You can’t keep this from me, not anymore if this guy’s seriously coming for me now.”

“He was before. I just didn’t think he’d want to speak to you.”

“Why? What’s going? There’s more to this than just the basic demons hunting a Nephilim, right?” If it wasn’t, then Arthur shouldn’t have had of problem with me asking questions. But there was more. Something else. And it troubled him-- a lot.

Arthur exhaled deeply, knuckles turning white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. “Now isn’t the time...”

“Arthur.” I saw the look on his face, sensed his unwillingness, and decided to back of for now. “Okay. But do you promise to tell me later?”

“It’s better for you not to know.”

I shook my head. “You don’t get to decide for me. I don’t know how else to make you understand, but I’m involved in this, too. You can’t just keep me in the dark. I deserve the truth... So, do you promise?”

His jaw was working, he was probably wondering how to tell me no. He didn’t want to tell me, “Okay,” Arthur finally consented.

I leaned back, feeling kind of smug. I thought about going to sleep, but quickly decided against it in case the creature was still there.

Part of me was curious. Not because I wanted to accept his (I assumed it was the man Janaé had mentioned previously) offer, but because I wanted to know what he wanted. What I wanted.

His want was probably Arthur... right? But what was mine? There were a lot of things that I wanted from the world; I felt as if almost everyone was like that.

The biggest want for me was probably a family. Or someone that loved me--it didn’t even have to be Arthur. But I think that a family was the most pressing need.

I used to have one, a long time ago. But they had been the first deaths that I had caused. My father and his wife (my real mother was his mistress, and a banshee) had decided to go on a roadtrip. They had been kind to me, even his wife, despite me being the product of an affair. My actual mother had died during childbirth, which was why I had received her powers despite not being undead.

Anyway, I was only six years old and that was the day that my abilities had activated. I screamed, they died. Cause, effect.

I pressed my head against the headrest, blinking back tears. Afterwards, my life didn’t go too well. From being bullied at school (kids were never nice), and switching from family to family (I wasn’t a good kid either). When I was about fifteen, that was when I had started experimenting with drugs. There wasn’t a good reason to it, I had just wanted to not think anymore.

So... yeah. If I were to wish for anything, it’d be a family. Or maybe to press restart on my life.

Arthur glanced at me, perhaps sensing my melancholy and asked if I was okay.

I avoided the question. “Where are we going?”

“Final destination is Los Angeles, California. But currently, we have to make a stop.”

“Where?”

“I need Janaé to heal the wound on your neck since I cannot. Have you forgotten?”

I touched my neck, because I did completely forget. “Right. Why can’t she just show up like last time?”

“It’s... complicated. Anyway, she lives in the woods around here.” He pulled off of the street and into the forest, the compact car bumping on the uneven path.

“Won’t the dryads get mad if you drive a car into their house?”

“No.” Arthur turned off the car, getting off of the car and going to open my door. “They won’t.”

I stepped out, accepting his outstretched hand and shaking a little because I lost my balance anyway. “Thank you, kind sir,” I said lightly, albeit mockingly.

“You’re welcome, madame.” He grinned at me, revealing his perfectly white and straight teeth.

His childish grin made me laugh. Almost made me forget about everything for a second. Almost.

I shook my head and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “So... where are we going? Where is she?” I looked around at our surroundings. Everything was normal. At least, there weren’t dryads running around everywhere and frolicking or doing whatever dryads and nymphs did in their free time.

“By the lake,” Arthur answered. “This place has been her home since even before I knew her. The humans don’t come here; this place is almost sacred for the dryads.”

“And you drove a car into it,” I pointed out.

He shook his head. “We’re not in their territory yet,” he pointed to a random tree, “that tree marks the start.”

I placed my hand against my neck, feeling it beginning to tingle. It was probably to reopen soon, and I’d have a ginormous bite wound in my neck. “We should hurry.”

He glanced at me, confused what I meant at first, then nodded his head. “Do you need help walking?”

I shook my head. Save for the slight discomfort I felt, my strength was doing fine. “I’ll make it.”

“Are you sure? There’s no need for you to hide it if you’re feeling badly.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Mother.”

His brows furrowed. He didn’t understand. Had he never heard the saying before? “I’m not your mother.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s a thing... that people say.”

Blank stare.

“Okay, nevermind.”

“Okay,” Arthur repeated, turning to face forward once more and continued to guide us to wherever Janaé was.

It was a long walk. And since it was pretty dark out, it was hard for me to keep up with Arthur’s relatively fast pace. I attributed it to his long-legged stride more than him rushing, though, it was probably a combination of the two.

“Are we close to being there yet?” I asked, thighs burning. The terrain was uneven and the unsteady footing was also taking its toll on me. If we kept on, I probably wasn’t going to be fine.

“Almost.”

My neck started to feel wet. Just great. It wasn’t completely gone, but it was nearing the point where Arthur’s healing job would be completely reversed.

Arthur noticed at the same moment that I did, because he said, “You’re bleeding.”

“Yeah.” I was starting to feel a little lightheaded. I felt as if it had lasted longer the last time, but I hadn’t been keeping time, either. “Help.”

He did so almost immediately. Arthur gathered me in his arms, moving my body until I was riding piggyback. “Can you hold on?”

“I’ll try,” I answered airily, vision blurring. Wow, had it hurt this much earlier? Maybe the shock of the situation had numbed the pain, but now, I really felt it. That thing had some sharp teeth and a vicious bite.

I felt his grip tighten on me, arms nearly breaking my back.

“Ow.”

“Sorry.” He was. Kind of. “I have to run.”

“Run, Forrest, run.”

The reference either wasn’t funny or he didn’t understand it, because Arthur didn’t respond. Instead, he bent his knees a little, getting into a stance similar to how a sprinter would. Then he shot off, the only comparison I could think of was a bullet being released out of the chamber. It happened so quickly, I didn't have enough time to blink before the trees and scenery were flashing by and everything blurred and blended together. Why had we even taken a car when Arthur was apparently related to The Flash?

The world around me started to move in what seemed to be slow motion as Arthur came to a stop.

I gasped at the scenery around us; it was truly breathtaking. The most glaringly obvious being the lake, which glistened and radiated a soothing light. Everything was so... beautiful. Pure. Weird orbs of glowing light drifted in the air, and when I squinted, I realized that they were tiny pixies.“Wow,” I whispered.

“Do you like it?” a female voice said. Janaé. “Set her down, Arthur, I’ll take care of it.”

He listened, gently placing me down on the soft and slightly damp grass.

Janaé’s face appeared over mine, a delicate smile on her face. Unlike before, I could truly tell that she was a dryad. Her brown skin now had a hardness to it and there were grooves akin to that of tree bark. She smelled strongly of dirt, and her braids from before had turned into moss instead of actual hair. “Hello, again.”

“Hi,” I whispered.

“My, what attacked you this time? A dog?”

“Man-eating demon, it’d seem,” I informed her. “Possessed this pizza delivery b--” I stopped speaking, realizing something that I hadn’t before. What happened to the boy? Arthur had... killed... him? Or was it like Lindsay? I hoped that it was. “Nevermind.” I felt kind of sick.

She didn’t say anything else. Just quietly appraised my injury and then leaned back. “Arthur prevented it from getting too bad before he could get in touch with me, so count yourself lucky.” Janaé let out a sigh. “It shouldn’t take too much. I won’t be able to heal it instantly, though, since it is a pretty major wound. But, with time, it’ll disappear completely.”

“Okay...” I was just glad that she would be able to fix me like she had before. Janaé was literally a lifesaver. “Thank you,” I told her.

“Oh, of course. A friend of Arthur’s is a friend of mine.” Janaé placed her rough hand on my neck after rubbing a salve onto it. I let out a small exhalation at the relief that it provided me with. “You’re good.”

I smiled gratefully at her, pulling myself up slowly. “Sorry about the blood on your grass.” We both looked down at the crimson that slicked the previously emerald blades.

“It’ll be all right,” Janaé said, voice a little tight. “Anyway, what brings you here? You could've just called.”

“We’re moving,” Arthur responded, pushing off of the tree that he had been leaning against. “Thank you, Janaé.”

She nodded her head. “I’m always here if you need help.”

The corners of Arthur’s mouth lifted a little. “I--” he glimpsed at me, “we appreciate it.”

Janaé offered a small smile in response, expression softening. “Be safe, okay? Don’t hesitate to ask for my help. I’ll always provide it.” She then looked at me. “And try not to get hurt so much, Cam.”

“I’ll try, it’s pretty hard. Lotta peo--things--demons... want me dead.”

She threw her arms around me, her wooden skin scratching my cheeks and I was surprised by how much strength she carried in her twig-like (pardon the pun) arms.

I patted her back awkwardly in response. Being hugged by her made me uncomfortable. She seemed like a nice person, but we weren’t friends. And I hadn’t known her long enough to elicit this type of emotional and physical comfort. “Thanks,” I said, hoping that my gratitude would cause her to end the hug.

It didn’t.

After a few more long seconds, she released me with a huff. “You’ll get him.”

“Huh?”

Janaé winked at me, and that was all that it took for me to understand that she was referring to Arthur.

“Thanks,” I repeated, though I had absolutely zero expectations of romance between me and Arthur. But the thought was nice, I guess.