The Latent Sentinel

A DARK SECRET 1

Ethan Pov:

I lay there on the cold floor, reliving my pain and happiness. The darkness envelops me in the form of a thin veil and light shoots through it. The darkness disappears completely, and the forest and sky become crystal clear like the water from the deepest blue ocean. I am writhing in pain, but the pain slowly starts to fade away as I am entrapped in the prison of my mind.

Flashback of the lost love:

I felt my heart and head pounding as I ran through the forest, the overwhelming nightmare still fresh in my mind. I hate that my past still affects me so much. As a doctor, I understand I am not dealing with my pain and memories in the correct way. However, helping and advising others is different from following and implementing the same advice to yourself. I ran till I couldn’t breathe as I wanted to exhaust my body and mind. I wanted to forget everything.

After I collapsed through sheer exhaustion, I just laid there on the dirt floor next to the cliff enjoying the clear cool breeze. Eagles were swimming high in the sky, surveying their unchartered territory. Every time the bird dived, small birds and animals screamed and ran for their lives. Argus was enjoying the peace and quiet. The pack members mean well, but their happiness and love suffocates me. Their happiness sometimes hurts me. It makes me realize the loneliness; I feel deep within me. The pain is getting worse day by day, Argus has given up on life. I had given up on life and happiness a long time ago. We feel unworthy of love and happiness. I don’t think I deserve happiness, and I am walking towards my doom day by day. I am alive just to help others and atone for the sins of my blood.

I am walking towards the cliff’s edge in a daze thinking about the pain and loneliness. I am about to step out and end all the pain and suffering when I see something floating in the raging river. Dark silk cloth seemed out of place in the crystal-clear water.

“Ethan, I don’t think it's clothes,” Argus says, focusing on the water.

We are both still focusing on the water when a hand jumps out. Without a second thought, Argus takes over and we jump. I wanted to end everything, but this made me realize saving a life is more important than anything else to me. It’s my divine duty to commit penance for every atrocity my family committed. I realize that it’s not my time yet. I still have a lot to pay for and repent to make up for every evil deed committed by my family.

My mind clears as I hit the cold water. Argus provides me with his full strength as I make powerful strokes trying to reach the unknown maiden. I feel unknown fear and pain rip through me as I see her struggle to survive. She is being carried further away from me into the depths of the wild raging river. She is not struggling anymore; I try my best to reach her on time. With one last attempt, I got hold of her hand and dragged her outside. She is out of it. She is unconscious when I drag her towards me. She doesn’t even move. As soon as we are out of the water, I lay her down and gently turn her around. I am afraid for her; the worry and anxiety is much more than anything I have ever felt. I give her gentle compressions to remove the excess water from her body. When she still doesn’t breathe, I turn her around and give her mouth-to-mouth to make her breathe. I feel sparks every time I touch her, but I ignore them. Saving her life is more important than thinking about irrelevant things.

As soon as she coughs and her honey-brown eyes flutter open, my world gets destroyed. The pain and loneliness, everything I feel is mirrored in her honey-gold eyes. Her eyes glow and she moves her hand. I am captivated by her spell when she touches my chicks.

“Mate, I finally found you.” She whispers before fainting again.

“Mate” Argus whispered, as if in a trance.

I am terrified. I can’t lose her, not when I just found her. I lifted her up and ran towards my cave. The cave has been my home for a while. I come here to hide when I want some time away from the pack and its people. I can’t take her to the pack, it will take too long. I can’t risk her life. So I ran as fast as I could to take her to the cave.

The pack and its members mean well, but I feel suffocated sometimes. I just feel I don’t belong anywhere, as if I haven’t found a meaning for my life. As if my soul is searching for something. Something which I don’t understand. But looking at her fragile form I realized that she is the colors in my bleak life that were missing. She is the answer I have been looking for.