The Latent Sentinel

FATEFUL ENCOUNTER 2

Ella POV:

The jump felt scary but liberating. It was deeper than I imagined and the anticipation of waiting to get hurt was horrible. I saw those people at the top. They were looking at me. That’s the last thing I saw before I crashed into the raging river. The water is unforgiving.

If I thought I was prepared to die, I was wrong. It was not true that I was ready for an end. The end didn’t mean death, I wanted to end this trauma. The end of a lifelong chase. I didn't want this freezing watery grave. I regret my decision to jump, but I have no way out.

The cold water chills my bones, I feel suffocated. I can’t even breathe. The icy burn from the river water almost kills me when my lungs are saturated with cold water. I wasn’t prepared for it at all. I somehow went with the flow of the river without drowning. Nyx is the one struggling against it. She is fighting for both of us. I had no energy in me to fight back, so I surrendered. I have no idea if I am alive or dead. I feel numb, my life is slipping through my fingers. I don’t know how I even survived, but I did. That was the last coherent thought of my tired, groggy brain when I felt someone dragging me out of the water. He carried me away from a certain death. He was the last person I saw before I lost control of my cognitive brain. I was so tired from all the fighting that I gave up. I was unconscious before I could comprehend the meaning of it.

When I come back to my body, it feels strange. I am surrounded by warmth and peace. I am sleeping on a thin mattress on a bed made of logs, leaves, and grass. There is a roaring fire in the corner, and it seems someone is roasting meat there. The place is warm and cozy. It feels good to relax and just take a moment without worries. That snapped me out of my ongoing imagination. I got up and looked around, trying to search the place for answers. I don’t have shackles, so I can assume I am not captured yet. I am wearing clothes which don’t belong to me, but they smell comforting. They are covered in a scent of lemongrass and bergamot, something in me wants to roll around in this scent. It energizes me and makes me safe.

I am in an abandoned cave. It is a shallow rock cave. It seems someone uses it from time to time. It has scattered tokens of someone’s life. The cackling thunder outside made my spirit jump out of my body. When I get up, I wobble and lose my footing. I hold the rock wall to support my frail body, but everything is spinning around me. The stone floor feels warm and comfortable underneath my bare feet. My wounds are healed but I have no strength. I am a little dizzy, but I hold the stone walls trying to steady myself as I try to escape.

“You are still recovering; you should rest, you know.” Says the deep gruff baritone voice from behind me.

I freeze and everything in me wants to run and stay at the same time. The voice was ethereal and comforting. The voice shoots warm tingles in my heart. It relaxes me instantly. I have never felt comfortable in anyone’s company, but this stranger's voice provided me with a sense of safety and comfort. It’s been a few years since I interacted with anyone. I had forgotten how it felt when someone was standing this close to me. This seems strangely intimate. Intimacy I know nothing about.

Sure, I worked around it, but this seems intimate and personal. Whenever I worked in restaurants or cafés around humans, I would just hide in the back and wash utensils. The only people who barely noticed me were the chefs. They were always busy and left me to my devices. The person slowly takes steps towards me as if trying to calm me or not spook me any further.

He is handsome in a rugged way, with a strong jawline covered in a trimmed beard. Dark gray eyes and an aquiline nose accentuated his features. He was handsome in a different way. He looks menacing in a way that he could kill you without even trying, but his gray eyes are too kind. I can feel it deep in my heart that he is a protector, not a killer. He won’t belong on a magazine cover, but he has this presence about him that captivated me. He was tall and built. His tan skin captivated me and his scent invigorated me. He looked like a monster who could snap me like a twig, but everything about him invited me like a moth to a flame. I am drawn to the flame like a moth ready to burn. His tanned body and his muscles invited me in. He is a walking sin. His aura invites me in. He was drawing me in like a male siren. I am shocked by my own thoughts and desires. I find this stranger alluring and enchanting, I am entrapped in his spell.

I try to escape, but the thundering rain makes me stop short. He is watching my movements but doesn’t say anything; he watches my every move like a hawk. His eyes follow me, I see him gulp when I take a deep breath. The scent of rain and lemongrass is fresh in the air. It relaxes me, even if just a little. He goes towards the back of the cave and sits back down leaning on the wall after shaking his head.

“Hey, sit down and try to relax. I am a doctor. I am trying to help you. I promise. I won’t come near you or towards you if you just sit down. Your leg is still healing. You had a terrible bruise there. I have some medicine and food there on the table. Just sit down and eat. I won’t do anything, I promise.” He says slowly as if talking to a child. The way he looks at me makes me feel strange. He nodded towards the small table showing me the food and medicine kept on it. There is a glass of water on the table and suddenly I feel parched. I don’t remember the last time I had a drop of water. I drowned in the river, but I don’t think that counts as drinking water to quench my thirst.

His words are soothing, but I am still in flight mode, I want to run and never stop. I have a hard time trusting people, specifically because someone is actively trying to kill me. I rationalize my thoughts; I need energy to escape. It’s raining cats and dogs. I won’t be able to run with an injured leg, and he hasn’t done anything to me yet, so I should at least trust him for some time. I simply nodded and sat back down on the bed eating my meal in silence. The silence is strangely comfortable and not awkward. The stew smells delicious, it has some medicinal herbs in it. It’s unbelievable that I am so comfortable in this strange guy's presence. He has given me space since our last encounter and is working on making some medicinal paste. He looks up from time to time but doesn’t say anything.

I finish eating and try to get up, but he interrupts my movements by asking me to leave the bowl and rest. I lay there watching the fire dance around on the stone walls and occasionally looked at him. He hasn’t moved from his place; it looks very uncomfortable how he is sitting on the hard floor, and I don’t want him to be hurt because of me.

“Would you like to sit here for some time? I would sit on the floor.” I said, trying to hide in the duvet.

He chuckles at my antics, “It’s quite alright. I am good. Don’t worry, but if it’s OK with you, I will get my bedding here. It’s in the corner there to your left.” I nodded to him and felt him move around; I was still hiding under the covers when I felt him brush past my bed. After a while, I fell asleep again, enveloped in the sound of rain and the scent of lemongrass and bergamot. The spicy scent of bergamot is unique, but it doesn’t belong here. I tried finding the source, but I didn’t see anything around there. Am I losing my mind?

I haven’t had such a peaceful sleep in a long time. I don’t think I have slept without a doubt and fear since I started running for my life when I was thirteen. I woke up slowly sometimes in the late afternoon, wrapped up in the mouthwatering aroma of grilled meat. I looked up, trying to find the kind stranger. He is still in the same corner as he was last time.

“So you are awake, good. Here I have made you something to eat. Sorry, due to the rain I haven’t been able to get anything else. I grilled the meat I had left from my last hunt. I separated the meat from the bones for you. It would make it easier for you to eat. Also, here is medicine for you. Please eat something and take some medicine. You are much too weak and wounded.” He looks at me exponentially, waiting for my reply. When I don’t say anything, he just nods to himself and continues to talk.

“If you are OK with me moving closer to you, I would like to check that.” He nods towards my bruises and continues.

“May I look at your wounds?” he gestured towards my bandaged leg. He finishes what he has to say and patiently waits for me. I look at my leg, it is properly healed, but I feel some tension in my back. I wince getting up. He is up and moving toward me before I collect myself. He comes close but stops when I raise my hand, asking him to halt. He looks pained thinking about my pain. I don't understand him. Why does he care?

But maybe this is some elaborate scheme to get me to trust him. What if they got tired of me running around and decided to use a different technique? Should I trust him?