Just the Five of Us

My lungs throbbed and my head spun. My mouth was sticky and my saliva was thick. I slumped over myself gasping for air.
The bear was gone it had been gone for a bit. But I hadn’t stopped running until I was absolutely certain that it was no longer in sniffing range of me. I collapsed onto the ground and hugged my middle trying to get my head to stop whirling and my stomach to stop dancing. Both of them slowly and grudgingly but steadily calmed down.

I lay there for a bit listening hard for the sounds of a rabid, vicious, slobbering animal. When none came I closed my eyes and threatened to nap.

But then I thought of snakes, spider and scorpions among the other pretty creatures that roamed the forest floor. I was on my feet in seconds. I winced as my feet throbbed but I moved forward anyway.

The first thing I noticed was that I was utterly lost.

I didn't have the map, or the beeper. Jake had both.

I stood in the middle of a clearing jerking my head back and forth looking for anything familiar.

Guess what? NOTHING. Just endless trees and bushes.

I felt tears prick my eyes as I realized I would probably be lost for a long while. I stood there for a moment before I dropped to my knees and started to sob.

I was going to die here, they would find my remains so terribly mutilated that they would have to search dental records to ever figure out it was me. But that was if they even cared that I had gone missing.
Shean, Adrian, Ray and Darren might, but the adults and everyone else wouldn’t! Mom would sigh and shake her head; Dad would hide in the library nook for a day before moving on with his life like he did with every other problem he had ever faced.

I was doomed alone.

“Now, now dear,” a polite hiss of a voice crooned.

I jerked up; my eyes landed on a tall lean figure leaning against a tree. It was a man who appeared to be about twenty. He was dressed like any average guy. Dark jeans and a t-shirt, but he looked nothing like one. He had dark hair pulled back into a low ponytail, his eyes glittered forest green and he was as pale as beach sand under the moon.

My heart beat suddenly went into gallop mode as the very beautiful man smiled sweetly at me.

I was saved!

Then other thoughts attacked me. He could be a rapist, a murder, some guy who stuffed people with feathers and rubbed them down with wax to put them on his mantel piece so he could talk to them over evening tea!

Oh joy…

I hiccupped as he walked over to me and kneeled down. A dark smile curled up at the corners of his lips as he gazed down at me.

“Well, aren’t you a pretty one?” he said taking my face in his hand.

My tongue was completely stuck in my throat. I just had a feeling that he was bad news. I didn't know how, but it was almost the same feeling I had gotten when I first met my boys. A nervious stomach turning feeling.

A faint sound came over my hammering heart. It was calling. His eyes looked past me for a moment before he looked back at my face with a sly smile.

“Well, pretty one, there is another coming,” he said.

“W-w-who a-are you?” I squeaked.

The calling was a girl’s voice, shrieking out for help. It got closer and closer and I could make out Crystal’s high pitched tones. He straightened and winked.

Crystal came crashing through into the clearing. She was disheveled and her hair was everywhere, she looked scared and sick and she smelled less than prime.

But her eyes lit up like candles on the fourth of July when she saw me.

“Kristen, oh, Kirsten,” she scrambled tripping over herself as she collapsed next to me. I could see she had been crying too.

Her arms locked around my waist.

“Kristen I thought I was alone, damn that bear I just got so scared…”

She saw the guy and clammed up. He was watching us with an amused expression.

“Well, humans,” he winked, “I’m lucky to have found you.” He grinned wickedly at me, “Especially you pretty one. I have been searching for a while now, you look just right.”

“Who are you,” Crystal squeaked out my previous question.

He crossed his arms over his chest with a smile, “My name is Damon. I am here to collect my new cuddle toy, you seem just perfect for the job.” he waved his arm in my direction.

I was on my feet in seconds. I had already dealt with enough sexual harassment for one day. No matter how gorgeous this guy was I had a feeling that he wasn’t nice.

“I-I D-don’t know what y-you’re talking about,” I stuttered and hiccupped out.

He held out a hand, a heavy red ring was on his tallest finger, “Damon, Prince Damon of the Alcove vampires. I hope this holds knew meaning for you.”

I went pale. The whole Alcove thing flew over my head but vampire hung heavy. Adrian had told me that not all vampires were nice, and that a select few were just as bad as the horror movies had made them out to be.

Crystal shot up next to me. She grabbed my arm with sudden knew feeling towards me other than resentment. It was probably because without me she was alone.

“We don’t know who you are or what you really want,” She snapped, “So get lost, creep.”

The guy tittered, “Of course silly human, you don’t understand…”

Shean appeared. He crashed into Damon so hard that they both went flying into a tree.

My attention was diverted when someone grabbed my free hand. I yelped but relaxed when Adrian carefully scooped me into his arms. I only tensed up again when I realized his eyes were glazed red and his fangs overlapped his bottom lip and glinted in the sun.

“W-what the hell!” Crystal stuttered as I noticed Darren lift her up, his tail lashed from side to side, his teeth were bared and his ears were pointed straight forward.

Shean went flying past our heads successfully distracting Crystal from her question. He hit the ground
hard but was on his feet in seconds.

A giant glittering metal scythe was in one hand. His black wings arched high above his head and he looked deadly.

I realized immediately that the scythe was the weapon he talked about. It made sense, he was a reaper and in all the pictures and movies they had scythes. It was amazingly beautiful, silver and smooth with a strong shaft. But man it was huge.

He attacked Damon a second time and Ray came out of nowhere aiding Shean’s attack with multiple ones of his own. He didn’t have a super cool metal thingy next to him, but he still looked pretty awesome fighting.

Adrian turned on his heel and suddenly I was air born. Adrian was still holding me tight but he was jumping. Oh, damn could he jump.

His feet hit a tree branch and five seconds later we were in contact with another branch fifty yards away. It was amazing really, we were moving through the air so fast I was almost breathless just from the thought of movement. The flying had the same sort of feeling, but I had been a little bit busy focusing on not emptying my stomach to the tress below to process it fully enough.

I could see Darren racing below us with a screaming Crystal in his arms. We erupted into the middle of the empty camp; everybody was off in the middle off the forest trying to get back with useless maps like I had been what felt moments ago.

Darren dropped Crystal and disappeared in the direction of the counselor’s cabins. Adrian propped me up on my feet and took a step back shuddering.

“A-Adrian,” I stuttered, “What just happened?”

Crystal regained her cool and blew up, “What in hell!” she screamed…and she screamed...and screamed…and get this, she screamed!

Adrian stepped forward and smacked her across the face.

If the times were different I would have burst into hysterical laughter.