Twisted Ties

After her little trip outside, and her moment of passing out, they had brought her back in, and by the time she woke up again it had been dark out, not that it hadn’t been expected. They were on high alert for a little while with her. She had needed fluids, and such as far as she understood, and while she had done as she was told she didn’t really get anywhere she hadn’t already been.

Two days. They kept her in the same room for two days, practically strapped to the bed to ensure her wounds would have time to heal. And to say she was growing annoyed was an understatement. In the two days she had been there, she had only seen two people. The pale haired woman, whom she found out her name was Tallah, and the dark haired man that liked to hide his eyes. He was strange, the only name she had to go with him was ‘Dare’ Which for some reason, didn’t seem like a name at all.

He was a brute by the looks of him, tall and built, and downright frightening. He could snap her like a twig in seconds and she knew this without him ever raising a hand to her. Every single time anyone came in the room, he was there as well. Perhaps he was a bodyguard or something?

Regardless of what he was, he seemed to be the only honest person in the place. She had yet to catch him lying. Unless perhaps he was just really good at it? But no...he was as easy to read as an animal. When he had gotten angry with her the other day, he didn’t even bother trying to cover it up. He raised his voice, and slammed his fist down on a table. He made it clear he didn’t care for her attitude on the subject, and she actually liked it when he was around.

He didn’t seem like the type to care much about what other people thought. He was more the get it done, and get it done right, type of person. Which was fine with her. She had more than enough of all the fake smiles and empty promises to last her several life times. This ‘Dare’ was refreshing. He reminded her of a child in his simplicity, an animal in the way he reacted to things, and all adult whenever he shut down and got real quiet. No matter which had happened however, he was easy enough to figure out.

Lost in her thoughts, Claire didn’t hear the door open at first. She had heard it close however, and flicking her gaze towards it, she was surprised to see only one person. And that guy named Dare wasn’t with this one. Strange. Lately every time someone came in he came in with them for whatever reason. “I thought I wasn’t due for another check up or whatever until later this afternoon?” Claire spoke quietly, and yet, the person seemed surprised regardless. One of those fake smiles were plastered on their face as they said something about just having a few questions. But something seemed off. “Ask away, not like I have anything better to do today.” Which was true, as long as they kept holding her here she didn’t really have much choice in the matter.

The sound of the lock clicking over is what told her something wasn’t right. Even when the woman acting as her doctor had her strip down she never locked that door. As far as she understood, there was no need….unless. Her eyes flicked to this person she hadn’t seen before, only to find nothing, by the time she realized he was beside the bed it was too late. The blade came swinging towards her. Panic raced through her too fast for her to grab onto it. She launched herself off the bed even before she was aware of having done so. Stumbling as her feet hit the ground, she reached out to the wall to steady herself. The door handle made noise as someone on the other side tried to open it. Claire didn’t have time to holler out though as her attacker started after her again.

This is a bad idea. She thought to herself. The guy with the knife was between her and the locked door, her best option would be to go the other way. Running across the room she threw herself at the window, bringing her arms up to protect her head. She hadn’t even been sure if it would work, but maybe if she knocked herself out trying, she wouldn’t feel whatever the guy had planned.

The glass shattered and she was rolling out onto the grass in her next breath. She could hear yelling, something about an escape, but a thud beside her meant she had no time to think it through. Just as she pushed herself up, a fist landed where her head would have been if she hadn’t moved. Shock hit her hard when she realized this wasn’t going to end quickly.

The whole world seemed to be spinning around her as she tried to focus. She could feel her injuries, and the broken glass beneath her feet. But as that blade came swinging towards her, she barely had enough time to move. God he was fast, too fast, was he a professional? The blade nipped at her skin twice, once when she moved away, and a second time just before she started running. His speed couldn’t be human. Over the last couple of days she had started to believe these people weren’t werewolves like she first thought, but this guy made her question everything all over again.

She ran for the tree’s, hoping to get a better vantage point if she could find a place to hide. She didn’t remember hearing him pursue her into the forest, but then again, she had been focused on escaping, not watching her back. Tucking herself under some thick brush she looked around, but she didn’t see her pursuer anywhere. Had he already gone? She waited a few long minutes to be sure.

Just as she was about to weasel her way out of her hiding spot, a large black shape landed right in front of her face. She held her breath as she glanced up. The shape had been a paw, but it was what was attached that scared her. A black leopard was standing there, looking right at her. Of all the things she expected to see in this forest, this was not one of them. Remaining quiet she tried to edge herself backwards slowly, a snarl from the animal in front of her however had her wishing she had never stopped to hide. One of those paws lifted, and she knew without a doubt it would be aimed at her face. Cringing, getting ready for the claws to dig into her before she could escape, she was shocked when the thing let out a yowl.

Blue eyes flipped up just as a pale colored wolf slammed into the things side. Teeth snapped, and claws flew out as the two animals tangled around each other. Just what had she run into? Wait...that wolf...that’s the same wolf she saw the first time wasn’t it? Was it distracting the leopard? Impossible...and yet, she wasn’t about to miss this chance. Shimmying her way out of her hiding spot, she looked around. The only thing she did know the location of, was the way she had just come from, and that was the only real option she had unless she wanted to walk around on glass all day. With a heavy sigh she started heading back, stopping once she hit the clearing to pull the glass from her feet. The adrenaline had meant she didn’t feel much of it earlier, but as she yanked it out piece by piece, the pain slowly started to get worse.

The heat of tears that have yet to be cried hit her like a ton of bricks, just as a face appeared in the broken window. Glancing up she was grateful it was at least a familiar face. He climbed out the window and walked towards her cautiously, before crouching low. “I can go get someone who can do that for you.” Dare was almost whispering the words, as though...maybe he thought she was fragile? Shaking her head she refused. With all the glass out of her feet, she started picking some that had lodged themselves in her arms. “Why didn’t you run away?” She tried really hard not to look up at him, but in the end failed.

“I did run. Right into a leopard. I don’t care if you think I’m crazy, I know what I saw. And I guess getting attacked by the asshat with spiky hair was more appealing than being eaten by an animal...I mean...if it wasn’t for that wolf… I would…” She brought her hands up to her face then, stifling whatever was left to be said. She couldn’t cry, not now, she had to find a way to get through this all first. A few deep breaths, a few rubs of the face, and she offered him a weak smile. “On second thought, I like my chances with the leopard better.” Terrible joke, terrible timing. The look on his face was like a slap to hers. “I’m sorry about the window.”

She watched as he twisted to look at the window, and she could see as he put two and two together over the glass she had been trying to get rid of. “You broke through it?” Wow, such a vote of confidence. He sounded far too shocked over that. Then again, as she glanced back at it herself, she did find herself wondering how she had managed. Being bed ridden for a couple of days, with injuries still healing, she shouldn’t have been able to walk, nevermind run. Maybe she was tougher than she thought? Or maybe instinct had kicked in before her body or brain could register the trouble she should have had.

“I guess I did.” Another deep breath, though a shaky one, and she shook her head. “I didn’t know what else to do. Maybe if I just pretended to be asleep…” No, if she had done that, there was no doubt she would be dead by now. Just as she was about to open her mouth and say something else, she watched the man in front of her rise to his feet in a rush. And the strangest sound hit her ears. Growling. Was he growling? Why was he always doing that? And why was he doing it now?

Twisting to look at what he was seeing, she realized it must have been the animal growling, not him. Funny, she didn’t think leopards could do that. Wait...Shit. Pain registered faintly in her mind as she clambered to her feet. Staring at the animal as though it were a flaming demon from hell itself. The thing bared it’s fangs at her, and she found herself tilting her head slightly to look it over. Another sharp sound left it a moment later.

Without thinking, she put herself between the man and the animal. Which was a mistake, the beast tore forward without a second thought, and just as it’s teeth sank into her leg she was pushed aside. She could hardly help the pained sound that escaped her as the flesh of her leg was torn. She yanked off the shirt she had on as quickly as she could, bunching it up over the wound to try and slow the bleeding. At least she still had her bra. She watched helplessly for a moment as the leopard lunged for Dare next. “You ass! Look what you did to my leg!” Not quite what she had intended to yell, and yet, oddly enough it worked. The leopard looked right at her for a moment, which gave Dare a free shot, clean to the side of the animal’s head. It stumbled for a moment, before trying to shake it off. The next lunge was more sloppy, and she couldn’t help but be awestruck with how quick the guy moved. Twisting his arms around the leopards neck before it had a chance to shake him off.

Just as he started to tighten his grip she squealed. “NO DON’T!” Apparently she had attempted to stand when she hollered out, because next thing she knew, he legs were giving out under her. The pale haired female that was acting as her doctor came flying from the tree line with her clothes in a right good mess, and blood everywhere. Had she been hurt? As pain fogged her vision, Claire could have sworn the doc looked just like the wolf, strange… Hitting the ground she was surprised to see the expression on their faces. “Don’t hurt it.” Her voice sounded strange to her own ears, weaker, distant. But she had to get her words across. It wasn’t the animals fault, she probably ended up on it’s territory accidentally when running from...wait...where was the guy she had been running from?

Mumbles, she could hear mumbles, and something about being lucky the human was so nice? That couldn’t be right. Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking back tears that must have fallen while she was asleep. It took her a few moments to realize she was being carried. Maybe she hadn’t been out for all that long after all. Whoever it was they were warm, though the heat vanished the moment she was set down. Her head lolled to one side. Tallah was there, the pale haired woman, she was saying something but the words lost all meaning when pain tore through her leg all over again. Biting down on her lip she squeezed her eyes shut against the throbbing. “Ouch.” Was all she could manage to say, and to her own ears it sounded more angry than hurt.

“Just lay still, we have to….sanitize it, apply some salve, and get it stitched up, if we’re lucky, you shouldn’t have a scar.” While the words made sense, the pain sure as heck didn’t. Glancing around the room, she wasn’t even sure what she was looking for, until her eyes landed on it. Wait...didn’t he have a shirt on earlier? As confusion set in, she tried to puzzle over what could have happened. But the chill washing over her answered her question, as something was pulled off her and tossed towards him. He caught it, but threw it in the garbage right after. “Don’t be such an ass, you can wash it.” She heard Tallah say that, and yet, it didn’t make sense. Wait...had he covered her with his shirt?

As the pieces started to fall together in her mind she heard something about having no time for pain killers, and working quickly. “Wait...wha-ahhhh.” She slammed her mouth shut to stop from screaming as the needle made it’s way in and out of the flesh of her leg. So that’s what they meant by no time. They were stitching her up as is. Bringing her hand up she bit her own wrist to keep from crying out, and in a feeble attempt to save her from grinding her teeth. Something cold touched her head, and before long the pain was so harsh it almost seemed to numb her out. Eventually however, it came to be too much, and her body shut her down. Complete and total darkness washed over her for what felt like hours.