Run

I walk to the village’s edge and see Adrian waiting for me. He shoots me a smile and I return it as I walk past.

We don’t say anything as we head over to the crowd of villagers. They hand us supplies and we get to work. The sounds of hammering boards and barricades being put up prevents a silence from falling over us. Adrian stays close to me, and as we start to finish with our share of the work, he begins to reminisce.

“Remember the first time we saw each other?”

I smile a bit.

“How can I forget? I almost took your head off.”

“It’s not like I meant to scare you!”

“You didn’t scare me! I thought there was a monster around!”

“I still don’t understand how you confused me with a monster,” he laughed.

I smile a little and look away. I could feel the memories stir something in my chest but I ignore it. These kinds of emotions aren’t my strong suit, and they’re too unfamiliar to me. Adrian seems to notice.

“Is something wrong?”

I shake my head.

“No, I’m just...thinking about that day.”

I don’t remember how many years ago I met Adrian; I know it was definitely a couple years after I left Luca and his parents behind me.

I came into the village to replenish my food supply. Back then I was still in the habit of only gathering a few days’ worth of supplies at a time. It’d take another year for me to drop that mindset entirely.

The sun was in the middle of the sky by the time I finished gathering food from the merchants. I stepped aside and opened my bag, double-checking that I got enough for at least a couple of days. A burning sensation in my wrist caught me off guard and caused me to drop my bag. I grabbed my arm and looked around, but no one else seemed panicked. I let go of my wrist and grabbed my blade with my good hand.

Where’s the monster?

“Is your arm hurt?”

I spun around, blade raised, then stopped myself when I found the source of the voice. I was met with a boy, not much older than me. He had a mess of shirt black hair and bright green eyes, and he looked startled. Without saying a word, I put my blade down and sheathed it once more.

“Oh, I’m so sorry about that, I—” I didn’t know how to finish that. I’d never told anyone about the mark on my wrist or what it did, and frankly, I wasn’t about to start now.

“I just had a bad feeling, and I didn’t hear you coming over. Really, I’m so sorry about...that.”

The boy took a small step back, but seemed relieved. He motioned to my wrist.

“Is your arm hurting? I might be able to help.”

I glanced down at my wrist and shook my head, pulling my sleeve down to hide the mark.

“No, I’m fine. Just some pain, it comes and it goes.”

The boy nodded and turned to leave. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want him to leave.

“Wait! Uh, I never got your name. My name’s Natalie.” It felt weird to finally use my new name, but it also felt right.

The boy turned back to me and looked me over for a second. Then he spoke.

“I’m Adrian.”

That’s a nice name.

“Well, uh. It was nice meeting you.”

He nodded and gave me a small smile.

“It was...interesting meeting you. You make a hell of a first impression.”

My cheeks flushed and I glanced down at my blade. I opened my mouth to apologize again, but he beat me to it.

“See you around, I hope.”

I nodded and watched as he walked away. Clearly I hadn’t had much experience with people all that much. I picked up my bag and I headed back to the cabin.

A rising sort of feeling bubbles up in my stomach and chest, and I feel myself smiling. Then I remember the kiss on the cheek from yesterday. With the heat that’s coming off of my face, I’m sure Adrian can feel it.

Almost as if he read my mind, he grabs my hand and leads me along into the village. I don’t know why but I like the contact.

“Something else on your mind?”

I bite my lip and debate telling him. I don’t have much experience with others, and especially not like this. As much as I value human life, I don’t spend too much time with people, and Adrian’s the only friend I’ve made since I started my new life.

“I guess.”

“Mind sharing?”

I hesitate.

“Actually you don’t need to tell me—”

“It’s about you—”

We look at each other as we both stumble over our words. I see his cheeks turn pink and now it’s his turn to hesitate.

“Oh, I—I didn’t—”

“It’s not bad.”

A smile starts to form on his face but he remains silent.

“I—it’s like—you and I—ugh, why does this have to be so difficult?” I groan and let his hand go, hiding my face.

“Natalie.”

Adrian moves my hands away from my face and makes me look at him. His eyes encourage me to try again.

“Like, I feel…” I start to place my hand on my chest.

“I think I understand,” he interrupts me. He starts leaning in and my mind races.

Is he about to kiss me?

He is.

Do I want him to?

Yeah, I do.

He really feels the same.

Just before our lips can connect, pain shoots through my wrist. It’s enough to make me cry out and nearly fall to my knees. Not even a second later screams come from all around us. The sounds of wood breaking and wet splattering follow. All too late, I realize what’s happening:

Monsters are launching a second attack.