Free Encala by T.M. Nielsen Page B

heard footsteps,
“What?”
    Kyle stepped out from behind a tree and sat
by her, “Are you ok?”
    “ Fine,” she snapped. How
hard was it for him to understand that she needed some alone
time?
    He put his arm around her, “I’m worried
about you.”
    “ Why?”
    “ The bad dreams. It’s
obvious you’re worried about us.”
    “ Of course I am. How long
before you can’t control your thirst anymore?”
    He smiled, “A long time, you’re safe here.
Look at me.”
    She glanced away, fighting back the
tears.
    Kyle put his hand under her chin and pulled
her to face him, “You’re safe.”
    “ For how long?”
    “ We can go years without
eating, Em.”
    “ You can… but how long
before instincts kick in and …” He cut her off with a kiss. She
tried to pull away from him, but he held her tightly. He leaned her
back against the soft moss and trapped her wrists above her head
with his hand.
    “ Kyle, stop,” she said,
trying to get out from under him. He was kissing her neck softly
and using his body weight to hold her down.
    “ Stop fighting me,” he
whispered, before pressing his lips to hers again.
    Emily turned her head to the side, “Get off
of me.”
    In one swift movement, Kyle tore her shirt
in half and re-trapped her hands above her head, then began kissing
down her neck slowly.
    “ Don’t do this, please,”
she said, as she felt his hand at her back, untying her bikini
top.
    “ Just relax,” he whispered,
and then ran his tongue along the vein in her neck. She felt his
teeth slowly sinking into the flesh of her neck and then the
soothing warmth that came with the feeding process.
    Emily knew what she had to do, Kyle had
obviously lost control. She shut her eyes and focused. Within
seconds, Kyle rolled off of her and writhed in pain. She felt the
control. She didn’t want to turn him to ash, but needed to
incapacitate him long enough to get away.
    She watched as his body shook with the pain
and his hands clutched at his chest. He groaned with the burning in
his body and she got to her feet. She finally released him and
watched as he fell unconscious to the mossy ground.
    Emily grabbed her torn shirt and held it
against herself as she ran back for the cave. The guards looked at
her as she ran in and they got to their feet.
    “ What’s wrong?” Mark asked
her.
    She took one of their shirts from the bed
and turned to the wall, putting it on quickly. The two puncture
wounds on her neck didn’t go unnoticed as a small trickle of blood
dripped down onto the white shirt.
    “ Emily,” Mark said,
touching her arm.
    “ Don’t touch me!” she
yelled, and he quickly jerked his hand back. She ran over and took
Allen from Kralen, and then grabbed a small bunch of bananas with
her other hand.
    “ If anyone follows me…
you’ll be ash before you know it,” she said, backing out of the
cave.
    “ Don’t go. Tell me what
happened,” Mark said, taking a step towards her.
    “ Last warning,” she yelled,
as she turned toward the trees and ran off.
    Emily pulled from her fear and kept running
with Allen clutched closely to her side. He asked several times for
Kralen, but she ignored his questions and kept moving. She knew she
was running north, and kept the steep mountain peek at her right so
she wouldn’t end up going in a circle.
    ***
    Kyle stumbled into the cave and fell to his
knees a few minutes after she left, “Where is she?”
    Mark glared at his Commanding Officer, “What
did you do?”
    “ I said… where is she?” he
snapped.
    “ She left, and threatened
to turn anyone to ash that followed her,” Kralen said, standing
beside Mark.
    “ How could you?” Mark
asked, accusingly.
    Kyle straightened up and ignored the
lingering burning pain, “I am still your Commanding Officer, and
you will treat me as such.”
    “ Yes, Sir,” Mark said, his
voice full of loathing.
    “ Now, go find her,” he
ordered, but none of them stood. “Now!”
    Still none moved.
    “ Did you hear me?”