Free Apocalypse: Underwater City (A Dystopian Novella) PART 1 (The Hope Saga) by Chrissy Peebles

just in case that snarling menace comes back looking for dessert.”
    “Like I said, it’s not coming back,” he said sternly, then shifted his powerful stance. “It caught a whiff of my scent. It fears me, just like your dog does.”
    “You mean it’s afraid of shouting humans?”
    “The shouting, yes.”
    I laughed. “So you’re telling me that big lion is scared of our little voices?”
    He stared at me with those dazzling blue eyes and changed the subject. “Do you always hike unprepared?”
    “No. It was an unintended hike. My dog took off,” I said, “and I had to find him.”
    “At the very least, you should carry pepper spray to ward off bears.”
    “I don’t see you sporting a can,” I said with a chuckle. 
    He smirked. “I don’t need it. I can fight off a black bear with my bare hands.”
    I smiled. “All right, Davy Crockett.”
    He grinned right back at me, nearly melting me where I stood. “But all joking aside, you shouldn’t be out here. As I said, these woods are full of hungry predators.”
    I shot him a flirty look. “Well, then it’s a good thing I’m safe here with you.”
    I didn’t know what had come over me, but something had. Where are these wild emotions even coming from? I’d never been so bold and daring. It wasn’t like me at all, but I couldn’t keep the words and the girly giggles from coming out of my mouth. I couldn’t explain it, but there was some hot, intense, intoxicating connection between us. The attraction was sizzling, but I didn’t have the guts to ask him out or for his phone number. I didn’t even know if I was his type or not, if he even liked brunettes with frizzy, curly hair and chocolate-brown eyes. For all I knew, he was only into boob-job bleach blondes, and that most definitely wasn’t me. 
    “You don’t know a thing about me,” he said. “What makes you think you’re safe in my hands?”
    “Are you saying I should fear you more than that mountain lion?” I asked. “Maybe I should be carrying more than pepper spray, if that’s the case.”
    “What I’m saying is that you need to be careful. Seemingly nice guys cannot always be trusted,” he said, glancing down at the growling Max.
    I smiled. “Are you a nice guy?”
    His face lit up, and he grinned again. “I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”
    I took the bait and engaged him. “And, pray tell, how’s that?”
    Suddenly, his gorgeous grin faded, and worry flashed across his features. He began to dart his eyes around from tree to tree, shrub to shrub, and he listened so intently that I could have sworn his ears perked up like a dog’s.
    Max started to bark and snap at the air, but when I peered into the foliage and thick brush, I couldn’t see a thing. 
    “They’re back,” he whispered, then pointed to Max. “Please keep him quiet.”
    They? I thought, worried that he was talking about more than one mountain lion. As he suggested, I patted Max’s head and tried my best to calm him, but it didn’t help.
    Finally, Mr. Mysterious knelt down and petted Max. “Shh, boy.”
    Much to my surprise, Max immediately quit barking.
    The handsome stranger then placed his hand on my lower back and briskly led me in the direction of our house. He gently tapped Max’s head. “Go home.”
    Obediently, Max bolted off.
    When the house was in view, I glanced over my shoulder to thank my escort, but he was gone, as quickly and mysteriously as he’d shown up in the first place. I squinted and looked through the dark spaces between the trees, but he was nowhere in sight, as if he’d just vanished into thin air. Who is he? I wondered. Where does he live? Gosh, I’m an idiot. I didn’t even get his name. Shaking my head at my foolishness, I walked to the back door and opened it.
    “There you are. What took so long, sweetheart?” my mom asked. “And I know you didn’t stay in the back yard like I told you to.”
    I pointed in the direction of where I’d come from. “I