Cassidy stirred slowly, one sense awakening at a time. It was a smell that had roused her, a sweet and pleasant smell that reminded her of summer at her childhood cabin on Lake Michigan. It smelled like wet earth and cool night air. As the smell wrapped itself around her, her other senses emerged. She heard pounding music and loud voices, though the sounds were muffled and somewhat distant. Slowly, she realized that she was not sleeping in her own bed, where she usually required complete quiet to fall asleep. She felt warm, though. The blanket that she was wrapped in was flannel, it had that comfortable downy feeling that blankets only got when they had been used for years.
She cracked her eyes open, wincing as dim lighting hit her retinas. Where was she? The room she was in was dark, two windows were covered by thick curtains, though it was obvious that it was dark outside as well. The room was small and sparse. She lay on a dark wood futon that was cushioned nicely. Colors were hard to make out in the dim lighting, but she was pretty sure the walls were a slate gray color. The ceilings were high and accented with dark wooden beams, the floors were also a worn dark wood but the entire room looked as if it had been well cared for over the years. A grey, red and black area rug covered the floor near the futon. The only light in the room came from a wood burning fireplace in the corner of the room.
Cassidy rose slightly off the futon, grasping the comforter around her. She smiled slightly at the pattern on the comforter, which appeared to be frolicking orange moose and pine trees. It did not exactly fit in with the rest of the room. As she clasped the comforter closer to her body she gasped as she realized she was naked under the blanket. What had happened?!
"I brought you here after you were hurt..."
Cassidy jumped at the unexpected voice, nearly dropping the comforter from her bare bosom. She whipped her head around and saw the stranger from the bar standing very still near the fireplace. He made no move towards her and did not seem very threatening, but as the whole club night came back to her; the bar, Garrett, the near-rape, the fight between him and this stranger. Cassidy began to back up on the comforter and gave a little involuntary squeak as she did so. Oh yeah, that should fend off the crazy axe murderer.
"Please...don't be nervous. I promise not to hurt you..."
Cassidy relaxed slightly. Apparently her rescuer was not very chatty...
"Where am I?" She asked, checking her voice. Her voice cracked, her throat was dry. She licked her lips but it did not do much good.
He took a tentative step towards her, she saw him bring his left hand up and rub the back of his neck. She smiled slightly, thinking that he looked a lot like her when she was nervous and twirled her hair. "I can't tell you where exactly, but you're in my apartment above a bar called 'Whistler's Gulch.' That's the sound downstairs...it's almost 2 AM on November 3rd. You've been unconscious for almost five days. You got pretty beat up by...by tha' guy in the bar and you had to heal a bit..."
She noticed that he didn't really seem to look at her in the eye, his gaze shifted to nearly every other space of the room. She took a moment to gather her thoughts. She couldn't believe that she had been unconscious for five days, but, moving around, she realized that bones she thought had been broken seemed only slightly sore and her pale skin that normally bruised so easily, appeared clear. She had to get some better answers.
First things first. "Who are you?"
The man glanced towards her quickly and the second that their eyes met, Cassidy felt an array of emotions; intense sorrow, overwhelming loss, suspicion, curiosity, and (perhaps most of all) a crushing sense of longing. Immediately, Cassidy wanted to move to him and comfort him -- only a man with a very sordid past could look like that. Almost as instantly as the feelings came over her, they stopped.
As he made no move to answer her, she repeated, "Who are you?"
He sighed, "I apologize. It's been a long time since my verbal skills were necessary. My name is Hunter, and I'm quite possibly your greatest enemy..."
Cassidy squinted her eyes at him, trying to deduce what he could possibly mean. He had somehow saved her life, he had nursed her back to health, allowed her to sleep in his rooms and now he was telling her that he was somehow dangerous. "How do you mean?" Cassidy asked timidly.
Without missing a beat, the stranger began rattling, "Your name is Cassidy Delia Bennett, but everyone close to you calls you Dee. You love sports of all kinds, but classic team sports are your favorites. You're 22 years old. You hate your freckles. Your parents still live in the UP of Michigan, you have four older brothers. You love country music, but you're often embarrassed by the fact. You hate that you don't fit in with other women in Chicago. Your greatest fear is not getting the most out of your life. You have an orange tom cat named Jasper, but you really want a dog even though your apartment doesn't allow them. You once tried blonde highlights in your hair but then hid it in ball caps for three months. You don't watch much television but you love Gilmore Girls, SportsCenter, and How I met your Mother. You love comedy movies. You want to get married someday, but only to someone who appreciates your career goals..."
She raised her hand to stop him, "Okay. How do you know all that? Have you been stalking me? Sitting outside my window at night jerking a load?"
His lips twitched as if he wanted to smile but couldn't bring himself to do it. "No, nothing like that. I am..." he stopped talking and his ears pricked slightly. She started to ask what was going on, but she shushed her. "I'll give you answers, I promise...but we need to leave. Right now. Get dressed..." he threw a pair of jeans and a white 'wife beater' tank top along with the thong she wore the night of the club and the matching bra. She blushed slightly but started to change as he turned around. Just as she had zipped up the jeans she went to move towards him to tell him to just take her home when the door to the room exploded inwards. Cassidy screamed and Hunter pushed her gently against the wall and blocked her from whatever it was coming in the door.
After the dust had cleared she saw two hideous faces standing the doorway. Both looked vaguely human, one male and one female, but their brows were wrinkled sinisterly, their mouths were turned into menacing growls. She gasped as the man on the left spoke, "Give her up, Hunter! She drew blood! No one has a claim on her except Raius! Especially after you killed Koritt without cause!"
Glancing at Hunter to see his reaction to all of this, she gasped as she saw his handsome facial features had morphed into faces like their attackers. His seemed more human though, she couldn't put her finger on why but he still looked extremely handsome. His sensual mouth opened to speak and she saw his incisors were twice their normal size. Cassidy shook her head, this was like something out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
"Raius will not have her," was all Hunter said before the two attackers fell on the floor -- writhing in pain. Hunter turned to her, his face back to normal, "Out the window! Now."
Cassidy moved towards the window, but suddenly she was tripped up. She looked down at a pain shooting up her leg and saw that the female had grabbed her ankle and was pulling her down to the ground with a superhuman strength that seemed impossible. Behind her, Hunter hissed, and the woman began screaming again and as she took her hand away from Cassidy's flesh, Cassidy noticed that the woman's palm was smoldering and beginning to painfully blister.
Hunter grabbed Cassidy's hand and before she could stop him, they had climbed upon the windowsill and he had picked her up as if she weighed nothing. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes, screaming as she felt them step off the sill. She opened her eyes moments later, realizing that the snapping of broken bones that she had expected never came. She felt her rapid breath and noticed that Hunter did not seem to have the same affliction of fear as her. She looked up into his dazzling green eyes and her breath quickened even more. He was staring at her with an intensity she had never known before.
Suddenly, he dropped her. She was so unprepared for it that she ended up landing straight on her tailbone. She cursed out loud and she heard Hunter wince and chuckle above her, before offering her his hand. She graciously accepted and he pulled her up. When their hands met, heat flooded up her arm and little waves fluttered in her belly. He broke the contact quickly. She looked around and saw they were outside a seedy little motel, surrounded by trees. She saw lightning in the distance and could feel static in the air...a storm was coming.
He started to walk towards the motel office but she chased after him and blocked him, "What the heck do you think you are doing?!" she practically screamed at him.
He seemed surprised by her outburst but he stopped and looked at her, "Checking us in?"
She shook her head, "Ohhhhh no, mister. You owe me answers! What the hell was that back there?! Who are you?!!"
He sighed, "I'll explain everything, but can I do it in a room that will keep us dry? We only have a few moments to spare." He continued to walk towards the office and Cassidy started laughing uncontrollably. It seemed as if everything over the past week was releasing itself in a fit of laughter. She laughed so hard that tears were rolling down her face and she barely noticed that Hunter had grabbed her hand and was leading her towards a room. The second that he unlocked the door to room 12, the sky opened up and big fat raindrops began pelting them. He ushered her inside and shook his head like a dog, spraying her with some water from his hair. Even wet, he looked like a god.
Cassidy moved to sit on the big queen bed that was in the center of the room, barely noticing as he fussed around the room, turning on the heat and locking the door. Finally he sighed and moved to sit by her, though not close enough to come into contact with her. She looked at him as he gathered his thoughts. She frowned, he seemed so tired. She moved her hand up to his flawless face. He seemed surprised by the contact, but he welcomed it. His skin was tan, but freezing. She slowly traced the line of his scar back to his left ear and scooted closer to him. She heard his intake of breath but continued to allow her ministrations. She ran her fingers through his short, russet hair, smiling at its softness.
"You know what I am." He stated simply. She stopped her actions and lowered her hands, surprisingly, though, he grasped her hand with his own and squeezed it slightly.
