Chapter 12 - Elliot

The first thing Lynaya felt when consciousness returned was wet, and the first thing she smelled was mud. So where do you think she landed? Correct, a puddle of mud! The only thing she didn’t feel was her left leg, which was the one that got hit by a shadow bomb. She was very afraid to look at it, fearing that it might not even be there. But when she did, fortunately or unfortunately, it remained. However, it was pale as clean diapers.
Feeling did return, though, when she tried to walk, and let’s just say that Lynaya had never felt such excruciating pain in one body part in her entire existence. So walking was out of the question, as much as she hated sitting in that infernal puddle of muck. There was nothing to make the time pass by but to gaze at the clouds, painfully aware that sky demons were still flying around thirsting for blood, and she couldn’t even hide.
Birds were looping freely in the endless sky, bound only to their own desires. She envied them. They weren’t forced to save the world from unspeakable evil and darkness. They weren’t tethered to a giant rock of self-pity and doubt. Just flying and eating pleasurably, being so adorable, it hurt to look at them.
Lynaya thought of everything else that was cute and defenseless. Everything else that needed her, needed her help. Well, everything needed her help, apparently. A new determination swelled in her chest and throat. This world was worth saving. Life may have treated her like worm droppings so far, but she couldn’t give up on them.
Her attention turned back to the sky. She shed a tear for Mr. Oscars, feeling terrible that she had forgotten him. He never got away… right? Her and Kim left without him, and P&B was planning to….
She couldn’t think about it anymore. Hours passed, and she grew so bored she gave a small group of birds names. There was Dennis, Lawrence, Josephine, Howie, and Karen. Watching them was like watching a soap opera. Josephine was with Dennis, but, since Lynaya was only guessing their genders, Dennis seemed to have acquired gay urges with Howie. And Karen was just a skank, appearing to be with Lawrence and Howie at the same time. Suddenly, there was an intruder, a huge red-tailed hawk soaring into glorious view, claiming the entire “screen shot”. Lawrence, Howie, Karen, Dennis, and Josephine scattered from view. There goes my entertainment, Lynaya thought disdainfully.
She wondered if her leg was any better, and tried to stand again. It was better - I mean, at least she wasn’t too prone to vomiting from agony this time, and she didn’t scream quite as loudly as before. All birds and rodents, and what sounded like a deer, scampered away from her shout, leaving her rather alone.
Silence… and then footsteps, leaves rustling, and twigs snapping. Someone or something was coming her way, and she was absolutely defenseless… aside from a stick she picked off the ground. A great fern in front of her rustled; she had a death grip on her stick. Someone stepped out, and without waiting to see what they looked like or who they were she swept their feet right from under them with her stick (it was good sized), but before she could beat them mercilessly with it, they tugged the “staff” from her hands and chucked it out of sight. The person stood up, brushing off the dirt on their pants. “The hell was that for?” the boy asked irritably. On closer inspection, she saw she did not know this guy, and that he was… attractive. Very, very attractive. His blonde hair was just messy enough so that it didn’t look bad, and his blue eyes were like crested waves.
“How am I supposed to know if you want to kill me or not?” Lynaya retorted.
“Well, would it have hurt to look and see who it is first?”
“Look, pal, I just got ambushed by demons and I am in no position to take risks.”
“Demons?” he asked, suddenly intrigued, “So you’re a demon slayer?”
“No… they just attacked me out of the blue. I think I know someone who is a demon slayer, though. Why do you ask?” she said, thinking back to Naomi.
The boy looked a little disheartened, “Nothing… me and my friends are just having a little problem… in our, um… backyard. Yeah, that’s it.”
Lynaya is now very suspicious of this new comer, however hot he may be.
An awkward silence passes.
“Um… is there a reason you’re sitting in a mud puddle?”
“Would you like to be stuck in a pool of filth?”
“Not really.”
“Well, neither do I so help me up.”
He takes her hand and puts her arm around his shoulder, allowing her to lean on him as she tries with all her will power not to blush.
“By the way, my name’s Elliot,” he adds as they trudge through the forest.
“Isn’t that a girl’s name?”
“Oh, shove it!” he says, though he’s grinning despite himself.
“Mine’s Lynaya,”
There is a pause here. Lynaya starts to wander where Kim and Naomi are.
“So, uh… where are we going?” Lynaya asks.
“Me and my friends’ place.”
“How did you find me anyway?”
“You didn’t happen to see a hawk flyin’, did you?”
“Yes, actually.”
“Well, he’s mine. He heard you scream and came to tell me.”
“How did he, er, tell you that I screamed?”
“He can talk,” Elliot said, like that cleared everything up.
“Oh…kay…”
They walked for a while without saying anything. Lynaya was wondering what his friends might be like, and how much she should trust them. If only she could contact them somehow.
Suddenly, Elliot stopped. “We’re here,” he said.
Lynaya looked around, but only saw vegetation. Until, of course, she got the bright idea of looking up…
Someone grabbed her from behind, quickly tying her hands behind her back and blindfolded her.

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