Chapter
4
His feet were
propped up in front of him. His chin was resting in his hand. His other
hand was curled around the arm of the chair. His gaze was focused on the
fire in front of him that acted as a window to the earth. The girl was
asleep, outside, and still a bloody mess. He had found himself thinking
about her all day and since he rarely slept, all night as well. He had
wondered how she had got herself in such a state of being and why her room
looked the way it was. Not only did he have questions about her, he kept
asking himself why he was thinking about her. He convinced himself that
he was only curious, nothing else.
He wondered
what had happened to her. All of his repairs that he had done for her were
destroyed. From what he could see she had twisted her ankle into an even
more painful position, her wrist was turning an ugly blue color, and her
face was barely visible form behind her own blood. Her whole body was shaking
uncontrollably, yet she appeared to be asleep, or at least unconscious.
He growled softly
as a response to what he was witnessing. He raised himself out of the chair
with his eyes never leaving the fire in front of him. He knew what must
be done, yet he couldn’t believe he was actually going to do it. For the
second time, he would spare her life.
*******
He stood by a tree,
carefully watching her. He was invisible, but yet there were some people
who could tell when he was near, and he wanted to make sure that he had
arrived undetected. He noticed that every light in the large house was
off, and the body of the man was still on the bed. He looked back at the
girl, wondering why she had not called someone to take care of the body.
The whole ordeal somehow sparked his interest and wanted to know more,
but first he must do what had to be done.
He walked out
of his hiding place and made his way toward the girl. Upon reaching her,
he was instantly amazed that this tiny woman survived all that she had
been through. His green eyes scanned her body in one long sweep. Her long
black hair was shining slightly from grease and blood, her shoulders bent
in slightly, her long arms covered in bruises, her jeans ripped and covered
in red spots. Her face was what told the real story. Large bags under her
eyes hinted that she had restless nights, her lips were marred by a tiny
scar that ran the length of her lower lip. Her whole body cried her pain.
His eyes swept over her once more, this time noticing something that he
did not see before.
Twin yellow
eyes caught the gaze of his green glare. He blinked in surprise and took
a step back. In all his years of time, never had he encountered an animal
that could tell of his presence, much less see him! On top of that, the
creature did not even seem to fear him! He stood there a moment, not sure
about what to do about this new turn of events. A moan broke into his thoughts
and his eyes moved back to the girl, who had rolled onto her side and effectively
crushed her wrist under the weight of her body. He keeled at her side and
rolled her onto her back, slid his arms under her back and knees and was
immediately worried about how light she was. She needed
to put meat on her bones. He looked at the house once more before turning
toward the tree where he had stood and where his portal was open in an
invisible doorway to his home. He carried the lifeless girl across the
yard and without any hesitation, stepped through. The cat, who had watched
the entire scene, realized that the man was helping his new friend, and
quickly followed behind.
*******
He stood in his
study with the limp girl in his arms. He could feel her getting colder
an saw that her face had turned an even heavier shade of gray. With quick
strides, he made his way through his large home, up a flight of stairs,
and down a hallway before turning left at the last doorway. He stepped
into the room that he had prepared for her just minutes ago.
He figured that
she would of preferred a somewhat small room since that was what she was
used to so he kept the room small, but yet comfortable. He tried to keep
the room rather feminine, through he had no basis to go upon. The room
was lightened with oil lamps that were scattered throughout the room. He
had placed a floor to ceiling window on the far side of the room that led
to a balcony since he knew that she liked to "escape" from her prison-like
surroundings. When he had watched her through his fiery window, he found
that one of her favorite colors was red, so he painted the walls heavily
with the color and added a thick, soft carpet in a dark red to her floor.
Up against the left wall was the bed with a thick black quilt that he hoped
was large enough for her. He had refrained from making it as large as his
own and thought that she might enjoy a bed that she could stretch out upon.
Next to the bed was a night stand that currently held a crystal pitcher
of water and matching glass. On the right of her room was a dresser with
a matching mirror that was set in a cherry oak wood. Beside that was a
wardrobe that matched the dresser and was filled with clothes he hoped
she would be comfortable in. On the immediate left was a bathroom. The
only memory he had of bathrooms was when he was a free man so many years
ago. His mother loved her baths and insisted that their bathroom be elegant,
so he had created the same bathroom for the girl. It was kept small for
a feeling of privacy and designed to match her room. The same dark carpet
covered the floor and supported a large white porcelain tub with silver
faucets. There was a small vanity table off to the side with a dark oak
mirror and matching chair. He had placed a hairbrush in the table and hoped
that would be all that she needed.
He crossed the
room and placed the girl on the bed. He briefly thought if he should get
her out of those horrible clothes thinking that they might worsen her injuries.
He decided to leave her clothes on, figuring that while she was in his
house he would be able to watch her. He pulled the quilt up to her shoulders
and stood beside the bed looking down at her still form. He still couldn’t
believe what he had just done, but it was his decision and now that she
was here, she might as well stay. He turned and left her room, leaving
the girl to her much needed sleep and closed her door behind him. He made
his way back down to his study and sat down at the table covered with books
and papers. He sat down in the chair and pulled it closer to the table.
He reached for a nearby book and was promptly startled. The large cat sat
on the book, looking at him. The Undertaker withdrew his hand and glared
at the cat. He recognized it as the cat from the fountain and wondered
how it had managed to make it’s way to his home. The cat, who was unmoved
my the large man’s stare, jumped off the desk and landed on the wooden
floor with a soft thump. He watched as the cat lazily walked toward the
fire and stretched for a second before curling itself into a ball and falling
asleep.
The Undertaker
was still surprised that the animal saw him, but confused that the creature
didn’t display any kind of fear toward him. He shook his head slightly
in amazement and again reached for the book. He opened it and tried to
concentrate on the words in front of him, but his mind kept drifting up
the stairs, down the hallway, and through the last door on the left. He
ended up biting his lip in frustration. He had work to do before he was
required to go out again and the girl looked like she would be sleeping
for a long time. He wondered what her reaction would be when she awoke,
but he needed to work and would try to worry about her later. He did not
know that he didn’t have to worry about her reaction when she awoke.
Although she
was asleep, she could still hear and feel things...
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