A soft whimper came from Kristen’s sore throat as her foggy mind slightly cleared. Her head hurt too much to move or even open her eyes. In her half conscious state of mind she knew that she wasn’t on the ground anymore. She wasn’t even sure that she was still outside. The last thing that she remembered was someone lifting her off the ground and the cold air suddenly turn warm. The night noises quieted and she was put someplace where it was calm and quiet. Her once freezing body was now covered with something soft and heavy, so she knew that she wasn’t in her room. She wasn’t even sure that she was in or near her house at all. She thought that someone had found her and she was laying in a hospital room. She let herself fall back asleep, thinking that she had been saved from her hellish life.
The Undertaker sensed that his guest had awakened and quickly entered her mind and listened to her thoughts. He allowed her to remain awake for only a few seconds before covering her mind with sleep’s blanket. He had noticed that the cat had awakened when she had awakened and had ran from his place in front of the fire and made his way up the stairs and down the hallway. The Undertaker had watched as the cat pushed against her closed door with its head until the heavy door opened. It then slowly walked in to her room as if it was afraid to scare the girl and jumped up onto her bed and watched her until she fell back asleep. Once she fell asleep, the cat had curled itself next to her chest and watched her, waiting for her to wake up again. The Undertaker didn’t know what to make of the two guests in his house. The cat was one thing, the girl was another. If she was anything like her cat, then he was surely in for some surprises. If her cat wasn’t scared of him, then what would be her reaction to him?
He returned to looking through his books, the girl leaving his mind, but not for long. He fought the urge to slam his fist down upon his desk in frustration. Why in the world couldn’t he get the girl out of his mind? What was so special about her that he couldn’t get her out of his head? What had caused him to bring her to his home, and why in the world did he want her to stay? He didn’t even know her, yet he wanted to know everything about her. How had this tiny girl intrigued his mind so that he thought he would go mad with his questions and curiosity? He sighed and closed his eyes, giving in to the urge to check on the girl. She was asleep, but just watching her sleep caused something inside of his icy heart to stir with an unknown feeling... and he didn’t like it.
He opened his eyes and stood up so quickly that his chair tipped over and fell to the wood floor with a loud crash. He paced the room in frustration and confusion. He had to leave soon, but he didn’t want to leave her. Something inside him wanted him to sit back down and watch her sleep until she awoke. He didn’t like that fact and silently cursed himself for acting so soft. But he could punish himself all night long and it still wouldn’t block the picture of the pretty young girl sleeping in his upstairs room from entering his mind.
His anger with himself grew and his short temper claimed him and he promptly turned and punched a huge hole in the closest wall. He stood there a moment looking at the hole and for some reason he felt disappointed with his actions, but it had relived some of the tension in his body. He stormed over to his chair in front of the fire and sat down, trying to get himself to calm down. He sat there with his eyes closed and a hand pressed against his forehead, trying to clear his mind before he left for the night. Why had he brought her here? He had convinced himself that he was curious about the girl, but he now knew that it was more than that. His mind had been plagued by her ever since he first saw her in her room. He again let his mind drift up to her room and was filled by peace as he watched her sleep. Her long black hair was thrown wildly across her pillow, her body was covered by the blanket and fresh bandages. The side of her face had been re-stitched and seemed to be healing nicely. He noticed the tiny scar that ran along the length of her lower lip and his curiosity about her life grew within him once again. He watched her closed eyes and he suddenly wanted to know what color they were. So many things about her sparked his interest. He knew that something about her was special, and he was determined to find out what it was. As the time came for him to leave, his body raised from the chair and looked at the girl one last time before he turned quickly and disappeared.
Copyright 1999 by Lady Serria