Write, Wrote, Written discussion

The Prologue.

My breath come's out in small gasps. My lungs burn. My legs beat at a steady rhythm against the cracked pavement. My vision blurs as the sweat from my hairline streams into my eyes. Step, Step, Gasp and repeat. My body tells me to stop and breath. But I don't. I keep pushing, keep lifting one foot in front of the other, keep moving, keep RUNNING. I don't want to, but I look back. He's still following me. I turn my attention away from the man with the gun. I keep running.
I leap, nearly missing a tipped over garbage bin.
I stop to catch my breath. I look back, again. He's about a hundred yards away, and getting closer.
Quickly, I look around the empty, dirty street. Trying to find a way out of this. I look to my left, and see a closed door at the end of a narrow alleyway. I know that if I go down that way there is no coming back. He will have caught up to me by then. But by standing here deciding I'm wasting what little time I have left anyway. Quickly, before I can change my mind, I make my way towards the closed door, praying that it isn't locked. I grab the handle and pull...Nothing. I pull again, shaking the handle, hoping that it's just stuck, not locked. After a few more failed attempts, I smack my fist against the locked door. Ignoring the small spikes of pain with each hit. I scream at the door over and over. "OPEN, YOU DARN THING." Until my already dry throat is cracking. I turn around letting my head fall against the hard, cold, locked, door.
I start to cry as I see the large man turn the corner. He still has the small hand gun gripped in his thick, scarred up hand. He smiles at me as he slow's down and make's his way towards me. He know's I'm trapped. I start to tremble. His smile grow's, revealing missing teeth. I grab my stomach to keep myself from gagging. He's nothing more then ten feet away. Six. Two.
"You are one hard girl to track down, you know" He says more then asks.
I stop myself from asking him not to hurt me. He might have chased me three miles, watched me get trapped in a corner, then watched me cry. I will NOT let him hear me bag for my life.
A girls got to keep at least a little dignity.
"What, you have nothing to say?" His breath is foul, and I cringe as it reaches my nose.
"Yeah, you're breath is disgusting." I say, proud that my voice [unlike my body] didn't tremble. He growls, and breaths more of his foul breath into my face. I push myself as close to the locked door as my body will allow.Then he raises the gun and brings it across my face. Hard. Just before everything goes dark I see a handsome, strong figure rushing towards me. Then, nothing....

Chapter 1

"Ugh..." I moan as I lift my foggy head. Pain shoots up through my jaw, causing me to take a quick inhale of breath. After a moment, the pain subdues, and I open my eyes. I'm lying down on a couch, inside of what looks to be a cabin. There's deer antlers hanging over the stone fire place, while its currently crackling with flames. The heat warms my cheeks as I struggle to sit myself up right. The cabin smells faintly of pine, and something else...something almost metallic. I scrunch up my nose in disgust. I might have heaved if it weren't for the fact my stomach was already empty. Looking around the cabin I also see a small table where a glass of water rests. I reach for it, and put it to my lips. Swallowing down a sip of the cool liquid, enjoying the feel, when suddenly everything comes back to me. The man with the gun. Being chased. The locked door. The figure running towards me.
The glass falls to the wood floor and shatters. Small pieces of glass flying everywhere. I watch it in almost slow motion. Some shards slide under the couch, others slide across the floor, stopping as they hit a black boot. A Boot? That's when reality comes back in focus. My eyes widen. I look at the boot, then slowly, very slowly, start to lift my eyes to the man inside the boot. The figure is familiar. He's tall, and lean. He has a strong jaw, and dark hair that falls into his eyes. Eyes that are green, so green. After I look him over, I finally let out a breath of relief. He's not the man that chased me.
Then the relief is gone, swept up like sand in a wind storm. He could be working with the man that chased me. The young man with the startling green eyes, saw the fear that flashed on my face, and started raising his hands in a gesture that reminded me of someone trying to calm a frightened animal. Then he say's in a surprisingly soft voice. "No. No. I'm not here to hurt you. I was actually sent to protect you." He smiles sheepishly at my bewildered expression. "I know. Sorry that was a terrible introduction." he winces, and whispers something under his breath that sound like, 'that was not at all how it sounded in my head'. After a moment he looks back up at me.
"Let me start again. My names Nikolai, but you can call me Nick." I just stare. I mean what am I suppose to say to that. He looks at me for a moment. Waiting. For what I don't know. Then he nods as if to encourage me, as he says, "And you are...?" I gap at myself. My brain is still so foggy for a moment there I forgot what my name was. Skylar. When it finally comes to me, I still say nothing. I've lived on the street long enough to know not to ever give out your personal information to strangers. Even if that 'stranger' might have just saved your life. I realize that Nick was still waiting for an answer, and before he can think I have some kind of speech disorder, I ask. "If you were sent to protect me, wouldn't you already 'know' my name?" It surprised me when I heard my voice. It sounded too low. Too dry. I swallow a few times, trying to make it moist.
"You would think! But no... I'm just given a time and place." Nick speaks these words with a little shake of his head. We are both quite for a moment as he look off into space, seeming to be recalling an old argument. Finally his eyes come into focus again.
"So...what's your name?" Man, this guy just doesn't give up. I think to myself. Then I lie, with a kind of ease you can only get growing up on the street.
"Jessica." He looks at me for a long time. "Jessica." Nick repeats my false name, as if trying it out. When he seems satisfied with my answer. He nods to himself. "Okay then Jessica. How's your face?" I wince when I try to move my jaw. "Yeah, you got hit pretty bad. But at least it's not broken." Nick concludes. "Here, this should help with the swelling." Nick hands me an ice pack I hadn't noticed he'd been holding.
Carefully, I press it against my jaw. The cold shocks me, then it slowly start to numb the area, and I sigh with relief. Never have I ever been so grateful.
"Thanks." I mumble. Nick smiles. He has a nice smile. I realize I had been staring and look away. "So, where am I?" I wonder out loud, as a small blush sneaks up my neck. Nick's smile grows. "In a cabin." I turn back to him and glare. "Duh" I say agitation clear in my voice. "I noticed." He blinks at my sarcasm
"You didn't let me finish." Nick reply's calmly to my attitude. "We're in a cabin.."Pauses. Looks down. Looks at me through his eye lashes. Looking again sheepish."..Somewhere located in Alaska." He finishes.
My jaw falls. But I'm so shocked I hardly feel the pain that stings it. "Alaska! You mean we aren't in New York anymore?" I ask breathlessly. Trying to convince myself he's just lying. That this is some kinda messed up dream, and I'll wake up and find myself back in the broken down apartment.
But then he says "yup." and walks towards the window, pulls the dark curtains aside, and reveals a snow layered mountain. The cold, hard, realization makes me choke.
"No! Way!" Is all I manage to get out through my tightening wind pipes.

Chapter 2:

I've been staring out the window at the snow peaked mountain for who knows how long, when I finally decided I needed to get some answers. "Who are you?" I ask once I face Nick again. He looks at me for a moment, confused. "I already told you who I was. Nick, remember?" I glare at him so violently he actually takes a step back. "That's not what I meant and you know it." I say. "I meant, who are you, and how the heck did you get me from New York to Alaska?" He doesn't say anything just looks down. Frustration starts to bubble up, and I explode. "Why were you sent to protect me? Why am I in a cabin? How did you get me to the cabin? How long have I been out. Why did that man with the gun come after me?" I'm screaming one question after another, while throwing my hands around in the air like a crazed lunatic. Meanwhile Nick just stares at me, occasionally, flexing his jaw. "And why, does this cabin smell like blood!" I finally finish. Panting hard.
Nick is quite, just looking at me, finally he asks. "Is that all?" I glare up at him. "Yes." He smiles, all to calm, and for some reason that makes me even more angry. "Well that last one is easy." He says. "The cabin doesn't smell like blood." Now it's my turn to just look at him. "That's you." He finishes. I look at him in confusion. "What?" He lifts his right hand to his nose and gestures for me to do it too. So I do. I touch my nose, feeling around, finally I feel something, dried blood is caked around under my nose. "But...How?" He gives a small smile. "Probably from when the big guy with the gun hit you." I shake my head. Nick stares at me for a moment. "Anyway, why don't you get cleaned up, then I will answer your other questions." I start to argue, but he cuts me off. "Trust me, you will want to be comfortable, when I tell you." I watch his eyes for a moment, how the light from the open window reflects in the green pools, finally I nod. "Fine. Where's your shower?"

Once I was in the shower I closed my eyes and lift my head up, reveling in the warm water as it sprays from the shower nozzle and falls in streams down my neck. Down my stomach. Down my legs. Then slowly puddles at my feet, before continuing down the drain. I inhale, collecting the steamy air in my lungs, before exhaling it in a puff. I sigh. I haven't had a shower like this in forever. I can't even remember the last time I felt this warm. Living on the streets, I never really had a ton of time to just relax! Closing my eyes I wash my hair and my body for the first time in who know how long, then I just enjoy the warm water.

After who knows how long the water starts to go cold, and I'm forced to get out. Stepping over the tube I notice a set of clean sweats on the bathroom counter. My old clothes gone. Drying off I start to slip them on. There is no underwear or bra, but the shirt must have been his, because it was baggy enough to cover everything, and the sweat pants needed to be rolled a few times but they are so soft I don't even care that there was no underwear. After I'm dressed, I look at myself in the mirror.
My hair has grown a lot since the last time I cut it, and flows in soft auburn waves, down to my waist. My grey eyes though, haven't changed a bit, still look too out of place with all of my other features. I have sharp cheekbones with a small nose, and my bottom lip is larger then my top. Looking away, I open the door and make my way back to the living room.
Passing the living room threshold, I find Nick sitting on the couch, green eyes looking blankly at the fire place. I clear my throat. Nick stands up so quickly, practically stumbles over his own feet, catching himself on the coffee table. "Jessica!" He say's in surprise. I stare at him with wide eyes. "Sorry, you caught me off guard." He mumbles. "How long were you standing there?" I look at him then say slowly, so as not to startle him again. "For like three seconds." He looks everywhere but at me. "Oh." Is all he says. Cheeks red. I shake my head, trying not to laugh, when he finally looks at me. His eyes travel down my body before slowly meeting mine. "You look better." He says, before catching himself. "I mean, you don't look bad anymore." Now his eyes are really big, panicked. "I mean, yo..."I cut him off, shaking my head, before he can finish. "I know what you mean." He swallows a few times. "Right." We are both quite for a moment.
"Anyway. Why don't you get comfortable." Nick gesture to the couch. "We have a lot to talk about."