Balancer's Soul (5 page)

Sarah didn’t stick to game trails like
average people; she cut through brush that would make weaker people
cringe, and without barely disturbing the foliage. She ran on top
of rocks and tree roots instead of dirt and grass, limiting her
impact while trying to hide her trail from any who would follow.
Connor knew it was her because the rocks were pressed down into the
dirt by something approximately Sarah’s weight, making the soil
rise slightly up the sides of the small objects that were traversed
upon. She avoided tree branches that would snap and reveal her
presence. She clearly was an expert on avoiding being found, that
is for certain.

Connor stopped suddenly when he found a
perfect casting of her right footprint in the dirt after several
miles of searching. It was pressed deep and most of the pressure of
her foot had been placed over the ball instead of the heel. Her
footprint announced that she had jumped, and
powerfully
at that. Looking forward, he noticed a
thicket of dense ferns and saw that not one stem or leaf had been
recently disturbed in weeks. Nearby tree limbs also remained mostly
undisturbed, but some smaller twigs were snapped, all pointing in
the same direction. She proved to be very good at avoiding a normal
tracker, but normal wasn’t applied to Connor. He followed the
trajectory that her foot pointed for her jump. He found where she
landed on both feet. She had jumped well over fifteen feet,
heavily, and easily cleared the thicket without much of trace.
Those broken twigs also told that she had jumped that high as
well.

Darkness grew until becoming pitch
black because the fat clouds were still building and the clouds
began hiding the full moon, plunging the night even darker.
“Little does Sara know I can track during a new
moon as well as well as I can during the daylight hours.”
Connor’s eyesight and hearing had always been sharp and acute
and his mom always said his genes were the best.

He began running again, following her the
faint trail of footprints the rest of the way as safely in the
darkness as he dared. Rushing would only serve to harm the rescue
and she didn’t allow herself to be found, even after that
impressive jump.

After thirty more minutes of solid running
and tracking, he felt that same comforting sensation on the back of
his neck again. Connor’s instinct told him Sarah was nearby.

A faint orange glow in the trees broke
the curtain of darkness just a few moments later, confirming his
instinct right once again. He knew that she had a fire
going.
“Thank goodness you’re ok
Sarah.”
He finally stepped closer to the fire and to
Sarah, very quietly so as to be absolutely certain.

“I can’t believe I’ve gotten myself
lost before scouting out the landscape.” Sarah silently rebuked
herself while staring into the small crackling fire.
“Well at least Conner’s safe from Father for now…
It’s so dark now that no one will
ever
be able to find me out here and I still can’t see
the stars to know which direction to go. Have the clouds
thickened?”
She sighed and grumbled in personal
embarrassment once again. Sarah sat cross-legged in front of the
small fire while letting its warmth to not only keep her company
but to also knock off the chill the wind constantly carried her
way.
“I still love the sounds of a good
fire on a cold, spring night. What I can’t believe is how exposed I
am wearing only a thin t-shirt, shorts and no shoes…ugh. How stupid
am I?”

Just then Sarah felt, rather than saw, that
someone watched her. It felt like the eyes watching were too
intelligent to be from an animal. Spinning around quickly to see
what looked upon her, she gasped, nearly jumping backwards, into
the fire. Not twenty feet away stood a tall and dark figure coming
toward her from the shadows. Her heart began to race with fear from
the silent threat the figure casted. What made matters worse is
that she didn’t hear the person’s approach.

“I’m so glad that I found you safe and
unharmed.” The tall figure said in a deep and comforting tone while
approaching her casually.
“Wait… That
voice… it couldn’t be… Connor?”
Sure enough, Connor
peeled himself out of the shadows, like he was one with the
darkness. A shadow among shadows. His dark clothing matched
perfectly in the abysmal night. His shaggy hair was pulled back and
Sarah finally gained her first complete look at his strikingly
handsome features. His straight nose, squared chin, piercing eyes
and everything within his features made him seem more than simply
being a high school student.

He also stood tall which made her reconsider
just how large he is. He didn’t hunch or pull his wide shoulders
close. She wondered why he seemed so uncomfortable and bent over,
it was a disguise to hide just how powerful he is.

The only thing she could say at the moment
was “How did you get out here, Connor?” Sarah said with real and
complete astonishment while also revealing her weariness. As she
spoke, he visibly relaxed while hearing her voice for some strange
reason.

“I was worried for your safety. These woods
aren’t kind like many ignorantly believe. After you ran away from
that white haired man…”

“He’s…my father.” Sarah corrected
cautiously. She didn’t know what was happening. In the whole of her
life, not once has she ever faced such a situation or confrontation
like this. And her obvious unease made Connor smile in a disarming
way and his lips looked pleasant.
“He has a
nice truthful smile.”

“Ok. Your
father
then...” He continued “I saw you run away
from him like a bat out of hell and dove into my woods. After
that
smile
you gave me just
before you disappeared that basically said ‘I’m trying to protect
you.’ It made me very anxious and worried for you and whatever was
happening. So I waited a few hours for you to come back. you didn’t
and it made me worry that much more. When you failed to return
after a few hours, I started trailing you.” He said with obsessive
pride which made Sarah smile at such kindness.

Sarah remained sitting cross-legged next to
the fire when Connor came over and sat across from her. He kept his
distance to put her more at ease. His dominating presence made it
impossible to ignore, no matter how far away he sat. With one leg
straight and the other bent, he propped his back against an oak
tree and looked right at home. He closed his piercing hazel eyes
and had a slight smile on his lips. Only then did she realize just
how much she studied him. She couldn’t look away, but a part of her
wasn’t feeling secure at the moment.

She blurted out “How did you track me!? Not
only at night, but without a flashlight nor a moon to light your
path as well?”

With his eyes still closed he answered
calmly and truly. She couldn’t stop herself from watching the
seductive movements his lips made. “It was not easy at all, but
I
am
a night person at heart
and for some reason I can see and feel things better at night than
during the day. I grew up mainly in the outdoors so I guess
tracking comes to me naturally… I guess.” He continued smiling as
he took a slow breath. “You are also use to nature, you are no
amateur.” He said in a way that left Sarah hanging and she always
got annoyed when someone does that.

Cautiously, she asked in an even tone “How do
you know I’m no amateur?”

After a moment Connor said with
reverence “You are a rare, natural outdoors person like me.”
Apparently she had a dumbfounded expression on her face because
Connor cracked an eye to elaborated. “While I tracked you, you
stayed away from making any disturbances on the softer ground while
you ran away. You traversed on rocks instead of loose soil, which
hold prints very well in this relatively dry season. You bent the
grass you stepped on instead of crunching them flat unlike most
animals and people. Your clothes and fair skin show you did your
best to keep from branches or thorns for I cannot see even a snag,
fraying of your clothes or even a scratch on your arms. Also the
way you ran proved your strides aren’t normal either. You
apparently run slightly faster than your petite frame should
allow.”
“This kid is good, now I’m getting
disturbed at his observations…”

Connor
really
disturbed Sarah by saying “And your last
great
jump
! Now that was
something for the record books. If I didn’t recognize what those
tracks meant, you would have lost me right then and there. How did
you manage to leap over those ferns like that?”
“Connor you are too good and my family is as good as
discovered…”

Sarah broke eye contact and had to look
down at her dirty feet while she pulled her hair around to
mindlessly finger brush it until it became a barrier between them.
Even through the barrier she felt exposed and naked to his
observations. It took several minutes before she could find her
voice to make up an answer, all the while Connor waited patiently.
Normal humans have a hard time waiting like him, but if he was an
average person she wouldn’t have been found. It was like he didn’t
have anywhere else to go and that also made her feel strangely warm
in her breast. Protective and secure almost. He remained sitting in
the same spot with those odd hazel eyes focused and directed at
her, once she finally looked up he smiled. She looked closer at his
eyes to find the outer to be sky blue and dark brown before
reaching the black abyss that centered the eye.
“How can I answer him without telling him everything
pertaining to our family’s secret? ... I can’t do it, I promised I
would never tell anyone about it until I found my true
mate…”

Connor suddenly stood up, looking into the
sky.

“It’s about to rain any moment. The air
pressure is dropping quickly. It’s dark and we aren’t going to
travel anywhere until daybreak.” Connor said in a voice of
commanding authority. After he said this he pulled something
plastic out of his pocket. “All I could bring with me on such short
notice was this small poncho of my sister’s. Put it on and stay
dry.” He offered it down to her and she realized just how large and
strong his hands were.

Sarah’s reply came quickly. “No, you
put it on Connor. I’m the adult and you need to stay dry.” As she
said this Connor burst into a fit of laughter.
“What a good, strong laugh…”
She shook her head
quickly to clear it.
“Where did that come
from. Why did I just think that?”

“Ms. Sarah.” He still laughed softly. “Just
put it on, I’m more worried about your health. You’re quite frail
next to me and not only that, I’m far too large to fit into under
this little poncho. It is kid’s size compared to me.” He smiled in
reassurance. “Put it on.” And for some reason she felt that same
odd reaction in her body again. For some reason she responded to
him on some strange level she never felt before. Sarah took the
poncho gratefully out of his hands, also feeling very relieved that
he showed up to help when he did. She felt even more relief when he
shot a smile that shook her to her very core. To hide the sudden
heat in her cheeks she unfolded and slid the poncho on all the
while feeling as if the tips of her ears would burst in flames.

Connor walked back over and resumed the same
seating arrangement.

Not even twenty seconds later Sarah heard the
rain coming toward them. All Connor did was smile handsomely, close
his eyes and tilt his skyward. The rain came pouring down all
around them in a heavy sheet and all Sarah could manage to do was
stare at was him. He just basked in the pelting rain like it was
just another sunny day. His innocent expression looked completely
relaxed under the fat and heavy drops and his sandy blonde hair
became darker the wetter it got. He seemed so achingly handsome at
the moment.

Conner’s expression had a calming effect on
her, she noticed. In her long life she has never had a feeling of
comfort like this. He was here, keeping her company while also
giving off a feeling that made her feel safe and secure. Things
felt too good to be true.

Eventually the silence broke. “Well?”

He startled her and she asked “Well? Well
what?”

“Are you going to tell me why you ran away,
trying to protect me from your angry father? How you know how to
not make it easy to run without leaving any marks, unless you are
an expert tracker? Or how you can run like the wind and jump better
than most athletes?” His face came down and aimed those raptor eyes
at her. Sarah became both entranced and scared simultaneously.

For some reason her heart started
beating savagely, in a way that she didn’t comprehend.
“It must be his questions, but he is sooo
handsome; I hope I’m not attracted to him…”
Sarah put
her head in her hands and sighed. Her thoughts were going out of
control as were her hormones. Never in her life has she reacted so
differently to anyone like she does with him.

The rain slacked slightly and the fire
finally extinguished. She lifted her head again and just sat there
looking at a soaked Connor who still remained staring at her
without wavering. He truly didn’t look cold after all this. He
moved his hips to take out something from his belt loop. Personal
alarms rose, feeling a sense of danger from what he held in the
darkness. While pointing she asked “W…What is that?” while trying
to mask her fright, but was unsuccessful.