Page 27 of Unbound By Shadows
Selene watched Sam stretch one long leg across the creek, thenthe other. Once he had safely crossed, he turned and held out his arms for Selene. Tentatively, she stretched and clasped his hands. But just as she readied herself to leap across, the bank crumbled under Sam’s feet. He fell forward into the creek, pulling Selene down with him.
They both floundered in the water and mud for a moment, trying to get their bearings as the rain battered them. The creek was shallow, but water was racing faster over them, making Selene fear a flash flood was approaching. The creek bed was like mush underneath her, making it difficult to stand. Sam was on his back with his head submerged, struggling to sit up. Selene could see that his backpack was hung on a tree branch wedged below the water.
Using all her strength, Selene pulled herself up from the mud. Then she reached through the rushing water to find the branch restraining Sam. She pulled as hard as she could until she felt the wood snap, and to Selene’s relief, Sam bolted upright. From there, he quickly shot to his feet. Grabbing Selene around the waist, he lifted her and practically tossed her to the other side of the creek as if she were a ragdoll. He then pulled himself out of the water and onto solid ground.
“Are you hurt?” he shouted at Selene. His palms skimmed down her arms, like he was checking her for injuries.
“Fine. Are you?” she shouted back. When he cupped her jaw to examine her face, she didn’t dare meet his eyes. She didn’t want him to see how his touch affected her.
“Fine. Let’s get to higher ground. It’s not safe here.”
Selene pushed the muddy strands of hair from her face and wondered why she had ever thought thunderstorms were comforting. Sam extended his hand, and the feel of his solid palm against hers melted away some of the terror she had just felt at being nearly swept away.
Sam led them through the forest until, at last, the rain tapered to a gentle sprinkle. Rays of the late afternoon sun peaked through the trees. When they reached a patch of semi-dry land near a pond, Samsuggested they stop for the night. Selene dropped her backpack to the ground, then tried to stomp off the mud from her boots.
“That was absolutely awful. Does it rain like that often here?”
“Occasionally,” Sam said. He grabbed handful of fabric from his tunic and squeezed out a steady stream of water. “Thank you for freeing my pack from that branch.”
She smiled, “Thankyoufor pulling me out of the creek. Good teamwork, huh?” She plucked at her filthy clothes and hair self-consciously. “I must look like a drowned rat.”
“You don’t,” Sam replied. He looked as though he was going to say more but stopped himself. After a pause, he said, “Go wash up in that pond. I’ll set your tent up so you can change into dry clothes.”
Since Selene didn’t think it was the best idea to get naked in an open field in a strange dimension, she attempted to give herself a fully-clothed sponge bath. When that went nowhere, she submerged herself in the pond’s clear water. Tiny pink fish swirled around her curiously. The air was growing colder as nightfall approached, making her teeth chatter when she emerged. The pond wasn’t exactly pristine, but it was wonderful to be free of all that mud.
After sloshing her way back to their campsite and taking her time to change in the tent, she stepped out to see Sam building a fire. His hair and horns were wet, and he was wearing different clothes, which sparked a pang of regret that she’d missed seeing him shirtless. The thought surprised her. She had never been the type to ogle male bodies, especially when it was someone she barely knew.
Who am I turning into?
Sam glanced up at her. “Feeling better?”
“Much. Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
Selene settled in by the fire, grateful that the awkward tension between them from yesterday was gone. Apparently, tumbling into a flooded creek together was a great icebreaker. When her stomach growled, Selene asked, “The switch pouch wasn’t damaged by the water, was it?”
“No, our meal should arrive soon.” Sam said. He seemed to study her face for a moment. “You seem very calm for what we just went through.”
Selene gave a little laugh. “You’re not the first person to say something like that. Don’t worry, all my wild emotions are there. I’ve just learned to keep them to myself.”
“You find it easy to control your emotions?”
“Not always. It’s a habit, I guess,” she said. Sam looked at her as if he wanted to know more, and unexpectedly she found herself elaborating. “I grew up in a home with a lot of chaos. My dad traveled for work constantly, and my mom… my mom struggled with a lot of issues. Shestillstruggles with a lot of issues. If I wanted to get anything done, I couldn’t go around acting hysterical.”
“Was your mother ill?” Sam added wood to the small fire, making it crackle between them.
“In a way, yes. She found it hard to keep sober while taking care of herself, her business, and her three kids. Since I was the oldest, I ended up doing many of the things she couldn’t.”
“Like what?”
Selene tapped her chin. “Let’s see, I was eleven when I started waking up at 5:00 in the morning to get the twins ready for school. They were late so often, their kindergarten teacher had sent home three notes and called twice. The last phone call triggered a huge fight between my parents, so I took the twins across the street to the local library until the fight blew over.”
She swallowed, realizing Sam was the first person she had ever told this story. “Later, after everyone had gone to bed, I moved the alarm clock from the guest room to my nightstand. The twins were never late for school again.”
When Sam didn’t say anything for a moment Selene asked, “Do they have alarm clocks in Aurelia?”
“No, but I understood your meaning. Eleven is young for such responsibilities.”
