way—the kind of boy that your parents would hate if you ever brought him home.
At the sound of him clearing his throat, I break out of my trance like state. Still staring at him, my cheeks turn a deep shade of red. What is wrong with me? This is the second time in two days that I’ve been caught openly ogling an attractive guy.
Let me try this again. “What do you mean my emotions are affecting the weather?”
“You were confused and scared. It picked up on that. Watch what you think and feel. Everything is affected by what you do,” he says as he begins to turn and walk away.
“What I do? Why?” When he doesn’t stop walking, I begin to follow him, “Where are you going? What is this place?” Still I get no reply. I stop and look around. I realize that without him I am alone in this unknown place. So, I do the only rational thing. I follow him into the dark and eerie forest.
I have to jog to keep up with his long quick strides. After following in silence for a couple of minutes, I speak again. “Hey, wait. Stop! Where am I? What is this place?”
Silence.
I pick up my speed and run in front of him. When I stop, he collides into me. I would have fallen flat on my butt if he hadn’t reached out and steadied me. He lets go of my arms quickly and stares straight at me, silently demanding that I move.
With effort, I ask, “Why won’t you answer any of my questions?”
His piercing gray gaze locks on mine. I can tell he’s debating with himself. The angry expression on his face softens and he sighs in defeat, finally choosing to answer me.
“Because I can’t. You are not supposed to be here. This isn’t your world.” He tries to step around me, but I follow his step to block his move.
“And what world would this be? Narnia?” I snap sarcastically.
As he opens his mouth to reply, the sound of a twig snapping causes us both to jump and turn in the direction of it. There is nothing behind me, just darkness. The small distraction allows him to move past me and continue walking.
“Can you at least tell me your name?” I ask and begin to follow him again.
Without stopping, he says, “Liam.”
The sound of another twig snapping causes Liam to slow his pace, but not stop. I keep glancing behind me, searching for the source of the sound. I don’t know what sorts of creatures are found in this “world,” but I know that I don’t really want to find out. The sound of footsteps begins to resonate through the darkness. The forest seems to get darker and the wind begins to pick up again.
Stopping, he turns and looks at me. “You have to remain calm. There is nothing out there.”
“How do you expect me to remain calm when you won’t tell me anything! One second, I was in my room reading a book and the next second I am here. I’m sorry if I’m a little confused. And how do you know that? How do you know that there isn’t something out there?” I point behind me. “I think something is following us. I keep hearing footsteps.”
I start rambling when I’m freaked out. For some reason, I think that talking will make a solution magically appear.
It never does.
“It’s your imagination. You are scared and the forest recognizes that. I already told you this,” Liam says and takes a step forward, but stops and looks up. The tree branches on the tree to my left, beside him, begin to shake as if someone or something is moving throughout them. He looks at me as if questioning my emotions. I shake my head at him. I am not responsible for that. A dark figure jumps from the tree and crouches on the ground before straightening out.
Standing tall, the figure would have been over seven feet, but it is hunched over. Surrounding its body is a thick black cloak with fraying edges and rips along the seams. A large mouth with huge jagged teeth dominates its face. Dark liquid seeps from the corners of its mouth, piling on the ground, while its piercing red eyes stare ahead at us. The beast appears to be floating an inch above the ground. An orb of gray, with swirls of black and red surrounds the being.
Holy crap, beastly dementors are going to kill me. That’s