Page 23 of Creed
Creed!
Had he been captured too, or was he wandering around that mountain wondering where I’d gone?
While I was lost in my panic, my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark until I could finally make out the shape of my surroundings. It was a small room, only a few feet wide, and there was something large lying right next to me.
Something distinctly human-shaped.
My legs weren’t bound, so I tapped the shape with my foot. It was soft, like a human would be, but I couldn’t see well enough to tell if it was Creed or not.
The floor beneath us jostled. I fell back and my head hit the wall. Stars danced in front of my eyes, and I groaned in pain as I blinked rapidly to clear my vision.
When I could see again, I noticed that the other person had shifted slightly. I could see part of their arm, revealing a familiar tattoo.
The other person was Creed after all.
I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Part of me was relieved that he was here, but another part of me wished he was far away.
He seemed to still be unconscious. I couldn’t see if he was breathing or not, but I refused to believe anything else. He had to just be unconscious.
The floor moved again, and I struggled to remain sitting upright.
Wait, why was the floor moving?
Now that it had caught my attention, I realized that all the walls and floor around us were constantly moving slightly. Most of the time it was too faint to notice, but every now and then everything would suddenly jump.
We weren’t in a room. We were in the back of a vehicle.
Squinting at one of the walls, I could just see the outline of a pair of doors. It looked like we were in the back of a large van.
I stretched out one of my legs toward the door, but I was at least two feet short of reaching them. They were probably locked, but even if I could open them it wouldn’t matter. My hands were chained to the wall. I wasn’t going anywhere.
There was nothing I could do as the van continued to carry us off.
Wherever we were headed, it couldn’t be anywhere good.
CHAPTER 5
Creed
The night was sobrilliant above us. It was the kind of sky only scene in movies. A full moon, the Milky Way in full view, and even the occasional shooting star just for ambiance. Nights like these reminded me of why I felt more comfortable out in nature than cooped up in civilization. Humans were complicated, but the wild elements were simple and easy to understand.
Kayden and I had pitched our tent properly this time, without any mountain lions to distract us. We’d made good progress during the day’s hike, so there was plenty of extra time to enjoy the sunset and relax while stargazing.
Well, I would have been relaxing, but the way Kayden lay pressed up against me, trailing kisses up and down my throat was only making me more excited.
He’d taken most of the lead last night, instructing me on what to do. Maybe this time I could take care of him instead.
“Let’s close the tent,” I said when I couldn’t take his teasing anymore. “We don’t need bugs snacking on us while we’re busy.”
He mumbled something against my throat, but I couldn’t understand him.
“What?” I pulled him away from me so I could hear him.
He gave me a warm, familiar smile. The kind that had always comforted me, even when we were kids. I’d had a hard time making friends when I was young—and even as an adult—but with Kayden it had always been easy.
Looking at me with eyes like crescent moons, he repeated himself.
I furrowed my brow. I still couldn’t hear him. His mouth moved, but his voice was muffled as if someone were pressing a pillow over his face.
