Chapter Two: Forest of Dreams

Everything faded into a horrible ringing noise.

I was completely deaf, and the only physical recognition I could place was the feeling of my body coughing violently and breathing deeply. For several seconds, my mind was completely disconnected from everything aside from that single numbing sensation, but then a flash of confusion touched me, rousing my consciousness.

My eyes opened, but I couldn't process anything they were seeing.

It was like being blind without the blindness.

After taking a few seconds to allow my ringing ears to adjust, I struggled to raise my head and blinked since my muscles were acting funny. I couldn't even remember how to lift my hands or move my legs. For some bizarre reason, most of my body didn't seem to be familiar with the memories of movement.

A warm breeze caressed my back and the sound of chirping birds finally began to take shape in my ears.

I struggled to get up.

Nothing happened. My limbs felt dead.

Slowly but surely, though, I began to recognize what was in front of me.

Grass.

There was grass beneath my nose, not slush and cold concrete.

I blinked at the earthy plants, wondering if I was hallucinating since it had been snowing mere seconds ago, and lay there for a while, vaguely wondering what was going on. At least, until the feeling in my body started coming back. I winced as my limbs prickled madly and cringed even further as a pounding ache unexpectedly flashed into my head.

That much was definitely expected, considering I'd shot myself in the temple... wait...

Wait.

What?

If I'd shot myself, how was I still... alive?

Confused, I once again attempted to wriggle my hands to test my motor control, and I won't deny that I was relieved to realize I could move a little. I wasn't paralyzed at the very least. Once I was able to, I weakly twisted my body and used my arms to push myself upright, joints popping. Lifting a shaking hand, I touched my throbbing temple, then paused.

Pulled it away from my face.

"Huh?" I croaked, flexing my palm with a confused blink. "Ew... what's wrong with my nails?"

Ew indeed.

For whatever reason, they were abnormally long and looked almost like... claws of some sort. Unless someone had given me a set of dangerous acrylic nails while I'd been unconscious, how or why they looked the way they did was beyond my comprehension. I decided to worry about that later, though... weird nails aside, none of this made sense.

I felt more than a little confused about my surroundings once I actually took the time to look around. I was lying in the shade of a huge tree with sunlight playing across my pale skin in the dapples made by leaves hanging overhead. When a breeze touched my legs, however, I glanced down and realized with a jolt of alarm that I was totally naked.

"What the hell?!"

The words burst out of me before I could stop them. Panicked, I covered my chest and clamped my legs together, instantly freaking out. I was going to start panicking until I noticed something else... something that felt extremely wrong. Awkwardly looking over my shoulder, I tried to spot the source of this weird feeling and froze like a statue.

I knew, then, that something was wrong. Very wrong.

The most wrong.

But you know what? All I could really do was stare at myself with cold chills creeping down my spine.

Simply put, my body had changed drastically, and it wasn't a normal change, either.

It was like something straight out of a horror film.

My hair was just as long as it had ever been, but underneath it was a silky chestnut mane that seemed to begin at the nape of my neck where my hairline ended and stretched all the way down to my rear, where a thick, brown, lion-like tail was sticking out of my tailbone. My horrified eyes followed the tail's length all the way to the fluffy black tip, which was flicking back and forth nearly five feet away.

"What the fuck?" I whispered, clutching the freakish appendage and jumping when I realized I could actually feel my hand on it. "What the actual FUCK?!"

Freaking out, I hastily attempted to climb to my feet, but my legs gave out halfway and instead I fell back to the ground. The grass cushioned my fall and kept me from actually hurting myself, but it still left me reeling. I waited, catching my breath, but when I tried to get up again I almost fell flat on my face since my arms buckled.

At the last second I turned my head so I wouldn't get a mouth full of dirt.

For a long time after that, I merely stared off into space and moped.

"What the hell is going on?" I rasped, then halted and blinked, since a painful prick against the bottom of my tongue had caught my attention immediately. I lifted a hand and touched my mouth, being careful about my weird nails, but I didn't feel anything abnormal... at least, until my fingers brushed against something long and sharp. I blinked rapidly, then slid my fingers across my bottom teeth until they brushed against a second sharp protrusion.

I felt them up with a terrified lump forming in my throat.

"What the fuck is wrong with my teeth?!" I squeaked, eyes becoming huge. Prodding revealed that I had the same problem on my upper jaw. Only, they were far longer. "Oh, my god... are these fangs?!"

I didn't know if that's what they were, but they sure as hell felt like fangs. Terrified and confused, I sat up and plopped my hands between my legs, not really knowing what to think about the freakish changes in my body.

Aren't I supposed to be dead? I wondered. What the hell is going on here? Why am I still alive? What happened to me?

I didn't know, but I figured now would be a good time to really start checking if other things had changed. I carefully examined each of my limbs, but for the most part, my legs were the same as they'd always been aside from some new weird claws on my toes, and a strange flexibility in my feet, like a monkey's.

I won't lie.

Watching my feet bend like two new hands creeped me out more than any of the other shit.

"What the fuck?!" I whined, clamping my knees together and drawing them up to my chin. "What is wrong with my body?!"

Something cold touched my legs when I buried my chin in my knees and for a moment I didn't move, fearing it was some other bizarre mutation... but before long, I gathered my courage and looked down.

I froze when I realized it was the locket Dakota had given me so long ago.

On the outside, it wasn't anything special... just a large, gold necklace with a bulky heart-shaped pendant dangling from the chain. The only unique part was the lettering engraved across the front in cursive.

"Kota's heart, for my Darling, Suzanna."

My own heart clenched violently and I clutched it, assaulted by a wash of bitter, crippling pain.

With the changes in my body, I had nearly forgotten why I'd attempted suicide in the first place.

I sat there for a long while, looking at the locket... but then, I tugged on the ridge for the first time since his funeral.

When it flicked open, revealing the pictures inside, the ice in my shattered heart melted a bit.

The photo on the right had been taken on my sixteenth birthday by Kota's friend, Gil. A few classmates from school had all surprised me with a birthday party. In the photo, Kota was right there beside me, thick arms draped around my neck with his tanned cheek pressed against mine, grinning at the camera whilst flashing a giddy peace sign.

His mother, Connie, had been on my other side, hugging my free arm with a laughing grin.

I could only stare at myself, sandwiched between them, forever locked in a moment of happier times.

My face looked healthier, lacking the ghostly pallor and heavy bags that had slowly dominated my features in the weeks after Kota's death, but to be honest, even back then I had by no means been a pretty girl. I was small, and bony, with no curves with extremely pasty skin. My nose was average, my face shape was average, my jaw, body, skin... everything about me was just... well, plain.

Aside from my eyes.

I hated my eyes.

They were the same color as my dad's, a garishly bright shade of sea green, and sure, the color was rare and pretty, but my eyes were also completely identical to my mother's in shape. Which wasn't something I considered to be bad, but... considering my mother had been Chinese, and I already had extremely high cheekbones...

Yeah.

Bright Asian eyes set in a purely Caucasian face looked weird.

Standing next to Kota, who'd looked like a Roman God, it was clear that he'd been out of my league looks-wise.

But he'd never cared.

Not once, since we'd first met as children, had he ever cared about the way I looked. He'd always been the sort of person to look beneath someone's eyes rather than see what lay on the surface. In fact, aside from the singular time he had excitedly encouraged me to grow my hair out with him when we'd been little kids, he'd never asked me to change.

Although, I probably would have tried to if he had, since that one request had given me my most beautiful feature.

The one part of my looks that I'd always been proud of was my hair length.

Lush and full, it hung down below my hips thanks to his suggestion all those years ago.

He'd been too good for me.

I abruptly snapped the locket shut and looked away, letting it drop back against my chest as I the numbness swallowed me up. I stared off into space, going into a daze. I didn't know what was going on, but even though I was undeniably anxious about being naked and all alone, the forest was kind of dreamy and it made me feel half asleep.

My tail, bizarre as it was, seemed to grow a mind of its own and started flicking around. The strange muscle spasms annoyed the hell out of me, so I grabbed it and tried to hold it still... but for some reason, the tip of it started flicking even faster. I felt my irritation building since it writhed in my grip like something alive.

"Stop it!" I finally groaned, rapidly shaking it. "Stop wriggling already!"

It flailed violently in response.

Eventually I let it go and sighed in defeat, hanging my head while it waved a mocking victory dance behind me. For a long time, I simply sat there, but I eventually lifted my eyes and took in my surroundings a bit more carefully.

There wasn't much to see, just massive, mossy trees and low-lying ferns.

I didn't know where I was, and even though it was sunny and warm out, I had no way of knowing what time it was.

I decided to try getting to my feet since sitting around wasn't accomplishing anything. My limbs were still shaking, but I somehow managed to keep my balance this time. Dusting myself free of the dirt and dry grass sticking to my bare skin, I aimlessly began to wander through the woods. I didn't know where I was, or where I was going... nor did I care.

I merely followed my own two feet, taking one step at a time, lost in my own head.

Everything was quiet.

I kept walking for at least a good hour but didn't come across any sort of road, town, or even a neighborhood, just trees and the natural silence of a wilderness.

"Hello?" I eventually called. "Is anyone out there?"

My voice echoed.

Not a single sound followed it.

Uneasiness engulfed me and I tried to fight down a wash of anxiety by taking a breather.

My throat was dry, anyway, and my legs hurt from walking, so I found a huge tree that had fallen on its side and stopped to sit down. I hated the feeling of the rough bark chafing my backside, but I dealt with it in silence since there wasn't much I could do, and nobody to complain to. Tilting my head back, I closed my eyes as another warm gust of wind brushed against my face, lifting my long hair away from my shoulders.

My mind kept reminding me that this was all wrong, that whatever I was experiencing couldn't be real, but my body and everything around me said otherwise.

I could feel.

I was breathing.

And I was aware.

That could only mean I was alive and awake, somehow. Rolling my shoulders, I prepared to jump down from my perch, but I heard something that wasn't entirely natural in the woods behind me and paused. I turned, looking over my shoulder when the sound of twigs breaking beneath a foot met my ears.

A middle-aged man stepped out of the trees, wearing some sort of strange-looking grey outfit.

I almost called out to him before I remembered I was nude and looked super bizarre. Panic overtook me and I slid off the tree trunk as quietly as I could, carefully pressing my back against it as I willed the guy to go away with all of my might.

Did he see me? I wondered, heart thudding in my ears as I curled up into a little ball and frantically tried to used my hair to hide my nudity. Oh, man, how am I going to explain this?! I'll be locked in a zoo or something!

My hands, had they not been clutched so tightly around my legs, would have shaken like trees in a storm. On the other side of the fallen log, I heard footsteps so soft that I might have imagined them, if they weren't followed by another snapping twig. And then... whoever it was spoke.

My head immediately went extremely fuzzy when he said something else, something I couldn't make out, a strange language that rolled off his tongue. I couldn't understand what it was that he was saying... but, it sounded like an Asian dialect, possibly Japanese or Korean. I had no idea, though, since I only spoke English, Russian, and a bit of Chinese.

I pressed myself against the bark of the tree when he said something else in a tone that was undeniably hostile. I stared straight ahead with spooked eyes, shoulders hunched, but I didn't move an inch. Instead I concentrated on the earth beneath my body... the scent of nearby plants, the sound of birds, the meager sunlight shining on my hair...

I felt the chill of the man's shadow more than I noticed the way it blocked out the sunshine.

When I looked up, I saw the guy standing over me with a bow in his hands, arrow drawn and held in my direction.

He was brawny... Asian, too, from the looks of it.

His jet back hair had been pulled into a black topknot, and two crescent-shaped dark brown eyes were looking down at me from above a proud nose and a tangled black beard, which roiled and knotted around his jawline. He looked fierce. but my attention solely remained fixed on the primitive weapon he was pointing at me.

When I carefully attempted to move my arm, the stranger hefted the bow and I froze since getting shot with an arrow would be a painful way to die, not to mention lengthy. The man lowered the bow a little as he looked at me more carefully, but when my tail flicked and he glanced at it, his face contorted in disgust.

He tensed the string and I drew back, bunching my shoulders to my ears.

He said something that I didn't understand.

"I don't understand," I slowly informed him, shaking my head when he blinked. "I don't speak your language."

He said something else, narrowing his eyes.

"I. Don't. Speak. Your. Language!" I enunciated, staring at the sharp tip of the arrow. "Please, just go away!"

When his eyes narrowed into slits and he raised the weapon, sighting down the shaft, I flinched and curled into a ball, covering my head with both hands. I waited for him to release it, to send that razor-sharp shaft into my body, but before I could, another voice spoke, this time coming from behind me. I didn't move.

I was too scared.

I heard the guy say something, to which the second person replied, and without warning he grabbed my arm, forcibly dragging me upright.

"HEY!" I screeched, fighting to pull away when he roughly tried to pull me off. "LET GO OF ME!"

He glared when I beat at his arm with all my strength, and repeatedly threw my weight backwards.

At least, until he abruptly let go.

I lost my balance and went down with a shriek, spread eagle, then covered my body in horror and scampered backwards. I looked up to see that his tanned face had gone bright red and he was looking off to the side, and my mortification increased doubly. I hunkered down, covering myself as he hopped back over the tree.

I heard a distant fit of laughter and some indecipherable chatter, then he returned with a huge pack.

Tossing it over his arm, he vaulted back across the fallen log and dropped it in front of me, digging around for something. After a moment, he pulled a very strange-looking set of drab grey and black clothes out into the open, tossing them in my direction. I looked at them in confusion, then raised my eyes to him.

He jabbered more of his gibberish at me, but when I simply stared, he pointed at the clothes, then at me.

He raised an eyebrow.

I got the hint and grabbed it, but to be honest, they were the weirdest clothes I'd ever seen. The gray thing I'd initially mistaken for a shirt was actually an open robe with a rough, very tattered cotton shirt balled up inside it. The pants looked like something out of a low budget Japanese movie, flared and black, but tattered and dirty. Blinking at the bizarre attire, I glanced at the man with confused eyes.

He had turned around, and I didn't see his pal.

I hesitantly grabbed the shirt and shrugged it over his head, fluffing my long hair out of the neckline. It stank of sweat, and made me cringe, but it was better than being naked. When I attempted to drag the weird pants on, they bent my tail, and I really regretted it. The sensation was like being zapped by a power outlet after sticking a penny inside: it traveled through my entire spine, making me wheeze.

"Ow!" I complained, rubbing my back. "What the hell is up with this weird tail?! That hurt!"

The man turned, staring at me, then cautiously circled around and spotted my predicament almost immediately. His face tightened with realization and he pulled a sword out of a sheath strapped to his waist; I tensed and tried to back away, but he snatched my wrist and held me still before moving behind me.

Fear flooded me until I heard a ripping noise and felt a jerk.

I glanced under my arm to see him ripping the back of the strange pants, and I could only watch as he turned it into a hole of sorts. When he finally moved away and smirked proudly, I looked at my weird new limb and carefully attempted to thread it through the hole.

It was a little snug, but at the very least... it worked.

I pulled the grey robe thing on and looked at him, confused.

He turned and said something loudly, and I watched as another man came walking out from behind a tree with a notched bow in his hands. I looked back and forth between them, watching as the first one grabbed a rope out of his pack as well. I instantly moved away from him, taking several steps backwards, but the other one caught me from behind and held me still.

He said something calmly, soothingly even, and gently grabbed my wrists, keeping them behind me.

I stared straight at the man holding the rope with huge eyes.

And it was then that it clicked.

He intended to tie me up.

"Oh, fuck no!" I cried, immediately flailing around. "FUCK NO! FUCK THIS! I'M OUT OF HERE!"

When the second guy's grip tightened, I stomped on his foot as hard as I could and dragged my left arm free, using it to elbow him in the gut with all of my strength. He let go of me with a wheeze and I turned, bolting away from his hands and tearing into the underbrush.

I heard shouts and the crashing of underbrush behind me.

I screamed involuntarily.

The reality that I was being chased by psychos literally forced the sound out of my throat. Pulse pounding, lightheaded, I tore through the forest, ducking under branches and dodging trees, limbs shaking, feeling like I would vomit, and the entire time I heard them behind me, their footsteps loud and their shouts louder.

I didn't see the cliff until I was just about to go over it.

I skidded to a halt, letting out a gasp; then I stepped back, staring at the steep chasm with its river coursing through it what looked to me like at least thirty feet below. I whipped around when they burst through the trees, breathing hard; both men looked angry, but neither of them had their weapons drawn.

I looked at the water, then glanced from side to side, wondering if I could run parallel to the cliff until I could find a way across, but a movement behind the two men caught my eye. And it was in that moment, when time slid to a halt and my pulse went glacial, that I knew I wasn't anywhere near home.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" I screeched, clutching my mouth as I stared at the giant snake-like monstrosity that was coming towards us; the two men paused, staring at me, and I flailed my arms, pointing behind them. "MOVE! MOVE! BEHIND YOU!"

The first one sneered, clean-shaven face contorting, but the bearded one looked wary; I repeatedly pointed at it, even going as far as jumping up and down when the monster rose up, giant fangs dripping, red eyes locked on the two guys that had been chasing me. The man with the beard finally looked over his shoulder.

He let out a shout as it lunged and jerked out of the way, but by that point it was too late for his companion.

I watched, stunned, mouth hanging open in blind shock as the giant snake struck and bit the younger guy's shoulder. Blood flew, and he screamed as he was dragged into the air. The snake flung him around like a rag doll tied to the end of a whip. The older guy drew his bow and released arrow after arrow, and I watched as they were embedded in the monster's body, but there was no reaction until one of them was buried in the creature's eye. It reared back and dropped the younger guy with a screech that made me cover my ears.

Breath hitching high in my throat, lips parting in horror, I clutched my mouth and stared at it.

What is that thing?! I silently panicked, knees shaking violently as I stared at the horrid monstrosity. What the hell is that thing?! It can't be real!

The snake turned and struck, missing the older guy by a hair; instead of going again, it wound its massive body around him and constricted before raising him into the air. He let out a cry and fought to get free, but he couldn't loose his arms from the enormous coils.

The creature's body was five times thicker than his actual height. It was monstrous, like something right out of a movie. When the man screamed, a shocking realization finally struck me like a clap of thunder.

It can't be real, I realized, pulse turning glacial, but it is... this is really happening!

"TASUKETE!" the man bellowed. "TASUKETE!"

He's going to die if I don't do something!

Before I could give my brain enough time to think, I was bolting forward.

I picked up a stone the size of a baseball and drew back.

"HEY! UGLY!" I screeched. "OVER HERE!"

It turned.

My heart skipped a beat, but I still reared back and threw the stone; it smacked the beast in the nose, bouncing harmlessly off to the side. Its eyes remained fixed on me... and then, without warning, it dropped the older guy to the ground and began slithering towards me.

'Oh, fuck' didn't even begin to cover my reaction.

Throwing my hands into the air, I turned tail and bolted in the opposite direction as fast as I could, screaming at the top of my lungs. I ran parallel to the cliff, arms and legs pumping, hard in my throat. A part of me wanted to give in, to let it get me, but I didn't want to die painfully since I had absolutely no pain tolerance.

I thought I would get away until I came across another curved cliff that barred my path.

I panicked.

I couldn't go any further without jumping into the water or running back towards the snake at an angle.

I pressed myself against the wall, knees knocking, watching as it came slithering through the trees.

"Fuck," I whimpered, looking around. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! FUCK!"

It rose up.

It rose up high, fangs oozing yellow poison, red eyes glowing.

Those teeth were half as big as me.

I dropped down and covered my head, screaming when it lunged.

But the attack never landed.

There was a sudden flash of silver, and just like that, the beast reared back with another screech as a fountain of blood gushed from its maw. A spray of black blood flew through the air, followed by the stench of warm copper. I smacked my head flat against the ground when the hot liquid splattered across my face. A blur I could barely see flew through the air, and another gash opened up on the snake's face.

I cowered against the wall, terrified by the shocking sights, shaking violently.

The man I'd saved came running up, skirting around the thrashing beast and tearing towards me.

He fell to his knees and grabbed my shoulders, barking something, but I couldn't even look at him; my horrified eyes were locked on the monster, which was being ripped to shreds by something I couldn't see. The man looked behind me, then back at my face with fear in his eyes.

He grabbed me, sliding his arms beneath me and lifting me into the air.

And then, he ran, back around the monster; another gash opened up as we were passing, and I shielded my face from the blood that rained down on us, numb from the inside out. I couldn't process what was happening anymore, not by a long shot. I was bounced and jostled by the unsteady gait of the man carrying me.

I didn't know why he was doing what he was doing.

Was it because I'd saved him?

His eyes weren't fixed on me, but his face was covered in blood and sweat and his dark eyes were frenzied.

He was running through the woods, farther and farther from the cliff.

And then, he abruptly came to a halt, gasping in shock.

I looked at his face to see terror there, but it wasn't me he was looking at.

I followed his gaze... and saw a figure cloaked in what looked to me like furs.

The man holding me jabbered something, sounding frantic, but his words were met with a long silence.

The hooded figure said something in a deep voice, tone so hostile that my hair stood on end. I let out a gasp when I was abruptly dropped to the ground like a sack of flour, landing hard on my back; I saw stars and slowly rolled over, curling up on myself for a second, pressing a hand to the back of my head.

I heard the arrival saying something that I didn't understand.

My savior tried to say something, but was met with a violent bark of what sounded like a command.

Then the stranger said something else. I knew he was addressing me, but my face felt wet and sticky, and I knew if I wasn't careful I would faint. Slowly, I lifted my arms and pushed myself into an upright sitting position, then jerkily struggled to wipe the blood off my cheeks.

Unfortunately, instead of giving me a moment of rest, the tip of a tree branch was thrust beneath my chin.

Slowly and gently, the hooded figure tilted my head back so he could see me.

His face was almost completely hidden by his hood, and it didn't help that the sunlight streaming down from above us cast his visible features in shadow, but the moment I caught sight of his lips, and the small mole above them, my breath caught in my lungs and I could literally feel the blood leaving my face.

I saw spots, and everything grew blindingly bright as a wash of lightheadedness took me.

But even through that, I stared at him with an expression of total and utter horror.

Eyes... clear, stunning blue eyes like glass, framed by familiar black lashes... the graceful curve of his large nose... those thin, red lips... thick black brows... wisps of dark hair.

No... it's not real, I silently croaked, falling backwards and looking up at him in shock as stricken tears filled my eyes and blinded me. It can't be real... I saw it happen... I was right there...

When I continued to stare at him, he blinked and his eyes narrowed a little; tilting his head back, the stranger jerked his hood off and glared down at me with an unfamiliar cocky sneer. Under the sunlight, his handsome features were illuminated in a gorgeous glow. His black hair shone in an angelic manner.

His eyes, his face, everything, down to the shape of his jaw... the face I knew so well.

Before I could stop myself, I breathed his name, as if whispering a prayer.

"Kota...?"

His blue eyes flashed with hatred, and in a fit of fury, he drew the blade off to the side and smacked me with the flat of it. I merely turned to look at him when he jabbered that same bizarre language at me, still not believing he was alive.

This was my Kota.

It was him. It was really him. How it had happened, I didn't know, but he was here, right in front of me.

The same face... the same voice... the same everything.

I shakily stood up, rising; his eyes followed me, sharpening in a way that I wasn't used to seeing.

His hand, the one holding the branch, twitched and drops of black blood rained down on the grass.

I barely saw it.

My eyes were locked onto his.

I began to move forward as a fit of tears blinded me.

He said something loudly, in a commanding tone, and threateningly raised his hands, but I didn't listen or care. One step at a time, I moved forward, shakily stretching my hands out to him.

To touch him.

To make sure he was real, that I wasn't hallucinating, that he had really come back from the dead.

When he finally let out a snarl and swung, lashing out with his nails hooked into a menacing angle, I didn't flinch. Sharp pain seared through my shoulder when he hit me, but the pain of it was barely felt over the intensity of my emotions. I slowly looked at his hand, at the sharp nails that had rent my skin open.

His eyes filled with shock when I lifted my own hand and touched him.

Gently, caressing his limb and holding him in a tight, shaking grasp. He was real. I wasn't hallucinating. This pain, it proved I wasn't dreaming. I held onto him when he tried to pull away, his nails digging into me a bit more and causing a trickle of blood to stain the fabric of the clothes I'd been lent, but I refused to let go.

I tried to reach for him again.

He knocked my left wrist aside and caught my right one, then dragged me off balance and wrapped his arms around my throat, getting me in a headlock. He barked something, but I was out of it. The feel of his warmth against my back, the familiar warmth I'd felt my entire life...

His grip tightened.

The feeling of these familiar arms... the heat of him... it was real.

He was real.

My Dakota was alive, breathing... how it had happened, I didn't fucking know, but something within me lightened so much that I felt as if I could fly. Tears blotted out his vision completely and with a watery laugh, I bent my head and caressed the arm around my neck, raising my hands and holding onto him.

The other man stiffened, dropping his bow, when I laughed aloud and promptly burst into tears. Dakota immediately let go of me, but I turned and lunged at him, wrapping my arms around him. He squawked, raising his arms when I buried my face against his shirt.

"Kota!" I wailed, shaking all over. "Dakota! You're alive! YOU'RE REALLY ALIVE!"

He screamed something at me, flailing madly in my grasp,, but I merely tightened my grip into a fierce hug. He stopped moving when I broke down and started crying. Warmth and relief bloomed within my body in waves. I wondered if this was why I'd woken up wherever this was.

Perhaps God had given me a second chance.

His heat.

His warmth.

It was him.

I was just beginning to believe that everything would be all right when someone's hand suddenly came down on the side of my neck, chopping me fiercely. With a shocked wheeze, I instantly lost all feeling in my body and my arms went limp, releasing him. I was shoved away from him immediately.

Stumbling back and forth, I looked at Kota with fading eyesight and stretched out a hand, trying to figure out what was going on. Then my eyes rolled and I fell forward, unconscious before I hit the dirt.