The outside air wasn't cold on its own, but the chilly breeze that swept through the trees beside them was an unwelcome presence along their walk. Because that's what this was, Anne reminded herself - just a walk. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a walk, with a friend.
Her own thoughts shocked her at this point. A friend? Had they really become that again? She supposed they had, and smiled a bit, as she was pleasantly surprised by this development. She did hope he felt the same.
Gilbert's POV:
The sky, growing darker now, was casting a shadow over Anne's face, only matched by the soft blue moonlit glow shining across the side of her face. It cast a purplish tone on her hair, and Gilbert couldn't help but think that she looked more beautiful tonight - fully vulnerable, emotions completely exposed, faults and strengths, and yet Gilbert could not discern the two from each other. He felt as though he and Anne had become one, two friends who were no longer strangers, a feeling he had once lost with Anne. He, although cold, on edge from the darkness, and exhausted, felt more at peace now than he had for a number of years.
They'd been walking for about two hours before they heard a noise.
At first, they were stunned and could not articulate what they had both heard.
But then, they heard it again - a rustling, scratching sound. The sound of someone walking across gravel, and pushing through leaves.
Gilbert put his hand in front of Anne and said, "Get behind me."
"No." Anne replied, shoving it out of the way and revealing a large stick she'd found lying next to the tracks.
They stood, now side-by-side, Gilbert holding his hands out defensively and her holding the stick back, ready to swing it.
A man appeared from inside the woods, looking disheveled and confused. His teeth looked as though they hadn't been brushed for days, and his clothing had small tears along the torso and calves. He peered at the two, squinting his eyes and staring at them.
A small badge on his coat said "REPAIR" in large letters, and Anne's first thought was of the tracks. Although she couldn't fathom why someone who was hired for a job would allow himself to look so.. unkempt.
Alarm bells began going off in Anne's mind however when she saw red specks on the corner of his coat. It was hard to see, as by now it was dark, but they were clearly red and did not appear to be sewn in. There could be various perfectly rational explanations for that, but she raised her stick up higher, making her distrust clear. She then whispered,
"Gilbert. Run. Go ahead of me, run, and find help. I will be right behind you, I promise you, but I need you to run."
He turned his head to face her with wide eyes, and with the smallest tilt of her head, she gestured to the specks of blood on the coat of the suspicious man walking towards them. His eyes widened a fraction before his expression quickly became neutral again. As he faced her, however, a flicker of worry crossed his face.
"Go."
Not a millisecond later he took off running in the direction down the train tracks, alarming the man. He began to charge towards Anne, who promptly whacked him over the head with the stick so he lost his balance and fell. Anne caught a whiff of liquor from his breath, cringing as she spun around and took off towards where Gilbert was running before she felt something grab her ankle and she fell over.
A sharp pain went through her ankle, but she kicked her legs until the thing, presumably his hand, released, and then she once again took off in Gilbert's direction, still ignoring the pain in her ankle. They couldn't be twenty minutes from the next town by now - she could make it.
Gilbert came running back down, second-guessing running for help. Seeing Anne, he breathed a sigh of relief, however quickly became frightened again as he saw the man chasing after them still. He ran to Anne and grabbed her hand, pulling her forward faster than before as the town came into view. They ran to the train station and opened the door to the first entrance they saw, running inside and shutting it back again. They found a local officer and informed them of the situation, explaining (likely in a hyperbolic manner) what they had seen. Anne pulled the keys to Diana's house that she was given when she left the train out of her pocket and opened the door to her house. She and Gilbert both answered, and Anne finally sat down, wincing as the pain in her leg finally caught up to her.
"What happened? Did he hurt you?" Gilbert asked anxiously, worry written over his face. She pulled the ankle of her leggings up to reveal a gash on her calf,. Gilbert cringed. "Shit. Let me see if Diana has medical supplies." He left to go and find a first aid kit, and Anne found herself blushing despite her pain.
