Chapter 2

"Ohhh" moaned Lucy as she woke up. Her chest just had a dull pain now. She was lying on a hard and dirty floor in a small, dark cabin. Lucy sat up slowly. Nothing was broken, and it appeared that no one was there. Lucy felt around till she found a chair and hauled herself to her feet. She walked forward till she found a small window and door. The window showed her that it was still night and still snowing. As Lucy put her hand on the door knob, the door flew open and a light from a lantern bathed her frightened face as she lost her balance. A large arm reached out the darkness into the light, grabbed her waist, and set her on her feet. Then the rest of the man stepped out of the darkness and into the cabin, kicking the door shut since his arms were full. Lucy put up her hands as the man stepped closer to her.

He was so heavily bundled that Lucy couldn't make out his face, but she could hear his calm breathing. Her own breathing was scratchy. She clutched at her chest.

"Still breathing?" he asked evenly.

"Who are you?" Lucy choked out.

She could see the man's eyes narrow. "Something's wrong with you. Sit down," he said leading Lucy to one of the chairs while setting the lantern down on the table next to them. Lucy gripped her shawls tighter around her.

The man looked at her hands clasped over her heart, and then at her eyes flashing fear. The tension went out of his body. "Something's wrong with your leg too. Let me see." As the man started to lift her skirt, Lucy kicked out hard with her good foot and shuffled out the door. She only got 5 yards before her adrenaline and balance gave out and she collapsed into the snow, gasping for breath. The man came up quietly and stared down at her. Lucy just closed her eyes as she felt like she was gasping out her last. The man picked her up slowly. He held her close as he ran back to the cabin. Lucy struggled for air, but when the man tried to loosen her shawls, she tried to claw his eyes. So he just held her from behind while Lucy gasped on the floor. His slow, steady breathing helped calm Lucy's heart while her mind started whirring. She didn't know where she was, or who this man was, and she didn't trust him. She also was in too much pain to run, and to scared as to what would happen if she fell again and he came after her. As Lucy calmed down, the man tightened his grip around her.

"Don't bother bolting. You need to rest. There's some blankets in the other room. Can you stand?"

Without waiting for an answer, the man helped Lucy to her feet and marched her into a smaller room just off the main one in the cabin. Helpless, Lucy didn't fight, but let him make up a bed for her on the floor, and lay her down. He pulled the blankets up over her, and then lay down next to her with his arms holding her close, steadying her breathing. Lucy blacked out from exhaustion.

The next morning Lucy's chest felt almost normal. The man was gone, but she could hear him in the next room. There was no window in her room, so she opened the door to face her captor. The moment the door opened the man leaped from the side of the door, grabbed her, and pushed her into a chair. "Stay."

He handed her a bowls of broth. "Eat."

Lucy swallowed. "How do I know it's safe?"

The man shook his head. "I don't play those games. I decided not to kill you when you ran last night, so I won't kill you. Now eat."

Lucy sipped the warm broth while the man watched her closely beneath his furs.

"What's wrong with you?"

Lucy almost choked on her broth. "My leg's just twisted."

"That explains the stick. Here's a new one by the way." The stick he handed Lucy looked like a tree branch torn from a large tree. As he leaned out his arm to pass it to her, Lucy saw scars up and down his wrist and forearm.

"What are those?"

He pulled his arm back quickly. "Knives. What's wrong with your heart?"

Lucy stiffened. "I don't know what you mean."

The man leaned closer to Lucy and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Don't struggle. Let me feel it." Lucy closed her eyes. She could feel his heart. It was strong and steady.

"I can barely feel your heart. You feel dead."

Lucy pushed him away and turned her head. She tried to fight back tears. She couldn't have another weakness. It wasn't fair.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"What do you want from me?" she begged.

"To talk. Who are you?"

Lucy sat silently, so the man talked instead. He told her about the blizzard, how he'd seen her looking faint, so he'd tried to help her.

"I almost left you behind when I saw the carriage, but then I realized whose it was, so I decided to save you even though you hit me."

"Why did the carriage scare you?"

"It belongs to a monster."

"You mean the young pale lord? I met him earlier."

"You met him?" he whispered, his eyes filled with fear.

"He offered me a ride. I should have taken it!"

"NO!" he shouted as he leapt to his feet and knocked the chair to the floor. "Never take a ride from him. He likes to play with people who are weak. He'll try to change you. He'll cut you." The last three words were uttered in a dark growl. Lucy felt a chill go up her spine.

"Did he cut you?"

"Yes," he leaned closer, "ever day."

Lucy's empty bowl clattered to the floor. The man was crazy. He probably had escaped from a hospital. Maybe the Lord was a doctor.

"Was he just trying to help you?"

Frustrated, the man stood up. He unwrapped his scarves and took off his coat. In his ragged shirt, Lucy could easily see that he had scars all over.

"No, he wasn't helping."

Frightened, Lucy eyed the door. The man caught her look. "You're not well enough to leave, and the Lord may still be near. Stay here while I get wood."

"Will you kill me if I run?" Lucy asked frankly.

The man paused. "Maybe. All of you out here have tried to kill me..."he looked at her closely. "You're injured, lame, wrong, like us." He continued walking out the door. Lucy walked to the door. He was nowhere in sight. She put her scarf over her head, stepped out, and limped to the next town. The man didn't come after her.