Her saviour (2)

Emma turned her head slowly, scared at what she might see. And indeed her eyes fell on a scene of such gore and horror that she had to fight the urge to throw up.

The creature, her saviour, stood in between an assortment of torn up limbs, bits of flesh and blood. Instinctively she knew that the reason it had shown the man no mercy was because she, Emma, had been threatened.

"Th-thank you," she whispered. "You saved me."

The black beast stepped closer, close enough that Emma could reach out and touch its soft fur, if she wanted. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle now, and the tiny droplets of rain were clinging like crystals to the beast's jet black fur.

She knew that she ought to be terrified of it, having just seen it rip two grown men to bits. But she felt no fear at all, only that wierd twinge of longing in her heart.

"Did they hurt you?" she asked in a trembling voice, as the creature came right up to her. "The knives... the gun..."

She reached forward, sitting up on her knees and running her hands over the creature's massive body. It shuddered slightly at her touch, but she couldn't find any cuts or other injuries on its body. Relieved she sat back down on the ground.

The adrenaline in her body was slowly dissipating, and she could feel the exhaustion overwhelming her.

The creature like looked at her in concern, letting out a low whine.

"Don't worry," she tried to reassure it. "I'm fine, just tired."

Suddenly she became aware of the very faint light of the brightening sky. Dawn was approaching already, and she needed to get going. She had already taken too long. What if there were more of Mr. Long's men lurking about?

She stood up, but too quickly, and a fresh wave of dizziness washed over her. Her vision blurred and she swayed alarmingly.

Not wanting to fall flat on her face, she sat down again, but she still felt very dizzy. She reached a hand up to the side of her head, the side that had impacted the ground earlier when she fell. Her fingers came away coated with flecks of blood. Surprised she touched the side of her face again and saw more blood coating her fingers.

Apparently, she had impacted the ground harder than she thought, enough to split her skin open. That would also explain the dizziness.

The black beast stood a few steps away, watching her intently. Emma gave it a weak smile, taking comfort in the presence of the creature. She was struck once again at the intelligence which shone from those luminous green eyes.

The creature watched her carefully, and seemed to be considering something. Emma focused on those green eyes, as it somehow seemed to help her focus her muddled mind.

Suddenly she became aware of the same ribbons of green aurora light, that she had noticed and thought she imagined before, were eminating from the beast's body. She watched transfixed, as the lights grew brighter, and the large furry body of the creature started to twist into another shape. The transformation happend quickly, and suddenly what stood before her was no longer a black-furred wolf like creature, but a stunningly handsome black haired man.