Awkward Awakening

Falling to the ground Mathew struggled to breathe. Gasping in desperate bursts. He hunched over and clutched at his chest as it rose and fell. He could hear a faint sound over his wheezing. Behind him, the wall thundered as on the other side, the scaled monstrosity slammed its frame against it, desperately trying to reach its prey.

The sound echoed, and the impacts reverberated through the stone and into him. But he honestly couldn't care less. His vision had started to blur and spin, and the struggle for air utterly consumed his focus.

The young cynic now barely registered the sound as he collapsed. The beast meanwhile let out a series of bone-shaking roars in what was a final bit of rage. It slammed harder and faster against the wall, its desperation more than obvious. Over and over and over again Mathew's ears were assaulted by the thunderous echoes. But after a long while, the persistent beast finally relented and lumbered off, its guttural growls fading into the distance. 

Sprawled motionlessly on the ground and struggled to catch his breath, while the adrenaline that flooded his body drained from his system. Mathew breathed a final sigh of relief. And within moments of realizing he had achieved his goal of safety, his body felt like that of a marionette with its strings cut. Exhausted and overwhelmed, he slowly shut his eyes and the world suddenly seemed muffled and distant as he drifted off into the realms of unconsciousness.

***

Time seemed to fly by for Mathew. His exhausted body lay on the floor for hours, suspended between the boundary of consciousness and oblivion. His body felt weightless as he drifted from dream to dream. If he could, he would choose to remain in this tranquil state forever.

But what human beings want and what reality places in front of them seldom, if ever overlap.

A stream of cold sweat ran down Mathew's temple while he remained sprawled on the floor, twisting and turning relentlessly. 

Suddenly he awoke gasping for air. He shot his hand out as if reaching for something. The world was still blurred so he took a few moments to collect himself. Once he had, he could make out the outlines of walls, faintly illuminated by a soft, ethereal glow. As his senses returned, he felt something soft and supple in his outstretched hand.

'What the? What is this?'

Confused, he blinked and looked to his side. In front of him, the proud beauty he saved was crouched over him. But something was off. She didn't have her previous arrogant and prideful expression plastered across her face. Instead, her cheeks were flushed and she seemed to be holding back tears. 

He squeezed his hand and raised a brow.

'There it is again. Just what am I holding?'

The woman's expression went from looking slightly embarrassed to one of anger. Still utterly confused, he cast his gaze down and his eyes widened in shock.

"What's wrong with you, "

He had no idea what he was holding and the magnitude of the implications of what he had done would cause. Only to realize in an instant the heinous crime he had committed.

The sight sent a jolt of realization to his brain. Immediately, a sense of dread and panic surged through Mathew, and he jerked his hand away and scrambled backward.

"Wha—what the...?" he stammered, his voice a mix of disbelief and embarrassment.

The woman stirred as her cheeks flushed an even deeper crimson. The young cynic opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter another word her hand shot up and in that same instance came crashing down onto his face. The sound echoed in his ears, leaving Mathew stunned. Though only for a moment. 

He blinked furiously as his mind raced to catch up with the increasingly fast pace of events. However, the sting on his cheek was a painfully stark reminder of every single second. He could hardly believe the situation he found himself in.

Rubbing his cheek, he scrambled to his feet and asked in a demanding tone.

"Wha—what was that for?"

"Are you actually some crazy pervert? What do you think you're doing?"

The woman glared at him, her expression an unhealthy and unbalanced mix of anger, embarrassment, and resentment.

Matthew opened his mouth to defend himself, but the words caught in his throat. He had been so startled by the memory of her... umm.. in his hand that he lost all train of thought for a moment. The reality of the moment finally settled in, and he took a deep breath. After the day he had, this was not a very surprising occurrence. He ran through a damn wall only a few hours after all. 

Still standing there, the woman glared, her indignation radiating like a furnace.

Mathew shrugged.

"Look, I'm sure you're aware that was an accident, right"

"Oh shut up you pervert."

"Pervert? Hey, there's a limit to there's a limit to how much blame I can take here!"

Mathew protested, a grin breaking through his embarrassment. "I didn't exactly plan on waking up from my well-deserved nap, like this."

The beauty rolled her eyes.

"Well, you certainly have a unique way of showing that."

"Come on, you're making a big deal out of nothing."

"I am making a big deal out of this? You stand there and say that to me after defiling me?"

"Relax princess. I'm sorry, okay?"

The woman crossed her arms, still fuming and unable to hide her anger. Even with his 'sincere' apology, the beauty's glare didn't soften. It seemed to harden further, but Matthew ever the cynic, took a deep breath, sighed, then said.

"Okay, I get it. I might have deserved that slap. But seriously, I didn't mean any harm, so can we just chalk this up to bad luck and move on before things get, any weirder?"

She was clearly still fuming. She practically blew smoke out her ears while trying what looked to be her hardest not to strike him again.

Mathew sighed, raising his hands in mock surrender he said.

"Look, I promise I'll keep my hands, and eyes to myself from now on. So no more accidental gropings, or gawking I swear."

Still clearly distrustful of him, she gave him a once over, growled silently, then reluctantly said.

"Good, Because if you do, I might just have to kill you."

"Noted."

Mathew looked around. Behind the girl was what looked to be a door, or what was left of it. the floor was littered with wooden splinters and the walls around it were covered in cracks. Confused, he asked.

"Did you do that?"

The woman glanced behind her, then at him.

"What? Are you stupid on top of being a pervert? How could i do that? I thought it was you and was going to ask what happened."

Mathew gave her a suspicious look.

"What kind bullshit are you spouting?"

"Believe me or not, that's your problem."

Confusion washed over him. Where did it come from?

"But the only way in here is the path behind-"

Looking back, he found nothing but a pristine but dusty cobblestone wall.