Chapter Seven: Into The Woods.

Tonight has been such a blur that I just stare at the young man's hand in front of me in disbelief. He doesn't waste any time to grab my wrist and pull be up himself, his hand being not much bigger than mine. Before I know it, I'm being pulled down the sidewalk and into the passenger seat of his car unwillingly.

I'm so shaken up that I can't manage to say a single word, even though I want to start screaming about where Jane is and why these other people are after us. Another question floating through my mind is who the heck is this man and why has he come here if its not to take me back to those strange woods? Although he practically saved me I will not give in and trust him. I just can't.

He starts the vehicle and spins around the driveway, trying to chase the car that has left before us. In the right mirror I can see someone darting across the driveway. They crouch down to tend to the man thats laying lifelessly in the grass near the white front steps of the house. As we proceed down the smooth driveway that is all I can do, watching the person make an effort to wake his accomplice. After we've gone down the road and turned left he starts muttering, "Tonight has been completly surreal."

Well that's for sure, I admit to myself. When I realized what was going on I thought I could get to Jane in time before something happened to her but now I don't know where she has gone. And my grandparents! I almost moan of grief. They are in danger! We have to go back! But I'm afraid to speak at all, especially because I don't want to give away any information to this man than he already knows. I guess I'm going to fend for myself like usual.

I get handed a small key ring with a few dangling keys on it, "I stole this from the Hunter. One of them belongs to your cuffs."

This is the second time I've heard this term from him. Who are these Hunters?

Right away I begin trying to free myself and he starts speaking once again, "You and Jane were my priorities when I first found out what was getting planned for the both of you-"

Frantically I speak to him for the first time since we stepped foot in the car, "What? You knew what was going to happen?" And priority? What about my grandparents? We can't just leave them! I'm getting completely creaped out.

The lock from my cuffs click free and fall to the floor from around my ankles. I notice my hands trembling when I drop the key into the cupholder between the driver and I with a clink. My attention goes to the figure in the drivers seat. I'm noticing a frown upon his face, it's as if he could be reading my mind.

In the blue light from the dash I'm not able to see much of his features. I force my eyes away from him, silently attempting to calm my shaking body. My brain swirls through the recent experience I've just endured but it's already getting fuzzy.

He is quiet, not like Jane who will talk a lot dispite me not having much to say. Finally I speak, "You know Jane?"

He suddenly is taken aback, "I knew there was something off about you, I mean you have been gone for this long I would expect so, but I didn't know you were this far gone."

The thought of my grandparents being alone inside there really make me worry. He hasn't even explained to me what we are doing! Why should I even allow him to drive this far without my consent?

"Trust me if the Hunters go back in they won't stand a chance. You have nothing to worry about."

I'm quite confused to how he is suddenly talking about my most recent thoughts but he sounds so genuine and so I ask, "You knew they were coming for us?"

"I didn't say that..." His voice is smoothe, "A story may have been passed to me when I was leaving Elyria-"

"What?" Instantly my whole mindset on this guy changes and a sudden trust in him comes out of nowhere. He knows me! "Who are you?"

"You don't know me?" He is shocked at first but then sighs, "All of this makes a lot of sence to me now."

"What are you talking about?" I plead.

"Oh nothing." He murmers. With a chuckle he laughs, "You must know who I am! Come on Ellie. Take a guess."

My stomach falls in fear. I can not pinpoint why other than having an immense suspision that he is hinding something from me. Though when he talks he sounds so genuine and so there's no reason why I should worry yet, I hardly know him. On the other hand I have never put enough trust in anyone because I'm always let down and I'm uneasy about getting tricked.

I am getting quite frustrated by the way he doesn't answer my questions but finally determine if he knows about Elyria then he, "Must be family..."

He turns on one of the small yellow lights above his head so I can take a look at him. First my eyes catch his dark brown hair, the color of milk chocolate and eyes that match exactly. Splattered across his olive colored skin upon his face are freckles. I already know from earlier that he is taller than I am though for a man he is short. At some perspectives he does not look like Jane or my grandmother. His skin isn't as light, he has dark hair and brown eyes like my grandfather. On the other hand his freckles and small framework resemble Jane.

I try recalling the name, "Koda."

Jane has made me feel many things but one thing she's never made me doubtful of is her word, and if she talks about Koda with so much praise then I should not have to fear him.

He turns off the light causing my hardly adjusted eyes to become relieved, "Yep, that's me!"

Most of my anxiety about him have diminished but there are still many things I must find out before I can feel more comfortable. My mind is still spinning just as much as before and I have so many questions I'm terrified to ask.

A feeling washes over me that I only ever recall feeling once. Betrayal. How can he just show up after who knows how long he was gone and just save the day like he was there all along?! Jane believed he ended up like me, she thought he was dead. And after coming back he left our grandparents behind to fend for themselves and not even letting them know that he has me with him. I don't think he has organized a plan very well at all.

My ears pick up on his unsteady heartbeat, it is picking up speed the more we stay silent. I don't know what to say, speaking is not my best quality. But really I have no qualities because I hardly know myself.

"This is not what I planned for the night," He eventually says. "I never expected it to go this way and now under the circumstances my first priority is to keep following the car infront of me and hoping that Jane is there with them so I can get her back."

He also knew what was going to happen, so how did he come across this information? "So then how did you find out they were coming for us?"

"I can't tell you."

My body shifts so I'm staring out the window of the car away from him. I stare at the rain running down the glass of the window. Though it is pitch black outside, the raindrops reflect yellow light from the headlights making it look not as scary out there. Still it doesn't comfort me one bit and I am just as frightened as I was when I just woke up knowing something was wrong.

Koda takes a deep breath, "You aren't going to believe me."

My mind just screams internally. I want to know! I need to know to be able to trust him better. Most likely I have heard worse things than what ever he went through.

"Just tell me. I've heard that a lot lately."

"No, I can't."

"Why."

"It's just... I can't."

I frown, "Then I can't trust you."

He sighs, "Fine," Almost instantly. "I was going through the portal, coming back from Elyria and there was this rabbit."

Rabbit? Like the rabbit? My eyes widen into huge balls of living horror as if they are about to pop right out of their sockets. I catch my mouth from falling wide open and am greatly thankful it is too dark for him to see my expression. I can not get rid of that little creature! He just keeps coming back to me in the strangest ways.

He stutters, "You- you..."

"What?"

It takes him a while to make out a sentence, "Nothing. But he could talk and that suprised me..." Yep, that's him. "...and he told me I better find you as fast as I could because some men were planning to go abduct you." He takes a long shaky breath, "I think he said something about how they were trying to change the future and the past. I don't know where that was coming from."

Now what kind of person, well humanoid rabbit creature, knows what will change the future? And past how could they change the past? And yet I thought it was all in my head, that my mind was broken and everyone would think I'm crazy, but I guess I'm not the only person he has met up with.

"And you don't know the rabbit?" I question.

"I do not."

He must be looking out for me, that's all I can think of. How could a talking creature like him have any other reason? I ruled out that he's working with the men already but I do come to conclusion that he has been spying on them. How else could he have gotten that information?

I whisper, "Those were the men that took me away the first time."

The rain gets harder and more intense, pounding on the windshield. The noise of the water pains my sensitive ears but Koda distracts me, "I had been investigating them on my own terms for quite a while but I was unsure they had you."

The weather continues to worsen and so he slows the vehicle down, even though we have already lost sight of the men we are following. Jane could be in there but I have no way of proving it, for all I know it could be a trap for them to get me again.

"How did you escape the Hunters so easily?"

"Why are you calling them that?" The high chance of receiving an explanation is so fresh to me that it effects my normally shy spirit.

He fills me in, "I didn't find much information on them..." My stomach drops, "...but they are sort of like an organization dated back to the seventeen hundreds."

"That's all you know?"

"Mostly, they are very bad people."

Those terrifying men told me so many things that now makes me wonder if they know of Elyria. It makes more sence why they would tell me those woods are strange, because honestly there is something very off about that area. I have no doubt that having the portal to Elyria there has something to do with it.

I have a strange hunch that the reason why those men kept me was that they knew about the portal and they were somehow experimenting on people like me.

"I'm honestly not suprised you escaped, but I am shocked that you're alive." Koda admits, "Not considering these circumstances, it is nice to have you back."

I frown, "I am relieved I escaped..." but I still have some things bothering me. Being free and knowing the truth isn't the best either.

"You sound like the life has been sucked out of you," He replies. "You aren't the same person you used to be."

"What was I like before?"

"You were always happy."

My lips curl into a slight grin, it feels strange but I like it. I wonder what it is like to have a life, to live freely and to be happy. My eyes take a stare at Koda and run a thought through my mind, draining it into my memory so I do not forget. I have a brother. That's my brother.

I observe that the worsening weather makes him more cautious, but he also checks in the rearview mirror over and over again. It is as if he half expects someone to be following close behind, but it is just as dark behind us as it is at the front of his vehicle. There's no one in sight.

"Have you finally gotten your powers?" Koda speaks to me so casually that it bothers me. I don't know what to say at all.

"Jane told me about powers but I don't think I'll be anything special like Jane." I admit.

The thought reminds me that she told me she can control water...what is it called again? An elemental? The atrocious feeling of drounding appears too soon as a memory in my lungs again. The most terrifying feeling I have experienced, almost worse than being alone for years with no friends or allies.

"One thing I do not know is how Jane found you."

My eyes divert away from the rain splatter along the passenger seat window and to Koda who keeps glancing at me like he's seen a ghost. I decide it won't hurt to tell, especially since he is the one who saved me. My mouth mumbles throughout the story, pinpointing every last detail of my experience in the woods, except for the part about the rabbit. I have to keep him a secret for now because I'm sure everyone will think I'm crazy if I mention that he apparently knows me.

"Now almost everything adds up." He nods.

Koda turns onto another road, it's bumpy making me recognize it from yesterday morning. This goes right back to the woods I'm so frightened of. My hands become trembly and I try my best to ignore the pit in my stomach.

"But why did the spirit want to drown me?"

He shrugs, "The only logical explanation is that she knew it would save you in the long run."

Right, and give me an irrational fear of water when I shouldn't be afraid because a woman I know- I mean, my sister can control it. This may hurt me in the future and for what?

"You are okay now."

Not really at all. I'm leaving with him to go who knows where with no shoes, dirty cloths, and men after me and maybe the rest of us-

I watch the expresson on his face change quite quickly, going from what looks like relaxed to something I've seen again recently, sadness. I wonder if he can notice my fear, maybe he knows that I am still unsettled by him. But that isn't his fault, I just simply don't know him.

Koda doesn't even freeze before he announces, "I'm taking you to Elyria, you will be safer there. All we've got to do is get you through the gate and then you'll be fine."

I guess I'm going to have to accept that I was going to end up there sooner or later and maybe it won't be as worrisome as Earth.

He adds, "Actually we are almost there. I have a sweatshirt in the back that you can wear to at least shield you from the downpour."

I find it in the seat behind me and stick it over the shirt of Jane's I'm still wearing. His sweatshirt is a bit big for me, indicating he's slightly taller than Jane but probably not by much.

The truck comes to a halt when I gaze up from my clasped fingers. My eyes scan across nothing but disturbing woods and a handful of cars parked in the field. The unknowledged brain inside my head longs for what we are about to get into. Maybe I am excited to at least see what I have been missing all of this time.

After he shuts the car down he hands me a pair of boots and socks not forgetting that I am still barefoot. Left in his hand is a heavy duty flashlight that could most definatly knock a guy out with one blow of the head. A good tool for the dark woods with two uses. He really must be prepared for anything, I wonder as I slip on his shoes. I find that they big but not overly roomey, at least I'm not going to trip over them when I walk.

He prevents me from moving as he scans his eyes around the open field as if waiting for one of the men, or shall I say Hunters to come charge at us. After about five minutes he decides to open the doors after giving me instructions to run with him. I do as he says and within a matter of seconds the rain drenches me.

The branches and leaves of the many trees don't protect me from the freezing water pounding down from the sky. The stars are covered by a thick layer of clouds, showing that the sun doesn't plan to rise even if it is morning.

I squint my eyes trying not to get water in them, as the adrenaline rush makes me forget about it's coldness. It's entirely impossible to see clearly but I make sure my feet are extra careful this time to not trip over a fallen log or rock.

The scent of pine and leaves tickle my nose reminding me how it fealt to run through them the first time. The wind picks up causing my hood to blow off my head, it's already rained through my hair and has now started running down my cheekbones.

A spakle ahead of Koda shocks me but then I recall it is only the spirit guiding us to our destination. Seeing it for a second time still has me reeling, even more than before now that I know it's an actual spirit. I'm only disturbed when I glance again and it is gone, in it's place stands a tree. But this isn't anything normal, no there is something living and breathing heavily behind it.

A person!

"Koda!" I attempt shouting over the rain to let him know we aren't alone but I'm not loud enough. It is too late and immediately a figure reveals themselves from behind the tree.

"Koda, I hear? What a nice suprise." The booming voice laughs in a taunting sort of manner, giving me flashbacks of the men- well Hunters acting the same towards the pathetic, lonely me. My only reaction is that I want to zoom out of here faster than Flash but my whole body doesn't listen to what my brain is telling it.

Instead I stop in my tracks a few feet behind Koda, hearing the branches of the trees sway in the breeze along with the newly budded leaves attached to them. Koda's mouth opens but then abruptly shuts as if he caught onto what ever this man is planning to do. Goosebumps travel throughout my skin.

Koda takes a step back and grabs my wrist. He pauses before bolting left from the man, with me along next to him. I pass the stranger, just barely brushing my shoulder out of his reach. This time I go so fast through the woodland brush that I'm unaware of what's under my feet. My head is pounding and keeping me from running streight.

"We need to get you to the gate."

My feet leap over a log as my bruised shoulder dodges a tree branch that's too close for comfort. My relief fades as the man chasing us gets ahold of my arm. My face plants hard into the mud causing the hood of Koda's sweatshirt to uncover my head. I try comprehending what just happened but my head makes me woozy.

As I struggle to get to my feet Koda pushes the man away from me who falls over a fallen tree and into a bush. I get pulled to me feet weather I'm ready to run or not. I stumble a bit until I catch my footing and then after about a minute Koda stops us, "Stand here."

The two of us move to stand on a little patch of stone but before I can get both feet on it I'm yanked backwards and fall flat on my back into the muddy ground. The mud and water splatters all over me and for once I shiver into my unfamiliar clothing.

A wet leaf stuck to my cold cheek falls into my lap as the man who knocked me over crouches overtop of me. Time to scream bloody murder and wake every bird in this forest, "KODA-"

He covers my mouth with a firm palm, the very same one that's grasping a knife as well. The other hand grips a large yellow flashlight. I decide fighting him would not be my best option, especially since a knife as a weapon can be torturing. A gun could kill immediately but with a knife it could take several excrutiating minutes or more.

The flashlight gets shined into my eyes, causing me to see splotches even though my eyes have fluttered shut. I can't tell when he pulls it away from me until my eyes readjust.

The knife gets moved closer to my neck, causing me to shiver uncontrollably. The edge of the weapon doesn't pierce my skin but it still makes me fear for my embodiment. The life I suddenly have so much to live for is in his hands.

I don't like people touching me.

The man's face is way too close to mine that it is making me uncomfortable to the core. I shudder into the ground trying to make more distance between the two of us but it only makes the sticks and brush push into my skin more. In disgust I remove my eyes from the dark outline of his face to search for any sign of Koda.

Within a blink of an eye he's pulling me into his large arms and locking them from releasing me. I whine while he squeezes my skin and a surge of pain shoots up my arm. It reaches where I must be bruised badly at my shoulder from before.

"Koda..." I mumble.

I'm squeezed like a lemon until the breath is knocked out of me. Full panic sets in when my eyes focus and I find Koda to be gone. I fight the man but he carries me like I'm just a baby throwing a tantrum. I want to believe Koda is hiding in the shadows ready to catch the man off guard but he never comes. I would know if he was still here, I'd be able to hear him.

I've been left behind and I can't describe the feeling rushing through my body. Complete betrayal. Why would Koda leave me? I should have known that this would happen eventually, though I didn't expect it to be so soon.

When the rain slowly drips down the small of my back, is when I realize how cold I am. Bringing me memories of cold lonely nights when I only had one small sheet to cover up with. It feels like the temperature has drastically changed by hardly seconds and I've become a popsicle. The rain hits me hard, like little needles piercing my skin.

"You better stay quiet or I'll kill you." The growl reaches out to me deep inside my soul. It feels like thunder in the middle of the night, a sign of something dangerous and unpredictable to come. I don't dare take any other chances and allow him to carry me to his hidden vehicle.