Chapter fifty-four : I'm Sorry But Ladies First

Lia stirred but her eyes were still clamped shut, she still wanted rest . But why did her bed feel so hard?

She shivered involuntarily when a cold wind hit her and tried to cling to any source of warmth to no avail.

Weird, did she leave her French doors open?

Just go to sleep Lia.

She sprang up at once when she felt something wet touch her eyes, what the f*ck.

Lia groaned when the sun hit her eyes and lifted a hand to shield the poor thing, she quickly surveyed her environment, where the hell was she?

All she could see was tall trees, vines and shrubs which looked exactly like - oh my God! She shrieked, she was in that God forsaken woods. Again !

Oh my God! Oh my God! Lia began to hyperventilate, she was panicking. There were a lot of questions running amok in her head right now, enough to drive her crazy.

How did she get here - no, how did she know here? After the attack, she swore she couldn't retrace her step back here If asked to, cause she mysteriously found herself on her bed after that incident.

Why didn't she mysteriously appear on her bed this time? No ! Did she sleepwalk to this place? How was that possible? Why was this happening?

Lia looked down and shrieked at the sight, she was a total mess. Her hair was stiff and sticking out in all direction, there was mud baked in her fingernails , barefooted with dirty muddy legs not to talk of her clothes.

Lia wasn't putting on any clothes, She was very shocked to find herself in nothing but her birthday suit while her clothes lay,a shredded pile a few metres away.

She knew instinctively something weird went down last night, did she sleepwalk to this place on all fours ?

Lia had to admit she was more scared of what must have happened last night than when she discovered she was a vampire.

But she was relieved there wasn't blood on her body nor bloodied and broken bodies lieing in askew positions before her else she would've gone bananas.

She had watched enough horror movies to realize, that's what happens when a supernatural like her mysteriously finds herself naked in the woods.They wolf out, like literally not metaphorically and it's quite funny, she's not a werewolf but a vampire -

Just shut up Lia !

OK, let's calm down, Lia tells her speeding heart.The most important task at hand was not leaving the wood but finding a clothe to wear and leave the woods.

She glared at her wasted clothes and wondered what had drove her gaga enough to shred all her clothings to pieces. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't remember a thing.

The relentless chirping of the birds told her it was daybreak, thankfully , the sun wasn't up yet so it was probably a few minutes after six in the morning, enough time to go home and prepare for school.

Lia wasn't worried about leaving the woods infact she was confident she could use her exceptional senses and find her way out, but naked? Nay, she'll pass.

Suddenly, her ears perked up when she heard the rustling sound of nearing footsteps, somebody - scratch that, some people were here.

Thanks to her improved hearing, she could make out two or three movements and they were coming her direction.

Gracefully, she leaped and climbed a tall tree with wide canopy enough to camouflage her from the intruder's penetrative eyes.

Hiding from such a great height she zoomed in on the approaching figures and just as she thought they were three in number, two guys and a female.

Each of them were armed to the teeth with cameras, binoculars, and guidebooks.They looked like tourist.

So she relaxed knowing they pose no threat to her infact, she was the threat to them at the moment. She needed clothes and they were wearing clothes. Problem solved.

A malevolent smile spread on her face, she just needed one person.

The female was wearing a gray cargo pant with light blue long-sleeved jacket and a day pack strapped to her back. She was looking around and taking notes of something...

Lia took a closer look, the woman was observing birds ? Wait a minute, Lia realized. The trio were bird watching!

She saw one of the male who had a much sturdy build raise the binoculars to his eyes, scanning across the scene carefully. He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, same gray cargo pants with the lady, a brown long sleeved shirt and a birding vest with lots of large pockets.

They must be a couple, she thought.

But Lia preferred the other guy, he was tall, dark and handsome and wearing a pale long-sleeved shirt, long pant, sun-blocking gloves, and a waist pack with a long strap that reaches bandolier-style across his chest and one shoulder.

Just like a predator, she fixed her eyes on her prey, watching and waiting for the perfect time to strike.

Suddenly the couple decided to take their birding to another part of the woods leaving the pretty guy who was immersed in his photographing all to himself.

Perfect.

Swiftly, she dropped to the ground with a soft thud.

Startled, pretty guy whirled around and a single punch knocked the daylight out of him.

Lia lit up with excitement, she didn't put too much force into the punch yet this guy was out cold but breathing, thankfully. Just how strong was she?

Lia checked his waist pack to see if she could find a spare clothe but what greeted her were insect repellent, snacks, and a small ground clothe.

Lia shook her head sympathetically and muttered

" I'm sorry pretty guy but ladies first"

Then she stripped him of all his clothings save his boxer shorts and gloves while she used the ground clothe to cover what's left of his modesty.

"This is my apology " She said and kissed him on the forehead after resting his back against a tree trunk.

Then she was speed running out of the woods trusting her instincts on which route to take until she was finally out.

It was a few minutes after seven by the time she arrived home and her mom was already by the doorway waiting for her with arms folded across the chest and a huge dark expression on her face.

"Where have you been? " Jenny attacked Lia immediately, not even giving her the chance to catch her breath.

"I went for a run " She replied, enough sweat on her body to prove her claim.

"Looking like that? " Her mom raised a questioning brow.

Lia realized at once she was a still a mess even after she changed clothes, she forgot the muddy smears on her face and the rest of her body. No wonder people were staring at her awkwardly on her way home

"Trust me mom, it's a long story "