Chapter 11: Chapter 11

ANNA

“Ray! ~Ray!~” Tears are burning in my eyes.

~Please, my sweet friend.~

Damitry is on the phone calling for help. He looks frantic.

I rush to Ray’s side. She and Jordan are both unconscious and their blood is everywhere.

~Okay, Anna, get a grip and help your friend. She needs you now. You’re a doctor. You can do this.~

It’s hard to see anything with the rain still pouring down. I move in close to Ray. She is hanging upside down.

~Okay, not good.~

“Ray, I swear if you die on me now, I will bring you back only to kill you myself!” I look at her still body and tears flow down my cheeks.

“Shit!” I rip a piece of my shirt and apply pressure to some of the wounds as I scan her. No bones are obviously broken, and she is not trapped, just hanging from her seat belt.

“Anna,” Ray coughs out.

~She’s awake!~

A smile creeps across my face and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Ray, let me get you out of here.”

I call Damitry, tell him to throw his jacket on the road to protect Ray from the glass, and slowly undo the seatbelt. Damitry gently pulls Ray out and lays her down.

“Jordan?” she asks in a cracked voice.

I nod and rush back to the car, Damitry is at Ray’s side, keeping her calm.

I check Jordan only to find his legs are pinned. We won’t be able to get him out ourselves. I rip off another piece of my shirt and wrap it around his arm where the blood is oozing out. There is blood oozing out from his head as well.

~He’s still unconscious. Not a good sign.~

I am still busy checking on him when I hear the sirens. I stand as two ambulances pull up. The paramedics hurry over to us, and I step aside to give them space.

They load Ray into one ambulance. As I am about to get in she gives me a look. I know exactly what she wants me to do.

“Damitry, you go with Ray. I’ll stay with Jordan.”

He hops into the ambulance and off they go, speeding to the hospital.

I rush over to Jordan’s side. The paramedics got a pulse, and are busy loading him into the second ambulance. I jump in next to him. As the doors close, I see Shané driving off with Damitry’s car.

We rush to the hospital. I’m barely hanging on, and I know I need to be strong. I swallow back tears. Jordan is not looking good. The paramedic is doing everything he can, and I give him a hand.

When we get to the hospital, Dr. Gordon is already waiting for us. As I get out of the ambulance, Dr. Gordon gives me one look and nods like he is assuring me that everything will be okay.

I go inside and find Damitry in the ER waiting room, pacing up and down, running his hands over his face. I stumble over to him. He looks at me and pulls me into him, and I start to sob.

“They’ll be okay, Anna, shh.” He slowly strokes my hair and places a soft kiss on my head.

Dominique, Alex, and Xander meet us at the hospital. Dominique brings us some dry clothes. Ray is doing great, considering she is high on painkillers, so I leave her to sleep. We are all waiting on news of Jordan, who is in surgery.

Dr. Gordon comes out, gives me a delighted smile, and places his hand on my shoulder.

“Your friend is going to be fine. His leg was badly broken, and they had to pin it. With time and PT, it should heal without a problem.

“Aside from that, he has a fractured rib and a few cuts and bruises, but nothing else serious,” he says in a calming voice.

I move in and hug him super hard. He saved my friends, and I will always be grateful. He lets out a little chuckle and hugs me back.

“Thank you, Doctor,” I mumble against his chest and feel the tears building up in my eyes. I hear Dominique’s soft sob and Damitry lets out a breath of relief. I let the good doctor go and make my way to my friends, who are just as relieved as I am.

***

Ray recovers quickly. Jordan spends a couple of days in the hospital, and when he is released, Ray declares he will be staying with us until he fully recovers. I don’t argue.

Damitry helps me to get some of Jordan’s stuff to our apartment. He cares about his friends.

We are heading to the hospital when Damitry clears his throat to get my attention.

“Anna, Jordan asked me to bring him the ring. He’s going to propose to Ray,” he says softly and gives me a gentle smile.

I feel my heart warming up and a huge smile spreads across my face.

“Wow, that’s great news. Ray’s going to be ecstatic.”

We go in and head straight to Jordan’s room where Ray is mothering him, puffing his pillow and tidying up the bedside table. I laugh at her, she’s so cute.

Damitry goes to Jordan’s side, bends down, and slips the ring box into his hands. Jordan looks so nervous. Damitry squeezes his shoulder in reassurance and gives him a proud smile.

Ray doesn’t notice a thing, since she is busy packing his things to take home.

“Ray,” Jordan calls, his voice a bit jumpy.

Ray turns around to face him. He lifts his hand and she walks over to him. He slowly sits up and pulls her to sit on the bed next to him.

“Is everything okay?” Ray scans Jordan’s face, worried.

He flashes her a smile and places a kiss on her forehead.

“Ray, my love, my soul was empty and hollow until I met you. You bring out the best in me. We’ve been through so much and after all this, I realized how short life is.

“Ray, I can’t spend another minute without you. Please, my sweet angel, make me the happiest man on earth and marry me.”

He pulls out the ring and offers it to Ray. She clasps her mouth shut and tears escape her eyes as she starts to nod.

“Yes, yes!”

Jordan smiles and places the ring on her finger. She leaps forward and gives him a hug that turns into a passionate kiss.

I start to laugh at them. Both look up at me, Damitry smiles brightly, and we go over to congratulate them.

After all the excitement, I need some fresh air. Damitry is busy loading Jordan’s stuff and Ray will not leave his side. She can’t seem to stop smiling.

I stand outside and take a deep breath, appreciating the fresh air, and smile.

~I have a great life. I’m so lucky: great friends; awesome, sexy boyfriend; a great job. Life can’t get any better.~

For the first time in a long time I actually appreciate everything I’ve been given. I’ve been taking everything for granted, and that made me sad—but not anymore.

~I’ve learned a hard lesson. I will appreciate life and live it fully.~ I smile at the thought.

I have been standing there for a while when a flash of light catches my attention. It is coming from the alley.

~Normally, in horror movies, people who go into alleys do not come out—but that’s just movies, right?~

My subconscious screams at me as I make my way to the alley. I peek around the corner and see the strangest thing.

There is a huge, bright purple portal on one of the walls.

~Shit. I hope nothing monster-like comes out of it.~

I want to run for the hills, but my feet are frozen to the ground and I can’t seem to make a noise.

A small hairy creature hops out of the portal. It’s so cute, with big ears and big eyes, and looks a lot like a gremlin. After a few seconds, there are four of them.

I can’t understand them, but I want one. It will make a nice cuddle buddy. I let out a soft chuckle, and that causes the gremlins to look over at me.

All of a sudden, they turn into big monsters with sharp teeth.

I turn to make my escape only to get grabbed by one of them. He tosses me over his shoulder, carries me to the one I assume is the leader of the pack, and throws me down on the ground.

“Ouch, you little monster!” I stand and rub my hands clean, straighten my clothes, and turn to face the hideous beasts.

The bright portal is right behind me, and the monsters crowd around me, caging me in. No escape. They growl at me like hungry wolves.

~Shit, I’m going to be gremlin food.~

I let out a loud scream, but it doesn’t do me any good—it only makes them mad. The biggest gremlin lifts his hand and pushes me toward the portal. With one hard shove, I fall back into it.

I let out one last scream for help before falling to the ground. I look up and see the portal closing in front of me.

I try to push my body off the ground only to realize I must have twisted my ankle. I examine it.

~Yup, sprained.~

“Shit.” I look around and take in my surroundings.

I’m in a forest. The sun is barely peeking through the thick branches, little fireflies are lighting up, and there are trees as far as the eye can see, large trees reaching as high as the heavens.

I look down at the ground only to find the most beautiful white wildflowers, patches of grass here and there, and moss growing on some of the tree trunks.

I hear birds singing. It is quiet and peaceful. It’s something out of a fairytale book. I can hear a stream flowing somewhere close to my location.

~Okay, if I’m going to survive this, water is what I need.~

I have no idea where I am and how to get out of here. I fish my phone out of my pocket.

~No service.~

“Of course. Shit,” I spit, helpless. I reach for a stick lying on the ground and grab it. I will use this to lean on, taking the weight off my sprained ankle.

Slowly, I stand up, adjust my grip on the stick, and carefully hobble toward the sound of running water.

I find a stream flowing down the mountain. It’s so beautiful. I slowly bend down, cup some water in my hands, and sip it. It tastes delicious.

I splash some of it on my face, then move to my elbows to wash off the blood from a few scrapes I got in the fall.

I limp to a big tree close by and rest my head against it. To my surprise, I have been very calm and focused this whole time, but as reality begins to set in, panic starts to build up in my stomach.

~I’m lost in a forest. I have no cell phone reception and no way to contact Damitry, who probably is going nuts by now.~

I feel tears in my eyes. It’s getting dark and cold, I’m all alone, my ankle is killing me, and I’m starving. I have no idea where I am or how to get back.

I hear a twig snap behind me. My heart is racing, and my breath is unsteady. I turn my head in the direction of the noise, but can’t see a thing.

I push myself up slowly against the tree. Leaning my weight against it, I hold the stick in my hands like a sword.

~If anything or anyone comes around the tree I will ninja-chop them.~

I hear footsteps.

~Shit, what if it’s a psycho and he decides to have me for dinner?~

I see the figure pass me and I swing my sword in its direction.

With one swift move, he catches it. I look up at the figure who caught my sword. It’s definitely a human being. I try to pull my stick back but he has a tight grip on my sword.

“~Obyasnis!”~ he spits out in anger.

I tilt my head to one side trying to make out what language he speaks.

~“Ya zhdu!”~ His voice is more demanding.

A frown forms on my forehead.

~Okay, slow and steady, Anna.~

“I. Don’t. Speak. Gibberish.” I try to sign with my one free hand.

He lets my sword go and I place it at my side to lean on.

I can feel his eyes on me. I fish my phone out and turn on the flashlight, to give me a bit of light.

Definitely a human, and a sexy one as well. Jet-black hair, icy blue eyes, strong jaw, same height as Damitry. His biceps bulge out from his shirt.

~Very muscular. I bet all the girls go crazy over him.~

He looks at me with an amused smile.

~“Ona sumasshedshaya,”~ he says smiling and walking around the tree to stand in front of me.

“Ugh, this is going to be a long night.” I let my head hang in disappointment.

He throws his head back and bursts out in laughter.

I look up in confusion.

~Did I just say something funny? Why is he laughing at me?~

“Where. Are. We?” I sign again. ~Not doing a great job here.~

He shrugs one shoulder and grins at me.

“Ugh. I just want to slap that grin off your face.” I’m so frustrated, cold, and hungry, and I’m stuck heaven knows where with some sexy idiot who can’t speak English.

He looks at me, frowning.

I adjust the stick to move to the water when he scoops me up. It feels like a jolt of electricity runs through my body, and he stiffens, looking down at me in his arms. I know he feels it too.

“Hey! What the hell?” Ignoring the tingling sensation in my body, I scream and hit him on the chest, but he doesn’t even wince.

He slowly makes his way to the stream and puts me down, smirking at me now.

~Why must he be so damn hot?~

“Why, thanks, asshole,” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes at him.

“Oh, sweet flower, don’t roll your eyes at me,” he says in a low sexy voice.

I snap my head up in his direction, meeting his gaze on me, totally confused.

He starts to laugh at my reaction.

“You speak English?” I ask, frowning at him.

“Well, yes I do,” he says. Amusement fills his eyes.

“Asshole!” I spit, narrowing my eyes at him. “You let me make a fool of myself.”

“On the contrary, I thought it was pretty amusing,” he says, smiling at me.

“Ugh, glad to hear you find me entertaining.” I look down at the stream. I’m so mad right now I could poke him to death with my stick.

He sits down next to me, checking me out. I flash him a death stare but he just chuckles and looks away.

“I’m Roland, and that ‘gibberish’ is Russian,” he says, smiling as he looks in front of him.

I clear my throat and look at him. He turns his gaze to me and flashes me a damn sexy smile.

“You know how this works, right? I tell you my name and you tell me yours.”

~Ugh, he’s such an arrogant bastard.~

“I’m not stupid. My name is Annabeth,” I say, annoyed.

“Nice to meet you.” He holds out his hand to me.

I narrow my eyes at him and look the other way. He just starts to laugh.

“Don’t you have someone else to bother?” I ask. I really wish he would just let me be so I can wallow.

He stands up and walks away into the night.

~Wow, that was easy. But now I’m all alone.~

I rest my head against a huge rock and drift off.

***

I open my eyes only to see that I wasn’t dreaming. My whole body is aching, my ankle is swollen, and my stomach burns with hunger. I reach for the water to moisten my lips.

~Okay, now I need to find my way home, but which way is home?~

I stand up to have a good look around. No trace of a road or people. I start to walk downstream.

~There must be a village or something.~

After walking for what feels like hours, I find a nice spot to sit. I cup up some water and take a sip, cup up some more, and splash it over my face. It feels relaxing. This is a beautiful place.

~I wish I could show Ray. She would love it here.~

I wonder what my friends are doing—I know they must be looking for me—and I wonder what the hell pushed me through the portal.

~I have so much to figure out.~

I stand to make my way downstream again, as I look up my eyes fall upon the most magnificent creature I have ever seen: a huge, golden-brown wolf with black eyes.

It’s as big as a horse and it’s standing on a cliff above me, looking straight at me, growling.

I freeze.

~If there was ever a time I wanted to pee my pants it would be now.~

He jumps down and slowly makes his way toward me, stalking me like I’m his prey.

~Please don’t chew me. Just swallow me whole; maybe someone will someday cut me out of your belly.~

It is so close now I can feel its breath on me—and then I hear something behind me.

~Great, now there are two. They will play tug of war with little me.~

I hear the wolf let out a loud moan and suddenly he sprints off with his tail between his legs.

I look around but can’t see anything. I fall to the ground and let out a breath of relief.

~What the hell?~

I shake my head. My whole body is shaking, and my pulse is all over the place.

~I need to calm down.~

I take a deep long breath of fresh air and let it out slowly, falling back on my back and lying on the ground looking up at the sky.

~I was almost dog food.~