Chapter 3 Untitled

The streetlights outside the gate weren't working. So the area looked too

dark in contrast with where she stood, as outside the party hall was lit up with

security floodlights. She went anyway.

She sighted him where he stood seemingly waiting for transport. Her heart

did a summersault. He was so cute. She imagined spending the rest of the night

with him. In a cuddle.

Lovemaking probably. She didn't mind a one night stand with him. No

one would know except her, and him of course.

The night was far gone, close to 1 a.m and taxis were scarce. No car in

sight. The big building where the party was at, stood at the end of the road and

also bordered a large expanse of undeveloped bush stretching towards some

hills beyond it. Most of the houses on that street were new, uncompleted and

unoccupied.

She walked up to Darsh and put on a woman-of-the-world seductive smile.

The booze working overtime. 'You have to book a ride,' she said to him.

He whipped around to look at her. He seemed shocked

to hear her. She smiled. 'You dropped your wallet, Darsh.'

She handed it to him.

He nodded at her, slipping the wallet into his inner jacket this time. 'Thanks.

You are welcome.' She noticed a golden glow in his eyes. She thought it

was the night light playing tricks. 'You can hardly get a free taxi this time except

when you book one.'

He looked nervous. His narrow handsome face turned away from her as

his eyes scanned the whole area. 'My app isn't working,' he said to her in a

noticeably deeper voice. Deeper than with what he conversed with her at the

party. She felt a slight shiver, recalling his lips on her body.

'I will book one for you,' she offered. 'I have two taxi apps on my phone.

Where are you going?'

'Don't bother,' he said to her. 'And you need to go back to the party.

Go back inside.' She shook her head at him. 'I'm done with the party. The

place is like a local market.' 'It is not safe here,' he said, scanning the area

with his eyes again.

' It almost seems as if you are running away from me.' She came closer to

him. 'I enjoyed the kiss.'

He moved away. 'You are drunk. I don't want to take advantage of you. You

don't know what you are doing. I didn't want to get in trouble with the Flayas.

That is their party. You don't just come in there and bang one of their chicks.

'I'm not drunk. Tipsy, maybe. But I know what I want. Who the hell are the

Flayas by the way?'

He gave her a puzzled look. 'I thought you knew them,'

'No, I don't.' She moved closer to him and gave him another sexy smile.

'But I'm glad I crashed the party. I met you.'

Darsh took some steps backwards. 'You don't want me. Trust me. I'm not

your type. Just go back inside. I must leave now. Nice meeting you. Goodbye.' He

began to walk away.'

'Are you married?' She shouted after him, frustrated at

his rebuff. 'No!

'Engaged?

'No!'

'You have a girlfriend?' 'I don't.'

'Then what?! Why don't you want me? Am I that ugly?!' 'Just go!'

He walked away faster, taking the lonely road, thick brushes on both sides,

leading to the main road further up. Sylvia waited, then followed him. She now

believed the bottle of wine and the brandy she had downed were responsible for this foolishness of hers. She should have used her commonsense and called a

taxi if she must leave the party at that time and stop following a man who clearly

didn't want her. But she kept on chasing him as if unseen rope attached to him

pulled her to him. Something drew her after him.

Darsh moved faster and she tailed him. She had left the party venue far

behind now and had to keep moving. Shadows suddenly moving in the bushes

scared the booze out of her. It was as if some dark forms followed her. Her heart

began to beat hard. She was terrified.

Someone laughed behind her. An eerie mocking laughter. Sylvia stopped.

And the drunk came out of the shadows. His dark clothing had successfully

hidden him in the dark till now. And he wasn't alone. Four sinister looking guys

were with him.

'That's her,' he pointed her out to his party. 'And that's him

over there.' 'What do you want from me?' Sylvia asked him in a

shaky voice.

Respect,' he spat. He no longer looked dead drunk but hardened and evil.

'You and that dog of yours must respect us. We will make you. We Flayas don't

take nonsense from dogs. You are mine. He can't just come and take you.'

Sylvia took some steps backwards and turned to run but what she saw

coming the other way gave her little time to scream or run for her life. She stood

transfixed as two large wild animals that looked like dogs and as big as small

horses, tore out of the bushes. The moon was full so she could see them clearly.

They saw her too and made for her. She saw Darsh chasing after the dogs.

Sylvia turned and started running back towards the Flayas, screaming her head

off, but she fell. Tumbling and clattering on the gravelled road in her heels and

handbag.

She looked back, terrified, expecting the dogs to tear into her any moment,

and then saw Darsh flying at the dogs, his hands out, reaching for the nearest

one's neck to stop it. He let out a loud growl and the dogs stopped on their

tracks, momentarily, few meters from Sylvia.

She could see their fiery eyes and snarling fangs. She realised they

weren't dogs but a wilder animal of that species hardly seen around this part.

They were like wolves.

'We don't have problems with you,' the Flaya drunk guy shouted at the

beasts. 'It is your brother that offended us. It is him we have quarrels with. The girl is ours. We found her.' Darsh moved forward and placed himself between

Sylvia, still sprawled on the ground, and the Flayas.

'It is a fight then,' the drunk said. 'Let's go.' The beasts turned and ran

back into the bushes and Darsh went after them running on all fours like one of

them. The Flayas melted into the darkness. She later saw one or two different

looking animals, big cats, spotted like leopards, running into the bushes too.

Sylvia sat up on the road, grits and sand all over her skin. Shaken to her

bones. She had skinned her knees and had bruises on other places. She tried to

stand up but cried out in pain instead. She had sprained or broken her ankle. She

sat there sobbing. She had lost her purse too. Then she used her commonsense

this time and cried for help. 'Somebody help me!'

She could only hear growls and snarling of wild animals in the bushes. As if

they were fighting. She shouted for help again

Darsh ran out of the bush still on all fours, he stopped and straightened up

and came to her. Sylvia screamed louder.

He squatted beside her, touched her ankle and reached down to carry her.

She wasn't a small woman but he picked her up like nothing. He smelled of

forest and his hair was wild now and he looked more like his grandfather. His

eyes glowed, his hair standing on their roots. She started struggling but her body

was in a vice grip. 'Please let me go. I want to go home.'

He stopped. 'But you have been following me all night like a bitch in heat,'

he growled at her. She noticed his fangs had grown. 'You wanted something

from me. You wanted me.'

'Are you going to eat me?' she asked him. 'Maybe.' He gave a deep

chuckle.

She felt an abnormal calmness. Instead of screaming for help as she was

supposed to, she decided to resign to fate, or reason with him. He could easily

tear her to pieces here. She was dealing with a wild animal in a human form. A

night paranormal creature out to mingle with normal humans. And she got

snared in his charms. She either hung her hope on the brief friendship they

shared at the party or pray hard. She chose to pray instead, because the

perceived friendship might have been a snare.