Illuminated Shadows Ch.3

Chapter Three

'My name is Luna, and as of 5 hours ago, I was sent to kill you. Now I am here to protect you.'

I could not get these words out of my head. It was like a whirlwind of information that had just been dumped into my lap. I remember those last words before I lapsed into darkness, but now I am looking at the figure before me. Watching her was an enigma. She seemed so innocent when she slept but dangerous no matter how enchanting she looked in sleep.

I have to get out of here.

I gently shifted in the bed and saw her turn slightly because of my movements. My breathing stopped as her feet moved, and the blanket moved and revealed her hand clenching her gun, clenching her weapon even in her sleep. I almost yelped as the cold wood floors shocked my system. I looked at the woman, her chest still rose and fell from rest, and I stood and tried to walk. My limbs were stiff, and I cursed the pain that trickled down my arm to the tips of my fingers. I gathered what senses I could and looked for my clothes. I didn't see them, I couldn't find them, and after a few seconds of searching, I could care less. I just wanted out. I went to the door, which was locked. I needed a code to get out. I almost screamed in frustration, then I heard her voice, such a lovely voice.

"You need rest. Get back in bed."

She walked toward me with her gun in her hand. I turned to look at her fully then she saw my eyes flick towards her weapon. She was not close to me, actually far from it, but I could feel her presence from here. She stopped, then gently put her weapon to the floor, slowly and softly, and she took another step toward me away from the gun. My mind clicked. She was going to kill me. I ran to the island of the kitchen and grabbed one of the large butcher knives. I saw the look on her face drop into a sad frown. She slowly took a step, then another, and it was when she stood a few feet from me that I realized this was insane.

---

I felt her move on the bed, felt her stand up, and I heard her feet pad on the floor to the door, and the entire time I could not help but have sympathy for this woman. She was trapped, and she knew it, and I feel the same from time to time. She had choice stripped from her, and so did I. She nearly jumped when she heard my voice, and her skin paled at the sight of my gun. I did not want to harm her, so I did something I had never done.

I put my gun down.

I felt she would do something stupid, and drawing a knife on me was not the wisest of things she could have done. I never took my eyes from her deep hazel orbs as I took another step forward. I was calculating, sizing up how to disarm her. Then she slashed at me. I could tell it was frantic, but I had a feeling she would kill me if she had to. Judging by how she held the knife, she seemed to have training. I stepped back, but she was faster than I thought as she came back up and caught my forearm. I grabbed her wrist on the decline and applied pressure to her hands, and she dropped the blade. As metal hit the floor, she switched our hold, brought my arm up, and applied pressure behind my back. She was now weak from her wounds. Then out of nowhere, her fist came at my cheek. It was sheer luck that as I turned to face the woman, I could see her hand flinched away and grazed my cheekbone. She let go of me and lunged for the gun on the floor. Now she held me at gunpoint.

---

My hands trembled, and my arm had gone numb from the pain as I held the gun. My captor, Luna, stood like stone as she saw the gun in my hands. Instead of her slow advance like before, she strode up to me and the outstretched gun. She pressed her body to the barrel of the gun.

"Shoot," she whispered with those emerald eyes digging into my soul. That simple phrase made me pause. Our eyes were still locked, and with hands faster than lightning, she pushed the gun away and held my wrist with one hand. Her other hand caught my other wrist, pinning me. With her body overpowering my own, she forced me backward until I crashed with the nearest solid thing, the island in the kitchen. I knew I was about to develop a bruise on my lower back from the impact, but the pressure to the front of my body had my full attention.

--

She would not drop the damn gun. I forced her back, and my body pressed flush against hers, and I found myself slightly lost in where I was at the moment and what I was doing. It felt pleasant, engaging, and strangely arousing. My cheek was beside hers, and she breathed hard into my ear. I let go of her wrist, and she let it hang limply to her side. I knew her wound was killing her, making her weak, so I tried to alleviate that discomfort. She leaned her head against mine. I heard the first of many sobs. I listened to her ask me why over and over as she relaxed her body against the island. Finally, her grip on the gun ceased, and she placed her head on my shoulder, crying, resting. This was not the crying of a woman who was too emotional to control themselves. It was the tears of a woman that was too exhausted to care about strength or dominance.

I made sure the safety on the gun had not turned off in our scuffle and then put it on the countertop right behind her. Other than those motions, I did not move my hands. I stood there with my body pressed against hers, now pinning her there as support. As her tears ebbed away, I stepped back and motioned her to get back into bed. She did not fight, I thought she was about to, but she thought better of it when her legs wobbled as she tried to walk. She was that weary tired that brought you to your knees. As I settled my guest back into bed, I went to the kitchen and looked at my forearm. Just a scratch already stopped bleeding. I rinsed it with water and bandaged it in less than a minute. When I came back to Kumiko, I had the gun. She looked at me then her eyes grew wide as I sat on the stool and placed the gun in her hand.

"Next time, make sure the safety is off if you think you will pull a trigger," I said softly, clicking the latch on and off in demonstration.

"Why?" she asked, staring at me. That simple word had a strange effect on my body.

"I need you to trust me," I stated as I got up to walk away, then I stopped, "I am here to protect you."

I walked to the sofa and curled onto my side. I could not get the feeling of Kumiko's body pressed against mine, crying into my shoulder, out of my mind. For the first time, I do not think I want to.

Next chapter coming soon.