Chapter One

A young woman is walking slowly, and alone. The color of the leaves had finally begun to change, a quick indication it was fall. The woman seemed saddened by something. Her deep blue eyes seemed dull with a solemnest stare. Her long black hair fell freely down her back and over her shoulders. Her high-heel boots made a light clicking noise along the side of the road. A brisk breeze hit her skin, making her shiver and wrap her arms around herself, trying to keep warm.

She wore a long sleeved shirt, the color of black. Her pants were a long, dark blue. She let out a melancholy sigh. She finally stopped and looked up at the sky. Darkness was beginning to fall, since it was around 6:00 p.m. She ran her fingers through her hair as she looked up and down the empty road. After a moment, she continued walking down the road. She got to a field used to keep in cattle; however, there were no cattle. This field was on both side of the woman as she picked up the pace.

She began to look around her, as if someone was following her. Her once saddened expression quickly turned to fear and worry. She suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened as she stared in front of her. A tall, slender man was standing only yards away. He was wearing a long, black, leather coat. He was wearing a mask over the bottom part of his face, revealing his eyes to be a mysterious green. His hair was almost an orange-brown that delicately fell over his eyes. The bangs were held back with a headband that wrapped around his forehead. The woman slowly stepped back. The man only stared at the woman.

“Who are you?” the woman stuttered.

The man remained quiet. The woman swallowed nervously. Her eyes were glassy from the cold wind that blew strongly, blowing her hair back as well. The man’s coat made a slapping noise as it blew in the wind as well. She stepped back when she noticed a gun on the side of his hip, resting in its holster. The woman took another step back. She quickly turned around and began to run. The man quickly chased her. He was a lot faster than the woman, so he was able to catch up to her. She screamed as he grabbed her arm, keeping her from getting away. She tried pull away, but he easily over powered her.
“Someone! Please help me!” she screamed.

“I’m not here to hurt you.” the man said in a calm, soothing voice.

“Then why the hell are you chasing me! Let me go!” she continued to scream.

“I’m only chasing you because you’re running away! Now just listen to me for a minute! I have to get you out of here!”

The woman looked at the man strangely.

“Look, someone is after you and it is my duty to protect you! Now please, come with me.”

“Who’s after me?” she asked confused.

The man quickly turned around.

“Shit! They’re all ready here!”

“What?” the woman asked.

“Quickly!” the man said as he pulled her along over the fence and through the field. They got to a rock where the man hides the woman. He takes out his gun and cocks it.

“Whatever you do, do not move from this spot!” the man said.

He rushed out from the rock and quickly fires his gun. The woman panics as she holds her ears from the loud gun fire.

“Fuck this!” she said as she quickly jumps up and runs for the edge of the dense woods. The man notices from the corner of his eye.

“God damnnit, Rai!”

The man quickly disregards whoever it was he was shooting at and resumes chasing Rai. She runs through the thick brush, moving in and out of trees. She had a hard time seeing now, since it was completely dark. She would get caught by thick thorn bushes, but quickly pull away from it. She was all ready out of breath when she came to a bob wired fence.

After catching her breath for a moment, she climbed over the fence and continued running. She kept looking behind her to see if the guy was chasing her still or if he was catching up. She saw no sign of him. Her pace quickly slowed as she came to a river. She tried to see if there was a way across. It was too cold to swim across, plus the current was too strong.

“Shit!” she yelled.

She quickly ran up the river. All of a sudden, someone jumped in front of her. Rai screamed and fell backwards. She looked up at a man with jet black hair and diamond blue eyes. His teeth were a pearly white and his skin a smooth tan. He smirked at her with an evil stare.

“Who in the hell are you?” Rai asked.

“You can call me Ein, princess.” Said Ein.

“Princess?” she asked in confusion.

Ein was wearing a warrior outfit; all black and light weight. He reached behind his back and pulled out a sword. Rai squealed as he raised the sword above his head, ready to bring it down at any moment. The strange man from before jumped in front of her before he brought the sword down. He had his dagger out and was able to block Ein's attack.

“Ah! Ammon, I see you’re still alive. I figured our last encounter surely would have killed you. How are your wounds?” Ein taunted.

Ammon was struggling to hold back the sword. Rai quickly gets up and tries to run away, but somebody else grabs her. She screams as she tries to get away.

“Rai!” Ammon shouted.

Ammon quickly kicks Ein in the stomach and throws the dagger at the man who held Rai. She screamed as the dagger hit the man in the shoulder. The man threw Rai to the ground. Ammon quickly ran over to her and helped her up.

“I tried to warn you!” Ammon yelled.

Ammon pushed Rai to her running limits. She was about to pass out when they came to a very long water fall.

“Fuck! We have to go back!” Ammon said.

Ammon tries to run back when several more people surrounded them. Ammon quickly pulled Rai close to him, trying to protect her.

“I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere, princess.” Ein said.

Rai still had a confused look. All of a sudden, Ammon jerked Rai over to the edge and with a fateful leap, plummeted down until hitting the pool of water, that lead to rushing rapids. Ammon pulled Rai above water. She gasped for air.

“You okay?” Ammon yelled above the water.

Rai nodded. Ammon struggled against the water, trying to keep both of them above water. The current became too strong. Ammon’s grip on Rai failed against the water. Rai was pulled under. She tried frantically to pull herself back up, but was unable. When she did manage to get above the water, instead of air, she took in water. The river seemed to go on forever, before coming to another waterfall. Before they went over, Ammon was able to grab Rai and hold onto her.

They fell for a long time, before hitting the calm water. Ammon exploded from the water, with Rai in his arms. He slowly made his way to the banking, laying the lifeless Rai on her back. He took off his cloak and began to perform CPR. After a few routines, Rai coughed up water and gasped for air. She began to shiver from the wind. Ammon collapsed on his back, breathing hard and coughing violently. Neither of them moved for a while. Ammon’s black, long sleeved shirt was soaked, as well as his black pants.

“You okay?” Ammon asked in a quiet voice.

Rai nodded. Ammon nodded back.

“My body is completely numb.” Rai said as her teeth chattered.

Ammon slowly sat up. Rai struggled to sit up but managed. Her body ached and seemed as if everything in her body had shattered from the drop. Besides the fact of the pain, the cold seemed to make it worse.

"We need to keep moving." Ammon said as he stood.

He generously held out his hand. Rai looked up at him with a sense of fear and confusion. She hesitated to take his hand but eventually did. Despite the fact he was just in freezing water, his hand was warm to hers. His hand was soft and smooth and gave a strange sense of security to Rai. She no longer felt the fear she had before, instead she felt safe, as if nothing bad had ever happened.

'His hand...what is this strange feeling?' Rai thought to herself.

Ammon slowly let go of Rai's hand, slowly gliding his hand away from hers. He then picked up his cloak and put it around Rai. Rai trembled slightly to his touch. When they both breathed, you could see their breath in the air. Rai was breathing hard, but Ammon was breathing steadily.

"How do you feel?" he asked in a low concerned tone.

"Like I just fell from a waterfall." Rai joked.

Ammon smiled warmly.

"Your humor entertains me." Ammon said as he started to walk. "But now is not the time to be joking. I need to know if anything maybe broken or if there are any injuries I may need to attend to."

"I'm fine." Rai said as she began to follow.

Ammon nodded. They were both quiet for quite a while. Rai was too busy trying to not trip and fall from the thick brush and difficult trails. Ammon seemed to be in his own little world, almost as if he was hypnotized. His blank stare and expression seemed almost like a statues. It was amazing how well he was getting through the area, as if he had all ready taken this trail before. He would glance back every now and then when Rai would make a noise, to make sure she was still behind him.

Finally, Rai fell to her knees, shaking violently.

"I-I can't...I just can't..." Rai started.

Ammon stopped and walked back to her. He slowly knelt down and put his hand to her cheek. Ammon looked her in the eyes. They seemed cloudy, a sure sign of exhaustion. Ammon didn't say anything, but gently stand her up and lifted her in his arms. He could feel her entire body shaking against him. He gave a very concerned look.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Ammon asked.

"I-I didn't want t-to burden you anymore than w-what I have." Rai stuttered.

Ammon frowned.

"You never burdened me." he said in a near whispered.

His expression seemed disturbingly sad, almost devastated. He held her tighter, trying to keep her warm. Rai laid her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beating in a soothing rhythm. Her eyes began to feel heavy. She tried to fight the strong pull of sleep, but she quickly fell asleep.