Lim Aear

Author's Note: There have been some slight changes to the previous chapters since I have a BETA now... Many thanks to Ivy for her hard work! And also many thanks to my reviewers!

Disclaimer: See Prologue.


Chapter 2


Elaine heard a pair of feet dragging themselves heavily on the sand. She turned around startled and saw a drunk man around 30 in a pair of jeans and a dirty leather jacket approaching her, a sly smile on his face. Her heart jumped in her chest and she looked around panicked for someone to help her.

She was alone.

And shocked. Her legs couldn’t move and her hands were shaking. The man kept coming closer. Snapping out of her trance, she picked up her towel and keys and started running in a fast sprint towards her house.

She never had a chance.

Suddenly a weight from behind threw her on her stomach, making her scream. She managed to turn on her back struggling to keep the man’s hands off.

“Relax baby, it will be over before you know it…” the man said and tried to rip the top of her bikini off her.

Her mind was in disarray. She warned me. Mom warned me. I should not have come here alone at night... She thought frantically and managed to give the man a kick in his ribs. For a few seconds he had doubled over grabbing his ribs, but they were not enough for Elaine to escape.

“HELP!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, before the man slapped her.

“You bitch!!”

She felt the side of her head collide with something hard and then everything went black for a few minutes, a blinding pain rising where she had got hit. Her senses were not working properly and her body did not respond to whatever commands her mind was able to give at such a state. Suddenly, the weight lifted off her and she tried to open her eyes, finding only colorful spots dancing before her. She made out two people fighting, flashes of gold and black, a punch and then her eyes closed of their own will.

She heard voices in the distance and the sound of police somewhere afar. A presence leaned over her and she breathed in a sweet scent, instead of a breath that smelled of alcohol. Cool fingers cupped her face and glided softly over her cheek caressing her, comforting her. Silk tickled her bare shoulder as the person leaned closer and she opened her eyes slowly to find a blurred vision of gold and ocean blue. She blinked a few times and the vision cleared.

She was staring into two silvery-blue eyes that belonged to the most beautiful face she had ever seen: soft lips, pale skin, dark brows and golden hair.

“Ú-gosto, tithener. Pan mae.” A melodic voice escaped his lips and then he was gone, before she even had time to blink.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again she found herself in an ambulance, a male and a female doctor working over her. I must have lost consciousness, she thought. She could not feel pain anymore, only dizziness. Something cold ran through her veins in her left hand and she turned her eyes to see they have injected some medicine into her. A hand touched the side of her head and she closed her eyes as pain filled her.

“Good, she has her senses back John!”

“Finally, I was beginning to worry. Keep her awake.”

Their voices made her open her eyes again and look over at them.

“Does this hurt?” the male doctor asked.

“Yes.” she managed to answer.

More talking, more touching, more pain.

“Try to move your legs.”

She did.

“Good, now your arms, hands and fingers.”

They were working fine, just like her legs.

She noticed they had ice pressed to the side of her head only when its cold touch subsided as they removed it. She closed her eyes. A hand was gently shaking her the moment she did.

“Listen to me sweetie, you cannot sleep,” the female doctor said. “I know your eyes feel heavy and you feel sleepy and dizzy, but you must not sleep for a few hours. You hit your head hard on some rock, but you were lucky to get only a bump. Though, you still have to remain awake, just in case. Ok? If you feel like vomiting, I have a plastic bag here.”

Elaine nodded and turned to her right to see the male doctor putting her towel and keys in another bag, but suddenly stopping when his hands found a shiny object. He held it up to his face, turning it around and examining it carefully, a look of confusion in his face.

“Is this yours?” he asked.

It was a green and golden leaf.

Her throat was dry and sore. She could not explain now. She would give it back to him when she would recover.

“Yes.”

“It’s beautiful… whatever it is.” he told her and smiled. “Do you remember what happened? Who tied up the man who attacked you? He was gone when we reached you.”

She licked her dry lips. Her eyes were suddenly feeling heavier. Her vision had blurred.

“An angel…” she whispered and then everything went black.