Stranded [ 12 ]

>The flight carried you to a small house west of the city, shrouded by dense forest and far away from any high traffic areas.
>You still had no idea why you thought like that sometimes, analyzing specific details of your surroundings and all.
>Certain things drew your attention that way.
>It may have something to do with your previous occupation.
>If you really were an assassin or something, as Diana said, you would likely have some sort of background of training and experience.
>Yeah, that made enough sense.
>Jennette and Loka stood in front of you, looking around as if they were expecting someone to appear from the forest around them.
"Is this where we're going to be holding up now?"
>Loka looked at the house and sighed.
>"Yep. Not much to look at, but it's better than not having a place at all "
"Better than being shot at and hunted by police too."
>Jennette started walking towards the cabin, steps crunching through the leaves and dry, earthen ground.
>The house wasn't shabby in the slightest, solidly constructed from brick and stone, and appearing to be well kept.
>It was likely someone's vacation retreat, positioned perfectly within the forest to be "in touch with nature" or something along those lines.
>You were just grateful that your news "friends" had found a place like this, and that Jennette had decided to pick you up on this exact night.
>Otherwise, you'd have been in a rather bad place at a bad time.
>That, combined with recent circumstances and the explanation from Diana, meant that you would either have been dead or arrested by now.
>You decided to thank Jennette and Loka when you had a chance.
>They were already inside though, and you'd soon follow.
>Though the lights that flickered behind the curtains hanging along the few large, wide windows looked inviting, you opted to spend another moment out here.
>The brisk night air, the smell of the forest, the gentle almost-silence that emanated from all around, all of it combined to soothe your nerves and clear your mind.
>You took a breath of the fresh air and savoured the novel feeling of watching the puffs of steam that your exhalations created.
>The cold was getting to you now, though.
>Once that first shiver went through your body, you decided to head inside of the cabin.

>You opened the door and stepped into the place while your body couldn't decide to sweat or shiver due to the sudden contrast of temperature, with the outside bringing the frigid winter wind and the cabin sending out a wave of blazing hot air.
>Past the doorway was a home designed with the word 'rustic' in mind.
>Nearly everything looked like it was taken out of an antique store, as if the majority of it had been constructed many, many years ago, with the obvious marks of being constructed by hand.
>"Hey. Loka's asleep, so try to be quiet."
>You turned to see Jennette bundled up in an old patchwork quilt, but the blanket didn't seem to match the rest of the things on the couch, though said things appeared to be hand-picked to fit some sort of aesthetic.
>Maybe she got it from somewhere else.
"I got it. I might need a bit of sleep, so I'm going to find a place to lay down."
>"Okay. See you in the morning..."
>She looked so tired and worried, though it was obvious that she was trying to hide her feelings.
>You would have to figure some things out tomorrow.
>Like, how exactly you ended up with this woman in the first place.
>And... if there were more creatures like those two in this world.
>Your perspective of everything had changed so much within these past five hours.
>There was much more to everything than you ever thought possible.
>You quietly walked down the hallway to where you believed the bedroom would be.
>The door was heavy as you pushed it, creaking slightly as it swung open.
>Past the door was a solid wall of darkness, so you had to fumble around along the side of the wall to find and flip the light switch.
>The bedroom actually looked quite comfortable, and the bed itself was rather large and covered in blankets and pillows.
>Just looking at it made you want to curl up and fall asleep.
>In a few minutes, you would definitely be doing that.
>You wanted to see something first.
>So you headed outside with a thin blanket wrapped around yourself, and looked to the sky.
>The stars were in clear view, unblocked by the usual ambient light of the city you had been in for so long.
>Those bright points of light seemed to call to you, and the sight of them brought a flash of something from the back of your mind.
>A faint image of you staring at the sky while standing next to someone.
>'You see those?'
>'One day, you're going to be close enough to touch 'em.'
>'You've just got to keep your head up.'
>'The chance'll come.'
>The thought faded as you rapidly blinked your eyes and shook your head a bit.
>That... that was unexpected.
>It must have been a flashback to something from before the accident.
>You took a breath and focused on the memory, but there was nothing else but the sight of that person and those words.
>And those words...
>You looked back up at the sky.
>If you stepped out here in this picturesque silence again, more fragmented memories might come to surface.
>It didn't seem like anything else was there, though.
>Sleep lingered over you like a veil now.
>It was time to get some sleep.
>You quietly walked through the house after being pleasantly surprised to know that the front door did not make a sound upon opening it.
>The thought also made you anxious for some reason as well.
>You promptly collapsed onto the massive bed in the room that those odd women had told you to use.
>It was comfortable, but you weren't awake long enough to process that observation.

>The window blinds did a good job of keeping the room dark enough for you to sleep well into the afternoon.
>You only woke up when you heard voices emanating from down the hall.
>Your head was hurting as you sat up, and an odd empty feeling seemed to linger in your lungs.
>That was a side effect of being shot through the chest like you had been.
>Being an assassin was not a job that appealed to you at this point, so you did not worry too much.
>You uneasily stood up and made your way to the bathroom.
>A quick glance in the mirror showed a man with messy hair and sunken eyes.
>Damn, you needed to get more sleep later.
>After using the bathroom, whose plumbing functioned just fine, much to your relief, you walked to the living room.
>"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
>Jennette's voice came from ahead.
>They were not aware that you were awake.
>You took advantage of this and eavesdropped on their conversation.
>"How else are we going to get home?"
>"I don't know."
>"Exactly. We've gotta work on this before these people find us out here."
>"I don't... okay. Who can help us with this, though? There's no one out there that would agree to give us a hand."
>"We've got your friend sleepin' in there. All we need is the right tech and some resonance to power it, and we've got our way home."
>"Are we just going to leave him here?"
>"They're not the guy you knew before, Jenny. All of that went down the drain when they got shot like that."
>"There might still be a chance though! And... I can't leave him here, alone like that."
>"Guy's got it rough. I know, you've told me. That really ain't our problem."
>You felt a bit of irritation at this, but you could understand.
>They had different problems, and didn't deserve to be caught up in your own issues.
>"He isn't a problem. He can help us get the parts, first off. Secondly-"
>"I already know what you're about to say. It's not worth getting involved like that. It'll only be worse for the both of you when we go home."
>The sound of a loud thud made you jump.
>"I'm not fucking leaving him here!"
>"Jeez, Jenny, chill out."
>"You already know what happened to him. Can't you see that he's completely alone, even in his own world? He said it himself, he's a pariah."
>"He's still a human. And it took me long enough to realize myself that we can't let ourselves fall for them. It's an unchangin' taboo."
>"That doesn't matter. I just want him to be okay, even if he doesn't remember me."
>"That's sweet an' all, but you've got to put us gettin' home over your 'wantin' him to be okay'."
>It was true, though.
>If they lingered here any longer than necessary, they'd risk being caught and locked up, or even getting killed.
>That thought seemed to bother you more than the majority of recent happenings.
>You'd already agreed to help them get home though, wherever 'home' may be for them.
>With that out of the way, you'd be able to focus on your own problems.
>Including your past, the amnesia, and how you were going to get through this situation with the police attention.
>You reassured yourself that everything would turn out fine.
>Now would be a good time to play the eavesdropping off though, as there was a lull in the conversation, and you could likely appear as if you had just woken up and stumbled out to the living room.
>So you did exactly that.
"Good morning."
>You faked being somewhat drowsy, and the facade seemed to work.
>Both Jenette and Loka quickly ceased their discussion and turned to face you.
>Loka was splayed out on the armchair, while Jennette was bundled up within the same quilt she was using before.
>Jennette smiled warmly at you, once again sending a variety of conflicting emotions through your mind.
>She was surprisingly adorable.
>"Good morning. Are you feeling alright after last night?"
"Yeah. Just a bit groggy. It'll pass."
>The anxiety burning a hole in your gut seemed to be faltering and fading, finally.

>One would think, 'Hey, maybe getting woken up in the middle of the night by two assassins, killing them both after seeing your friend get shot, then suddenly being whisked away by two monster people isn't good for your mental health'.
>It was morning though, and a new day brought new chances, each one a clean slate to fashion into anything you had the motivation and strength of will to create.
>You sat down next to Jennette and laid a hand in her head.
>She seemed to reflexively pull away at first, eyes closed and movements frantic.
>Then, she sighed and relaxed.
>If everything was really true about all of this, then you'd try your best to be there for the both of these odd people, because it was strongly apparent that Jennette would do the same for you.
>It seemed to come easy though, as Jennette rested her head on your shoulder with a delicate precision, being very careful with those horns of hers.
>"Is everything okay?"
>You heard her quiet voice, definitely at a much lower volume than it was during the intense discussion with Loka, yet loaded with so much more feeling.
>You simply nodded to answer her question, and continued to run your fingers through her hair.
>Her hair looked like normal, golden blonde hair that you would find on a person, but it was actually almost alike with feathers in texture.
>It was pleasantly soft as well.
>You looked down at her face to see her smiling, but her eyes were reddened, as if tears were ready to fall at any moment.
>So, you did the only thing that came to mind.
>It went against every bit of instinct you had, as most of this morning's events had, due to the unnatural appearance of the woman and her friend.
>But, you wrapped your arms around her and pulled her close, despite your unease.
>Tears began to wet your shirt, and you felt her breathing start to become irregularly paced as sobbing wracked her body.
>"I'm sorry..."
>She repeated this over and over, and you thought she was apologizing for crying all over your chest.
>You then put two and two together.
>She was blaming herself for whatever happened to you.
>What would that even feel like?
>This woman seemed to love you with every ounce of her feeling, and felt as if she was at fault for everything that had happened to you.
>That... that must have been awful.
>Yet your emotions still felt distant, your reactions still only textbook methodologies in your own mind.
>Like consoling Jennette.
>You felt an unsettling lack of empathy for her, and the processes in your mind were just that, a set path of commands to follow without any feeling behind them.
>At least it seemed to accomplish what you intended, as her sobs slowly quieted.
>Loka just stared on and sighed.
>What you were doing flew in the face of everything she had said before.
>That didn't matter though.
>You only held her closer, one hand on her head and the other arm around her back.
>And so you laid back on the couch with Jennette curled up in the blanket and laying across you.