“Move!” The cloaked man whispered harshly, “Hurry!”  he herded her away from the door as he locked it.

“What is…” Shaley began

“Stay right there.” The man hissed, cutting her off. He crouched down, Shaley did the same. He crawled towards a window and peered through the corner, studying the abyss surrounding them. They could still hear the howling outside, though the storm was doing pretty good at drowning it out. He moved back quickly and ushered her towards the hallway. He shoved away part of the ornate rug that lined corridor. He began to run his fingers along the molding until there was an audible click, a section of the floor once covered by the runner began to effortlessly rise, revealing stairs and darkness below.

“After you,” He smirked, sensing her nerves “trust me.” he added.

Shaley cautiously made her way down the stairs, he followed behind her, There were only about 5 stairs, then it felt like dirt. She stopped and waited, unsure what to do. She heard another click, and the darkness closed in. She stood there, heart beating through her chest, frozen with nerves. She turned at the sound of a lighting match and saw that the man had lit a lantern. The light from the flame flicked across his face, illuminating his harsh features.

She stood there silently as he began to study her. It felt like his fierce blue eyes were piercing right through her when he looked her up and down. He had two small scars going through his thick, dark eyebrow. He had strong features, a square jaw, and notably long eyelashes. She  couldn’t see his hair under the hood of his cloak.

“Come on.” He said as he took Shaley’s hand and led her down a narrow corridor.

The light danced along the walls revealing carvings and symbols as they made their way. She could feel a draft through the tunnel, and the air was heavy and damp down here. She looked back towards the entrance and saw nothing but black. She shivered, cold and nervous, wondering where he was taking her. His grip tightened as he felt her tense, she could tell that he uses his hands, they were rough and scratchy. He slowed his pace, just before a split in the path, studying the ground.

“Stay here.” He commanded.

Shaley stayed where he said, as he moved forward into the intersection where you could choose to continue straight, right or left. He went slightly down each directions corridor, and sighed as he came back to her.

“Stay very close to me from here on out.”  He said, taking her hand again. She hesitated, still not fully trusting him. “Come on, we are almost there, I promise.” he squeezed her hand with a smile. He turned around, and as he headed towards the intersection, he pulled her closer into his back.

She did as she was told and kept behind him. She was so close, she could feel his warmth and he smelled of cloves. She was still so drowsy, she couldn’t think straight, she found him so endearing with his stern expression, then the dark smiles. She had to know more about him. She had stopped paying attention when he came to an abrupt halt at a dead end, and she walked right into him.

“Oh! I am so sorry! I should have been paying better attention…I am just so tired…” Shaley began.

“It’s fine,” the man laughed. “I guess I should have specified paying attention as well when I told you to keep close.” he said with a wink.

He ran his fingers along the upper right corner of the dead end, and removed a small part of rock, revealing a switch. He flicked the switch and placed the rock back seamlessly. Silently, a small part of the wall to the right of them began to open.

“Ladies first.” He handed her the lantern, and waved her into the room.

She knelt down on the dirt, and crawled in onto a smooth surface. The room was dingy, but surprisingly large. She couldn’t see much. She stood up and was relieved to find that the ceiling was slightly taller than that of the tunnel. She turned as she heard him coming in behind her, and saw him hit another switch behind another wall panel. He grabbed the lantern from her and blew it out. She heard a click, and lights of all different shapes and sizes illuminated the cave.

She turned around and took it all in. The floors were all covered in a gray, slick paneling. There were shelves carved into the walls to the right of the entrance, stocked with canned food. In front, is a large dining room table with books, tools, pens and pencils strewn about on it. To the left there is a large sectional couch butting up to the rock wall, facing a large television. Past that, there looked to be another entryway carved out of the rocks, but she couldn’t see in. She turned back to the man, who was eyeing her intensely.

“Thank you, for taking me in.”Shaley said hesitantly.

“The tunnels, the caves, everything that you just saw, you have to forget it all when you leave.” his eyes burning holes right through her.

“O..Okay, I promise. I’m sorry for bothering you. It’s just…I’m hurt, and lost. I have no idea where I am or what happened to me. When I saw your cabin, I had to try.” She trailed off, overwhelmed with emotion. Not wanting to let him see her cry, she turned her head.

“I’m Tristan, what should I call you?” He asked, placing his hand gently on her shoulder.

“Shaley.” She offered as she turned to face him, wiping the dampness from under her eyes.

“Shaley,” He said smiling, “beautiful.”

She smiled back as he took off his cloak offering it to her, revealing dark tendrils of hair whose length challenged hers. He was quite a few inches taller than her 5’7″ frame. His muscles bulged from under the form fitting, dark long sleeve shirt he was wearing. He only looked to be a few years older than Shaley, and she had been immediately drawn to him.

As she reached out to accept the coat, his expression grew concerned. 

“Shaley, is this the only place you are hurt?” Tristan exclaimed, grabbing her arm.

“As far as I know, yes.” she said, wincing. “I didn’t really have time to worry about it.”

He rushed her over to the couch, sat her down, and disappeared into the room she had yet to explore. Shaley began to take her leather jacket off, and was struggling with her injured arm, when he came back out. He was carrying a white bag with a red cross on it, and helped her gently remove the jacket. She caught his eyes sweeping across the small of her stomach, and was painfully aware of how exposed she was, a blush started across her freckled cheeks.

As he got to work removing the piece of fabric covering the wound, he was entertained by the amount of freckles she had all over. He was already sitting there connecting the dots in his mind. The thought made him smirk. 

He looked down at his arm then back at hers. His expression became grim as pushed away the thought.

“Coincidence.” He mumbled shaking his head.

“What?” Shaley asked.

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” He stuttered.

“No what?! Am I dying?!” Shaley said panicked.

“Shaley, breathe.” Tristan said gently, “it looks like you just got a pretty good cut. What did you do?” He asked as he began to clean and bandage her wound.

“I…I don’t honestly know.” Shaley sighed, defeated. “I can’t even think how I got here. The last thing I remember is being in my car, but I don’t know where I was going.” her stomach was in knots, she was so confused, and trying to remember just made it worse. The river of tears started to flow,  “I don’t even remember if I have a family, or friends..where I’m from….”she couldn’t stop the trembling of her shoulders.

He finished bandaging her arm, wrapped the cloak around her, pulled her close and let her cry. Then something struck him, there aren’t cars here…there aren’t even roads.

“Shaley…” he started, but thought better of it. “It’s okay, we will figure it out. I understand.” And he truly did understand how she felt.

To Be Continued…