Copyright 2014 JC Wallace
Welcome my new weekly flash story The Hollow: Soul Seekers. My previous story Diventando: Becoming has been pulled so I can prep it for publication. I will let you know in the future a date of publication.
The possibility of rescue quickened his forward movement.
The whining of the 2-stroke engine grew louder, and Levi prayed it continued
until he located its operator. Another moment in time, running across a
chainsaw-wielding stranger in the thick of the woods, would have brought Levi
an uneasy feeling. At this point, Levi
would have sold his soul – maybe more - for any bit of warmth.
The brown, wood siding of a cabin broke through a
clearing ahead of him. The screaming chainsaw wound down and stopped. Staring
ahead with the goal line in site, Levi plowed through brush and thicket that
threatened to stop him. To be this close and fail was not an option. As he
rounded the front of the cabin, a figure dressed in red halted him in his
tracks. From the darkened edge of the
woods about fifteen yards away, set of eyes assessed Levi. A man in a bright
red parka leaned forward, one bent leg propped up on a log. The chainsaw still
in his hand, a set of safety goggles were pushed up onto the brim of the ball
cap that sat low over his eyes.
The sight of Levi moved the man from his
relaxed state. As he stood upright, Levi could see just how long his legs were.
The speed at which he was covered the distance between them made Levi cringe.
Way too determined. Way too fast. And still, the chainsaw was in his hand. Oh
hell, two minutes ago Levi hadn’t cared if Jack the Ripper had saved him, now
he really fucking cared.
Levi took three nervous steps back as the large man
quickly transversed the space between them. Looking down, he searched for
anything to defend himself – a large limb, a large rock – anything. His only
thought. No one would hear him scream.
Continuing forward, the larger man emerged into the
daylight from beneath the shadows of the thick pine canopy. He was close enough
for Levi to see his face twisted with confusion. The growing panic retreated as
Levi recognized the ball capped man.
“N-Noah?” he managed to chatter out between his teeth.
Yes, Noah Macy from high school, from college. Whoever would have guessed he’d
be so thankful to see him? Especially when he was one of the jocks who’d picked
on him relentlessly. Pretty Boy.
However, the nickname from Noah had never been said with distain or intended as
bullying, at least that was what Levi thought. And as far as Levi knew, he
wasn’t a psychopathic killer. Well, he didn’t look like one at least but, then
again, killers rarely “looked” like murderous monsters so strike that.
Noah’s recognition kicked in and an incredulous look
crossed his face as he surveyed Levi from head to toe. For a moment, Levi’s
heart stopped. What if he Noah took their secluded location to beat Levi down.
“Pretty Boy? I mean, Levi? What the hell? You’re soaking
wet? What are…” The last question stuck in his throat. Noah’s eyebrows raised
in a quizzical manner, his green eyes over-flowing with – concern?
Instinctively, Noah stripped out of his parka, a black t-shirt beneath flowed
around his lean frame, and wrapped it around Levi’s shoulders. The residual
warmth of his body made a small dent in the aching cold inside of him. “What
happened?”
Biting down on his lower lip, Levi pondered his reply. Well, I was falling asleep in Stats and I
thought my head was going to literally explode so I fled to the woods, running
like a possessed maniac and left the trail - which I know you should never do -
but then I felt something – shit, yes - I actually felt something real, an
emotion, then I was hot, so fucking hot, that I jumped into the lake in the
middle of March. So what’s up with you? Yeah, that’s exactly what Levi
should say.
“I f-f-fell into the l-l-ake.” Close enough to the truth.
Noah frowned giving him the standard that-was-dumb-look. Levi
shrugged his shoulders, way past the point of caring about anyone’s opinion. He
was just friggin' cold. Briskly, he rubbed his hands together.
With lightning speed, Noah grabbed Levi’s hands between
his, halting Levi’s action. Levi’s hands all but disappeared inside of Noah’s.
“Don’t rub. I doubt you’ve got frostbite but, if you do, you could damage the
skin, tear it,” Noah advised him.
The comment might have actually halted Levi’s nagging
amputation fears if only he could have felt Noah’s hands touching his. Nope.
Nothing but numbness.
“We have to get you inside and warm you up, get you out
of those wet clothes,” Noah said, surveying the clothes that clung so tight Levi
was sure they had melded to his skin. “You shouldn’t walk just in case your
toes are frostbitten.” He paused assessing the situation. “I’ll carry you.”
Huh?
Levi’s exaggerated frown brought a curl to the side of
Noah’s mouth. Before any form of protest fell from Levi’s lips, Noah scooped
him into his arms effortlessly, climbing up to the porch and pushing them
through the green door of the small cabin. Levi may be small but, damn, he
wasn’t some kind of damsel in distress.
“F-Fuck Noah, p-put me d-down,” Levi said
struggling to free himself from the impressive grip.
Noah chuckled then deposited Levi onto the sofa that set
across from an impressive river rock fireplace. A hand-hewn mantle, about a
foot thick, was covered with more Adirondack style chachkies and memorabilia.
The inside of the cabin was typical Adirondack style - high, beam-exposed
ceilings, knotty pine walls, wide plank flooring, the requisite Adirondack
chairs, wood floors, walls decorated with antique fishing rods, creels, deer
heads and antlers – fishing and hunting stuff were a must - however this was a
higher end Adirondack style with several expensive pieces of furniture crafted
out of limbs and logs from the area. The cabin called to mind memories of his
uncle’s cabin.
Levi pulled his knees to his chest and sunk inside the
large down parka. Searing pain spread through his toes and fingers as if flames
licked at them. A nagging ache crept up his right side and under his arm. He
swore he would never be warm again. At least his teeth had stopped chattering.
“Not sure what I can find here for clothes,” Noah said
the voice startling Levi. Shit, he was waiting for something from the jock that
came from his buddies at school but Noah’s voice faded as if he had moved out
of the room. “I’m sure I can find
something though,” he called out.
Footsteps signaled Noah’s return but Levi kept his head
buried, focusing really hard to block out the screaming pain. The couch cushion
shifted as Noah sat next to him. A hand touched his hair and he flinched.
“Levi?” Noah’s deep voice was soft with an undercurrent
of worry.
Without raising his head, Levi spoke. “My t-toes and
fingers are on f-fire.”
When Noah had failed to reply, Levi raised his head.
Noah nodded with understanding. “As the cold leaves,
they’ll burn, maybe itch but don’t itch,” he cautioned Levi again, pointing a
warning finger at him. “I’m more worried about your core temp right now. Need
to bring it up before you go into shock.” He rubbed the back of his neck,
looking to the floor. “Truthfully, I have no clue how you even made it here in
such great shape.”
The thought had crossed Levi mind as well. “You a b-boy scout or something?”
Noah cocked an amused eyebrow at him then chuckled.
“Yeah. Something like that. I found these,” He motioned to the clothes in his
lap. “They’ll definitely be too big. Belong to the guy who owns this cabin but
they’re warm and dry. You’ll need to take off everything that’s wet.” Noah flashed
a nervous smile.
Everything?
Yeah,
this should not be an issue because they were guys and guys saw each other
naked just like in the locker room. But Levi had always hated the locker room.
Not that he ogled the other guys but Levi imagined it was a lot like a straight
guy in a girl’s locker room. You were going to look and get hard right?
Although he was pretty sure his dick was a frozen Popsicle at this point, Levi
wasn’t taking any chances getting naked in front of a guy, even a straight guy.
Levi reached a tentative hand out from under the coat for the items of
clothing. He had warmed up enough that his teeth had stopped chattering.
“Is there somewhere I can change?”
Noah glanced back at the room where he’d found the
clothes but seemed unsure. Levi cradled the clothes to his chest, wondering why
the hesitation.
“Ummm…why don’t you change here.”
Here! In front of
you?
##
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