Chapter 6 : Chased by the Demon

Rayline.

I wanted to say no again, but there was a look in his eyes, something sincere. I nodded reluctantly and he grabbed my wrist, lifting me from Hayden's lap and pulling me into a secluded hallway. I stumbled a little as we walked, and when he stopped, I stood up and crossed my arms.

"Anything you want to talk about..."

"I'm sorry," he said.

There was silence between the two of us as we stood frozen. The last thing I expected from him was an apology, and now I'm really surprised.

"What?" I say and he sighs and looks away.

"I'm sorry, okay?" He pauses, seeing how surprised I am. "I shouldn't have been so rude to you. You were just trying to be nice."

I watched him closely, not sure if he was being honest or not. But something inside of me told me that he was being honest, and I nodded my head.

"It's okay." I looked down and played with my fingers. "I've been a bit nosy." I looked back up. There was a small smile on his face, and his eyes sparkled with a hint of yellow. And just like that, I couldn't tear myself away from him, as if hypnotized by his gaze. I'm not sure if it was because he admitted his mistake and apologized, but maybe I misjudged him. Maybe all the rumors about him had affected me and I couldn't see that he could be a really good person.

As the silence continued, I felt the intensity grow, and I didn't even realize how close I was to him. Our faces were only inches apart, and I felt the warmth of his breath brush against my cheek. His gaze moved down to my lips and back up to my eyes, the color of his eyes turning a shade of pink, and the distance between us grew smaller and smaller.

But just as the distance was about to close, his body stiffened. I raised my head to look at him, but he was no longer looking at me. Instead, he was looking behind me.

I looked back and saw that a young man with jet-black hair was standing at the end of the hallway. He wasn't very tall, but he looked fit, and the intense look he gave both of us made my skin crawl. When I turned around, there was a hazel light in his eyes.

"I have to go," he said, his voice sounding like a whisper, and I put a hand on his arm.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Um..." He paused, looking down. "Yeah, I should go." He backed away from me and started down the hallway as I stood there. But before he was out of reach, he turned back. "Go get some water and find Taylor, okay?"

I just nodded silently before he turned again and headed out the door. I kept shifting my weight around, biting my lip nervously.

"Ugh, I think he's gonna hate me," I muttered as I walked quickly to the front of the house.

I walked down the front driveway of the house, ignoring the strange looks people gave me as I searched for where he might have gone. There didn't seem to be many places he could have gone; after all, it was the only way. I tried combing through groups of people to see if he might be in one of them, but to no avail.

Just as I was about to give up, I recognized the dark-skinned man who was in the library and at the end of the corridor. He took a quick look at the people before walking into the forest. Why was he going there? I waited a while before I approached the thicket. It was very dark, but I could make out the faint outline of a path.

"Maybe Cole went this way," I thought. And even though my mind gave me a thousand reasons to turn back, I stepped into the forest.

I walked quite a distance, almost spraining my ankle on roots and holes as I tried to look for him, or even the young man I saw. But at this point, I could barely see ahead of me, and my feet were starting to hurt. There was nothing but trees and darkness, not even the slightest sign that anyone had passed through this place. Maybe that person had gotten off the trail, or maybe I was lost.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," I muttered to myself and turned back the way I came.

But as I took another step, I heard a faint sound that sounded like people arguing. I turned and followed the sound until I reached the edge of a small gap. As I peered through the trees, I could see him, along with the man who had been following him.

"He wants to talk to you," the dark-haired man said.

"I told you I want nothing to do with him," Cole replied.

"What? Are you in love with a human now?"

"Human?" I muttered under my breath.

"No." He glared at him. "I just want things to work the way they should."

"You know they can't." Cole gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "Leave me alone."

"Watch your mouth when you talk to me." The man took a step toward him.

"I'm not afraid of you, Jesse." I continued to listen to the conversation, doing my best to hide behind a large tree.

"Oh yeah?" In an instant, he was pushed backward until his back was pinned against the side of a tree. Jesse pressed his arm tightly against his chest, making him struggle against his grip. "Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be."

He raised his other hand and it began to change, turning into a large claw that looked like it belonged to an animal or beast, and my eyes widened at what I saw.

"What the hell?!” the words flew out of my mouth, and before I could even close my mouth, the man's eyes darted towards me. I froze, hiding behind a tree, hoping they couldn't see me.

"Is someone following you?" the man named Jesse asked as he raised an eyebrow, and I peeked out from behind to see that they were still there.

"N-no," Cole stuttered, but then I saw his eyes glow a bright hazel. "Then why are you scared?" Jesse asks and Cole's body stiffens.

I hid behind a log and waited patiently for an answer, trying to control my breathing, but all I heard was silence. I started to get nervous and stuck my head out again, but this time none of them were there. A wave of panic washed over me and I took a few steps back, knowing that my best option now was to turn back. But as I backed away, I heard a low growl.

I fell silent and looked around helplessly in the dark forest, trying to find the source of the sound. But as I continued to retreat, I felt a warm breath on my shoulder, and I turned my head to see a monster... a winged beast... a creature with sharp claws, horns, and bared fangs... a demon, its eyes glowing blood red as it leaned forward.

I gasped and immediately jumped away, but tripped over a large root that looked at me curiously, as if watching me.

But as it got closer, it began to growl again, and my body began to shake with fear.

I slid back as best I could, trying to stay out of reach of its fangs. But I saw its claws dig into the ground, and then it began to attack, charging at me with inhuman speed. I raised my hands as I screamed. But just as the claws were about to sink into my body, the demon was hit, pinning it to the ground as it thrashed and roared. I managed to sit up and look at Cole, who was trying to hold it down as the demon tried to bite and slash at him, and at that moment, his eyes looked at me.

"Run!" There was another spark of excitement, and without hesitation, I stood up.

But as I tried to run, I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I must have hurt it when I fell. Just as I started to see the lights on the street, I tripped over something that felt like a boulder and hit my head on something hard, making me scream in pain. I put my hand to my head to find a spot of blood. I heard a growling sound getting louder and I panicked, trying my best to sit up, but my vision was getting blurry.

"Oh shit," I muttered and tried to get up, but it was no use as the pain throbbed with every movement and my body fell to the ground, darkness creeping into the corners of my vision until everything went black.