Chapter 3. The Spooking Woods

“Don’t worry, we ride together.”

James got himself a company. He isn’t just going to ride on horseback alone; quite scared of doing that alone. However, his thoughts are not stable. Many have seen him as a jerk who can’t even talk to a lady or even get a lady to be with him. Strangely, a mysterious lady is offering to ride with him on the same horseback. He didn’t resist but obliged.

***

30 minutes later into the woods.

The horse galloped down the sloppy rocky path. It’s been a rough ride for the past few minutes. James wasn’t steadied on the horseback. He was sitting right after the mysterious lady. Just a while ago, he nearly fell but the mysterious lady caught him. ‘Put your arms around me and hold me firmly,’ she told him.

Never in James’ life has he ever been so close to a lady before. He is a shy type when it comes to ladies. He could admire their beauty from afar but he couldn’t talk to them or boldly admire them. Even in the office, his male colleagues see him as a loser but when it comes to his job, he’s damn good at it.

They finally came to a halt near a bayou as the mysterious lady slowly climbs down the horse. After helping James get off the horse, she led the horse by its rein to an almond tree a few paces away from the bayou.

“What now?” James asked with a concerned look on his face.

“I say we camp here for the night,” she replied glancing at James as she tied the rein of the horse to the almond tree.

 “No, no, no!” James cried out making his way to the mysterious lady. “This isn’t a good idea,” he said.

Casting a wide-eyed gaze on James, she asked in her refined voice, “Do you have another idea besides this?”

“We can head to the roadside, I believe we could get a car to pick us up,” James said with certainty. That’s what Bailey County is known for. They are good at helping strangers especially those stranded on the roadside. Perhaps, this could work for them.

With a surprised gaze on James, the mysterious lady realized James is not aware of where he is. The bad news is that James isn’t in Bailey County anymore. He’s far from home. “You don’t know where you are, do you?” she asked sternly.

“Yes. But we can get to the roadside and find help. Perhaps the cops could…”

“I don’t know where you are from but basically speaking you are nowhere close to home.”

James seems to answer one question correctly. He doesn’t know where he is after all. He’s just somewhere in the woods. He thinks getting to the roadside could do any good. Perhaps they could wave down a car to help them get to the nearest police station. But the breaking news is that James isn’t in Bailey County anymore.

“What does that mean?” James asked with a wide-eyed look filled with curiosity. His voice sounded desperate. The voice of the one seeking answers to mysteries.

“You’re in Northumbria.”

“What in the hell am I doing here?” James sneered. “How in the hell did I get to Northumbria?”

Northumbria is North East England. Perhaps James shouldn’t be worried about what he’s doing in Northumbria. He should be worried about how he got to ancient Northumbria because from the look of things, he has mysteriously traveled back in time.

“We will get to that but right now; we need to rest our heads.”

“I need answers… please…” James spoke in a quivering tone. Things should be made clearer to him. He’s dying of curiosity. If he’s in Northumbria, then he can’t get help from the cops. In ancient Northumbria, cops do not exist.

Making a sigh of relief, the mysterious lady opened her mouth to speak. “I don’t know how you got here but we will get to figure that out with time. One thing I am assuring you is that I will always be by your side.”

This isn’t the answer James was expecting. But the soothing response of the mysterious lady relieved him from worrying too much. She saved his life; at least he can trust her to help him find answers. But something isn’t right. The mysterious lady isn’t a werewolf like James. She’s something else and James could feel it. “What type of creature are you?” he asked with a concerned look on his face.

***

The just risen sun lit the scene with its golden fingers.

“James, wake up.”

James and her new friend spend enough time last night getting to know each other. It was a long conversation and they both enjoyed their time together. James rubs his bleary eyes. The just risen sun ushered in a new day of hope. A day to get closer to finding the answers he seeks.

Standing to his feet, he just recalled his new friend introduced herself last night as a vampire. “Oh no,” he cried out. “Lacey, you are not supposed to be under the sun.” He’s afraid of losing the only one that has promised to help him find answers to how he got to ancient Northumbria.

“I’m fine, nothing will happen to me.” Lacey squeezed out a soft response as she made her way to the horse to lose its rein from the almond tree.

James isn’t convinced by her response. He has seen a lot of movies where vampires go up to flame once they are under the sun. He didn’t want to lose the only source of hope he has now. He made his way to Lacey, “Are you sure you are fine?” he asked.

James Walker feels as if he is living in one of the movies he has watched or even a victim of one of his movies. First, he was bitten by a beastly creature, and a day later, he was healed. Days later, he discovered he has become like the same beastly creature that attacked him. His first transformation during the full moon was agonizing as his bones kept snapping to reposition into his new form as a beastly creature.