Time Less

Time Less part 1

(first draft)

"Again!" I said smiling.

I lay panting and sweaty, totally spent, limbs like jelly in the giddy after effects of the best love making to date. We were finally together. The road to this moment was strange, scary and utterly unbelievable. But I assure you it all happened. In this journey I have learned that love and the path to true love can sometimes be so outside of the norm but it's worth fighting for, in the here and now and across other realms and galaxies. Love is the fabric of time.

6:35 am Saturday Morning

"Ok, I'll see you when you get here, Your Uncle Tyler and I are heading into town to pick up a few things. It has been a long time since we have seen you Celestina. We can't wait." Aunt Rebekah says before hanging up the phone.

I click the end call on my cell and toss my phone in my purse. I'm getting ready to head out to the country for 4 weeks. I just finished my 3rd year in college and it was rough. I need to get away from this city and relax. After stuffing my bag to capacity I lug it down the stairs and toss it in the trunk of my not so new VW convertible. I put the top down and as an afterthought, run back upstairs to get my breakout bag. You never know, I want to be prepared in case there is ever a zombie apocalypse or we go dark. I know what you're thinking, too much Walking Dead. I would still rather be prepared than the one without anything. #Zombiebate

I was on the cross country team in high school and swim team in college, so I was in shape and had endurance. #doublethreat

It's early in the morning, 7 AM to be exact and I have a 16 hour trip ahead of me. I should be pulling up in Aunt Rebekah's driveway right before midnight. I had driven there before but it had been a long while and I was accompanied by friends last time. Schooled out, partied out, studied out, stressed out ... I wanted out of this grind just for a little while. Oh and don't worry, I wasn't running away from a relationship or scandal. I am a pretty normal, happy kind of girl.

I am going to veg out, eat home cooked meals, get some fresh country air and maybe even put on a few pounds. I grinned like a fool as I pulled away from my dorm. Traffic was light. Most people were still sleeping off Friday night's partying. I turned up the radio and sung along as I headed towards the interstate. Around noon I stopped for gas, a quick bite and to stretch. There were plenty of road weary travelers passing through this rest stop. I sat outside in the shady park, turned my face to the sky and enjoyed the sunlight on my skin, the birds chirping, squirrels running from tree to tree and being fed by the children. Yep it was a perfect day.

Getting back in my car. I considered putting the top up but figured I'd wait until early evening since the weather was gorgeous. The asphalt miles disappeared behind me as I got closer to my destination. Afternoon was turning to evening and it looked like there may be a bit of rain up ahead. After a few more miles I turned into a gas station and put the top up. I did not want to chance getting stuck in the rain in the dark trying to pull it up last minute. I treated myself to a Dove ice cream bar from the attached convenience store before restarting my journey and got some beef jerky for protein and a coconut water.

**** further in the chapter****

3:45 am Sunday

I'm awake. I am not sure what woke me. Its pitch black in my room. I look over at the old alarm clock. 3:45 am.

"Ugh, why am I awake?" I groan and pull the covers over my head and squeeze my eyes shut determined to go back to sleep. I am just dozing off again and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Is someone in the room with me? I snatched the covers down and grabbed my phone shining the light all around the room. Nothing.

"Hello?" I whisper into the darkness. Only silence and crickets respond.

"What is wrong with me?" I ask myself aloud. Slightly disgusted but even more tired, I turn off the light, put my cell phone back on the nightstand and the next thing I know, it is morning.

©Venis Nytes

William

William discovered he could shift between forms and now Taluk, his stag form, is able to be trapped in human form at his whim. However, it does not last long, and Taluk fights him vehemently to return back to his own familiar form.

All of the walking and foraging and sparring has made William fast and incredibly strong. He has had nothing but time to learn to assert his mind. But he is lonely. He thinks constantly of his old life. After the initial wonder of the forest and his new life, it became monotonous and wore off about 6 months in. The great merging that the deer queen promised never seemed to happen. William turned to his memories and started guiding his Stag form closer to his old home. Rebekah looked forward to seeing him and had become fond of him, leaving him fruit and nuts and talking to him incessantly. It was the only thing that kept him sane.

He missed his family but as time wore on, he thought of them less and less. Celestina filled his mind, the kiss they shared when they were younger, the first time they jumped in the lake together. And he was so happy to see her when she returned. Her tire had blown out and he was able to walk parallel to her when she decided to walk the rest of the way to her aunt and uncle's home. Something spooked her at the last minute and she ran away.

William had transformed into his human form and appeared in her room for a moment. He just looked at her as she slept but Taluk, his stag, became uncomfortable inside the house so William had to leave quickly. He was comfortable maneuvering around the house as a human but did not think he would be successful as a 7-foot stag trying to navigate the stairs. Taluk and William stood in the yard looking up at the window hoping she would look out, but she did not. So eventually he turned and went back into the forest.

©Venis Nytes