Second Chance

chapter 3




Blazing red eyes that radiated pure evil. That was the first thing Ava noticed. It was quickly obvious that this was not a human. Whatever this thing was, it was tall and somewhat shaped like a man. It had blotchy, gray skin and was completely bald. The thing was reed thin, except for a pot belly. Its arms were extremely long with its hands hanging almost to its knees. And a dirty loincloth was the only thing that kept it from being termed totally “naked”. Gross.

While it seemed like she stared at the creature for an eternity, it was probably no more than a second or two. Just long enough for the loathsome thing to appraise her and issue a low, rumbling growl.

Ava didn’t hesitate.

She swung the shovel with all her might and smacked the thing in the head. The creature fell to the ground. Score one for the defenseless, female human.

Her celebration was cut short. While her smack job was good, Mr. Gray didn’t stay down and lurched up off the ground. Once it was standing again, it swayed back and forth. Ava took a bit of pride in the fact that she had hurt it. Or maybe that was a hypnotizing pattern the monster employed before striking a death blow.

Regardless, a hard hit with a sharp shovel had not really phased Mr. Gray. Not wanting to ponder the scenario further, Ava bolted back down the side of the barn toward the back door, thinking that at least she had her shovel as a weapon. Maybe she could get in another lucky hit.

DAMN!

Ava realized she had dropped the shovel, probably from shock, after she bashed Mr. Gray in the head. Oh, well. She had to depend on swiftness of feet at this point.

Running as if her life depended on it, and she was most confident that it did, Ava rounded the back corner of the barn and slammed straight into a hard, muscled male body. Ava involuntarily screamed but it was cut off as a hand came down over her mouth. Thinking Mr. Gray brought a friend to this party, she immediately started punching, kicking and clawing like a wild hellcat.

Keeping one hand over her mouth, her captor wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her tight to his chest. This pinned her arms, stilling her frantic blows. Then he leaned down and whispered to her. “Hush and be still. I’m here to help you.”

Whether it was the calmness of his voice, or the fact that her lifetime supply of adrenaline had been expended, Ava sagged in relief. She nodded to indicate she understood and his arms released her.

She immediately took in the fact this man was very tall. Easily taller than her father’s 6’5” frame. He had light colored hair but she couldn’t tell the exact shade with just the ambient light from the back of the barn. He wore his hair long, with varying lengths that brushed his shoulders. Again, the lighting was not being very cooperative so she couldn’t tell the color of his eyes, but she felt them boring into her. Then the stranger grabbed her hand and softly said, “Follow me.”

Ava blindly followed, never once considering that this man could pose a danger to her. She saw what danger lay behind her and as far as she was concerned, this guy was a safe haven. Besides, there was something about his voice that just caused her to intrinsically trust that he would protect her. The fact he was stacked with solid muscle also helped.

Quickly opening the barn door and leading them inside, her Good Samaritan closed the door behind her and latched it from the inside. He turned to her. “I want you to listen closely and do exactly as I say. Get up into the hayloft and hide near the back.”

Ava looked over at the ladder leading up to the loft. There was no hay up there, just old boxes that attested to the fact she may have a hoarding problem. Not one to argue when her life was in danger, Ava scrambled up the ladder. Then she heard the man say, “Don’t come down until I tell you it is safe”.

The hayloft wasn’t even a real hayloft. It was a platform raised off the main barn floor. The back of the platform was bolted into the barn wall. The front of the platform was held up by two thick wooden beams, evenly spaced apart with the corners also bolted to the barn wall. Its original purpose may have been to hold hay, but again, Ava used it for storing old junk. As a small and modest ranch, she had enough empty horse stalls below to hold all the hay she needed right now.

Once she reached the top of the ladder, Ava moved to the back of the platform and crouched down. She couldn’t see anything from her position. She had no clue where her Knight in Shining Armor was, nor did she have any clue where Mr. Gray might be lurking.

Then she heard the back barn door rattle. She knew it was Mr. Gray trying to get in. Apparently, brains weren’t prized among his species—after all, the front barn door was wide open and the back door was closed from the inside with a latch.

After a few more rattles, Ava thought that the beast might give up. But then she gasped as the entire back door was torn from its hinges. She couldn’t see it happen, but the shrieking metal and splintering wood crashing to the ground told her the story. So whatever Mr. Gray didn’t have in brains, he sure made up for in strength.

For the first time, it occurred to Ava that she should be very, very scared. Up until now, a combination of disbelief and adrenaline had been fueling her survival instincts. But now, she finally had an epiphany that there was some unknown monster with Hulk-like strength that cut through her barn door like it was soft butter.

She was afraid for herself, and she was afraid for her Great American Hero that stood between her and what was probably certain death. Ava’s heart was thumping so hard, she was sure Mr. Gray would be able to hear it. She tried to make herself calm down but it seemed her blood pressure was steadily rising. Hell, she may just die from a heart attack rather than being pulled apart limb by limb.

Ava figured she better come up with a backup plan, just in case the future Mr. Ava Clairmont couldn’t protect her. Okay, so I have some hot, hero worship going on here. Trying to come up with something imaginative, Ave just didn’t have a clue as to what to do. While she was a dreamer, and had a vivid imagination, never in her sanest thoughts did she think creatures like Mr. Gray could exist. She never once imagined she would be trapped in her hayloft—okay, her hoarding room—with a monster, or alien, or mutant governmental experiment gone wrong, trying to hunt her down.

Listening for the tiniest of clues as to what may be happening, Ava heard dragging footsteps below the platform. She knew it was Mr. Gray and could just imagine the way his long arms would sway back and forth as he shuffled into the barn. Where the hell was he going? Was he coming toward the ladder? And where was his Royal Saving Grace?

Ava couldn’t help herself, and yes, she knew...curiosity killed the cat. Still, she eased down onto her stomach and silently inched forward across the platform. When she got about a foot from the edge, she was able to see a portion of the barn floor.

It didn’t take long for Mr. Gray to step into her view. His shoulders were hunched and his head hung forward. He was looking slowly left and right as he dragged his feet down the aisle of the barn. Those molten, red eyes gave Ava the heebie-jeebies. He emitted a steady, low growl as he stalked the area.

Please don’t look up, please don’t look up.

Mr. Gray stopped and sniffed a few times. Then he took in a deep lungful of air through his squashed and lumpy nose, as if scenting his prey. Ava watched as his head turned slowly up toward the platform where she lay.

She felt confident he couldn’t see her as she was covered in darkness, but she wasn’t so sure he couldn’t smell her given the huge whiff he had just taken. She watched as Mr. Gray’s lips pulled back into a feral snarl, revealing a row of jagged black teeth dripping with saliva. His eyes were staring directly where she was lying. Oh shit! Busted.

Mr. Gray took one step toward the ladder and before Ava could even think what to do, her Secret Weapon came hurtling at the creature. Ava watched as her Hero slammed into Mr. Gray and they both went crashing to the barn floor out of Ava’s line of vision. She crawled to the very edge of the platform and looked over.

She saw monster and man tearing at each other with fists and kicks. They appeared evenly matched, which told her that the future Mr. Ava Clairmont had some serious strength. Mr. Gray landed a solid kick to her Hero’s stomach, throwing him backward into the wall of the barn. She heard the wooden walls creak under the strain of the impact and she silently prayed that he was okay. Not appearing any worse for wear, her Hero jumped up and launched himself back at the beast. Their fighting was fast, almost a blur, and she couldn’t tell if there was an upper hand to be had by either one.

Then she saw a flash of silver and realized her unnamed Savior had pulled a blade from somewhere. With a sharp thrust, he nailed Mr. Gray through one of its eyes, and then gave a power kick to its chest, sending the blotchy monster flying backward.

Mr. Gray’s body crashed into one of the platform’s support beams, right below where Ava lay. She heard the wooden beam snap. The platform swayed ever so slightly and she could hear the bolts ripping out of the walls. Then with one lurch it tilted forward, causing Ava to slide toward the edge. Scrabbling to grab onto something to stop her fall, Ava came up with nothing but a handful of dust as she was propelled over the edge, a few of her hoarding treasures sliding after her.

The fall was not overly long, but Ava’s heart still jumped into her throat. It seemed like it took several minutes to make the fall, when in reality she knew gravity worked a lot faster. For a second time that night, she crashed into that muscled body, and she felt those strong arms wrap around her again. Her Hero had gallantly caught her before she could slam into the floor and her lithe frame was flush against his. Ava was breathing hard. Her feet were dangling a good foot off the barn floor and her face was just inches from his.

Despite all of the danger and terror she had just experienced, her first coherent thought was that her Hero had the most amazing eyes she had ever seen. Given her close proximity and the benefit of the overhead lights, she now could see deep, crystal blue eyes framed by dark eyelashes. His hair was a multitude of light colors ranging from pale blond to honey brown. Okay, so she also noticed that his face was sculpted of hard, beautiful angles but with the softest looking lips she had ever seen. Looking back into his eyes, she saw that he was studying her with an intensity that made her cheeks turn pink and her body feel flushed. Oh my! Who knew they made men this hot?

As if sensing her thoughts, her Hero let her slide slowly down his body until her feet landed gracefully on the ground. She almost groaned out loud from the contact and felt a tightening in her groin. Come on Ava! How can you possibly be feeling sexual attraction at a time like this? Her subconscious answered back. Well, duh, because you have an Adonis standing in front of you looking like he wants to eat you for breakfast.

Taking a deep breath and stepping back a bit, Ava looked up at him. “Is that… thing dead?”

Stepping around her and walking toward Mr. Gray, he replied, “Yes. Decapitation or a strike to the brain is the only way to kill the Erchras.”

He removed what she now saw was a jeweled dagger from the creature’s eye. Ava grabbed a chamois rubbing cloth that was hanging from a hook on the wall and tossed it to him. He carefully wiped the dagger down and put it back into a sheath he wore on his left hip.

Speaking of hips, she noticed he wore a pair of black leather pants that looked sinfully soft. The pants weren’t tight but they were perfectly molded to his frame, showcasing well defined thigh muscles. She was sure if she had a look at his back, his ass would be perfectly molded as well. Ava shook her head in an attempt to get her mind out of the gutter. Now what was he saying? Oh yes, he had killed an Erchras.

What the hell was an Erchras? And why was this smoking, hot guy here to help her?

A hot guy that was a complete and utter stranger she just realized.

“Ummmm… my name is Ava. I don’t know if there are words to thank you for killing that…uh… Erchras? But truly, thank you.”

Giving a short nod, he answered, “I’m Carrick Dunne.”

That was it. Just his name. And he didn’t offer anything else. She did notice though that his voice was low and a little gravelly, and oh yeah, sexy as hell. Maybe there was room for Bing to share the number one position as man in her life.

“Oh my God. Bing! I need to find my dog!” Ava took off toward the barn door.

“Relax,” Carrick grabbed her arm as she tried to run by. "He’s safe. I locked him in your tack room earlier. I knew the Erchras were here and figured he would only get himself in trouble.”

His touch on her arm was warm and reassuring. But it sizzled too. She savored it for just a moment before running over to open the tack room door. Bing came barreling out and jumped up on Ava, smothering her with doggie kisses. Ava hugged him hard and buried her head into his neck for a few seconds.

“Seems I owe you a lot of thanks, not just for my life, but for Bing’s as well.”

Ava looked over at him and she could swear he had a guilty look on his face when she said that. Interesting.

“Carrick. There were two more Erchras near the house that I took out.”

Ava’s head swung to the open barn door to see who had spoken, and saw another devastatingly handsome man standing in the doorway. He had the same blond hair and blue eyes as Carrick. He wasn’t quite as tall, maybe just a few inches shorter. Like Carrick, however, he was stacked with muscles and a physique that screamed workouts three times a day. Where were these guys from? She looked back over to Carrick and was betting anything they were related.

Carrick pointed at the other man. “My brother, Kieran.”

Wow this guy was short on words.

“Well, well, well,” Keiran said as he approached Ava. “You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.” Keiran had a mischievous grin as he stepped up to her and wrapped her in a big bear hug, lifting her right off the ground.

“Uh, you’re full of crap as I have no clue who you are,” Ava huffed. “And put me down you big oaf.”

Keiran dropped her from his arms and laughed. “She’s still got spirit, eh, Carrick?”

Carrick had a pained expression on his face and didn’t respond. Ava looked back and forth between the two men.

“Okay, one of you better explain to me what is going on and why you think you know me. I know for a fact I’ve never met either one of you before.” And I would definitely remember meeting Carrick!

“Are you willing to make a wager on that sweet Ava,” Kieran taunted. “Because I’ll bet you a kiss that we do know each other.”

“Leave her alone, Kieran,” Carrick growled. Turning to Ava, he said, “We need to talk. Can we go inside your house?”

Ava crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“I’m not about to let either of you in my home until you explain what you are doing here, why you think you know me and why I’m being attacked by…by… whatever those things are! I’m really starting to freak out a bit here.” Her voice had risen a few notches lending credence to her impending hysteria.

“I will explain all of those things—“ Carrick started but Keiran interrupted.

“Here it is. You are a Princess and sole heir to the throne of Kestevayne. It’s this whole other world that you are from. You have been living here, in Earth’s main dimension for the past four years, with no memory of your prior existence. The Erchras are merely hunting you…to kill you or capture you, we don’t know. But more will continue to come. We,” he pointed at himself, then Carrick, “are here to ensure your safety and return you home.”

Ava’s jaw dropped. Of all the things she thought they would say. She looked in between Keiran and Carrick, trying to judge if they were pulling her chain. Surely they were nut jobs. Definitely nut jobs!

Except, how did she explain the Erchras? Was this a hoax? Was she being Punked? No. She had been up close and personal with Mr. Gray before whacking it with the shovel and that was no hoax. She smelled the unworldly stench coming from it. She saw it take a dagger in one of its blood filled eyes. Her gut told her, this was no joke.

Ava sighed. Even though she thought she may have been slowly tumbling down into madness, she heard herself say, “Come on inside. I could use a drink and then you can tell me your story.”