High Noon - Casey Bond Page 0,1

at the corners when he gave an ornery grin, and how easily he’d offered to shelter me from the plague when he didn’t even know who I was.

The way he pinched his bottom lip when he was thinking or gave his undivided attention whenever I spoke or walked into a room. I thought of his lips and how soft they were compared to the sharpness of his fangs, and the way his hair curled in soft ringlets that looked beautiful at any length.

I remembered the deep, resonating sound of his voice…

Enoch

The sky dimmed as a herd of buffalo quietly and cautiously grazed in the valley below. The behemoths whipped their tails back and forth, swatting flies, lumbering forward as they chewed the plentiful vegetation, completely unaware they were being hunted.

Hotah and I crept closer, crouching low and staying behind and between boulders. Sunset painted the sky in glimmers of orange and gold, purple and blue as strings of wispy clouds glowed in the last rays of the sun. This herd was one of the largest I’d seen in months.

Hotah suddenly tensed beside me as we crouched behind an exposed boulder, emitting a low hum. The sound resonated through the air and vibrated my fingertips through the soil beneath.

There was only one problem. Hotah only hummed like this when something was wrong. I waited for him to stop and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know,” he answered carefully. “Something isn’t right. The wind, maybe?” Shifting his weight, he stared out over the plain. Wind rippled the tall grasses, making them look more like liquid rather than stalks blanketing the land. He glanced to the sky, squinting.

I followed his gaze.

“That… is no bird,” he breathed.

Eve! My heart began to thunder. I had to reach her before she hit. I raced toward the buffalo herd, the tall grasses stinging my thighs as I cut a path through the golden fronds. The buffalo spooked and stampeded north, toward Eve. If she landed in the middle of them, they’d trample her. I leaped over boulders and pushed harder. “Eve!”

She was still too far away and falling impossibly fast. My vision, usually sharp even when I ran, blurred as I strained toward her. “Eve!” I screamed.

“Enoch!” she answered. The panic in her voice propelled me.

I’m coming. I won’t let you hit. I won’t let you die. I. Will. Catch. You.

A scream tore from her lungs.

“I’ve got you!”

As they fled, the buffalo kicked up thick clouds of billowing dust. I hurtled a small stream and pushed harder, bounding over rocks and running headlong into the stretching dust cloud. The buffalo I’d caught up with bolted in every direction. Where I estimated she would land, I skidded to a stop across the earth, holding my arms out to catch her. She braced for impact and so did I.

The collision knocked us both to the ground and for a moment, there was nothing but her warmth in my hands. I raised my head timidly, letting it fall back to the ground when I heard air whooshing in and out of her lungs. Her heart beat was strong. She trembled, but otherwise seemed to be okay. Maybe the force of impact shocked her, or the suddenness of my appearance. I held her tight. Pressing my eyes closed, I inhaled her scent and reveled in the feel of her hair against the back of my hand, concentrating on the telltale sounds that told me she was okay.

I clung to her, thankful she was in my arms, even as guilt surged through my veins. I knew she wanted to be home and was still so far from it. I knew I should feel bad that she didn’t make it back to her time, but couldn’t bring myself to feel anything but grateful she was with me once again.

“Eve?”

She didn’t answer.

“Eve, are you okay?”

Her back and stomach spasmed. I quickly rolled her onto her back, keeping my hand under her head and looking her over to see what was wrong, only to find her smiling – laughing, actually.

I let out the breath I’d been holding. “What’s so funny?”

“You actually caught me,” she answered between giggles. The giggles shifted into tears as she stared up at me with wide eyes. Her lashes clumped together, making a knot tighten in my throat. “I heard your voice and thought I was imagining things,” she cried, pulling me close again and clutching the back of my shirt.

“I’m so happy you fell close enough to me this time,”