New Life in a New World Ch. 02

"That's none of your business," he growled, clinching his fists in frustration. He did not like where this conversation was heading. Not only was it brining back tragic memories, but bringing back the anger he felt afterward as well. He kept this suppressed for a reason and if she kept pushing him like this to reveal his past, she would definitely not like what she was going to find. She would probably at that point think that John was worse than Solomon.

"So they were murdered then," she said continuing the interrogation, "How did you feel afterward?"

John clinched his jaw and lowered his eyebrows as he became further enraged. "If I were you, I would drop this right now," he said in a threatening growl.

"Is that why you became a soldier? Was it because you wanted justice? Revenge?"

John tightened the grip on his rifle, his thumb reached up to click off the safety as the anger surged through him. John then realized that Sasha's expression had changed, her eyes grew wide as she realized that she had pushed him too far. God dammit, what was happening to him out here? First Lydia and now this. He did not know if it was the stress and loneliness of being marooned in this world or his struggle to cope with how different this place was, but something was changing him. He put the rifle back on safety as he loosened his grip. John closed his eyes as he got control over himself, burying those feelings and painful memories back down inside of him. He then turned and walked away toward the cave exit.

"John, I'm so sorry," Sasha pleaded apologetically as she went after him.

"Save it!" he shouted back, "I've had enough of this shit."

"What are you doing?" she asked still running after him. He couldn't leave, she did not want him to.

"What I should have been doing all along," John replied back, "Finding my companion and finding a way home."

"You can't leave!"

"Watch me," he grumbled.

As John got closer to the large cave opening, he saw why Sasha did not want him to leave. Just outside the cave a storm had rolled in, the strong wind howling outside as the snow kicked up and blew violently past the cave. The visibility out past the cave was almost next to nothing. John knew it would be incredibly dangerous to go out there, but at this moment he did not care. He kept walking until he reached the large pool near the opening and started making his way over the footbridge. The bridge itself seemed to be part of the cave floor, as if the pool was carved around the bridge. The bridge was incredibly narrow, only about a couple feet wide. There was also a thin layer of ice which certainly did not help things. John slowed down a bit so he could more carefully walk across the bridge, one misstep and he would be taking a plunge into the freezing water. He was almost midway over the bridge when he felt someone grab his arm. He looked back to see Sasha right behind him, her grip on his bicep tightening.

"It's too dangerous," she begged, "You'll die out there."

"I'll manage," John replied confidently. John tried to pull free of her arm, but her grip was too strong due to her strength as a dragon.

"Please don't," Sasha whispered as she tugged back on his arm, trying to pull him back into the cave.

Still frustrated, John again attempted to pull his arm from her grasp. He jerked away with more force, this time he broke free of her grip. However, as soon as he pulled away he heard a loud tearing noise. Sasha's claws were dug into his fleece, tearing his sleeve open when he pulled away. Initially he was pissed about ruining his jacket, but soon he realized he had bigger problems. His sudden movement caused him to lose his footing on the narrow, icy bridge. He tried reaching his arm back to try and balance himself, but it was too late. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as his body leaned further out over the bridge until John found himself staring straight at the icy black water. His feet finally separated themselves from the bridge followed by a brief moment of free falling for the last few feet. The last thing he heard was Sasha screaming out his name as he splashed into the frigid water.

John did not feel the cold initially, he felt pain. The sharp sting, like hundreds of knives stabbing him, flowed through his body. John had to fight against the gasping reflex from the pure shock of the cold water, otherwise he would simply get a mouthful of water and drown. His heart began to race as the adrenaline took over. With very little air in his lungs, John knew that he had to get his head above the surface and fast. However, John was so disoriented that he had no idea which direction he was facing. He had entered the water practically head first, he tumbled head over heels trying to orient himself while his gear pulled him down even further.

He finally managed to catch a glimmer of blue light, marking the surface of the water. But by this time he was already several feet down and sinking like a stone. He tried to start swimming to the surface, but his limbs would not respond. The effects of the cold shock were still taking it's toll on his body. John tried to focus and give his body one command...kick. Just kick, that's all he had to do to survive. Just as the glimmer of light was starting to fade away, he was finally able to command his legs to move. As he continued to kick, he could feel himself pushing upward through the water. His chest burned as his lungs begged for air. He was now able to haphazardly move his arms as he continued to swim toward the surface.

Just as he neared the surface, John heard a small splash and saw a pair of white arms reach down and extend under the surface above. Sasha reached under the water and grabbed hold of the shoulder straps of John's vest. With a quick tug, she pulled him out of the water and back onto the cave floor, like a fisherman pulling a trout into a boat. John was now no longer at risk of drowning, but hypothermia was starting to set in. He could not feel his hands or legs and he was shivering uncontrollably. Sasha seemed to recognize this as well. Helping him to his feet, she draped his arm over her shoulder and helped him to the back of the cave to where the fire place and her bed were. She slipped the rifle sling off of John and set his rifle on the ground next to him.

"Come on John," Sasha said as she sat him down in front of the fireplace, "We need to get you out of these wet clothes."

She was right, John was soaked to the bone and the wet clothing would simply continue to draw precious body heat out of him. John tried to unbuckle his vest, but being barely able to move his arms and with no feeling in his fingers he could only fumble around. Sasha was able to identify the buckles to his vest and unclasped them before slipping the vest over his head. John was able to take off his gloves, kneepads, fleece and t-shirt. But he then had difficulty manipulating the laces on his boots. Sasha quickly walked around and helped get his boots off. John started to reach for his belt but was caught off guard when Sasha scrambled for it first. In a flash she quickly undid his belt and yanked down his pants, sliding them over his ankles. John sat there dumbstruck, either she wanted to get him out of his clothes for his own good, or she had ulterior motives. Either way, he was shivering and too damn cold to dwell on it.

"Those too," she said in a demanding tone as she pointed at his underwear.

John hesitated, he already felt too exposed but he knew from his survival training he needed to get all his wet clothes off. Sasha did not wait for him, she hooked her thumbs under the elastic band and quickly slid his underwear off of him. If he still had any color in his skin, he would be blushing. Looking back up at her, John swore he saw Sasha lick her lips with her serpentine tongue when she looked down at his now naked body. However, her predatory look didn't last long when she realized John was not out of danger yet. With almost no effort at all, the strong dragoness picked up John off the cave floor and helped move his still shivering body to her bed.

Like almost everything else in the cave, most of the bed was carved directly out of the rock. A pair of animal pelts made up a bed sheet and blanket, several large pillows were carefully placed in front the elegantly carved headboard. Pulling back the blanket, Sasha placed John in the bed. To his surprise, it was quite comfortable. It was no Tempur-Pedic, but the thick pelt made it quite soft with just the right amount of give. John laid his head on the pillow when his attention was drawn to the beautiful white dragoness.

Quickly, yet gracefully, Sasha untied the laces to her vest with a light tug. The black vest opened up and slipped off of her, revealing her beautiful large breasts. John's eyes widened as the lovely, feminine dragoness exposed herself to him. He could not help but stare at the perfectly round globes before him, topped with pale, white nipples. Even in his dazed state, John tried to get a hold of himself.

"Wha...Whatareyoudoin," John slurred, still feeling the effects of hypothermia.

"Body-to-body heat transfer will warm you up more quickly," Sasha replied as she shed her skirt, revealing the rest of her athletic thighs and her bare sex. "This is strictly for survival," she tried to reassure him, even though both of them knew she was lying.

Dragoness or not, Sasha had a fantastic body. Slim and shapely, curves that would cause a lesser man to have a heart attack. With the grace of a dancer, the dragoness made her way around the bed and climbed in behind John. Pulling the blanket over them, Sasha wrapped her arm around his chest and pulled him close to her. John felt the heat radiating off her body seep into his skin, warming him.

John's body slowly began to stop shivering as his body temperature became more normal. Feeling returned to his limbs, he was able to wiggle his toes and move his fingers with ease. His eyes became heavy and he started to drift off. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of Sasha nuzzling the back of his neck, just before he fell asleep.

******************************

As night crept over the forest, Lydia remained hidden in the underbrush as she watched the black dragon circle overhead. After she got separated from John, she was making her way around the valley while remaining hidden within the trees. Even though they never discussed where to meet back up, she had hoped John would make his way back to where they entered the valley.

She became increasingly worried when she saw the dragon go after John instead of her. She had evaded a dragon once before, but it was obvious that John had never encountered one in his life. Nevertheless, a part of her was confident that he would be able to evade the creature. However, when she was making her way back, she realized that the dragon had found him. Lydia heard the sound of snapping trees, the roar of the beast, and several loud pops that she knew came from John's weapon. After that, she heard nothing.

Lydia was too deep in the forest to see what was happening, she could only see the dragon fly away. Her heart sank as she began to fear the worst. She promised her father that she would protect him, now she feared that she failed in her task. She rushed through the trees, even though the site of the attack was over a mile away. When she made it halfway there, she then heard the horrific low roar of the dragon again. She hid in the brushes a moment before the dragon passed over her.

Now several hours later, the dragon was still circling the valley, presumably looking for her. Night had fallen, the sky now black but she could still make out the form of the dragon against the stars. Lydia became increasingly worried about John and wanted to continue her own search for him. But she dared not move, not with the dragon still there. Dragons may have good vision during the day, but they had excellent vision at night. She remained in the same spot for the last few hours, face down in the dirt under some ferns. She remained perfectly still, knowing that the slightest movement could draw the dragon's attention straight to her.

However, the dragon's presence now gave her a sense of hope about John. While the dragon would search the entire valley, it seemed to stay around one spot in particular. She could not see exactly where it was, but it was well away from her and in the area where she had heard John shoot at the dragon. This meant that he may still be alive. While she hoped that he was remaining hidden like her, she also feared that he was badly wounded.

She silently wept as more terrible thoughts crossed her mind. She imagined him alone in the dark, bloodied and unable to move. He would be looking up to the sky as the life left his body. The worst part was that she feared he would die thinking that she hated him. As her tears hit the ground, her hand clutched the dirt beneath her as she tried to push those images from her mind.

She couldn't understand what has been happening to her in the last couple days. Ever since she was a young child, she had always been alone. Even though she had formal recognition, many of the other lycans wanted nothing to do with her. As she became old enough to take a mate, none of the male lycans showed any interest in her. In their mind, mating with a half-human was just bad as mating with a full human. Plus even though Lydia was not interested in humans, she was quite certain that no human could ever love her. So she used her emptiness as her strength, focusing solely on becoming one of the best warriors in Wolfdell. Even if she could not be accepted among her people, she would still fight for them. She liked being alone, it made things much simpler for her.

However, all that changed when she met John. He immediately seemed to fill a void in her heart and while he probably would not admit it, she sensed she did the same for him. The two of them were very much alike. Brave but also a little arrogant, fierce but also compassionate. She now understood why John was so hurt by her rejection, they completed each other.

She cursed herself for letting Ulfric get to her. He was a manipulator and knew exactly how to work her. He targeted her blind ambition while at the same time exploiting her fear of deeper rejection. She should have seen through his ploy, yet she still allowed her emotions to be compromised by him. The last thing she told John was that her future did not involve him. But she couldn't be more wrong. Last night, she found out what it felt like to feel complete, to have that one piece missing filled by the love from someone else. Now any future without him was a future she did not want to live. Ever since this afternoon, her heart had been filled with regret for what she said to him. Lydia now swore that if...no when...she found John, she would make things right. She would confess to just how much she needed him.

"Gia, Logi, Vayu, Ageir, and Adonis," Lydia whispered as she closed her eyes in prayer, "Great Gods of all things in this world, please watch over John. Please keep him safe, please bring him back to me."

******************************

John walked down the long hallway of his high school, passing the seemingly endless banks of blue lockers that lined the walls. Hardly a soul was in sight, the last bell of the day rang a long time ago. Most of the teachers had left and the dedicated few who stayed were packing up their papers. As he passed by the office, the receptionist gave him a quick and sad glance as he passed by the window. His head hung low, he felt like shit as he continued to make his way to the front of the school to meet up with Terry.

It had been over two weeks since the attack and people were slowly trying to regain some sense of normalcy. The twenty four hour coverage dwindled as other stories made their way back into the news. The sound of commercial aircraft flying overhead had resumed. People returned to movie theaters and baseball games. Yet while everyone tried to put on a good face, everyone knew that nothing would be normal ever again.

John had given up all hope that his family was still alive. Rescue operations had ceased and the recovery effort had begun. His mother, father and little sister had yet to be dug out of the mass grave of concrete and steel. Terry's parents had tried to help him through this. Whenever he was not staying at Terry's place, one of his parents was saying at John's house. Having someone there with him was an attempt to pull his attention away from the empty rooms in the house. The door to his parent's room was still ajar, the bed freshly made. His sister's room painted in pink, her dolls placed neatly round the room. Memories haunted each room like ghosts, he felt truly alone. He knew that he would not be able to remain in the house for long.

He pushed through the glass doors at the school entrance, greeted by the warmth of the sun. He saw Terry standing at the pickup area. He glanced over at John as he was chatting on his cell phone. Terry quickly finished his conversation before turning to John.

"So Mom is stuck in traffic," Terry sighed while pressing the END button on his cell phone, "She won't be here for at least another half-hour."

"So what the hell are we supposed to do?" John grumbled.

Terry started toward one of the nearby picnic tables, "Don't know about you, but I've gotta study for that stupid test we've got in English class tomorrow". Terry pulled out the copy of Jane Eyre that they had been assigned to read and would be having a test on the next day.

"You haven't read it yet?" John said, raising an eyebrow.

"Some of it," Terry replied, slamming the book on the table. "I can't stand it! Once this assignment is over, I'm burning this damn book."

John was not in the mood to laugh at Terry's frustration. He quietly sat down across from Terry, sulking as he stared directly at the table surface. Terry looked over his book at John. A couple weeks ago, he had been trying to provide his best friend hope that his family was still alive. Now he was just trying to help him mourn. But something was different, there was a bit of frustration in John's attitude today.

"You really should take a few days off from school," Terry said, putting down his book. "You've already been cleared by the school to do so without any penalty."

After it became clear that his family had perished, the school administration gave him the option to let him take a week or two off from school. He took one day off before he decided to come back, he hated simply sitting in his empty house crying. At least school could provide some sort of distraction, but that only worked for so long. He missed homework, his test scores and performance plummeted. His teachers, out of sympathy, allowed him to make up any missed assignments and retake tests by the beginning of the following month. But today, something else bothered John.

"It's not just about my family," John replied in a depressed tone, "I found out today that I'm being placed with my uncle David."

"Are you serious!" Terry replied back, completely shocked and disgusted. John's uncle was probably once a decent person, but he was now a drunk, wife beating, and welfare collecting asshole. The man was completely unqualified to take care of his nephew.

John shrugged, "His name was listed as my legal guardian. I guess my parents never removed him after his wife walked out on him."

"There has got to be someone else. I mean, with his record, no court or government agency could think that you could be placed there."

John looked up at his friend, "Take a stroll down Battery Park and tell me if the government really knows what it's doing."

Just then they heard a disturbance not too far from them that drew their attention. Mixed incoherent and angry shouts, the unmistakable sounds of a fight. Except it wasn't a fight, it was a beat down. Three large, brawny students exited the school who were likely seniors on the varsity football team. Dragged along with them was a smaller, scrawny kid. John and Terry recognized who the unfortunate kid was. His name was Ammar, he was a freshman who took a couple classes with them. John and Terry realized why the kid was getting picked on and it was not because he was a freshman.