A chance meeting

The atmosphere was calm, and silent. The usual birds and insects that filled the air with noise did not echo on this night.

Walking through the secluded area of the woods dimly lit by the half moon, he made sure his movements were as quiet as the air around him.

Grasping at tree trunks for balance he limped further, wincing with every step.

Each time he stepped and put the smallest ammount of weight on his leg, a shot of pain rippled from his ankle all the way to his knee. The laceration was deep, and he urgently needed to tend it.

As he moved forward he spotted a faint light in the distance, his eyes scanned the area around him before turning his gaze back to the light.

Considering that the light may possibly be emitting from a potential shelter, he felt a sudden jolt of energy pulse through his body. He didnt know whether it was adreneline or determination and at this point with his leg in the condition it was, he didnt care.

He staggered on, his leg becoming more unwilling to support his weight. 

After what seemed like an hour, but was hardly a few minutes in reality, he entered the property in which the light was emitting from. Standing at the border between the woods and the building, he knelt down to catch his breath, the momentary rest seemed to partially relieve his stressed limb.

He had been running for hours through the woods. Away.

"Son of a b***h.."

He spoke, still winded from evading his pursuers as he touched his fingers to the wound.

"..s**t."

While the bleeding had decreased, there was still enough to trickle from the cut and onto his fingers.

Looking around in vain for anything that could be of use he closed his eyes and sighed before tearing a piece of his shirt to use as a makeshift bandage.

After tying the final knot, he stood, moving his leg about and admiring his handiwork before placing his foot back down.

Though it still hurt, he knew that he could atleast have better mobility now than before.

Shifting his weight between both legs and figuring that he would be alright for now, he glanced towards the woods behind him.

He was not longer being pursued, he thought.

A dark shadow moved at the opposite side of the woods.

He caught a quick glimpse of it, his eyes narrowing and darting around to catch any further movement.

When nothing more appeared, he brushed it off as his mind playing tricks on him and with a shrug, he made his way towards the building.

He examined the two story structure, its wooden frame had seen better days as parts of it were worn from neglect and weathering.

He took note of the brightly colored flowers hanging from a hook on the porch as he neared it, they were a strange color, a mixture of purple outlined with yellow. 

Shaking his head he reached for the doorknob.

Turning it slowly, he halfway expected it to be locked but, to his surprise it opened with a shrill creak.

Nudging the door a few inches, he looked through the crack and into the house.

It was dim, and the only light he saw was that of a candle sitting on an end table accompanied by another small candle in the next room. And though he couldn't make out what sort of room it was from his position, he reasoned that it may have been a living area or dining room.

Running a stray hand through his dark hair he sighed; he was unsure if he should enter and mentally kicked himself for not reaching it earlier as he may have gotten there when there was still enough light out to see the inside clearer.

F**k it. 

He opened the door and stepped inside, squinting around the room before closing the door behind him.

He walked to the end table where he saw a candle, the same one that he had seen from the door, flickering about. It rested on a finely etched silver saucer. He grasped the saucer and furrowed his brow as his eyes fell to the flame. How odd for a candle, that looked to be lit no more than half an hour ago, to be in a seemingly uninhabited building.

Carrying it into the next room, he realized that he had entered the kitchen.

Utensils were placed neatly and clean as if they had just been tidied a short time ago.

Looking at various items in the room his eyes fell to a long stretched hallway.

His curiosity, he cursed, compelled him to follow it.

Slowly he moved his strong foot forward; it made a soft creak beneath his weight. He hesitated before realizing that there was no need to be silent seeing that there were not any people residing here any longer.

The first door to come within eyeshot was a large wooden door with various etchings and designs on it. He reached his hand out and was just about to open it when the sound of the front door slamming rang through the quiet air.

He wondered if he hadnt closed the door behind him all the way after inviting himself in.

Shaking it off as just a human error, he reached further to the doors handle, his fingertips lightly brushed the brass metal before he was stopped again by a different sound.

The floor behind him creaked, its small sound reverberating through the large hall like a bell in a chapel.

After taking a deep breath he turned towards the noise.

A figure, cloaked in darkness, stood easily 20ft from him.

His eyes scanned the sillouhette, unable to judge whether it was threatening or otherwise.

Before he could decide, the figure lunged forward sending a devastating punch into his chest.

The force knocked him back as he dropped the candle, the saucer clinking against the floor, and though he tried to regain balance, his leg failed him and gave out making it impossible to keep from landing straight on his back with a loud thud.

Before he could get up, the unknown figure jumped onto his chest.

He couldn't see but he felt the coolness of a blade against his throat. 

In a paniced attempt to push the person off of him, he grabbed at their shoulders. The figure quickly broke his grasp and pinned his wrists to ground while pushing a knee into his stomach.

He groaned, the pressure releasing most of the oxygen within his lungs as he grit his teeth.

Looking to the sides for anything that could help him gain the upper hand, he spotted a window behind him, a glint of moonlight peering through the panes.

The figure leaned down slowly into a sliver of light, a grin spread across its lips.

From what he could tell, it was female.

He glared and gathered what little strength he had left to bend his good leg and swiftly bring it upwards. As his knee and the back of the mysterious woman collided, the blade broke free from her grasp and clinked to the ground, sliding a good distance away before she toppled front first over onto the ground.

He turned towards her slumped body beside him and before she could even consider getting back up, he rolled him self on top of her, grabbed her arms, and twisted them behind her back.

"Might I ask just who the hell you are and why you're following me?" His tone was both bitter and curious.

A smirk formed, as a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

"Aww." She chuckled again. "Have you really forgotten me so soon, Casey?"

Casey. She knows his name. It wasnt his real name, but one that he has loathed since he was a child. Casey. The name his childhood friends and even some family members would call him just to get on his nerves. Their shortened, pet name substitute for his actual name; Cassian.

He quickly pushed himself off and away from her before standing.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

She smiled and after standing back up she turned to him.

"Me? Oh nothing much really, just exploring and wandering around. Its a beautiful night, too beautiful to not be out and about, would'nt you agree?" Her tone was taunting but, in no ill manner.

He stepped forward, his eyes never leaving hers as he kept his arms tense at his side.

"'You expect me to believe that you, of all people, just HAPPEN to show up in the same place as me at the same time?"

He glanced around the hall and then back to her and resumed speaking.

"And THIS...this, WHATEVER it is, of all places? Seriously Elle?"

She scoffed as her lip curled into an irritated frown.

"This may come as a shock Cassian, but not everything I do revolves around you. I have my reasons. I came here to check something out, just as I have for the last few nights. It was merely a coincidence that you happened to be here when I was."

His glare faded to an inquisitive look as he released a long exhale, allowing himself to relax his arms.

"And what exactly are your reasons for coming here then? It must be something important for you to be visiting nightly at an hour like this."

She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Here, look."

She motioned towards the door he had seen right before their scuffle. He tightened his jaw and stepped forward in front of the strange door.

"These etchings, Ive seen them in texts that predate long before christ, yet they are said to have only existed afterwards by schollars." She spoke as she ran her hands over the aged symbols. "Theyre written in Aramaic. Ive been trying to decipher them but, I havent had much luck. All I can tell from what little scripts I have is that they describe otherworldy things."