Six

Impossible. She thought with a slight shake of her head in disbelief that he was the one here.

She gulped, thrusting out her tongue to moisten her swollen and wounded lips-they stung and she suppressed a shudder as she managed to rise to her feet. Why wasn't she healing? His bottle-green eyes held concern in them as he occasionally parted and connected his lips that were gracefully seated above a Greek nose.

I thought I saw him die. She thought.

Her throat dried up like a desert and she pushed down a ball of saliva that hurt the walls of her parched throat, and she disconnected her lips to say, "Darcy?"

"My-my name is Duncan." He stammered, confusion laced in his voice. "What is yours?"

"Erin." It came out like a whisper and her insides churned. The world did a three-sixty and so did Duncan. She placed her palm on the tree for support as her vision clouded and her knees buckled. Unexpectedly, her legs gave up and she fell into complete darkness.

****

Erin snapped her eyes open in t