She presses her lips together, frustrated. Fumbling at her throat, she pulls the cloak off, revealing that her clothes are ragged and dirty and she’s all but skin and bones. She spreads the gray material on the ground, and kneels beside it. Using pine needles, bits of twig, and whatever else comes to hand from the forest floor, she spells out, ‘AM EMPATH – AM MUTE – HUNTED – HELP ME’.
Derek’s eyes widen as he looks her over. She looked like death. He watched her create the words with everything that was around them, reading them out loud before turning to look at her. “How can I help you?” he asked, his eyebrow raised. “Do you need me to protect you?”
She sags with relief as she senses his understanding. Another dizzy moment comes and goes before she looks up at him and nods. She feels like she’s been running in circles for so long, trying to find someone in this town who can help her — some way to be safe. She’s not a fighter, but now that she knows what he is … there’s hope in her eyes.