Charity Moon Read Online Free PDF

barely had time to register what he was doing, but once I did, I pushed him back and slapped his face as hard as I could.
     
    “What do you think you’re doing, you jerk?” Without thinking it through, I jumped out of the truck and began running through the trees. I could hear him calling after me, a name of which I won’t repeat, before getting in his truck and leaving. I stopped and stood there for a moment trying to decide what to do next. I scrambled through my purse until I felt my cell phone—blast—no signal! I decided to go back to where the truck had been and follow the tracks to the road, if I could even see the tracks. Though the moon was almost full, I could barely see my hand in front of my face.
     
    As I worked my way back through the dark forest, it began to rain. “Great, what else can go wrong?” I mumbled. Then I heard it—a low, menacing growl. It was in front of me and it was close. I stared out into the dark, squinting against the rain, and that’s when I saw them, a pair of yellow, glowing eyes. They were higher than I expected, much higher, and I froze in fear. After a brief moment, I somehow compelled my legs to move and began backing up slowly, turning and bolting in the opposite direction. Whatever it was I wasn’t going to stand there and wait for it to eat me.
     
    The rain pelted me in the face as I ran through the trees. Branches were clawing and scraping, tearing my dress as I passed. I heard something behind me, chasing me, and I ordered my legs to run faster, jumping and dodging trees frantically. I could hear it closing in on me. I could almost feel its hot breath on my back. I took a risk and glanced behind me, but saw nothing. Just as I was about to turn back around, I screamed, falling over an overturned tree and hitting the right side of my head on something hard.
     
    As I lay there, motionless and in pain, I braced myself for the impending attack, but there was nothing. Besides the rain, the forest was quiet and still. I laid there for a moment waiting for my breathing to regulate before trying to move. I moaned as I tried to get up, my arms jello beneath me, but the effort was useless.
     
    I’m not sure how long I lay there, perhaps only minutes, drifting in and out of consciousness, until I was suddenly aware of two arms sliding under me and lifting me effortlessly from the wet forest floor. In that flicker of a moment, I thought about struggling, but the thought left as quickly as it came. And, without further thought of my own safety, I wrapped my arms around the guy’s neck and held on as he began to run. The rain continued to drench us. It was then that I noticed he was shirtless. I was puzzled but not alarmed—I guess I should’ve been, but—I wasn’t. I rested my head on his shoulder and let him carry me off through the dark forest. As crazy as it might sound, my only concern was that I didn’t want him to put me down. Somehow it felt safe—something I haven’t felt since the last time my dad held me in his arms so many years ago. I lifted my head weakly and tried to make out his face, hidden by dark, wet hair. And, as the moon peeked through the trees, the dim light casting a soft glow, I caught a brief glimpse, and then was unnerved as a strangely familiar scent hit me.
     
    “Levi?” I asked groggily. There was no answer. Then my consciousness left me and I slipped away into darkness.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    I moaned in discomfort as the bright sun greeted me. I sat up painfully slow, peeled my eyes open, and sighed, recognizing my all-too-familiar bedroom. I was laying on top of my bed, wrapped in an afghan, my hair still damp and matted against my head. I glanced across the room and spotted my shoes sitting neatly under my chair, along with my purse.
     
    As the memories of the previous evening came flooding back, I groaned, laying my head back down and rubbing my aching temples. Questions ran quickly through my mind. How did I get home? Had last