She slides down the wall next to him, fidgeting with her grocery bags as she does. "I have a roll-top can of Spam. And soft drinks." She smiles apologetically. "The convenience store doesn't have much now. They only carry things that don't spoil."
In the shadows she sees the barest glimpse of his smile. "You're kind to share with me."
"What else would I do? Go home and eat it alone, while you shiver in the dark? We might be the only two people left on this earth, for all it seems."
His pale gaze meets her. The look in his eyes is unfathomable, almost otherworldly. A shiver runs down her spine.
"What is it?" Josette asks. "Why do you look at me so?"
He puts one hand over hers and the can of Spam she is holding, surprising her to silence. A howl pierces the quiet, chilling Josette's blood. "Oh, God," she whispers with dread. There are wolves nearby: their population has increased rapidly with the decline of human civilization.
These are not scruffy forest wolves who hunt rodents and fear humans: these are virile descendants, fearless and set on dominating the abandoned city. They have an intelligence between one another that seems akin to telepathy as they hunt their prey, which is of a human nature.
"We must hide." There is terror in Josette's voice as she meets the stranger's golden gaze. "It sounds like they're coming this way."
He stands: he is much larger than he seemed when crouching against the wall. An aura of energy surrounds him as he looks around, his rags blowing in the wind. Then he looks at her.
For the first time, the light reveals his face. His skin is the palest golden white: his brilliant eyes too are golden. His age is indistinguishable by his lovely face: he is like a marble statue with the apparent likeness of youth but for the faint chiseling of age and weather.
He extends one hand to her and Josette looks at his long, graceful fingers, those of an aristocrat, not of a transient. "Come. We must hurry."
Sent from Amanda's Treo @-'-,--