The boy was confused.<br/><br/>He could feel the soft lips of his rescuer against his knuckles, and he had a sudden urge to snatch his hand away. He didn't, mind you, as he still had no real idea of what was going on. But stil... there was something odd about the gesture and the teen didn't know if he'd appreciated it or not. Maybe once he had a clearer idea of what was actually happening, he'd feel different. And voice that seemed to slip out of the being was as smooth as silk and dark as velvet. A voice like that, the boy had never heard before.<br/><br/>Giving his head a shake, the teen didn't even have a chance to relax. He heard the clamouring footsteps of the two thugs and he shrunk back against his saviour, though inside he cursed himself for acting like a baby. He couldn't help it though. Those were the two men that killed his mother -- she was dead now because of them. His stomach churned sickeningly and the boy's world tipped to the right. He stumbled down onto his knees, pressing his hands against his eyes, as though he was waiting to hear the second round of gunshots and didn't want to see the outcome.<br/><br/>He waited.<br/><br/>But no gunshots split the air. Just that odd, melodious voice of the being that saved him, and then the thugs began to walk awas as though they had completely forgotten why they'd been chasing the boy in the first place.<br/><br/>"How did you --<em>who</em>are you-- Where did you..." The boy kept trying to get the questions out, but full sentences seemed to be beyond his ken at the moment. He was breathing hard and the edges of his vision were going grey. All the color drained from his face and the boy slumped over.<br/><br/>The afternoon, so far, had been too much for him  and he slipped into a faint.<br/><br/>Maybe when he awoke, he'd be out of this terrible nightmare...