“I think I see it too, over there” Jen said from the passenger seat, as she pointed out the windscreen in to the distance. Lara looked in the direction they were pointing, but she couldn’t see anything in the darkness. Her night vision had disappeared along with her shifter abilities since her panther had hidden itself so deep inside her mind, grief-stricken at the loss of its mate, that she could barely sense the animal.
Seb pulled off the dirt road and stopped the car. Lara watched him walk around to Archer’s side door. He gently took Archer out of the car and placed him over his shoulder, making it look like he weighed nothing at all. Lara joined Jen outside the car and together they all began trekking through the trees and tall grass, towards the faint flicker of yellow in the distance. They walked in complete silence as they continued for what felt like an hour until the trees made way to a large clearing, lit up only by the reflection of the moon.
Lara took in the scene in front of her. The flicker of a fire turned out to be a dying flame in a makeshift campfire in middle of the clearing, but what caught Lara’s attention was the steep cliff on the other side of the camp. They walked closer to the campfire, it looked like someone had left it unattended, possibly for hours. There was no sign of anyone. Maybe this whole thing was just a rumour after all Lara thought, the hope that had begun to well inside her now quickly dissipating. There was nothing surrounding the camp but the empty clearing and the ravine that was lined with enormous rocks before it fell away into a deep gorge.
“Who are you?” A deep voice growled from behind them. It sounded more animal than human but when they all turned to face the direction of the voice, their sights landed on a man. He stood leaning against one of the large rock formations that lined the edge of the cliff, his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest and his blond shoulder length hair, swayed in the wind. He was handsome and uncharacteristically modern for someone who was meant to live in the wild. He wore a black t-shit with a blue flannel shirt opened over the top, dark jeans and brown work boots. He looked like an attractive lumberjack more than someone who had the potential to bring people back from the dead.
“Are you deaf? I said who are you?” The man spoke again, he sounded impatient and frustrated but at least this time he sounded more human than before.
“We’ve been told you can help our friend” Seb stepped forward, Archer still lying limply over his shoulder. Lara froze in fear as she was suddenly faced with the gravity of the situation. She was about to find out if this man could perform a miracle, if he could bring her fated mate back from the dead. She felt her body begin to tremble with anxiety. She closed her eyes and imagined Archer’s hand reaching out to hold hers, just like he had done merely hours before, comforting her and bringing her back from the brink of a panic attack.
“I can’t help anyone, now get lost” The man’s harsh words interrupted her thoughts, making her open her eyes again. She felt as if her stomach turned to concrete as disappointment and devastation made her want to throw up. She watched as the man stood and walked around the side of the large rock before disappearing into what looked like an opening.
“Maybe we should go” Jen said quietly
“Fuck that” Seb snarled and stormed forward, following the stranger. Lara and Jen followed closely behind. As they walked around the side of the rock formations, nearing the edge of the ravine, Lara saw a large concrete door that was pulled closed at the entrance of the biggest rock. It was then that Lara noticed these weren’t just large boulders, the rocks were joined together to form a cave with a door. Seb didn’t stop to admire the rock formation however, he continued to storm ahead, pushing open the large concrete door that the man clearly didn’t bother to lock, as they followed behind.
As Jen and Lara followed behind, they were engulfed in darkness in the makeshift cave and the temperature seemed to drop dramatically. After a few moments, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she could make out a corridor that opened into what looked to be a room. They continued to walk ahead when suddenly a bright light lit up the room at the end of the corridor, dimly lighting the hallway they were in. As they got closer and stepped into the room, she gasped at what she saw. The room looked nothing like she expected, if she hadn’t entered through the side of a rock, she would have thought she’d walked into a studio apartment.
There was a generator by the side wall that allowed electricity into the cave. A large bed sat against one wall with a dark wooden carved bedhead and matching bedsides and lamps. A TV rested on top of a cabinet which was opposite a modern grey two-seater lounge. The man made his way to the lounge where he sat down and reached into a cooler on the floor to pull out a beer. It was all so very…unexpected.
“Get the fuck out of my house” an unimpressed voice came from the man as he opened his twist top beer and took a sip. Even though he seemed annoyed that they had waltzed into his home, he made no attempt to physically remove them.
“I can’t tell what kind of a shifter you are, but I can sense there’s something powerful about you. You need to help our friend. Our Alpha” Seb said politely but Lara could see his jaw clenching and the vein throbbing on the side of his temple in anger.
At that, the man lifted his head up to glare at Seb before picking up the remote that was sitting beside him on the lounge and casually turning on the TV. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ain’t no shifter here. Now get out” The man growled at Seb without even turning a glance at them. The monotone voice of a commentator saying something about a car race, erupted out of the TV, echoing through the hollow cave. It was then that Lara realised this was her chance, her one and only chance to get Archer back, if the rumours were true about this man.
“Please” Lara stepped forward, the man’s green eyes flicked to hers momentarily before returning to look back at the TV “Please. I’m begging you. I’ll give you anything, please just help us get our friend – my mate – back” She pleaded.
The man continued to sit and watch the TV for a few more moments before he sighed, putting his beer on the floor by the lounge and looking up to meet Lara’s gaze.
“You say this man is your Alpha?” the man said as he stood to face them.
“Yes” Seb said instantly.
The man sighed again before leaning back on the armrest of the lounge “There is something you could give me… I need a pack. A crew. An Alpha. I don’t want to go into the reasons, but if you want me to help your friend, that’s what I need”
Well, that’s not what she was expecting.
“I’m sorry, what?” Seb said in shock
“I’m not a shifter but I do have powers and that’s all you need to know. I can’t promise that it will work but I’ll do everything I can to help your friend, your mate”. He flicked his gaze to Lara’s before looking back to Seb “but, I need you to guarantee me a place in your crew.” The man walked over to the bed and motioned for Seb to lie Archer down, which he did, making Lara gasp in horror at how white his face now was.
“Wait a minute. You mean you can’t even tell us if this will work?” Seb was sounding furious as he looked like he was about to pick Archer back up “You say you’re not a shifter, then how do you have any powers at all -?” Seb continued but Lara interrupted
“We’ll do it. You can be a part of the crew” The words escaped Lara’s mouth before her brain could understand what it was, she had just said. The man moved to stand over Archer’s body, and she could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she corrected “If you can get Archer back, you can be a part of our crew”
The man nodded at Lara before turning to look at Seb “My name is Carter by the way. I’m no longer a shifter, but I’m guessing the same people who went after me, went after you”.
Seb crossed his arms over his chest defensively before responding “How do you figure that? and what do you mean you’re no longer a shifter?”
Ignoring the last question, Carter answered “Why else would a rogue wolf, a rogue panther and a broken polar bear bo
nd together to help save the life of a dead lion? You’re clinging to each other for some reason, and there aren’t too many things that can threaten shifters.”
“H..H..How did you know I was a polar bear?” Jen’s soft voice was barely audible over the TV, but Carter clearly had no problem hearing since he replied, “I can see her in your mind, scarcely”. Lara heard Jen gasp but if she had more questions, she kept them to herself.
Carter lifted Archer’s shirt to reveal the gunshot wound in his chest. He leaned closer and inspected the wound “The bullet is still in there” he commented quietly, as if more to himself than anyone in the room. He stood and turned to face them again “There is one thing that I need to be able to bring him back”
“I thought being a part of the crew was the only thing you needed!” Seb yelled as the last word turned into a growl.
“That’s what I need, but this is what he needs” Carter said calmly, as he pointed to Archer’s lifeless body.
“What is it? I’ll do anything” Lara stepped forwarded, pleading with him. A week ago, she was trying to forget about Archer, and here she was willing to do anything just to have him back in her life, alive.
“A life for a life. A soul for a soul” Carter said cryptically.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You want some sort of sacrifice now?” Seb shouted as he took a few steps closer to Carter “Fuck this. Let’s go, this guy’s a joke” he said as he moved to the bed, towards Archer.
Cater put his hand up to stop him “I can’t give him back his soul, without taking one first” He dropped his hand and walked over to the bed, raking his eyes over Archer’s lifeless body.
“It’s energy. Everything within us and surrounding us is made up of energy, but it needs balance. It’s all a perfect balance of give and take. That’s just the rules of nature…of life”. Carter walked towards them again, his eyes flicked to Lara, then Jen and then to Seb before returning to land on Lara once more. He narrowed his eyes and continued to hold her gaze for longer than she felt comfortable with “You. You have a tormented soul. You’ve killed someone, haven’t you?”
Lara gasped in shock and dropped her gaze to the floor, she secretly hoped the ground would crack open and swallow her up so that she wouldn’t have to answer such a confronting question.
“Well, you don’t get far as a rogue shifter with a target on your back without killing people” Seb said, saving her from having to answer. She looked up at Carter to find he still had his eyes trained on her. His eyes seemed to burn into her as he continued to stare for a few more moments before he finally released her gaze and Lara let out a breath that she didn’t know she’d been holding.
“Everyone in this room is a killer” Carter said nonchalantly, walking over to the lounge to pick up his beer from the floor where he left it. Has Carter killed someone too? He casually took a sip “but some can tolerate the burden more than others. Others end up torturing themselves over what could have been, struggling to accept what actually was.” Carter narrowed his eyes at Lara and pointed with his index finger, still holding the beer bottle “You are one of those. You have a tortured soul, I can see it. I can fix it for you, and it will help your mate too. If it works.”
“What do you mean I have a tortured soul?” Lara bravely spoke out, if she was going to allow Carter to fix her soul as he put it, then she’d want to know exactly what was wrong.
“Like I said, it’s all energy. It’s not necessarily good or bad energy, but to get the energy needed to revive your friend, I need to pull the energy from a source and a soul is the biggest energy source available. Most people wouldn’t survive the energy pull, but people with a tortured soul, they’re kind of special. They have more baggage connected to their soul and more baggage means more energy.”
“Wait a minute.” Seb threw his hand up “What is this baggage? Are you trying to tell us Lara has a stage-five clinger of a ghost attached to her soul or something?”
Carter huffed a laugh “Ghost’s aren’t real. It’s just extra energy since –“ he looked to Lara “-she’s enduring an internal conflict between justifying her actions for killing someone and hating herself for what she’s done. I can take that extra energy away and redirect it, reviving your friend. Hopefully.”
“I’ll take the risk –“ Lara began but Seb interrupted
“Lara let’s just think about this for a minute. This weird-ass dude is talking about doing some voodoo shit to your soul. We don’t even know what kind of a shifter he is, let alone if we can trust him!”
“I’m right here. I can hear you” Carter waved around his hand with the beer. Seb ignored him as he continued to look at her.
She turned her gaze from Carter to Seb “I need to do this Seb. If there is even the smallest chance that we can bring him back, if there is a way to save him, then I need to at least try” Without him I’m dead anyway she thought as she turned back to Carter and took a step forward “What do you need me to do?”
Carter put his beer down on the floor and walked over to the bed “Lie down here, next to your mate, so that it’s easy to shift the energy from one to the other”. Lara walked over to the bed, sat down and glanced over at Archer’s peaceful face. She would give anything to see those eyes open, to see his lips curl up into a smile and to hear his voice again. She didn’t know what was about to happen and she didn’t even know what she was about to give up, but whatever it was, it was a risk she was willing to take.
“If this doesn’t work, you don’t get to be a part of the crew” Seb said grumpily, he had moved to stand beside Jen on the wall nearest to the door they had come in through, he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.
Carter ignored him as he walked around the side of the bed until he was standing directly next to Lara “Lie down please. It won’t hurt but it won’t be comfortable either”
Lara laid her head back on the pillow, instinctively, she reached over and ran her fingers over Archer’s cold hand. I’ll see you soon she thought as she saw Carter raise his hands, hovering them over her chest. She closed her eyes as she didn’t want to see what he was doing, she just wanted the whole thing to be over already and wake up from this nightmare.
Suddenly, Lara felt an enormous pulling sensation from her chest, it exploded and stretched out to the rest of her body. She flung her eyes open and they widened at what she saw in front of her. Carter was still standing over her, his hands hovering over her chest, but his eyes… his eyes were glowing a bright green and his pupils were elongated like a reptile. The tugging sensation interrupted her thoughts as it intensified, it was uncomfortable, but not painful. It felt like enormous pressure against her chest, on the verge of imploding from inside of her body. Lara was holding her breath now, she felt like she was suffocating, and the pressure was preventing her from taking a breath and letting oxygen into her lungs. This is it. This is how I die. After surviving being turned into a shifter, kidnapped, tortured and shot, I’m going to die on the bed of a psychotic lizard man. Suddenly, as abruptly as it began, the sensation disappeared, and Lara was left gasping for air as if she’d just run a marathon.
She watched as Carter walked around to Archer’s side of the bed. He seemed to be in a trance-like state, his bright green eyes and bizarre pupils staring intently at Archer’s chest. His eyebrows furrowed as he focused on what he was doing. Lara noticed Seb and Jen had moved to the end of the bed now and watched on, both had similar expressions of concern on their faces as they took in what was happening in front of them. Carter now had his hands hovering over Archer’s chest. She half expected to see smoke billowing out of Carter and into Archer or something similar, to reflect the energy he had mentioned, but there was nothing. Carter’s face was distorted in a pained expression, a bead of sweat trickled down his temple as he focused on his hands, outstretched in front of him. Whatever he was doing obviously took a great deal of effort. He slowly lowered one hand to rest on top of Archer’s bullet wound for a few moments before closin
g his fist and clenching it, after a few more moments, he lifted his hand and opened it. Lara stared in horror at the scene before her. There, in front of her eyes stood Carter with his hand open, and in the centre of his palm was something small and silver. The bullet.
Carter closed his bright green lizard eyes and took a deep breath, when he breathed out and opened his eyes, they were a human green colour once again. He wiped his sweating forehead with the back of his hand and walked back to the bedside table closest to Lara, where he casually dropped the bullet before making his way to the lounge, leaning over to pick up his beer and take a sip.
“So, what now?” Seb said, curiosity in his voice
Carter was watching the TV from where he stood, still drinking his beer, he said “We wait” without taking his eyes off the screen. Lara sat up and watched him as he placed his beer on the floor again and moved to a cupboard that was hidden in the shadows of the cave, he pulled out a large suitcase and placed it on the lounge before walking back to the cupboard and pulling out a pile of clothes before shoving it in the suitcase.
Seb and Jen joined Lara in watching Carter for a few minutes, dumbfounded at what he was doing as he moved around the room, collecting items and clothing and putting them in the suitcase. It was a good distraction for Lara, she didn’t want to look over at Archer, and have what little hope she still held, smashed into little pieces if he didn’t react in any way. Then again, Lara didn’t know if he should be reacting at all yet, it’s not every day someone comes back from the dead.
Just when she heard Seb take a breath to say something, Carter zipped up his suitcase and pulled on a baseball cap before sliding it backwards “Let’s go”.
“I thought you said we should wait!” Seb said through gritted teeth, it was obvious he had grown impatient of Carter’s cryptic and vague replies.
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