“So the Reapers can move through this?” I asked, running my fingers across it.
Silas nodded.
“But we can't go back?”
Silas visibly swallowed. “No...now we either keep walking forward or get picked up by a rescue team.”
“Or Ulvic,” I growled, balling my fists as I moved cautiously forward. If I asked more questions, I knew I wasn't going to like the answers. And my fists were hungering for Silas's face right about then. Even if it wasn't directly his fault. There was plenty of blame I could have placed on him for our situation. Kidnapping Cass, for one. Running a controversial organisation that Alfric Hund had wanted to sabotage, for two.
A cracking of twigs caught my ear not too far in the distance. Footsteps. Several sets.
I halted, planting a hand on Silas's shoulder to stop him. “What is it?” he asked, but I hushed him, shutting my eyes to listen.
Training my senses on the sound, I picked out voices. “-the institute and Mr Madigan will be furious.”
“If he even made it off the ship,” a female voice answered, her tone fearful.
“What is it?” Silas's voice rang in my ear.
I blinked out of my focused state. “Survivors.”
His brows raised. “Which way?”
I pointed and we picked up our pace to a jog, heading in that direction. Perhaps one of them had a radio, or a phone, or a damn satellite strapped to their back. Or at the very least they might have some weapons with them.
Silas kept half a step behind me as I led the way, the forest seeming to close in around us. The rustling of leaves filled the air and my instincts cautioned me to slow my pace.
“What's wrong?” Silas demanded, looking anxious to keep going.
I shook my head, listening. The leaves were rustling, but there was no wind. All around us the trees seemed to press in. Bushes and branches tickled my shoulders, my shins.
“Something's wrong,” I said under my breath.
A male scream rang out up ahead and Silas took off before I could stop him, tearing through the trees. I flew after him, pushing foliage aside as it pressed in on all sides.
I lost sight of Silas as he slipped through a gap in the trees. I stumbled to a halt as the gap between them closed entirely, shaking my head to try and dislodge the vision.
That's not possible.
I forced my way around the trees through dense foliage, then walked on at a brisk pace, finding a way forward that was slightly more open. I felt like I was in a maze, moving through the only path allowed to me by the forest.
Pausing, I tried to step through the thick bushes to my left, pushing some of the leaves aside. It was tough and so thick, I could barely step into it before I was forced to turn back.
My breathing quickened.
I picked up my pace, calling, “Silas?!”
“Jameson!” his voice came in reply from somewhere up ahead. “Over here!”
Another scream followed. Female this time.
I spun around in circles in a small clearing. Two paths forked away from me. “Silas? Where are you?”
“This way!” his voice sounded further off this time, but it led me down the left path. I started jogging, the ground beneath my feet damp and soft, swallowing the sound of my footfalls.
A shadow rounded the corner ahead of me and I braced myself as it collided with me. A girl with strawberry blonde locks clung to me, looking fearful. Her nails tore into my arms as she gripped me, forcing me to take a step back. “Go back,” she demanded. “The other way. Go!”
Her arms were marked with strange, swirling bruises. I didn't have much time to examine them as she started running, urging me to follow. I fled after her, throwing a cursory glance over my shoulder, trying to understand what we were running from. I felt like a rat in a maze. Even more so as we arrived back in the clearing I'd just departed. Only now the way forward had changed to a single path heading directly ahead. The girl veered sharply down the path and I followed, finding ourselves in a tunnel of bending tree boughs. Vines hung from them, dangling above us, stroking my skin as I sped under them.
The underbrush was swaying either side of us and before I could figure out what was happening, the girl ahead of me screamed, slamming into the ground. Vines were wrapped around her ankles, dragging her sideways into the bushes. She cried out, reaching for me and I threw myself to the floor, gripping her arms. She was sucked backwards with inhuman strength. I was pulled after her sharply as if some impossibly strong thing had a hold of her. My eyes locked with her hazelnut gaze, full of terror. A horrible grinding noise followed and she screamed to high heaven. I knelt up, tugging back, hugging her torso to me, grunting with the effort it took to keep a hold of her.
“Don't let go!” she begged, sobbing and wailing.
My heart thundered in my ears. Fear stretched through me.
I was being pulled in too. She was up to her waist in the bushes, her nails sinking into my shoulders, clawing at my shirt.
She began to slip through my grip. I held on for as long as I could, but her body slipped away until I was only clinging to her arms. As her head disappeared into the bushes, a crunching noise silenced her screams. Her hold on me ceased.
I gazed on in horror, scrambling backwards away from the bush. Her hands reached toward me, but finally fell limp, twitching once in death.
A ticklish feeling ran around my wrist and I glanced down, finding a vine curling around it. I sprang to my feet, yanking myself free before it got a good grip. But all around me, the forest seemed to be descending, vines moving like vipers in my direction from the trees above and the bushes below.
I swore, charging forward, jumping over the reaching vines, dodging the whip and grab of their pointed ends. Sunlight filtered down on me as I breached the trees, following the path between more bushes, running faster than I ever had in my life.
A man almost collided with me, but neither of us stopped moving. We ran side by side. He wore a mask which was half torn from his face. Siren.
He kept pace with me well, his Immortal strength as pure as mine. He shot glances at me, his eyes wary as we sped on. We dropped down a steep hill until the bushes rose high above us. It was thick with darkness as we moved, having to slow our pace as we progressed. There wasn't much light for my wolf senses to pick up and I didn't want to trip.
A vine shot out from our right and the Siren took hold of my shoulders, shoving me toward it. It snared my arm, yanking me forward. “Bastard!” I shouted as he charged off into the darkness. I fell onto my back, dragged sharply sideways whilst more vines took hold of my ankles.
I will not be defeated by a hungry tree!
But that vow grew less and less likely as I slid halfway under the bushes. The grinding sound of something metallic reached my ears and panic set in hard. I rolled, clawing my hands into the soft earth, creating great gouges in the ground.
“Ah!” I cried my fury, thinking of Cass, of how I'd never get the chance to set things right between us. Because of a damn tree.
As much as I struggled, I knew I was done for. I didn't have the strength to beat it. I was gonna be sucked into a tree blender and ground up for dinner.
I pressed my forehead to the cool ground, praying this was gonna be quick.
A whoosh of air rushed over me and the vines released with a snapping sound. Hands clamped onto my wrists and I found myself being helped to my feet. Silas stood there, looking fierce. He had a hunting knife and an ebony-skinned girl stood behind him with an empty sheath in her hand.
I was so stunned, that I didn't even thank him as he started running, leading the way forward. I sped after him and the girl. We rose from the ditch, meeting with more bending boughs and hanging vines.
A shadow swooped overhead and I cried out a warning too late. An entire tree came down, flattening the girl, killing her instantly. Blood oozed. Her mangled arm spasmed.
Nothing I can do.
I climbed over the tree, spotting Silas up ahead.
Another tree came down hard, slamming into the ground between us. “Go!” I shouted, urging him on. He hesitated a second longer before sprinting onward and I soon lost sight of him.
I clambered over the fallen trees, my hands sticky with something. Blood.
I grimaced, running forward, ducking my head as a rush of wind on my neck preceded another tree falling. As it hit the earth behind me, the ground trembled beneath my feet, but I never faltered.
The path Silas had taken was gone. Bushes swept me to one side, encouraging me into a narrow pathway. I was running so fast, I could barely catch my breath. I felt I was being funnelled towards an imminent death, the whole jungle narrowing and narrowing until it spat me out into a death chamber. But not yet. I fled into a clearing.
I stumbled and fell, slamming into the ground and rolling into a crouch. I gazed back the way I'd come, panting, expecting an attack at any moment.
I slumped in relief, spotting the light glimmering on the force-field I'd passed through. Surely I was safe beyond it? I'd moved into another ring.
Another man tore out of the bushes from a narrow path, powering his way toward me.
“Run!” I encouraged, getting to my feet. He sped in my direction, running along the edge of the force-field. “Just a foot this way you idiot!”
He dove toward it and two vines caught him mid-air, dragging him up into the trees kicking and screaming. He flew backwards, disappearing into the foliage with a guttural cry. Another metallic grinding noise sounded and blood rained down on me.
I stumbled back in disgust, wiping the heated specks from my forehead.
Silas appeared between two trees, another man at his side. They tore through the force-field together and quickly joined me.
As Silas reached me, he dropped his hands to his knees, panting.
The other man clasped his hands over the back of his neck, gazing into the bushes. He was a big bearish guy with hairy arms. “Miguel!” he called into the trees, sounding desperate. “Miguel run this way!”
“Are we safe here?” I asked Silas, nodding to the shimmering force-field, just visible where the sunlight hit it.
“Safe for now,” he replied, standing upright.“But shit, that was close.” Blood splattered his shirt, but he seemed unscathed. The knife was no longer with him.
“What the hell was that exactly?” I demanded.
“The security system,” Silas panted. “This island isn't natural. It's engineered. But Christ, I didn't know we had that kind of technology in use yet.” His eyes brightened a little as if he were impressed and I resisted the urge to punch him for it.
“That was technology?” the brutish man asked, his eyes widening. Evidently he was one of Silas's guards as he still had his suit trousers on and a gun at his hip. A gun I would be making mine as soon as possible.
“Yes, Raj,” Silas answered, patting his shoulder. “Bio-tech. It's what the institute specialises in.”
“It ain't natural,” Raj muttered, taking another wary step back. “Miguel...”
Silas ignored him, moving toward me. “Can you hear anyone else near here?”
His frantic gaze told me he was thinking the same thing I was. Cass. If she was heading this way, she was in trouble and there was no way to warn her.
Just as we started to move, a lean man ran out of the trees behind us, his long black hair wild around his shoulders. “Raj!” he cried as he spotted him, stumbling through the force-field.
They embraced hard and were soon kissing like there was no tomorrow.
Silas cleared his throat. “I don't allow relationships between my workers.”
“Is that really relevant right now?” I replied for them.
“It's unprofessional,” Silas said. “Try running a company with your workers all screwing each other and tell me how that works out for you.”
“More your Daddy's problem than yours, no?” I answered.
Silas's jaw ticked.
Raj and Miguel looked between us.
“It won't affect our work, sir,” Raj stepped forward.
Silas surveyed him, glancing at Miguel before sighing. “You've been through enough. We all want to get back to our loved ones.”
Miguel sighed, throwing Raj a small smile.
“Come on then,” I muttered, leading the way forward, hoping Silas hadn't been referring to Cass as his loved one.
As the river came into view through the boughs, I picked up my pace, keeping a wary eye out for danger. The trees bent over the stream, forming a tunnel of foliage above the gently winding water. After what we'd just been through, it didn't exactly comfort me. But I was too thirsty to complain. I splashed into the cool water, falling to my knees and soaking myself entirely, gulping down mouthfuls as I did so.
Silas and the others were soon beside me doing the same. At least we weren't going to die of thirst. That was one death option off the menu.
My shirt was bloodied and torn in several places so I didn't see much point in keeping it on considering the heat. I tore it from my body and let the river carry it away.
“I'm going to need these later,” I said, sliding out of my jeans and boxers beneath the water line.
Silas raised a brow as I tossed my sodden clothes at him. He caught them and I let the heat of my Werewolf blood rise in my veins, pulsing down my spine.
“I'm going to find Cass,” I answered Silas's probing look.
It was gonna hurt like a bitch, but it was worth it. Because the moment I turned into a wolf, I was going to find my girl and put her safely back at my side where she belonged.
Ready or not, Firefly.
Cass
I moved through the forest, following the sound of a distant river. Frogs had led me toward it, making a low croaking noise that had scared me half to death until I'd spotted one of them perching on a leaf: speckled green with its throat bubbling out.
My clothes hadn't dried at all since I'd left the beach. In fact, the heated mist in the air and the damp leaves kept my whole body horribly damp. I was hot and sticky and my hair had doubled in size from the humidity.
To keep my thoughts from wandering to the Reaper I'd heard back on the beach, I distracted myself by coming up with baby names. Seeing as I'd decided to keep the little life-force growing inside me, I guessed it was as good a time as any to come up with something. And because I didn't know whether it was male, female or some weird Hybrid alien, I had a range of names to play with.
Family names were a no-go. I didn't want to be reminded of my doped up father every time I looked at my baby. Much as I loved him, I just couldn't see myself returning to that life. That drug-filled house.
I came up with names that had no meaning to me. This baby was going to be a fresh start, and I was going to do everything in my power to keep my past from ruining their life.
Girl names came easier.
Madeline...Eleanor...Elizabeth. I quite like Elizabeth if it's a girl...
Jameson would probably have called it Batman, no matter what gender it was.
Thoughts of him brought new fears to mind. If I ever saw him again, I was going to have to tell him the truth. Which wasn't the most relaxing thought on the planet. I tried to imagine his reaction when I told him. I feared his rejection. Not for myself but for the baby. What if they grew up without a father? I was hardly a decent mother as it was, so this kid wasn't exactly hitting the jackpot when it came to parents. But just because Jameson was a womaniser, didn't mean he wouldn't make a pretty good dad. So long as he wanted to be one, that was. In fact, seeing as he liked to be the best at everything he did, he'd probably excel at it.
My foot splashed into a small, bubbling stream, surprising me. Relief swept through me. I pushed back the waxy leaves concealing it, crouching down and cupping the water in my palms. I drank as much as I could, dropping back onto my heels, soaking in the feel of it rushing down my throat. Then I splashed it all over my burning skin.
Mosquitoes buzzed passed me, but apparently they weren't intere
sted in my Hybrid blood. Thank God.
Just before I stood up, a rustling noise caught my ear and the birds fell quiet.
I stiffened, keeping below the line of leafy shrubbery that hung above the little stream. I tucked my feet under me, listening hard as my breaths fluttered over my lips. I still had the sharp rock I'd collected from the beach and I gripped it tighter in my palm.
A shadow crossed through the canopy and I shrank back under the large leaves, concealing myself beneath them.
The panicked wailing of a monkey filled the air and the trees shook violently above me. The scent of blood filled my nose and a crack ripped through the air. Loud drips hit the leaf concealing me. The light shone through the greenery, revealing the gloop sliding down the leaf and dropping to the floor.
As the scent of it flowed smoothly into my nostrils, I lost myself.
I darted forward, my tongue scraping the rock the liquid had landed on. I fell into a frenzy, falling to the ground as I licked every drop from the leaf too. Blood. The life-giving liquid was a godsend, and it sent a spark of adrenaline into my veins.
More. I need more.
I stood, gazing up at the canopy, my pupils dilating as the crunching of bones reached my ears. Without thought, I moved to the nearest tree, leaping onto the bough and scrambling up it, using my nails to dig into the bark. I followed the scent of blood like a tiger, moving across a branch in its direction.
A baboon flew at me, slashing its sharp claws, its prey gripped in its little fist. I hissed at it, exposing my fangs, slashing my hand out and catching hold of the dead creature in its hold. The baboon shrieked in complaint but I was bigger, stronger and hungrier. It took one more slash of my hand to send it flying off into the trees. I perched on the branch, crouching just like the baboon, digging my teeth into the remains of the small monkey it had been in the midst of eating.
Blood oozed down my throat and leaked from my mouth, staining my clothes, my hands. I lapped it up like a monster, devouring the metallic taste with delight. When I'd had every drop, the disgust at what I'd done crept into me.
I swallowed the last of the blood, trying not to overthink it. And was glad as hell that no one had been around to witness my creepy display.
Wolf Games: Island of Shade (The Vampire Games Book 5) Page 4