by Amy Richie
I curled up on my side away from Miranda. It just seemed too creepy to watch her sleep. It was odd to me that I had formed an attachment to the girl so soon after I met her, but the situation didn’t exactly allow any slow friendships to form. I was just glad I had met her at all.
Even if I never saw her again after tomorrow, at least I would know that somewhere in the world, I had a friend. I was almost just like any other human now. Almost.
Not far from where I was laying sat a male vampire. His eyes were scanning the forest, watching for the wolves. The way he sat so tense and silent sent a shiver of apprehension up my spine, but I tried to just brush it off.
Everyone was tense, I thought as my eyes drifted closed.
Chapter 24
A high pitched scream split the quiet night air, jerking me abruptly out of my sleep. I stopped my own from joining the others, but only barely. I was on my knees almost instantly, alert but not awake enough to figure out what was happening right away.
I glanced quickly at Miranda. She got up onto her knees and came up close beside me. “It’s the wolves,” she whispered. “They’re back.”
My blood ran cold at her words. They had been quiet all day and now they were back. What did that mean? I didn’t have time to ask, though. Another scream sounded. I jerked my head in that direction.
The vamps were on their feet, fear on their faces. They looked at one another, but didn’t make any other moves. I stayed frozen, watching with wide eyes at what would happen next.
I felt Miranda tugging at my arm, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the vamps. They were actually afraid and that had me worried. “Lexi,” Miranda hissed.
“What?”
“Look.”
“Look at what?” I turned to her, but she was pointing away from us, out into the darkness.
Two wolves stood there, in plain sight, just outside the camp. My breath whooshed out of my lungs too quickly and my mouth fell open. The wolves were definitely back.
The others noticed the two wolves and more screaming sounded. All at once, everything was put into motion. The wolves lunged forward, followed by more until the whole camp was overrun by them. The pets and vamps both scrambled in every direction to try and get away.
It was like a scene straight from one of Liza’s horror stories, the things she used to be able to scare me with. I hadn’t been scared of them in a long time, but this brought back all those old fears.
I closed my mouth on another noise that wanted to escape. It wasn’t a scream, but there was too much fear there for me to be comfortable. I was locked into place. Even through all the chaos around me, I couldn’t move.
Miranda was yelling something beside me, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. I watched the wolves attacking in mute horror. It didn’t look like they were killing, though. Not yet. They were coming to get the pets. They needed mates.
Something fell close to my side, but I didn’t turn to see what it was. I didn’t want to know what it was. My eyes searched through the chaos, looking for the white wolf. Had he come back for me? And if he did, did that mean the others were dead—or just gone?
I didn’t see him, though. These were probably from a different pack, one that realized we were alone out here. A wolf lunged past me to grab a hold of one of the pets. It wasn’t enough to kill her, but I was sure it hurt to have a wolf hold your arm with his teeth.
I jerked out my haze and into action. I wasn’t going to let them take me anywhere. I wasn’t becoming one of their mates. The fire was still burning in front of me, with different sticks and logs jutting out. If I could get one of those sticks, I might be able to defend myself. Maybe not for long, but it was something.
I scrambled forward, trying to get to the fire, but I never made it. A huge shape jumped in front of me and swung his paw around to knock me back off my feet. I tried to stand back up, but the wolf jumped on top of me, his massive paws stationed on either side of my head.
It took a few moments for anything besides those paws to sink into my head. I kept my arms close to my chest and just stared at them. Mud and debris were caked into the fur, the long claws rested on the ground. They didn’t move though; they just held me captive.
I turned my face slowly, knowing what I would see, but not wanting to actually see that wolf’s head. It was inevitable though, especially when the head was so close to my face. Long, sharp teeth glistened with his saliva, so close I could touch them. Not that I ever would.
I jerked back, but there was nowhere to go. Only the ground was under me, and try as I might, I couldn’t get it to move. I squirmed upwards, ignoring the pain in my leg, but the wolf moved with me. He wasn’t attacking me or growling; just standing over me. I kicked his back leg and although it flinched, he didn’t move.
“What do you want?” I screeched. “Just leave us alone!”
He snarled deep in his chest. Maybe that was his way of answering me. Well, even if it did get me killed, I wasn’t going down without a fight. I rolled suddenly into his legs. The wolf was taken by surprise and I had about half a second of freedom before he pinned me again. I searched around frantically for a weapon, but I was being held too tight. And then, very abruptly, the wolf was gone.
I didn’t know what had happened at first—only that the wolf was suddenly gone. I clawed my way to my feet, looking wildly around for the wolf. It wasn’t anywhere near me, though.
There were wolves fighting and growling all around me, but none were paying me much attention. Screams filled the air, screams of pets. The vamps were trying to fight back, but they were sadly outnumbered. I saw some of them darting off into the woods.
That was the only way, I realized quickly, the only way to survive. I had to make a run for it. I wouldn’t be able to outrun a wolf, even if I had two good legs, but I had to try. Maybe they would be distracted enough that I could find a place to hide. When the sisters came back, they would find me. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was the only one I had.
I surged forward, planning to go the same way I had seen some of the vamps go. Maybe it meant there were no other wolves that way. My escape was blocked almost immediately though. Not by wolves, but by other pets trying to get away. They plowed into me and I fell to the ground.
I managed to crawl away before their pursuer arrived to shepherd them back to the middle. It looked like they were trying to get all the pets to the middle of the camp. Then they could pick the ones they wanted—the ones that would make good mates. I wasn’t going to be one of them. I crawled quickly past a vamp lying on the ground. I didn’t stop to see if he was alive, but he wasn’t up fighting.
My breath was coming too fast, but I couldn’t slow it down. I jumped to my feet just as a huge mouth clamped the air where I was just sitting. I ducked low to the ground to miss the paws that came next. I needed to get out of here.
The other vampires that hadn’t gone with the hunting party were already starting to bolt, knowing they couldn’t fight off all those wolves. Well, they were smarter than I gave them credit for.
Some still stayed to fight, but the pets were running in all different directions. Everything was in chaos. The only thought I kept in my head was to get away from there. The only thing I could do was run. The wolves were all busy, they might not notice me. Then, I could hole up somewhere and wait for the sisters.
I made my way quickly around to the other side of the fire, my adrenaline making the pain in my leg almost numb. Almost. It was going to slow me down a little, though, I realized. The stitches that Miranda had…
Miranda.
My steps stopped abruptly and I turned back around to face the scene behind me. Where was she? She was beside me, but after the wolf pinned me down, I had lost track of her. Then I forgot her. The blood drained form my face. How could I have done that?
I searched through the mess, my heart sinking further when I finally spotted her. She was standing completely still, staring wide eyes at a large brown wolf that was facing her. The wolf s
narled and ducked its head.
I didn’t have anything to use as a weapon, but I knew I couldn’t just leave her. The wolf would get her, there was no doubt about that. There was a small pile of wood meant for the fire lying nearby. I fumbled through it until I found a sturdy looking branch.
I ran back to the wolf, against all my better judgment. Miranda was frozen to the ground in fear, so I knew she wasn’t going to be much help. This was all on me. I tightened my grip around the end of the stick and held in high over my head.
In the few seconds before I actually stepped in front of an attacking werewolf, I could almost hear the sisters screaming at me. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t just leave her. I promised that we would stick together.”
“You can’t fight a wolf. Just run!”
“I have to try. She’s my…”
It wasn’t the sisters screaming at me, though. It was just me. I had always been taught that when things were hard or dangerous, just run. But I couldn’t just run from this. Miranda was my friend and I wasn’t just going to leave her here.
I put myself between the wolf and her, determined that we weren’t going to die. I might not be able to fight a wolf in a full out fight, but I could sure as hell get us out of here.
The wolf jerked back in surprise at the sight of me standing there, his mouth still hanging open. I didn’t hesitate. I swung my crude weapon with as much force as I could muster. I heard a yelp, but I didn’t stop, I took Miranda’s hand and pulled her along beside me.
I held tight to Miranda’s hand and ran blindly for the only escape we had—the woods. There wasn’t much there to keep us safe, but it was better than what we had here; which was nothing except a pile of sticks. Our only chance was to run.
I felt each painful step, but I ignored it. I could cry about my leg later. There was no clear path out of the camp. Even though the area wasn’t that big, wolves and vampires were fighting all around us. Who would win in a match up like that? It wasn’t hard to tell.
The vampire Lori fell backwards in front of us, forcing us to stop. One of the wolves was on her in a second, snapping and clawing. She was putting up a good fight, but it didn’t look good for her. She should have run when she had the chance.
I pulled Miranda roughly around the fighting pair and found a new path. She resisted though. “We have to help her.”
“No.” I kept pulling.
“Lexi, we have to.”
I spun around so I was close to her face. Her eyes widened at my intensity. “We can’t help anyone. Only ourselves. Our only chance is to get out of here before they kill everyone else and notice us.”
“That’s…”
“The truth. Now come on.” I might have scared her, but at least she quit putting up a fight. There just wasn’t time.
We barely made it another few feet, though. Three wolves jumped directly in front of us. I skidded to a stop. The trees were just behind them. We had almost made it. I heard Miranda whimper behind me.
The wolf in front took a step forward, his teeth bared in a warning growl. It was a warning to us not to run. It would have been pointless anyways—even if we could manage to get around them, we wouldn’t make it two steps.
“What are we going to do?” Miranda hissed.
“I don’t know,” I hissed back. Why did she think I had all the answers? I was only a human—the same as her.
The wolf waved his head back and forth and growled again. “You guys better get out of here,” Miranda yelled.
That would probably help, I rolled my eyes. I mean, no one had thought just to ask them to leave. “Stay back,” I told her.
Behind us, I could still hear screaming and growling, but I knew it wouldn’t be long. Our chances of escaping were getting slimmer. We had to get out now. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to.
Chapter 25
My breath was coming out too quickly, so fast that my throat felt too tight. So, this was what fear felt like? Tingly finger tips, sweaty skin, heart racing, a tightness in your stomach. This wasn’t how I had been raised, though. The sisters didn’t teach me to fear, they taught me to take action.
Action that they dictated, though. They said jump, I jumped—no questions asked. I only had my own human instincts to help me now. I wasn’t sure if that would be enough.
“The wolves,” Miranda screamed, reminding me that she was still there, “they won’t let us out.”
“I can see that,” I snapped back.
“What are we going to do?”
Good question. I still had the knife in my boot, but no way would one human be able to defeat a pack of werewolves with a knife. Fighting back probably wasn’t the best idea. Sit and be captured—or killed? I shook my head quickly. Not even the other pets were doing that. They were at least trying to get away.
They weren’t getting far, though. A girl with two thick black braids fell not far from us. She didn’t get back up. The flurry in the camp was almost done now. “We have to go,” I hissed.
“How?”
“We’ll go the other way.”
She didn’t have to tell me what she was thinking, I already knew. There was no way out back there. But there was. The nest. A tiny flicker of hope flared up in my chest. If we could make it back to the nest, we could get out through the holes the wolves had created before. I wished Miranda could read my mind so she would know the plan. Hopefully she would react without question.
“Ahh!” I jumped out of the way of the wolf’s teeth, pushing Miranda out of the way in the process.
“Lexi, watch out!” I heard her scream and moved again just before another wolf hit me with one of his paws. I heard her scream again, but she was close behind me, so I knew she wasn’t taken—yet.
I shuffled backwards several steps, but the wolf matched my mad dance step for step. I couldn’t tell if we were making a move or just getting herded to the middle with the other pets.
The two wolves behind him watched us, but didn’t come any closer. It was only a small victory, but it would be easier to get away from one wolf than three. I tried to make sure Miranda stayed closed, but it was hard to watch everything all at once.
A vampire swirled past us, his hands dripping with what could have been blood. It was impossible to tell whose. One of the wolves that had been watching us took off after the vamp. Out odds were getting better.
Suddenly, I felt a slump at my arm. When I turned around, I was shocked to see that Miranda had fallen. Did she trip? There was a small trickle of blood on her head, but she let me help her back to her feet. The wolf never took his eyes from us.
It was more unnerving for the thing not to do anything. If it would lunge at us or try to get us to the middle, I would have known to fight back. It wasn’t very comfortable to have a stare down with a werewolf. He didn’t even growl at us, it just watched.
“We’re going to have to make a run for it,” I whispered to Miranda.
“Run where?” She hissed back.
The wolf’s head jerked around at something we couldn’t hear. I gasped louder than I meant to as the huge head came too close to my face. I ducked low to the ground and gasped again at the pain shooting up my leg. It went all the way to my hip, making me lose balance and hit the ground with my knees.
Miranda pulled me roughly to my feet, shocking me with her strength. “Where?” she repeated, this time with less desperation.
The wolf was gone.
It took me a second to comprehend the reality that we were unguarded. It wouldn’t be for long, though. “The nest,” I gasped, “we can get out that way.”
Her eyes lit up. “Can you run?”
“Of course.” Sweat beaded up on my forehead, but I had to keep going, I had to at least try.
The first step was hard. Pain shot through me, the kind of pain that told me it would be impossible to run. I ignored it and kept going. Miranda ducked into the nest first, with me close at her heels.
“Don’t stop,” I gasped, “ju
st keep going.”
“You’re coming, too, right?” she called back frantically.
“Right behind you.”
Somehow, we got to the nest and it was empty. There were two openings to choose from, but without any super power hearing, we could only guess which one was smarter. We went for the closer of the two.
We were swallowed up almost instantly by the trees, but there was no time for hesitation. As fast as we were able, we began zigzagging our way through the trees without any idea where we were going.
It was useless to turn around—foolish even. It would just make me more afraid than I already was. It really was idiotic to turn and see if we were being followed.
I still did it, though.
Just as I suspected, one of the wolves had noticed us run and was chasing us again. It wasn’t even that much of a surprise that it was the huge white wolf. Its mouth dropped open in a furious growl when if saw me looking. My heart tried to break through my rib cage.
What did that mean for the sisters? The agonizing questions kept tempo with my heart. Were they dead? Were they gone? I stumbled over a large root, but righted myself before I fell.
“They’re chasing us,” Miranda squealed when she turned to see what I was looking at.
“There’s only one.”
“That’s enough!”
“Just keep going.” I pulled her forward on a burst of speed.
I looked back again, but didn’t see the wolf this time. My breath caught again, just as bad as when I had saw it. Where was he? No way did we just lose it. The trees that were slowing us down were home to the werewolf. We couldn’t have outrun it and it wouldn’t have just given up.
I didn’t stop to think things through, though. I ran blindly on the raw need to get away from the wolves that were attacking the camp. The vamps that had stayed to fight were probably dead by now. There were just too many wolves and they had no need for vamps. And the pets…