by J. Axbridge
Looking back as best I could while I swirled feebly in circles, I caught sight of Mayumi breaking the water with precision having obviously planned her entrance knowing what was ahead of her. Feet first, hands tucked to her side at the last second like an arrow she slid into the cold water with little resistance as if she’d done that feat a thousand times before, which she probably had during her Huntra Training.
Chapter 52 - Cold Waters
Caelyn
“VICTORIA, WE NEED TO GET TO THE SIDE!” I yelled to my twin as she spun uncontrollably, her head bouncing in and out of the water like a bobber with a thrashing fish on the other end. Trying to scout an area to swim safely to I couldn’t help but flail about down the rapids just missing large boulders jetting out like giant sea monsters reaching for me. All the while white mist and foam fell around us after the water smashed into those same boulders sending it shooting twenty feet into the air.
“OK . . . OK . . . OVER . . . THERE . . . , GET TO THAT SIDE.” Victoria yelled each time she surfaced from the rapids and pointed to her right where a patch of trees appeared not too far in the distance.
“THE TREES?” I yelled back, before going under once again.
“YES THE TREES—GET TO THEM!” Victoria gagged, still half submerged but at least we now had a common goal, the trees.
Regaining our bearings, the river calmed just enough for us to begin swimming towards the right side where a conglomerate of trees was massed; it was then that the strangest thing happened, once we started swimming it was as if the water was going around us instead of pushing into us. Pulling ourselves on shore soaking wet, we didn’t stop to catch our breath; together we turned and yelled in unison to the rest of our group as loud as we could. “TREES, TREES, HEAD FOR THE TREES, OVER HERE—OVER HERE!” We jumped up and down waving our arms madly on the shore.
Arthur was the first to see us on the river’s edge waving our hands and made his move swimming determinedly hard towards Victoria and me. Mayumi was still further up stream but didn’t need to be told what to do; we could see she was watching Arthur ahead of her and clearly calculated her every move in the freezing water and slowly veered in our direction.
Easily the strongest swimmer of the group Mayumi proved it as she came to two boulders blocking her way. Instead of trying to swim around them she insanely swam head first and barely squeezed through them being shot out the other side like a water canon towards the riverside. Being none the worse for going through instead of around, she swam hard, her muscles pumping fast willing herself to join us. As she approached Arthur reached out his muscular hand and pulled her up hugging her in a tight embrace, like something you’d see in some romantic adventure movie. Together they sat soaked on the cold hard muddy ground catching their breath a moment then stood up and helped us search for Adelaide and Ethan in the thunderous white waters.
Spotting Adelaide less than a minute later, we pulled her to safety as she came near.
“How did you get behind me Addie?” Mayumi asked perplexed, still breathing hard wringing out her long black hair.
“I think I bounced around like a pinball more than you did,” Adelaide winced sitting down in pain staring at her legs and arms watching colorful bruises and bumps rising all over her tattered body. “That was truly a miracle from God, but where’s Ethan, did anyone see Ethan? He should be here by now,” worry filled her voice.
“Maybe he hasn’t landed yet, he was floating down pretty slowly and all of us did hit first,” I said, but that didn’t stop everyone from worrying as we began yelling his name and looking up and down the river in search of him.
At that moment a rustling sound appeared behind Mayumi and she spun fast, readying her knife in her right hand preparing for an attack.
“Why’d you wait so long to get out of the river guys?” Ethan smiled as he emerged from behind a group of bushes. “There was a great place to exit way back up stream. You do know it wasn’t easy to get down here to all of you.” He said a little too cheerfully.
“You guys should have opened your chuters’ way earlier; I glided down really slowly and could check out the whole area. The winds did kind of push me around a bit but I landed easily enough upstream. I didn’t even hit the water.” Ethan said super excited. “Jumping off that cliff and floating through the canyon was like a ride at an amusement park. Did it feel like that to all of you? That was more fun than a roller coaster!” He said brimming. At eleven he was obviously too young to realize he should have been terrified like the rest of us, but that was a great gift to have and hopefully it’ll stick with him for a while longer.
Chapter 53 – Growing
Mayumi
The twins had picked the perfect area to exit the river, it was within a grouping of thick paper birch trees which kept us safe from unwanted views on all sides including above.
Regaining his strength, Arthur turned curiously towards the twins, “How in the world did you do that?”
“What did they do?” Adelaide asked looking from Arthur’s serious face to the twins breaking smiles.
“You didn’t you see them? Those two didn’t hit the water like the rest of us; they just . . . floated . . . only inches above it,” Arthur’s face changed from serious to curious.
“Yeah, and we wouldn’t have gotten wet at all if it wasn’t for dork here hitting the water next to us and sending us into the river with him,” Victoria pushed her big brother’s arm.
“Well, whatever you did you two need to figure it out, something like that could come in handy.” Arthur said, seemingly content to receive an explanation later. “Does everyone have their packs and gear?” He then asked as he began to take more interest in our surroundings, now that all of us were safely together once again.
I sheathed my knife grinning, taking it all in, I knew fate had handed us a gift this day and I wanted to commit the moment to memory. Staring into the raging waters I closed my eyes and meditated, listening to the water rush and replaying the death defying jump in my mind. It was the same thing I did as a child, replaying my favorite parts of Jackie Chan Movies before trying to emulate his dangerous stunts. The six of us together had beat death as a group and I never wanted to forget what a moment like this feels like. It will give me motivation, bravery and courage to fight on and become an even stronger Huntra!
Upon opening my eyes I smiled, observing Ethan still on his high from the jump as he continued to talk about it to the twins. “Can you believe we did that? That was actually waaaaay better than a sissy roller coaster. If Superman really existed, I’d bet he’d say that’s what if feels like to fly. We were flying, really flying . . . ,” Ethan’s excitement grew the more he spoke.
“Flying?” Caelyn replied, clearly annoyed. “It was more like falling. The type of falling you’d have in a nightmare, not in real life. There’s nothing like being tackled by your older brother, WHO’S A FOOTBALL PLAYER BY THE WAY and then going over the side of a cliff thousands of feet in the air that didn’t have a bottom in sight . . . it scared the shit out of me!” Caelyn said, glaring at her older brother.
“Hey, watch your language Cae . . . you wanted to live didn’t you? We had to go; there wasn’t time for discussion and I couldn’t delay Karayan any longer. Hell, he’s probably easily figured out a way to get down here by now,” Arthur spun to face us all, “so everyone listen up, we need to make a plan, like now already.” He was nothing like his 16 year old high school cocky self just months earlier; he had grown up quickly and behaved more mature and disciplined by the minute. His attitude had changed for the better also, he now had a commanding tone to his voice and he acted like someone with years of experience in survival. This boy was growing into a man fast and for me it was hard not to take notice.
I was enamored with his transformation from high school jock to survivor and now the newly evolving more manly Arthur suited me even better. To go with the new attitude, I especially liked his stubble growth since he had not shaved in a while, maybe it even had to do
with his werewolf genes, but I did not care. I was starting to notice even the littlest things about him, things I had overlooked over the years that now attracted me to him even more. The way he ran his fingers through his hair when thinking or his mesmerizing stares when speaking only to me were just a few of the little intricacies that I now adored and made me feel more like a teenage girl in need and less like a trained Huntra who had killed.
Adelaide taking a deep sighing breath brought me out of my thoughts as she continued wringing out her sopped hair; it was nice to see she was finally getting over the shock of the fall and her ride down the icy rapids. “Did anyone see anything helpful as you floated down? Like trails, landmarks, people, anything that could help us?” She asked. “We need to make plans and move out soon, Arthur is right.”
“I saw everything when I floated down Addie,” Ethan said proudly.
“Well, what are you waiting for, let’s hear it little bro.” Adelaide nodded for him to speak up letting her wet hair rest on her shoulder.
“Well, coming down I did look around the area and it was kind of strange. The thick forestry part is only around here, the place we’re in now and up on the mountain top. There was a lot of green up there and here, but everything else around the mountain is gone or burned down. The river you all had fun swimming in,” Ethan smirked, “heads south/southwest,” he looked down at his compass a moment for confirmation, “. . . for many miles but there isn’t much coverage on either side to use for shade or safety as far as I could see. So once we’re out from under these trees here, we’ll be in the open for a long time,” he looked nervously at Adelaide. “And going out in the open doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.”
“OK, great work Ethan,” Adelaide gave her little brother a thumbs up, “We survived so much already but Lawrence the Mad Vampire is coming after us, that’s a certainty. So we take a small break to recuperate but that’s it. Dry off as best you can then we move to somewhere safer. I figure we follow the map that was given to Mayumi. That’s if she still has it?” Adelaide looked to me with her two distinctly different colored eyes of green and brown, hopeful.
“Got it right here Addie,” I yelled to her sliding the map out of my mostly waterproof inside pocket, holding it up. “It needs to be dried out a little, but appears intact.”
“Awesome, then our goal is to find the survivors on the West Coast following the directions on that map,” Adelaide said as she began to hang up her wet clothing on a low hanging tree branch.
“But shouldn’t we be looking for Mom and Dad first?” Victoria’s concern was warranted.
“Yeah, isn’t that more important than some stupid book?” Caelyn added. “This book is going to get us killed if we continue to hold onto it!”
“Huh . . .?” Adelaide looked up, her mind apparently adrift. “Oh, yeah . . . I mean ‘no’. I don’t know? No, No, we go west, we have no choice but to worry about mom and dad later.” She said, not elaborating as she sat down gazing at nothing in particular and I knew in my heart she was thinking of Jax as I stared at her in heartfelt pain.
“I should have kissed him Yu.” Her head lifted to look me in the eyes, “I can’t believe he’s gone, we were meant to be . . . , I know it, I felt it . . . we were definitely meant to be. I loved him so much and never had the guts to tell him. I’m SOOO STUPID!” Adelaide cried out, tears welling as she wept holding her hands over her face. I hastily walked over and sat down beside her, holding her close in a tight loving hug.
“He did love you too, we all felt it and saw it. He died saving us, saving you Addie. Do not ever forget that. Jax was a great guy, he was a great man and without his help we would never have made it this far. To honor his memory we have to move on and fight on, save the werewolves, the humans and the earth. He would want that for you and for all of us,” I said looking into Adelaide’s eyes with deep sincerity.
“Listen up,” Arthur rudely broke the somber moment. “We know we’re special with powers or blood or whatever it is. Mom and Dad knew this about us too. They obviously knew about werewolves and vampires also, so they’ll know how to survive if they’re on their own. It would be a waste of our time searching for them right now. Most likely they’d probably head west as we are, trying to get in touch with the human communities for safety. Besides it’s been a few months since we last spoke to them so who knows where they are and what they’re doing. . . I’m sorry Vic and Cae, but our goal can’t be roaming what’s left of this world looking for our parents, right now our goal is to get somewhere safe, stay alive and then figure our situation out. And as much as I’d like to fight someone, anyone, I must admit that the Elder Werewolf was right; I need to think about our safety first.”
“Then it is decided,” I confirmed the decision to end all discussions and stood up leaving Adelaide to wipe her tears away in private. “We need supplies; we need food and we need water otherwise no matter which direction we head we are . . . umm . . . ‘screwed’ as Arthur would so eloquently say. Also you cannot dismiss what the Elder Werewolf told the five of you. You do have werewolf and fairy lineage. That means you three can probably change into werewolves at some point and you two should have some amazing fairy powers I cannot wait to witness,” I looked at the twins sternly. “Really think about it, we could use all the help we can get, so work on your skills, meditate or do whatever you need to do to bring out your inner werewolf and fairy and then let’s get moving.”
After my impromptu speech we decided to strip off our wet clothes, which still covered our zip coats and hang them on branches and large boulders to dry. To our surprise the outfits Jax gave us worked incredibly well, keeping our bodies dry even when tumbling through the rapids. The slight dampness we did feel evaporated almost instantaneously once our wet clothes were off.
While our clothes dried, we sat in a circle together and with our matching zip coats the six of us resembled a track team preparing before a meet. But instead of preparing for running record breaking times, we were planning our run for survival. But first, with the darkness creeping in, we decided our number one priority was to secure shelter and get rest, we were thoroughly and utterly exhausted.
Trekking further inland from the river we found a cave opening our group could use for shelter for the looming darkness. Around the opening we carefully placed logs and branches to hide it from vampires, Red Eyes and whoever or whatever else that may be lurking around in the small dense forest at night. Taking turns, the three of us - Adelaide, Arthur and me took two hour shifts each, letting Victoria, Caelyn and Ethan get the full six hour rest since they were the youngest and needed it most.
The first four hours of watch went by uneventfully; I had the last two hours of watch duty before daylight and as I sat listening to the darkness, I sensed something was not right. There was a strange tension or electricity cursing through the air; it was definitely a foreign presence I had never felt before but I just could not put my finger on it. Convincing myself I was simply tired and hearing things I pinched my arm in order to not forget my Huntra training. That one simple action worked, for immediately the pain reminded me that if I sensed something was off then most likely it was.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I had finally figured out what was wrong. I had heard noises all the while I was on watch that I easily dismissed as animals but now those same noises were roaming closer and they were not the scurrying sounds of mice, rabbits or foxes, I knew those sounds all too well. These sounds I realized were more of a slow, methodical crackling and crunching, similar to a guard on duty walking back and forth. Something is out there waiting for us; it or they know we are here, I thought with apprehension. “This is not good,” I whispered to myself, looking over my shoulder listening to the Allisters’ sleeping soundly only feet away. Although I hated to do it, I knew I must wake them.
Chapter 54 – Go
Arthur
“Arthur . . . Arthur . . .”I felt Mayumi shake my arm urgently, “ARTHUR WAKE UP!”
�
�Hmm, what.., what . . . what is it Yu? I did my watch already.’’ I said, reluctantly waking from my much-needed deep sleep.
“Stop grumbling and listen.” Mayumi whispered, “There is someone or something watching the cave, watching all of us!”
With that news my deep sleep vanished and I awoke instantly, my blood began pumping fast and my newly formed senses instinctively came alive. Ever since a werewolf body had appeared under my fingernail, I’d noticed my sight had improved, smell was better and my hearing was amazing, I just needed time and practice to fine tune them.
Crouching low near the opening my body ever so gently brushed up against Mayumi’s shoulder and I blushed in the darkness feeling warm sensations course through my veins. My senses unintentionally focused on her instead of the noises outside. I don’t know what it was but my longing for her was deep and my body seemed to love her closeness. For a brief moment I forgot what the hell I was even doing.
“Arthur, what is it? What do you hear?”
“What?”
“What the hell do you hear?” Mayumi actually cussed repeating the question a little louder, bringing me back to the present situation. But in the darkness, my eyes having already adjusted as my night vision seemed to get better by the day, I could see that Mayumi too liked the contact and realized she knew that’s why I was distracted. But she was a Huntra and she’d made it known on numerous occasions that it was her duty to keep everyone safe and so she stayed in Huntra mode one hundred percent not letting herself get distracted as I just had. “Do you hear anything yet?” Mayumi asked again, this time a little more softly.
“Yeah, I hear them,” I whispered back, trying to determine exactly what the noise was that I was hearing outside the cave, which was still hard because I so wanted to listen to Mayumi’s strong heartbeat instead.