The Outsiders

The Outsiders: Chapter Twenty-Five

Soum Menjivar

Harsh winds brushed over the small field as I sat on a log with my head in my hands.

            As I watched Khristopher glide away with Spareaux by his side, I couldn't help but fall into my thoughts. What if they got caught? What if something goes wrong? What if I never see Khristopher again? I should have caught to go with him, pleaded to follow him to Caldwick. There was only so much I could do, but being next to Khristopher was the only thing that set my mind at ease.

             I tried to think positive things, but Khristopher was all I could think about. Shaking my head, I rose from the log, dusting my legs as I stared into the horizon. Sonia and Toasheh sat over a map, marking up the paper with notes and ponders. Maybe some small talk could take my mind off of Khristopher?

            Walking towards the two women, I could only hold a smile on my face for so long before Toasheh's knowing eyes fell over my own. With a small sigh, I set my gaze on the paper, ignoring their pity with the large map of Cymatilis.

"What's this?"

"We've been surveying the stir of Rouge activities. Our guess is revolutionaries of sorts, stealing souls and such. There have been minuscule attacks on smaller packs around Vertime and this small town called Eiden Grove."

My heart sank. With a stifled gulp, I looked over the map, staring at the small dot just to the left of Eiden Grove, beside Lake Foster, and just on top of a small creek. Shaking, I pressed my hand over the small point. I tried to convince myself they were okay, my pack was okay, but as I skimmed over the map, there were too many Rouges and not enough Defenders.

"The pack is okay, Soum. There hasn't been any sign of War: no murders, no crimes," said Toasheh.

"Your pack is okay," said Sonia.

Nodding, I tried to tear my gaze away from the paper, but something deep in my chest didn't sit right with it. Something was going to happen, something big, bigger than anything I can imagine. Pins and needles shot from my arms as a shiver raked my body. Something wasn't right.

Releasing the paper, I tried to catch my breath, but a piercing howl filled the air, along with a scream of a child.

My neck snapped towards the horizon where a small slither smoke decorated the grey sky. I couldn't take my eyes off of it as they widened. It was the pack.

           

               Darting through the field and the forest, I left the camp in the dust. Who knew what was out there, but if the Jaiocm Pack fell, then my pack would be jeopardized. Burning with stale air, my lungs could hardly take my ridged breathing as I sprinted through the dense forest. Maddy, Matty, Mom: everyone I cared for would be in danger all because I wasn't there to protect them. Everyone.

             I had to make it, I had to run faster than I ever had before. If it meant the security of the pack helping my own, I would run until my legs gave in. Digging into the dirt and propelling me forewords, my feet ached at the force I placed on them. I needed to run.

             Darting, dashing, sprinting through the piney woods, I fell to my knees once I reached the Jaiocm Pack. Breathless, I stared at the scene before me.

            The gate that once stood proudly was rubble on the grass and dirt of the forest. Homes, huts, and houses were scorched with only ashes in their place. Blood covered the white wools and orange banners of their pack, tarnished with the red of their kin. Bodies laid, battered, bloody, and dismembered, scattered through the sacred land of the Jaiocm Pack. Even as the last of my hope fell from my eyes, my eyes fell over a cluster of people, wounded but alive, beside a small tent.