Why The Rivers Run Red

Friends Or Enemies

Clementine ran towards the closest tree next to her and ducked down. AJ slid from her back and crouched next to her as she shifted back into her human form. Clem put a finger to her lips to show him to be quiet and she peered around the tree carefully.

Her eyes narrowed in on a man with a shotgun as he walked through the forest. "Now come on out!" He called out. "I saw a couple of you out on the road. How long you think you can hide?"

Clem inhaled deeply. Cigarette smoke and whiskey. He reeked of the smell. He was the person who had fucked up the rabbit traps. "Shit," Clem mumbled under her breath. Then she looked at AJ. "Stay here." She whispered.

The man was walking towards them, but Clem wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to risk exposing their secret, but what choice did she have? She had no weapons and this man had a gun. The only thing she could attempt to attack him with was her teeth and claws. So she shifted back into her wolf form and crouched in waiting.

She let her senses do the work for her as she waited for him to approach. She breathed in his scent as it got stronger and could hear his footsteps grow louder. She had to tell her muscles to relax as she prepared to attack. The man was even with the tree, now. Clem counted in her head. "One...two...three!" She sprung from her spot on the ground and leaped up. Before the man could react she grabbed onto his arm and bit into his skin. The man hollered in agony and he dropped his gun as he fell to the ground under Clem's weight.

Clem raked her teeth down his arm then she let go of his arm which was now severely bleeding through his torn jacket. She stood over him and growled in his face, pinning him to the ground.

"Tough little bitch, aren't ya?" He gritted through the pain.

Clem was ready to rip his throat out and kill him, but her ears twitched as she felt the end of a gun hit the back of her head. She slowly got off of him as she saw the man give a wicked smile. "Looks like your outnumbered now, puppy." And he eased himself up.

"Change back." She heard a voice from behind her.

She panicked internally. This person knew she was a werewolf. She was telling her to change back into her human form. Clem guessed that she better comply or else she'd probably get shot. So reluctantly she switched back.

The man from before got up from the ground and picked up his gun. He smirked at her as she stood with her hands up before ramming his rifle into her stomach. Clem gasped and fell to her knees before she was kicked in the back and forced to the ground. The person behind her putting their boot on her neck to keep her down.

Clem could see AJ slowly approaching from this angle but her eyes widened as she saw him try and attack the man. But he was easily caught and the man pinned his arms behind his back. The man laughed. "Fighters, both of them. And I'm willing to bet the squirt here is one of them too. They're the ones who destroyed our boat. Fucking wolves.

"Able." The person with their boot on Clem's neck spoke up. "We're looking for a kid. Runs a community around here."

"Marlon." The man named Able said.

Clem let out a gasp trying to suck in some air. "He's dead."

"Well, shit." The person above her said. "You wanna take us back to your school? Help us talk to your friends? It's not like you have many other options."

Clem gritted her teeth. "It's not my school. I don't live there."

The person behind her stepped on her neck harder. "I find that very hard to believe. Not a lot of kid communes around here."

That's when Able twisted AJ's arm back and the little boy let out a scream in pain. "Don't!" Clem yelled. "Let him go! Please!"

"Sure," Able said. "If you do like we ask. Otherwise, I'll be happy to crack his head open."