Chapter Two

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I drag the limp body of the older woman into the spacious closet. Objects rain from the shelves, clattering down on the floor as I back into them. I growl as a bag of chips hits me in the head causing me to lose my grip of the woman's shirt in my jaws. I grab the woman's shirt again and pull her all the way into the back of the closet. I drop her ungracefully.

Her chest rises and falls slowly. She is still alive, but is no longer conscious.

The urge to suck away the little life she has left makes my muscles tighten.

I open my jaws again preparing to clamp it down on the woman's throat-

A small shadowy figure races by in the door frame of the closet.

I leave the woman and dash out of the closet just in time to see the youngest child-who I have not yet gotten to- slip into a hallway. That slippery little worm managed to escape my grasp earlier.

My paws scramble across the smooth polished wooden floor as I break into a run. I turn ungracefully and sharply into the hallway I saw the child run into. I skid to a halt only a heartbeat later.

The child shivers with raging terror in a hole in the wall just big enough for him to sit in. His tiny fearful eyes lock with my own.

A small piece of wood suddenly flies down in front of him, concealing himself in the hole.

As I launch myself at the hole, I shapeshift back into a dragon. I feel for the handle, I grab it, and I open up the hole again.

The child is gone, only leaving behind a shaking rope. I look up. A box is slowly making its way upward, already high enough to be out of my reach. The hole is too small for me to crawl in and climb after him. Doing anything to the rope won't make much of a difference.

I growl and bolt out of the hallway, making my way to the stairs again. I fly up the stairs, missing steps on the way up. I whip around upstairs quickly scanning every single room for the small child.

I reach what appears to be a bathroom. I start backing out of the incredibly small room, aware of the lack of hiding places in this room.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

I freeze. I listen in carefully.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound is coming from some place above me. It is the pitter-pattering of the little child's footsteps running around wildly.

I immediately head back towards the stairs. I race up to the very top-the floor I came in on.

The door is ajar-not the way I left it. I catch the occasional glimpse of the child's shadow frantically running in the line of view of the door.

I take a thoughtful step forwards. The wooden floor creaks beneath my weight.

The little footsteps stop.

Fucking dammit!

I continue to stalk forward anyways. I nudge the door open more. It swings open just enough for me to get through. I creep inside, cautious of the toys scattered across the floor.

There is now an abnormal amount of blankets piled in a mound atop of the bed.

As I approach the bed, I slide off to the side, around the blanket fort.

After a few heartbeats, the child finally spots me coming around the mound of blankets. His eyes light up bright with fear. We lock eyes once more. The child sits there as still as a statue, frozen with fear. I hold my position, watching what this child's next move will be. The child's head turns in my direction ever so slowly, his eyes not breaking contact. "Why did you kill mommy?" There is a sadness in the young child's voice.

I narrow my eyes, restraining myself from uttering the words: "I didn't, you idiot."

The child must've noticed my change in expression because he just leaped right off the bed and started bolting.

I charge after the fragile little creature, clearing the bed in one long leap.

The idiot races to a wall, leaving himself no route for escape.

Ready to grab the child with my sharp talons, I launch myself at him. But... He ducks down at the very last heartbeat. His short soft hair grazes my underbelly so softly. Having no time to stop, I crash into the window. The shattered glass rains down on me as I fly out of the window.

Red and blue lights flicker from around the other side of the cabin.

An icy shot of fear stabs me through the heart.

My wings slowly spread as the ground comes hurdling up to me. My wings catch the air a little, just enough to break my fall. However, I still land ungracefully on the ground with a face full of snow.

"Over there!"

Snow crunches, announcing the pursuit of footsteps.

With my heart thumping around wildly in my chest, I scramble to my feet, flicking up snow as I try to flee. I run into the forest, fleeing for my life. I stick to the shadows as the police follow me with their flashlights.

"Stop where you are!"

"Put your... hands... in the air!"

Their shouts stick in my ears like a fly landing in a spider's web.

I keep running for what feels like at least half an hour. My legs are growing weak from the exhaustion. My lungs feel like they are closing in on me.

I have to run. I have to escape.

But, I can't keep running forever.

I duck behind dense undergrowth and shapeshift into the smallest possible thing I can think of: a fruit fly. I quickly fly into the bush. I weave through the branches, carefully searching for the nearest tree.

The police, their flashlights, and now their huge german shepherds arrive at the bush in a confused clamour. Some of them come dangerously close to where I am hiding.

I land on a branch, desperately hoping to not get crushed-or worse, caught!

"Where the hell did she go?" A frantic police officer inquires.

"I don't know. She's a shapeshifter, so she could be anything now. Heck, she could be a small animal right now and be hiding in the bushes!" A voice, firm with authority, responds, remaining somewhat calm.

Rustling indicates that the officers are searching the bushes for me.

My heart is racing. I head straight for the tree behind me. Once I reach it, I fly upwards to the very  top. I grow more exhausted the higher I fly.

The layers of the pineneedle coated branches grow incredibly thick that it conceals myself from the ground and the ground from me.

I shapeshift into a crow and gather my very last shreds of energy to boost myself up to the very top. I reach the highest stable branch and land gently. I shapeshift back into a cat to give my aching body a rest.

"Sir, we can't find her." One of the police officers' voice calls out.

"Dammit! I hear that same authority figure curse. "Sabrina, we will catch you."

I stiffen in the tree at the mention of my name. I instinctively inch back to the bark of the tree.

The police officers start running by, their feet crunching in the snow. Their big german shepherds in tow.

"She's bound to be somewhere nearby." The commanding voice calls out to his patrol.

I hold my breath, preparing for whatever comes next.

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