The Breeders

Aluminum

The next day we also stayed. We cleaned everything as thoroughly as possible to erase our scent. Someone found some bleach, which was a miracle at the time.
It was finally time to head out, and as we did, some people lost it seeing the fresh earth where they buried him.
"How are you holding up?" I glanced over, seeing a newer member of our group.
"Oh, hey Janette. Doing as good as one can." She nodded, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"It's going to be very hard.. if you ever need to talk, I lost my dad about three years ago to this whole mess." I smiled at her, reciprocating the shoulder hand.
"Thank you. I'll definitely take you up on that offer sometime, but, for now, let's focus on getting to the.." I stopped, the whole group following.
"What is it?" I moved my hand back to shush the person.
I scanned for a moment as the rest of the shifters suddenly moved from alert to oh shit mode.
Bags were removed and hid behind thick brush as I and several humans were suddenly thrown into shirts that didn't belong to us.
Then, just as the bags, we were thrown into a heavy underbrush that just so happened to have a small creek in it.
Jackis was thrown with us as well as Journey, I'm sure to increase the scent of shifter than human.
Had I not heard the footsteps, I would be just as confused as everybody else.
And yet, nobody spoke a word. They only kept quiet as the shifters prepared for the bad guys to cross by.
"You better be right about this." I heard one speak, then a familiar voice.
"They weren't at the other bunker, so they're still here."
Be'eal.
That slimy, sticky fingered, son of a bi-
I took in a silent breath, calming myself.
I ceased all thoughts of rage, focusing on my family. No matter how broken. No matter how big. No matter how terrified.
They are my family and protecting them will always come first.
I held hands with the people next to me, them following suit as seven people joined hands.
Muscles ached, hearts raced, minds concentrated.
After what seemed like an eternity, Mark's face popped through the bush.
"They're heading to our bunker. They were just at our next one." I pulled him down into the creek, shushing him with a singular finger.
No sound left my throat as I mouthed to him.
They're on they're way back.
His heart started to hammer in his chest and Journey held his shoulder, reassuring him silently.
"Well where the hell could they have gone?" I heard a threat in her tone.
"Seeing as though there's a grave over here, not too far."
"We've traveled on foot for A YEAR. We've only caught one person thanks to you and your dumbass directions."
And now someone was holding onto me to hold back any irrational decisions.
He was giving away our positions to those bastards and we were none the wiser! None! The gaul- the audACITY!
The only thing keeping me grounded were the people holding my hands, Journey holding an arm, and Mark staring directly into my eyes trying to get my attention.
"We're calling it a night. It's been a long enough time. Maybe that little girl died to a bear or some bullshit."
"What do you want done with him?" Silence.
Then some more.
Then even more.
"Kill him for all I care." My eyes shot wide and I heard not one, not two, but FIVE shots ring in the air.
Yeah, he may have been a son of a bitch who gave intel to the enemy. Sure, he broke my trust and each of ours. He STOLE from everyone..
But I'd be damned if I wasn't gonna be the one to kill him.
I calmed my breathing, hearing the party pass by. They were grumbling and mumbling about a year being wasted chasing us but being too late or having been postponed.
Wait..
A year..
A YEAR they didn't catch us even with our plan being told a day in advance to everyone..
He.. lied to them during that time. He had to have lied to them.
The smell of blood was thick in the air and I felt the grip on me loosen as, I'm guessing, a wave of nausea flooded over the shifters.
I think I made it just in time, the thick scent of that metal much too familiar to me.
He was barely clinging on as I ripped my shirt to shreds, patching up any wounds and stuffing the rest.
It was a clean shirt, don't fucking worry.
As soon as the others caught up to me, bandages were wrapped around Be'eal's torso and arms, hoisting him and everyone else's things back into the bunker we just attempted to leave.
Immediately upon entering, I noticed a lever. It was covered in dust, hidden away from the world as if on purpose.
"Take him to Herrent's previous room." Someone spoke and I all but turned on them.
"There's an infirmary in here. Take the first left you can then go all the way down. Last room on the right." They nodded, taking him with my instruction.
However, Mark decided to stay back with me.
"What?" He looked to the side for a moment before puffing out a blast of hot air at me. "And what was that for?"
"How are you holding up?" I glanced at him while cocking an eyebrow. Then, my footsteps echoed in the empty lobby of the bunker.
"I just lost my mentor and father figure, and rescued a snitch all in a day. I'm sure you could guess." He followed after me, eyes full of puzzlement and curiosity. There was a spark of something else as well. Whether it was pity or something else didn't matter to me. What did was his hand on my back.
"We're all here for you, ya know." The glare on my eyes lifted as I pushed the lever, then pulled. Nothing.
"Dammit."
"Uhhhh... you might want to look up.." So I did, and I found that this is not a lever, but something you pull?
"Okay, well, I'm not willing to die, so Mark! Wanna pull up on the thing?" The dead stare he gave me was one I wish I could've framed. No one in this family would have dared to stare me down like that. So, I gave off a laugh and slapped his shoulder.
"I'll pull it up if you give a straight answer to something." Another dead stare later, along with a sigh, I nodded. "Why did you go back for that bastard?" Hostility radiated off of Mark like a musk after working out.
Taking a deep breath in, I answered.
"He was giving them intel for a year, maybe a bit more." His face twitched, but he remained silent. "We told everyone our next location up to a day in advance, in case we got lost or split up.." Trailing off, he leaned in a little closer, grasping at the straws I was laying out.
And then it clicked.
"He.. he was intentionally leading them astray." With a swift motion, Mark lifted up the lever, swiftly shutting the front entrance tight while a set of stairs opened on the opposite wall of said door. Both Mark and I paused to look at each other before he put the pole on a nearby wall, going to go check the entrance.
I went to the stairs, looking down and listening for anything out of the ordinary. Not immediately getting a sense of danger, I took the first few steps down. A distinct smell was calling me, it was such a strange odor. It wasn't sweet, but almost felt like I was smelling a sugar daddy pop. Like caramel and chocolate, but there was a stench that fell in line with it. Like a dandelion stem or like a weed being uprooted. The pheromones that came from that, mixed with the sweet smell made me think there may have been some food down there at some point.
"Uh.. B- boss?" My eyes flicked up as I stopped. He was staring at me, holding onto the door.
He still didn't know what to call me, how cute.
"Mark, I'll say this once and once only. Don't call me boss. Don't refer to me as an authority figure. It's weird." He only nodded, looking to the side for a moment.
"Okay then.. uhh.. how about Bean then?" I stopped all movement, turning my head slowly back to him from the chasm below me.
"If you call me a nickname like that again, I will end your existence on this planet." He laughed, throwing his hands into the air.
"Well what am I supposed to call you then!?"
"I don't know, just not that!" He sighed, waving me over.
"Well, I thought I'd let you know that this door is shut tight. I can't move it." He wiggled it, but the thing didn't budge.
"Let's go check on the rest of our crew before we indulge too deep, Mark." He walked over, holding his hand out. My eyes traveled down to it, then back up to him. I went to smack it away, but slipped on some water and dust.
"Well, didn't think you were so eager to hold my hand, Ashtray." My entire body seized up, eyes widening. I had to hearing things. Had to be.
"Excuse you?" Once I reached floor level, I swiftly yanked my arm back and away from him.
"Well, I figured if you didn't want me to call you a leader-like name, I'd call you common household items." The smile on his face was stupid.
"Boss!" My head whipped to Cassie, who was covered in blood.
And then she stopped. Her head swiveled between the two of us, from my face to his, to our bodies and its language. A smile broke out onto her face as she tried to slink back away, before I yelled at her.
"What!" She seemed to realize her situation was more dyer than the one in the lobby of the bunker.
"Um.. Be'eal.. He's.." I followed her back to the room almost immediately,
"Um.. ma'am.." He seemed sheepish now, not looking anyone in the face.
"You're okay?" He looked up at me for only a second, the atmosphere in the room hostile.
He nodded, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Oh, save your pity for someone who cares-" Doll spit out, scowling. Her attitude was hit with some whiplash as I smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Be'eal." His lip quivered, curling in on himself.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" More than one person turned their hostility to me.
I grit my teeth together, looking around at familiar faces. Some older, some younger, some around my age. Mixes of races, heights, weights. Some had blue eyes, hazel. Most were brown. Hair was all one stagnant color, covered in dirt. There were no showers in the top layer of this bunker, but maybe down below..
"Lay off of her. She's our leader now and if you have a problem, take it up with me." I half expected it to be Mark.
But it was Journey. And then Janette. The atmosphere thinned out pretty quickly after that, but I just let in a deep breath as Jackis held onto my arm to be picked up.
"Tensions are high right now. Herrent just passed, Be'eal was shot five times, we learned he was giving intel for over a year.." Again, I trailed off. A few people connected the dots almost instantly, the rest needed some time or for it to be explained.
"Why were you even on their side to begin with?" He started to nibble on his lip, slowly digging in his pocket before showing the room a locket. He unclasped it to show a man and a little girl. The man sort of looked like Be'eal, but much older.
"They had my daughter. She was special, or so they said. A human born between two shifters was one of the most uncommon things.. So they figured I would do anything to keep her safe.." The tears started to run down his face, just staring down at this remembrant.
"I'm.. so sorry.." His lip quivered as he tried to steady his breathing to speak again. Between small chokes and sobs, he was able to tell us why he had to leave us, acting how he did.
"I couldn't keep them at bay anymore. They.. they were going to kill my sweet Babybelle.." More than one head turned to look as someone made a noise, quickly exiting the room. The person who attended Herrent stayed next to the poor father as I went in search of who just left.
I found Mottie sitting in the kitchen, hands pressing into his face as I could see his shoulders shaking.
"Hey, what's up?" His head whipped up at me, staring for a moment before waving me over. My footsteps echoed the quiet room before the screeching of the chair silenced them. He reached out for my arm, but I flinched. Mottie retreated his hand back and I decided to crawl out of my bubble for a moment to grasp onto it.
"What happened?" He leaned his head on my shoulder, whispering the worst thing I could have ever heard in that moment. Probably the worst thing I would never have expected. It made my stomach drop and my stomach lurch.
"When.. when the bastards.. were walking away after shooting Be'eal.. one of them- one of them-" He tried to breathe through a sob, body shaking. My hand rubbed along his spine, trying to soothe Mottie as he explained this reaction. "One of them said.. how it- it was a good thing his daughter had been- had been dead for over- over a year.."