Fuck You, Mate

Chapter 4: Intruders

Funerals.

One after the other, people being buried.

In all my years of living, I'd never seen the pack cemetery so full of people. The loss was too fresh, most people just couldn't accept it.

But the worst of it was over.

Things were going to get better soon.

As I unbuttoned the black shirt I'd been wearing to all the funerals, I pondered over all the things I needed to do tomorrow.

The night was quiet except for the occasional hoot of owls or the chirping of insects, peaceful even.

Just as I made to take the shirt off, an ear-piercing alarm blared through the pack lands.

It went on and off, loud enough to destroy a normal human's eardrums. It was our safety alarm.

A wave of pain crashed into me, causing me to stagger backwards.

My knees bumped against my bed, making me nearly collapse on top of it when yet another hit of agony shook me up.

My barrier stones are being broken!

I felt my heart drop, dread pooling in the depths of my being.

Intruders, again?

Disregarding the fact that my shirt was open all the way, I got up and quickly dashed out the door of my bedroom.

The corridor was devoid of people, probably because it was one in the morning, but as I quickly walked towards the stairs, I could hear doors slamming open behind me.

But there was no screaming or yelling, no shouts or growls. It was clearly not another rogue attack. But I could still feel the panic of my pack through the mindlink.

Still moving fast, I projected through to them, "Everybody get inside the packhouse. Immediately. Any protective spells can only be cast within a small range in our current capacity."

Along the way, I buttoned my shirt back up again, looks like black time isn't over yet.

As I went down the stairs, two at a time, I ran into several people in the packhouse, all looking at me with fear and resignation in their eyes.

This could be the end of us.

My head throbbed in pain as fatigue took ahold of me.

Someone or something kept destroying my barrier stones one by one, and it was taking a toll on me.

Out of twelve, four were already gone. No matter how hard I tried to reinforce the remaining few, there was no helping it. My abilities were strained.

As I neared the front door of the pack, wide open as it was, I spotted Steve and Dante standing by the side, the former was holding a clipboard in his hands.

The moment they saw me come down, they made their way over.

"Just about everybody is inside the pack house, put up a shield or something Emral, you need to do something!"

I pushed him out of the way, snarling "Move."

In the place brimming with people, I somehow managed to reach the door unobstructed.

With my hand on the wooden surface, I said: "Don't panic. I sense no intent of harm from them, yet."

Slowly, I broke my link to all the barrier stones, they were useless anyway now. I only hesitated for a brief moment before reaching into my shirt pocket, bringing out a small pill.