The Venatrix

Chapter Three

At the first sign of darkness, I shot up towards the surface. I swim up to where I hid my gear and drag myself out of the water. A part of me misses getting cold or even more being warm. The weird thing is, I've spent the last twelve hours in a lake with fish, blood, mud, blood, nasty sand stuff, blood and other weird aquatic creatures that didn't look like fish. Anyway, I don't smell like I spent all day in a lake. I guess when I was changed my old scent was embalmed into the new me. No matter how dirty I may get, my scent remains the same. 

Now, I feel and look like I've been in a lake. My hair is caked with mud. My skin feels slimy. The underneath of my fingernails are stained with blood. I'd kill for a nice clean sparkling river to wash off in or even better a waterfall. A real shower is out of the question due to the whole lack of control thing but maybe, eventually I'll get my hands on some real soap. 

I sit down on the embankment and air dry. I don't want to put on the suit wet. If I let the only few pieces of clothing that I have get moldy that could be problematic. The moon is full, and the night air nips into my skin. It feels great. The area is just so quiet which usually means there is not a lot of animal activity. I can survive off fish but eventually the lake will run dry and anyone who does come here would probably report it to the wildlife agency. 

As I start putting my gear back on, I hear the sound of footsteps followed by voices and the sound of muffled cries. I quietly slip on the remainder of the gear before edging closer to the voices using the trees as my cover. 

"Master isn't going to be happy that it's taking us so long." One of the men said. 

"Well, he only sent two of us, and we had to outrun a pack of wolves." The other one said. 

"God, can't we just take a sip from this one? I'm thirsty." One of them whined. 

"No! The master wants the young wolf untouched and pure. We have to follow his wishes." The first man said. 

I peek around the tree just to see a young she wolf tied up in a hog style. She is blind folded but that doesn't hide the tears that stream down her face. A rag is shoved in her mouth to keep her from crying out or screaming for help. Her arms and legs are covered in scratches from her rough treatment. Her long blonde hair is congealed together from the mud and debris She's been dragged through. Judging from her small frame, and stature I have to assume that she is between the ages of seven and ten. There is no way in hell that this girl stood a chance against two vampires. 

I feel my blood boil. Anger and rage flow through my veins. This is why I hate vampires. This is the reason I hunted vampires. They are selfish, self-righteous, arrogant creatures. There are other means of food besides feeding on humans and wolves. I got into this business so I could protect people and I'll be damned if I let this girl fall victim to them. 

I gently pull my gun from its holster and tip toe closer. I set my sight on the big burly man standing protectively in front of the girl. His eyes are dark. He's thirsty but too afraid to break orders. He will never thirst again. I point the gun, aim at his head. I pull the trigger. A loud boom sounds off, but he quickly turns to ash. The girl screams against her gag. 

Now I have the other one's attention. I pull a stake out from my sash. My gun is still in my right hand. The stake in my left. He charges carelessly forward. The second he gets within a foot of me. He takes a stake to the chest. I hear the girl cry against her gag again. 

I walk over to the girl and grab her gently by her arm before repositioning her, so she is sitting awkwardly on her knees. I carefully remove her blind fold and then the gag. 

"Please don't hurt me!" She pleads before even opening her eyes. I gently move her hair away from her neck and check for bite marks. They said they didn't bite her, but I want to be sure. When I am assured that her neck is clear of bite marks. I place her back on her stomach and tear away her bindings. 

She immediately falls over. Her legs and arms are probably numb due to being tied up for so long. I take a couple of steps back not wanting to traumatize her any further. She starts softly crying and after a few long minutes she starts sobbing. 

"I just want to go home." She cries. 

"Where are you from?" I hear myself asking but quickly start cursing myself. I should just drop her off at the nearest pack. I can't travel during the day anymore.  so, I can't travel with a wolf without her suspecting what I am. 

Her big blue eyes widened at my question. 

"You're willing to help me get home?" She asks, still laying on her stomach. Doing her best to make eye contact with me. I'm thankful that the mask is dark enough to hide my red eyes. 

"Yeah but traveling with me won't be comfortable. I only travel at night. I don't have money for us to stay at a hotel or stop to get any type of real food. You'll have to help me hunt, sleep outside and go without a shower. If you can't do that then I'll drop you off at the next pack that I find. Maybe they can help you." I warned her. 

She awkwardly sits up. Closing her eyes seemed to be weighing her options. Before looking at me with eyes full of determination. 

"I'll put up with whatever I have to. I just want to go home to my family." She speaks. 

"Alright then. Where are you from?" I ask. 

"Alaska." She says. Fuck, that's a problem considering that I don't know where we are now. 

"I'm going to level with you kid. I have no clue how we are going to get there considering where we are now." I admit. 

"I heard them say something about needing to get me to Nova Scotia." She whispers. So, we are somewhere along the east coast. If my math is correct, that's a little over seventy hours by car. Which means It's going to be almost triple that on foot, especially if I have to take it slow. 

"That's going to be roughly eight to ten days on foot even at my speed." I said slowly. 

"I don't care. I want to go home." She says crossing her arms determined. 

"Alright, let's go." I say picking her up and positing her on my back. She carefully wraps her arms around my neck as I adjust my arms, so she is secure. 

"Which way is it, Miss Venatrix?" She asks. 

"We are heading west." I declare and take off running.