Alone • Liam Dunbar

Thirty-Eight

In the darkness, a pair of eyes watch me. 

They glow blue and white, a mixture of flame and snow, and stand as a divide between life and death. So much loss has been witnessed within their gaze. I wonder if that smoldering stare is my own, an embodiment of the lives taken by my hand, but I am soon proved wrong as rows of sharp teeth grow beneath the blaze, and a disastrous growl passes through that razor-cut smile. These eyes are not my own, they are that of a predator that stalks me in the shadows.

Fear floods me and I become desperate to leave this illusion, aware I was trapped in the confines of my own mind. I run into the endless black void ahead to evade what comes for me, even scream for help, but none of it grants me escape. That creature, that beast, follows and hunts me with intent. Its ferocious eyes and gnarly teeth draw near, and its great jaw unhinges itself to swallow me whole. It's only after I've been consumed do I finally wake, finding myself in a whole new nightmare entirely.

I don't remember everything at once, it all comes in pieces as I regain consciousness.

The supermoon stares back at me in my memories. It's accompanied by the saddened stares of my friends, the remnants of my guilt, and that familiar sensation of loss that always finds its way back to me no matter how much I heal. In that pain, I see Scott pulling away and Liam leaving, feel Hayden's cold body in my arms, and relive every second of betrayal that burdened me, caused by someone I trusted more than most; more than my own pack.

What the hell are you doing, I had choked out with horrified curiosity. Finishing what I started, he told me with more malice than I thought he was capable of.

My broken mind whirled with what that meant as I didn't know how deep Theo's betrayal truly ran. How long had he been scheming against us? How many of our failures had been birthed from his manipulation? Worst of all, were the Dread Doctors his doing, or was he just another piece of their plan?

There was no way for me to know whole truths with how deep into the darkness I had fallen, each memory of another possible secret or falsehood pushing me in deeper. Those horrid thoughts combined with the throbbing of my injured skull make it unbearable to even breathe. Every inhale torment, every exhale further punishment. It should be a gift to be alive yet it's not, because my current state seems to make me feel as though Theo is only biding time until my inevitable end.

He's tossed me haphazardly into the backseat of his truck, driving us to an undisclosed location. The only care for me that he took was to keep me restrained as his focus remained on the road, being sure I remained docile if I were to wake during our travels.

My wrists are bound by a single zip tie that cuts off my circulation from how taut it was pulled, and my mouth is gagged by a thick piece of fabric tied around my head, already soaked with my saliva. The only saving grace for me here was that he hadn't taken the time to do the same bindings to my ankles. 

I lift my leg with discretion as my senses come to me more clearly, moving slowly so as to not be heard, desperate to draw out the tanto knife I had hidden in my boot for freedom and defense.

"Already took it," comes Theo's snide voice.

Freezing, my body filled with tension, I peer up at my captor through the separation of the front seats. His eyes are still aimed at the mysterious road ahead, but I'm the one with his full attention. He waits for me to make any effort to speak through my gag or struggle in my binds, but I don't. I lay there, watching him, wondering how we ended up here.

My silence is apparently permission for him to goad me further than he already has.

"You know, Jac, I've always heard stories about you," he begins, his tone casual, as if we're old friends catching up. "You're one of the most infamous hunters the supernatural world has ever seen. Before you were even fifteen, you'd taken over a dozen lives, right? It's impressive."