No Tomorrow

.

"I can see it in your face- we might as well go if it'll help clear your head."

He tugged me up onto the balls of my feet and I simply froze when he wrapped his long arms around me in a hug and buried his face into my neck with a shudder.

"Try not to transform, alright?"

*

"Right here?"

All that seemed to be left of last night were two big puddles of half dried blood and brain matter mixed into some gravel and dust and the smell of it all was sour on my belly. Jay kept watching me as I vomited right between the puddles of the gore until I was done and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, I could feel the tang of fear in the air but it all felt...off, I didn't know if it was the heat of the day or what...but something was making the muscles of my stomach tremble like I was about to be sick again. Whatever bullshit nonsense Daryl had caused me and whoever these other people were, he didn't deserve to be caught like some caged animal.

"....you ok?"

I spit on the gravel and backed up until my back hit the same tree he was leaning against and I just shrugged, my belly was heaving this way and that and every time I swallowed, it made me want to heave.

"Worse things have happened to me but I don't get why you took me here Jay, me seeing this isn't going to bring any of them back."

"Well no shit- but I thought it would help to figure out where they're keeping Daryl. I know that you miss him because you've been talking about him in your sleep ever since...well...yeah."

I flushed; ever since that happened I'd been having nightmares about Daryl but I had no idea that I was talking about them. Jay just smiled and kissed a spot on my head before he took a few steps into the little clearing to inspect some of the tire markings.

"Don't stress yourself out Belle, I know how imprinting goes, remember? I'm fine with just being a fling if that's what you want, but you love the dude, anyone can see that."

I was about to protest that I loved him more but Jay straightened up and held a finger up into the air to be quiet, off in the woods further then we were I heard a motor and wheels rolling over the ground and after listening for a few seconds his eyes went wide.

"What?"

With the grace of a deer he loped back over to me and tackled me gently to the ground before throwing a bunch of leaves over me and standing back up when I was covered from head to toe.

"They might have sent out a party to make sure that no one lingered around for too long- I'll lead them away from you ok? Try not to move- and remember not to transform alright? Whatever happens, do not transform."

Jay stripped his clothes off and hid those as well before he changed into his wolf self near the gore on the gravel, he made a show of smashing some paw prints into the ground and raked scratch marks into some of the trees before he turned his big head in my direction. He seemed to be whimpering something to me as the noise got closer until he kicked around and took off in the direction we came in from, my mind was still clouded with confusion; why would he tell me not to transform? I couldn't think too much on it because before too long a bright blue truck rumbled to a halt right in the middle of the gravel. From my hiding place I saw six men all get out from the cab and the back ofthe thing but I was too scared to move.

.....they're going to notice where I got sick...

One of the men busied himself looking at the prints that Jay left behind to notice too much but another, smaller built man with wiry looking black hair and glasses d i d notice the vomit; he put a few fingers to his mouth and whistled to attract the attention of the others. Some of which were looking around the trees and walking off into some of the trees a little.

"Someone's here, this shit's fresh."

A man with a sandy blonde tinge to his hair looked around the trees again and for a second time I was worried that he spotted me but then a loud howl ripped through the air, it was long and guttural but everyone excluding the sandy haired man snapped to attention. The howling stopped and he snapped a few of his fingers together to make the others look at him with apt attention for apparant orders, there was a sense of familiarity to him but my brain was failing to connect the dots.

"I knew that I recognized that country fuck we took- there has to be a woman around here and another man at least. Leave the woman alive for me. Go, now!"

All the men but the one climbed back into the truck and took off in the direction Jay ran in and the sandy one stayed behind to start combing the trees closer, sifting through piles of leaves with his feet and the panic really began to set in; all the blood slithered from my face as I tried to move from under the leaves without making too much noise. I remembered exactly where I knew this man from, it was like I could smell the water from the old mining compound again.

No...no chance in hell....

The man got close enough for me to smell the stench of his sweat and he leered when I slipped out from under the leaves and he spotted me.

"Well, well, well....as I live and fucking breathe...miss me much over the years darling?"