The Wolfpack

Chapter 3: Safety

     We walked for several hours as we tried to put as much distance between us and that motel. Jace was already carrying Ember by that time, due to her previous assault tiring her out more than the rest of us, Fang was running on fumes, and Blake was kind of floating as he used his wings to keep himself up. I was okay to walk, even with me being the only one without powers or special skills. The training I had from the assassins gave me all the energy I needed to stay energized and awake for days. As Fang shook his head to stay awake, he sighed.

     "We should rest... at least for a few minutes..." As he said this, Blake nodded and folded his wings, landing on his feet and laying face first on the ground. I sighed and nodded as well, dragging the birdkid to a nearby tree and leaning him against the trunk. Jace did the same for Ember as he set her down on the ground, laying down on the floor beside her.

     "Normally I can handle long walks. But not when I'm carrying another person." Jace sighed as he looked up at the sky. "How long are we going to keep walking? Where the fuck are we actually going to go?" No one had an answer to his question, so I shrugged as I sat cross-legged on the ground.

     "We really don't have a place in mind, do we?" I looked at everyone, who shook their heads no. I sighed and muttered, "Great. On the run without a location in mind." I closed my eyes and thought a moment. "If we knew what state we were in, we could find a hideout easier." I looked at the other four. "Does anyone have an idea where we are?" Jace shook his head, Fang shrugged, Blake was all but unconscious along with Ember.

     I looked up and sighed, shaking my head. "Completely lost, no way of knowing where we are, and we're running on empty for everything." I sighed and sat up. "Definitely how I wanted spend my weekend." I walked over to one of the signs near the road and wiped off the dust coming from it. The sign said, "Silver Streak City, 5 miles," in bold letters. I sighed in relief, at least knowing where we were. "Silver Streak City, California..." I walked over to the others and shared the news with them. However, everyone was already asleep as I got over there. I sighed and sat on the ground, closing my eyes and letting my mind wander my memories.

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     The next day, Kyle explained to us how the next city was 5 miles from us. Running on fumes, the five of us began walking toward the city. Fang and Blake were leaning against each other for support, since both of them were ready to collapse and their powers were keeping them up, and Kyle walked ahead of us all. I didn't know how, but the bastard had better than stamina than the rest of us. Ember walked beside me and took hold of my arm as we moved. As she did this, I immediately yanked my arm away, causing her to practically fall onto her face. She was lucky I caught her in time, but this motion caused everyone to look at us.

     Fang was the first to notice this and cleared his throat. "Hey Ember. Why don't you walk with Blake for a bit?" As Ember moved to walk with Blake, Fang walked beside me. "Mind explaining what that was all about, Jace?" I shook my head and kept walking, pocketing my hands. "Don't go mute on us, dude."

     I sighed and looked at him, giving him a silenced, "She grabbed my hand and I didn't like it. I don't want her touching me anywhere." Fang rolled his eyes and looked at me. "Look, I lost a lot of people, including my ex-girlfriend. I don't want Ember trying to nudge her way into my life, especially during this time and situation." 

     "Then tell her not to. You don't have to launch her onto the ground, man. I think we've all been through enough." I sighed and nodded as Fang talked. "Just take a second to calm down and breathe." I took a deep breathe and exhaled, looking at the road as it changed from dirt to actual road. "What was she like?" I looked at Fang as he asked the question. "Your ex-girlfriend, that is."