Buried

CHAPTER 45 | fire

📎A/N. Now I don't know how you did it, but a few of you guessed the title of this chapter ahead of time ;)

This one is a bit long so grab a drink and some popcorn and settle in.

Take care

❤ ℳ 

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Kaitlyn's limbs had become numb. She stretched as much as she could from her vantage point behind a large conifer, taking care not to expose her position. While it was dark and the forest was thick with trees, she knew any little movement could be noticed by the wrong eyes should they look in her direction.

They had taken the long route through the forest making sure to keep down wind of the estate. For the others the trip had been easy, the lack of light had not affected them. Kaitlyn, however, had not such advantage. Her eyesight, while having 20/20 vision, was nowhere near as superior as the Werewolves, and she spent the first part of the trek bumping into trees and tripping over exposed roots.

Her distress at slowing the others down must have been evident when she noticed Murphy's wolf had begun to walk alongside her. It wasn't long before they caught up to Tim, who appeared to be waiting for them.

"He wants you to hold on to his mane," he said in a low voice. "He'll guide you through. We still have a way to go."

Kaitlyn shook her head. "No. He needs to be up front to guide the rest of you."

There was a short silence as Murphy's wolf gave Tim further instructions. "Joshua knows where we're going," Tim said, repeating the wolf's instruction, "Besides, he said you are of no use to anyone if you fall and break something."

The rest of the trek went smoothly and without incident. Kaitlyn held on to Murphy's wolf fur as he deftly guided her to their destination. She was thankful for the warmth his thick coat provided her in the otherwise chilly night.

Kaitlyn was impatient for their assault on the house. The wait was almost killing her. Risking exposure, she glanced around the tree that was hiding her from view. She could barely make out the house in the distance. Luck had been on their side when clouds had formed in the night sky, obscuring the light from the crescent moon. While it made their approach through the dense woods slower, it ensured they had a less chance of exposure.

Throughout her years in the F.B.I, she had been on more than her fair share of raids and stakeouts. It was part of the job and after a while had become second nature. This time, things were different. Never before had she been as fearful or restless as she was now. This time, the stakes were higher. The operation was more personal and had every nerve ending standing at attention. From the pit of her churning stomach to her tightened chest, she was on edge and anxious for the assault to begin.

A thought struck her turbulent mind and Kaitlyn held back a nervous laugh that was in danger of escaping.

Heaven help me!

It had not escaped Kaitlyn that instead of the heavily armed squad of agents, the myriad of communication networks and the digital eyes on ground and in the air that were standard in this type of raid, she was about to siege a heavily fortified estate with a small bunch of immigrants, one handgun and one Taser - only used once. She closed her eyes and sent out a silent prayer that her mother stay safe until she could get to her.

Kaitlyn flinched at the unexpected hoot from a nearby owl and her heart jumped in her chest as it began thumping against her ribcage. No sooner had she gotten her pulse under control, a rustling of leaves caught her attention and Kaitlyn's head swung in the direction of the noise. Her hand snapped to the gun on her hip and it was unholstered in a flash. When the form of Molly's wolf appeared in front of her a few moments later, she breathed a sigh of relief and her shoulders relaxed.