Clan Nemesis

Chapter 3: War Ground

The seat below me was hard and uncomfortable, and bounced with every crack on the narrow stretch of road we traveled on.

Mitchel didn't tell me where we were going, just gave me the bag with the rifle and shotgun. I had already put the pistol into my belt. Then he shoved me into the back of the truck with 7 other people from my clan and began  driving. Nobody said a word as we drive down the only highway, no other cars were on this road.

I assumed we were going to the border of our land, where the fighting was supposed to happen, judging by everyone's solemn faces and scrunched brows. The woman sitting across the aisle from me sat with a grimly determined scowl that somehow reminded me of my mother. Oddly enough, I took comfort in that. I guess I just thought it better to have a familiar face with me.

Truthfully, I was happy to have someone who looked like my mother because I had no idea where she was and if she was safe or not. It made me stop worrying for a few minutes and relax.

Then the truck suddenly stopped and the back doors opened, casting light into the darkness. People all around me stood up and stepped out in single file till I was the last one. Mitchel poked his head in and furrowed his brows.

"C'mon," he said in an odd tone.

"Where are we?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

He hesitated before replying "Eastern border" and motioning me to exit the truck. I stood up and walked solemnly to the doors then jumped down. The scene before me was so much different than I imagined.

There were people everywhere. Not fighting, just milling around and talking to each other. There were tents set up towards the right in front of a few boulders, and I recognized the white coats of doctors and vets, as well as normal people; they must have set up a clinic there to treat injured people. To the left were two large camo-colored tents, probably the armory. In the middle was a large group of people staring at one person who I couldn't see clearly. There were a few people who were walking back and forth across what I assumed was the physical border of our land with the Ralley's.

Mitchel grabbed my arm and pulled me forward towards the gathered crowd. As we got closer, I saw the man everyone was staring at, and I realized he was talking. His light brown hair was swept across his for head by the harsh wind , but his green eyes looked determined to deliver his message. He paused from his speech when he looked up and noticed us.

"Mitchel, your late. I told you a very specific time to be here," his strong, commanding voice caught me off guard and I involuntarily stopped. He shifted his gaze to me and his hard eyes seemed to soften a little. I can only imagine what I looked like to him; a scared little kid who hadn't shifted yet, seemingly caught in the middle of a battle I wouldn't understand. I probably looked something like a deer caught in the headlights of a car who nearly hit it, small and frightened.

And that's exactly how I felt in that moment, small and frightened. I managed to stand up straighter and paste a grim expression on my face, but it didn't fool him. He only smirked and then looked back to Mitchel, his eyes turning hard again.

"I don't mind, just don't teach your sister your bad habits," he said then continued with his great speech that I could hardly pay attention to. I was staring at his eyes and trying to memorize his facial features. He was so handsome, I couldn't help it. His jaw was wide and highly-defined, and was speckled with a few brown hairs where he would have a beard. His nose was long and narrow and was flanked by his captivating green eyes. His eye brows were pulled together with wrinkles between them. Wrinkles are typical of those in our army force, practically part of the uniform. I estimated him to be around 25, but I couldn't be sure.

He didn't look at me again, but he could probably feel my gaze on him. His green eyes were soft again as he addressed the crowd about what we were supposed to do. I only heard bits and pieces, but he said something about if we needed to cross the border, we would need to stick together.

Wait we're crossing the border? I was pulled back into reality and looked up at Mitchel. He didn't look nearly as confused as I felt, in fact he looked almost comfortable.

I looked back at the guy giving the speech and caught his eye. He paused momentarily then continued.

"This being said, you are not to shoot any enemies you see. You are to attempt to start a conversation and convince them to meet with me here. However, your safety is the number one priority here. If someone shoots at you or your life is in danger, you have permission to shoot back."

A younger guy that I recognized as being two years older than me walked up to the first guy and whispered something in his ear, then motioned towards the armory tents. The first guy nodded then dismissed us.

I looked around and saw Mitchel walking towards the armory, so I ran to catch up to him and grabbed his arm. "Mitchel! What was that guy saying? I couldn't really hear," I asked him. It was partially true; I couldn't hear over the commander's handsomeness.

Mitchel looked at me disapprovingly, then shook his head, "Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Your staying here." He shook me off of him and kept walking.

"Wait! But I want to help," I cried.

"You can't, Faye. There's nothing you can do to help. You haven't changed yet, you'll just get in the way." With that, he ripped his arm from my grasp and stalked away while I stood rooted in place.

Rage bubbled inside me, I was sick of how everyone thought I was a nuisance because I hadn't changed yet. I turned to walk towards the tents at the other end of our post, wondering if my mom would be there.

I turned around and found myself looking at the chest of the person who had walked up behind me without me seeing.

I took a step back and looked up to see the face of the man who had addressed us earlier.

"Oh, uh, hi," I began awkwardly.

He chuckled with a smirk and replied, "Well, hi there. Arek." He held out his hand.

I immediately grabbed it, saying, "Faye". He held my hand with his strong grip and shook.

"I know. You're Samuel's daughter. Pretty hard to mistake," he joked.

I blushed red and looked down. "Oh, yeah," I mumbled under my breath. I was internally slapping myself for being so dumb. Idiot. Your dad's the leader, of course Arek knows you. Way to make yourself look stupid in front of a hot guy.

"So, your brother's not letting you go out with us?" Arek dropped my hand and changed the subject, thankfully.

"Yeah, but I guess he has a point. I haven't shifted yet, and I'm not good at fighting. But I can shoot pretty well," I answered honestly, looking up at him. Dang he's tall, I thought to myself.

"Well it shouldn't matter that you haven't shifted yet, we can use all the shooters we can get. You can come with my platoon, but we're going to meet with Monroe Ralley, their leader."