DISCORDIA

[ 16 ] lone wolf

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     LONE WOLF

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     THE DEW DROPS HUNG LIKE MORNING GEMS as the sunrise rode out across the land in all its glory. They had been walking for hours, Jinny's feet hurt and the bag strap was now digging uncomfortably into her shoulder. Her entire body ached with fatigue and anxiety as they followed Finn's tracking through the undergrowth. They had reached a patch of woods that was painted almost completely in green, mossy tendrils running rampant over damp wood.

     "I got nothing," Finn said in defeat. "I lost the trail."

     The soft foliage and knotted roots all along the ground would definitely have camouflaged any tracks the Grounder made through this way. Jinny sighed as Finn paused momentarily to gain their bearings.

     "Keep looking," Bellamy told him.

     Jinny turned her gaze upwards when she thought she heard a rustle overhead, but all she could see was the sun speckled leaves that clustered all around them. The warmth from the dawn was a welcome change from the previous night's cold though.

     "Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find your sister," Finn said. "We should backtrack..."

     "I'm not going back," Bellamy said aggressively.

     "Hey," Roma suddenly interrupted. "Where's John?"

     Jinny whirled around and scanned their group, finding that the boy had mysteriously vanished. Unease started to settle on her brows, and she gripped her spear tighter as she strained her senses.

     "I just saw him a second ago," Jasper said breathlessly.

     "Spread out," Bellamy suggested. "Couldn't have gotten that far."

     "Be careful," Jinny called out as the kids started heading off in different directions.

     A nagging feeling inside her head was telling her that something wasn't right. Just as she was about to join the search for the boy, he fell down onto the ground right in front of her. She cursed out loud, drawing everybody's attention towards John's lifeless body. His unseeing eyes stared back at her, a deep gash running across his throat as blood spewed out of the gaping wound. Finn ran forwards to examine the damage, then looked up into the canopy.

     "They use the trees," he said to Bellamy.

     "No, really? I never would have figured that," Jinny retorted sarcastically. "Thought they threw him from a catapult and landed right at my feet!"

     He shot her a small glare in consternation.

     "We shouldn't have crossed the boundary," Diggs said, his face pale.

     "Now can we go back?" Roma asked.

     "There," Jasper suddenly spoke softly. He pointed his stick out in front of him. "Right there."

     Jinny followed the direction that he indicated and found a figure standing in the distance between the slender trunks of the deciduous trees. From the posture, she could tell that it was a man wielding axes in both hands. He looked like he was ready to run head long towards them- a predator hunting for prey.

     "Another one," Diggs said, looking at the opposite side where a figure was running through the bushes with what looked like a sword and shield.

     All around them, more adversaries were making themselves known by standing out in the open. It felt like they were taunting them, trying to rile them up with their menacing presence.