The Crescent

Chapter 20, An Uptight Pack

Chapter 19

Drifting through the water, its constant flowing motion would hide my scent for a while as I distanced myself from that looney pack.

That eerie silence seemed to follow me through the trees like it was warning me; warning me not to look back, not to see what was happening back at the place I had just escaped from.

My mind could only focus on Dingo’s eyes as he looked at me pleadingly before walking back towards his town.  He looked so sad yet so pleased to see me alive after I jumped out that window; I would have to do that more often if I knew.

The dark sky greeted me cheerfully; the light reflected from its stars, always used as my guide at night.  The stillness of the sky always had a calming feeling about it; the stars never moved and there was never any conflict.

Vera, how are you going’?

Letting my guard down over the last hour of travelling, Cody now chose to take advantage of this, getting in his opinion while he could.

‘I’m fine, are you finished scolding me now’?

The line went silent for a minute; making me wonder if Cody had hung up on me.

‘I just can’t imagine life without you; I feel empty without your presence here, not knowing if I’ll ever see you again’.

So sweet, this moment definitely wasn’t going to last.  As soon as Cody asked me where I was again and I couldn’t tell him; he was going to lose it. I could sense his fragile mood swings.

‘I will find you Vera; I won’t stop looking until I do’!

‘I know Cody; this isn’t my first time, I’ll survive’.

Deciding to shift, now that I was further down the river; my changing bones shredded the ugly dress Dingo had given me, my wolf hurting from been so far away from Cody.

Trying to push my wolf’s grief from my mind, I sniffed the air, looking for some clue as to which direction to now head.  The river was now beginning to curve to the west, its cover would no longer be of use to me and I needed to follow a track going south.

The scents I registered were not familiar or helpful, simply been trails of those who had returned to the pack where Dingo was, making me realise I wasn’t out of danger yet and needed to head south fast.

Now picking up a sprint, I bolted through the trees, having no time to stare up at the stars anymore.

‘Are you okay Vera’?

Here come the questions again; I thought I’d only just told Cody I was fine and he was worrying over nothing but apparently it wasn’t sinking in.

‘I’m running Cody; please stop asking’.

‘I miss you Vera’.

Choosing to cut off Cody again so he would stop rambling that he missed me and couldn’t go on without me and all that stuff, I focused on my surrounding, hoping to be ready if any wolf decided to take me on out here.

Crossing into a pack’s territory sooner than I expected, I scanned around the area, trying to see if I’d been through here when I headed to Cody’s pack the first time but the scents seemed unfamiliar and there were many.

Picking my sprint up again, I wanted to pass through this land fast before all those scents find my own and track me, warning every wolf in range that I was here.

The eerie silence that had been following me now dissipated and there were now birds chirping in nearby trees, this place obviously looked after well.