Out in the Woods [5SOS AU]

Chapter 12

Once they had reached the nearest road, it was only a matter of time before they were back with civilisation. It was weird, as the only ones that had really been near any town lately had been Ashton or Bryana, for groceries. Calum on the other hand hadn't been back properly since he ran away and joined Ashton's pack and Luke, well, he hadn't really been back either ever since he joined the pack. But he had his reasons too.

"Is it far?" Luke questioned curiously, as the five of them were in the car towards the more rich part of town. The blonde had been asking all kinds of questions, but nobody had really bothered to answer, except for occasionally Valeria. Only if she knew the answer. "Not anymore."

Ashton perked up at that, feeling the energy flow back in and making him alert. Anytime they could have to look for Michael and the moment they had to, he wanted to be ready.

Valeria gave Bryana -who was driving- new instructions, which led them into a neighbourhood, bringing them all the way down the street, until the number of houses was two every mile or so. And eventually, they reached a big landscape with a huge house on it. There was a stone path that led to a small fountain, which was the middle of the driveway, basically. For some reason, the fences were open, making them all sneak in after they had parked the car a little away, trying to let it go by unnoticed. The girl pointing out where not to walk so they wouldn't be spotted by cameras. Advantage of having lived there all her life.

The five of them made their way to the big stone house, which was a polished almost pearl-white colour, screaming the word 'money'. The boys ignored that fact however, and focused on their senses, trying to sniff out their missing pack-member.

"They're probably keeping him in the cellar." The girl whispered, once they reached a small pair of wooden doors in the ground next to the house. "This is the emergency escape of the cellar, but it isn't locked or barricaded. I always used it to get out of the house unseen."

Everyone nodded, watching the girl swing open the small wooden doors before she descended the wooden stairs. One by one they followed, Calum in front and Ashton last, to protect the rest of their pack. Once they were all inside, Valeria closed the wooden doors again, turning to the other four. "We should split up. The ground to cover is huge and he could literally be anywhere."

Ashton growled, stepping forward and in front of his pack. "You really have no idea of a more precise location?"

Valeria sighed quietly, looking behind her. "No. I know there are a few rooms that are too collapsed or whatever to be used, but those have a sign on the doors. It still leaves too many rooms for them to keep him in."

The Alpha thought for a moment, before turning to his pack. "Cal, you're with her. Bry and Luke stay with me."

Luke seemed to think about protesting, before seeing the harsh stare of his Alpha and looking away quickly. Ashton had done this purposely, yes. He and Luke were still a bit on the rocks, but he knew if he left Luke alone with the girl or with the girl and someone else, things might end differently.

"Okay, let's go." Valeria gestured for everyone to follow, while Calum stayed close to her. Just in case she took a sudden turn. After all, they were teamed up now.

"How do we find the exit though? Like, in case we find him or need to get out quick." Bryana asked, her hand finding Ashton's and holding it tightly. The girl looked back once, smiling lightly as she saw the two holding hands, before focusing on the hallway again. "If you look well enough, you can see small red arrows on the ceiling. I made those once so I could always find the emergency exit. The larger yellow ones were made once by someone so you can find the way back to the house. Though I advice you to not follow these."