Amalgam Nation [This could possibly shock you, you've been warned.]

Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11

The seriousness of the situation dawned on me that night. We had been living in a fantasy world. We farmed the earth, hunted, lived and loved honestly believing that we had lived through World War Three. The realisation that there was more yet to come was like a blanket of wet cement. The amalgam nation was a freak nation. The humans didn't want us on their Earth, we didn't belong and were abominations in their eyes. They could achieve our extinction if they tried, I saw what power they had today and it was frightening.

I had my own emotional weights, I had the guilt of what I had done to Flynn, I now had new added stresses of threats against the people I love. So I decided to run.

It was well after midnight by the time everyone left the fire side to sleep. Eagon had carried Key inside as an added precaution. The night had taken a grim turn after I'd given the family any information I could remember and had answered their questions. I felt pressured, if they wanted answers surely they could go and watch instead of me for a change? I was the only one who though that keeping an eye on Hebinon had been a good idea. Okay, so that's not entirely true, I was there to look out for any signs that would lead to the resting place of my children. But I needed some kind of incentive to watch their disgusting behaviour for ten or twelve hours a day.

"Bed sweety?" Flynn came up behind me at the fire side, he put his arms around my waist and kissed my check softly. He was a formidable hunter and yet he could be so gentle with me.

"Soon, I thought I'd sit up for a while, keep a look out you know?" I swallowed the white lie. Hoping he couldn't tell I wasn't being entirely honest.

"I don't want you out here alone, you spend so much time alone as it is. Come on baby, come and cuddle with me?" I could imagine his puppy eyes and the pouted lips.

"I'll come to bed soon, I promise." I plastered a fresh smile on my face and turned to him, I couldn't help but get captivated by his bright golden eyes for a moment, those perfect teeth and straight alert ears. He really was a picture of perfection especially in the flickering fire light with the sounds of insects singing in the background. I had to push my rising feelings away, not now.

"Soon." He replied and kissed me on the nose and moved towards the cave mouth. I blew him a kiss as he entered.

I felt the tension in my knees, my shoulders, my neck. I was like a tightly wound spring and I had to escape from reality just for a moment. I threw off my heavy jacket and my boots. I loved the feeling of soil beneath my padded feet, the beautiful natural smell of moss and mildew that swirled from the undergrowth as I took off at a sprint north. Away from the lake, Hebinon and pack home.

The air chilled my skin, I shucked off my singlet top as I ran, I felt so free. I smiled as I watched the clouds clear overhead and the moon shone through lighting my way, it made every dew drop glitter. The woods turned into an ice palace around me, I disturbed a grove of fireflies and they circled me as I ran through them, I wanted to run naked and just give myself to the wild. Give in to the instincts that clawed under my skin.

I pushed my body to its limits, I grunted through the pain in my legs as I climbed up a particular hill. My chest burnt and my mouth was dry but my gosh it felt good, this is where amalgams belonged, living away from the stresses of human intervention. We were made for this. I lifted my arms above my head as I caught my breath at the top of the slope and surveyed the land. I managed a semi-satisfactory pirouette and sank to the damp grassy ground.

Lifting my face to the moon I couldn't stop the rise within me, my body craved to claim this space as my own. I took a deep breath and one long wailing note erupted from my lungs, I sang to the moon and the forest, thanking nature for the gifts that it gave to me. I closed my eyes and let that one piercing howl echo through the night.