The Black Rose Pack

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The young boy in front of us whimpered, his eyes wide and frantic, never once meeting my own. He continued to try and back away, but as his back hit the wall. By his face, I knew he knew that he was out of options.

Cautiously, I attempted to move into the room, taking small, light steps, holding my hands up to show him I wasn’t a threat. His eyes finally met mine for a fleeting moment before they moved around the room again. I wanted to speak to him, to tell him everything was alright, but he only whimpered again.

I could feel Serena’s presence behind me, her hand going to my back as if to tell me, stop, he’s afraid, and I listened, straightening up. Serena then lightly pushed me aside and walked towards the boy, saying it would be okay and not to be afraid of us.

Desperately, he looked for any way out of the decrepit room, not listening to Serena’s calming voice at all. He ran into an adjoining room suddenly, when shouting came across the back yard of the house.

Adeline jogged over to a large bay window and said bluntly, “Two chicks fighting.” I glanced over Adeline’s head into the dead back garden and saw nothing, but the shouting was still loud and clear.

“Serena, could you find that boy while Adeline and I find out about the girls?” I asked. Serena nodded and went into the next room.

Adeline cast me a quick look before jogging out into the hallway once more, making lme follow. We made our way back down the stairs, making sure to step lightly on the fraying carpet and almost shattering marble. As we stepped, puffs of dust blew up, and I tried not to breathe in.

The yelling became louder and louder with each step we took, and slowly, we made our way to the back again, cautious about whether they would attack or not. The two girls continued to bicker about God knows what, even as we opened the unhinged door.

“How can anyone trust you? You’re with them,” one of the girls, a blonde who was both tall and slender, spat, her eyes narrowing on the brunette in front of her.

“I’m not with them. I thought I made this quite clear: I don’t believe in the shit they say,” the other growled, her fists clenching, jaw tightening. I saw her eyes flash before she took control, her nostrils flaring.

“Oh really? How can I - or any of us - believe that?” the blonde one sneered, and this time, Adeline decided to step in.

“Shut it, the both of you, otherwise, you can find somewhere else to hide.” Neither listened, they only started shouting more.

Adeline, irritated, tried again to quiet the fighting girls, but again they didn’t listen and became even louder. The utter rudeness of the two made me snap.

“Hey, stop it, the pair of you. All your shouting and whining will alert a Royal soldier, who’ll then find this place and us. If I have to put duct tape over your mouths to shut you two idiots up then I will,” I shouted. My outburst surprised the girls enough that they stopped talking and finally noticed us.

We stood there for a few moments, waiting for the two girls to calm themselves. Their breathing was shallow, coming out in short bursts. Their clothes were tattered and worn - much like the rest of us, and they were both caked with dry mud.

I said, “We don’t need you here to blow our cover.” The blonde one went to speak, but I silenced her, holding my hand up and sending her a glare. She closed her mouth and crossed her arms. “Right now, we can’t cause attention. Already there are going to be more and more Royal guards out there, searching for survivors, and for now, we need to stay hidden. And this, this is our best shot.” I met both girls eyes, then turned my head to face Adeline, who wasn’t watching me, but the forest.