The Risen

Chapter Twenty Five

Caught!
Cassi

Shadow and I walked through the woods, I knew we were no where near the truck anymore, it's been days since we last saw it, I have given up on following the truck, and instead I decided to find Ryder, and the two others that disspeared into the forest.

I got Shadow tracking the trail of one of the men that we're with Ryder, as we lost Ryder and girl after they went to a canyon.

However the other man, kept going down the side of the caynon.

"I wonder who all these people are that are with then Shadow?" I asked Shadow, not expecting an answer.

Shadow just kept his nose to the ground and I followed him, being carful not to mess the trail that this man left behind, I noticed that once we reached the canyon, it got increasingly more difficult to see his trail, I can barely see it, Shadow however still has his scent. For bad trackers this trail could be very difficult.

"I wonder why they split up? I mean clearly it had something to do with that herd that attacked them, and maybe it had something to do with that helicopter, I dunno Shadow, we'll ask them when we catch up" I spoke quietly.

I wondered what happened to Ryder and that women that was with him, there were signs of a fallen tree, maybe they used it to cross the caynon, if that was the case then I have to reach the end of it anyways, my best hope is to follow this man for as long as possible.

I continued to watch the caynon as I followed Shadow through the woods, I was careful not to fall in, a fall from here would knock me out and probably even brake something, maybe even kill me.

I heard a crack of a twig nearby.

Both me and Shadow stopped dead in our tracks

I pulled my bow from around my back and loaded a arrow from my quiver, I figured it was just a zombie.

Then I heard another twig snap from the direction I came from and I realized that this wasn't zombies.

It was an ambush

"Who's there!" I yelled.

Shadow began to growl.

Nobody answered, now I knew that they were either zombies, animals or they are violent.

Wonderful.

I heard someone climbing the trees above me, and I raised my bow found my target and fired my arrow.

I heard a "ow!" As a man fell from the tree right to me feet.

I grabbed another arrow and drawed my bow again, this time to the man's face.

Shadow wasn't worried about the man, he stayed focused on whatever was in the woods.

"Alright! I have your guy, nobody else needs to get hurt, show yourself!" I yelled.

A knife flew past my face and went into the river below.

"Fine, have it your way!" I yelled, I knocked out the man on the ground with my bow, and I watched as Shadow lept into the woods and grabbed on to the first person he found.

The women swung her arm in fear as Shadow was latched on to it digging his teeth deep into her arm.

"Get this mut off me!" She yelled.

I ran over to Shadow, and I saw another man who had a gun to Shadow.

I pulled another arrow out and aimed it at his skull.

"Drop the gun, and he'll stop!" I yelled.

The man hesatated and looked to the women, who was still trying to brake Shadows grip.

"Drop the god damn gun Shane!" She yelled.

The man slowly bent over and placed the gun on the grass.

"Now, kick it to me!" I said.

He looked to the women again.

"SHANE!" she yelled.

He rolled his eyes and in one motion he kicked the gun over to me.

"Shadow heel!" I yelled.

Shadow let go of the women and returned to me, where he growled at the women. I continued to raise my bow to the man, however I lowered my aim to his chest.

"Now, what the hell do you three want?" I said taking a glance to the man on the grass behind me, as I suspected his still knocked out.

The man answered me as the women ripped off apart of her sleeve and covered the bite wound.

"We're a Scvanger group of a part of a nearby community, hey uh, is the dog's name Shadow?" He asked.

"None of your business" and then I thought back to the night that Jayce got in the Jeep, the two men appeared to be strangers to Jayce.

"Does your group take in people?" I asked.

The man looked over to the women, however the women paid no attention  to him.

"Yes, but we don't organize that, you'll have to ask our team leader" the Man spoke.

"Where's your leader?" I asked them.

"What the hell is going on here?" A voice asked.

Four more people walked out into the clearing, in the center was a women, she was the person who just spoke, behind her were three men all armed with knives and pistols.

I was out numbered.

I lowered my bow.

"Charity! Oh thank God! This women was threating us we should kill her and her mut!" The women with Shadows bite said.

"Holly, shut up! Shane, what's going on?" Charity asked.

Shane rubbed the back of his head and looked over to the man that was knocked out.

"Billy heard them, and he wanted to attack them, I argued but, you know Billy" Shane said.

Charity rolled her eyes and face plammed.

"Yes, sadly I do know Billy" Charity started, then she turned her attention to me.

"What's your name?" She asked.

I looked to Shadow, and then to Shane and Holly, then back to who I asummed was Billy.

"Cassi, and this is Shadow" I said petting Shadow.

Charity looked to the other members of her group.

"Names Charity, I run a Scvanger group for a community, we're always looking for new members, are you interested?" She asked.

I was interested, but I had to find my brothers first. I thought back to the two strangers that appeared to the Tank, they spoke to Jayce and then they packed up and left.

"Do you have another Scvanger team?" I asked.

Charity looked to Shane and Holly, and then looked to me.

"No, why?" She asked.

I decided to be honest.

"I am tracking my brothers, they don't know I'm alive, anyways a few nights ago two men in a Jeep appeared at there camp, and they took them in this direction, I was wondering if maybe they were recruited for your community" I spoke to them.

Charitys eyes widened.

"A Tank. Yeah yeah, we have a two man team they radioed to us that they found a group at a Tank! Common we'll take you to our church!" Charity said turning to walk away.

I needed to know if she was telling the truth, so I tested her.

"Wait! How many people did your team get from the Tank?" I asked.

Charity turned around, she must've knew this was a test.

"I'm not sure, it wasn't more then five, but I think it was three, two men and a women, no kids or elderly" Charity said.

I nodded my head.

"Yeah, that's right. Ok, I'll follow you, common Shadow!" I said to the dog as we followed Charity and her group to the new community.