Take Me Down

Familiar

Genevieve ran along beside Brett, surprised that she was able to keep up with his long legs but too terrified to actually register anything besides fear as they fled from the hunters. She'd never had to actually run for her life like this before, although the pit in her stomach felt sickeningly familiar. Growing up in several toxic foster homes meant Genevieve was used to the sense of danger, to seeing her life teetering on the edge of an ending, but usually she was just able to curl up and block out the abuse. She could retreat into herself until she blocked out the world around her.

But this was different.

This was a new kind of danger. This was all adrenaline, all fast moving as she weaved between school buses, ducking as arrows rushed past her. There was no time to think, no time to retreat into her mind. If she let her mind take over, she lost. She knew that much for sure.

Her werewolf senses, sharper and clearer than she was used to, had kicked in now although she didn't really understand how to utilise them. Genevieve could feel her body moving swiftly through the school grounds. Her feet pounded against the hard ground below and she barely had time to process where she was going, just letting her new instincts take over instead.

This would have been fine if Genevieve had actually had any control over her new senses. It might have been fine if she knew how to hone her senses properly, to pause and spot the danger before running headfirst. But she was too new and too overwhelmed by the sharp images contrasting with the blur of the rain. Everything seemed too clear, too sharp and she couldn't process it all fully, her mind racing too fast to absorb it all. It was like a sensory overload, like she was experiencing everything too much. So instead Genevieve just ran until she found herself in the middle of the lacrosse field.

"Genevieve! Wait up!" Lori was sprinting out behind Genevieve, her eyes determined as she headed towards the small redhead. "Keep moving!" she shouted out, waving a hand as she ran, indicating for Genevieve to keep moving. But Genevieve was stuck, her hands shaking a little as she glanced down and took in the claws forming. It was if she wasn't even looking at herself, like she didn't recognise her own hands. Like they weren't even a part of her body. She was frozen, her mind coming to an abrupt halt, barely even hearing the way Lori's voice got louder and more frantic.

Lori had reached her now, and she tried to tug on Genevieve to get her to move but it was no use. The redheaded wolf was practically glued to the grass below her feet, unable to be pushed or moved at all as she stood staring at her hands, her breath quickening as a panic attack began to bubble to the surface.

"WAIT!"

It wasn't until she heard Brett's deep voice shout out from across the field that Genevieve was even able to look up, her eyes glowing a bright yellow as she spotted Brett's tall form sprinting towards her and Lori. But he was too late. As soon as Brett reached the two girls, the lights around the field suddenly snapped on, flooding the field with blinding fluorescent lighting.

Despite the rain, Genevieve's vision were still sharp, and she could make out the red dots darting towards them until they landed on Brett. There were too many red dots to count. They were targets. The three werewolves were outnumbered. They were trapped.

"Brett? Brett, what's happening?" Lori asked, shouting over the heavy downpour of rain. The fear was clear in her voice and it did absolutely nothing to help Genevieve who was still fighting off her panic attack.

"Close your eyes," Brett said after a quiet moment as he tugged both girls behind him. Lori quickly obeyed, closing her eyes tightly shut as she huddled behind her big brother, tugging Genevieve to move behind her as well. Genevieve stumbled, moving without even really thinking as she kept her eyes on Brett. He glanced behind at her, nodding slowly.