Beasthood

~Chapter 17 - Chosen~

This chapter is one of those that has little important details you'll understand later. Overall, it's all about showing you the Pack! Jaz is finally outside. What do you think of the new characters? Any Edda lovers out there? 

On another note, this chapter is dedicated to @LeopardLips! Thank you for the votes and love your display pic! Leopardlicious! xx

~Chapter 17 - Chosen~

Ten days later...

Saturday May 28th, 4:00 p.m.

Outside

After Jaz stuffed the books in her suitcase, the pretty boy she'd scratched across the cheek, Alf, carried it for her. Along with Maria and Edda, the four of them exited the room and Jaz saw the rest of the building for the first time.

They led her left down a long, cream corridor passing several closed doors on either side at regular intervals. She glanced at each one. They were numbered, like a hotel, but each had their own personal stamp: flower pots, picture frames. Door 11 even had artistic graffiti of a wild, white horse running free through a shallow pool. She liked that one most of all. It was on the last door to her left before the corridor swept right and pooled out into a bulb-shaped room. Jaz felt a swell of relief in her heart when she saw pure sunlight ahead. The stone floor sloped upwards. When the floor levelled out she looked up.

Beams of light stabbed through the ceiling. It was made of glass, thick -like the windows in Driver's room- and bubbled, resembling a strange, igloo-shaped greenhouse; something out of a sci-fi film with an ancient cave mix. The glass curved downwards forming a wall on one side; the side that led to the exit.

The sliding glass doors were pulled open by a beefy, red-headed man who was standing guard from the outside.

“Good morning, Tomas,” Maria acknowledged.

“It is indeed, Ma'am,” he replied in a thick Scottish accent.

Alf stepped through after Edda, releasing a grunt when Tomas slapped him across the back in greeting. Jaz gave Alf a sideways glance when he sniggered at Tomas in response. The Scottish man's grin was only just visible through his thick red beard.

When Alf walked through the doorway he waited outside by Edda, stopping when they both saw Jaz hesitate. Maria stood next to her, placing a delicate hand on her shoulder. Jaz gazed out the building with squinting eyes. The light hurt them more than usual: a side effect of her 'condition' she'd been told.

It was a strange feeling, to want to be outside so badly and when the chance came, to be too scared to go out. It felt like a trick. At any moment they'd slam the doors shut in her face and laugh at her from the other side. But they didn't.

Tomas gave her a warm smile as she sidled out, then he shut the door behind her and disappeared inside.

She shielded her sensitive eyes from the blinding, afternoon sun and gazed at the landscape in awe.

The land of Deer Creek was vast. From the pieces of information both Skye and Maria had told her, Deer Creek land must have been over twenty thousand acres, bordered off by a river that separated them from the Packs to the north. There were five Northern Britain Packs in all. The biggest in number was the Red Sword Pack. The Deer Creek Pack, however, had more land with deeper forests. That meant more wildlife to hunt.