Dragon Blood (pack fanfic)

Chapter three

(Vikk's POV)

I walk through town, my phone reading that the time is 12:30. I must have woken up late, like usual, then. I see other people on the street, most laughing and chatting with friends. I feel another stab of longing for my twin. Don't get me wrong, I love all my brothers very much, but I miss him. I wonder if he misses me, wherever he is.

I get to the edge of town, and stare into the forest. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. On days like these, kids like me...... are usually not off in the woods alone. I wipe the image of a skeleton from my mind and pull out my map and compass. This forest is so big, that a lot of it is still uncharted. My map only goes as far as a river that cuts through the center. I went up and down the river to find that the river goes from one end of the forest to the other. Now, nothing is left to explore besides the other side. I tuck away the map and open up my compass to start heading Northeast. There's a deer trail that will take me right to the river.

I walk through the brush, counting off the landmarks as I go. It's about 20 minutes later when I reach the river. I went downstream a little ways to find the shallow part that I had marked on the map. I step across start walking around. It seems just like the rest of the woods. I mark down a few more landmarks, like big rocks or fallen trees. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see a bit of red.

I whirl around to see a tree with blood covering the branches. Bits of rabbit hair calm me down a little bit, but...... wolves don't put their food in trees. Did the rabbit get hurt up there, and then drug off by something? Why in the tree? As my mind works to try and think out all the possibilities, I fail to notice the slowly growing smell.

I snap out of it when I hear a tree fall. I get a whiff of the air, and immediately freeze.

Smoke...... and that means fire.

(Unknown POV)

I soon get bored watching everyone, so get up and leave the clearing. We don't have a lot of rules, so we all do pretty much whatever we want. I walk through the trees while listening to the birds chirp. I smile, before jumping up into a tree. I lick my lips and whistle a five note tune. Mockingbirds echo it. That's another thing that mom can't do. I'm the only one who can whistle. I feel like there's more to the little tune, but I can't remember the rest.

I lean my head back against the tree trunk and listen to the tune travel across the forest. But then, it stops. It's replaced by the warning call of the blue birds. I crouch on my branch and scan the area for danger. That's when the smell hits me. Fire.

(Vikk's POV)

I barrel through the trees, already seeing smoke emerge from behind me. The fire is on this side of the river, so I can't get back to the other side while it's still burning. I run blindly forward. The fire is spreading with every moment. I can see rabbits and squirrels running as well. I even spot a deer in the distance.

But I don't see the tree root sticking up in my path. My foot catches underneath the root, and I'm thrown in it my face. My ankle throbs in agony, and I quickly look down to see it swelling up. I try to get up, but only fall back down. My ankle is probably broken. I just basically killed myself. Waves of smoke start to wash over me, making me cough and hack. I see fire coming closer to me.

"Please.... H-Help", I whimper before falling unconscious.

(Unknown POV)

I sprint back to the caves as fast as I can. I have to warn them! We need to leave! Smoke is already curling into the sky. I break through the trees and skid into the clearing. Gone. No one is here. I quickly check all the caves before ducking into mine. Everyone is already gone. They probably just assumed that I had already died. My skin isn't fire proof like their scales.

My cave entrance is small, with the tunnel going down a few feet before opening up. The smoke wouldn't go down and hurt me. I'm just about to settle down for a long, lonely night, when I hear a faint sound. I can't tell what it is, but sounds like someone or something is in distress. The sound clicks in my head, my soul instantly screaming at me to go find the sound.

I don't hesitate. Running back out into the smoke, I sniff the air for anything other then fire. I catch a whiff of some kind of pig meat, and start running towards it. The smoke gets thicker, and I can see fire licking at the trees. My foot suddenly hits something soft. I look down and flinch back in shock. It looks like me! I snap my thoughts back to the present and hoist the creature onto my back. I then spin around and head back towards my cave.