Lycanthropy; The Ascend (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 8; Betrayal

After they discussed the main strategies to get Chris alone, Leslie didn't feel the need to stay so she headed back into their temporary home, while Zy stayed behind to help share the news with the pack. She came to terms with what they had to do, but a stubborn little voice in the back of her mind still searched for another way.

Emily opened the door cautiously after her friend knocked on the door the set number of times. They hugged, and soon they sat down on the couch and Leslie reluctantly began explaining what they have to do. She didn't know how Emily will react, especially since she liked the boy for a full 2 days, but she had the right to know and Leslie hoped her friend would understand the situation and that she didn't want to do it either. 

"Kill him?" Emily asked, the alarm clear in her voice.

"Yes.. I didn't agree with it either, but if you think about it.. It has to be done. He might run around telling people, who knows? Maybe he already did!" Leslie rested her head in her hands, sighing loudly, hoping Emily would notice her conflicted feelings about this plan. A few long moments passed before she felt Emily's supportive hand on her shoulder, making Leslie look up to see her best friend's painful, but understanding smile and she felt a bit of relief to know that Emily understood.

"You're right. We can't risk losing this island, not just because we found its meaning, but because other lives depend on this. Chris could ruin it all for us." Emily responded softly.

"Exactly. Thank you." They talked a bit more about the island, boys and memories, then they went off to sleep, dreading what the next day would bring. Leslie went over the plan in her head; She would have to find Chris, he will probably be in the bar, as usual, lure him out somehow (Leslie will have to improvise for that one) and drag him into the woods without being seen or heard, possibly in the morning. Zy would be waiting there, transformed and hopefully ready. She has to secure the place to make sure no one is watching, and Zy would kill Chris as quickly and painlessly as he could. After that, they would find a nice place to bury his body on the island, and the danger would be gone. 

At least, that would happen if everything went the right way, if not; Leslie didn't want to think of what could happen. It was unsettling to make a plan around murder as it was, even if it was necessary. After a while, she slowly fell asleep, wondering when Zy would come back.

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They awoke suddenly to the loud noises outside, at first Leslie looked around; confused and tired before she realised the sounds outside were familiar. Way too familiar. She sat up abruptly in her bed and saw Emily doing the same beside her.

"What is this?" She asked, eyes wide as a loud scream filled the air outside, but Leslie didn't have an answer. Jumping out of the bed, she gripped the windowsill and looked out. She noticed two things. First of all; there were wolves she never saw before running after the people of the town. Secondly, there was blood, violent red, trickling down the ground in small streams all around the houses. At first, fear filled her. She didn't know what to make of this, what this was and why. Then, it developed into anger after the tiny, unclear puzzles fit together in her mind. Growling loudly, she stormed out of the room and shouted to Emily.

"Stay inside and close everything!" Not waiting for an answer, she jumped down the stairs, opened the door with such force it flew open, and stepped outside, closing the door. The sounds of shouting and screaming were much louder now; she certainly couldn't deny it was alarming. But she didn't flinch when a brown wolf jumped before her, hackles raised and growling straight into her furious face. "ENOUGH!" She yelled thunderously, making the wolf step back and lose composure for a brief moment. But Leslie made use of this and transformed into her wolf as she jumped onto the stranger wolf. She growled lowly into the smaller wolf's face, who whined in response, slightly trembling from the unexpected attack. "What's going on? Where's Zy?!" She demanded.