Heart Hunter

Two

It had been at least an hour since you'd last seen a street light - the road ahead being illuminated by the light of the moon and the soft flash of headlights instead. The roads were getting rougher and the greenery more abundant the further you drove away from home, as Madame had insisted that hiding away in some remote family cabin in the wilderness was your best chance of survival.

You'd been bundled together in the SUV like sardines for hours; Papa and Madame's bodyguard Marceau (who you were pretty sure was more than just a bodyguard) were in front, Madame and Mama behind them, and you were in the back next to the peacock hybrid Oh Sehun that Madame had insisted on saving.

Sehun was alright, alright it was obvious that he was raised to believe very highly of himself. He often spoke of his owner like his word was law, and most of it was about how wonderful he thought Sehun was. It was apparent that he missed his owner, but you personally thought he sounded as stuck up as Sehun acted. You weren't sure how he was friends with Luhan, because while Lu tended to act tough sometimes, he was never a snob. But evidently, they'd been friends for a while, having met during a modeling gig, and were hanging out together when they'd been caught. Regardless of his current attitude, you were willing to take the hybrid along since he'd basically saved you and your parents.

His hair feathers were stark white, which he claimed were rare, although you weren't so certain about that. He also claimed that his unnaturally complex scent was a medical enhancement that his owner had paid dearly for, and your "basic" cinnamon scent was mingling with it and ruining it. He was handsome, you'd give him that, but it was more the way he held himself rather than his appearance that made you a little wary of him. He tended to sneer at everything like it was below him, despite the fact that your breeding and talent technically made you superior. You weren't one to throw status around though, so you simply let him complain to his heart's content. You hoped it was merely his way of dealing with the situation and not the total sum of his personality.

Marceau had only allowed everyone to stop once, finally giving into bathroom demands when they came across a Walmart several hours away from home. While there, they took the chance to buy cleaning supplies, a few more food items, and some camping supplies just in case. Marceau also made you all ditch your cell phones and purchased a single burner phone for emergencies only. Losing the internet didn't upset you as much as losing the entire music catalog you had on your phone, so you made do with buying an old school boombox and tons of batteries. The CD selection wasn't great, but you found a couple of workable classical mixes that you could use to keep up with your training, and a couple more just for fun.

Madame was also very generous with Sehun and bought him clothes and personal supplies since he'd had to escape with nothing. Surprisingly, he was very polite with her and he genuinely thanked her. Perhaps he wasn't all bad, just scared. His mood seemed to mellow out a bit after that, even going so far as initiating conversation with you for the rest of the trip.

After what had felt like an eternity, the car pulled in front of a massive gate just as the sun was beginning to rise, and Marceau got out to swing it open for Papa, then closed it and jumped back into the car. Papa had to drive slowly, as the road was made of dirt and gravel. You were observing the surroundings worriedly, as you saw no sign of civilization anywhere. The last town you could remember seeing was at least four hours away. How were you all going to survive out here?

At last, you arrived in front of the cabin and your stomach drops. The place looked sturdy enough; no holes or broken steps or windows. And it was very large, with two stories and a few other buildings scattered around that could be garages or workshops. However, it was apparent that it hadn't been used in many years. The windows were covered in thick layers of grime, the porch and grounds were littered with leaves, sticks, and other debris. You were already scared to see what it looked like inside.