Breaking Free (BXB)

Chapter 26-Sharpest Fang

My eyes widened and I spun around, searching for my friends. I could feel Owen's hand in mine as if it was still there. My palms tingled from the warmth from his hand and my fingers twitched in longing. Yet here I was, all alone in an empty hallway. The walls were pale and dry, with occasional plants placed around the area. It seemed like every other normal house, but something didn't feel right. My entire body was on edge, teetering between running and staying.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood alert, waiting for something I couldn't see or hear. My body shook slightly, yet I still couldn't pinpoint what exactly felt so off. Maybe it was that I had been in the forest with my bleeding, injured and dying friends one moment and now I was in a suburban house all alone, covered in blood. Then I smelled it. At first, it smelled normal and mundane, but then the smell of rust and electrified metal seared my nose.

Hunters.

Sucking in a breath, I dived behind a potted tree. Squeezing my eyes shut I prayed that the leaves would cover me.  My heart pounded in my chest and blood rushed in my ears and suddenly I was grateful that I was so small, as I squeezed into a ball and managed to completely hide behind the potted plant. Muffled shouting and the pounding of footsteps running past me filled my ears. My heart skipped a beat and my chest tightened.

I sat there, curled up into a ball, not breathing as the pounding feet slowly grew softer, till they disappeared altogether. Sighing, I pushed myself to my feet. Peering out from behind the plant, I waited, counting under my breath till I felt like it was safe.

"Oh get out from behind that plant, boy!" I jumped, face to face with the woman who had spirited my friends away.

"Where are my friends? What did you do to them?" I whisper-yelled, still afraid of the hunters nearby. The old woman rolled her eyes.

"They are facing their own demons and going down their own paths." She hissed, her raspy voice reminding me of the groans of trees in winter. "Do not worry about them. You have a sword to find." The woman paused, her eyes swimming with dark thoughts. "And beware, boy, nothing is as it seems." Then she disappeared into thin air, no sign of her anywhere. Her words punched me in the gut, as the realization of where I was hit me.

I couldn't waste another second.

So with a pounding heart, I began to creep down the halls, my ears and nose alert, ready for anything, or anyone. As I walked further down, I saw more and more decorations adorning the halls. There were age-old paintings of men I didn't recognize, and weapons in sheaths on the walls.

I passed a Japanese katana, a suit of armor and a gold-encased knife, bolted to the walls, before I saw it. My stomach lurched and I felt all the blood drain out of my face. Mounted on the walls, row by row as far as I could see, were shifter heads, halfway between transition. Their mouths were open with screams, and their eyes were dull and lifeless. My knees buckled beneath me and my hand flew to my mouth.

"Oh my god." I murmured. Horror laced my blood with ice and I felt my entire body shaking. These were people. People with families and friends and things they were looking forward to, and they had been butchered like wolves who had gotten into the lamb barns. Then I felt something cold against my back, tearing me from my thoughts.

"Oh my god is right." I could smell the hunter. Instinct took over, and I whipped around, knocking the gun out of his hands. It was the blonde boy from the fight. I froze, staring at him for a second. His eyes widened as he faced me, then they narrowed again.

"You." I murmured, my voice soft and confused. I wasn't sure whether I should trust him or not. He'd had a chance to kill me, but he hadn't and here I was again, putting myself in his line of fire once more.