Born Wild

The chase

"WHERE ARE THE THORN'S!" she heard a husky voice yell.

 Tala looked up from behind the door to see the hunter with a small handgun pointed at everyone. Everyone stood still in shock, eyes glued to the gun.

Tala's heart raced. Anger and adrenaline ran through her whole body.

 Her eyes gleamed yellow and her nails lengthened. She drew in all of the fury and pain within her to run and throw the hunter over the couch, hurling his gun into the air behind him. 

He yelped in pain as he hit the coffee table.

"RUN." Tala screeched.

Everyone went flying out the backdoor into the forest in a frenzy, transforming into werewolves so they could run faster. The hunter scattered for his gun.

Koda waited for Tala to grab his hand and run out the door. They held on tightly as they ran into the dark, bitter forest. 

The hunter rushed out the back door, firing shots into the air. Tala heard yells and saw trails of red blood speckle the snow. 

No one was left behind at the house but at least one person was shot. They transformed into wolves, flying by tree after tree over the snow covered forest. His yelling became a distant muffle as they ran far away.

They transformed back into humans minutes later. Tala and Koda gasped for air, their lungs and throats stinging. They shivered in their thin layer of clothes, their muscles throbbing. Tears streamed down Tala's tight face, almost freezing as they fell down her skin.

They had reached an unfamiliar place. They had to be out of Elkford. They saw no signs of the others. Their minds stirred rapidly in the quiet night as they glanced around in the darkness. The only tracks were the ones they created. The only scent was of the forest and themselves.

Tala slid her hand over her jean pocket. She left her phone on the counter at home. They needed to reach the others but how. If they howled they may give away their location. Then Tala remembered something else. 

The book of werewolves was still at the house. The hunter now had names, faces, and license plate numbers. She sat down on a large rock and put her head in her hands.

Tala hoped the others would call the police. Pretty soon Pike and Ben would end up back at the house. She hoped the rest of the pack would warn them.

"He was in jail how did this happen?" Koda paced near Tala.

"I don't know but we have nowhere to go." Tala said hopelessly. "We have no phone, no map, we are lost, we are cold, our pack members may have been shot, and we are being hunted."

Koda sat down near Tala. "We're all gonna be okay." he reassured. "We are werewolves. We are survivors."

"What do we do next?"

"We could try to find the others."

"This was supposed to be over." Tala exasperated as she threw a pinecone at a tree.

"It will be soon."

To fight the cold and improve their eyesight in the dark, they both shifted back into wolves. They spent a couple of hours wandering the forest, not sure if they were any closer to the pack than before. They weren't sure of how to even get home. The forest was so large and covered miles upon miles of land. They hoped for a road or a building of some sort to guide them.

They felt a gust of wind and smelled the ocean. They were nearing the coast. Tala and Koda followed the salty air until they finally got eyes on the ocean. They looked South as they stood on the edge of a short cliff and saw a familiar landscape. If they headed that way they would be on their way to Elkford. They had gone way past the normal trail they usually took.

It was late at night and the breeze was too bitter, even as wolves. Tala and Koda decided to go to a spot they remembered inland on the trail. They at least knew where they were now. They didn't know anything on the pack situation, but they had to make it through the night without getting hypothermia.

They walked to until they reached a part on the trail with a curved wall a foot higher than Koda. It was composed of rocks, moss, and trees. The wall was on the side of the coast, shielding them from the wind. The thick pine trees provided a canopy from the falling snow and the dead pine needles provided warmth. They curled up together in the corner as wolves and tried to get a little bit of sleep. They just had to make it till the morning.

They dozed off for a few minutes and were woken by the rustling of the trees. They perked up, trying to refocus their blurry vision. A raven swept down past the trees.

They were startled again by a pine cone crunching. They stood and watched intently, the hair rising on their backs. Their hearts began to pound. They wondered if they should run out. If it was the hunter he may not find them in there, but the footprints may still be there. If they ran they would risk getting split up or shot. Koda gestured his head for them to leave. He began to walk to where he could see. The hunter jumped from behind the trees, blocking off the corner of the wall. They were trapped.

"Well well well. I found the speckled wolf." the hunter boasted. "And her boyfriend."

Koda stepped in front of Tala to block her. He looked at the hunter with one eye and snarled.

"Be a good little pup and move aside." the hunter demanded.

Koda snarled louder, turning his head to fully face the hunter.

"MOVE!" the hunter motioned his gun at Koda. Koda's howl pierced the night, causing owls to fly out of the trees nearby and a shiver to crawl down the hunter's spine.

Koda stepped forward, his teeth shining in the moonlight. He leapt at the hunter's hand and the gun fired, the shot ringing through their ears. The hunter's gun went flying behind him and he grabbed his bitten hand.

"No no no!" The hunter winced and stammered back in defeat.

Koda fell to the ground, burgundy blood spilling from his chest onto the snow. He cried for a short moment and kicked his front legs in pain. His body grew limp, his eyes closing and his nuzzle falling into his own blood.

Tala stepped closer to him with her ears faced down. She nuzzled his face and ears frantically. She whined and pawed at him. Koda didn't move.

A sharp gust of wind blew past her whiskers and speckled fur. She looked up at the hunter, frantically trying to find his gun in the pine needles. Her ears twitched, still ringing from the gun fire, and she stared darkly into his eyes. 

There was no glimmer of innocence left in her as she stepped over Koda's motionless body. All of the chaos and madness of the world ran through her blood.

Her eyes widened and her pupils became small. She growled and huffed, her breath hanging in the air. She snarled her teeth and tilted her head. Her chest puffed and her claws grew so long that they scraped the ground. 

Her tail whipped back and forth as she readied herself to attack. She should have ended him sooner, but she never wanted to be a killer if there was another way. This time she wouldn't let him escape. Tonight this would all end.

"Tala, allow me." Heath said coldly as he appeared behind the hunter. 

Heath transformed instantly into a large wolf, his eyes glowing yellow. Robert ran for his life from the two most dangerous creatures in Washington.