Hunters, Hunted (Wolfblood Fanfiction)

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Maddy

Bryn and I reach the gates to the compound and are faced by Shannon and Tom’s anxious faces as they drag at the wire fencing.

            “What happened?” Shan cries over the alarm, “Where’s Rhydian?”

            “And Jana?” Tom adds, eyes unnaturally round.

            I push Bryn towards them, “Get him out of here – I’ve got to go back for them!” I turn back to the hanger, where already two new guards are pounding over the tarmac. There’s no sign of either Rhydian or Jana. You can dodge them, Maddy, you can do this.

            Shannon, however, has her fingers round my wrist with an iron grip that stays whichever way I struggle.

            “Let go of me!” I yell, fierce tears starting to stream down my face. The repeating surge of the siren threatens to make my head implode. “I will not leave him!”

            “Maddy, it’s over.” Shannon’s face is right in mine, etched with fear and panic and defeat. “There’s no way you could save them now. We have to go.” My body twists again, writhing against her and the insistence of the noise, but even I can see how close the guards are getting. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, god, I’m… Shannon must see my realisation because she drags on my arm with renewed force. Bryn and Tom have already disappeared off the lane and into the woods and now the two of us are following, half blinded in our flight. We scramble through the hedgerow, clothes and skin catching in the brambles, and stumble on between the trees. The four of us fan out across the forest floor, the two humans on their bikes bouncing over the uneven ground, us Wolfbloods trying not to leave them behind.

            For a long while I can hear the crashes of the guards as they chase after us, but even with me checking my speed we are too fast for them and they’re left behind. Still we charge on, though, too afraid to stop until our feet are smacking the tarmac of my old home’s yard. Without a word we pile in through the back door and scatter throughout the house to check that every door and window is firmly locked. Then, as if in some silent agreement, we congregate back around the kitchen table. Looking round to see only three other people where this morning there were five is more than mildly depressing. It’s made worse by the fact that it’s largely my fault.

            Shannon makes tea as quietly as possible, afraid to disturb the terse silence and cause an explosion. She places a steaming mug in front of me – she’s even remembered to use my favourite one – but I don’t move to drink it. Instead I stare into the swirling brown liquid and think, over and over, what do we do now?

            I know I’m not alone in my thoughts, but that I’m the one that the others are looking to for an answer. An answer that I don’t have. You’re their pack leader, it’s your job to fix this, to make them believe it’s possible. Think of something! I open my mouth to say -

            Which is when the doorbell rings.

            We all stop breathing. Round-eyed glances are exchanged across the table, each one telling me that no one else has more of a clue than I do. One part of me hopes Rhydian while the other fears Whitewood. We sit, undecided on what to do. Maybe it’s the postman and they’ll go away. But there it goes again, two sharp blasts in quick succession. Whoever it is knows we’re here.

            Slowly, I get up from my chair and cross to the front door. I can feel three sets of eyes on me as I sniff at the keyhole – my heart sinks with the knowledge that it’s not Rhydian, but then it’s not Dr Whitewood either. The scent is somehow familiar yet un-placeable. Which means that opening this door is one hell of a gamble.

            I rapidly consider our options. I could simply open the door – but that seems rather risky. We could all evacuate out the back and across the fields, but what if we want to find whoever it is as much as they want to find us? After a second’s thought, I gesture for Shannon, Tom and Bryn to move towards our French doors so that they can make their escape if they need to. Then, with a deep breath, I unlatch the door.

            It creaks open about an inch before I peer out. The porch light is on, bright against the night, and, because of where they’re standing, I can only discern that our visitor is a boy. Seeing me squint, he takes a step forward.

            “Hello, Maddy,” says Liam. “I think you’re going to need my help.”

I think we have all established by now that I'm a slow updater, for which i apologise (yet again). The support you guys offer me in reads, votes, comments and PMs means you most definitely don't deserve such irregular posts but there's not an awful lot I can do. Sorry it's a short one, that's just wat worked.

I can't believe that I'm still getting new readers all the time! I hope you all feel this chapter lives up to your expectations and gives you something to speculate over: why is Liam at the Smiths'??

Thanks for everything,

~SG xxx