0162
Blair
My lungs burn like they never had before. Being human like was hard. Even at a slow pace, I could barely run for more than a few minutes at a time.
Every step had intense pain tightening around my legs, forcing me to stop, along with the weird pain just off to the side of my stomach that seems to appear every time I'm out of breath. I definitely took my abilities as a Lycan for granted.
Pausing against a lone tree. I take a few deep breaths, I was grateful for the drip bags, but I was dying of thirst. Cooper must have lied about the drip feed being everything we need.
I cast a glance over the field. The sun was starting to set and I had no idea where I was. I had stuck to fields and wooded areas rather than roads. But I hadn't seen any other of the escapees either.
I could slow down, but every hour that passes means I'm running out of time. I only had the full bag left and the partial one attached to my arm. I needed to find a Witch.
Going into a town seemed to be my only option. an option that I didn't want.
I start walking as quickly as I can. Though I'm pretty sure it's the equivalent of me running when I first left the prison. It doesn't seem like I'm getting anywhere fast.
Relief floods through me when I spot a farmhouse, and more importantly, clothes on a washing line. Anything beats the gown that I'm wearing.
Powering on, I make my way over to the hanging clothes, grateful that they are at least dry. I pull on the jeans which are a little too big for me and grab the blue tee when someone clears their throat. "SHIT!" I spin around. I hadn't heard them creep up on me.
A woman a little taller and curvier than me, has her arms folded across her chest, a wicker basket hanging from the crook of her elbow.
"For a moment there, I thought you were a man stealing my clothes." She stares at me
My heart thuds like crazy. I could barely defend myself.
Her grey eyes move to the drip bag and then down to the discarded gown. "You on the run?"
"Something like that."
"Lycan or Wolf?" My mouth drops open at the question and her eyes move up to my shaved head. "Trouble maker no doubt."
"Are you a Hunter?"
She bursts into laughter and is almost doubled over. Her blonde hair is practically touching the ground. She continues to laugh until she is crying at the same time. "No, not by a long shot." "Then what are you?"
She straightens up, "I'm you, five years ago. So Lycan or Wolf?"
"Lycan but...."
"Cooper took that away from you?"
"You know Cooper?" What were the odds of finding someone in the middle of nowhere that knows the man who kidnapped me? More like odds that she actually worked for him.
"Fucking bastard ruined my life." The woman gestures to my neck. "Where's your mate?"
"Dead." At least I think he is, I don't know anymore. I just knew I couldn't feel anything for him. "Shit, I'm sorry. You look like you are starving. Come on in, I will make you something to eat."
"I can't stop." I look at my drip bags, "I'm running out of time."
"No you're not. Come in and I will explain everything. But I want you to answer my questions too."
I wasn't the type to share, especially not with a random stranger, and one that could be messing with me. But I was hot, tired and every inch of me ached. Food and somewhere to sit sounded better than good.
"I understand your hesitation, I was the same when I got out." she beams at me
"I'm so tired."
She nods and points to my hand clutching my side. "That pain you are feeling is a stitch. A common pain for Humans. Your leg muscles are tight because you are cramping, you are probably dehydrated. Again, something you didn't have to worry about before." "What about the drip bags?"
"A gimmick. Come on inside and I will explain everything."
Hesitantly, I follow the woman inside. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"That's because I didn't tell you. Samara Clarkson, but I prefer Sammie or Sam, your choice."
"I'm Blair Kits.... Blair Everwood."
She cocks an eyebrow at me but doesn't question it. "Well Blair Everwood. Welcome to my home."
Sammie shows me around the large farmhouse. Offering me a bedroom for the night. When I shake my head. She promises me that I will be fine.
I hold the drip bags up and she smiles at me. "They are not what you think they are Blair, you can take it out your arm."
"I will die."
"No, you will feel incredible pain for a few minutes. You will feel like you are going to pass out and that Death is waiting for you, but I promise you, it only lasts a few minutes and then you feel normal. Well, as normal as normal can feel."
"You're lying." Every part of me felt that this was a trick, but then why was I still here. Why hadn't I left the very moment she said she asked if I was a Wolf or Lycan?
"If I'm lying Blair, how do you think I'm still alive? I recognised the gown the moment I saw it." She turns around to a closet and pulls a dusty box from the top shelf.
Inside was an identical gown to the one I had to wear at the prison.
"The only difference from what I can see, is I had to wear a stupid band because I had an allergic reaction to painkillers. Turns out when you take away our ability to heal. You learn what kind of things don't work for you." Sammie passes it to me. Clearly stated on the band is her name and allergy type.
"And here." She passes me an empty drip bag.
"I thought this was the end too. I thought, here we go, I have run out of time. I sat in that very corner and watched as the last few droplets disappeared into my arm. The pain was unlike anything I have ever felt. And I get that's why you think you are dying, but you will come out the otherside."
"I will get my abilities back?"
She sighs "No. I assume he told you the same as me. That whatever is in this bag takes it away and at the same time, you can't live without it."
I nod
"It's funny what our brains will believe when we think we have hit rock bottom."
"Why don't we get our abilities back?"
"Because that bad is not what took them away. Cooper did the moment he first drugged you."
"He's never found you out here?"
"The thing with making us Human, we lose our Lycan or wolf scent. We smell like every other human to them. But you do need to stay away from familiar places. He will check them and he will have others check them."
I frown. My mother, stepfather and siblings should be at Black Shadow, but I'm not even sure how long ago it was that I saw them. And I had mentioned Neah to Cooper. Would he go there to find me? Especially if he knew she was the Lycan Alpha. "You have to say goodbye to your old life, Blair"
She leads me back downstairs and through to the large kitchen. She holds out her hand and glances at the drip bag.
"I'm not sure this is a good thing."
"Would you rather wait until it ran out?" Sammie asks softly.
"I would rather find a Witch to help me."
She shakes her head. "And how do you propose to do that?"
"I can track....." I trail off. I couldn't track scents anymore.
"I know it's a lot to take in. If you are not ready, we can try later."
I nod at her and she gestures to the small kitchen table. "Let me make you a sandwich."
She bustles about the kitchen as I sit quietly, weighing up my options. She sets a sandwich down in front of me with a glass of orange juice.
"How did you get away?" I ask quietly
"A nurse was taking me for my routine shower. I just remember looking at that little bar of soap and thinking this is it. I had to do something or I would never get away. So I shoved it down her throat and drove my thumbs through her eyes when she was choking. You see, there were no cameras in the bathroom. A perfect place to kill someone. I climbed out the window."
"There are bars on the window now." I mutter, I spent every single day, searching without moving from the shower. My eyes went over every nook and cranny, but there was nothing.
"I figured as much."
"You never went back, to help the others?"
Her face falls and her grey eyes become watery. "I believe the others were killed because I escaped. How did you escape?"
I frown, "Would you believe me if I told you the doors just opened. I thought they were bolted but it seems they were on a timer too. Every single door was open and almost everyone escaped. But that can't be right...." I look at the drip bag, "I saw them dead in the hallways. They had taken out the drips."
"And they would only be down long enough for them to be captured. Not dead." Sammie tells me.
"Why are you helping me? Why are you giving me food and offering me somewhere to stay? You said it yourself, I must have been trouble?"
"Like I said. I was you once. And I wish that I had someone to tell me that this isn't the end."