Chapter 18 - Kaleb #2
“We’re here,” Jade sang as she and Nora started walking toward us. Nora walked a step behind her, almost skittish. “What’s with the face?” Jade raised her eyebrow at me.
“Do you honestly think Nora is ready for what is out there?” I asked, the words coming out harshly.
Jade crossed her arms. “Yes, she’s been training.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s ready,” I snapped. “She could get hurt! This isn’t a joke, Jade!”
“Enough,” Brandon said calmly. “We aren’t going to stand here and argue all day. She’s been training, and if Jade thinks she is ready, she’s ready.”
I felt my nostrils flare, irritated. I watched as Nora shifted on her feet, looking uncomfortable. But I kept my mouth shut for now.
We gathered the map up and headed into the woods. We were paired up as usual, and I was paired up with Nora. As everyone walked ahead, I hooked my arm with Nora, pulling her to a stop.
She frowned. “Why are you stopping us?”
“Are you sure that you’re ready for this?” I asked.
Nora’s frown deepened. “Do you think I would be here if I weren’t?”
“I just…” I took a deep breath. “I just want to make sure you’re ready for this, is all. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Her face softened. “I know I’m new to my magic, but I know what I’m doing. I’m ready to be out here.”
I felt my shoulders relax slightly. She gave me a soft smile before pulling her hand free. I took in the group and knew I needed to trust her. There was no turning back either way.
We walked for hours, moving quietly and speaking little. I kept my eyes peeled, nervous that something was going to happen. I was more tense than normal, and I knew it was because Nora was with me.
She walked calmly, her eyes scanning as she moved. She didn’t look nervous like I expected.
“There is a small town coming up,” Brandon said, pausing as we all moved closer together.
Jade tugged at Brandon’s sleeve, her face serious. I knew that meant she felt something.
“Nora, do you feel anything?”
Nora nodded. “A little. My sensing isn’t as strong as hers.” Nora looked down and paused. “Wait, are these footprints?”
I looked where her finger was pointing. Sure enough, in the mud was a hybrid’s footprint.
“Yeah,” I said. “Brandon. We have a footprint. One is near.”
We continued moving, and I stayed close to Nora as we approached a small town. As we emerged from the trees, all my hair rose.
“It’s quiet,” Nora whispered.
I nodded. “That’s not a good sign.”
We moved past a few houses. The town was nothing like the one we had been in before, but the silence was unsettling.
We moved deeper into the town until we could hear people begging. The sound of laughter, following it. Brandon pulled us to a stop near a building. I moved closer to him, and we peered around the street.
A tall man stood with a group of people. The group of people was cornered, looking horrified. It made me sick to think about the last time we were in this situation.
“He’s a hybrid,” Brandon said, “We need to move fast.”
“Let me and Nora distract him,” Jade asked.
“No,” I growled at her. “We are not doing that.”
“You don’t make that call,” Jade snapped back.
Brandon frowned. “Fine. But go that way. Kaleb and I will shift and take him down.”
“Are you serious right now?” I growled at him.
“We don’t have time to argue about this,” he snapped back. “It’s an order.”
I curled my hands into fists, not even getting to say anything before Jade pulled Nora’s hand, tugging them back the way we came. I grunted and shifted into my wolf form. Brandon shifted next to me, and we waited.
It was only a few moments before we spotted Jade and Nora just down the street. They were both holding large sticks now. Jade threw a rock, and it hit the man in the back of the head. He turned around, and we took his distraction as our moment.
We crept around the corner, moving closer to him. We both moved quickly, making as little noise as possible. But the man turned back to us, and he smirked like he knew our plan the entire time. His eyes were almost black, and I felt like ice was poured down my body.
He shifted, his bones snapped, and his skin melted away as he grew in size, turning into the monster we had come across several times.
The bones were rubbing against his exposed skin, his jaw seeming to unclench, showing rows of teeth.
He roared, charging at us, taking off at a speed I didn’t know was possible.
Brandon and I attacked, slamming into him, but he swiped, knocking me to the side. I felt pain radiate over my chest, and I felt blood seeping from the mark. A large scratch was ripped over my shoulder and across my chest. I sucked in air, knowing I couldn’t pause because we didn’t have time.
I looked up as Brandon was pinned hard to the ground. He tried to break free, but he wasn’t able. I watched the hybrid raise its hand, planning to slash at Brandon.
Just then, I watched as fire and blue light slammed into the hybrid. It screamed in pain, turning around to look at Nora and Jade. They both stood their ground, shooting more of the magic out.
I tried to get up, but pain coursed over my chest, and I fumbled back. I needed to help. We couldn’t just rely on the girls to keep us safe.
I watched Nora and Jade seem to work in unison, knocking the hybrid back. Nora’s blue light forced the monster back, making him fumble, and a second later, Jade burned it alive. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and I felt my stomach twist up.
The hybrid fumbled into a building, knocking down the door. I felt my shoulders relax for a moment, knowing he wouldn’t survive. He was dead.
And a second later, the entire building quickly caught on fire. Nora’s eyes widened in horror, and she quickly started to throw her blue light onto the fire. The fire started to disintegrate, but the damage was done.
I shifted back into my human form and slowly walked over. Brandon shifted back into his human form, Jade quickly moving to his side. She reached for his face, worried.
Nora turned to me, and her eyes widened as she noticed me holding my chest. “Oh my god!” She hurried to my side, reaching her hand up to my chest.
“I’ll be okay,” I said. “I just need to heal up.”
I looked past her toward the group of people. They looked at us with confusion and disbelief. A man stepped closer and frowned. “Who are you?”
“We’re from another pack. We’ve been out hunting after these creatures. We sensed one was over here and came to help.”
I scanned the man, realizing he was the Alpha. He didn’t look to be much older than Brandon and me—inexperienced and young.
“What was that?” the man asked.
I knew Brandon was going to need to chat with the guy, and I turned to Nora. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I wasn’t the one who was hurt, Kaleb. Are you sure you’re okay? That looks nasty.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine in an hour.” I looked past her toward the building and the hybrid’s crisp body. I read the business’s sign and frowned. “That’s a pet shop?”
“What?” Nora turned around, and her eyes widened as she read the sign. “Oh my god!”
“Where is the owner?” I asked, looking toward the group.
The man talking with Brandon frowned. “He’s dead. The man was talking to him and snapped his neck. We managed to get most people to hide in their homes, but he cornered the rest of us here.”
Nora looked at the building. “But the animals. They need someone.”
I could see the horror written on her face. “We’ll take them back with us.”
She looked at me, shocked. “What? We can’t do that. Can we?” She looked over at the man, who shrugged like he didn’t care.
“No one else is going to be taking it over. It would cost us more to rebuild that building. Besides, we have other damages we have to address.”
His coldness rubbed me the wrong way, and I knew we had to take the animals. They would end up dead if we didn’t.
“We’re going to take them,” I announced. “All of them.”