The Longing

Chapter 44

"How many left?" The Alpha asked.

Blood covered his whole body, delivering another strike as some sprayed on his face.

Nevertheless, he was never out of breath nor was his focus anywhere else. His hold on the sword loose but strong, as if he feels confident to wield such weapon with such ease.

His posture befitting a king as if he were not slicing through skin and bones.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Katie hissed in pain. Her lower body burning from all the open wounds.

The adrenaline pumping through her veins, numbing her from the real pain her body is experiencing, only feeling a tight burn and itchy spots.

"How are you?"

Titus swung his sword to cut off the head of a werewolf who is either brave or dumb enough to attack him.

Just like the rest of them at his feet.

Its head tore from the torso, eyes lifeless and its body slacking, following the head down the ground.

Titus swung once more to deal with foolish shapeshifters and werewolves that wanted them dead but could not even come close.

Katie ignored his question, picking up her favorite knife. She dusted dirt off of her and wiped the blood that was splattered all over her face . There was also blood on her arms, it was disgusting but she didn't care, she wore it as a trophy.

'I killed your comrades, now it's your turn.'

She gave everything to fight them off and survive the chaos. It's only a matter of time before the enemy falls and admit defeat.

Waiting for that moment, she moved her tired feet. Victory is near and she knows it. She always does.

"I'm gonna go look for someone, you stay here and kill anyone who crosses the line." She stated, brushing off the burning sensation from head to toe.

"I'll come right back once I finish. Don't go anywhere, Titus."

'Where the hell is she? She's supposed to be guarding the evacuation areas. Damn it.'

She picked up a radio and a pistol on her way there, looking for her favorite person, Kali fucking Smith.

The night was suppose to be beautiful, something to look forward to and get to know the stars.

But not tonight.

Tonight was dark, the moon absent from its place. She looked around the eerie landscape, dead bodies on the ground as fire kept burning the houses to ashes.

Katie grabbed the dirtied radio from her pocket, changing it to their channel.

"This is Luna. Does anyone copy? Over." She waited for a moment but then tried again, hoping someone does reply.

"This is Luna. Is anyone there? Respond, over."

Again, nothing. It's like there was no one even alive to hear it and answer.

Katie sighed in defeat. If she wants answers, she's gonna have to find it herself.

She began to head to the shelters, wanting to check if everyone is safe and not burned to a crisp.

She doesn't remember where it was but it was like her body knew what to do and where to go. She kept walking, passing by a few people tearing each other's heads off.

But she didn't stop. Her feet tapped against the hard soil, anger was pulsing through her veins, her breath erratic. Her body was rigid, alert of anything surrounding her.

Her eyes would reflect what someone would call a burning hell.

She was mourning, tired and fucking angry. If only the world could swallow her whole.

She was too busy focusing on where she has to go, she didn't sense the sillouhette approaching to her left.

Before Katie could turn, she was tackled to the ground, her back hitting the earth first, followed by her head and the rest of her body.

They rolled 'til they hit the trunk of a tree.

Her eyes widened in pain as the assailant grunted. She tried to shake the person off but to no avail.

Cruel laughter filled her ears. "Hm, ain't you hard to catch? I tried getting in on the fun but that Alpha bitch had to appear."

She had her hands wrapped around Katie's throat. Not tight enough to kill her but hard enough to hold her down.

"W-who are you?" Katie struggled, trying to push her away.

'I-I can't throw her off.'

"Uh-uh. No use in struggling. I've been watching you Katie...I know you've been fighting for a while now." A creepy smile appeared on her face.

"You're worn out." The woman chuckled, her eyes full of amusement.

Katie growled in response, attempting to punch the woman. She dodged it easily, retaliating by punching Katie in the face while laughing.

When she was done, Katie's face is covered in blood again.

This time it's her own blood.

Her breathing strained, her eyes on the verge of closing. She's trying so hard not to lose consciousness, afraid of what will happen if she does.

'What will happen if she does kill me? Will they win? Will all of this be for nothing?'

'I still need to find my parents.'

'I can't leave my sister alone in this world.'

'What about him?'

She tried once more to get the woman off of her, bridging her way out but to no avail. She can feel her strength diminish as the woman above her continues to hold her down.

"What the fuck do you want?" Asking as if to catch her off guard, but Katie knows it'll take less talking and a lot more force.

The woman chuckled. "I want everyone in this pack to die."

She tightened her grip on Katie's neck, cutting off her air supply. Katie's eyes widened in response and tried hitting her anywhere she can.

"There's no use in struggling, like I said. You're weak, I can't believe you killed some of us when you're this small and fragile."

She shook her head, "But then again, you humans have these pathetic determination to finish shit." She leaned closer to Katie.

"How the hell..." Katie chocked, trying to fight the hands around her throat.

"Once I kill you, I'll shapeshift into you and marry the Alpha. I'll kill him in his sleep with the face of the woman he adores and when I'm done with him, I'll rule this pack. And once I do rule it, I will burn it to shreds and welcome my fellow shapeshifters." The woman laughed again.

This bitch is crazy.

Katie chuckled hoarsely. "What makes you think I'm the one he's looking for?"

The woman hardened her hold once more, choking the life out of Katie.

Katie couldn't breathe, her eyes going fuzzy.

"Oh trust me, I know everything."

Katie hit her again and again, every hit getting weaker and weaker.

Her strength was failing and she knows it all too well, she's not going to win this one.

"Remember my name, Katie." She tilted her head in amusement, watching as Katie slowly loses her life.

"Samar."

The last thing she saw was the huge smile on Samar's face, her struggle no longer present. And it all went black.

Above the slackening body, Samar chuckled in victory, as the woman below her breathed out her last breath.

She found it amusing how this woman killed her men with a mere knife whereas she sent her greatest assassins.

It was such a nuisance. She was nothing more than a mere human. Samar's assassins were fools to die in the hands of a mere mortal.

Now that she has dealt with the nuisance, she's ready for the next step.

Pretending to be her.

Samar thought it was pretty easy considering they're both good in strategies and she can pretend to be someone like Katie when she's been watching her for a while now.

Ever since the ball, never has Samar lost werewolves and shapeshifters. But because of the mutt they call human, she had to step up and do things she shouldn't do.

She began to shapeshift every now and then, pretending to be the people around Katie and gaining information about her.

It was too easy.

Samar chuckled to herself and got off of Katie. She looked at her one last time with a sadistic smile before spitting on her face.

She turned around with future plans in her mind.

'Once I take over this pack, there will be nothing but chaos.'

Samar picked up the radio Katie was carrying a while ago, when she was rudely interrupted.

She pressed the button and began to speak through it.

"Hello, is anyone alive?"

"Luna, are you okay? What's your position?"

Samar frowned in confusion to the name but still continued to speak. "I don't know, I got lost."

Too focused on the radio, she didn't hear the ruckus behind her.

Katie's eyes suddenly opened wide along with her opened mouth.

There was noticeable change in it. Gone was the beautiful, dangerous color, gone was the spark.

Her eyes turned to a dark shade of red, consuming what once her violet ones as her vision slowly comes back.

She took her time recovering, it was as if she's healing herself from the inside out.

First, the strength of her legs returned, her skin no longer pale. She could feel every bones and every veins in her body regain power as her heart pumped blood.

Her fingers jolted, a sign of consciousness, her muscles contracting as they too, begin to recover their own strength. Next was her breathing, gone was the strain as she took huge deep breaths to inhale as much oxygen as she can.

Her lungs now in full capacity, her breaths perfectly normal, so was her heart that was beating so fast a while ago to supply oxygen to the body.

And finally, regaining her control on upper parts of her body. Her brain was now alive, processing the situation more so fully.

She doesn't know what has happened in such a short period, but she can feel it.

She's faster, stronger.

Testing her body, she began to stand on her feet.

It felt so light on her feet, as if it was never her body to begin with. She turned her head, the tree she hit a while ago behind her when Samar and her rolled to the ground.

She slowly looked up and smirked, everything rushed back to her.

Katie took a peak at Samar who was turned, her attention on the radio in her hand.

Now was the time to make her bleed.

"Tell me what you see." The Alpha spoke through the radio.

"I see a few burned down houses, and some huge trees in front of me." Samar tried to sound out of breath.

"Anything else?" Rolling her eyes, she looked around, searching for something eye catching. "I'm close to the clocktower."

"I'm close by. I'll come get you. Over and out."

Samar suddenly screamed in pain, forcefully dropping the radio in her hand. Something sharp was stuck on her back and it felt huge.

She suddenly turned around, her eyes widening as she witnessed Katie standing, smirking at her dumbfounded expression.

"W-what the fuck..." Samar trembled in pain, she looked at her back and screamed in fear. A huge tree branch is attached to her back.

Katie chuckled in response. "Should've used more force, can't believe that didn't cut you in half. That's too bad."

"You bitch!" Samar screamed, supporting the branch to avoid inflicting more pain.

"Removing it will make you bleed fast and lose consciousness. If you don't take it out, you'll be having a hard time taking me on."

Samar was weighing her choices. If she takes it off, she can probably heal faster than bleed. If she doesn't pull it out, she's gonna be at a disadvantage knowing something was stuck to her back.

She didn't have time to decide because Katie was already running towards her. Her eyes widened in response, she was too fast for even Samar to see.

Katie pushed the branch farther into Samar's torso with both her palms open, but still not enough to go through.

"Ain't you a tough bitch."

Samar screamed, tears forming in her eyes. The force was so great that she stumbled forward. Seeing as the branch aligned with where Katie is, she used it as leverage and hit Katie away.

It's painful but she had to get away from Katie, she knows she's not gonna fight with an extra weight on her back.

She tried punching, kicking, and even tried to use the trunk once more but it was no use. Katie kept blocking and avoiding them all with eyes that could swallow you whole.

Katie has the upper hand now.

"And here I thought you're the biggest and baddest of them all." Katie lunged once more, this time she pushed the branch so hard it broke Samar's spinal cord.

Samar gasped, losing her strength in her legs. She fell down with a thud, choking out blood. She looked down and fear can be seen in her eyes as the branch went through her.

Her widened eyes looked at the approaching figure. Katie had a huge smile on her face, even though it was all bloodied and bruised.

"Samar."

She had heard her name come out of someone's tongue many times, but it was the first time she felt actual fear crawl out of her.

Samar coughed out more blood, she was losing too much blood, her healing ability was too weak.

"D-did you put some-mm" Samar whimpered in pain.

More blood oozed out of her, everything in her body was shutting down.

"The guys called it silver. Putting a branch through you is nowhere near satisfying if you're not suffering." Crouching, she swiped the hair that was covering Samar's face.

"I don't play fair." She punched her one last time before standing up.

"But then again, you guys played dirty ever since the beginning."

Katie's eyes widened in pure delight, noticing a wet patch on Samar's pants. She laughed loudly as if to embarrass the woman further.

Samar looked down in pain, not only was she hurt by the person she thought she had killed, she also pissed herself in fear.

Of her.

Of Katie.

"And Samar," She added, looking straight into Samar's eyes. She can see the fear, anxiety and anger in it.

She felt so much amusement in it, now that the tables have turned. It was her turn to hurt her, it was her turn to spill blood.

"You may be the leader of them, but you're nothing here. I could see your next move from a mile away, even a sloth is faster than you."

Samar couldn't speak, coughing up blood. Katie had the darkest look Samar has ever seen in someone's eyes. It was terrifying.

"In another life, maybe you can defeat me. But in this one, I'm the one reigning."

Samar finally loses her consciousness, Katie's face the last thing she sees before darkness took her.

Katie snorted, rolling her eyes. She dusted her clothes off, wiping the blood off of her hands.

She heard shuffles in front of her, her alertness at attention again.

"Well, that was something." The Alpha chuckled, emerging from the darkness. Katie sighed in relief. But it all evaporated when she remembered what she told him.

"Why are you here? What about the frontline? Didn't I tell you-"

Katie didn't finish what she was about to say, her body finally giving up on her. She lost her strength and balance, falling to the dirtied ground next to Samar.

After all the fight she put up, she could feel the strain of everything. Exhaustion, pain, and anger all felt in that moment.

She gave in.

She vowed that it was the last time and she's gonna be the one to end it all.

Even if it means she'll die in between.

Damn it.

Out of all the things they can use against us, it had to be gas.

Carbon monoxide at that.

That gas is called silent killer for a reason. A leak from that gas causes hallucinations, blurred vision, headaches, confusion and shit.

I've learned all that by working beside a person who's addicted to creating new things everyday.

Sticking to her side was a good idea for me. I learned a lot from Makenzie and her crazy ass. She won't stop talking about elements and chemicals unless a food is in front of her.

How I managed to survive her and her experiments is probably a miracle.

Makenzie is a scientist working for a really big company. She's married and lives with her husband and her three kids.

My feet tapped against the cold floor of the earth, the sound it makes is the only thing keeping me awake. I chose to be alone rather than in a group.

The sun's still up but not much heat is radiating from it. It's only the cold wind blowing against my body, goosebumps rising from my skin.

I was just genuinely walking, when I see an opening, I go forward with it, not caring nor calculating if it's right or not.

A maze is about luck and how good your memory is, it's not about if it's right or wrong. It should always be right. Always.

When there's two openings, I pick anything as long as I can put my mark and remember every direction I went.

Two hours is short compared to how huge this maze is. It's gonna take more than a day to map this let alone survive it with carbon monoxide.

I could hear birds chirp above the mazes, but could never see them. I can hear their singing voices and laughs as I move through the maze.

So far, the gas isn't released yet. And I have not encountered a single person or anything in the five minutes I've been inside.

It's surprisingly quiet aside from nature, I do not hear talks, the stomping of foots and the cheers.

Oh hell.

As soon as the speakers boomed, I could hear running. My eyebrows furrowed as I fastened my pace.

The maze seems to get bigger and bigger. I turned left, not caring if I put a mark or not.

The wind suddenly blew hard, my tied hair as well as my clothing danced with it. It was so strong that I had to stop to catch my balance.

"Woah."

I steadied myself, when I recovered I began to walk again, not questioning what just happened.

This time, my pace was fast. I have to find the exit fast or it's either this hell of a maze and whatever they put in here or the gas.

Which I do not want to encounter.

I turned left, then again before going straight as there was no turning point at that area.

The wind once again blew, this time it carried something. Shivers crawled all over my skin and my body moved before my brain could process what happened.

"Run or die."

My legs padded against the ground, the crunching of fallen leaves beneath my feet echoed through the air, adding pressure to me.

That was no warning. It's meant to send fear to to the person who heard it, imprinting on their brain that their life is on the line.

That if they do not move, they die.

And it's threatening.

It's starting to consume me.

As I hold my knives in my pockets, I focused on where I was going.

The gas was able to reach me before I could find an exit, my vision is already blurry and I couldn't walk properly.

Very soon, I'll start seeing things that aren't there.

I tried my best to not inhale the smoke, covering my face and running away from where it comes from.

But the longer I stayed inside the maze, it spreads everywhere around me, leaving me cornered.

Leaves crunched under my shoes as I ran, I didn't know where to go and I couldn't think straight so when I see an opening, I just go there.

"Fuck." My eyelids felt heavy as I try to fight it.

I can still hear footsteps around me as if everyone is just running around.

I came to a halt as soon as a person came out in front of me from the left side of the maze.

She froze as well when she turned her head to me.

She was breathing fast, her chest rising up and down as she stood there with a weapon in her hand.

She opened her mouth and spoke. "Are you real?"

I nodded, gripping my knives. "I am, you?"

She let out a breath and nodded her head. "Just make sure you are because I will rip your neck from your torso."

"Same here." I inhaled, which was a bad idea. Coughing a bit, I didn't take my eyes off her.

"Do you know the way out?" She asked, tucking away her weapon. I walked towards her slowly, giving her a once over.

"Not yet." I answered.

"So you're useless." I snickered at her comment.

"Probably. But I think you are."

As soon as the words left my lips, I lounged straight at her, going behind with my knife which is now pointing at her neck as I hold her down.

"Disgusting scum. What's a skin-walker doing walking around inside the arena?"

She tried to fight me but I am stronger, both me and her breathing heavily.

"H-how? W-what? What arena?"

"Oh?" I chuckled. "We're playing a game where we find the Alpha. You didn't know that?"

She struggles but I press her down, putting pressure on her head.

"I didn't k-know it wa-was a game. N-nobody told m-me anything! T-they said y-you had to be killed." She screams.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, shaking my head at her idiocy.

"This game is not a joke. We play to survive. If you were a player for even a second, you would've came at me with no hesitation."

"W-what?!?" She screamed, struggling against the hold I have on her once more.

"It's because the players know who I am and they will do anything to take me down." I pushed her down roughly when she began to claw my face.

"Are you new?" I chuckled at her ear. Pressing my knife closer to her throat. She tried to push it away but I only pressed harder.

She gasped for air, halting her movements knowing that one wrong move may cause her, her life.

"W-who are you?!?"

"Me?" I chuckled. "I'm just a messenger."

I slashed her throat with my knife, her blood spilled everywhere as she choked and tried to pull away.

"They didn't tell you who you were going up against? That's quite funny." I chuckled with pure disgust.

After that war with them, they still underestimated my ability and proceeded to send a newbie to finish me off in a game.

She's already dead the moment her foot stepped inside the maze. I scoffed.

"Do you even know who you copied or were you stupid enough to pick anyone?"

I let go of her and wiped the blood off my blade. When I looked back at her, she was crawling away from me.

Her blood created a path behind her as she moves. Snickering at the sight, I rolled my eyes.

"Time to go." I whispered to myself and turned around, leaving the body which has the face of the first person who welcomed me here.

Sen.

It took me longer than it should but I did get out, along with seven others.

We were immediately taken to the med wing to get rid of the remaining gas that we inhaled.

It turns out that the gas was not part of the game, it was deliberately added without permission.

The Alpha is talking to the host, whoever he is from the Kalisto pack, I heard.

Apart from that, it's a good thing they were well prepared when we came out. They told us that just by exiting the maze, we have won and didn't need to find the Alpha for that spot.

At this point, they can just fuck off.

Sen was there but she was quiet. She looked tired and upset but I didn't care, I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone let alone them.

This game is already stressing me out.

She left a few moments ago, leaving me alone in the room, as the nurse left me as well to check on others.

It was quiet, something I really appreciate.

There's too many things happening at once. Did shapeshifters send her? Why would they send someone so stupid?

Or perhaps it wasn't a shapeshifter? Scratching my head in confusion, I let it rest and laid down.

Tomorrow.

I'll talk to her tomorrow. I'll let her explain everything and see if I could decide whether to trust them again or not.

"They're alive, that's for sure. Extinction is nowhere near them."

"Who do you mean?"

"Shapeshifters." I shook my head in frustration.

"Shit, man. You told me nothing about them and I had to find out in the worse way possible. Like come on, shapeshifters?"

Van sighed.

"Look, Katie. I know you don't trust us right now but you gotta believe us when we say, those shapeshifters won't stop until they get their hands on you. Worse, eliminate your existence." Sen stated.

I looked at her eyes, looking for any mischief but found nothing but concern. I sighed in defeat and nodded my head.

"You're right, I don't trust you right now. But what makes you think the shapeshifters won't stop hunting me?" I asked.

"What do they want from me?"

"Well, they'll need their leader back that's for sure. But, what they really want? Your blood spilled on the floor, not a single drop left on your body."