Feathers and Claws (MxMxMxMxM)

Chapter 26: Trap. . .

:)

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After the little incident with Aldo and him scent marking me, I decided to agree with Mikey and stay at the back of this little pack of sorts.

I was clenching and un-clenching my hands out of rage as we walked deeper and deeper into the forest.

The trees around us were starting to look familiar, Meaning we were getting close to where my tribe used to live.

Hopefully it'll be easy to track them down. . .The easier it is to find them the quicker we all get away from Aldo and the Normals. . .

Glancing over at Mikey, I could see the uncomfortable look on his face.

Moving a bit closer to the shorter man, I gently bumped my shoulder into his.

''You okay?'' I asked quietly, My voice barely above a whisper.

Said man gave me a forced smile, His eyes screaming no despite him verbally saying, ''Yeah, I'm alright''

Arching an eyebrow, I stared at him for a long moment as his smile dropped, His tough guy act resurfacing.

''. . .Okay, I might be a little nervous to see everyone again'' He admitted curtly, Clearly trying to keep his voice as tough as he could.

''You left on good terms with everyone, They'll be happy to see you again'' I pointed out, Turning my gaze back to the forest in front of us.

''Yeah that's the problem. . .I'm gonna have to interact with others now. . .'' Mikey muttered, Sounding utterly terrified.

I held back a laugh at that, The normal feeling of this conversation helping me to forget briefly the situation we were in.

''Well, I'll be your shield, Just like when we were young'' I muttered to him, Glancing briefly down at my friend.

He rolled his eyes at that, The smallest real smile twitching at his lips.

''I wouldn't say you were a shield. . .More so an over eager puppy that attracted everyone's attention away from me'' Mikey 'corrected' his eyes sparkling with amusement as he spoke.

Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention to the tree canopy above.

We were almost to the village, I could see some un-built and some burnt buildings, All that remained on the outskirts after the attack.

All the amusement from my chat with Mikey was dashed away at that.

The smell of rotting flesh slowly started to fill the air the further we got into the forest.

I swallowed thickly, Looking around for the source of the smell.

It had clearly rained a few times since I fled the forest that night.

After a while of looking around, I froze, Staring into the forest as my heart clenched in pain.

Almost fully hidden by plants was a Frog.

I had known her pretty well, Well enough that I could easily tell who she was despite the fact that animals, Birds and insects had already eaten at her flesh, Fucking up her face.

Annie. . .

Breaking away from the others, I stepped out into the underbrush, My eyes watering and my throat closing up as I got closer to her.

She was a year older then me, She had helped me train when I spoke with her about joining the Frogs, She was the older sister to Pearl, And the first child of the Dawnin family.

Crouching down in front of her, I could feel my chest constricting, Whether is was because of sadness. . .Or the fact her rotting corpse reeked, I did not know.

This close to her, I could see her glassy brown eyes.

She was once well known for her eyes. . .Despite her line of work, She had the kindest gaze, She had both boys and girls alike vying for her attention.

Despite all that, She never once took any of them up on their offer, She had told me once, She never wanted to settle down with another person, She wanted to live out her older years surrounded by animals in a tree top home by a creek where all that could reach her would be the birds and very dedicated tribe members.

Reaching out, I ignored the cold and squishy feeling of her skin as I brushed the bugs off of her.

She doesn't deserve this. . .She deserves to be buried with respect. . .Not to be left out to rot. . .

 Before I could do much more though, The corpse. . .Moved.

I was about to scream when Annie covered my mouth with her hand covered my mouth.

Her eyes hadn't moved at all despite her other hand raising to her mouth as she made a 'shh' sound.

I was about to struggle free when her scent hit me.

The familiar, Alive smell of lemongrass and sun filled my senses.

She's not dead. . .Or a zombie. . .What the heck is going on here. . .

Before I could question her, Another familiar faced Frog glided down next to us.

Johnson? What is going on here. . .

''Theo, Tree tops, Now'' The older man hissed out urgently, His wings spread out, Prepared to take flight at the drop of a hat.

Frowning in confusion, I want to question him, However, Based upon the panic in his voice, Now clearly wasn't the time for it.

Spreading my wings, I took flight up to the canopy of trees above.

Landing on a sturdy looking branch, I was quite surprised to see the remaining surviving Frogs gathered up there with their darts ready.

''Theo?'' One of them whispered before I was embraced from behind by Johnson.

''Damn you boy, Do you know how worried your family has been this whole time?'' The older man hissed out as soon as he set me down.

''Sorry uncle, I. . .I didn't mean for things to end up as badly as they did. . .I thought I could help and return to mom and dad. . .'' I whispered, Actually feeling ashamed.

Uncle J let out a sigh, His hand reaching up to run his fingers through his black specked snowy white hair.

''All that matters is we were lucky enough that you were among the few to make it back alive'' He whispered, Giving me a fragile smile.

''Don't know what I would do without my only nephew to teach'' He muttered, Ruffling my hair as he moved back over to the other Frogs.

I glanced back down at the ground below, Watching as the Normals we were with made their way over to where Annie was pretending to be a corpse.

Where did Mikey get to. . .Oh wait. . . No it's a trap!

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And things are gonna get. . .Interesting soon. . .Also we meet Theo's uncle!

Anyways! Like always, Have a good day/night and find a better book! - fallen