Only Human

Stampede

We drove the couple hours to where the blue line led us.

Along the way, Clari had instructed me to open the plastic bag hidden behind my seat and to eat the snacks she'd brought along. I did so but it tasted stale, my mouth chewed but there was no flavour. I knew it wasn't the food that was wrong. I knew that it was the void gnawing at my stomach that made it distasteful and shoved the urge to puke it back up upon me.

Eyes watering from time to time, I sniffled before exhaling loudly. My gaze landed on my phone, and I was thankful Clari had shut it off. I wasn't sure if Dean had managed to get my number, but I wouldn't have put it past him.

"We'll be ok, Lys."

"I think we fucked up," I murmured back, glancing at Clari as she squinted out the window. "Maybe we-."

"Should have sat in that room for hours while they bickered over what to do? What makes you think he cares about the boys? He's never cared before."

"It wasn't him sending the money, Clari. There is someone else. What if it's them that has the boys?"

"And they have my nephews because of Dean, that asshole probably has debts that got tossed to you," She scoffed, her eyes swivelling from the road to the phone.

Sighing once more, I pinched the bridge of my nose. Do I tell her? The truth as I learned it. No, my sons weren't taken because of some debt. They were taken because their father is an Alpha and other Alpha's want what he has...

Yeah, that would go down well, I berated myself internally as my head thumbed back against the seat.

The car slowed and I looked to the outside. Once again, we appeared to be on a barren road in a forest area. "This is becoming a theme," I grumbled undoing my belt as my eyes scanned around. High unkept grass led into dense forestry where the trees shrouded all light and only the dense shadows greeted us.

Clari turned off the car and looked to me. "This is it, from here we walk."

"Fuck, what are we doing?" I groaned but slipped from the car. Smacking my cheek lightly, I pictured my boys and moved with her to the back seat. I watched Clair pull out her bag of goodies and winced as she handed me a gun. The metal was cool to touch and it weighed more than I thought, hefting it from side to side I lifted it and tried to aim.

"This," She instructed pushing my arm down to locate a small switch on the left side of the weapon. "Is your safety. When you want to shoot, flick it down before doing so. And for the love of all that is holy, don't point the barrel at me or you."

"Clari-."

My voice trailed off as I watched her check her weapon and then secure the bag on her back. She held her gun loosely and nodded to me before walking off, following the trail her phone laid out. She gave me no time to second guess and no chance to doubt. I only had the option to follow her.

We pushed into the awaiting shadows. Between one step and the next, most of the sunlight vanished. Gasping, I glanced up to see tiny rays of light fighting to reach the floor but the dense trees denied it. Cold pressed upon me the further walked in and I shivered. The gun was clasped loosely in my grasp, tapping against my leg as we went.

"We're getting close," Clari whispered as she stopped ahead of me. She looked back, her eyes widening slightly as I stepped alongside her, and her free hand grasped my arm. "We're doing the right thing, Lys."

I nodded but eased back to lean against a thick tree. My gaze constantly washed around the landscape, searching in vain for some light and brightness. Instead, it was only greeted with varying shades of shadow, some light greys while others trailed off into thick darkness.