Hunt bus, Road to Hunt
Location: Unknown
To say the bus ride felt long is an understatement, the sun had come and gone many times over. The bus had been going on a noticeable incline for a couple hours now based on the placement of the sun but other than the sun all I can see is the rushing of trees passing and the feeling of gravity pulling me back into my seat. I tried not to look at my seat partner, the resemblance too much to bear. My eyes beg me to close then and go back to sleep but my mind won't turn off.
A couple times a wolf guard came down the aisle passing out little bags with food. The most recent bag still sits in my lap, a small bag of dried fruit with a peanut butter sandwich. I know I need to eat to keep my strength for what's coming but it's hard to stomach food knowing that in the next few days I could lose everything. I wonder how the boys are doing, are they scared, are they together!? I am pretty confident that Isaac is okay, he was in the military before the takeover and always seems to know what to do at just the right time.
For one, he left the military just months before the beast won the world war and slaughtered his whole unit. Then there was the cabin. About 3 weeks before the humans were "relocated" he bought our house from an old couple who were originally going to rent it out. But somehow got them to sell it to him, somehow he got a hold of people who could get the water in the cabin working and even installed an outdoor pump as well as a couple of solar panels that would later only have 2 jobs. They keep the oven going and charge our 2 rechargeable flashlights. We got lucky finding them, after electricity became too expensive and most humans' flashlights became a luxury. Thankfully we found those 2 in our old house before we sold it.
Many of the herbs and flowers I collect for healing only bloom at night so those flashlights saved many hours of searching and many unlucky human lives. Without them many of my patients would have passed without a cure.
A common sickness that many of my patients had was Plumeria fever, it was extremely contagious. It is carried by shifters in their wolf form, it has only one known cure and the wolves are completely immune to plumeria fever. Therefore the only way to get a cure is to find a human doctor who knows it and can find it.
The plant that makes the cure is called Frangipani, it can come in white or pink but to cure the fever it has to be white. This particular flower is extremely light sensitive so it does not bloom during the day and is often hard to find because it hides under others. The flower is also extremely toxic so to harvest it you must be extremely careful, and when making the cure one must be extra cautious to make sure the ingredients are fresh and pure. When mixing one must go slow and watch the frangipani petals because if they don't break down when added to the solution the cure will become a toxin instead. If this happens you must dispose of it and start over, there is no salvaging it.
I was so lost in thought about the logistics of the plumeria fever cure that I did not realize the bus was slowing down, we were no longer going up. I quickly finish off my dried fruit and tuck my sandwich into the pocket of my coat, who knows when I'll get food next.
I take one last peak at my seat mate. Her eyes red and puffy from crying, she was staring daggers at the seat in front of us but it was an unseeing glare. I watch as she tries to pull her barriers back, as she struggles to keep from breaking down again. Knowing that if she can't get it together now she won't be able to focus on what's coming.
We both know what's coming is 10 times worse than what's already here.
I notice she hasn't touched her food. I want to warn her, to tell her she should eat what she can. But I don't, I don't tell her it's gonna be okay, nor do I try to comfort her. I decide against saying anything, I don't want to interrupt her when she is already having a hard enough time. No need to make a promise I can't keep, no need to force a guilty conscience upon myself.
It might be tactless, it might be harsh, it might be insensitive, and it's probably selfish. But that's life now, I don't know this person. They are not family, we are not friends, hell i've never seen her in my life.
But here I am, trying to justify what I'm doing. Evaluating and reevaluating, trying to prove something that doesn't matter.
"Single file, seats 1 through 12 exit the bus, when you get off state your name, seat number, job, and age."
I watch from my seat as human girls stand on shaky legs and quietly get in line. Some seemed in deep thought, while others already looked downright terrified. There was no pattern to the claiming, some where the obvious choices, you know natural beauty - gentle - accepting - female but then there were the outliers the ones that simply didn't fit into the model. They could be anyone, as more and more outliers where chosen humans fell into despair, ANYONE could be claimed. There was no assuming safety anymore, and that was a scary thought.
"Next group, single file, seats 13 through 22 exit the bus, when you get off state your name, seat number, job, and age in that order. I repeat seats 13 through 22 state your name, seat number, job, and age. IN THAT ORDER!"
My seat is 18 so I had to wait a little bit for the aisle to clear before I got out. The girl next to me who I still have yet to say a word to is very hesitant about getting up. Honestly I'm kinda worried if she doesn't get up soon we're going to get yelled at.
I swear she is waiting for the last possible moment to get up, but finally because she waited so long we don't have to stand in line. In fact, by the time we got off the bus the last girl of our group was walking away from a wolf-lady with a clipboard.
Normally it's hard to tell who's a wolf or not if you're not you aren't standing near them. However there are a couple easy tell tell signs. One- their teeth, all of them are naturally sharp but there k9s even more so. Two- their stance, they are 100% confident in themselves when they stand among humans. Three- their eyes, they have square like pupils; while not completely square they are not the normal circles you see with humans, they also tend to glow especially in the dark. The more powerful the brighter the eyes. The fourth is not as reliable as the first 3 because it applies for all nonhuman's as well as the few rich and powerful humans, its the air of superiority that they carry. The indifference to everyday humans and their suffering.
The lady with the clipboard had 2 and 4, cluing me into her wolf abilities, and therefore her threat level. While the chance of her attacking me are slim one can never be too careful when dealing with a beast.
Looks like it's my turn. Yeah, please note the sarcasm.
"Arlein Moore, 18, 5th grade teacher, and I'm 25 years old."
~~~~~
A/N
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my work, it means a lot to me. I love all of you and hope you have a great rest of your day/night. (Don't forget to sleep)
Don't forget to vote, comment, and share it means a lot. Thanks.
*The Frangipani flower is a real flower for those that didn't know. However all that I know is what it looks like and the name of it, everything else is MADE UP. So don't quote me on this flower, it might be toxic, it might not be, it might bloom at night, it might not. That being said, don't base what I know on fact because I decided not go into a rabbit hole to find a flower that grew the way I wanted it to. Thanks.*
Word count: 1,450
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Midnight Moon
Werewolf"Go find someone else to feed your ego. I'm busy" ----- When the humans lose the war against the super natural they face quite a culture shock. They now sit at the bottom of the food chain. Follow Arlein Moore as she navigates her new life in this...
