Good, Evil, and the Gray Area (FIRST DRAFT)

Chapter 15: I watch a battle and get attacked by a crazed woman.

The sound shocked me, but I took advantage of the commotion and was up and sprinting into the woods within seconds. Shortly after I heard the trumpet, men had burst into the clearing. Not just men though. Wolves ran amongst the men. These wolves were scary, huge, with an aura of intelligence. Then, it dawned on me.

Werewolves. That would explain the size, the intelligence. I didn't expect to be scared, even the way Ava had described them, but these wolves were scary. It was something about the intelligence, the calculating way they looked at you, the way they moved with the men. Like a pack.

The men that had been with me in the tent had completely forgotten me, it seemed. Some were fleeing into the woods, some were running to get weapons. I saw Immanuel running into the woods. What a coward.

I had frozen, probably ten feet into the woods by that point. I realized that I needed to run, but couldn't bring myself to leave. I watched in amazement as the werewolves fought. They seemed to be beating Immanuel's side so badly, I couldn't imagine how Immanuel had thought that they could compete at all with the werewolves, even with my help.

Then, the wizards emerged. I hadn't known that they were wizards, at least until they started doing magic. One was shooting lasers out of his hands, another had an aura that I assumed was electricity. Whenever a werewolf came towards him they dropped, like they had been shot, or electricuted.

Now the men from the camp were holding their own. The wizards were taking out as many werewolves as the werewolves were taking out their side. However, the werewolves had such a head start that soon so many men from the camp had fallen that they had to retreat.

Then, I snapped out of my reverie. I cursed quietly, remembering that I needed my sneakers. I had managed to carry them that far, and wasn't planning on losing them.

I snuck around the back, and snuck into the camp. I stepped into the torture tent, hoping to find my sneakers there. The battle was still raging outside, the werewolves trying to push the wizards back, away from the safety of the camp.

I hoped they did, and the werewolves went with them, because I needed my sneakers, and couldn't find them anywhere in this tent. I quietly opened the flap and looked around.

The werewolves were slowly pushing the wizards back. Everyone was so absorbed in the battle that no one noticed me slip into another tent. This tent looked luxurious, and I was hoping that it was Immanuel's tent, or his wives. Maybe she was in there, and she had my old clothes and sneakers.

I stepped into the tent, and looked around. The tent was red velvet on the inside, and had even more luxurious furniture then the torture tent. I had been right. Immanuel's wife was cowering in the corner, looking at me like she thought I was going to kill her.

A legitamate thought, I thought, smiling.

"Do you have my sneakers?" I asked her.

She pointed with a shaking finger to a desk. On it was my clothes and sneakers. I looked back at the woman, intending to thank her, but she was directly behind me, holding a knife.

I stepped back, knocking my spine on the desk. The woman was nuts. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her long dark hair was soaked with sweat.

She swung her knife hand clumsily toward me. I easily blocked her, and twisted the knife from her grasp. She grabbed my arm and looked into my eyes.

"Beware your own kind." She said, then crumpled to the floor.

I wasted no time, running out of the tent and into the woods. Immanuel would expect me to go back and look for Ava, but he had run away. I imagined that he wouldn't come back, but I didn't know which way we had come anyway.

I scouted around the edge of the woods, keeping an eye on the battle as I did so. Finally I found a trail, and decided to follow it. First, however, I left clear tracks in the opposite direction for a half mile or so, then doubled around and found my trail again.

I ran, and didn't stop until night had fallen so I couldn't see. I then morphed into a bobcat of sorts. I could see again.

I ran for probably half the night, then climbed into a tree and fell into a dream filled sleep.