Chasing Wild Hearts [1]

Chapter Twenty Two

I open the door. Men and women look at me as I enter a room full of people sat in lab coats.

I let the flame burn brighter as I place my hand on the wall closer to me. I let the room burn and watch people scream.

"Quickly!" I say to the people behind me. The man that claimed to know the way runs first and people follow him. They run through the small passage I kept clear and head to another door. I look behind me and notice no one there so I follow them all.

Ashton stays quiet as I hold him tightly and run after them all.

I smile a little as the pain disappears with every movement I make. I'm healing.

The man at the front opens the door and enters another empty room.

A house. We're at a house I notice as he heads to the front door. They don't bother stopping as they run faster following the man to the world outside. My flame follows them all, keeping them safe from the outsiders.

I step outside onto the grass and I smile at the bright sun glaring down at us.

I can go home.

Cole? I try to mindlink him.

I'm too tired. I can't keep up my strength to keep a mindlink open, Kira says when I don't get an answer from him.

It's okay. I reply back to her as I hear shouting inside the house. I don't lower the fire wall behind me as I run faster and keep up with the people ahead of me.

Ashton giggles as he bounces in my hands and we carry on running with the others.

"Faster!" I shout to them and they all speed up somehow.

I know there all ignoring the pain because they can taste freedom. It's a fingertip away.

We run faster for minutes or hours until we reach a hill.

"Run down quickly. It'll lead to an open forest!" He shouts so everyone can hear.

Open forest meaning it could lead to any pack. Any pack Alpha could be there hunting and Jack wouldn't dare enter a place where he could get killed.

I run forward as people hesitate on top of the hill.

I turn to them.

"I'm going to go down and with me will all the flames around us. If you choose to follow me, you will be protected, but I can't protect you if you go your own way," I say to them truthfully.

They all nod and quietly say they will all go. I smile at them a little as I turn around and tighten my hold on Ashton as I run down the hill carefully making sure I don't fall.

I reach the bottom of the hill and everyone follows me. The moment the last man stops near us, we run further away from the hill.

I feel the flames flickering for a bit as a sudden tiredness feeling surrounds me.

We've been running for hours it seems like.

I slow my steps when I can't hear anyone behind us.

They all stop around me.

"What's wrong?"

"Are they here?"

"Are they going to kill us?"

"I don't want to die."

They all ask questions as I lean against a tree and the flames disappear.

I slide down the tree and close my eyes, every inch of me tired.

Open forest. I send one message through my mind to Cole before I feel the darkness take over me. Hoping it's sent to him.