Gone

Breaking Point

Jackson POV 

The forest was thick. Enormous dark green trees covered the sky only letting in slivers of light. The thick brown bodies of the trees took up almost every inch of the forest floor, making it difficult to run as a group. The ground was littered with sharp pine needles and broken branches that cut into the pads of my paws, sending sharp pain up my legs.  

I was running on pure adrenaline, only seeing those damn trees in front of me as I dodged them with ease and bolted past them. My body ached and every breath I took burned throughout my lungs like they were on fire. The only thing that kept me moving through my exhaustion was the feeling of Casey gripping my fur. Her whole body was flush with mine, her head buried in the fur of my neck. I could hear her quick breathing keeping in time with mine. I had to get this kid to safety.  

I dodged another tree and launched myself over a broken stump, hearing Casey scream and shift as we landed hard on the ground. She repositioned herself quickly and grabbed onto me harder. She was a trooper, she was scared and I knew it, but she held tight.  

I was looking for anything that would provide us with protection, preferably a cave or possible a body of water. The hunters scent was gone and we hadn't seen anymore arrows, but I refused to stop until I knew we wouldn't be left out in the open as easy targets.  

I could hear the rest of the pack behind me, the thunderous sounds of their paws beating the ground filled my ears. To my right, Trent kept pace with me, darting his head around every few seconds, probably looking for a safe place just as I was. He had a small boy, younger than Casey, riding on his back with his arms secured around Trent's wide neck.  

To my right was Brinley. She too had a small boy on her back, probably around five years old. His whole body was almost completely covered by Brinley's fur, but I could slightly see his tear stained face. Even though I could see his fear, he had a tight grip to Brinley and kept himself safe. The children in this pack were so much stronger than the adults. 

While watching the little boy, something over Brinley's head caught my attention. A group of large rocks. I took a second to evaluate them. The large gray boulders seemed to be taller than myself when in human form. There were at least five of them positioned into a semicircle. Right behind them stood a group of large trees, providing the rocks some shelter.  

I decided that's where we needed to be. I turned my body quickly and cut Brinley off, causing her to skid to a stop before regaining herself and continue running. I didn't even feel bad, the only thing I felt was relief because I needed a damn break.  

I was running so hard that I was a good ten feet in front of everyone else. Once I came up on the rocky structure I ran around it to get a good idea of how it was set up. The boulders were definitely taller than I was, there were six of them situated in a circle. Smaller rocks, about half the size of the taller ones, lined the large trees next to it. In the middle of the set up was a small fire pit full of ash and partially burnt wood. Someone had been there before, but whoever it was, was long gone. The only scent that filled the air was ours.  

Satisfied, I stopped moving and lowered my body to the ground so that Casey could climb off.  

"I grabbed your bag before I climbed up, I figured you were gonna forget it," Casey said with a shaky voice.  

She was right, I had completely forgotten about my small bag that held a dirty pair of black sweat pants and a slightly torn, extremely dirty white t-shirt. Sure enough, Casey had it tucked under her arm. I knew there was a reason why she was my favorite.  

Casey sat the bag down on the ground in front of me, "You change and I'll get some wood." I huffed towards her not liking the idea of her going into the woods alone. "Oh hush, I won't go in more than a few feet," she scoffed at me.