Moonlit Walk

Chapter 8: Flashback

*Unknown POV*

Nothing is more comforting than darkness surrounding you, when you can feel it covering you like a blanket. Most people say they are afraid of the dark, but the dark can not harm you. But what lurks in the shadows is what people should fear. Monsters are everywhere... hiding. Some hide in the cover of darkness, while others hide behind smiling faces and warm words. How can you defend yourself against these monsters? By killing them, before they kill you.

And that is what I'm doing. Ridding the world of these horrible monsters. I must save the mortals before the monsters destroy everything. And I'm going to start in Beacon Hills.

*Braeden's POV*

One Day Ago...

I pull a half-conscious Derek along as we get away from that dark warehouse. He isn't healing as fast as he should be due to the silver knives he was tortured with. "C'mon Derek. I need you to stay with me, you can't die yet." He groans as I shift his weight. I don't know how long that girl is going be unconscious and I want to be as far away from this place as possible before she wakes up.

It is nearly midnight when I finally find a cave to stop and rest in. As soon as I set Derek down he passes out. I clean his wounds and he cries out in his sleep, either because of nightmares or the pain. It's strange seeing him this vulnerable. Derek hardly ever lets his guard down but when he is sleeping he looks almost peaceful.

I finish cleaning and stitching his wounds, which include one long gash in his right thigh, a cut from his left shoulder to his right hip, and multiple punctures which look like they came from an arrow. Then I take stock of what supplies we have. We have two bottles of water, a small first aid kit which is almost out of gauze and bandages, a lighter, a flashlight with extra batteries, a backpack, and most importantly the weapons. I always carry a knife in my boot, a glock 17 9mm pistol in my waistband, and a Remington 870 shotgun.

It is about one in the morning when I hear something outside the cave. A branch snapping. Terror seizes my chest, she's found us. I won't be able to get Derek out of here while he's unconscious, so I will have to fight her off or lead her in the wrong direction. I am about to grab my flashlight then think better of it and grab my shotgun instead. I walk cautiously toward the opening of the cave. How did she track us so quickly? I wonder. And where is she?

The moon provides little light but my eyes have adjusted to the darkness. I look around outside the cave where there is a little clearing but I see nothing. Maybe it was only an animal. Hopefully it was only an animal. I don't want to leave Derek unattended but I slowly exit the cave searching the trees and the ground for anything suspicious. I stop about 10ft from the cave where the tree line starts. If I go any farther I won't be able to see if anyone enters the cave. That's probably what she wants, to lead me away from Derek so she can go in and finish what she started. I won't be afraid of her, after all I was able to get into her warehouse, sneak up on her, and knock her out.

I go back into the cave, and I pack up what little supplies we have. We have to be ready to leave at any moment. And I believe that moment is now. But leave to where? I know that we are in the southern part of the Mendocino National Forest. So at least we are still in California. But we are at least a two day walk away from Beacon Hills, hopefully I can find a truck somewhere.

Wait, I know where we can go! My family came up here all the time when I was little. Our little log cabin should be around here somewhere. If I can find it, it will have water, maybe more bandages, and it will have beds. And there might even be an old truck in the garage.

"Derek!" I whisper. I shake his shoulder to wake him up.

He groans, "Five more minutes."

"We need to leave." I check his wounds and they seem to be healing already which is good. He will need his strength until we can get to the cabin. I pull him into a sitting position, "Derek, I swear to god if you don't get up I'm leaving you here." I threaten him though he knows I would never leave him and he smiles. God, I love that smile. I don't see it very often.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." He smirks.

"Just get up, I think that girl is tracking us." He wakes up more at that. "Who is that girl anyway?" I ask, "How did she capture you?"

"I don't know who she is, but I think she is a hunter though I don't know why she would be alone and not with a clan. As for how she captured me, well..." He goes red from embarrassment. "She's a lot stronger than she looks." I try to hold back my laughter. "She caught me by surprise, okay?" He defends himself. "Besides she had silver arrows and knives and you know werewolves aren't good with silver."

"We can talk more later but we need to go." He nods and I help him stand. He winces in pain but he can support more of his weight now. I hand him a water bottle and he takes a long sip. Then he hands it back to me and I put it in the backpack.

"Where are we going?" He asks.

I don't want to get his hopes up, because I'm not completely sure I will be able to find the cabin. I know it is east near the edge of the forest but I can't be completely sure of where we are right now. So I tell him, "We are going east." He looks at me questioningly, he wants to know more. But I shake my head and give him a look that makes him drop it. We reach the mouth of the cave and I press a finger to my lips telling him to be quiet. I hold my shotgun in my right hand, but since I am helping Derek with my left arm, I won't be able to use it properly.

We walk out of the cave slowly and we search the area as Derek listens for any sounds. He sniffs the air then shakes his head. I release a breath I didn't know I was holding, she's not here. I must've heard a deer or some other animal. Even though she's not around, we still walk quietly and quickly. I also do not use the flash light because I don't want to draw any attention to ourselves.

We walk silently for twenty minutes when Derek suddenly stops. "She's here." He whispers.

I look around us. I look in the trees but I don't see anything. But I know better then to question a werewolves senses. "Where?" He points up to the trees and I look. I don't understand what he senses then the moonlight shows a flash of silver. I barely have time to push Derek down before an arrow hits the ground. Faster than I thought possible, another arrow appears in Derek's chest. He cries
out and I lift my shotgun. Now that I have both arms I aim and fire but I can't see where the girl is. I look to where Derek pointed but there is no one there. I fire in that direction again anyways and I hear her gasp in pain.

Suddenly the girl appears out of nowhere on one of the branches but she was not there a second ago. I shoot again now that I can see her and I hit her in the arm. My second shot landed in her thigh. She falls out of the tree and lands on the ground. I run over to where Derek had fallen. There is an arrow pierced in his chest.

"This is going to hurt." I tell him as I yank the arrow out of his body. He screams. I don't have time to clean it so I haul him up and pull him east. "You're so lucky you have me. I'm getting real tired of having to save you all the time." He doesn't say anything and I worry. How long is this going to take to heal?

I should check on the girl. See if she's dead. She fell from a very tall tree, but I shot her in the leg so it will be harder for her to follow us. Right now I need to focus on getting Derek out of here and to the cabin. Before we leave though I take the arrow that the girl shot Derek with and put it in my backpack. Maybe we can use it to figure out who she is. I still haven't seen her face well enough to see any discernible features. But that doesn't matter at the moment so I pull Derek along as he struggles keep up with me.

A/N:
Hey everyone! Wow, it's been long since I've updated and again I'm so sorry! I've actually had this part done for a while, and I was going to add more to it but I just never got around to it. So sorry about that! I guess we shall see when I update next. Hopefully soon! But I say that every time don't I?

-Iceprincess2018