I'm On My Way

Chapter 24

AN: heyheyhey my little sugar muffins. Don't even ask where that came from becaus ei have no idea. This chapter took too long to write but i'm hoping ot start writing more and habve longer chapters, so yay! Hopefully these will get better and maybe more often? And if and when they are updated hopefully they willl be longer.

Hope you enjoy, as this chapter explains a few things!!! 

"Ah, Maddy. How good to see you again."

Maddy froze momentarily, feeling her mind flash. Fuzzy images filled her brain for a short second; they were blurred like an unfocused film. She managed out shake herself out quickly, and the group all spun round, the girls’ hair flicking up into the air in a colourful mess.

Maddy had recognised that voice. She didn’t know how .She didn’t know when. But the panic had turned over in her stomach, like it always did when she heard a familiar voice. But what puzzled her most was that she wasn’t scared of THEM, the people who claimed she knew them. No, she was most petrified that she had met these people, and was on good terms on them.

Was it even possible that she could know someone so well, when she had no recollection of ever crossing them in her life?

Their eyes fell on another bare patch of forest. All they could see was the dead skeletons of the trees, the wind washing over the crushed corpses of leaves. Maddy reached for Shannon and Rhydian’s hands, which they gratefully took. Bafflement rested on their faces for a few seconds as they all desperately scanned the landscape.

Probably – Maddy thought bitterly as she started to shrink – so that they could see their faces.

They heard a chuckle falling from above them. It was low and gruff, but it was almost friendly, like how your uncle could sound. It matched the greeting they had just heard, but more smug, and Maddy felt herself blush slightly. She hated being mocked.

“Over here, darlings” it called, and there was a thump as two bodies fell to the ground. Maddy scowled; they were playing with them. Despite this, Maddy was the first to muster the courage to turn around and come face to face with them, and the others were soon to follow.

She was about a head shorter than them, so she looked up fiercely to see a bearded, muddy face. Two golden brown eyes peered out at her, and they seemed quite jolly. The man had a sly smile printed on his shattered lips. The other man was slightly shorter, but with lank, strong legs. His tangled, blonde hair reached his shoulders. His face was young and smooth, with no beard; he couldn’t be much older than Maddy. And as their eyes locked, Maddy frowned: did she see his lips twitch slightly, almost into a smile?

Maddy had studied them, and their appearance didn’t shock her.

Her presence didn’t busy them either. They were both studying her friends with piercing eyes, like the lamps they use on stage; always following you and heating you up. She could see Rhydian squirm under their gaze, and they blushed when the wild wolfblood smirked at their tangled hands. They let go; they couldn’t show any weakness. This seemed to entertain the man more, and he revealed a row of slightly white teeth as he continued the silence.

It was strange. Although they were wearing dark clothes, they seemed to blend into the forest. They held their heads high; their bodies were long and thin, but strong. And there was just something that reminded Maddy of a shadow. Seeing that they had barely glanced at her, Maddy took the chance to document as much of them as possible.

Their upper bodies were broad, their arms long like twigs. Maddy could see that their fingers were curled like claws; thick shoulders were hunched forwards towards their heads. Their feet were bare but their skin tough, as were their hands. Maddy ticked things off in her head. Piercing though they were, their eyes weren’t yellow, and they had fangs.