Secret Lives

Chapter 19, Strangers

Chapter 19

The quiet in my head should have told me, the uninterrupted silence seeming out of place.

I didn’t think I was numb enough to fall asleep but as I felt someone pushing against my arm, my eyes shot open; head snapping in the direction of the threat as Mitch’s eyes stared back at me.

Withdrawing his hand, I could see Mitch had not expected such a hostile wake up, a small smile appearing on his lips as he got composure back.

I was sure my confused expression only made him unsure what to do.

‘We’re at the boundary’.

Taking my attention off Mitch, my eyes began to scan the area; the trees reminding me of the forest that we had been tracking through for the past few days.

‘What do you mean by the boundary’?

Mitch pulled the key from the ignition, the ring spinning around on his finger as he gazed over the lack of view.

‘This is where the hunters begin their searches; from here onwards are hunting grounds’.

Wrapping my fingers around the old door handle, I lightly pushed the heavy object; the door creaking open as I tried to figure out how this patch of forest differed from everywhere else.

We had stopped in what looked like some sort of parking bay, small wooden fence posts stopping any vehicle trekking into the trees.

I had never imagined the hunters were so close, the highway travel obviously taking the fastest route through the dense areas of forest.

‘Why do the hunters only travel to this point if the wolves live further on’?

Resting my back against the door frame now I was at my feet, my curiosity was getting the better of me, there was so much we didn’t know when we were tracking the wolves.

‘You’re the hunter, so why don’t you tell me’?

I couldn’t imagine why we would stop at this point unless we thought there were plenty of wolves to hunt in the area that we didn’t need to go south.

Still looking into the trees, I could hear Mitch fiddling around with something near the back of the car now, my eyes glancing over at him quickly to see he was securing a backpack to his shoulders to carry.

I wasn’t sure whether we would need whatever extra supplies he had packed in that thing but I knew I certainly wasn’t going to volunteer to lug it along.

Slamming the door shut as I assessed which direction to head, I was surprised as Mitch was ready quicker than I expected now standing next to me and surveying the area also.

‘The wolves here will be cautious so be warned.  It’s going to be harder to pass you off as one of us if you stalk them like prey, so try to keep the hostility to a minimum’.

Nodding in agreement, Mitch walked over into the trees, and soon enough he was back the bag looking fatter than before obviously after he’d thrown his clothes in.

Glancing curiously at me, I was surprised he still wanted to travel as a wolf as I complied with his wish, shifting soon enough and following him into the scrub.

The first thing I noticed not long into our trip was the constant smell of fear, finding it odd I had never recognised the smell being so prominent before.

Following the track north as I thought, the ground was hardly worn in as I guessed any wolf would try to hide their presence after being here.

It wouldn’t have surprised me if we even placed a foot wrong and hunters began following our trail.