War of the Wolves

Chapter 29

            I ran off to find everyone else. I needed to know how many people made it through the battle. I wiped blood from my forehead as my legs carried me as fast as I could go. I had to see him. I had to know that he was okay. If he wasn’t okay then the entire battle was won in vain.

            As I approached the battlefield, I could see that all of my friends were gathered around something.

            No. Who is it? It can’t be Aiden, I screamed to myself, but I knew whom they were staring at before I was even close to them.

            They all parted for me as I reached them. They made a clear path that ended at Aiden’s lifeless body. Tears began to flow before I could even process his state. I knew he was dead.

            I walked slowly closer to him. My feet dragged on the ground as I stared, waiting for him to stand. I knelt down by his body and hesitantly pulled him to me.

“Please, Aiden,” I whispered, “Please wake up. Please.”

            I could feel all the eyes on my back. If they didn’t know that Aiden and I had been together already, they would soon.

“Aiden,” my tears began to flow more steadily.

            I pulled his lips to mine, but all I felt was the warmth slowly draining from them. He was gone. I let his body slide back onto the ground as I cried harder into my palms.

“I loved you, Aiden,” I cried, “I love you.”

            I didn’t turn to view the reactions of the crowd behind me. I didn’t turn to watch them as they all began to leave one by one. I didn’t turn to show them my tear stained face as I watched Aiden, waiting for any kind of movement.

            After an hour, I began to hear the rustling of leaves. I dismissed it as the wind, but then the fog began to return. I looked around as laughter rung throughout the air.

“Sage,” I whispered.

            I stood up, prepared to run. I moved closer to the woods, away from Aiden. I could hear whispers as voices searched for him, but I knew they weren't Sage’s. It sounded like Laura and Jace. Maybe they were going to bury him soon. I didn’t want to ask.

            Paranoia turned my blood to ice as I moved hesitantly back towards my house. I could hear humming following me as I moved through the woods.

“Who’s there?” I yelled.

            No response. Had I expected there to be one? I sighed and began to let my mind travel to other subjects. Suddenly, something hit me from behind.

“Just me,” came a crazed whisper.

            I was right. It was Sage.

“What do you want with me?” I yelled,

“I’ve already killed your boyfriend. Now I’m going to kill you too,” she laughed, “if I didn’t kill you, how could I finish Alex’s job?”

“You killed Aiden?” I growled.

            She nodded happily.

“Well then I’ll enjoy killing you.”

            I could see the insanity in her eyes. She’d gone crazy.

“Oh puh-lease,” she laughed, “like you could ever do that. You killing Alex was a mistake.”

            I rolled my eyes. As I posed myself for a fight, she fell to the ground. When she hit, I could see a knife sticking out of her back. It was the exact same knife that I’d used to kill Alex with.

            I took a second to look around before I took the knife and fled the scene.

            I enjoyed the celebrations with all the others, but I wasn’t truly happy. All I could think about was the results of the war. Aiden was dead.