Chapter Thirteen: The Last Hope

Man, so many things happened that day, it was unimaginable.

Supposedly, I had found an entire camp full of powerful Witches, slaughtered them, and found my English teacher and his wife. Wow, what an adventure!

I said the words, “What is Payton doing?” but of course they came out as barks. Sarah looked at me and smiled.

“Everything will be just fine. Don’t you worry about anything. Payton is strong and reliable,” she told me, walking further and further away from her husband. It wasn’t Payton’s safety that concerned me though. I wanted to know more about Sarah. How had Payton found her? What was his incredible journey? It was sure to be better than mine, because the only thing I did was fall asleep, and then wake up to find out I had killed everyone.

“Let’s wait right here. I don’t want to go any further,” Sarah muttered, and I stopped walking. I cocked my head, inspecting her. She was attractive, and I could see why Payton chose her. My stomach lurched, and I thought again, I should not be hitting on my English teacher’s wife!

I looked away and looked around the snowy tree that Sarah was resting on. She put her hand to her cheek, trying to make warmth. I, for one, was very warm because of my fur.

I must have been looking into her eyes, because she said, “What?” I shook my head and didn’t reply. I’d ask Payton later.

We waited for what seemed like hours until Payton finally emerged from a tree, pocketing the silver knife. I looked at him, eyeing every move he made.

“What? Oh, this,” Payton said, and took out the knife that had once belonged to Angelica, “it’s nothing. Just know that she has been taken care of.”

He turned to Sarah and embraced her, kissing her lips every chance he got. I turned my head away in disgust. That was just awful! At least Lacy and I knew how to do it in style!

I smirked and barked. Their kiss was becoming awfully long, and I felt like I needed to break it up. They didn’t of course. They swayed, holding onto each other, gasping for breath. This was gross, I decided. I was going to leave. I turned away from their make out zone and went around a tree and stopped.

There, on the soft, snowy ground, was Angelica’s dead body. Blood oozed out of her neck, and I saw that her face had been torn open. I smiled and ran over to it, needing blood. My hunger overwhelmed me, and I dug in, savoring each moment that the blood rushed down my throat.

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After my satisfying meal, I found Sarah and Payton conversing with each other, and when I came out from behind the tree, Payton smiled.

“You ready, Landon? We have to go back. I feel that the Rebellion is about to attack at any time. And there…well, there are some things that you should know.”

I looked up eagerly, wanting to know anything – everything!

“Landon, you see, I found Sarah exactly where Ronda told me that she would hide her if she ever came across her. It was in the Vampire headquarters, and so that is where I have been. I have known about it all this time, and never told anyone. Except for you, of course. Well, I went there and found Sarah. You wouldn’t believe the things that we did!”

TMI, Payton! Please! Way too much!

As if reading my thoughts, he went on, “Well, I stole her from the Vampire headquarters, and also found out a vital piece of information. Landon, we have to get back and warn the rest of Fort Wolfgang. The Vampires are planning to attack at midnight tonight! They are sending everyone that they could muster, and they are going to attack us, at Fort Wolfgang. Landon, we need to get in there, tell the rebels, and have them ready. Hopefully, the Vampires will understand that the rebels are fighting against Wolfgang. Maybe we could fight with them.”

I was breathless. He seemed to be anxious and worried at the same time. I could tell that he cared for the citizens of Fort Wolfgang. I nodded my head; we needed to get in there to tell all of the rebels!

Sarah smiled, and kissed Payton on the cheek, and he turned his head, kissing her on the lips again. Oh, please! Payton, come on!

We set off through the snowy mountains. Payton kept Sarah by his side at all times, stealing glances at her every few seconds; as if to make sure that she was still there. It was very awkward to see your English teacher and his wife making out sometimes.

As I learned, Sarah was neither a Vampire nor a werewolf, which meant that we couldn’t just run to Fort Wolfgang like I would have liked to. Instead, we had to walk at a humanly pace. I was still in my werewolf form, even though it was in the brightly lit in the afternoon. Payton stayed in his human body, holding his wife’s cold hands. Sarah’s heavy coat was pulled tightly against her body, making it so that we could see every shape that her body had to offer. Ugh! I looked away. This was disgusting. How could I be falling for Payton’s wife? Ugh!

It was when the pounding started that Payton, Sarah and I stopped. I knew who it was. Quickly, I turned around and bared my fangs, expecting the unwelcome visitors to jump out and attack us. I then realized that they were a long way away. My excellent hearing had fooled me again! I looked at Payton, and mouthed the words, “Vampires.”

It was hard to mouth words in my werewolf body, because my tongue and lips were not used to making those sorts of moments, and so it took me a few tries to get it right. Payton nodded and pulled his wife to his chest. She looked up, alarmed.

“What?” she asked, hugging Payton closer to her body.

“It’s the Vampires. They’ve already begun marching. Sarah, Landon, we have to run! Now! Go! We have to get there before the Vampires do!” Payton shouted, and started running with Sarah at his side.

I looked back, hearing the faint thumps of the Vampires’ feet. They must have been pretty close, because I could only hear things a mile away at the maximum!

I quickly bounded off towards my fleeing friends, and passed them in an instant. I could run much, much quicker than them, and I stopped at the edge of the forest, where a new forest began. Hurry!

Don’t wait for them. Just keep going. Tell Wolfgang and have them set up a barricade.

No! I don’t want Wolfgang to be ready! I want the rebels to be!

Why? Wolfgang is much more powerful. He could kill each and every rebel in an instant. Join with him. The rebels will fall.

That’s where you are wrong. I know that the Rebellion will work; because it just will!

“Landon, just run! Don’t wait for us!” I turned around and saw Payton yelling after me, with Sarah struggling to keep up. “Tell Jonathan Bird to ready the defenses! Tell him –”

Suddenly, Payton tripped over Sarah’s feet and was sent into the snow. Sarah also fell behind him, but got up in a flash. “Go!” she shouted to me, and I nodded. I turned back around and ran my way towards Fort Wolfgang.

Now that I could finally run as fast as I possibly could, I felt as free as a bird. I soared over the snowy tundra, and flew over the frozen streams. Everything passed in a blur, and my heart pounded against my rib cage. Panting, my tongue rolled out, and I ran faster. I needed to get there. I needed to get there now!

The bad part was that the faint pounding in the background never went away. The Vampires were keeping up, most likely running full speed like I was. That wasn’t a good sign. What if they attacked Payton and Sarah? I couldn’t have it…if they died I wouldn’t know what to do.

My breathing became heavier and heavier, and my legs grew more tired. I could make it. It was only another few miles…and then I realized that the feet were getting closer; so close that the sound rumbled through the ground. I turned around and stopped suddenly. My heart almost leaped out of my throat by the sudden jolt.

It only took five seconds for the pounding to become so loud, so obnoxious that I had no choice but to run. That was freaking stupid idea. I should never have stopped! Now they were ganging up on me!

I flipped myself around, now running even faster than I was, if that was even possible. My heart started up again, pounding like crazy. I drew in a large breath, and held it. I needed to stop breathing. I needed to keep running.

I rushed around a corner, and then I saw it. I was there! Fort Wolfgang stood upright, with the amazingly beautiful waterfall still pouring down into the center of the fort.

Quickly, I ran over to the gates; the guards were not present. Grinning, and I hurriedly transformed, trying to open the gate. When I was nude once again, I pulled open the gate, happy that it was unlocked. Trying to conceal myself with my hand, I made my way towards a set of doors to the right. I opened it, and looked in.

I was staring into the Dining Hall, which was full. Embarrassed, I quickly shut it, not realizing that I had just discovered another way to enter the Dining Hall. I dove to the left side of the Entrance Hall, and opened it. It was empty, except for a cook’s set of clothes.

That’ll have to do, I thought warily, and stepped inside of the room. I quickly threw on the clothes. They were huge; apparently made for a very large man, and they dangled onto the floor. Annoyed, I picked them up, and rolled up the leggings. I needed to be able to run.

The clothes were white and sterile, because cooks needed to be clean around food. Grimacing at the ugly clothes, I stepped out of the small room and glanced down the hallway.

Now that I was a human again, I couldn’t hear the thumping of the Vampires, but I knew that they hadn’t stopped. And Payton and Sarah…where were they? I sighed, knowing that I needed to do Payton’s errand. What is it?

He told you to find Wolfgang and tell him about the Vampires.

I laughed out loud. Nice one, voice. He asked me to tell Jonathan Bird about it. Quietly, I opened the door that led to the Dining Hall, and looked through it. The werewolves were acting like their normal, rowdy selves; throwing food, and picking fights. There were massive sized plates full of food, and my stomach growled. Not now! I just ate Angelica!

I searched the room, looking for but one face. Scanning the crowd, I couldn’t find him. Jonathan must not have been in the Dining Hall. Sighing, I closed the door and stared into the face of Wolfgang the terrible. He was standing just outside of the door that held the chef’s clothes. His face was just about as frightening as his attitude. His hair stuck out in all directions, and a wide, evil, toothy grin slowly spread across his face.

“Hello, Landon. Don’t you recall me shunning you from this fort?” His voice displayed pure hatred and evil. I glared at him. What could I do?

I did the only thing reasonable enough to do. I roared and ducked under his arm, escaping before he even realized that I had fled. He gasped and jerked his head backwards, cursing me, and then started to transform. He slipped out of his clothes, now morphing into a pure black coat of fur.

“Jonathan! Jonathan Bird!” I cried, running for my life. He must have been in this fort somewhere! But where?

Just tell Wolfgang, you idiot! He is going to kill you anyway!

Exactly my point. I glanced at Wolfgang, and his evil black form. My eyes widened and I quickly bounded down the Main Hall, shouting Jonathan’s name at every chance I got. I heard gasps from the crowd; obviously worried that Wolfgang was chasing me.

“Jonathan!” I called for the umpmost time. And then I saw his head emerge from the crowd. I came to a sudden halt, and heard Wolfgang roar behind me. I dove in Jonathan’s direction, and fell to the ground. Wolfgang missed my by inches, and he went skidding through a crowd.

Jonathan’s Bird was like heaven; he looked down at me, and said, “What?” his eyes were wide and alarmed.

“Jonathan…” I muttered, out of breath. Wolfgang was slowly rising from his fall. “Jonathan, Payton told me to tell you that the Vampires…the Vampires are coming, and you need to get ready.”

I saw Jonathan look up into the crowd, and then he said, “Come on. We need to talk.”

I nodded, and then someone yelled the words, “People! People, Gordon just spotted an army headed this way!” Every single head turned to the frightened werewolf, and his face was pale. Wolfgang looked at him too, glaring.

“What?” people shouted, and suddenly there was a huge banging. Everyone’s head flashed towards the Entrance Hall, and I heard Wolfgang cry, “Kill them! Kill them all! Don’t let them enter Fort Wolfgang!” His voice bellowed throughout the room.

At first, the werewolves did nothing, and then suddenly they all started rushing for the Entrance Hall, cries and hollers coming from each one. All of the werewolves from the Dining Hall also left their food and charged to the hall.

Which left Jonathan, myself, some other people, and Wolfgang left in the room. Jonathan bent down, picking me up, and Wolfgang roared. He suddenly pounded over to Jonathan and I, but the other remaining werewolves charged him.

This all happened so quickly that I could barely comprehend what was going on. Jonathan yelled to the werewolves, “Kill him! Rip him apart! Rebels, kill Wolfgang!”

Wolfgang stopped in his tracks, and one of the werewolves transformed and tackled him. The leader of all werewolves growled in his throat and slashed his long claws at his attacker. I could tell that the plunge hit deep and hard, cutting open arteries. I grimaced, and pulled myself up. What should I do? I had no clue. There were werewolves fighting the Vampires in the Entrance Hall, and a fight was breaking out between Wolfgang and the rebels.

I did the only thing that a sane person would do. I ran like crazy out of the hall, and turned into the shower room. The waterfall pounded against the floor, escaping through a deep black hole in the middle of the showers. There was no one in here but me. I gasped, trying to recall what had just happened. After minutes of trying to sort it all out, I came to the conclusion that everything happened so fast that it all came out as a blur.

I ducked down, still in human form, and hid in the corner of the room. This was too much for me; I had never been in a battle before. The only thing that I had ever done was kill a human or two.

Fight. Now that you have failed to join with Wolfgang, fight until you die. It is the werewolf way.

But I didn’t want to fight! I wanted to go home! I wanted to go home and start over. I wanted to start all the way over. I wished desperately that I could go back to when I was six. I wished that I could go back to when I first saw the werewolf. I wished that I had never seen it.

All of these things I desperately wished for, yet not one of them ever came true.

They can’t. You can’t go back in time. You saw what you saw, and there is nothing you can do to turn time back. The only future you have is here. You have to fight. You have to die. Everyone is counting on you to fight and be killed. You have nothing to live for anymore. Your family is dead; Payton and Sarah don’t want you. What would they do to you? Nothing. They would leave you here while they went off. Landon, face the facts. Lacy is dead. Your family is dead. Your friendship is dead. Everything in your life has died. It is time that you too died.

I felt the hot tears rolling down my face. Every word that the voice said was true. I needed to die. Yes…I needed to fight!

Yes! Go out there and rip those bloody Vampires up! Kill them all! Kill them all!

The adrenaline started pumping through my veins, and I shouted, “Yes! I will go and fight to the death!”

I left the shower room, transforming by the second. The idiotic chef’s clothes slipped off of my body, and I felt my rabies start up. The frothing dripped out of my mouth angrily, and I cursed each bubble. My anger was built up, but I didn’t know for whom. I was angry, but I didn’t know why, in other words.

Release your anger on Jonathan. Kill him. Kill the Vampires. Make sure that Wolfgang stays alive.

I had thought that we had all ready been over that! I wasn’t going to side with Wolfgang! I am a rebel. Now you either give me good advice or shut your mouth! I got not reply.

I ran towards the Dining Hall. There was no one in there except for two bodies. One was the one guy that Wolfgang had ripped the artery out of. I felt sick to my stomach as I saw who the other one was.

Jonathan was laying on the ground, his mouth ajar and his eyes totally white. He had blood dripping freely down his cheek, and I couldn’t bare to look. Wolfgang was going to kill everyone, wasn’t he?

That is why you should join with him. He will be the dominating werewolf no matter what happens.

No. That is where you are wrong. Wolfgang will die. I will kill him myself! I hurled myself towards the Entrance Hall, where the big battle was taking place. As soon as I glanced over to the battlefield, I gasped.

There were bodies everyone, some of werewolves, but most of Vampires. There were warriors from both sides fighting each other, ripping each other apart. The Vampires were beautiful people. Their skin was pure white, like they were cold or something. Most of their hair was dyed red, and they all wore armor with a bloody handprint on it. They all wielded some kind of a weapon also. I glanced down at one of the dead Vampires and looked at his weapon. It was a silver dagger. Man, where do these guys get those?

“Landon!” I heard a voice cry, and I looked up. I felt my heart tremble, and then my chin. My legs gave way, and I tumbled to the ground full of dead bodies. What I had just seen couldn’t be real. No. I must have been dreaming. Slowly, my watery eyes looked up and I saw a girl dressed in Vampire armor. The girl was perfect, almost as perfect as the Vampires themselves. Except I knew that she wasn’t a Vampire.

I was staring at my sister, Celeste.

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Sorry about such a long post. We are almost at the end of the book!!! I'm so excited!