...Louis stared quietly into the fire on the hearth through intense grey eyes, aching all over still from the fight. Ira sat next to him, bleeding from his nose and a gash on the side of his head.
'What did I tell you two about fighting?' their mother sighed, kneeling beside them with a bowl of hot water.
'They were trying to steal his shoes, mom Mom,' Louis said, flinching away from her hands as she tried to examine his face.
There were only a few bruises and a cut on his lip, yet she treated it as though it was a mortal wound.
'Yeah, they started it,' Ira snorted.
'There's enough fighting going on these days, we don't need anymore from you two,' she sighed.
Louis pressed his lips together, wincing as she dabbed the cloth along the cut on his lip.
'Hold that there,' she huffed bringing his hand up to the cloth.
She turned to Ira, shaking her head, 'And you... You're just lucky your big brother was there to protect you.'
Ira sneered for some reason I think the word ‘sneer’ sounds like an evil way to act to your mother at her and pushed her hands away, 'I could have handled them myself.'
'Bullshit,' Louis snorted, 'That one guy would've beat you into the ground if I hadn't come when I did.'
'Fuck you, Louis!' Ira roared, jumping out of his chair. wow so I guess they’ve always had potty mouths!
'Both of you!' their mother shouted, standing up, 'Stop it! Now!'
Ira shoved passed her and stormed off to the door leading outside. He flung it open, and in his way stood a monstrous, bearded man. He looked down at Ira with inquisitive grey eyes.
Ira looked up at him, pressed his lips together, and then slipped passed him.
'What's going on?' asked the man, stepping inside after stomping the ice off his boots.
His eyes wandered from Louis to his wife.
She shook her head and went to the other room, allowing the curtain to fall behind her.
The man looked at Louis again.
'Some idiots tried to take his shoes...' Louis muttered.
The man sat down with a heavy sigh, 'What happened?'
'He balked balked? at them,' Louis went on, 'I was bringing Kita back from town when I saw them beating the shit...snot...out of him...'
'You stepped in, I'm guessing?'
'He has his shoes, doesn't he?'
They were quiet.
'He's got enough pride to put your grandfather to shame,' Louis' father grunted, shaking his head.
Louis bit his lip.
'Louis...' said his father, 'It's time I had a talk with you... See... Your mom and I ain't always gonna be around...'
'Dad...don't...' Louis began, shaking his head.
'You're almost fifteen, son,' he interrupted. His voice dropped to a low whisper, 'Times are getting tougher every second of everyday... Today I saw a man burying his family because of Wolves... God forbid, but if anything happens to me and your mother, I need to know you'll take care of your brother.'
Louis swallowed, and then nodded slowly, 'Okay...'
'Promise, Louis,' whispered his father.
Louis made a pained face. The thought of losing his family plagued him too often in the form of nightmares. But he was nearly a man now, and it was time to act like one. He looked up at his father and breathed, 'I promise.' ... Oh this is so sad, but very very well done!
Zayn sat quietly in his cage as the company entered El Paso. They had crossed the border the night before, and there was no doubting the men were footsore and craving a bed.
He could feel eyes on him; onlookers gaping at the never-before-seen creature. He ignored them, and the taunts of the local band of Eradicators.
They stopped in front of an old gas station and some of the locals gathered around.
'What the hell is that thing?' asked one of the men as he approached Ira.
'A fucking pain in my ass, that's what,' Ira growled in response, 'Take him to the yard and chain him to the post. I'll be there shortly.'
'Can I ask what you're gonna do with it?' asked the man.
'He was running with a couple of Wolves,' Ira replied, 'Wolves on our side of the line. They killed at least fifteen of our men and I want their hides in my collection. This thing knows more than he lets on...' With that, Ira walked on.
Louis ran along the road, his heart pounding against the walls of his chest. Not because he was tired or exhilarated from the run. But because he knew Ira. He knew what Ira would do to Zayn if he failed to make it there in time.
He looked back to see the pack running behind him, Eden to his right and Winston to his left, and the others close behind. Their tongues lolled out of their mouths and their breath froze in white clouds on the air.
He slid to a stop on the road, sniffing the air.
'What is it?' asked Eden.
'He's going to El Paso,' Louis sighed, licking his lips.
'You still haven't exactly mentioned who we're after,' Nero pointed out.
'Does it matter?' Louis asked.
'It does if we're all heading further into Eradicator territory,' he snorted.
Louis looked at them all, his ears swiveling back and forth nervously, 'A friend of mine was taken by the Eradicators. And I owe it to him to get him out of there.'
'You're fucking insane!' Nero shouted, 'We would end up with a suicidal Alpha!'
Louis snarled at him, his lips curling over his fangs. Eden put a paw on his arm, but showed Nero her fangs as well.
The others watched them nervously, eyes darting back and forth. Sam was whimpering.
'You're taking us all into a slaughter house,' Nero growled.
'I know El Paso backwards and forwards,' Louis snorted, 'It'll be easy. Especially if you stay out of my way.'
Nero stamped his foot, 'I'm not letting you take us anywhere near that place.'
Their growls and horrendous snarls rumbled on the icy air, and their hackles crested on their backs and shoulders.
Louis burned with the instinct to attack, to assert his authority. A pack could not have two Alphas, and it was obvious Nero was still in denial of his defeat. But there was no time for this.
He shook his head at him and began to walk around him.
Nero roared and lunged at him.
They hit the ground with a heavy thud, a blurring ball of white and grey and fangs and claws.
Louis snapped his jaws shut over Nero's snout and pulled him off.
They were clashed again in a matter of seconds, only now, Louis had the upper hand.
Nero lurched for his throat, his fangs just clipping his neck. Louis swatted his face, his claws leaving behind trails of deep red in Nero's fur.
Claws scraping on the ice, they shuffled about on the ground, leaving behind smears and drops of blood, still, Nero refused to stop.
He kicked Louis away, allowing himself just enough time to stand up again.
Louis roared at him, his nostrils flaring.
Nero came at him again, but this time, Louis caught him by the ears and smashed him head first into the ice. Nero laid still.
'You stay the fuck out of my way,' Louis snarled at him. He then turned to the others, his eyes darting over them, 'Anybody else?'
It was quiet, save Sam's whimpering.
Snorting, Louis turned back to the road and began to run again.
The others paid no attention to Nero as he picked himself off the ground. They followed, with Eden at Louis' heels, and Nero at the very back.
... Louis walked in front of Ira in the failing sunlight as they made their way back home. He held his shotgun in one hand and a small pickaxe in the other.
It was quiet between them. The only sound was their boots, wrapped in rusted chains, rattling with their every step.
Ira was still moping over the events that took place nearly four days ago.
'I can take care of myself, you know,' he muttered.
'Oh really?' Louis grunted condescendingly.
'Yeah, really,' Ira growled, 'I'm twelve now I'm not a little kid anymore.'
'You sure have a knack for acting like one,' he remarked.
'I could have handled them on my own,' Ira said, 'I don't need you.'
'Shut up, Ira, if it wasn't for me, you'd be dead by now and on your way into a grave,' Louis sighed.
'Just because you're allowed to carry the gun doesn't make you a grown up,' Ira grunted, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
'Yes it does,' Louis countered, looking back at him with a smirk on his face, 'Dad says I'm a man now.'
'What kind of a man can't even shoot a gun?' Ira snorted.
'I can to shoot it, dip-shit, Dad just told me not to unless I had to,' Louis spat at him, 'There's a big difference.'
'Dad let me shoot it,' Ira said proudly, 'I hit a bull's eye on that target with my very first try.'
'Anybody can shoot a BB gun, even Mom knows how,' Louis pointed out, stepping over a fallen tree, 'Now shut up, and walk faster, it's getting dark.'
They both froze in their tracks when they heard Wolves howl, not far up the road either. Louis went pale, and dropped the pickaxe in order to hold the gun in both hands.
Wolves never came this far south.
He swallowed and motioned for Ira to follow, 'Come on... The sooner we get home the better...'
They started running...
Ira drove his fist into Zayn's face again and shouted, 'Tell me where they're headed!'
Zayn only grimaced and spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. He was quiet after that.
Ira stared at him in blank rage. Could nothing break this creature?
Shaking his head, Ira took a few steps away from him, 'That white and silver Wolf... He's my brother... I've been looking every where everywhere for him...'
'To apologize or so you can make sure he stays dead?' Zayn mumbled through the blood pouring from his nose and mouth.
Ira looked at him, and then punched him in the face repeatedly, shouting, 'Where are they!'
Zayn was silent, his breathing heavy. The blood spread down his chest and neck but he was unphased.
'I asked you a question!' Ira shouted.
'One that I can't answer!' Zayn shouted back.
'Tell me where they are!' Ira roared.
Zayn said, 'We were going our separate ways. I stumbled upon them by accident.'
'And probably killed a dozen of my men yourself,' Ira growled.
'This isn't about the men,' Zayn whispered, 'This is about a Wolf named Louis.'
Ira glared at him, and then kicked him in the face.
'Do you honestly think this is going to break me?' Zayn whispered, 'You saw what I had been through before... When you found me... I didn't break then and I won't break now...'
It was quiet.
Ira spat on the ground, 'Alright... If you really don't know anything then you're only wasting my time and space...'
He shrugged off the rifle that hung on his shoulder and placed a bullet in the chamber.
Louis looked out over El Paso. Most of the original city had crumbled under the weight of the ice, but in its place stood buildings of scrap. Louis was suddenly alert, pricking his ears forward when he heard a gunshot. His heart skipped a beat, when he thought it may have been Zayn.
The pack assembled behind him, waiting for him to give orders. They were all in their human forms now. Winston, a tall, lanky man with light blonde hair and a drawn mouth. Perry, a pale skinned boy with dark hair and quiet features. Sam sat beside him. For all Louis knew, the two could have been brothers, only Sam's hair was a shade lighter.
Nero was olive-skinned, with a shorn head and sharp features. Beside him, George sat on a rock staring at his feet though a tangled mess of red-brown hair.
Eden was at her place, sitting cross-legged at Louis' feet.
They were all quiet, patiently awaiting command.
'I'm going alone from here,' he said softly, turning to them, 'It's too risky for all of us...'
'What if they catch you?' asked Winston.
'You know what to do,' Louis sighed.
'Is this guy really this important?' asked George.
'He's our only chance...' Louis whispered.
They failed to understand what he meant, but stood quietly to their feet.
'I want you all to run toward San Angelo as soon as I leave, 'We'll catch up with you.'
'What are we supposed to do there?' asked Nero.
'Eden knows,' he replied, 'Listen to and follow her.'
She stood up and took his hand, 'What if...'
'Don't be stupid, Eden,' he said softly, 'I might even catch up with you before you make to San Angelo.'
He tipped up her chin with his forefinger, 'Just...don't look back...'
She nodded, 'Okay...' this is pretty sweet
He gave her a half hearted grin and leapt over the edge of the cliff, landing six feet down on an over hang, phased into a Wolf. He hoped that Zayn was still alive.
... "Somewhere...over the rainbow... Way up high...
There's a land that I dreamed of once in a lullaby...
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue...
And dreams that you dared to dream really do come true..."
Louis' mother carried Ira to his side of the pallet humming that song that (all) there’s just too many ‘that’s. night.
Louis looked up at her and then sat upright when she came to sit beside him, 'Mom...'
'Lay back down, sweetheart,' she whispered, 'Those Wolves won't get you here. Not while your daddy's here to protect us.'
'You should have heard that howl...' Louis breathed, laying back down, 'I've never heard anything like it... It was almost like a song...'
'It's very much like a song,' she said softly, nodding, 'My great grandmother used to listen to wolves howl all the time when she lived on her ranch in Colorado... But that was Before...'
'Sometimes I wish we didn't have to be scared all the time...' he said.
'There are things out there so much bigger and stronger than us,' she sighed, 'Sometimes we just can't help it...'
'Do you think things will get better?' he whispered.
She smiled wearily, tears welling up in her tired green eyes, 'Honey... For your sake I hope they do... Now go to sleep...'...
Louis waited in the shadows, watching a patrol walk by, unnoticed by the shaggy dog they had with them. He was thankful he was upwind of them.
He slipped behind them, sticking to the shadows cast by the wall of steel topped with barbed-wire. He followed the perimeter of the fence, searching for a way over.
He scratched at the ice at the bottom of the barrier bit even with his claws it was a foolhardy thing to even consider. Digging. Snorting at himself, he looked around for patrols.
He noticed a refrigerated truck sitting nearby, the cargo trailer punched with holes. It was used to transport large numbers of Underworlders caught on the wrong side of the border. Here, they were either put to death or killed later in the fighting rings.
Louis crouched down on all fours and trotted over to it. Upon peeking inside, he found it was empty.
He skilled around to the back of it and hopped up onto the rear bumper, and then pulled himself onto the roof of the vehicle, trying to make as little noise as possible.
He could see over the fence now.
The city was dark save a few bonfires at every corner of every block.
Louis swallowed and then leapt from the edge of the truck to the roof of a building on the other side.
He sniffed the air when he suddenly became aware of that strange electric feeling that could come from one source and one source alone. Zayn was close.
He jumped across the gap in between the building and a small house. This time, the tiled roof gave way to his weight and he crashed through to the first floor.
He heard men shouting, and feet hurrying his way. He pulled himself out of the rubble and limped into the kitchen of the house where a woman had been preparing a meal before the crash. She nearly bumped into him, but then backed onto a corner with a bloody knife in her hand, staring at him with eyes the size of dinner plates.
Louis backed out of the kitchen and into the backyard, and dropped down on all fours as he ran toward the pull of Zayn's being.
He zig-sagged through a number of narrow alley-ways, springing over walls of crates and other obstacles with ease. He had spent much of his time here when he was young; he knew every inch of the city.
He crashed into a couple of guard dogs and their masters, and they slid into a wall of brick.
Louis stood to his feet again and shook his fur. The men started to get back up, but he slammed their heads against the wall against the wall to knock them unconscious. He looked around, listening to the city as terror spread that a Wolf was loose on the grounds. He was spurred into action again when he heard footsteps coming in all directions.
He looked up at the roof of the brick building and jumped up to the edge, hoisting himself up to the top again.
... 'Do you smell that?' Louis asked his brother, sniffing the air, 'Smells like something's burning...'
Ira sniffed and shrugged, 'Maybe dad shot another Vampire and is burning it...'
He had a strange sense of foreboding, and wanted to hurry and get home. These days El Paso seemed to be covered by a dark shadow.
He shuddered and quickened his pace, 'Come on... I'm getting hungry...'
As they came closer to home they heard snarling and growling. Dogs were fighting.
Louis broke into a run, and Ira struggled to keep up with him.
They both slid to a stop when they saw the Wolves, skulking around their house with blood dripping from their fangs and claws. A few common dogs were fighting over something. uh oh. I see where this is heading.
Louis grabbed Ira and threw him to the ground, 'Shhh!'
They huddled together against the slope, holding their breath. Louis could not even blink or feel the stab of cold the ice shot through him.
A Wolf howled, the sound sending shivers up and down their spines. He had to cover his ears, it was so loud.
He peeped over the ridge in time to seem them all drop to all fours and run away toward the howl that answered.
After some time, Louis got up and ran to the house where the dogs were fighting, to find they each had a solid grip on his mother's decapitated head. I knew it *shudders*
He screamed and tripped over his father's mutilated body in attempt to escape. His hands were covered in blood, and he slipped in the pools as he scrambled away. Ira came running with the gun, and began shooting at the dogs screaming, 'Let go of her you mother fuckers!'
He missed every shot, but the dogs dropped the head and ran away yelping with their tails between their legs.
Louis sat where he had fallen, able only to stare. So much blood. He looked at his hands.
Ira knelt beside him, tears in his eyes, 'Lou...'
Louis did not look at him, he could only see the red that painted the white in front of him.
Ira shook him, screaming, 'Louis!'
He looked at his brother now, his eyes distant, lips parted.
Ira broke into sobs and fell into his arms, trembling all over.
Louis put his hand on his shoulder, and looked back at the blood...
Louis sprang into the yard and looked around until his eyes fell upon the post. A body lay at its base.
Louis swallowed and approached it as he phased back into his human form, 'Zayn...'
He stopped and looked down at his feet when he stepped in something wet. Blood.
A hole was in his chest, still oozing deep red blood.
'Fuck,' he cursed, crouching down beside him, 'Zayn...? Zayn!'
He pulled off the blindfold and patted his face a few times, 'Zayn, come on!'
Zayn's eyelids parted just enough for Louis to glimpse his amethyst colored iris' irises.
'What...?' Zayn breathed, looking up Louis.
'Returning a favor,' Louis whispered in reply to the question Zayn was to weak to finish.
Zayn shook his head feebly, his heavy lids closing over his eyes.
'I'm not leaving you here,' Louis said, 'Hold on... Let me get you out of these chains.'
He reached for the chains that bound the Divine to the post, and grabbed them in both hands. He gave them a twist and they snapped.
He carefully unwrapped Zayn's wrists and straightened out his arms so they laid at his sides.
'Everything's gonna be okay,' he whispered, attempting to pick Zayn up.
'Don't,' Zayn said through his teeth, putting his hand on Louis' forearm, 'I'll... I'll be fine... I'm ready...'
He grimaced, his hand covering the hole in his chest as he attempted to sit up.
'Don't move,' Louis said, 'You'll only make it worse.'
He looked up when the snow crunched off to the side. Ira stood there, waiting for Louis to take notice.
Louis stood up to his feet, 'You...'
'When I heard there was a Wolf here, I figured it might have been you...' Ira remarked.
Louis stared at him, his fist clenched at his sides.
'Don't look so surprised...' Ira grunted.
Louis fought his desire to rip Ira's throat out right then and there.
'I remember a day when you would have killed that thing on sight,' Ira remarked.
'Those days were over a long time ago...' Louis growled.
Ira shook his head, 'No they're not... You still want to kill. Probably more than ever now that you're...' His eyes swept over all of him as though to indicate what he meant.
'There's only one person that I really want to kill anymore...'
Louis phased faster than one's heart could beat once, and charged into Ira, tackling him to the ground.
Ira screamed with the fiery pain when his head struck a rock, and then he shouted, 'Fucking kill me, then! I'm not afraid!'
Louis shook his head at him and stood up on his hind legs with his brother in his clutches, 'No... I'm not like you, Ira... But I swear if I ever see you again I'll kill you on the spot.'
He held him up with one hand, and used the claws of his free paw to swipe across Ira's face, leaving five deep slashes that were sure to leave ugly scars. He threw him to the ground and then hurried back to where Zayn laid face down on the ice.
He rolled him over and tried to pick him up again. Zayn tried feebly to stop him.
'Let me go...' he rasped.
'No,' Louis growled, gathering him up in his arms, 'You're the only chance we've got to make things right again... I'm not letting you or Ira ruin it for us.'
Zayn looked at him, his eyes sparking briefly, and then he swallowed and closed his eyes, nodding, 'Alright...'
'We need to get out of here,' Louis muttered, listening to the sound of approaching men and dogs.
He ran to the fence and launched himself over it, landing just as a squad if men came running around the corner.
He dashed down the street, and was followed by a volley of gunfire.
'Get to the shadows...' Zayn breathed.
Louis ducked into an alley and stopped.
A veil of shadows enveloped them almost immediately. He could see through it, it was like looking through a bowl of water the way it shimmered and wavered.
'Are you doing that?' Louis breathed.
'Just keep going... I can't hold it for long like this...' Zayn grunted, 'They can't see you...'
Louis nodded and plunged forward.
As he ran cloaked through the city he noticed Zayn's electricity was steadily growing stronger than ever before. There was an unrelenting pressure on his brain and a sudden sense of anxiety and fatigue.
'What's happening?' he asked, pausing a moment to catch his breath.
'Just trying to stop the bleeding...' Zayn said.
Louis looked down and saw the wound in Zayn's chest, which had before been gushing blood, had slowed to a mere leak.
'I'm sorry...' Zayn said softly as Louis continued on his run, 'I should have asked first...'
'You need it more than I do,' Louis assured him.
The electricity faded back to normal and the pressure and anxiety all disappeared.
Zayn could draw from the energy of others, Louis found himself quite infatuated with that fact.
Louis sprang onto a crate and then an overturned car, and then over the fence again. He landed on his feet at the other side, and then broke into a run again.
He looked down and saw Zayn had closed his eyes again and was limp in his arms.
The poor creature, with blood running from his chest and nose he looked as mortal as any other living thing. Unconscious, he looked old and tired as someone who had run so far only to fall at the finish line.
Louis knew he had to help him. He knew he had to keep him going.
Change
Violet ran ahead of Louis, no comma and spun around in a circle under the falling snow with a squeal. She stopped briefly, her mouth open and her tongue sticking out as she tried to catch one on the tip. She laughed when she did and ran further ahead. I have to say it’s really refreshing to have you do something so cute with Violet ^_^
‘Not too far!’ Louis called after her, but was unable to help the grin playing onto his lips.
Only Violet...
Eden smiled a little, clasping her hand behind her back as she walked, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen any children play like that...’
‘She isn’t any child,’ Louis said. She could sense the quiet pride in his words and see it in his eyes.
They were in an empty stretch of land. Only a car or two stood on the road. There was a small, abandoned farm to the left and a dilapidated garage further down the road. Louis felt a little more comfortable further away from the main roads and people most of all. There was not a town for miles and no traces of Wolves or any other Underworlder. That fact gave him a sense of unease. Was this place simply less traveled, or was there a reason behind its abandonment? He pushed the feeling away. As long as there were less things to worry about.
Violet tossed her bear into the air and twirled in a pirouette on the point of her toe before catching it again. .
Louis chuckled a little.
Eden groaned and clutched her side, stumbling to a stop.
'What is it?' Louis asked.
She winced and straightened again, 'Only a cramp... I haven't eaten since we left Mesa...'
His brows furrowed suspiciously, 'Are you hungry?' this seemed a little dumb to ask. If she said ‘I have cramps, I haven’t eaten in a while’ obviously she’s hungry x)
'A little,' she said, shrugging.
He reached into the duffle bag and gave her a can, 'The Orc who sold it to me said it's vegetable beef soup but I wouldn't count on an orc's word if my life depended on it.'
She laughed a little and pulled the tab up and back so that the lid peeled off.
'Well it's soup...' she said, showing him the contents.
'Chicken noodle,' he snorted, shaking his head.
She drank a few mouthfuls of the salty soup, savoring the noodles and bits of chicken. She swallowed and offered the rest to Louis, who accepted it but only took a sip before handing it back saying, 'You need it more than I do.'
'Are you sure?' she asked, taking the can with both hands.
He nodded, 'It's fine, go ahead.'
Louis started when the soup can clattered to the ground. Eden fell to her knees with a groan, groping at her side and gritting her teeth. She vomited, thick yellow bile flecked with the bright crimson of blood.
'Violet!' he called, kneeling beside Eden.
Violet came running back, a worried expression on her face when she saw Eden, who was colorless and glassy eyed.
'What's the matter with her?' Violet asked.
'I'm alright...' Eden said shakily.
'No you're not,' Louis said, helping her carefully back to her feet. He was aware suddenly of the abnormal, feverish heat of her skin and the dampened clothes under her coat. She was not alright, in fact, she was far from it, ‘How long have you been feeling this way?’
'Since this morning...’ she said, trying to push him away, 'I’m fine...It’s just a cold...’
Her knees buckled underneath her and he caught her in both his arms before she could fall.
'Dammit, Eden, why didn’t you tell me sooner?’ he almost growled. If he had been more aware they would have stopped far sooner and in a far better place.
'Louie?' Violet said, looking up at him with large, scared eyes, 'Is she dying?'
'No she's not dying,' he said, 'Come on, sweetie, we need to get off the road.'
She nodded and followed him to the farm house, clutching the back of his shirt, 'Louie, what's happening?'
'She's Changing,' he said softly.
'I thought she already did,' she said.
'That was only the first part,' he explained.
'There's two parts?' she said.
Louis knelt to the ground and propped Eden up against a pile of tires, 'Yeah.'
He looked at the house and then turned his attention to Violet, 'I have to go make sure the house is safe, alright?'
She nodded, 'Okay.'
'You watch Eden,' he said, 'But don't touch her. Don't get close, okay? She's not herself right now and she could hurt you by accident. So stay away.'
'Yes sir,' she said. technically I think there should be a comma between yes and sir.
He pushed Eden's hair, now damp with sweat, out of her face and tipped her chin up so they were face to face.
Her skin was hot with a fever and glistening with a film of sweat despite the cold air.
'Eden hold on a second, alright? I'll be right back,' he said, 'Just hold on.'
She gave a slight nod, her lips parting as though to say something, only no sound came out.
He stood up and jogged up to the house, jumping over the steps and landing carefully on the porch. The boards creaked under his weight with each step he took toward the door.
He twisted the doorknob just enough to release it from the threshold, and then toed it open. When he saw it was safe he ducked inside the living room sniffing the air tentatively, trying to smell any trace of danger. But it was empty, and safe.
He had to be sure, though, with his own eyes. Most houses from Before had been riddled with traps to keep Wolves and Leeches and gangs out.
He crept around the living room with great caution, testing the matted carpet and checking the windows. He moved the couch away from the wall and then turned it upside down. He strode from the living room into the adjoining dining room, which was empty save a blackened floor and a pile of grey ashes on the floor where the previous residents may have tried to stay warm around a fire.
He crossed into the kitchen from there and opened all of the cabinets, allowing the ones that broken off their old hinges clatter to the floor. The cupboards were empty and the floors and the thresholds were all clear of any trap mechanisms. He tested the floorboards, bouncing on each one to assure there were no trap doors.
When he found that room safe he walked back around to thetheliving room for the hall leading to the bedrooms. But he was frozen in his tracks when he heard a scream from outside. Violet's scream. And men shouting.
He quickly shook himself of the paralyzing shock and sprang for the front door breathing, 'Fuck!' I think this is a very realistic reaction, except I would’ve YELLED the swear instead of breathing it. I’d change that one minor detail.
'Louie!' Violet screamed before a man clamped a hand over her mouth when he rushed outside.
He realized too late that she was trying to warn him.
Two Eradicators crouched by the porch steps each fired a harpoon at Louis. One sank deep into his shoulder, piercing through to the other side with a spray of blood, the other went through his abdomen. His mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood.
He stumbled back until he felt the wall behind him, his eyes round with shock. He clutched the harpoon by its shaft, feeling his own hot blood slicken his hands. Even as he tried to remain standing he could feel himself sinking down slowly to the floor. He looked up at the men when they approached himand then passed them, to the othersholding Violet and Eden at gunpoint, though for Eden it was unnecessary. She was unconcsious . unconscious. This is a great paragraph btw. I changed one part that felt a bit wordy.
'Holy shit... comma here instead' one of the men near Louis said as he knelt a few feet away, 'This can't be who I think it is.'
'Crow...?' Louis rasped, reaching for the other harpoon in his shoulder.
'It is...' the man said, paling, 'Well this is awkward...'
Crow had been his captain when he was an Eradicator, and his best friends best friend when he was just a boy. He had not seen Crow since the night before Vanessa and Ira attempted to kill him.
'Louie!' Violet screamed again, when one of the men pressed the barrel of his gun to her head.
Louis' lip snarledhis lip, his eyes lighting I don’t know what you mean by his eyes lighting. Do you mean they were lightening? Or did you mean they were like lightning? I dunno. as he turned his attention away from Crow to the men in the front yard. He phased with an angry roar, simultaneously lunging forward and springing off the porch, only to be shot in mid air through the ribs by another harpoon.
He dropped onto his side with a yelp. His blood pooled underneath him.
Violet screamed his name again and began to sob hysterically.
'Easy comma big fella,' the second man who had been on the porch with Crow said, 'The boys in Detroit pay big money for lures as good as those females and for pelts as big as yours... Don't make me stick another hole in it, it decreases the value.'
Louis flinched away from the gun the man held to his face.
'Pull the one out of his gut,' the second man said to Crow, 'We can wait while he bleeds out.'
Crow looked at Louis with a mixture of fear and sympathy, and hesitated.
Louis snarled when the second man reached for the harpoon.
'Fine,' the man said, grabbing it and jerking it roughly out.
Louis roared again and then snarled at them, holding a trembling paw over his belly. Blood poured from the wound like water from a broken dam.
Violet shrieked and sank her fangs into the hand of the Eradicator who held her back. He shouted at the burn of her venom and released her, and she darted to where Louis lay. She dropped her bear and dug her hands into his fur and tried to lift his head off the ground by his ears, the whole time crying frantically. He only looked up at her through bleak eyes.
'God dammit, Marshal!' the leader shouted, reaching for Violet.
Louis' body rumbled with a low, menacing growl. He glared at Crow, eyes blazing.
'Come on, Lee,' Crow said gently, stepping between them and Lee, 'Let 'er at least say goodbye...'
Louis phased back into a human, no comma and cupped Violet's face, running a pale, bloodstained, shaking hand over her hair.
She burst into a fresh wave of tears, stroking his face and hair frantically, 'Louie...'
Her tears tracked clean trails through the blood he had left on he’d her face.
'Vi...' he choked, grimacing when she through threw her arm around his neck.
'I need you to do something...' he whispered into her ear, 'Listen close...'
Her arm tightened, but she nodded.
He had tried to prepare her for when this happened. She had grown up knowing the day would come eventually. The day she would have to fight for herself. Only he never thought it would come so soon. He wished that he had the time to instill within her all the knowledge that she needed to survive. Humans and other creatures would not just give her their blood the way that he did. Covens would not be so kind to share their kills. She would starve. She would not make it without him. The thought of her suffering was killing him faster that the blood loss ever could.
'Run...' he breathed. since you write ‘breathed’ a lot, I think this would be an effective place to say ‘whispered’. I imagined him kind of leaning so his mouth was next to her ear and whispering this so the others wouldn’t hear.
'Now?' she asked.
'Right now...' he panted, 'And don't look back...okay? As fast as you can...I want you to run-' he half- gasped, half-groaned through his teeth clutching his stomach. The pain that had been hiding behind the shock and the adrenaline came rolling through him, unharnessed, unforgiving.
She gulped, stroking choking 'I love you, daddy...'
Tears sprang to his eyes this whole moment here really got me. How it‘s true that she thinks of him as her father. . He could feel her heart breaking, he could sense her fear and pain. None of it was for herself but for him. She was losing that innocence that he had always loved about her, and was learning first hand what it was to lose to this cruel world, to these ruthless men. She would never be the same again. Even if by some miracle they survived she would never be the same little girl he loved, 'I love you too, baby girl...'
She bit her lip and then let him go, bursting into a run toward the north.
A few of the men tried to give chase but she was too fast. One near Eden raised his rifle to shoot.
In that instant, to Louis' shock, Eden suddenly animated. Her body snapped and shuddered with what he knew was excruciating pain as her body began to break itself down to rebuild her frame into that of a Wolf. Fur the color of red wine covered her body, and black socks covered her arms and legs. Her slender figure became twice its usual small size comma lean and muscular and strong comma though still maintaining a feminine frame. for For even a female Wolf she was still small, but easily larger and stronger than the men.
As a muzzle formed on her face her lips pulled back over long, knife-like fangs. The scar on her face was still there, jagged across her eye and muzzle and tapering into the thick fur of her neck. Her nostrils flared and she laid her black tipped ears flat against her fox-like head. nice job describing.
In the matter of seconds it took for her to phase, she had already sprang upon the man with the rifle and was ripping out the nape of his neck, his spine crushed under the power of her jaws.
A harpoon was fired into her shoulder blade, and she dropped, though continued to snarl and growl ferociously at the men as they approached her.
'Stupid bitch!' shouted Lee, and then turned to the others who were running off after Violet,to the others he called chasing after Violet, who was now far off in the distance,this felt a bit confusing so I tried rephrasing it. 'Let it go, she won't make it far anyway!'
Louis lay where he was, struggling for every breath. Eden looked at him, her golden eyes glistening. He could read them as clearly as though they were his own thoughts. She had tried. And at least Violet had gotten away. He was grateful for that, at least. But then again he was not.
Violet was out there, alone. Unfortunately the Eradicator named Lee was right. She would not make it far, not without the blood or the protection he had provided her for so long. She was far from safe and he was far from being satisfied with that.
The wind picked up. On his last labored breath he smelled a scent he could never be more sickened by or more thankful for all at once. Wolves.
Just before he lost consciousness he heard the howls and the screams of dying Eradicators.
The Wolves came without warning, tearing across the open land on all fours, snarls tearing from their throats and bloodthirst flashing in their eyes. Six of them, all the biggest group Wolves any of the men had ever seen. Most Wolves were smaller, and nearly as tall as bears at full height. These Wolves, like Louis, easily surpassed that height and breadth.
A large steel colored Wolf sprang over a harpoon as it came toward him. He was the first to reach the crew of hunters, leaping over Louis' unconscious body and tackling Lee to the ground. Lee's scream was cut short by the sound of ripping flesh.
Crow took advantage of the situation and slipped over to Louis' side. He frantically worked his way out of his woolen scarf and held it firmly against the wound in Louis' belly.
'Hold on buddy...' he whispered.
A chestnut Wolf was shot in the foreleg but, though he stumbled, it did not stop him from attacking the wielder of the shotgun.
His scarf was soon saturated completely through. He opened a Kit with trembling hands, pulling out the pads of gauze and lifted the scarf just enough to wedge the gauze into the wound. Those, too, were soon soaked in a matter of seconds.
Crow bit his lip, 'Fuck... Fuck, Lou, come on.'
He had lost his friend once already. He remembered the day that Ira returned from the trip to Detroit without Louis and somberly announced his death. He remembered that feeling of loss and helplessness, blaming himself for so long for not going on the expedition. Thinking perhaps if he would have been there maybe, just maybe, he could have stopped it from happening. Or at least traded places with his friend.
Now, Louis was here again, and despite his Changes, he was still Louis. Fierce, fearless Louis. The man who he had fought beside nearly all his life. Crow would not allow him to die again, not if he could help it.
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