𝒮𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓈//𝒯𝒽ℯℴ ℛ𝒶ℯ𝓀ℯ𝓃

Chapter XXXIV

Chapter Thirty-Four - After Images

"Eliza would want us to go find him."

⇝߷⇜

After having learned that Brett was missing, Liam, Malia, Scott and Lori went out to find him in the preserve, the group were walking around went Liam noticed an arrow in a tree. "Here. I think he set a trap." Liam said, walking up to the arrow.

"He's fighting back." Scott noted, looking around.

"And now we know he's alive." Malia stated.

"But he's still hurt. We need to find him -- he needs to know we're here." Lori tells them, going to roar, when Malia stops her.

"You want the Hunter to know we're here, too?" Malia asks incredulously.

"He's new. We can take him." Liam said determinedly.

"What if Brett howls back? He'll lead the Hunter right to him." Malia told him.

Scott shakes his head. "No, we could find him first. There's no human that can track sounds faster than we can, and we've got the advantage. We've done this before. We know what we're doing, guys." Scott explains, trying to encourage them.

"How come I can't catch his scent?" Malia questions, looking over at them.

"He's masking it." Lori sighs.

"Can someone tell him not to?" Malia grumbles.

"He went this way." Liam informs them, pointing in a direction.

"His trap didn't work." Malia observes.

"Maybe this Hunter is not such an amateur." Scott says.

"Or maybe he's learning." Malia says.

🐺🗡️

Brett, who's still quite injured, had shoved his fingers into the arrow wound in his shoulder before purposefully allowing his blood to spill over a patch of rocks. He then rips off a strip of fabric from his shirt and uses it as a tourniquet for his shoulder to stop the bleeding. He takes a moment to catch his breath before seeing a pile of rocks on the ground, he crouches down to pick one up, getting an idea.

🐺🗡️

"The trail's gone." Malia groans, stopping short and looking around.

"Uh, maybe he just stopped bleeding?" Scott offered, trying to sound optimistic.

"Guys, I think we should split up. Lori and I go this way," Liam points to a direction, "you guys go that way." He points to the other direction.

"Or maybe we go in four directions?" Lori offered.

"We should stick together." Malia told her.

"We have the advantage. It's four against one." Liam stated, looking at her.

"Now if we split up." Malia argued back.

"I've been doing this the past three months without your help. I think I can make a decision." Liam shot back, not liking the fact that Malia was trying to control what he was doing and how they should find Brett.

"Well, if you're deciding to do something stupid and die, then go ahead." Malia waved him off, crossing her arms.

"It's one Hunter -- one amateur -- who doesn't know what they're doing." Liam stated firmly.