The Wrong Sister

A Rain Coat

The last few days had been a strange combination of absolute fury and deep throbbing despair. 

Almost everything was a blur. Artemis' touch pushing me out of the spray of white hot pain. Of course that didn't stop the pain. The silver was still on my skin. My clothes were still wet with it. I woke up, completely naked, to Chloe slapping my face and shining a light in my eyes. That had been the right decision. She was smart enough to know that she would just get us more lost if she took a random path out. I wasn't conscious, but I was conscious enough. I directed us most of the way out. My whole body was covered in burns. 

They would heal. That wasn't the issue. The issue was Artemis. She was gone. She had left. She looked so scared when I had jumped into the spray. She had seen me burn. She saw me collapse. Jozef would tell her, she would be scared and she would never want to come back. 

I picked at the hard skin on my right forearm. Most of my burns were almost completely healed. Even with the silver the healing abilities of a werewolf are truly incredible. The wound on my forearm just wasn't getting the chance to heal. 

A fucking sprinkler system. Are you fucking kidding me?  

This was why I told them not to mention the note. I knew that even if she could glean his location from the note she wouldn't stop to prepare. She had hardly been lucid the last few days. She was awake, but she wasn't doing well. It was too much for her and she still kept pushing. 

I knew she was gone the second Riley called and told me he had gone to get fucking bulbs? I knew where she wasn't. Not where she was headed. Lucky for me she cut herself on that stupid useless knife. She made a veritable red brick road. 

To be honest I didn't think Jozef would be in the cave. We had sent parties into the cave. Not many, but we figured, if that was where they were staying there would be a scent. They would have to go into the cave after all. 

At least now we knew why no one picked up on their scent. Silver chokes a werewolves supernatural abilities. They must have sprayed a thin layer along the route they took.

I spent the last 3 days in the hospital with Chloe refusing to let go of my hand. 

She seemed to be holding on for dear life. I kept reminding myself that she had been though something incredibly traumatic. Of course she needed comfort and reassurance. But I didn't want her touching my skin. The traitorous thoughts did laps in my head: Artemis would somehow feel that I touched her sister while she was away. She had been kidnapped and here I was comforting her sister. The sister I said I loved. Maybe I had screwed up even before all this happened. I treated her so badly. 

If I could save our relationship any pain at all I would. but Artemis confused me. I didn't understand her reactions. Every time I was about to snap and shove Chloe's hand off of me and tell her the leave me alone, I though about Artemis and her love for her sister. Her sister who's been though a traumatic event. The sister I was about to scream at. The sister who Artemis had left me for.  

She left me. I told her not to come out. 

A dark rage boiled in my chest. 

He took her. He looked so fucking smug. She didn't believe that I could get Chloe back. She had been so reluctant to tell me anything about her time with Jozef. What had he done to her. What was he doing to her now? What 'demands' would he make of her. What 'liberties' would he take. Her face had been so blank.

A team went with Kyle to try and catch up with Jozef and Artemis. They took rain coats, but despite that they all got some silver on them. They were not in top form. The caves were large and complex. All sorts of scent "bombs" were placed strategically to overwhelm their sense of smell. Maybe bomb was a dramatic word. They were just little patches of intense scent. Some essential oils, some ethanol.