Back from the Brink (Book 2 of Arrow/SPN Crossovers)

To Howl with the Wolves

Chapter 13 To Howl With The Wolves

Oliver picked up a small one man tent, some minimal snacks, four gallons of water, a camelbak and water purification tablets for Sam, He bought himself some MREs, a small camp stove and another camelback for him and more purification tablets for himself. He wasn’t going to let Sam starve but Sam didn’t need to know that. He also bought matches . Then he went to the Lake House and printed out a topographical map of the the region around the house. He found an area by the turnoff Sam had been at that would work for what he had in mind. There were several valleys and hills but nothing too steep. Sam was in shape but Oliver doubted he was in mountain shape. Oliver changed out of the jeans into the pants from his vigilante suit, put on a t shirt and headed out. He was going to have to wash and patch the top before he went back out on a patrol in the city.  As he scouted the area he found plenty of areas that where he could lay traps for Sam, ambush points and places to set up camps. About eight miles in there was a meadow, that was where he was going to tell Sam he had to go. Eight miles may not seem like a long trip but if you’re not used to wilderness and being constantly hunted it will take you quite awhile to get there. Halfway through the scouting trip Oliver took his boots off. They were hindering his movement too much. The longer he had been out in the wilderness the more and more alert he had become. He was hearing birds move fifty feet away, catching movement from squirrels and other rodents even in the shadows. His injured shoulder was going to cause some issues aiming the bow but he had shot injured before he could do it again. He found places to lay snares for small animals like rabbits. For the first time since he had been back from the island he felt an odd sense of peace. There were no threats here, no people he had to hide from, no lies he had to tell. It was just him and the forest around him. He moved through it like he was born to it. He left no trace, nothing heard him he just ghosted through the trees, a deadly predator out on a Sunday stroll.

Soon he would be hunting Sam. He caught himself getting excited at the thought and immediately stopped moving. Why was he excited? Was it the thrill of the hunt or anger at Sam for hurting family? He had to get a handle on his emotions if he was going to teach Sam anything. When he was out on a job in the City his mind was filled with the driving need to save people. Everything happened either too fast or too slow. It wasn’t a hunt. He was always reacting to situations not proactively approaching them. This was different. He was going to be stalking Sam, controlling his routes, setting traps, forcing someone else to react to him. This was his world and he controlled it. That was the rush of excitement and that was dangerous. That need to control and cause pain, that could lead down the path that Fires and Ivo had been on. The exact path he was trying to save Sam from.

“Careful Oliver. Careful,” he told himself. Diggle hadn’t been wrong to warn him to not lose himself. He sat down on the loamy ground and just took in the feel of the forest. As he dug his fingers in the dirt, feeling the life around him his heart rate dropped, he became more centered and focused. He was going to be dancing on the edge of madness the next two or three days. He had to get Sam to start acting like a predator without becoming a monster. Sam was always losing control because he was reacting emotionally to stimulus. Prey animals react, they don’t plan hunts, they don’t track , they don’t control anything. Sam was reacting like a prey animal with the emotions of a predator. The drive to hurt, to maim, to kill. That was the predatory side. To survive you have to harness the emotions, control them and use them to get your through the pain. Not let them use you. To do all that though Oliver had to become the ultimate predator. Sam had to believe Oliver would kill him if he failed, or else he wouldn’t fight.  For Sam to believe that Oliver had to show it. Oliver took a deep breath, both he and Sam could come out broken on the other side of this. He needed something to focus on while he was doing this. He had an idea. He headed back to where he and Sam had fought. It took about an hour or so but once he got there he started looking on the ground.  He found the bloodied rock within minutes of getting there. He picked it up and tucked it in his bag. That rock would serve as an anchor for him. It would remind him what the cost of losing himself could be.

He went back up to the Lake House, took a shower and heard Sam drive up. He thought he would be staying the night at the hospital. The front door opened and he heard Sam make his way to the media room. Oliver pulled on a pair of sweats and walked silently down the hall. Sam was sitting in the chair that Felicity had used and was staring at all the computer equipment. His eyes weren’t focusing on anything though. Oliver turned away, he couldn’t talk to Sam right now. He picked up his clothes and the rock went out the front door and took his bike back to the mansion. He would sleep there tonight.

Sam had heard Oliver leave. He had planned to stay longer at the hospital but once Felicity fell asleep Diggle had steadfastly ignored him. He decided it was best to get out of everyone’s way. Not knowing what Oliver had in store for him was the worst part. After an hour or two staring blankly at the computer screens he decided to get something to eat and maybe pack some food to go in case Oliver decided to take him out in the middle of nowhere. He ate, prepped some food and went to sleep. Emotionally, mentally and physically Sam was exhausted.

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He woke up to the feeling of something dangerous watching him, instinctively he reached for a gun under his pillow. There wasn’t one, he hadn’t been sleeping with one under his pillow since he had gotten here. He hadn’t woken up spooked like that since Oliver had startled him out of a nightmare. He took a breath and sat up. Oliver was standing at his door. He had the hood on, a green shirt and the pants from his vigilante suit on.

“Get what you need, meet me at your car.” Oliver turned and Sam saw the bow and a full quiver on his back and at least one knife. Now Sam understood his reaction. Sam got dressed, grabbed the food he had made and met Oliver.

“You’re driving, Go back to the turn off where we fought.” Oliver picked up what looked to be camping gear, opened the passenger door, put the gear in the backseat and got in. Sam got in the driver’s side and they headed out. They pulled up to the same spot, Sam parked the car. They got out.

“Give me that necklace that you gave to Dean and the keys,” Oliver commanded. There was no request in his voice it was an order. Sam started to get angry but caught himself and handed the items over.

“Do you know how to read a topographical map?” Oliver asked him

“It’s been awhile but yeah.”

“OK. In that bag is a tent, four gallons of water, a camelback, some food, purification tablets and a map. There’s a meadow about eight miles in. That’s your goal. You have two days to get there. If you get there within that time frame and you stay in control you get your items back. “

“What if I don’t? “ Sam asked.

“That’s not an option for you,” Oliver replied.

Sam’s fists clenched. “Alright.” He looked down to pick up the bag. When he looked back Oliver was gone. He hadn’t heard a thing. “Fuck. I am so out of my depth.” Then he remembered Oliver had been shipwrecked on an island with less skills than he had, not to mention no tent or food or water. Sam remembered some of the things Oliver had shared about the island. Sam turned to look into the forest and realized exactly what it was Oliver had in store for him. Sam felt a jolt of fear shoot through him. This was Oliver’s world, Sam was going to be the hunted one. For the first time in his life Sam was completely alone in a life threatening situation. Well there was no way back now. He dug into the backpack and found the map. At least he had a decent sense of direction. It looked like the meadow was north around the lake. Sam picked what looked like to be the easiest route and started walking.

“At least he started in the right direction” Oliver thought. Oliver was ghosting along watching Sam. He already saw that Sam was going through his water too fast. It was a good thing Sam had brought some extra food at least that showed some forethought as to what could possibly be ahead for him. He gave Sam about an hour to get lulled into complacency then he attacked.