Howl to the Moon (Haikyuu Omegaverse)

Chapter 2: Small pack, great aspirations

The boy listened carefully to all the movements of the hunters. It looked like they were leaving the place, but that didn't make him relax. He was still on alert, hidden inside the closet that the blue-green-eyed hunter had closed again.

Little by little, the hunters' murmurs diminished until all was completely silent. But still, he didn't come out from his hiding place.

Still huddled in the corner of the closet, the boy pulled out the phone to call one of the betas who went out in the morning. He dialed the number and held the phone to his ear, waiting for the answer. But there was no signal in there, not even a beep was heard. He had to get out if he wanted to warn them, but doing so was risky since he was not entirely sure if the hunters had actually left the base or not.

He moved closer to the closet door and pressed his ear to listen. There was something, a low and distant sound, like the crackle of a bonfire, but there were no voices or footsteps. The weapons that had caused panic moments before were not heard either.

He tried dialing again, bringing his phone as close as possible to the crack in the door. But there was no way he would have a signal to make a call.

He looked at the clock on the phone; it was 7:18 pm. The last rays of the day's sun streamed through the window and illuminated the inside of the closet through the cracks. Night was coming and, in the middle of December, the damp cold of Japan took over the base when the heating was not on. Although, to tell the truth, the sun was taking a little longer to set that day, because the orange lights that it cast on the inside of the closet moved creating small shadows. The room was also warmer than it used to be at that hour.

The boy kept his ear to the door, alert in case he heard something again. But all he heard was the crackling sound somewhat closer than before. He detected something else.

A thick smell that almost made him cough. He held the cough as best he could, but he knew something was wrong.

Very carefully he opened the closet door slightly. It was not the last rays of the sun that generated the orange light and heat in the room. It was fire.

The fire was devouring every corner of the base, and he hadn't realized it until it had reached the room he was in. The crackling sound entered his ears and smoke entered his nostrils and mouth. This time he couldn't help it and coughed.

Scared, he opened the closet door and stepped out, not caring if there were still hunters. If they hadn't killed him, the fire would.

"There is probably not a single hunter, they must have caused the fire," he thought angrily as he choked on the smoke.

He covered his nose and mouth with the sleeve of his sweater and left the room before the fire consumed it like a candle.

The hallway was filled with smoke and fire, the walls and ceiling beginning to crumble on him as flames spilled from the doors of each room. He looked both ways down the corridor, but he was trapped.

Trembling with fear, with half his face covered and still on the lookout for any voice, he ran down the corridor from where he had arrived a while before to hide. The flames formed a barrier, but he had to break through if he wanted to survive, so he ran straight for the flaming wall and passed through it.

The tongues of fire burned his clothing and stuck to his skin, causing painful burns to his arms, legs and part of his torso. The boy groaned in pain but kept moving forward. It was his only chance.

He ran through the hallways, down the stairs of each floor on and on, groaning in pain every time a flame brushed his sensitive skin blackened after so many burns. Not even his ability to regenerate could help him in such an extreme situation. He felt dizzy from the smoke, which seemed to be burning him inside, starting with his nostrils and ending with scorching his lungs. He needed clean air, and he needed it badly.