Aura

Sacrifice

It was a long dash to the house with the red door. I leapt over bodies and debris. My nose and mouth were masked under my shirt. The smell was unpleasant but muted enough to keep me from gagging. I held the fabric between my teeth so my hand could clamp on my wrapped wound. By the time the door came into sight my lungs were on fire along with my arm.

Deep breaths wheezed from my mouth. I entered the stone cabin and released my gag. "Mama, Thia, and Tuk we have to leave." The stick, still secure in my hand, was used as a crowbar to pry the hatch open. I opened the door to find darkness instead of my friends and family. "Mamá!" I cried out between breaths. "Thia!" No one answered. Where had they gone? North like Tuk suggested, or did they come after me? Vampires could have found them. If they followed the trail of bodies they could be fighting the High Alpha right now. I debated which path to choose, wonder aimlessly calling for them or going back to Michael and Nash. A small human girl was no match for a newborn vampire, let alone the King of Alphas; which is why I was chosen to run, my fight would have lasted two seconds. If I went back, I could die.

My decision tipped in favor of returning to Nash and Michael. Even if all I could do was tell them the girls had run for it and throw rocks, it was better than sitting here questioning. I moved the stained cloth; the wound somehow looked nearly healed. I had never been seriously injured in my life. Was this a genetic perk to being a partial werewolf? Or was the bite more venomous from a newborn with untold affects? This wasn't the time to question it. With the cloth secured back in place, I steeled myself against the door. One deep breath calmed my nerves enough to start the run back.

Nearly there I could just make out Michael with his long sword circling the last vampire. Nash's pelt tinted red under the setting sun. The cloud cover dissipated in a few areas to reveal the beautiful warm glow of twilight.

I caught Michael's attention first as I entered the clearing. "Jessica you idiot!"

"They're gone!" I cried out in alarm. The High Alpha switched directions and began to stalk towards me. Nash snapped at his back paw to get his attention, but he was a focused predator. He gained ground even as I backed behind a fallen stone wall, gathering as many rocks as I could to defend myself with.

A sound ricochet from the trunks of the trees and rubble of the houses. The gunshot made everyone pause but only one stumble a step forward. The High Alpha was shot; I could only guess who took aim. The distraction was all Michael needed to finish the other vampire. Nash went for the Alpha's throat. A blurring speed deflected his attack. Even wounded, he outmatched us. Michael tipped the blade in the Alpha's direction, a threat. Another shot hit its immobile target. With a second bullet, the Alpha slumped to the dirt. His nostrils flared with exertion and huffed in the chilling air. A third shot and I could pinpoint where it had come from. I hadn't seen my mother camouflaged laying on the ground at first. Her body was covered from head to toe in the same dirt and blood that littered the area. She was sprawled out, arms leaning against a fallen branch for a steady aim.

The Alpha grunted with pain but otherwise was motionless on the ground. His blood stained a trail to the Earth from each wound. Relief seized my body in the form of trembling hiccups. I hadn't realized my vision was blurry because of the river of tears constant throughout the battle. Michael and Nash cautiously neared the body. My mother stood from her hiding place and crossed the expanse to hug me tightly in her arms. She kissed my face repeatedly whispering a thankful prayer. The gun quivered against my temple, but I wouldn't complain. We were alive.

"Stay back somethings happening!" Michael warned with a hand outward. Nash began the transition back to his human form the same time the Alpha did. Nash didn't wait, the moment he had movable limps the silver dagger was plunged deep into the Alpha's chest. A burst of color erupted from the Alpha and his eyes shot open. The purple and blue swirled around him like smoke, each strand tethered to where the dagger stuck out. With one hand he gripped Nash's neck between his thumb and fingers raising him from the ground as he stood. Michael took a step back, terror flashed in his stretched features before he could school them again. My mother raised the gun and I realized the reason she was laying down before was to steady her shaking hands. Before she could pull the trigger, the Alpha used his free hand to pull the dagger out. The colors sucked back into the wound as it closed. The silver knife flicked in his wrist and sunk deep into my mother's chest. My scream echoed and with it drained all sense within me. I dove to my knees by her side and touched the dagger but remembered as I gripped it, it was better to have it in. We had to find a hospital now!