Destiny

Ch 3: Out Of The Woods

It's been a while since I've actually started imagining scenarios for stories and it's actually so nice!
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The group gave each other hesitant glances not sure what to do. Noah could feel his heart racing and his palms starting to sweat. Everyone seemed frozen but he knew he had to do something, especially if that meant saving Echo. Noah decided to run towards the scream even though all of his senses told him to run back to the house and call his dads. He didn't look back to check if they were following and maybe that was for the best. He heard Chase calling after him with every yell he could hear Chase sobering up. Noah thought he could maneuver better using his wolf senses and if they weren't following him he wouldn't have to answer questions from Freya and Anthony after.

He could feel himself shifting and did his best to resist going full wolf. His entire body burned with the shift and the longer he shifted the more he could feel the burn under his skin. It felt as though a million little fire ants crawled under his skin and sometimes he hated even the sight of the full moon because of that feeling. The claws that had retracted went back in and he could tell the only thing off about him were his eyes. His shifted eyes made it easier for him to make shapes out of shadows. He honed in on her voice and found himself running faster to get to her. He didn't know what he was going to find and quite frankly it scared him.

He skidded to a stop and caught his breath. She wasn't far and he slowed to a walk not wanting to draw any attention to himself. He could hear her soft whimpering and his heart thudded against his rib cage. A large lump formed in his throat and it felt as though he could hear his blood rushing in his ears. He had never been this scared in his life and he never wanted to ever again. He rushed to her cries and found her curled up and against a tree. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks tear-streaked.

He instantly went to her putting his hands on her knees and saying her name. Her body trembled and he rubbed her arm trying his best to soothe her. She didn't respond to his attempts of gaining her attention and he felt his heart drop to his stomach. He cupped her cheeks and she finally looked into his eyes. Her eyes were glazed and he didn't know what was wrong or how to fix it. Not yet at least.

"Echo, can you hear me?" He said slowly to make sure she understood.

"I can hear you." She nodded though her expression seemed twisted.

"What's wrong?" He positioned himself to be in front of her so no one could see her and therefore attack her.

"It-it came out of nowhere-" her eyes welled up with tears and her chest rose and fell quickly, "it attacked me...my back"

"What's wrong with your back? Let me see." He spoke softly.

She shuddered but twisted so he could check her back. Deep claw marks were dug into her skin. Blood oozed and Noah couldn't believe she was still conscious. Dirt mixed into the blood and he couldn't stand the sight but he couldn't panic or else he'd make her panic. He helped her stand up and he examined the claw mark further. It extended all the way from the top to the bottom of her back. The skin around was a deep red color that didn't even look remotely normal. When Noah went to touch it he could feel the heat rising off her skin. He decided not to touch it.

"Come on, we need to get you patched up." He tried his best to be casual but he could hear the tremble in his own voice.

He looked out towards the black woods hoping to get a sign of anything as he guided her back towards the party. The only things that could be heard were the owls and soft rustles of leaves. Under any other circumstance, the night would've been a beautiful and peaceful one. He held onto Echo tighter hoping she'd remain conscious just until they got back to somewhere that had service. He heard rushed rustling and felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise.

Before he knew it he was knocked to the hard ground. The air was knocked out of him and he definitely hit his head way too hard. It throbbed and his vision was fuzzy. He groaned and rolled to his side he could see Echo on the ground unconscious and hovering over her was a large, dark figure with red slits for eyes. He felt his heart sink and as he got up he heard yelling.

A rush of footsteps invaded his senses and he looked towards the sound even though the world looked like blobs. Everything was happening too fast and he knew he wouldn't be able to help Echo. His heart ached and he saw a fast blur rush past him.

Chase called out to him and then proceeded to tackle the figure seemingly out of nowhere and for a moment he could see them fighting. The world spun and he tried his best to keep his balance but his legs underneath him gave out and he was back on the floor. He groaned and let the darkness consume him. As his consciousness faded he looked towards Chase hoping his cousin would survive against whatever the hell that thing was.