Hollow's Grove (The Preliminary Version)

Chapter Sixteen: The Forest Fire and The Truth

I sat amongst thick branches of a pine tree that night, curled in on myself trying to keep my body temperature up. As I sat there I wondered how mum was doing, she probably was worried that I hadn't written to her yet. I also thought about the girl who had transformed into a lynx and what Marcus had said. I wondered what animal Marcus had been spliced with, to me it seemed like he was some sort of dog. I gave a shiver as the cool night air wrapped itself around me.

Oh how I wished I was at my own house. I wanted nothing more than to be safe from all of this madness. The group of teens that were hunting Marcus intrigued me as well. The boy was called Fox, I wondered if they had also been escapees of Hollow's Grove. This was just too much for me to take in at once, I was beginning to feel tired, giving a yawn I lay my head back against the trunk of the pine and let my mind shut down, taking me into the realm of fantasy.

I was awoken to the smell of smoke. I grimaced, it smelled quite close by. That was when to my horror I realized that flames were licking at the tree I was in! I felt my heart do a summersault. I wanted nothing more than to jump down on to the ground and run for it. Only, it was if I was frozen to my spot. I couldn't move, sweat broke out over my brow, my heartbeat quickened, my breathing went irregular. I hated fire. It was a symptom of being a werewolf. The flames were rising steadily, it was now or never.

I made a jump for my life, freefalling to the forest floor. Whack, I hit the ground hard. Wincing as I pushed my aching body up, I began to run for it. Inside my mind, the wolf was in a panic, pacing back and forth, howling with true fear. It was as if the entire forest was aflame. Trees burned here and there, I raced through heavy smoke. My eyes were tearing up. I could hardly get a breath. Suddenly I felt my legs give out, I hit the ground. The heat was becoming overwhelming.

Just as I began to think that this was it, I heard familiar voices. "Found him, wow, I thought that he would be a goner." My sight was going. I was feeling woozy from all the smoke intake. As my brain went dark I could see the outline of two figures stooping down to help me. A wallow of water hit me like a brick. Opening my eyes slowly I found myself lying across a hard stone. "Wow, he's alive, look Kodiak!" The voice of the boy named Fox brought me into reality.

"Good, now help the boy up." I grinned to myself. The girl's name was Kodiak. That must have meant that she was able to transform into a bear. "Hey Kodiak, he's smiling." I stopped smiling and glanced up, Fox was staring down at me. His bright orange hair and amber eyes were also a giveaway that he was a fox. "Hello there Tobias O'Brian," he said when he saw that I was looking directly at him. I gave a small smile and got up slowly, my whole body hurt. "Oh man," I groaned, rubbing my back, "What happened?" Kodiak turned towards me, she looked distraught.

"Hollow's Grove happened. We didn't catch the damned hunter in time. He informed the authorities before we could nab him." Kodiak came up to me and stared directly into my eyes. Her eyes burning with a deep rage. "They took the rest of the gang." She said, motioning to the empty surroundings. "Now it's only Fox and I." She took a breath, her face sullen. I looked around. It seemed to be that we were in a large cave. "How far are we from Hollow's Grove?" I asked.

Kodiak and Fox glanced at me funny, "A few days walk from here, why?" Fox confessed as he sat himself down upon the rock I had been lying on. I began to pace, thinking to myself. These two were in dire need, and I knew that as a werewolf I would have to be loyal and help them out. "Look, I have honestly no idea what is really going on here," I admitted. The two stared at me, "But you were at Hollow's Grove- I waved my hands in front of Fox.

"No, I was only there for a day, than I saw something that I shouldn't have, than when I ran off I met this girl who told me that they were doing something with genetics, and I keep meeting this one guy named Marcus." I took a long breath, and watched the two others as their expressions changed from confused to shock. "My goodness, he knows so little." Kodiak muttered. I nodded slowly, "I just said that!" My voice was high with frustration. They looked at one another, "Should we show him?" Fox asked Kodiak. She turned her gaze back to me, and nodded.

The two stepped back from me, glancing at one another, giving each other a bow when they were far enough. Their bodies went ridged, as though they were frozen in time. Then they began to shift, their bodies changing into full animals. Fox turned into a pure red fox and Kodiak turned into the great bear. I stared in awe. I couldn't believe it. This was the second time I had seen people shift into animals, and these people hadn't been under the light of the full moon.

They came up to me, sniffing away. I wondered if they could smell the scent of the wolf on me. Suddenly Kodiak shifted into her human form, her eyes wide. "Why, you smell of Luna Martin, the lynx!" I bobbed my head, "Yes, she and I had an encounter before she died of her wounds that Marcus inflicted upon her already weak body." Kodiak stared at me for a couple of minutes, I groaned, "I told you that already, don't you remember?" She shook her head, she looked disappointed in herself.

"They gave us some memory issues." She sighed in defeat. I frowned. I hadn't noticed that with Luna or Marcus. Just then Fox shifted back, he was gaping at me. "Wow, you have the scent of a wolf all over you!" He cried in amazement. I suddenly felt my stomach do a flip, "Uh, no, that's impossible." I stuttered. The last thing I needed for them to discover was the fact that I was a werewolf. Kodiak narrowed her eyes at me, "Yeah actually, I noticed that as well."

I gulped, what was I going to tell them? "You say that you're trying to get away from Hollow's Grove? Did you go through the splicing procedure already?" Kodiak and Fox were slowly coming towards me. They looked rather suspicious of me. I shook my head, "No, it's not like that at all!" My voice was getting higher as they got closer. "Then tell us, the truth, what are you Tobias O'Brian?"...