Game Dead (The Pack)

||Half Past Gone||

A/N
Here are two chapters because I've missed two update dates, I'm so sorry. I will try get better at publish Dates ;-; Also, I'm still working on a new book cover just struggling to make a good one.

||Gore Warning||

"Jerome... Please" he begs as the look in Jerome's eyes... Looking for any shift or change. Anything. But his heart sinks at seeing nothing had changed. Jerome striding closer to him, his claws out and menacing, dripping continuously with blood.

"Mitch!" Preston yells as he looks around for anything. His eyes locking on a vine. "Vikk, Lachlan, Grab an end each. You need to run around Jerome with it, trap his arms and legs. Rob, I need you to shove this thick branch in Jerome's mouth. Vi I need you to defend us from Zane's guild long enough for us to do what we need to. As for me... I will try free Mitch" Preston fires demands.

"How can I defend on my own?!" Violet argues. Preston throws her his bow.

"I've seen your archery skills, I think you'll be fine" Preston encourages. None of the others make protest. They rush to their needed equipment and job.
Preston shoots his gaze to Jason. "I will need your help to free Mitch" Preston demands as he runs one way, indicating with his hand for Jason to run the opposite. Preston begging that his plan will work.

"Biggums?" Mitch questions with a gulp, fear cracking through his voice as Mitch can't recognize his own friend. His full focus on Jerome, not noticing the others carrying out a rescue plan.
Mitch not understanding what was making Jerome act like this. Mitch gulps as he continues to yank on the chains. His breathing picking up pace as he finds failure at freeing himself.
"Biggums! Stop it!" Mitch snaps. Tears streaming down his cheeks at this point. Knowing the Jerome he knew and loved was gone, consumed by whatever he had become.

"Mitch he can't hear you! He's possessed by a virus! It's pointless" Preston explains as he fiddles with the shackles on Mitch's left hand, Jason working on the right. Mitch looks up hearing a radiating growl, looking up to see Jerome standing before them with a large snarl.
His eyes glowing red, locking their gaze on Mitch.

"Uh guys... Might wanna hurry up!!" Mitch demands with obvious panic lacing his words.
Jerome gets on all fours, charging at them. "GUYS LOOK OUT!" Preston and Jason turn in time to find clawed arms throwing them away from the shakles. Jerome's claws rest on the metal shackles restraining Mitch's hands. Blood from Jerome's claws dripping onto Mitch then dripping down his tattered sleeves. Jerome's breath warm against Mitch's face, sickly with the metallic smell of blood. Mitch regurgitates, swallowing the vile burning of his stomachs contents back down. He stares hopelessly at Jerome, knowing it was a virus.
"Jerome please, please this isn't you" he begs, his voice low and tearful. Jerome's eyes don't change. "Jerome, why can't you just see what you're doing?!?!? This isn't you Please, Please Jerome!" He yells in one final attempt of getting his Biggums back. Shaking his head, tears streaming down his face, knowing he was gone.
Mitch shuts his eyes, refusing to look at who had once been a harmless close friend that he had called his boyfriend... Now was going to be his murderer. Jerome lifts up a clawed arm, sending it down at Mitch. He yells in agonizing pain as he feels Jerome's claws slice across his trapped arms. Keeping his eyes closed, screaming in more pain as Jerome's claws swipe across his eye and cheek. Mitch squirms with the pain, yanking on the chains in attempt to break them. Yelling and screaming with grunts. He can't defend himself, his arms and legs trapped in chains that held him open and defenseless like a hanging piece of meat.

"Jerome! You're hurting Mitch!" Lachlan yells as he runs forward with one end of the vine, Vikk following and grabbing the other end. They run in different directions around Jerome, pulling the vine across Jerome's torso and barely catching Jerome's arm beneath it as they ran around Jerome a second time. Lachlan doing the same. Rob stuffs a large branch in Jerome's mouth, the branch big enough to keep Jerome's jaw wide open, enough that Jerome couldn't bit down to snap it. They stop behind Jerome, pulling tightly on the vines to keep them tight. Attempting to yank Jerome to the ground. Jerome tries to pull his arms free of their grip, failing to do so.
Vikk and Lachlan struggle at first to drag Jerome from Mitch.

"You guys need to get back to trying to free Mitch. You guys really don't have long! We can't keep him like this for long!" Lachlan explains the situation as he yanks on the vine. Holding it with all his strength because of Jerome trying to free himself from the layers of vines trapping him.

"Got it!" Preston yells back over Jerome's trapped animalistic calls.
"Fudge, I can't get them unlocked. Are you having any luck Jason?" Preston asks. Preston shakes his head, sweat dripping down from his forehead

"They must be some kind of magic protected shackles," Jason explains. Bragging a twig and wiggling it in the lock... Instantly earning a shock. "OW!"

Jerome shakes and yanks side to side, Lachlan and Vikk beginning to struggle to hold their ends of the vine. "GUYS! WE CAN'T-" Lachlan yells as Jerome yanks the vines with them still holding the ends, sending them flying into the air screaming. Preston watches horrified as they slam into trees, falling unconscious on the ground, leaves falling onto their bodies from their impact on the trees.

"Jason, if we can't free Mitch then we need to stop Jerome, without killing him" Preston instructs. Jason's eyes widen in horror, terrified that that was their only option. Preston returns an equally as terrified look. But they both knew it was their only option.