The Wolf Trials

Chapter Thirty Nine

His eyes stung, the sand particles scratched his eyes and face, Thomas hadn't felt anything like it since the Scorch.

Lydia kept changing directions, steering them through the sandy hell. She looked over her shoulder, frowning at the worn out expressions on everyone's faces. "It's not much further, we're almost there. Just one more mile!"

Liam groaned behind Thomas. "What's the point? We'll be tired before we even get there."

Lydia tilted her head, her eyes looking off to the distance. Her gaze snapped back to Liam. "You won't be tired if you run like you mean it."

Liam's brows furrowed in confusion. "What?-" Lydia marched over to Liam. "- You'll see."

She slapped him across the face, leaving a red mark on his cheek. Liam growled, his face shifting as his claws grew longer.

"Right, is anyone else going to complain?" Thomas shook his head. Lydia gave him a smug smile. She gestured at Liam, "You move faster when you shift, obviously. So get a move on you three, beat us there and be useful, find a way inside."

She clapped her hands, shooing them off. With a few growls as Malia and Scott started to change, they sprinted in the direction Lydia pointed.

                              *******
The sun was going down, Newt stared at the barbed wire fence that surrounded the entirety of the haven, it was quiet. Too quiet.

He risked a glance to his left, where the others were crouched by a hole in the wire. He held a hand up, telling them to wait.

He stared at the tarmac of an old car park down below, dried patches of mud and blood stuck to the surface. Smears of it trailing into a supermarket nearby.

Newt felt suspicious, Cranks were never quiet. He frowned at the blood, turning his attention to the broken windows of the supermarket.

Something moved inside, a flash of movement but Newt was certain. The cranks were inside there, he couldn't risk his friends running into a hoard of cranks.

He looked back down at Thomas, frantically shaking his head. He gestured sideways, telling them to go around. Thomas nodded before passing the message onto the others.

Newt kept on lookout as Scott and  Malia crawled through the fence first, followed by Thomas who was dragging Liam and Lydia bringing up the rear of the group.
They ducked behind some abandoned cars, waiting for Newt to signal them on.

He looked at the path they were going to take, nothing was moving and plenty of old vehicles to provide cover, satisfied he waved them on.

They moved quickly, staying low. Newt felt guilt for doubting the pack of werewolves, but they had never been against a crank before. He was worried they weren't going to be able to defend themselves and protect each other.

Newt clamped his teeth down on his tongue to stop himself from yelling, beside two bins a crank was crouched, eating something. If the others weren't careful they were going to walk straight to it.

He had to think fast, picking up a shard of glasses from a broken bottle, he aimed it at what was left of the sunset, the sun shone through it in a beam. He started shining the light on the group, catching their attention.

He pointed at the dustbins, before waving them away from them, Thomas dragged the others in the right direction, giving Newt a small nod. He sighed in relief.

The rest of their walk was simple, they were quiet and avoided attracting any unwanted attention. Newt lost sight of them as they disappeared past the supermarket.

Newt felt a twinge of loneliness, he would have to continue on alone. Quietly he crept around the fence, once the supermarket was out of sight he carried on walking. He kept one hand close to the fence.

It took almost an hour for him to walk around the fence, he finally made it to a small circle of tents. In the dim light he could see the others gathered by a log.

Newt wandered over, clearing his throat to catch their attention. Thomas looked up first, a look of relief washed over his face as he got up. He strode over to Newt and hugged him. Newt hugged him back for a quick moment before he turned to Lydia.

"Where do we go now?" Newt studied the faces of his friends, goosebumps rising on his neck as he took in their nervous expressions.

Lydia exhaled slowly before she spoke. "We can't go anywhere. The cranks have surrounded the camp, they're coming."