Ruins A.G.A. 2nd Novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 25 .

Darren

We had taken turns watching the prisoner. She was still surrounded at all times, it was just that at least one person watched her while everyone else went about setting up camp, making a fire, etc. The sun was starting to set. The woods became a little hazy.

Zoe and Callie patrolled the edges of the camp. Gunnor leaned up against a tree on the other side of camp. His eyes were closed, but I didn't think he was asleep. I liked to imagine he was speaking with Jin and making sure everything was alright with the others. Lily would be devastated if anything happened to her sister. And my mom was there. She had suffered enough already. She didn't need any more troubles.

Alex sat with Mason, Elsie and the others around the campfire. There was a pot of stew cooking. Molly sat by Arthur's feet. Her tail wagged with contentment as Arthur petted her. She sniffed a little with her nose tilted in the air. She licked her lips and stared at the pot. Alex absently rubbed the cloth over his arm where he had been bitten. His eyes were unfocused. He was always quiet, but this quiet felt different. I wondered if Gunnor's blood in his system was wearing off. He wasn't as bad as he was before he drank Gunnor's blood so I didn't think he was going to turn into a werewolf zombie right then, but it could happen soon. If it were me, I'd rather be a vampire than a zombie. At least vampires didn't lose their souls. Did they? The weres seemed to think Alex could save his soul if he became a vampire/werewolf hybrid, but they also acted as if that might not have been better than turning into a zombie. But why? Just because he would be exiled from the pack or were their other reasons I didn't know about?

Those around the fire held multiple conversations at once. Richard and Monica smiled sweetly at each other as they spoke and I wondered if there was more going on there than my friend had told me about.

"We were nice to you," a quiet female voice said near me.

I turned my head to look at the venefici. I glanced around at everyone else, but no one else seemed to notice she spoke or maybe they just didn't care.

"I remember you," she said. "You seemed like such a nice person. I still believe you are a nice person. We just wanted to help you and your family. Your mom, right? You just needed to bring her to us and she would have been safe from the zombies."

Maybe she was right. There wasn't any proof that the venefici were up to anything bad.

"Was it the vampire that told you to be suspicious of us?" her musical voice asked. "You know you can't trust vampires and werewolves, right? They have a history of violently killing humans."

That was true. Why did I trust a vampire? I had seen him almost in a frenzied, violent state. Except Hunter had told me too and I trusted him. And then I recognized the familiar warm, welcoming charm she was spreading over me. I brushed it off like I had with all my practices with Gunnor.

"At least they just kill people outright instead of deceiving them and stealing their souls," I said.

She frowned at me. Her jaw tightened. "They're going to kill me," she said. "You must know that." Her expression softened. "I don't want to die. You are nice. You can help me."

I felt her charm again but it was more subtle than last time. I was now aware of what she was doing and I easily brushed it off. "And how many people did you kill?" I asked her. She scowled and turned away from me.

The three werewolves suddenly stood and looked out into the woods. "He's here," Elsie said quietly. In the next moment, a blurred figure rushed from the woods towards Gunnor. Gunnor merely smiled. The figure stilled with his hand wrapped around Gunnor's neck and had him pressed up against the trunk of a tree.