The Hunter

The Hunter - chapter fourteen

"Hurry," I urged as we continued searching around for the door.

"Here.The door is here!" Demia called quietl.

We rushed to the corner and pushed agains the resistant metal. It didn't want to budge. The door refused to move an inch for us.

"No, no, no! Not now!" Chloe cried, as her father's footsteps grew closer.

We threw all of our weight against it in hopes that it would give enough for us to slip out.

The sound of metal on stone gave cause for smiles all around. We made our way out one by one just as Frankenstein reached the potion shelf.

The sun beat down on us. I loved the feeling of the warm rays on my cheeks. There was no time to meander around though. We ran across the yard and through the forest, heading toward town.

"My parents should be home."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Derryk asked.

The forest between Chloe's house and mine wasn't nearly as large as I thought. At the edge of it we could see all of the small town square. My house sat only a few streets away. I started to stroll out when Blake grabbed my hand.

"What?" I asked.

He smiled and reached for my hair. "There are leaves and twigs in your hair."

I could feel my face burn as my hands shot up to my head. I shook out my curly treases hoping to get all the debris. "Is it gone?"

He nodded, kissing my cheek.

My face burned even hotter. I could only imagine how red my cheeks were.

He grabbed my hand and lead me to the sidewalk. We all casually walked along through town. My throat was dry and my heart thumped against my chest. It was as though everyone was staring at us. I wanted to hide. I wanted to go into the shadows I was used to.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked.

"It feels like everyone is staring at us."

"Nobody is. It's all in your head. The adrenaline. You're okay, Alyssa."

"I suppose. I'm just on edge with the Guild being so close and about to betray them. Did I tell you what they did to the last Hunters who did?"

"Yes."

"Well I'm telling you again," I said in a hushed voice. "They burned them. Do you hear me? They burned them alive! The entire family! I was friends with the daughter. She was my age at the time. We were over one hundred, but still, no reason to burn an entire family alive."

"Yes, I know this."

"If we don't succeed not only will I die, my parents will die, and all of you will die. They won't take mercy on any of you," I said.

"Would they have taken mercy on us anyway?" Blake arched his eyebrow at me.

"No. Probably not. I would have."

"What are you two talking about over there?" Demia asked.

"She's paranoid."

"About what?"

"The Guild!" I shouted a bit too loudly.

A few heads turned toward us, narrowing their eyes and tut-tutting us.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

We turned a corner and saw my house. A tall, white victorian with blue shutters and a wrap-around porch. A red BMW sat in the driveway. A BMW that did not belong to my parents or to me.

"Wait." I held my arms out to stop the rest. "Something's not right."

"What's up?" Derryk asked.

"That's not your car, is it?" Blake asked.

"No. It's not."

"A friend's?" Chloe asked.

I shook my head.

I tilted my head back, closed my eyes, and sniffed the air. It didn't smell right. Things didn't feel right. Nothing was right.

"You three go hide. Stay there," Blake ordered.

"Chloe, give me the vile and a syringe or three . I'll take care of things inside if I can." I held out my hand for drug and followed Blake to the back of myhouse.

He was on my window sill in a flash. I sprung up to the lowest tree branch and quickly climbed, landing on the opposite side of him. I held a finger to my lips. Inside my room someone was ransacking everything. Peering in, I saw a tall boy dumping my drawers on the ground. I furrowed my brow, furious someone would have the nerve to destroy my room.

"Is anything in there to implicate you?" Blake whispered.

"No."

He nodded his head and continued to watch.

Once the boy left we crept in. I filled the syringes to the max witht he potion and followed Blake to the bedroom door. We listened for a few moments. I could make out mom and dads, then three other men's. I already knew who they were.

The three men I'd been dreading to come to the small town for ages.

The three men who could kill us all.

-sX