HER COLD HANDS shook violently as her legs struggled to place each foot forward. Small white puffs of icy air appeared in front of her each time she exhaled. Her brown eyes darted skittishly to every point of her surroundings.
Lifting her head, Maggie shifted her gaze to the siblings whom were ahead of her by several paces. They were distinctively speaking lowly in a language foreign to her. Their tones had become heated and argumentative as sharp glares were exchanged between the two.
The younger sibling, Katya, paused to look over her shoulder to check if Maggie was keeping up with them. She flashed a small, reassuring smile when she caught her gaze.
Maggie's eyes cast down to the wet soil she stepped on, her mind still reeling over the obscure events and wondering if the initial shock of her uncanny situation would ever pass.
Several questions ran ramped in her exhausted mind as she analysed all the things she had witnessed. Things that should have been impossible.
Just envisioning the grey wolf morphing into a human being – into Emmett – truly rendered her speechless.
Remembering the echoes of bones snapping, reconstructing and animal hair retracting into bare, human flesh made her skin crawl and body stiff with fear. She felt as if she was living inside a horrible nightmare; one that would not end.
Now she truly knew Emmett was a monster.
To make things worse, she had strong suspicions her two Russian saviours before her were not normal; and she had this awful gut feeling that Emmett was not gone.
As Maggie remained captured in her rowdy thoughts, unbeknownst to her, Katya and Luka had halted their discussion once they realised she had slowed down considerably. Maggie's heartbeat quickened into an irregular rate and breathing shallow as the cold and fear gripped her.
Feeling a sudden rush of dizziness and dark spots blurring Maggie's vision, she stumbled blindly over a tree root and collapsed to the ground.
She barely registered the pain coming from her hands where superficial cuts appeared from the small stones beneath her. Maggie was justifiably exhausted and wished for the sweet bliss of sleep.
Maggie began to tumble but with Katya's quick reflexes, she caught Maggie and swiftly pulled her up to her feet again. Maggie could feel a light sheen of sweat form on her face. Her weak legs shook from fatigue, lack of nutrition and trauma.
She felt a faintness fall upon her like a sudden tidal wave and then went limp in Katya's arms. She was quickly swallowed by unconsciousness, grateful for some momentary relief from the outside world.
#
Maggie eyes opened widely as she jolted up awake. Her surroundings became clear as her vision finally focused. She looked around and soon realised she was in a dark, empty tent.
She had woken herself up from the tortured sobs that escaped her lips from the dream of grotesque visions of wolves attacking her in a burning home. Her home.
The flap of the simplistic tent suddenly flipped open.
With alarm, she scrambled up to a sitting position, but Maggie's body relaxed slightly when the person appeared at the entrance of the tent – Katya.
For the first time Maggie really looked at her. She realised that her auburn hair had natural light brown and gold hues intertwined in the thick locks that went past her chest. Her sharp angular face made her look effortlessly deadly and her piercing brown eyes held a mysterious and lethal glint. However, it was the warmth and care radiating from her that gave Maggie odd comfort.
"You okay?" She asked with concern. Katya crouched near her where Maggie laid in a stiff cot.
Maggie meekly shook her head as she pressed her palm to her neck, rubbing it softly, "No, I'm not." She answered honestly, before she quickly swept away the unshed tears from underneath her eyes.
"You are lucky to be alive," Katya shifted her weight as she balanced herself on her feet. "Isaiah said you would have been close to becoming hypothermic. You lost some blood, few cuts and bruises and head trauma,"
"Isaiah?" Maggie questioned curiously in a small voice.
Katya smiled kindly, "You will like him – even if he is total idiot sometimes." She chuckled lightly, the foreign accent lacing her words thickly, her eyes shining as if she was remembering a fond memory.
Maggie pulled the rugs piled on top of her further up, like a shield. She bit her lip, her head still spinning with confusion. "Can you please explain to me what the hell I've seen these past few days?"
Meeting her eyes, Katya inhaled sharply as she ran her fingers through her long auburn locks of hair. "You are sure you don't want to rest–?"
"Please Katya," Maggie interrupted with wide eyes and a vulnerable expression. Maggie was tired of being kept in the dark. "My brother is dead because some monster became obsessed with me, captured me and abused me. Emmett was utterly crazy but even he remained ambiguous about things I need answering –" Maggie sighed heavily, her body ached all over. "I know that you are different – different to humans, so please, I need to know so I don't think I'm going insane."
A thoughtful look passed Katya's face, carefully analysing Maggie's words before selecting an answer, "Okay, come outside with me," She put out a hand, palm open and waiting.
"Is – is it safe?" She swallowed the large lump in her throat as she looked uneasily behind Katya's body, wondering what dangers lurked.
Eyebrows pulled in close, voice serious, Katya responded, "I would not have brought you here if I did not think it was safe,"
Hesitantly but slowly, Maggie slid her hand over Katya's causing her to smile slightly at the variation of their body temperatures.
Holding her close, Katya guided her out the small tent, and Maggie felt herself pleasantly amazed how the abnormal warmth radiating from the taller girl comforted her. It was different from Emmett – much more inviting and tender – but her guarded walls remained resolute at the knowledge of how deadly these people were.
Maggie tugged her hand out of her grip and held it to her chest. Katya's expression dropped for a fleeting second before a smile masked it.
She opened the flap and Maggie quietly wondered to herself how long she had been out as there was no telling what time it was. So, she questioned Katya.
"You were asleep for nearly twelve hours," Katya informed. The woman stepped back and mumbled that she needed to collect her brother to help explain things. Maggie watched her walk to a tent at the end of a small clearing until she disappeared inside it.
Planting herself on an old tree log, Maggie wrapped the blankets around her as her eyes swept the area with sharp vigilance. She realised that they were still in the Wolverton forest as the small clearing was sheltered by the elevated trees and their canopy of leaves. There were several tents aligned methodically around a blazing campfire used for light.
The orange flames devoured the chopped wood, embers burning hot and the crackling of the wood had her flinching. The sounds seemed amplified the more her focus trained in on them, the echoing in her mind slowly morphed into images.
Images of her burning home engulfed by merciless flames lit by a complete psychopath made her wince at the excruciatingly fresh memories. Her brother's agonising screams played repeatedly, a continuous and torturous reminder.
A sob nearly broke through. She was sick of crying.
She closed her eyes tightly.
Maggie knew she would get through this eventually.
But fuck did the process hurt.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
IMAGE: Kate Mara as Katya Rostovtsev
MUSIC: All The Way Down (Kahn Remix) by Kelela
NOTE: this chapter is pt 1. and the next chapter is a continuation - previously this chapter was nearly 4,000 words long but I have split it so its not an overload of info x