Chapter 46
-Farley-
We had no luck. It was a quiet trip to the forest, save for Caspian occasionally calling for Rowan. The forest hadn't changed since the last time we were here, other than the fact there were a few less flowers blooming. The heat had burnt them all. We received strange glances everywhere we went. Sometimes, it was unclear why. We looked like any other group of people walking along the streets with a purpose, other times, shouting was a very valid reason.
"I can't remember the way," I admitted as we reached the forest line. Capsian opened his mouth, but was interrupted before he could say anything.
"I can," Pax said, raising his free hand. "Just get me to something that stands out. Like a big tree, or a line of some sort."
"Dang, didn't expect that," Emi said. "Got any other talents in ya?"
Pax's cheeks darkened. "Don't ask that until we get there," he said. "This is the same path you brought Rowan and Iris down, right? I know where to go if it is."
I looked around, the trees all looked the same, the path looked the same, everything looked the same. "I hope so."
"Yeah, you'd better," Pax said with a chuckle. "I don't want to get us lost." His cane wasn't very much use on the forest floor, it kept getting stuck every time he moved forward. Despite that, he marched forward, going at a bit of a jog.
"I can't remember the last time I ran through a forest," Emi said with a grin. I wanted to tell her to be quiet, but we still weren't sure if there were enemies in the forest. The possibilities of what could be here, within the same trees, was something I'd prefer not to ponder.
"I've missed it," Pax admitted, seemingly not faltering what-so-ever.
The sound of rushing water hit my ears before the sight of the waterfall came into view. The water rushed as it did the last time we were here. Somehow, it felt strange. Like the concept of it still running whilst Pax wasn't there didn't make sense. I shook my head and wiped my forehead. The heat must be getting to me.
"This is where you guys met?" Emi asked, doing a full 360. "Dang."
"What does that mean?" Pax asked back. "But yes. I liked to come here whenever I could. It's very peaceful."
"Looks it," Emi said with a smile. "It's beautiful, but that bridge doesn't look at all strong enough to hold the two of you."
Caspian snorted.
I opened my mouth to retaliate, but closed it and rushed over to the bridge. "She's right," I said. "The bridge, there's some damage."
"What?" Pax rushed to my side, stumbling over a few branches. He knelt down and pushed gently on the bridge, the wood groaned in a way it hadn't the last time we were here.
"Natural damage?" Caspian asked. "The weather's been very warm, maybe the wood reacted to it?"
Pax shook his head, the slightest of growls escaping. "We've had hotter summers. They did it on purpose."
"At least we know Rowan wouldn't have passed?" Emi offered. "He wouldn't have been able to cross it."
"Unless..." Caspian trailed off. "Oh, I'm going to kill him."
I rolled my eyes. I wish I had a pound for every time he said that.
"What?" Pax asked, turning his head to Caspian.
Caspian didn't reply, but he slid his shorts off after telling Emi to spin around. After she did, he transformed into his wolf and backed up, sprinting towards the waterfall and leaping across it. He barely made it to the other side, scrambling to get to his feet.
He sniffed the dirt on the other side and continued to follow it to the right.
That was another thing we couldn't do too well, track him by his scent. It was a smell we were all too familiar with. He had been living int he same house as us for years, his scent was littered around. It was on our clothes, especially mine and Iris', much to our dismay, so we couldn't track his scent as efficiently. The summer heat also meant that there were more scents in the air than there usually is in winter.
"I guess I was proven wrong," Emi admitted.
"Guess so," I responded. "Pax, Caspian just turned into his wolf and jumped across the waterfall, do you think you can do that?"
Pax sighed and shook his head. "I heard him stumble, I don't think I'd be any better, but I could try."
"Are you sure?" Emi stepped forward. "It could be quite disastrous if you don't make it." She twirled one of the rubber bands on her wrists.
"I can try," Pax repeated.
I sighed and nodded. "I think Emi should go first," I said and turned towards her. "Just in case."
Emi nodded and didn't hesitate to tell me to turn around. I turned towards the trees, and not a few minutes later, the sound of another two feet hit the ground. I turned to see Emi's wolf with her clothes in her mouth.
"You can do it," I told her. "You've just got to take a good run before doing it."
Emi turned from me to the water and then to me again. She huffed, best she could with clothes in her mouth, and went a bit further than Caspian had before leaping across the running water. She whined as she fell slightly short.
Caspian rushed to the edge and grabbed her by the neck. He used his teeth to drag her backwards, away from the stream.
When she was comfortably on her feet, she sent me a glare, as though calling me a liar.
"At least you got over there," I offered with a smile. "Pax, do you want to go before me?"
His eyes were scrunched closed he was bouncing on his heels. "Could we go together?" he asked, his voice wavering.
"Of course," I replied. I took my shirt off, and noticed that Pax hadn't. "You might want to turn if you're wanting to do it."
Pax chuckled nervously and nodded, fiddling with the end of his shirt. "Right."
It wasn't long before I was standing next to a black wolf. My paws dug into the dirt as I tried to grasp how bouncy the ground was.
I nudged Pax in the side of the neck and stepped backwards. He followed me precisely, nearly matching each step.
I sprinted towards the water and jumped. My paws hit land, then air, and then land again. I didn't let myself take in the fact that I had hit land, before turning around and looking for Pax.
He was dangling over the edge with his paws int he dirt and his hindlets frantically looking for a surface to cling to.
I rushed over and grabbed him by the neck, just as Caspian did to Emi. I pulled him further onto land, where he fell onto his back, shaking slightly. His jaw was clenched and his eyes still hadn't relaxed.
I nudged his neck again and licked his cheek in an attempt to assure him that he was safe.
He calmed down after a few minutes, getting to his feet and titling his head towards the floor in shame.
Caspian and Emi were a few feet away from us, so I nudged Pax and kept doing so until he started to follow me. I made sure to stay right beside him as we followed the two.
There was a faint trace of Rowan, but then again, I had clothes near my mouth which had a faint trace of Rowan.
We moved at a brisk pace with Caspian taking the lead. The forest was unusually quiet, even the animals seemed to be trying to hide.
Then a loud ringing caused myself and Pax to jump out of our skin.
It was Caspians' phone. He sent us an apologetic look and dropped his clothes. It was humorous to see a wolf looking for a phone in clothes, the lack of hands made it extremely impractical.
He eventually found his phone, using his snout to answer the call.
"Caspian?" Iris' voice called from the phone.
Caspian made a low growling noise.
"Oh, okay. We just wanted to tell you that we ran into Ralph and Aiden. The rest of the group has split up to help search. There's about five groups now, so we should be able to find him."
Caspian looked at us with sad eyes, and nudged the phone towards me. I huffed and took the phone in my jaw, searching for a tree. One big enough to hide behind was easy to spot, so I crouched behind the tree and shifted.
"Ew," I said as I dropped the phone and picked it up with my hands. "Sorry, we have a lead."
"Farley? You do?" Iris asked, her voice higher than normal. Great, okay, where are you?"
"We're at the waterfall where you guys first met Pax," I replied.
She cursed quietly before clearing her throat. "I should've thought of that. Do you want us to meet you there?"
I hesitated. "Yeah," I replied. "But could you use Google Maps to find another way in?"
"Yes, because in the middle of the forest is very specific," Karim's voice called over the phone.
"We can use street view," Iris said to me, not paying any mind to Karim's comment. "I'm guessing you guys are in your wolf forms? We'll try our best to get there in good time."
"Yes and yes. I'll see you soon." I hung up the phone and turned back into my wolf. I took the liberty of tucking the phone back into Caspian's hoodie, ignoring his annoyed glance, and moved back next to Pax.
The run was nice. I almost forgot why we were in the forest to begin with as I focused on moving through the trees and following Pax. I felt bad for that, but it reminded me of the first few days of knowing Pax and coming back to the forest to see him.
Heavy footsteps made the ground vibrate. Heavy panting reached my ears and made my fur stand on end. I paused and crouched, ready to pounce. Pax was behind me now, just as Caspian moved in front of Emi.
I was relieved when the cause of the footsteps came into view. The familiar brown wolf with a human on his back approached.
I sent a nod but didn't calm down. There were more footsteps, I didn't know if they were friend or foe. I didn't know how many wolves were here.
But Pax started to run again. There was no harm in running, was there? So I followed him until we reached a familiar house.
Pax slowed down as the trees thinned. We were back at his home. There was only a trace of the wolves who used to live here, but the scent which was stronger caused hope to fill my body. It was Rowan's.
Harlow hopped off Karim's back. "Looks a little like Aiden's house," he commented.
There wasn't any point in trying to keep quiet. If there was anyone in the house, they would've smelled us by now.
I nodded and followed Pax closer to the house. We could all file through the door without any issues, the hallways were just wide enough for two wolves to squeeze through. It was a very dark and natural-looking house. All the cabinets were dark wood and any fabric was a forest green.
I looked through the living room as Pax darted up the stairs. There wasn't much of interest, besides the curiously placed packets of cigarettes littered around the room. I thought that there was a child who used to live here? It wouldn't take much for them to find the cigarettes. I assumed it was probably Kian's doing.
A loud whimper and howl came from upstairs and I darted, the others following behind me. Pax's room was the first thing which came to mind, so I scrambled up the stairs and ended up nearly bumping into Pax.
The sight before me was horrifying.
Pax stood above Rowan's body. The red of his hair darkened by the blood which pooled from his head. His eyes were closed, almost as though he was sleeping. His jaw was clenched and there were splatters of red, nearly looking like freckles, over his pale skin which looked like it had been bleached. His bright blue T-shirt had been torn near the shoulder and his waist, revealing more redness.
I couldn't stand the sight of one of my closest friends looking so close to death.
I turned around and dashed out of the room, pushing past wolves and nudging Caspian in the direction of the room. Steps followed after me. I didn't pay any attention to who it was, but I exited the house and turned into my human form, quickly putting some shorts on.
The fresh air caught my attention and I breathed deeply, trying to erase the image from my mind of Rowan laying there near-motionless. He could've been dead for all I knew, he looked it. I didn't check and I should have. My panic controlled my actions and I couldn't think.
I couldn't go back in either, because it would just happen again. I would go up there and run away as soon as I saw his still form.
I sighed and resisted the urge to punch the ground. Instead, I dug my nails into the palms of my hands.
Something warm hit my back. I jumped in surprise, but calmed when the mass of black came into view. His fur brushed against my shoulder and his head landed in my lap.
I raised my hand to stroke him. He shivered at first, but then his tongue poked out between his teeth. He became heavier as he relaxed and rested on me.
"Is he okay?" I asked in a whisper.
Pax's head barely moved, but it was a definite nod.
I sighed again. "I'm sorry for running."
This time, he shook his head and licked my fingers, causing me to let out a chuckle. He then nudged my hand again, telling me to continue.
"Alright, alright. Is this the first time you've been stroked?" I jokingly asked. I knew it wasn't, as I'd done it before. The first time I did it, he was as stiff as a board. He had then claimed it was one of the nicest things that he'd experienced.
Pax huffed and rested his head again.
Rustling came from the bushes in front of us. I tensed my shoulders and Pax stood up, getting ready to pounce on whoever it was. Before I could see for myself, Pax relaxed and plonked himself down again.
"Sorry about that," Ralph's voice came from the bushes. It was difficult to see him still, but it was obviously Ralph. "We didn't know where we were going and didn't want to yell."
"It's okay," I replied as he came into view. There were a few scratches on his cheeks. The rest of his pack piled through the trees, looking in a similar state. "What happened?"
"People are stupid," Moss said with a huff.
"We were ambushed by another pack on our way here. Apparently, the news of the black wolves has spread very far," Elowen explained. "There's many wolves looking for you. Some have become territorial already."
I couldn't stop the growl which escaped my throat. Nobody had any right to be territorial of Pax.
"Yeah, so, what happened?" Ralph asked, his eyes glancing at the house behind us.
"Rowan," was the only word I could brign myself to say. Even then, my voice cracked and my hands shook.
"I'll head inside. Can you guys keep an eye ont he perimeter?" Ralph asked.
The rest of his pack made some form of agreement, before walking back into the trees.
Ralph and Aiden entered the house and were called upstairs.
Hello!
Firstly, I'm sorry about the grammar and spelling mistakes in this, I've ran out of my Microsoft subscription-so I couldn't access my edited version :D
I hope that you're all doing well!
The question of the chapter is, what's your zodiac?
It's Gemini season now, and I'm blaming that for me having a lot of energy at the moment. Though it is under debate about whether or not I'm a Gemini or Cancer-because I'm born on the 21st of June-so I'm a cuspie!