It was about 7 o’clock when I decided I should try and find Scott. The second Jacey left I threw her dress in the dryer, hoping it wouldn’t shrink in the process. I hadn’t exactly had a lot of experience washing dresses after all. Hope was all I had. My next task was dealing with the scratches I’d gotten last night. I could assume by the fact I wasn’t dead that thankfully the beast hadn’t been poisonous, but that didn’t mean I could just ignore my injuries either. My shower had washed away most of the blood but my legs were swollen and an ugly shade of red, so I ran a quick bath to soak them for a bit before smothering them in antiseptic cream. It was the best I could really. I secured the wounds with bandages and hoped I wouldn’t run into anything nasty tonight. I would not be on top form if I did.
After that I spent most of the day attempting to clean my dump of an apartment. I wasn’t sure if Jacey or indeed, Scott, were planning on coming over again anytime soon, but seeing their horrified faces had made me realise just how bad things had gotten. I definitely didn’t want to see those kinds of looks again. I spent two hours on the living room alone, filling up bin bags and scrubbing at weeks-old dirty dishes. By the time I’d finished, the place was still dark and cramped but at least you could see the floor and it didn’t smell so stale.
Six-forty and I was almost ready to go. I spent longer choosing my outfit than I would have normally, although again I wasn’t really sure why. It wasn’t like I had many clothes to choose from in the first place, but I managed to find a hoodie which was completely stain-free and some jeans which weren’t quite as baggy as the others. The moment I stepped out the door, I realised I had absolutely no clue where I was going. I had no idea what Scott had meant by ‘the usual place’. Did he mean the football field where he had threatened me? The forest by Gabby’s where I’d almost killed him? With so many good memories between us, it was hard to choose. In the end I decided to just head for the forest and hope for the best. Fortunately, on the way there I passed the library where a very-inconspicuous Scott was stood waiting outside.
“Is that a crossbow?” It was worryingly easy to sneak up on him. He jumped at the sound of my voice, spinning round with lightning speed. For a second I thought I was going to get an arrow to the face but he relaxed when he saw it was me.
“You almost scared me there. And yes, it’s a crossbow. We’re going hunting aren’t we?”
“You can’t just walk around with a crossbow strapped to your back! Are you crazy? What if someone sees you?” I was utterly baffled by his behaviour. Was he trying to get us killed by the werewolf?
Annoyingly, he just shrugged and gave me a goofy smile.
“No one cares. Anyway, the library’s shut. No one’s around to see.” Too irritated to speak, I just grabbed his arm and dragged him behind the building to a more secluded spot. I knew this was going to be a bad idea.
“Okay, listen very carefully. You’re not in a big city anymore. People around here will notice you have a crossbow. How have you even lasted this long?” His grin vanished, replaced with an annoyed look of his own. This was off to a great start.
“Okay, okay. Geez! And I haven’t exactly been patrolling these last couple of weeks. I was too busy trying to kill you.” I glared at him for a minute or two, wondering if I should just quit now. It wasn’t like I needed Scott’s help. I’d found plenty of demons on my own. And if we were just going to be getting on each other’s nerves, well then…
Come on, don’t give up so easily! What happened to trying to be more sociable?
Unfortunately, the voice was right. Taking a deep breath, I did my best to let my irritation go. I should give Scott a fair chance. After all, he was just about the only person I knew left who might understand this demon thing.
“Right, we should probably both share what we know about this werewolf then.”
“Of course,” he nodded, looking glad for my change of topic, “Well, I don’t know a lot admittedly. I know they’ll be in human form for about two more weeks and that they’re not afraid to kill people. Oh, and they’ll be wanting to make another kill soon. It’s been a while since they fed.”
“Agreed,” I sighed, “That’s basically all I know as well. Looks like we wasted a lot of time hunting each other. Although, I also know that the werewolf didn’t start hunting until after you and the other new kids arrived. That doesn’t mean it has to be a new person of course but it’s a place to start.”
“That seems like a good idea. We should check to see if there are any dead animals around. If the werewolf knows someone is on to it, then it might hunt near its home to keep a getaway near. We can target the new kids tomorrow. It’ll probably be easier if you take Jenna.” My heart sank. I’d almost forgotten about Jenna. Now Scott was cleared, that meant she was a suspect again. And just when I was beginning to think we might be friends.
“Yeah, Adam’s pretty scared of me anyway. He’d probably be more willing to talk to you.”
“Can you blame him? You’re a pretty scary girl.” He said it with a laugh but I think he was only half-joking. Not surprising really, considering I’d almost cut his heart out. It was a weird way to start a relationship.
We walked on for a bit in an easy silence, both of us clutching our weapons. I’d brought along my dagger as well as a handgun I had hidden in my pocket. Guns aren’t that effective against demons on the whole (mainly because you can’t cut someone’s head off with one) but I was confident it would do for tonight. It was doubtful we would encounter something. Anything the werewolf hadn’t scared off would have probably been driven out by the Bastet demon.
I shivered a little, gazing wistfully at the darkening sky. It was late autumn which unfortunately meant it was likely only going to get colder. Winter made my job easier in a way because I could start earlier without running the risk of being seen, but the freezing cold temperatures were definitely not fun and the forests always looked much worse. Every tree lost its soft green furnishings and grew claws, turning as unforgiving as the weather.
“So, how old were you when this all started then?” I jumped at the sound of Scott’s voice. So much for me mocking him earlier. I’d forgotten I wasn’t hunting alone. It should have been comforting but instead it made me anxious. I felt like I had two backs to watch.
“Nine.” I answered simply, bending down to check the ground. There were some feathers on the floor but it was probably nothing. After all, non-demonic creatures have to hunt too.
“Nine, really?” he let out a low whistle, “That’s rough. I was thirteen.” I tried to hide the intense jealousy his words awakened in me, but it wasn’t easy. He’d had four more years of normalcy than me.
“I thought most started earlier than that,” I shrugged, like it didn’t bother me in the slightest. Like those four years were nothing, “You can’t have had much experience then in three years.”
“Four years,” he grinned, “I'm seventeen. And I’ve had enough experience to kick your butt!” He sounded so indignant that I couldn’t help but smile. I got back to my feet, looking him straight in the eye.
“Oh really? Seems like I had you beat on Friday.”
“That was totally different,” he rolled his eyes, hitching up his crossbow. He kept his finger on the trigger the whole time, “You knew I was coming. I’m telling you, you should have seen me back home. That damn city got invaded almost every night and I’m still here.” He said it easily enough but his finger twitched slightly at the word ‘home’. It was painfully obvious he missed it.
“What made you leave?” For a second I thought I’d asked the wrong question. It didn’t seem like he was going to but he answered me anyway, turning away with a shrug.
“Like I said, just my brother. I was staying with him and his wife. She…she’s pregnant. In a few months they’ll be a proper family. He doesn’t need me anymore.” For a few moments I just watched him, thinking. It couldn’t have been easy for him to do that. I could remember Granddad so clearly, how comforting it was to come home and find him there. He always waited up for me. I told him a thousand times not to but he always smiled and said he couldn’t sleep anyway until I got back. I knew he was worried but he never made me feel guilty. He just said he wanted to hear about how I’d kicked butt.
If he was still alive now, if I’d come back a little bit earlier that night, then could I leave him like Scott left his brother? Or would I be too selfish? I thought I knew the answer to that question and I didn’t like it.
I wanted to tell Scott he was brave but I wasn’t sure how. I had visions of me laying a hand on that shoulder, magically saying the right things to make him smile again. It wasn’t going to happen though. I didn’t have the right words. Instead I just asked him another question.
“Weren’t you worried about leaving them behind?” I was aware I was prying again but I couldn’t help it. Now he’d started with the questions, I didn’t want to stop. I had a sudden urge to know about him, this stranger which was so like me and yet so different. It was dangerous but I didn’t care.
“A bit,” he confessed, “But the demons follow us. It’s why our parents died. It’s why your Granddad died. It’s not our fault exactly but we are the cause of it. I figured it was better to get away completely.”
“So you endanger my town instead?” I raised an eyebrow but inside my heart was hammering. He’d just said it wasn’t our fault. Did he mean that? How could he mean it?
“Your town was in trouble anyway! I wasn't planning on staying here you know. The only reason I’ve been here so long is because I realised there was a werewolf.” In one swift moment it was like the floor had been pulled out from under me. I was surprised by the impact his words had (See? I told you. Dangerous) but I was too focused on what he’d said to pay attention to that now.
“But you’ll stay now right?” The words were out before I could stop them. I didn’t even care that much either. All I knew was that I had found someone else like me, someone who might finally understand and now suddenly he was threatening to go away again. I hated myself for being so stupid and caring so much. All of a sudden it was like I needed someone again.
Relax, you don’t need Scott yet. You said so yourself.
Yeah. But I might.
He blinked in surprise at my comment. Clearly I wasn't as ‘cold’ as he thought. To my dismay, his face softened a little. I could only pray it was too dark for him to see my blush.
“Sure. I’ve got nowhere better to be.” The air hung awkwardly between us. If the werewolf had appeared now then I think I would have thrown myself at it gratefully. I was so furious with myself that I couldn’t speak. I knew this whole thing was a bad idea. One day with Scott and I was getting my hopes up again. Hadn’t I learnt anything from Granddad? You couldn’t rely on people. I couldn’t let myself believe things would be all right with Scott because I knew they wouldn’t. It would be bad enough just working with him, let alone if we became friends or even anything-
No.
A sharp crack brought me to my senses.
“Gross!” Scott grimaced, shaking his foot at me. His muddy trainers were now covered in fox blood, the liquid congealing on his foot. Ashamedly pleased for the distraction, I shoved his leg aside and bent down to examine the body. The fox stared up at me, its eyes glassy. It reminded me of Jenna’s picture.
“Okay, these are definitely human teeth marks.” I tried to move the fox whilst getting as little blood as possible on myself, so I could examine the neck. It wasn’t a pretty picture. Someone had hacked at it with a knife before finally giving up and just biting the poor animal. It was amazing how strong human teeth could become when infused with Lycan blood.
“That’s disgusting.” Scott shuddered, crouching down beside me. I couldn’t help but smirk. He wouldn’t be used to finding many dead animals in the city.
“I found a rabbit like this a few weeks back. The werewolf will be trying to survive on animals in order to avoid drawing attention to itself,” I poked what little remained of the neck, trying not to shudder myself, “Looks like it’s getting desperate. It basically just ripped it apart.”
“You think it’s going to go for another human soon?”
“Probably. Rachel was a while back after all.” My voice cracked at her name and I hated myself for it. I could feel Scott’s eyes on me.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. She wasn’t a friend.”
“You still knew her though,” he waited, like he was expecting me to say more. When I didn’t, he let out a sigh, “We’ll have to move quickly then. It’ll be easier with two of us. We’re less likely to make mistakes.” I stood back up while he was talking, wiping my hands on my jeans. My fingers left a nasty streak of blood, ruining my only clean pair. Fantastic.
I flinched at the word ‘mistake, my shoulders tensing. Was that a dig at me?
“I don’t go cutting out people’s hearts willy-nilly okay? You have to admit, you were acting really suspicious.”
“Well, so were you! I didn’t almost stab you with a dagger though.”
“Only because you never got the chance.” I shot back. It was probably time to leave. If this kill was still here then no other demons were around or else they would have stolen the remains by now. Demons like collecting bodies, even the parts they can’t eat. They’re like trophies.
“I’m going to head back.” I announced suddenly. To my surprise he looked hurt, but he shrugged anyway.
“Okay. We’ll meet up tomorrow, compare notes.”
“Alright.” I nodded, taking a step back. He stayed put. Suddenly, I felt bad about leaving him. What if there was something out there? Then I caught sight of his crossbow and I was reminded that he wasn’t like the others. He could take care of himself.
I hoped.
The walk back was troubling. When I got in Jacey’s dress was hanging up there, haunting me like a ghost. It was strange-now it just made me think of Scott. He’d washed it for me, even though he didn’t have to. It was a stupid act of kindness, practically nothing but it made my heart ache all the same. How long since someone else had done something like that for me? How long since someone else had been around to even offer?
Pushing those thoughts out of my head, I got ready for bed with a sigh. This whole Scott thing had been a mistake but it was too late to turn back now. Maybe after we’d taken out the werewolf, maybe then I could tell him it was better he’d go.
Except I had a feeling that by then, it would hurt too much to ask him to.
~
AN: This chapter took me far longer to upload than I intended it to, so sorry for keeping people waiting. I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who's been reading this, you all mean so much to me! This chapter is dedicated to AngelaStevens562 for her continued support and very helpful comments