Sadie tried her very best to be quiet; she would be dead within moments if Blue found out she was following her. She knew she would not be as helpful as a shifter, but she wanted to lend a hand in the rescue of Balthazar. Why she was experiencing this sudden urge to risk her life to save his; even she didn't want to delve into this whirlpool of emotion. Keeping her mind firmly anchored to the task at hand; Sadie trudged along silently. She had managed to catch fleeting glimpses of Blue and was following in her wake. The trees held scratch marks and broken branches littered the forest floor; carving out a clear pathway for Sadie to follow even if she couldn't always spot Blue herself.
"You do realize you're not very stealthy, don't you?" A voice whispered in her ear.
Sadie shrieked and spun about; coming face to face with the unimpressed form of Blue. The female crossed her arms as she surveyed a gaping Sadie. Blue cocked a brow as she stared impassively at Sadie; no doubt waiting for an explanation.
"I just wanted to help Balthazar." Sadie sighed as she answered the unspoken question.
"You would have helped him by staying at the cabin." Blue rolled her eyes as she walked past Sadie. "Either you keep close to me; or I leave you for dead." She called out over her shoulder.
"You're not sending me back?" Excited, Sadie skipped up to the female and smiled at her warmly.
"We're in a section of the forest you've never been to and I can't take the time to walk you all the way back." Blue swatted a branch out of her way. "Can't believe I didn't sense you earlier."
"Your mind was probably preoccupied." Sadie soothed.
"Not sensing you means I may have missed out on vital clues." Blue cast her an imperceptible glance. "Means I could have been attacked."
"Okay..." Sadie trailed off, unsure what to say in response.
"I caught a scent a while back.There's a group of hyenas up ahead. Probably waiting for Balthazar's rescue party." Blue explained as she walked Sadie to the base of a massive tree. "Sadie you climb as high up this tree as you can and stay out of sight. Hyenas don't climb well, that'll keep you safe."
Sadie gulped as she eyed the massive tree. She was certain that she would slip and plummet to her death; but the only other option was to defy Blue's command.
Falling to her death was preferable than facing Blue's wrath.
Sadie climbed up the tree, her fear of the female propelling her up the branches in no time. She didn't dare to let herself think about the height or falling till she had herself firmly seated on a sturdy branch.
"You good?" Blue called up to her.
"Somewhat..." Sadie shakily answered.
"Hang tight, I'm going to be back with a few people soon." Blue ordered and walked away, disappearing within the trees within moments.
Sadie slumped against the tree trunk, Lord knew how long she would be stuck there. Waiting for Blue to bring people here; no doubt the female was gathering a team for Balthazar's retrieval.
About a quarter hour later a rustling of branches sounded close by. Sadie clutched a branch overhead for support as she peered anxiously about her surroundings. A familiar head of dark hair emerged from the foliage; dragging a limp form behind her. Reaching the base of the tree, Blue hogtied the male before she glanced up at Sadie. Placing a finger over her mouth, she urged Sadie to be quiet. Moments later, Blue was gone. A while later she emerged from the surrounding forest; dragging two bodies behind her. By now Sadie was thoroughly curious, she peered down at Blue; who was swiftly tying up the other two men. Once again Blue confirmed that Sadie was in fact in the tree before she disappeared into the trees.
Blue made multiple trips through the forest, always returning with an unconscious man in tow. Sadie watched curiously as Blue disappeared into the forest once more. The female had previously gathered a total of seven people. All had been tied up and placed in a line.
Eventually Blue returned once more dragging the eighth male behind her.
Throwing him to the ground, she quickly tied him up; but called up to Sadie. "Coast is clear. Come down." Sadie started her long and arduous journey down the tree.
Blue began rummaging in the backpacks each unconscious person had strapped to their backs. Piling them all in the center, she took her time rifling through the contents of each. Pulling out their weapons she sorted them into two piles; knives in one and the guns in another.
"What's all this?" Sadie couldn't help but ask; she knew she would regret it, but she had to know.
"Remember the group of hyenas I mentioned?" Blue asked, smiling in victory as she pulled out a burger and fries in a take-out bag from one of the backpacks. "Well that's them."
By now the hyenas were beginning to sluggishly move and groan in pain. Blue pulled out a packet of ketchup and squirted it into a corner of the box containing the burger.
As the very last man captured struggled to his knees; he gazed about dazedly.
"Oh good, you're up." Blue smiled as she scooted closer to him.
"Who the hell are you?" The man groaned as he struggled to get his limbs free. Ignoring him, Blue sauntered over to the seven others laying in a line. Roughly pulling them up to their knees, she jolted them into consciousness. Turning back to the eighth captive; she seated herself in front of him and pinned him in pace with an intense stare.
"I'm just a person who needs to know something." She smiled agreeably. "And you are?"
"Tommy." The male grunted. "What you after?" He eyed her suspiciously.
"Well Tommy, I hear you've got a Polar-Lion Hybrid." She leaned closer, her voice quiet yet carrying through the area with remarkable clarity. "And I need you tell me his exact location, too much hyena gunk around here for me to sniff him out."
"Like heck I'll tell you!" The male roared as his companions shouted in agreement.
"We can do this two ways; the easy way, where you get to walk out alive. Or I kill you." She shrugged as she pulled a gun out of the pile at her feet. "Where are they keeping him?" Blue asked as she chewed on a bite of the burger.
"No." The hyena spat. Sadie could sense this wasn't going to end well for the male, but never did she expect what happened next.
Blue's hand lifted into the air; a gun shot resounded through the clearing. One of the captives dropped dead; a bullet hole in his head.
"You have six more tries."
Blue smirked at him as she nonchalantly twirled the loaded pistol around her finger and dipped her chips in ketchup with the other. Sadie clutched herself nervously and subtly shuffled further away from the captives. The remaining captives snarled at Blue, who seemed unimpressed with the show of defiance.
"Tommy, for their sake, I hope the next thing that comes out of your mouth is the name of the location I want." Blue taunted the leader of the group.
"I am not afraid of you." The hyena snarled in defiance, but Sadie could see beads of sweat forming on his face; he valiantly tried to hide his fear, but his own body betrayed his terror.
"You have no reason to fear me." Blue nodded agreeably. "You should fear death."
Faster than Sadie's eye could follow, the gun lifted up into the air; a gun shot rang through the air and another dead hyena body hit the ground. "That's five tries now." Blue shrugged.
Sadie clutched her arms in fear as she stared wide eyed at the sight before her. Even in her darkest dreams she hadn't seen such a sight.
"Uh.." Sadie tried to get Blue's attention without actually speaking. The female's head snapped to face her. "Is this necessary? You don't have to be so violent."
"Sure. Let's just let their clan eat Balthazar for dinner; while we wait for this," Blue jabbed the gun at a terrified Tommy, who flinched away, nearly falling over in the process. "Piece of shit to tell us the location whenever he feels like it. Real solid plan."
"But we don't have to ki-" Sadie tried once more.
"I will shoot you in the head." Blue snarled.
Sadie snapped her mouth shut as heat raged across her face. She should have left the female alone, Blue knew what she was doing and there was no helpful input Sadie could give the shifter in this situation.
"Well, what's it going to be?" Blue turned back to Tommy, kicking him onto his side. "You gonna speak or what?"
"I'll speak!" One of the captives shuffled forward on her knees. "I'll tell you, if you don't kill me."
"Okay."
"Give me your word." The hyena female demanded.
"Okay."
"Fine, I'll tell you." The hyena seemed to sag in relief at the thought of securing her immediate future.
"Great." Blue picked out a large rifle; shooting Tommy in the head and heart with it before turning to the female. "Where is it?"
"Forty miles west." The hyena female whimpered. "In the caves underneath the waterfall."
Blue studied the other female quietly; not moving a limb as she did so. Coming to her feet she ambled closer to the shaking captives; shooting the others in the head before she came to stop in front of the last living captive.
The female trembled and shivered in fear. "You promised."
Blue placed the gun against the hyena's forehead as she begged and pleaded for mercy. Lowering her head, Blue spoke to the hyena.
"I lie, a lot."
Blue disposed of her as quickly as the rest. Pulling them all into a pile; she wiped the blood coating her hands. The female picked up a backpack; putting weapons and cans of drink she'd gotten from the hyenas into it. Glancing at Sadie, Blue motioned for her to follow; and set off into the forest.
As they walked through the leafy confines of the forest; Sadie couldn't even begin to comprehend and digest the horrors she had just witnessed. She felt disgusted at the thought of one person considering themselves so entitled as to take the life of another. Something they had absolutely no right to. Sadie glanced at the shifter walking alongside her; Blue was humming a tune under her breath. As though she hadn't just taken the lives of eight people in cold blood.
"How do you live with yourself?" Sadie felt sick to her very core.
"Quite happily."
"Blue!" Sadie sighed.
"In fact I'd even go so far as to consider myself; the Lord's gift to this world." Blue spread her arms wide, smirking triumphantly. Spotting Sadie's disbelieving face she rolled her eyes.
"Can we be serious?" Sadie sighed.
"So I killed a few people; big deal. People die all the time; who cares if I offed a few?"
"How could you be so callous about taking lives?"
"They were in my way." Tossing a can of soda at an unsuspecting Sadie; she smirked as the can hit Sadie on the nose. "I like to think of them as collateral damage."
"Blue you really should co-" Sadie couldn't believe the callousness of the female's approach to this matter. Massaging her aching nose; Sadie sighed in relief as the cool liquid quenched her thirst.
Before her wits could comprehend, Blue placed a hand over her mouth; yanking her off the trail they followed and into a large bush. "Blue!" Sadie tried to shriek; but her voice came out muffled and barely audible.
"Hyenas." Blue whispered in her ear. Sadie immediately froze; her limbs turning to lead. "Gonna kill them, wait here."
Sadie clutched onto the female; if she couldn't leave her side, then Blue wouldn't kill another person. As a result of her time with Balthazar, Sadie had managed to forget that not only were shifters superior in strength to humans but were also viscous when the mood struck them; as proven by how easily Blue shrugged off her hold and stepped out the bush.
Sadie cringed as four consecutive gunshots echoed through the forest. This was turning into a bloodbath. A hand clamped onto her elbow and pulled her back out onto the path, Blue started dragging her along; uncaring of the branches smacking Sadie across the face or the tree roots making her trip and stumble. Sadie squeezed her eyes shut as they passed through a few bleeding bodies; but she couldn't help but see the four hyena females lying dead on the ground. Blue could have handled this some other way; rather than shoot four females in the head.
"Almost there." Blue was muttering to herself.
Sadie yelped as she stumbled to her knees, the shifter female's hold didn't falter and she continued dragging her through the forest.
"Shut it." Blue snapped. "We're close."
"Well excuse me if my body's pain receptors are in working order." Sadie yanked her arm out of the death-grip Blue had placed it under and found herself practically growling at the female as she pulled herself to her feet and inspected her wounds. Multiple cuts and scrapes littered her body. Her jeans were torn and her previously white shirt was now covered in green and brown spots.
"Yeah, yeah." Blue pulled her to a tree and quietly manoeuvred a bush out of the way and peered over the branches. "Now listen. I can pick up sounds of multiple people, about a hundred or so feet from here."
"Fine." Grudgingly pushing aside her own problems, Sadie decided to focus on the issue at hand. "And what is our next move?"
"Considering I brought you along, although I could have left you for dead in the forest." Blue sent her a smug smirk. "Me thinks you're finally going to be useful for once."
"And how does you think that?" Sadie snorted.
"You're going to be bait." Blue's smirk turned into a full-blown grin.
"But the hyenas will kill me." Sadie gasped.
"I'm working on that bit." Blue shrugged. "But not much of a loss if you ask me."
"Blue!"
"Always with the whining." Blue looked heavenward as though asking for divine intervention. "You go in as your regular bumbling self, distract them. I will sneak around back and get out Balthazar. Once he's freed, he can leave with you and I will kill people."
"That's not much of a plan. You don't even know what the actual layout of the place is." Sadie crossed her arms and smugly smiled at the shifter.
Blue sent her an imperceptible smirk and glanced onto the pathway they had just vacated. Putting her hands onto Sadie's shoulders, the female leaned closer and whispered into her ear.
"Which is why, in chess; the pawns are sacrificial. " Sadie barely got a moment to comprehend what Blue had said before she was suddenly pushed back. She landed with a loud shriek, her injured body screaming out in protest. Sadie gritted her teeth against the combined pain of the older and newly acquired wounds. She was going to kill Blue.
A throat being cleared roused her from her reverie. Large, black combat boots planted mere feet from her, caught her eye. She gulped as she followed the muscular thighs and torso all the way up to the grim and scarred face contorted into a scowl of lethal proportions.
"Who are you?" He snarled.
"I-I'm he-here f-fo-for bal-Balthaz-zar." Sadie cowered away as the male took a step further.
"You are here for the hybrid?" He bent down.
"Yes?" It killed Sadie inside that her answer hadn't come out as assertive and demanding as she would have liked.
The male let out a loud, booming laugh and clamped a hand onto Sadie's arm and pulled her up roughly. Chuckling to himself he pulled along a fiercely resistant Sadie trying her very best to get out of his hold. A short while later he pulled her out of the shady forest and into a clearing teeming with muscular shifters.
An ancient barn stood surrounded by large trees in the middle of the clearing. Numerous shifters, both male and female loitered about the building; laughing and eating without a care in the world.
"Oi!" The male holding her called out. "A human's here for the hybrid!" The high pitched laughter attributed to hyenas erupted throughout the clearing. Multiple males sauntered over; smiling at her lasciviously.
"A little human here to save the chieftain?" One female sneered as she eyed Sadie in distaste.
"What did the tribe all run away in fear?" A male puffed his chest out as he stepped closer. Too close for comfort, Sadie inched away as much as the brutal grip on her arm would allow.
Blue was right that her presence would create a distraction, from what Sadie could see; all the hyenas had their attention focused solely on her. They were gathering about about her, the men crowding closer and closer. The male holding her pushed them away roughly and she sighed in relief. She finally had breathing room again.
"Back off." He snarled. Judging from how quickly the crowd backed away, she assumed he wielded some sort of authority.
"Thank y-" Sadie could barely get out a word before she was abruptly yanked forward and past the barn and into the other side of the clearing. Whoops and hollers followed in their wake. Dread settled in her heart; something wasn't right.
The male pulled her into the trees and threw her against a tree, effectively knocking the breath out of her. Sadie gasped for precious air as she clutched the tree trunk. He pulled her into his arms; crushing her to him. Sadie wheezed as she desperately tried to catch air. He clamped a hand over her mouth, effectively squashing any sound she could have made. Sadie struggled valiantly, but she knew there was no getting out of this. The shifter was much stronger than her, there was no way she was going to overpower him. He had torn off her jacket and she knew her shirt was going to be next.
Momentarily dislodging his hand from over her mouth, she managed to shout. "Blue!" Where was she?
A loud thud sounded right next to her, the male groping her went still. His hold eased around from her and he fell back, landing on the forest floor. Sadie swivelled about and gaped at the knife sticking out of his forehead.
Blue came to a stop next to her, inspecting her handiwork with a pleased look in her eye.
"Yeah well, I ran out of bullets."