I stand there, frozen like a deer in the headlights while the man and his friends stare at me for a moment. Who was he? His chilling comment about the forest containing wolves is a dead giveaway that he is not like me. Is he a vampire? My mind swirls with questions as the man stares at me with a crooked smile. He finally ties my wrists together with another scratchy rope.
"Babyface will be pleased with our catch." He grunts to his friends as he finally yanks the rope, dragging me behind him. My feet drag in the dirt, but I comply and walk quietly behind him.
We walk further away from where Russell and Addison had set up camp. Anxiety pricks at my insides at the thought of them being captured too.
"This is the third one this week." One of the other men pipes up, looking behind his shoulder at me. I shoot my eyes into the dirt to avoid his gaze.
I need to find a way to free myself of this rope and get back to Addison and Russell. They had to be looking for me.
I bring my gaze back up to the small mass of men. There are four of them in total. They are all burley fellows and wear heavy gear. They carry long machete blades and there is fur attached to the rims of their boots.
The man carrying my rope has a medium build, but he is a wide man. I could probably take him, though. It's his friends that I worry about.
I stay a good distance behind him. Every once in a while he would yank the rope to pull me closer.
"We'll check the rest of the traps at daybreak. Wolves always travel in packs and this one was alone." One of the bigger men grunt.
That means they could find Addison and Russell. A chill runs up my arms.
I pull my arms up, yanking the rope towards me. I bring my leg up at the same moment and fiercely kick the man in the back. He grunts and the rope slips from his hands. I watch him face plant into the dirt before I whip around and dart into the darkness at full speed.
I hear angry shouts behind me followed by crunchy footsteps. I don't know if I will make it back to Addison. I keep pushing my burning legs to run further, but I am slowly running out of energy from the long day. I hide behind a wide tree with sharp bark.
I guess it is a good thing that we spent our childhood climbing trees in the Autumn pack. I was one of the best climbers out of all the pups. I would always hide in the trees during hide and seek. Chances are, the person seeking you never thinks to look up. I shake the happy memory away with a sad smile and focus on the darkness ahead.
I try my best to steady my breathing as I look into the branches above me. I grab onto the wood and heave myself up as high as I can go. The bark is tough on my skin, but it does not penetrate the barrier.
It is only seconds of silence before I hear loud boots tramping towards me. A torch wooshes through the air and I can see the warm glow in the distance as it slowly creeps towards me.
"Oh Bambi..." the chilling bellows of my captor call into the darkness. "Quit playing games, Doll Face, I don't bite." He coaxes.
I watch his shadowed figure walk towards my tree. His beige shirt is now scuffed with damp soil from his fall. In the light of the torch I catch a glimpse of a long red scar tattooed over the left side of his face. He has a golden hoop pierced into his opposing eyebrow. He finally stops at the base of the tree.
The person seeking you never thinks to look up. The person seeking you never thinks to look up.
I take a silent breath.
The man turns in a small circle, using his torch to illuminate the darkness.
"If you don't show yourself, I am just going to have to find you." He whispers. A remark daring me to give him the sweet chase he craves. My heart pounds.
A soft breeze rattles the leaves of the trees.
The man whips his torch back towards the tree.
My heart beats faster.
It was a full sixty seconds of agonizing silence before he finally turns and walks in the other direction. I take in a huge breath of air and let it out.
I jump down from the branches, landing with a pronounced thud. I peer around the large tree, looking for any sign of the four men searching the woods. The coast appears to be clear. I let out a sigh of relief and begin to walk back in the direction of where I last saw Addi and Russell.
A few minutes of walking go by before I hear a rustling behind me. I whip around, ready for a fight. My heart is already on overdrive from my previous game of hide and seek. There is nothing behind me but the trees I have already passed. I let out a breath and continue my paranoid walk down the long dirt path.
A moment later I hear a whoosh of wind and suddenly feel a stinging pain in my left shoulder. I look over my shoulder to see a bright green dart filled with the same lime colored liquid. It quickly drains into my shoulder before I can rip it out. Footsteps pound closer.
"You didn't think you could escape me did you, Bambi?" The man's voice echoes into my ears. I turn around to face him, the world lagging in my vision.
I throw the dart towards him. He moves his head to the side, dodging it with ease. His large hands grab both of my shoulders.
"Slow down, Doll Face, don't waste up all of your energy." he says with a sickly smile. He brings a sausage hand up to brush the hair out of my face. My vision blurs with his feverish touch and I see his head split into two.
Hunters. It has to be. The dart resembles the metal object that was lodged in Tyler's neck.
My legs buckle and he follows me to the ground. "We haven't officially met, I'm Dylan." he grins, picking me up and cradling me. I try my hardest to fight the effects of the dart. I force my head to stand and weakly kick my legs. Dylan tightens his grip and begins to carry me away.
"H...help" I try to scream, but my words are a hoarse whisper. I am completely helpless as I try to fight the drug in my system.
We finally reach the other men who bicker on like nothing happened. My head finally falls onto Dylan's shoulder as my body loses all motivation.
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My eyes finally peel open, my legs feeling numb from being carried for so long. The first thing I notice is the amount of rumbling voices creeping closer. I lift my heavy head just as Dylan carries me underneath a large archway.
It is carved entirely out of deep logs. Symbols are etched into the sides of the archway– pictures of wolves. The top of the archway is covered in twine that has been carefully wrapped around it. Alarms go off in my head as I dare look in front of me.
An entire camp of shirtless savages, maybe thirty or so, all slowly creep towards Dylan, their eyes fixated directly on me. Some hold torches, others carefully grip their knives. One thing the men all have in common is poor dental work and scraggly, untrimmed beards.
Dylan carries me further into the hunters' territory towards a large wooden stage. We walk past the tattooed men, who slowly follow behind with dangerously curious eyes. A few of the men give me creepy grins, while others call out for me.
As we approach the wooden stage, I catch a glimpse of a single man sitting on a throne of carved wood. He lounges lazily, picking the dirt from his nails with a small knife. He is less muscular than the rest of the savages, and a bit more pale. He is still a fit man, but he has a slender build. I notice that he also looks very young. Like those high school teenagers who haven't finished puberty yet. I quickly make the connection to whom Dylan was referring to when he used the term "Babyface".
Dylan stops at the base of the stage, his grip on my legs tightening as if I was about to attempt an escape.
"Kai." Dylan requests the young man's attention.
Babyface, or Kai I guess is his formal name, brings his gaze to Dylan. His eyes drift to mine and he licks a smile onto his pale lips. Kai slides out of his throne and makes a slow walk to the end of the stage with both hands behind his back.
"Dylan, I see you have done something right." Kai jokes in a thick English accent. Dylan finally releases me to the ground as Kai looks me up and down. My legs feel like jello, but I try my hardest not to show it.
"I told you the traps would work." Dylan grumbles under his breath.
"Yeah, and we're going to check the others at daybreak. Wolves travel in packs, ya know." One of the men pipes up behind us, as if to impress Kai.
"I say we use her as bait. Lure out the rest of the pack." A new man with a booming voice says next to my ear. I can't help but flinch and Kai clearly notices.
He takes a step closer to me and my eyes immediately shoot to the ground. I can feel the heat of his gaze on me.
"We should just probe her like we did with the alpha." His words ignite a flame inside of me.
He is talking about Tyler. He has to be.
"I would be careful with this one, Babyface, she's slippery." Dylan interjects, wrapping a large hand around my bicep.
All I can focus on is finding a way out of here. I am not currently bound to any rope. Dylan has proved to be a large enough man to have his weight used against him. But this camp is rather large. I would have to be not only crafty, but quick with my escape.
"The women always tend to run away from you, Dylan." Kai says with a smirk, gaining a bellowing laughter from the rest of the camp.
I take the noise as an opportunity to look around at my surroundings. Many of the men have dispersed back to different parts of the camp. The exit to the camp is a solid hundred foot dash from the stage. There are four men who could intercept me.
Two of the men work on a large anvil, beating the metal of their blades into submission. To the left of the entrance is a large tent with a swirl of smoke coming out of it. I assume it is used for the drying and storage of meat.
"Just put her in a cell for now. I am still open to the probing idea." Babyface waves a dismissive hand.
Dylan nods and releases my bicep. He places a hand on my back to give me a gentle shove to start moving.
It's now or never. I bring a pointy elbow back to knock Dylan in the jaw. He stumbles back as soon as I propel my body forwards towards the archway. I take large steps with my eyes on the target.
That is, until my path is suddenly blocked by a random savage. I slam the brakes on my fast feet and quickly alter my route. The large man with ugly pointed teeth reaches a chubby arm out for me, but I am too quick. A finger wraps around the sleeve of my shirt but it rips from my momentum. I stumble over my feet but manage to avoid falling into the mud.
I hear alerted shouts ring in my ears as I bolt towards the red tent. Another arm reaches out to grab me but I quickly duck and roll through the cloth doorway of the tent.
I stand on my feet in time to make an uncomfortable eye contact with a man in the middle of gutting a pig. He wears a bloody white apron along with a look of shock. His bushy eyebrows immediately furrow together as he tightens his grip on the blade.
He takes a step forward as I take a step back.
Yeah, no, I prefer Dylan over this critter.
I spin on my feet and run out of the tent. I slam into a hard body as soon as I exit the red tent. I feel a cold hand through my now-bare arm and look into the eyes of the King of the Savages.
"Slow down there, Dearie." Kai glows with perfect white teeth and a haunting expression.
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Updated Chapter*
New villain alert! What do you guys think?