Austin
No one was willing to leave Chris there alone. We all pulled up chairs and sat there in silence for the most part. I could tell Izzy wasn't in the mood to talk so I didn't even bother to make conversation. I tried to talk with Mary but every time I opened my mouth to say something, Drew shot me a menacing glare which shut me up in an instant.
It was a long night, to say the very least.
It wasn't until nearly sunrise when Chris still hadn't woken that everyone gradually began dispersing from the infirmary. Mary and Dakota both had to check back in with their families and those two refused to let Drew stay here with us alone, much to my relief. Soon enough, it was only Izzy and me who were left.
For the past two hours, Izzy had been drifting in and out of consciousness. It wasn't until she nearly fell out of her chair that I tried to get her to go.
"Come on, let's go," I urged her. "You look like you're in a horror movie."
Either the insult flew right over her head or she was just too tired to care. Either way, I avoided a bullet right there.
"Chris... Chris shouldn't have to wake up to be by himself, not after everything he's been through."
Rolling my eyes at her stubbornness, I grabbed her hands and helped haul her up from the chair. She stumbled to her feet but managed to regain her footing within a few seconds which was a surprise to me. Izzy wasn't exactly the type of person to work well with little to no sleep; I wouldn't be surprised if she was having difficulty walking.
"Iz," I said sternly. "Go back and sleep. If it means so much to you, I'll stay here and wait for Chris to wake up. Deal?"
She hesitated, but even she knew when to give in. After nodding slowly, Izzy turned and made her way out of the infirmary, dragging her feet as she walked. It wasn't until after she was out of sight that I managed to let out a sigh of relief. She definitely had to have been exhausted to agree with me of all people.
I never meant to fall asleep, I really didn't, but the second I plopped back down into one of the many empty chairs surrounding Chris, my eyes fluttered closed and I was out before I even realized what I was doing. I may function better than Izzy under these circumstances, but I was still just as human.
I'm not quite sure exactly how long I was out for, but the sun was up and brightly shining when I finally woke back up. I probably would've slept longer if I wasn't woken by the shuffling coming from Chris' bed. Opening my eyes, I noticed that he was just about awake.
He tentatively rubbed his groggy eyes before sitting up in bed. He almost seemed confused about where he currently was until his eyes landed on me and the empty chairs surrounding his bed.
"I did something stupid last night, didn't I?" he asked me, his words slightly muffled by a yawn.
I grinned. "How's that hangover feeling?"
"Like someone just hit me in the head with a sledgehammer," he muttered. "I have some idea of what happened last night, but I'm really hoping it was all just a bad dream."
My grin slowly faded and I realized that now that it was just me, I had to be the bearer of bad news.
"If it's about the thing with Charlie, then no. That really happened."
His hands curled into fists and he threw his arm over his eyes, shielding his face from view. I felt bad for the guy, I really did. I didn't know him all that well yet, but I knew he didn't deserve this; didn't deserve losing his sister. No one, no matter who it was, deserved losing a sibling.
"I'll never forgive him for this," he managed to choke out, his voice cracking.
"Look," I said with a sigh, "I don't know Charlie's side of things and even though what he did was just plain cruel, I doubt he did it just for the hell of it. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to make reckless decisions."
"He gave up my sister's life to protect the town instead of just fighting back. He's nothing more than a coward."
"That's pretty shitty, but I wouldn't call it cowardly."
"What?"
His head whipped forward and his black eyes bore into mine. I gulped nervously, still not adjusted to how terrifying werewolves' eyes were.
"I-I just mean that making a decision like that isn't easy. Charlie made the choice that no one else was willing to make. I may not know him, but I think he took it upon himself so he would be the person to carry such a heavy burden."
"Yeah, you're right," he said bitterly. "You don't know him."
I knew there was no way I was going to win this argument when he was still so upset about it so I kept my mouth shut. I couldn't blame him for being as pissed as he was, but he was letting it blind him. That's something I never wanted to do.
"I'll drop the subject for now, but I have one last thing to say," I told him and he grunted in acknowledgment. "Liam gave his life to save yours and although I don't blame you for that, you better not make it all for nothing by pulling more stupid shit like last night."
Right then was one of the few times in my life where I was dead serious and even Chris could tell. He didn't like showing it, but I think deep down he was guilty that Liam gave his life for him and I was more than prepared to make it so that my brother's final efforts were worth it, even if it meant using Chris' pent-up guilt against him.
Chris never got the chance to respond. At that moment, Izzy came barging inside the infirmary completely breathless. She didn't even take a second to stop and catch her breath.
"Austin, I need you!" she said urgently.
"Damn, Iz, kind of a weird place to confess your love to me," I teased, not realizing how important it really was.
"Austin!" she snapped. "This is serious! The guys are about to head into the woods to try and spy on the Hunters."
That sentence alone was the epitome of stupidity, and that's coming from me. I scrambled out of my seat, nearly tripping over my own two feet in the process, and ran out of the infirmary right behind Izzy, leaving Chris lying there dazed and most likely confused.
A minute longer and we would've been too late. The guys were nearly about to leave the Grove when we reached them, Izzy being a little too aggressive for my liking.
"Wait!" she ordered, seeming furious at them. "I told you before not to leave until I came back."
Bryan wadded his way through the small crowd of males, voluntarily being the one to attempt to make peace with her.
"I know, I'm sorry, but you do realize that the Hunters won't be in the forest much longer, right? If we can go now and spy on them before they leave, we might be able to find out if they intend on coming after us," he reasoned.
"We don't need to spy on them to know that answer," she countered which was true enough.
They definitely weren't planning on just stopping after Liam and if we returned home, we would become nothing more than sitting ducks to them.
"I don't know about you two, but I don't want to just sit here in this town where we obviously don't belong waiting for the day the Hunters forget about us. If we can just get some shred of information on what their next moves might be, no matter how dangerous it is, don't you think it's worth it?"
As much as I didn't want to admit it, Bryan was right and Izzy knew it too. Hiding from them wasn't going to do us any good; we needed to fight back, but we couldn't do that without any information.
"Fine," Izzy hesitantly agreed, "but I'm coming with you guys."
"You know you can't come, Izzy," Bryan said, his tone growing exasperated.
"And why is that?" she snapped, crossing her arms.
"Because you're, well, uh, a-"
"-a girl," Kevin finished.
I tried my hardest to conceal my laughter, but a few chuckles managed to slip out. Anger was practically radiating off of Izzy at this point and the others knew how badly they screwed up with that statement.
"I just mean that you'll stand out since there are no girls in the Hunters," Bryan quickly reasoned. "We're hoping that with just us, we can blend in and hope they won't recognize us."
It made enough sense and just went to show how much Izzy worries over the smallest of things. This was a good plan as long as they were careful not to get caught. If they succeeded, we might finally have an advantage over the Hunters. Nevertheless, Izzy still didn't seem completely sold.
"If I can't go, then Austin will go in my place," she finally said.
"What?" the others and I asked in unison.
I definitely never agreed to this little plan of hers but that didn't appear to faze her. The last thing I felt like doing after spending a long night in the infirmary was going on a long trek in the woods, yet something told me I wasn't going to have a say in the matter.
"He's a male so it shouldn't pose any problems," she said with smug innocence.
Bryan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Honestly, I couldn't blame him. Izzy's persistence on this matter was getting far too annoying for my liking.
"That is true, but even Austin is too recognizable amongst the Hunters. The whole plan would be ruined if they spotted him."
"Well, I guess you'll all just have to find a way to keep him hidden, won't you?" she snapped.
"Um, guys," I spoke up nervously. "Don't I get a say in any of this?"
"No," everyone said in unison.
Sighing, I stepped back and let the others sort everything out, both sides raising their voices more than once. Sure, the guys made a good argument, but their fate was sealed the second they decided to try going against Izzy's ruling. If there's anything I learned over the years it's never to disagree with her.
"Either you take him with you, or you don't go at all."
She finally managed to back them into a corner, one that they were incapable of escaping. All they could do was accept her terms now if they wished to do anything. Bryan hesitated, taking the time to think it over before finally giving his answer.
"Alright, Austin can come too."
It was obvious Izzy truly feared the worse when she sent someone as crazy and irresponsible as me to stop a group of people from making crazy and irresponsible decisions. I only hoped that whatever she was so afraid of wouldn't come to pass. We've suffered so much already; no need to enlarge the wounds anymore.
After they agreed, Izzy quickly pulled me off to the side where we were out of earshot from them. I was ready to chew her out for volunteering me for something I didn't want to do, but the look of fear on her face was enough to keep my mouth shut.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
"Please, Austin," she begged. "For once in your life, don't be reckless or careless. I have a really bad feeling about this so make sure you keep yourself and the others a safe distance from the Hunters."
I nodded and chewed on my lip, the realization of how dangerous this was finally hitting me. Whatever happened, I needed to get back to the Grove. No matter how tempting it was to bash in the Hunters' faces, I needed to get back.
I shot her a reassuring grin. "No worries, Iz, of course I'll be coming back. Who else will annoy you if I'm not around?"
I managed to crack her worried expression, even if it was only for a moment, and she let out a small laugh. "Yeah, you better..."
With a final hug, I parted ways with her and followed the guys out of the town. Although, it wasn't until I stepped foot out of the protection the Grove offered that I realized just how helpless I truly was.
* * *
It was a long walk, to say the least. I honestly don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't something as boring as this. No one uttered a single word and I was too exhausted to start it up this time around. It was already taking all the strength I had to not curl up on top of a patch of grass and take a long nap.
I was so tired that I didn't even notice when Bryan, who led the group, raised up a hand in signal for us to stop. I nearly walked right past him in a sleepy daze before he grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me back.
"I think I hear them up ahead," he whispered, before nodding at us to keep moving.
We only managed to move up a couple of feet before a twig snapped loudly under my weight, causing all of us to freeze in fear of being heard. Everyone shot glares at me and I rolled my eyes. Even after all the years spent hiking in the forest, I've never claimed to be the best at it, nor the most stealthy.
"How 'bout you just stay back and be our lookout?" Bryan asked me.
No matter how nicely he put it, it was obvious none of them wanted me there which I honestly couldn't blame them for. I quickly nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead, guys. I was hoping I could be the lookout anyway," I feigned, relieved when they actually bought it.
I stood there for a few moments after they went ahead, waiting for them to get a good enough lead before slowly making my way after them. They were more stupid than I realized if they actually believed I was going to stay back while they approached the Hunters. I promised Izzy that I would keep them and myself safe. I wasn't one to go back on promises.
I tried my damn hardest to keep myself from making too much noise which I actually succeeded in for once. I was practically making no noise at all as I trailed them. As amazing as it was, my faith in myself was beginning to waver and I was more than grateful when they finally stopped. I hid behind a tree as Kevin scanned the area, narrowly avoiding being caught by him. It wasn't until he turned back around that I gathered the courage to take a few steps forward, and boy was I shocked when I saw what happened:
They walked right out in sight of the Hunters.
I nearly ran right out from my hiding to try and stop them, but I was happy that I didn't. After all, their lives were in no way at risk.
"It took you long enough," Jack said casually to Bryan, who merely sighed.
"Sorry about that, we had some troubles-"
"Never mind that, what did you find out about the town?"
Bryan's expression immediately turned to one of concern. "We were wrong about the werewolves. There's way more than just one thousand of them - I'd say, at the very least, five thousand and most of them are trained in combat."
"Are you doubting our abilities?" Jack inquired.
Bryan flinched in response to the question. All eyes on him and it was obvious how nervous he felt despite how hard he tried to disguise it.
"Of course not, but I want to ensure you understand what we're going up against."
"If I didn't know any better, Bryan, I would think you were trying to scare us away from attacking the werewolves. Perhaps you still have a soft spot for the Rescuers?"
Bryan stood dumbfounded at that statement and his anger that he was trying so hard to contain was finally boiled over.
"Are you doubting where my loyalties lie? After everything I did for you? Without my information, you would've never had the chance to kill Liam Stone!"
My heart skipped a beat and my mouth suddenly grew very dry. My brother's death was Bryan's fault? The person who we both considered a friend murdered him? Tears burned in my eyes at the realization of it all. My fingernails dug into the bark of the tree that kept me hidden from sight and it took every last ounce of sense I had in me to stop myself from running in front of them and attacking that asshole myself.
Jack merely chuckled. "No need to get so worked up, I was only joking. I do appreciate the concern, but we are more than capable of defeating the werewolves with our numbers and the help of our new weapons."
New weapons? That was enough to momentarily forget about my anger. What new weapons could they possibly have gotten? It would need to be something powerful, way out of their range when it comes to price, or at least something highly effective against werewolves. Something like-
"I still don't understand how you plan to raise enough money to afford everyone silver weapons," Bryan said.
"All in due time you'll see. I still have some tricks up my sleeve; something Izzy and those pathetic werewolves will never see coming."
Bryan and the other - well, former - Rescuers shuffled their feet nervously at the mention of Izzy, bringing attention to themselves.
"What? Did something happen?" Jack snapped impatiently.
"Well," Kevin started, "Izzy stopped us just before we were able to leave the town."
Jack took a huge breath of air, no doubt to calm himself, and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Please don't tell me Izzy is somewhere here right now."
"No," Bryan piped up, "but Austin Stone is. We left him a couple hundred feet back "
Jack still seemed annoyed by the inconvenience but wasn't as angry before. Obviously, he made the mistake of assuming I'm not as much of a threat.
"Fine, we'll cut this short then. You are to go back to that wretched town and say you heard nothing out of the ordinary to lower their guard, but make sure the Rescuers don't leave. If this works out, we'll kill two birds with one stone."
"We can do that, and we'll try to keep you up to date with anything important that happens."
Jack nodded and turned to David who was absentmindedly twirling his dagger between his fingers, appearing bored with the current situation.
"Since he's already saved us the trouble of finding him ourselves, would you go take care of Austin for me?"
David revealed a wicked grin, showing just how twisted he truly was. "With one brother out of the way, it's only fitting to put the other one down."
I gulped. As much as I wanted my revenge, even I knew how heavily weighed the odds were against me, especially when my opponents all wouldn't have a second thought about killing me. I promised Izzy I would come back and I wasn't about to break that, even if it meant letting my opportunity of revenge slip right past me.
Taking a step back, I made the worse mistake possible. My attention was so focussed on the Hunters in front of me that I didn't even bother to look where I was stepping. The second I put my weight into my foot, a loud snap rang throughout the forest and every single pair of eyes locked onto me in an instant.
Shit.