Chapter 11: Back To The Beginning
Sarah's POV:
Jared shifts back to human and says, "Sarah, don't do this, please."
He's begging me to stay when he could just try to restrain me... Why?
I take over and shift back human. I suddenly feel sadness, he did something, but I don't know what.
"What did you do?" I ask. Tears begin to flood my eyes and I don't know why. Thunder suddenly cracks in the sky and simply sets the mood even worse.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Sarah. I can't let you go, please." He responds.
"Why? Why do you want me to stay?" I ask. His face suddenly turns troubled. He doesn't know what to do.
"We're... Look, you're going to get hurt!" He yell's over the sudden rain fall.
"What do you care?!" I shout back. I'm beginning to get angry.
"D*** it Sarah! Just stay!" He yells.
"Screw you, Jared!" I yell back.
I shift and take off running. The vibration in the ground confirms he's chasing after me. If I can run far enough, I can get away because the rain is blinding us both, as well as it is hiding our scent.
Cat's are known for speed, so I hope I can do this. I push myself as hard as I can and run faster.
A few minutes later the sounds and feel of his footsteps are gone. I stop and hit the ground. My stamina still isn't all there. I breathe hard while the rain beats down on me from above.
Now that the adrenaline rush is gone, I'm beginning to freeze. I suddenly hear howls break out in the distance. He told the other Wolves.
For some reason this causes hurt and betrayal to flood through my chest. I guess I forgot that I'm nothing but a Rouge to him. I guess I should have expected it. What bothers me is why I thought he saw more in me.
I begin to run again, but this time slower. About an hour later I make it to a small cave. I run inside and go to the very back. They won't find me in here.
Exhaustion sets in the longer I sit motionless. I eventually give in and fall asleep.
-----
I wake up and look around. The cave is cold and damp. My body aches from sleeping on the hard rock. I sit up and look towards the entrance. The sun is shinning through.
I slowly make my way to the entrance and wince at the bright sun. The air is fresh and nice, it's something I haven't felt in a while.
I pull my bag off of my back and open it. The leather kept everything safe. I pull out the file and go through it. You're kidding me.
I left the map to Hubbard under the bed. I groan and lean my head on the cave wall. I've got everything but the map and I don't know where to go. I could go to the city for a map from my brother's house, but I don't have a death wish.
For once in my life, I feel like giving up and just sitting here. Anything that can go wrong, has gone wrong. I push the sudden feelings away and take a deep breath, once again trying to take hold of the situation.
I try my hardest to remember the map. All I remember is that Hubbard is towards the North. I come out of the cave and look up at the sky. If the sun rises in the East then...
I point my finger at the sun and try to estimate the Northern direction. After facing the right way, I grab my bag and begin to walk. This is the only chance I have on getting to Hubbard.
-----3 Days Later-----
I've been fortunate on not running into any Wolves. I know that Jared is more than likely looking for me. Why he's looking for me? I don't know. I've traveled at least an estimate of 180 miles. I know I'm well past the West Mountain Pack territory, but I still get paranoid sometimes.
My full power is now back and I'm free. I haven't caught one whiff of my brother. The forest scene seems to never change and it's getting old. I was always a country person, but this makes me miss the city.
I'm about to rest, but then I hear at least six men talking. Here we go, right back to the beginning. I quickly climb a tree and stay as silent as possible. I watch below as they come closer. Oh no, they'll pick up my scent.
I can smell them, they're not from the West Pack. Maybe that rumor is true, there's another pack. But I still have Jared's scent on me. They'll take me as a threat.
I watch below as they stop talking and start looking around. Don't look up, don't look up, don't look up... Then the blonde one looks up.
I mumble a few swear words and he yells and points. I should have brought a weapon.
He aims a gun and I quickly stand on the branch and put my hands up in surrender, "Whoa, whoa, hold up. I'm coming down."
I begin to slowly make my way down. The blonde one keeps the gun pointed at me the whole time. I jump down the last ten feet and land perfectly.
"Bind her." He say's.
"Now hold off a minute Hasselhoff, I don't mean any harm." I tell him.
"You have the West scent all over you, Rouge." He announces. Because of Jared, they think I'm a Wolf instead of a Cat. A West Mountain Wolf.
"Look, it's not what you-" I don't get a chance to say anything more. One grabs me from behind and ties my hands.
Hasselhoff, that will be his name, grabs me when he's done and slings me over his shoulder.
"Let go of me Hasselhoff!" I yell, as I attempt to kick him in the face. He grabs my legs and holds on tight. I growl in frustration. Wait a minute, these binds are lined in silver for Wolves, not for Cat's.
I pull as hard as I can and they snap. I sling backwards off of his shoulder and I fall to the ground. I run, shifting in the process. They still chase me.
Apparently I went the wrong direction. I run into a Village and I come to a stop. The population of the fairly large Village watches me in shock. Something hard hits my back and I hit the ground. I shift and once he gets me turned over he hits me in the jaw.
I growl out and he yanks me up, binding me with the right rope this time. I spin around as soon as his grip loosens and swing my leg up, earning him a good kick in the face.
That's when I freeze...