Chapter 2

Lottie’s POV    

The day Caren started her menstrual period was the day she developed some magical powers. She could grow plants and heal small wounds. Over the years, her power grew. Now she could make a small breeze and cast a small safety barrier around herself. She occasionally used it when we were fighting. She had her own built-in defense weapon. When I started menstruating, I had abdominal cramps and a need to lie down. Mom would give me some homemade herbal tablets to help me relax.   

Mom didn’t allow us to have friends growing up. We were unpredictable, and I was moody. Mom sometimes gave me a pill to help me calm down. She told me it was herbal, but I didn’t care as long as it helped. We couldn’t risk anyone finding out who we truly were. So, it was Caren and I growing up. She was all I really needed, anyway.     

Since I was young, I have been physically fast and strong compared to Caren. As I got older, I got faster, stronger and more protective of my family. I knew of supernatural creatures, but mom’s knowledge was limited. She couldn’t tell us much, other than about witches, of course. I started training with Caren every day after school, so that she could learn to protect herself when I wasn’t around. As well as allowing me to burn off some excess energy. Caren would train magically afterwards.    

One thing mom encouraged me to do over the years was to run. I always had to keep a tracker on my phone, so she knew where I was. She encouraged me to go as far and as fast as I could, pushing myself daily. I took all my frustrations out during that run. I have had a lot of frustrations over the years. I always had to be home by 11pm, though.    

Nowadays, I average about 20-30 miles a night. It helps me, mentally and physically. I hate going to that hell hole of a school. But mom said she needed us to mingle with humans to keep us hidden, appearing to live a normal life and not attract attention to ourselves.   

We lead a quiet life in a small house miles away from everyone and a few miles from the woods, which is my favorite place to run. It is about 4 miles from where I live. Just being in there calmed me, though. There are so many routes I can take, which lead to a variety of places.      

When I turned 16, I started hearing a voice in my head. I assumed it was my wolf, but I didn’t know for definite, as I had no one to ask. So, I put it down to my senses being sharpened. This voice guides me and alerts me whenever danger is near. I am never worried about going near a cliff edge or running near animals, as my inner voice would warn me. There were often people in the woods, but I never noticed until my sense of smell improved when I was 16. They smelled kind of funny, but I always managed to avoid them.      

After my crappy day with Amber, Caren took my backpack and told me to go. I think she sensed I needed to blow off some steam. I knew what she meant and that she would explain things to our mom. I was already dressed for my run, so once the school day was over, I turned on my tracker app and off I went.  

I got to the woods in no time. The school was 3 miles from home. It was like I blinked, and I had run the 7 miles. I must have zoned out or something. I do that sometimes. I went into the woods as usual. I had a couple of routes I liked to take, and the voice in my head usually letting me know if I had to stay away from a certain spot. Nothing today, so I went straight. About 9 miles later, I felt like I had goosebumps on my skin, but my voice was silent. It must be my imagination or stress.    

I carried on running for another mile when I noticed several scents in the woods. More than I had ever sensed before, which is strange. Still nothing from my inner voice, though. My head and my senses felt detached right then.   

I carried on as usual. Maybe I was just worked up after my crappy day, but I needed to get rid of my frustrations. Then I heard a scream. It was piercing and hollow. I ran, heading in the direction I heard it come from. It was probably a hiker who had fallen and needed help. “Slow down, be cautious.” My voice told me.    

I knew the area where the sound was coming from. It was a valley. I ran past it frequently. I crept to the edge and looked over. There was a bonfire, with at least 6 men around it. There were also three cages, with the door raised on one of them. Two of the cages had people in them. What the hell? I asked myself.     

A man was dragging a girl to an empty cage. She was resisting when another man came to help him. He held something over her mouth and her body went limp. He raised the door of one cage and threw her, letting the door drop afterwards.    

There was another scream from the woods behind me. “Help her, help them.” I ran into the woods, which is where I found them. She was about my age, small and skinny, dressed in a mini skirt and a camisole. Why would you wear clothes like that in the woods?      

He towered above her must have been over 6ft 5 feet in height and looked like he needed a bloody good wash. She lashed out at him, but he just laughed. She didn’t stand a chance. He punched her in the face. I could see blood from her mouth flying through the air. She fell to the ground and didn’t move. He had either knocked her unconscious or killed her.   

He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. I knew then she was unconscious. He wouldn’t have bothered if she was dead. He started walking towards the valley. I hid behind a tree until he passed. “Help her, help them.” This voice of mine is going to get me in trouble or killed. I was trying to assess the situation when I just shouted, “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”      

 He spun around, dropped the girl to the ground like I had caught him, red-handed. He took a fighting stance with his fists raised. But when he saw me, he laughed. “You’re not exactly my size, but I will take you as well, two girls in one trip, my lucky night.” I felt physically sick and shuddered at the thought of him touching me.   

He charged towards me, but I knew I was fast and dodged out of his way at the last minute. He ran straight into a tree, head butting it. I laughed. “What a stupid place to put a tree in the middle of the woods. Someone should have warned you, pal, the woods are full of them.”      

He growled, he growled? He must be a wolf. I have been told about wolves but never met one before. Is he a dumb one or are they all the same? He turned his head towards me, grinding his teeth as blood poured from his forehead. He ran at me again. “Duck.” I ducked and maneuvered out of his reach. I started punching him in the stomach, but he didn’t even flinch.     

“My turn.” He snarled angrily. He lunged at me again but slipped on a load of rocks. I figured he was stronger, but I was faster.     

Mom always told me though, that it’s not about their size, it’s about your abilities and to never back down, it’s not in your blood. He ran towards me and tried to punch me in the face. “Duck” were the words I heard in my head. I ducked under his arms. We were back-to-back, turning immediately, jumped on his calf, pulling his hairy head back and slamming it on the floor. I jumped away from him in front of the unconscious girl.   

He let out a loud growl, blood pouring from the back of his head, as well as the front now. My mouth has a world of its own sometimes, and I shouted at him. “The only way you are going to kill me is with your rank breath, seriously pal, have you ever heard of toothpaste?”       

Just because he was bigger than me didn’t mean I was going to be intimidated by him. I knew I couldn’t hurt him physically, but I could use my speed and his weight against him. He lunged at me. “Jump.” I jumped over his head, landing on the back of his neck, thrusting him forward. His head landed on a rock, jolting his head backwards. I heard a tremendous crack.     

Then he didn’t move. He didn’t move because he was dead. I killed him. I felt sick, the sound of his neck cracking, his smell or the thought that I had just killed him. But I told myself it was him or me, it was self-defense.   

The unconscious girl was still lying on the floor. She should be my concern, not justifying how I murdered someone. Especially when he was trying to kill me.   

I needed to get her some help. I suspected that there were other people in the woods. So, I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. She was taller than me but was light, thankfully. I ran forward, like her life depended on it, like all of those kids in those cages’ lives depended on it. To be honest, I truly believed they did at that point. Why was no one helping them? How has no one noticed so many kids missing?     

 I ran for miles before I sensed anything. “Trust him,” What? Who? My inner voice is working overtime tonight, but I can sense someone is there.     

“Hello” I shouted. No answer. “Hello.” I shouted again.    

Eventually, a man came from a tree. He was buck naked. Why was he naked? He was so much taller than me, tanned, muscular, with dark hair and dark eyes. If the circumstances had been different, I would have been drooling. How did that tree hide him? What was he doing behind there, naked?        

I threw the girl on the floor in front of him. I was trying to catch my breath by this point. He bent down towards her. I had never seen a naked man before in real life and didn’t know where to look, so I focused on his eyes, which were dreamy to look into.     

“She needs help, she was attacked. Someone drugged and caged the others. I have to go get them. Can you take her somewhere safe?” He looked at me strangely and nodded. My inner voice said I could trust him. So, I guess I should.    

I turned and ran towards the valley, those poor kids, drugged and caged like animals. What are they doing to them? It’s not like anybody else has noticed they are missing. I may be their only chance.