Releasing my storm cloak skill over my weapon, the forest slipped into gloomy darkness. In the absence of light, I quickly became conscious of the warm blood coating my hand and the front of my body, and a tremor snuck into my hands.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to cry.
I wanted to be asleep as if tomorrow would make all of this better.
I knew, though, that I couldn’t pause. I needed to get this girl out of here and bring her back to the group. Maybe then we could figure out why she was running, who the hell those people were, and what fucked up shit they were smoking.
Hastily checking my wounds, I found them slowly leaking a milky white iridescent liquid. As it seeped from my flesh the droplets evaporated, vanishing into the air. Despite what should have been grievous injuries, I actually felt… not fine, exactly, but not terrible. More sprained ankle, less mauled by a crazy bear lady. Even stranger, the blow to my torso was already starting to feel better. I suppose whatever stuff I was made of was resistant to blunt force.
The sound of sniffling brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned to the girl once more. I hastily moved towards her, ignoring my pain as I went. I crouched at her side and started to check her over for any obvious wounds.
“Hi. My name is Vic. We need to get you somewhere safe. Can you walk? Are you injured?”
She swallowed, blinking up at me with watery iridescent cat eyes that caught the dim light of the forest.
“I… I’m okay. I can walk.”
Gently pulling her to her feet, I got a better look at her. She was filthy from her run through the woods and looked exhausted, but otherwise, was unscathed.
The cheetah beastkin had dark chocolate skin and wore a simple white shirt and blue-jean cutoff shorts. Her legs were digitigrade, ending in twin pads with which I imagine she could run with impressive speed. Her hands were similarly fuzzy, with black pads on the end of her fingers and palms as well. Her black hair parted, making way for two twitching rounded ears, and a long thick-looking tail swished behind her.
Dusting some leaves off her back, I asked, “What’s your name?”
“Kaitlyn.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Kaitlyn. I’m glad you’re okay. Before we start running through the forest at night, do you mind if I try something?”
Cautiously, the beastkin nodded her head.
Moving behind her, I reached under her arms and attempted to take off into the air. Unfortunately, it seemed she was too heavy, as at my full strength I could only get a few inches off the ground. I guess we were going to have to walk.
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Fortunately, my Eyes on the Road skill was working to full effect, and I could tell with some degree of certainty that moving at a gentle pace, we could get back to the Garcia’s store in around an hour and a half. The course set I started walking, Kaitlyn slowly following behind.
“We should be able to get out of these woods and to relative safety pretty soon. I have a skill that lets me know the way to go, so just follow me and we’ll be alright.”
“O…okay.”
Her words were brutally quiet, and her tone was heartbreaking, but I knew how dangerous a lack of information could be in a situation like this. If there were two of those psychopaths running around, there were probably more. I decided to give her some time to think and to get used to the action of walking in safety. After around an hour, though, I finally spoke up again.
“Kaitlyn, you don’t need to answer if you don’t want to, but can you try and tell me about those guys who were chasing you? Are there more of them?”
She was quiet for a few breaths, but I could tell she was steeling her resolve.
“I… we went to the police station. I was with my parents. They wanted to get help after everyone… changed. Those… people… were already there. There were maybe ten of them? They were trying to get someone that was hiding inside, someone they called important.
“When they found us, they came at us so fast. We couldn’t talk, couldn’t say anything. They just…”
She paused, and I could hear her steps falter behind me. I turned to see what was wrong.
Tears were readily pouring from her eyes, her shoulders quaking in racking sobs.
“My… my parents… they…”
Rushing to her, I placed my hands against her shoulders, rubbing them lightly. I was no stranger to grief, so I wasn’t blind to how to act. Pain was my teacher. The agony she was feeling an old friend.
“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t need to say anymore, you’ve already helped loads. We’ll get back to everyone and figure this out.”
Her focus turned on getting to safety, we were able to keep moving. I didn’t regret asking her about the situation, despite the pain it caused. It was vital information.
The police station wasn’t all that far away. Before the second wave, it was around four miles. Now, forced to walk there on foot through the forest, it was much further.
That said, it was far too close for comfort, and it seemed possible that someone would come looking for the two I had killed. The system would only make it worse. With the second wave passed, there might even be some type of dog person that could track Kaitlyn’s scent right back to the store. This was a big problem.
We spent the rest of the walk in silence. By the time we got back to the Garcia’s store, everyone in the camp was already starting to wake up, the sun just barely starting to peak over the horizon.
As I stepped into the clearing, I got more than a few concerned stares, likely due to the blood all down my clothes. It didn’t take long for Taylor to come running.
“Vic! What happened? Are you alright?”
“Hey, Taylor. I’m okay, just a bit banged up. This blood… isn’t mine. Is Cindy around? We really need to talk.”
“Of course, but… are you sure you want to talk right now? Do you want to get cleaned up first?”
“That sounds nice. Thanks.”
Taylor led Kaitlyn and me to a cordoned-off area behind the hotel, where curtains had been raised for privacy. Behind the curtains, there were large basins filled with water.
“Taylor, how did we get so much fresh water? Are the mains still running somewhere?”
“No, one of the guys transformed into a Water Nymph! He can pull water from the air almost for free and has been filling just about every container we can find. I’ll head back to grab you two some clothes, and let Cindy know that you need to meet. Come find me at the store when you’re done!”
With a flourish, she turned, leafy gown fluttering through the air all the while.
Kaitlyn was silent for a few moments but eventually turned to me with a confused expression.
“Was she wearing… leaves?”
I released a drawn-out sigh.
“Yeah. Yeah, she was.”