Chapter 195
Yorick:
We ran with our heads snapping around, constantly checking to make sure no one was coming after us. I carried Oriana, who was bleeding from her mouth like she might die. I had never seen her in such a terrible state before. At one point, she even passed out.
I rushed into the woods, realizing they were probably the safest place at the moment. The forest stretched out endlessly. The problem was, even if we found a dry area, we could only start a fire if it wasn’t too damp. Or maybe there was a better plan.
“Jack, right over there!” I yelled as I looked around and saw only Jack with me. Oriana had passed out, so I carried her while running, desperate to find a safe place. That’s when I spotted a narrow ravine hidden between the trees. The opening was tight, no wider than the space between two boulders pressed against each other, and it dropped into a dark, rocky passage.
“We can fit through!” I shouted, already pushing toward it. Jack followed as I squeezed inside, pressing Oriana against me to keep her safe. The stone walls scraped against my shoulders, but the space was just wide enough for us to slide in.
We were stuck together in a standing position, the space so tight it pressed us on all sides. The sun was still out, but a single patch of cloud drifted overhead, and when it reached us, everything turned darker.
Then we heard them. At least two Wendigos. They crept closer, their claws scraping at the edges of the ravine, but the gap was too narrow for them to enter. Their snarls echoed outside as we pushed ourselves deeper into the crevice, the walls closing in around us but keeping us safe.
Our breathing grew heavy. We had no idea where the others had gone, and I could only hope Clementine was safe. She was a fighter, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about her.
“The fuck are these things?” Jack grunted, gently tapping his forehead against the wall.
We could barely breathe. The space was crushingly tight.
However, the Wendigos didn’t linger for long. The clouds disappeared, and so did the Wendigos. We were left standing there, waiting for the right moment to come out.
“Your chick was left outside. You must be worried,” Jack commented, making me roll my eyes.
“She’ll be fine. She’s a fighter,” I replied. I wasn’t entirely sure it was true. She was a fighter, yes, but she wasn’t with me, and every part of me ached because of that.
“What about you? Your chick talks more than she acts,” I hissed, mentioning Suki.
However, Jack’s response was cold as he rolled his eyes and scoffed.
“Why? Are you not worried for her?” I asked, confused. I had seen the two of them together even after Joshua left, so I knew they were actively cheating on him. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t just let him know they weren’t pretending Suki was happier with Joshua.
“Well, to be honest, I’m more worried about Joshua,” as Jack confessed, I blinked in disbelief.
“More than Suki?” I questioned meticulously, curious to know the truth.
He only nodded to respond and I sighed in disbelief.
“Then why did you hurt your best friend by going behind his back with his mate?” I murmured, confused.
“Well, it started as me trying to save my stupid friend, to come here for her. That’s all I’ll say for now.” he shut up, grunting at the memory of whatever he just mentioned.
I blinked again, struggling to process it. How could Joshua have prevented from coming here? It wasn’t like the choice was in his hands.
As I pondered that, a low growl made me tense. I looked down at Oriana, still held tightly in my arms, keeping her steady and upright. Even Jack’s eyes widened at her sight.
“Oh my goddess! she’s transitioning,” he realized, and I understood it too. She was barely awake now but her wolf was taking over to heal her before she lost too much blood.
“We need to get out,” Jack said, reminding me that if she stayed inside, she would be stuck and it would cause her more pain. Jack started squeezing through the crevice almost hastily, and I followed, dragging Oriana with me, even as she fought to stay behind.
Once Jack was out, he dropped to the ground, taking deep breaths. I pushed Oriana out next, and then followed myself. She howled as her wolf fully took over, but her human self was still disoriented. When she transformed into a pinkish wolf, we realized we would need to follow her closely to make sure she didn’t wander too far.
We ran after her, worried she might get too close to either the Fleshmingos or the Wendigos. Just as we feared, she rushed onto the road, heading straight toward the abandoned highway.
“Oh shit!” I screamed, realizing where it led. Straight to the big city. But part of me wasn’t entirely worried, because I knew what awaited in the city. I would somehow come across Clementine, this was exactly where she had gone.
As we ran, the Fleshmingos started chasing us. I fought them off while Oriana attacked a few as well. Her wolf fought fiercely, too. At this point, we lost sight of Jack, but I had to stick with Oriana for Clementine’s sake. She had trusted me when she yelled for me to carry her.
We ran and ran, and eventually arrived in the city, where Oriana finally began to transition back into her human form. Once she did, she faced me, a scared look on her face.
“Shit, the clouds are approaching,” she said, glancing behind us. I turned my head and realized we needed to find a safe place and we needed to do it fast.
We began running forward, but a large cloud rolled in, trapping us in its shadow. We froze, glancing at each other, then at the two roads ahead, one leading left, the other right. We had to make the right choice quickly.
Then I heard it, the loud rolling of wheels and a honk from the left. I turned just in time to see a massive school bus barreling straight toward us.