2025-04-07 03:54:21“Keep your head down,” Skylar muttered, her voice low, eyes sweeping the tree line ahead. “They won’t stop now.”
Lucas crouched behind her, heart pounding, mind racing.He bit back a reply. There wasn’t anything useful he could say anyway. After what he’d seen, after hearing his name come from the mouth of someone hunting him, he didn’t question the danger anymore. The doubt had been burned out of him. Every breath he took now was a stolen one. "Why me?" he whispered, not really expecting an answer. “What do they want?” he asked again between sharp inhales. “They want control,” Skylar replied without breaking stride. “Your change got noticed. When the ripple got sent out. That caught attention. The wrong kind. You’re something they don’t understand. And that makes you a problem.” He didn’t reply. What could he say? Ever since that day, since the thing inside him woke up everything had changed. He didn’t even know what he was anymore. But apparently, someone else did. They moved again, sticking to the trees. Lucas followed her, stepping lightly, though every crack of a twig felt like a scream in the silence. They didn’t talk. There was no need. The tension in the air said it all. When they reached the old service road, Skylar stopped and crouched, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from her jacket. A map. "This way. If we take the creek path, we can reach the safe zone before they close it off." "Safe zone?" Lucas asked. Skylar shot him a look. "Don’t ask. Just move." Lucas gave a quick nod. But something itched in the back of his mind, and he hesitated. “Skylar, why did you really come after me?” Skylar simply ignored the question trying to walk away from it entirely. Ten minutes passed before they stopped again, breath heavy, legs aching. Lucas leaned on a tree, sweat running down his spine despite the chill. “I know this place,” he said. “We’re near the old station trail. My dad used to bring me out here. We hunted rabbits near the ridge.” Skylar glanced at him. “You hunt?” “Not well,” he muttered. “I mostly missed. He did the shooting.” A sharp snap echoed from behind them. They froze instantly. Lucas dropped into a crouch, breath caught in his throat, eyes scanning the brush. He strained to listen. A pause. Then another soft step, closer and a voice. “Lucas?” Lucas's body locked up, he knew that voice. “Dan?” Lucas stood too fast, instinct overpowering caution. Dan stumbled into view, out of breath, clothes dirty. "Man, I’ve been following your trail for hours. What the heck is going on? Skylar’s hand drifted toward her belt, where Lucas knew she kept a blade. He raised a hand quickly. “Wait, he’s my friend.” Dan eyed Skylar suspiciously. “And she is...?” “Long story,” Lucas said. “She’s helping. Sort of.” “Sort of?” Dan repeated, clearly not reassured. “She’s... complicated.” Skylar crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Still here. Still listening.” Dan shook his head. "You’re not gonna believe this, but someone came to the school today. Said they were part of a youth program or something, asking questions about you." Lucas’s heart sank. “One of them flashed a badge,” Dan continued, “but it didn’t look right. Not police. Not normal.” Lucas clenched his jaw. “They’re spreading.” Dan nodded. “I saw Josh talking to one of them. Like, actually talking." Lucas’s brow furrowed. “Josh?” Dan looked grim. “Yeah. Didn’t look scared either. More like... interested. He didn’t even look nervous. Just gave them whatever they wanted." Skylar shifted. “This just keeps getting better.” Lucas turned to Dan. “You shouldn’t have come.” Dan gave a crooked grin. “Like hell I’d stay behind. You think I’m letting you run from some psychos alone?” Skylar rolled her eyes. “You’re human. You’ll slow us down.” Dan’s expression didn’t change. “Maybe. But I know these woods better than either of you. And I brought something.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a thick silver bracelet etched with faint symbols. Skylar’s eyes widened. She stepped forward carefully. “Where’d you get that?” "One of them dropped this. Figured it looked...weird." Dan said handing it to Skylar. Skylar took the bracelet from his hand, inspecting it. “This isn’t normal silver. These engravings, they’re suppression runes. Designed to weaken werewolves on contact. Not enough to kill. Just enough to cripple.” Lucas’s mouth went dry. “They’re not just hunting anymore,” he said. “They’re prepared.” Skylar nodded grimly. “More than I expected.” Suddenly, Dan stiffened. His head tilted, eyes narrowing. “Wait, do you hear that?” Lucas closed his eyes and focused. A soft, rhythmic humming. Mechanical. Too regular to be natural. Skylar swore under her breath. “Drones. Run.” They didn’t wait. All three turned and bolted. Branches whipped at their faces as they sprinted through the undergrowth. Roots grabbed at their feet. The hum grew louder. A red beam swept across the woods behind them. “Left!” Skylar shouted. They swerved. A net shot past Lucas’s shoulder and slammed into a tree behind him. “We can’t outrun it forever!” Dan yelled. “I know!” Lucas called. “Skylar, anything?” She pointed ahead to a rocky incline. “Down there! The mines!” They scrambled down the slope, boots skidding on loose gravel. The mouth of an old mine appeared behind a cracked stone wall, half-covered in vines. They slipped inside just as another net snapped shut where they'd been seconds earlier. Darkness swallowed them. The hum faded. Their breathing filled the silence. All three collapsed against the cool stone wall of the mine. Lucas turned to Dan, shaking his head. “You’re insane.” Dan just grinned. “Takes one to know one.” Skylar stood slowly, eyes still scanning the tunnel ahead. “This isn’t over. That was just a test run. Next time, they’ll come harder.” Lucas’s eyes dropped to the silver bracelet in her hand. “They know too much,” he said quietly. “Way too much.” Dan wiped sweat from his brow. “So... what now?” Skylar’s voice was steady. "Now we meet the one person who might still be able to help us, if they’re not already gone."
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"Keep moving!" Skylar shouted, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch.Lucas panted, his legs burning, boots slamming against wet earth. Behind him, the sound of pursuit never faded. Distant howls. Cracking branches. The echo of footsteps that didn’t belong to them.Dan ran beside him, keeping pace. “Remind me why we’re running toward a place called Moonveil? Sounds cursed.”“It is,” Skylar called back. “But the hunters avoid it. They think it’s haunted.”“Awesome,” Dan muttered. “That’s so comforting.”The forest thinned as they approached the ruins. What remained of Moonveil was barely more than shattered stones and crumbled archways buried in moss. A half-collapsed watchtower loomed over the clearing, and a thick fog clung to the ground like a second skin. The eerie silence that hung in the air was broken only by the soft crunch of their steps on the forest floor.Lucas slowed, his breath visible in the sudden drop of temperature. His heart thudded harder.“This place...” he whispere