(Chapters 9 - 15)The next day, my dad woke me up before sunrise. In the quiet of the darkness, we silently prepared. "Follow me.""We're not going to split up?""Maybe once we find their encampment, but you don't know the Redwayne Forest like your old man. Stay close."The plan was simple; we'd search for any patrols or signs of life. If we ran across a patrol, we'd ambush them. Otherwise, we'd follow the signs. The sun had just come up when I first spotted them, but it was still too dark to get a good look. Now that we were closet, I could see three people laying against the thick tree, sitting on their asses."Are they asleep?" I whispered.Pierce readied his sword. "If they are, it's our lucky day. Don't move." My dad could move through the brush a lot quieter than I could. So I waited. I felt sorry for them. They decided to take a nap and when they woke up, they were going to to be in chains.I waited for Pierce to send the signal, but he stared at the bodies for so long that I
(Final preview chapter, for awhile at least)Until we left the forest and the encampment, Euphy was quiet. Maybe she was in shock. Maybe the bandits did something to her, but she was quiet. She only stared at me the whole time. Once we got her in the wagon and on the road, that started to change.The further and further away we got, the more alive she became. It turned out that Euphy wasn't a quiet and withdrawn girl; she was a tsundere. A real-life tsundere. I thought tsundere were confined to the pages of mana or anime. I never expected to come across a real tsundere.My first clue was when she hit me. I made a joke about her red hair looking like ketchup (it didn't) and she socked me good. It was a stupid joke, but it didn't deserve a punch. My father laughed it off and that prompted Euphy to laugh.She seemed excited about everything. Apparently, Euphy had been a pampered noble girl, because she had never left her father's dukedom before. She hadn't left the estate she grew up on
As far as the public knew, Sword maintained a clean reputation. The experimentation and borderline torture were all kept locked behind closed doors. Only those with certain security titles were allowed to know.Of course the complete suppression of information was nigh impossible. There were rumors about the black sites and what happened to the strains in them.But that was all there was. Rumors. Nothing tbat could be confirmed.Sword did not operate black sites and neither did it work with criminal filth. That was below them, went the official line.The truth of the matter was different. Sword operated a vast network of informants, of which more than one criminal was employed.Morgan hadn't joined Sword out of some deep rooted respect for the agency. She was a practical sort. She would takeg advantage of what she could.So when a witness report came in about lycans and strix in the city, she sent th3 scum bag money promised.
I covered my face as yawned. The yellow school bus came around the corner. It wasn't even seven yet, but I lived in Fieldbrook, which meant that I was one of the first, if not the first, students to get picked up, Though the sky was starting to lighten, the day was still dark, and once again I found myself wishing I lived in Neptune or Pluto or hell, even Jupiter. I'd be able to sleep in another forty minutes, and it'd be easier to hang out with my friends."I really need a car," I mumbled as the school bus pulled up to a stop in front of me. The door opened and the bus driver Rosa smiled."How are you doing?"I stifled another yawn as I climbed aboard. "Tired."She laughed and I made his way down the empty bus to the very back. Dropping down on the right seat and I turned my body so I was laying down instead of sitting.Turning on the headphones, which connected to my linker, and I put on French language music to listen to.The vocals of the French singer came alive and I closed my e
The glistening waters of the Versailles Ocean seemed to stretch on forever. It was why Aaron always rode his motorcycle down the highway after school, just to catch a glimpse of its gleaming waters. At the start of May, the ocean would look so calm and peaceful. Summer was approaching, and it wouldn't be long until it was warm enough to swim in the sea.After a second, he turned his attention back to the highway. The last thing he needed to do was crash. If he caused a scene, his dad might make good on his threat and send him to a penile town. If there was one place in Acroya he didn't want to end up, it was a penile town.Aaron turned his turn signal on and turned down the off-ramp from the highway. He could see the sands of Sequoya beach as he drove straight into the parking lot. He searched around and found a bike rack at the far end of the lot. He cut the engine once he stopped in front of it and pushed the bike into the rack by hand.He tapped the control screen and the four clam
(This will be the final Wandering Wolves preview chapter for a while. Enjoy it and tomorrow we return with Strix and the side story)Chapter XVII: The girl with auburn hairIn the early morning light, the valley was beautiful. As the sun rose, mist rose from the trees and covered the mountains. It wasn't the color-changing fog of Attea's creation, but a common, white mist. As the sun got higher and higher into the sky, the mist started burning away. The lack shimmered in the sunlight as a breeze gently rocked through the valley.There was something ethereal about this place. Someone out of an anime or fantasy book. I lived my whole life in San Francisco. When I was younger, my parents took me to see the Redwoods, but that was the only time I left the city. It was very long. To me, the world had become a concrete jungle.Wind Port was a lot better to look at, but it was still a city. Where ever we were, there wasn't a single sign of civilization. And it was beautiful. This place looked
She sent the others on ahead. They were going to assault the building from two position. Naturally, she kept Ro with her, someone Bianca wished she could pawn onto the other team, but Ro was needed. Aaron was physically the strongest and she was the best fighter, so they would assault the front."What are we waiting for?" Ro growled. She had her arms crossed and she looked ready to tear through the front door.Bianca looked pointedly down at her phone. It was an old, outdated piece of technology, but there was an alert system, so they couldn't use the linkers. "What do you think we're waiting for? We need to make sure we they're ready when we begin the assault.""I guess," Ro grunted.Aaron snorted. "Come on. Don't make that face. You know Bianca wants to kill them as much as as us. They invaded the den, they're going to die.""Why aren't we attacking with full force?""The others will sneak in the back why we make sure the-"Her phone beeped. A message appeared. She smiled and jumpe
Interlude: The Long WalkThe desert was long and she didn't have any water. The little she did have was gone. She drank it a ways back. There were desert vines going all around her, but she had nothing to cut them with. The spines on the vines were toxic and if she touched them, the toxins would kill her quicker.But it would be a painful death and if she had to pick, she'd choose to go peacefully to her forever sleep.She never should have left. Her mother warned her, but she wanted to prove herself. The problem was long in the making, but she thought she could help. How foolish that was.Now she was her, walking through the desert. Damn Alice. Damn her to hell, if there was such a place. It was all her fault. No, that wasn't true. It was her fault for taking the poisoned apple from that she devil. She was desperate and she took the hand offered to her.Her linker beeped and a map icon appeared in the corner of her vision. She tapped it and it expanded. She was on the marked Red X."