The two figures sprinted through the dark, weaving around the trees and snapping branches as they ran. Even with enhanced hearing, only 3 sounds were audible: Their heartbeat, the heavy breathing of the person next to them, and the shouting and stomping behind them from the people chasing them.
A steep hill dropped in front of them, looming like the mouth of some terrible beast. They quickly changed direction and continued running. The larger of the two glanced at his brother, his eyes flashing gold. The smaller one's eyes flashed back before they crouched down to all fours to pick up speed. Their fingernails changed to claws for better traction as the jumped over falling logs.
The high frequency pitch caught them off guard and the little one stumbled slightly, both of them returned to their feet to cover their ears. They turned again, both slightly annoyed at their slower pace, and moved away from the source of the sound before picking up speed again.
Another high pitched tone shot their eardrums as the younger one was moving past a fallen tree, causing him to fall. His brother was immediately at his side, trying his best to ignore the ringing in his ears and trying to help him back to his feet. He glanced around, wincing from the loud shrillness and saw a clump of trees that looked decent not too far away and half dragged and half guided his little brother towards them to hide.
They waited, trying to breathe as quietly as possible as the footsteps ran past. The two hunters had been tracking them for the last half hour through the woods. They should've lost them by now but… the older brother's eyes widened slightly in realization. They were being corralled in by the frequency tones, making it impossible to leave the area as long as the hunters could set them off.
The hunters passed without incident. The two werewolves stayed still, waiting in case they came back. The older one scanned the area and checked for a telltale scent nearby. He got to his feet slowly and swore under his breath. He couldn't see all the way around the area from his hiding place. He crouched down next to his brother.
"Stay here until I come back, got it?" he whispered and the thirteen year old nodded.
The older brother stepped out slowly into the night, glancing at the waxing half moon in the night sky above him. They had about a week until it was completely full… His eyes darted around the shadowy woods surrounding him, waiting for the click of a gun or the shouts from the hunters but none came.
He turned back to his waiting sibling and took a step forward before he felt something cinch around his ankle and the world lurched upside down. He gasped in surprise and saw his brother twitch to move to his aid but he quickly held his hand up...down? and shook his head.
"Stay there. Don't move. I'll get myself down." he reassured the younger boy.
The older brother scrunched up slightly to reach at the rope around his foot that was keeping him suspended in the air. He flicked his hand and claws took the place of nails before he swiped at the rope.
It did nothing. His eyes widened in shock and he tried again. Silver cables.
"Over here!" someone shouted and the older boy knew he was in trouble.
He struggled against the cable, slashed at it, and pulled on the "knot" but nothing worked and the footsteps were too close.
He met his younger brother's eyes and shook his head, seeing the distress his sibling was feeling, but if he came to help, they would both be caught.
The two hunters approached him slowly where he hung suspended, both parties waiting for the other to attack. The boy glared at them and growled, warning them to keep their distance before swiping at the rope again. One of the hunters pulled out a blinking device and clicked it on, blasting the shrill frequency louder than before.
The boy stopped his efforts and growled as he covered his ears to block out the painful loudness. The gun barrel smacked him between the eyes and he went limp.
The thirteen year old watched with tears in his eyes, whether from anger or worry he couldn't decide, as his brother was dragged away in the dark by the hunters. He waited a few minutes until he knew they were gone and then ran back to the house. The woods were clear now that the hunt was over and someone needed to tell Uncle Bobby.