There aren't many names in this chapter, and there's not supposed to be. Not a lot of explaining of anything, and there's not supposed to be. OK? So don't be mad at me. It will all be explained in later chapters. The story will also switch the focus on two different groups of people's lives. I'll make a space and write P.O.V so you know when it's switched.
I don't own Naruto. I do own all of the personalities though. Cause if everyone wrote stories with the real personalities, then none of these stories would exist. :D
"Come on! Hurry! They're going to catch up!" The man hissed as he ran, carrying one of them, and five more followed. They had been running for almost six days straight now, only stopping for and hour twice a day to sleep, and they were getting slow. But though they had the right to be tired, they couldn't afford it. They would have sent a team out for them by now and they could travel twice as fast as they could. It wouldn't take long till they caught up and they were so close to the hiding place. He had never lost a group before, and he didn't intend on losing anyone now, but if they caught up to them before they got to the entrance, he couldn't let them in. There were hundreds of people in the underground city, and as much as he hated it, if he had to sacrifice six to save the rest, he would. But......He looked down at the child he carried in his arms. She looked maybe five or six. Not old enough to run and keep up with the rest of them. She had seen some things that would have made him scream and still her sanity seemed fairly fine. She had her eyes open, starring straight ahead at the path they were running on. He had never seen her sleep at all. She would just stare off into a direction for the hour that they stopped.
"Wait! Wait! Shinji fell! He's not moving!" The leader stopped and turned around. The people following him did too. They stood, glancing nervously off their path and into the wooded area the were passing through. A few yards back a man was lying face down on the small dirt path. A woman had run back to him and was trying to wake him up. The leader set the girl down and started jogging back to where the other one lay. When he got there, the woman was bawling and screaming at him that it was his fault that her husband was hurt. She ran up to him and started beating on his chest with her small fists. The leader pulled out his gun and pushed it into the woman's forehead. She stopped screaming and froze. Not a muscle moved, she didn't even breath. The leader lowered his face down to hers and whispered,
"I don't want to have to shoot you, but you have to be quiet. You know that they can hear you screaming from a mile away. Now you need to calm down ok? I'm gonna put the gun down, but if I hear you make another peep, you won't have a chance of ever seeing your husband again. I would rather kill you and save the rest then to have your little hissy fit give us away. Do you understand??"
The woman's eyes moved up to look at him, but she still stood frozen. The leader lowered his gun and took a step back. The tears had dried in light red streaks on her face, but when he moved back, they started to well up in her eyes again. She turned and silently fled back to her husband. He followed her back and gently flipped the man over onto his back. His eyes fluttered then closed again. There was no need to check for vital signs. He knew he was dead. He picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. His wife gasped and reached for him, but the leader had walked away before she could touch him. He got back to the little girl, Anna was her name he thought, and picked her up too. She clung to his shirt as if she ever let go again, the world would fall away around her.
"Let's get moving. We've lost time." He said and started to run again.
They stopped for a break 45 minutes later. He set Anna down and asked her to help him take his coat off. When he did, he had her fold it so he could put the man down without hurting his head. When he was done, he stood up straight and stretched his arms and back. Felt good after running with the 200 lb + man on his shoulders and the 50 lb girl in his arms. He put his arms back down and sighed before sitting down on a rock next to the the man Shinji. He yawned. He had been running for almost 3 days straight without sleeping or eating. It was quite exhausting. He leaned back and closed his eyes. Just for a second. He thought. Right before he slipped off to sleep.
The man woke up to a blood curling scream. He jumped up and looked around toward where he thought he had heard it. He sucked in a breath and stumbled backwards at what he saw. The woods around them that had kept them safe from being seen from the sky was gone. Burned to the ground. His people were strewn around everywhere. They were so torn and broken he couldn't tell who was who. Then he had a thought.
Anna.
His chest tightened with fear. The little girl who had to watch her family be slaughtered right before her eyes then when moved to a compound, had been tortured for information. When she had none to give after a few weeks, they threw her into a pit to die.
The man screamed. He never got close to people. This was why. They all died. What bugged him more was that he had only known her for three days. He called out for her. For her to say something or do something to get his attention. He ran around from one burnt and torn body to the next, praying that none of them was her. He searched for what felt like days before he fell forward onto his knees and gave up. He screamed again and again. Over and over till he couldn't scream anymore. He fell down from his knees to his side on the ground.
"Hello Mister." A small voice said. He lifted his head and looked up at who had spoken to him. It was Anna.
But she was different.
Her face was burnt black and purple with angry red slashes all over. Her hair that was usually pulled back in a little pony tail was plastered to her face with blood. Her arm was bent in a direction that God had never intended it to bend. Two of her ribs were poking out of her side, the bones slick with blood. She smiled down at him and she reached down to try and touch his face. He scrambled backwards away from her tiny hand.
"Why are you running? You did this to me. Your the one who fell asleep and couldn't protect me. Or anyone else for that matter. Your hopeless. Or maybe you wanted to get us killed. Was that it? You rounded us all up just to kill us all? But it's all your fault. I hate you. I really do. You did this to me after I trusted you with my life. You did this. You did. You killed them. You killed me!!!"
Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke.
The leader flinched away from what was touching him. Poke.
He screamed 'no' and his eyes flew open and he reached out and grabbed the first thing he could. When he did he heard a "Gah!!"
When his eyes focused he saw Anna standing next to him with her hands pulling at his hand that was wrapped around her tiny neck. He let go of her and crawled backwards. She stood where she was with her eyes wide open. She started to move forward, but paused. She looked down at the ground before walking toward him. She leaned down and whispered into his hear.
"They're coming."
She stood back up straight, staring at him with wide eyes. He jumped up and grabbed her up. He went around to everyone, telling them to get up and move. That they were leaving straight away. He ran over and picked up Shinji and told his wife that they needed to move. Now. She started to complain that it hadn't been and hour, but like everyone else, as soon as she looked in his eyes, she started moving and grabbing at her few items. They were back on the road faster then they had ever been before and were running quicker then they had the whole trip.
Almost there. He thought. We're almost there! They can't catch up now! He was screaming at himself inside his head for being so stupid as to fall asleep on the trip. They ran until they reached point three of four.
It was a small cave that went underground almost two miles. Deep enough that they couldn't smell them at all. It was another chance for them to stop for a day or so without worrying about being caught by anyone.
They ran for another half hour before they reached the cave, but they did. They made it there alive. They then had to follow him into the darkness for a mile before he could get to the lights. But he and the others had built small rooms into the cave walls so that they could all have some privacy. There was also a underground spring to they could take turns bathing and washing their clothes. They were gonna love that.
They reached the tiny "hotel" underground in an hour. When they were all separated into rooms, he gave each of them a slip of paper with a number on it.
"Who has number one?" The leading man called out. A girl that looked as if she was barely out of high school raised her hand. He nodded at her and looked back at the rest of them.
"She gets to go first to the spring. Then whoever has the number two will go next. Then three. Does everyone get it?" They all nodded. He looked back at the girl.
"Take all that you want to have washed. We have soap, shampoo and wash clothes here ok?" She nodded at him. "Ok, I'll take you to the spring and when your completely done, find whoever has number two and help them to it. Also tell them every thing I just told you, Ok? That way I don't have to repeat myself." She nodded her head again and followed him as he took off walking down a dimly lit tunnel. He showed her where they kept the shower items and then left her to herself.
He walked into the room that had been designated for the leaders that were bringing the people to safety. It was slightly bigger then the rest of the rooms and had some books, paper and pencils. He spread out a blanket on the floor and sat down. He as tired. And he could sleep here without having to worry. They were going to stay her for two days before they left for the last stop. Before they left for their last trip to safety. He sighed and closed his eyes.
He had just started to doze off when he heard a knock at the doorway to his room. He opened one eye to see who it was. It was Anna. He held his hand out to her to come to him. She ran up to him and hugged his arm to her tiny face. He scooted over on his make-shift bed so she could sit down. He had forgotten that she didn't have any family to be with, and staying alone in the tiny dark room might be scary for her. As he cradled her in his arms and watched her fall asleep, he was reminded of why he did what he did and risked his life every time he left the underground city. For the people like her, that have nothing, and would be gone if someone didn't help them. He smiled and thought about how she would be dead without him, but them frowned when he thought about all the others that he couldn't save. Or the partners that he had lost over the years.
The man jumped when Anna squeaked in her sleep. He looked around the room before gently getting up and walking out. Poking his head out the door, he saw that all the torches were still lit in the dark tunnel. Slowly he walked down to the spring to bathe. He was pretty sure everyone was done by now. He undressed and walked into the cool water to sit down. He wouldn't mind a long soak. He couldn't remember the last time he had a decent bath. He leaned back against the wall and sighed. Just a few more days. He reminded himself. Just a few more days more, then he would be on break for another few weeks.
He finished washing before climbing out of the pool and heading back to the room and to Anna.
P.O.V. change.
"Come on! Where almost done!" The man snarled to the rest. "We have to get them!" His footsteps echoing quietly on the soft earth as they raced through the night. They had to get to them, or they would be executed as well as all the ones that they caught.
"Hey! Pinky! Hurry up! Or it's your head that's gonna roll!" The bird screeched down at her from the sky.
"I'm going! I'm going! We don't all have wings!" She sneered as she ran with the rest of them. She and one other girl were the only ones that they ever got onto about being slow. She was getting sick of it. She hadn't slept in days, not to mention, she was still human. It was a miracle she could keep up with them for even a few minutes. But things could be worse. She could be her friend, who was even more human then she was. Everyone else had to take turns carrying her because she wasn't even close to her first change. But she was close. She could feel it. This was her first mission, and the closer she got to getting the 'bad guys' the better she felt. She felt stronger.
It was wonderful.
She hadn't felt this good since her village had been attacked a few months back. The feeling of adrenalin running through the her veins. They ran until they got to a cliff, overlooking the vast expansion of everything they owned. Or at least some of it. There was way to much to see from the highest mountain in the world. Or, at least that's what they were told in school. She couldn't be sure anymore. They changed the books so often that everyone had been confused.
A black blur rushed past the side of her face, the wind whipping her hair up behind her. She jumped back and pulled the knife from the pouch on her side and crouched down with the knife above her head.
"Loser." The bird whispered in her ear and landed on her shoulder.
"Shut up." The girl grumbled and stood up. "Leave me alone."
"Well, anyway, there's a group of them down there. Maybe, oh, 30 miles? They're resting right now, so we could gain at least 10 miles on them if we hurry." He chirped quickly to the group of hunters.
The girl walked over to the cliff and peeked over. "I don't see them." She said squinted her eyes and looked out over everything.
"Well duh, their thirty miles away. I can't even see them from here." He squawked before flying up to the leader and sitting on his head. The leading man nodded. "We must leave now. Do they have any....you know....with them?" He asked the bird, while staring straight ahead at the spot where the bird had pointed out to them.
"They have one, but it's dead right now. It won't be for long. We should leave now." The bird told him. He nodded again and motioned everyone to start moving again. He took a step back then dove off the cliff. The bird followed. She quickly ran over to the over-sized fox and jumped on his back. The other girl had jumped onto the back of the wolf and was already over the edge.
"Ready?" The bright orange fox asked her.
"Anytime." She said, trying to hide the fear and worry in her voice. Really, she was terrified. They were about to jump off a cliff that was at least 300 ft. high. Yeah. She was sooooooo not ready for that. But off they went. She squeezed her eyes closed and buried her face in the fur on the back of his neck. It seemed to take forever for them to hit the ground, and when they did, he didn't even stop to take a breath. Just started running again. She wished she had that kinda of stamina.
"I am never going to get over the jumping-off-a-way-to-high-to-jump-off-and-survive thing. And I bit my tongue again...." She whined to the fox. He looked up at her with big blue eyes. "I'm really really sorry. But I can't help that! I keep telling you to just keep your teeth together....." He stopped talking to jump over a small creek. "If you want, I could kiss it better?" He smiled smugly and chuckled when she bopped him on the head. "You wish." She giggled.
They ran for awhile before everyone in front of them stopped. The raven flew down from the sky above them. "They're on the move again. Faster then before." He said quietly. They leader growled in frustration. They had been tracking this guy and his group for years. And no matter how hard they tried, no one could seem to catch up to him. He took more and more of their captives each time he came back. Every time they would send out a new team to try and catch him, but so far no one had been able to. They had all gotten so close, then the whole group they were chasing would just disappear. All at the same place. And they were so close to them! But the other group was also very close to where everyone said they just dissapeared. They had to hurry or they weren't going to make it in time.
They took off into the woods after the criminals. She held on extra tight, but the fox was running almost to fast for her to hang on. She almost asked if she could get off, but she held back her words. If she made him stop to let her off, he would be left behind. The others wouldn't stop and wait. They had people to catch. Not to mention that when they were running like this at this speed, she couldn't keep up. And the fox wouldn't just leave her behind. He loved her and no matter how many times she told him to, he would always slow down and run next to her to make sure she didn't get hurt.
So I'm a pain no matter what I do. She thought to herself, gripping the fur tighter. She shook the thought from her mind and and focused on the road ahead of her.
"They're gone! I can't see them anywhere!" The raven cried from the sky. "We missed them again!"
The group stopped. The Fox raised his nose up. "I can't smell them. Can you?" He said, looking at the leader. The gray wolf lifted his face and closed his eyes.
"It's very faint." he said when he looked back at the group waiting for him to give them an order. He turned off back towards the river. "They crossed back here. Almost like they got lost." he said. "We can still follow them, but we will have to go a little slower then before, for me to make sure I get their scent right."
He looked around for a moment before bounding off over the river. "Let me down!" She said. "I can run at this pace." The fox growled at her and jumped after him, taking the river in a leap and not letter her off. She frowned. "I'm not a child! I know how to run! Let me off or I'll jump off!" She screamed at him. He put his head down and ran faster, catching up with the leader. She gripped handfuls of his fun and pulled. "Put me down, now, or I swear to god I'll jump!!" The fox snapped his jaws at her as he growled. "You'll just slow down and get hurt!"
She froze. Her heart pulled in her chest. He had never said anything like that to her. He was always somewhat of a push over.
"He's right. Stay up there and be quiet." The leader snapped at her and glared at her from the corner of his eyes. She bit her lip and hung her head down. Leaning forward so they wouldn't see her face. She was in the way. Again. Was she always going to be in the way?
"The scent stops here." The leader said. They all gathered around the mouth of a cave. She tried to take a step forward, but that action was stopped short when she was abruptly pulled back by the back of her jeans. "Hey!" She said and turned around. The Fox had bitten the back pocket of her jeans and was pulling her back. Wait. Had he just bit her butt? Yup. Her face turned bright red and she quickly turned her head back around. She reached a hand back to wack his muzzle away. "Stop that!" She whispered to him. He let go and trotted up to stand besides her.
The Wolf eyed them both and said to everyone. "They should be just inside." He turned and surveyed the group, then pointed at the bird that was now sitting on the ground in front of her. "Go around and see if theres any other way out besides here." The bird nodded and flew off. He glanced over the group again. "You, go inside and take out anyone that might be watching or keeping guard." The fox nodded and trotted up to the entrance.
The fox walked in tentatively, taking slow and careful steps. He went until he couldn't see any further, then turned and hurried back out.
"So?" The leader asked.
"It goes to far for me to see. I can't tell whats in there, or if there is tunnels leading off somewhere else in the cave. There wasn't any smell from them that I could tell very well, so they would have had to either gone in there a while ago, or had to have gone in a different way." He finished talking just as the raven flew back down and sat on the fox's head. "There's nothing for miles. Just flat ground. From the sky, the cave looks like it's just....oh, maybe a fifty yards? Nothing to big. Defiantly not big enough to hide a group the size that this guys been taking." He chirped to the group.
The leader sighed. This was going to be difficult.
So how did ya like it? It would be a long story. Twenty chapters at the minimum. Also, I can't decide who the "Leader" for the vampires should be. It has to be a Akatsuki member. I'm gonna put up a poll with the ones that I think would fit better then the rest. You all can decide. I'll go a head and start writing the next chapter, but you need to pick before I finish the chapter so I can fill in all the names for him. So go lookie at the poll!
Go now! Shoo!