'Bones, sinking like stones,
All that we fought for,
Homes, places we've grown,
All of us are done for,'
-Don't Panic, Coldplay
Beth sat on the edge of the cliff, her chin resting in her hand as she stared out across the sea. Drake was stood beside her, his gaze focused on the group of children down on the beach. He wasn't looking at them though, no, he was looking at a girl and a boy, Sam, who seemed to be holding hands. The girl was crying but Beth didn't know why, she was focused on the sea. It was huge, something she had never seen before and it was mesmerizing. She wanted to go in it, but she doubted Drake would let her; he hardly let her out of his sight since the incident.
He took a sharp intake of breath and Beth's ears twitched, her tail curling around her ankles as she glanced over the edge of the cliff. The girl was gone but Sam was still there, looking slightly disturbed. He moved his hand and a child stared crying and then soon, they all started sobbing and Beth fought back the urge to join in.
'How old are you?' Drake suddenly asked, looking down at her.
Beth frowned. 'Thirteen.' She said unsurely, taking a fleeting look at his expression. He frowned, running his tongue over his teeth, seemingly deep in thought. After a few minutes he turned, making his way back down the hill.
'C'mon,' he called. 'I'll get you some more meat if you're good.'
She wasn't particularly thrilled with this bargain but she followed him all the same, self-consciously rubbing the harsh black bruise that had appeared across her nose. He was going back to Caine, probably to inform him of his findings but he let her stay outside, giving her sometime to herself for once. She watched him until he disappeared round a corner and then turned and slumped against the wall. She had been left with Jack, who was fiddling with a laptop, he was under strict orders from Drake not to let her out of his sight but it seemed he didn't care what she did.
She sighed heavily and lay flat out on the ground, staring up at the burning sun. She glanced across at Jack, his attention was fully focused on the laptop and she smiled slyly. She was bored of being ordered round and even though she knew what would happen if she was caught sneaking off, Beth felt the need to rebel, she wanted to have a little bit of control over her new life. So, with a casual air she got to her feet and wandered away from the building. A peek over her shoulder told her Jack hadn't even noticed and with an excited air to her, she bounded away down the street.
She found it easier to find food in her animal form and was soon wolfing down a discarded cheeseburger she found outside the MacDonald's. She yawned and stretched her muscles before trotting down the road, her tail swinging in time to her steps. As any animal, her instincts took over and she became fixated with the search for more food. It didn't take her long to find a large shop on the street and she could clearly smell the strong scent of rotting fish. Unfortunately for her, Howard was sitting rather comfortably outside, staring at a small portable television. Trying to sneak in would be useless because it didn't take long for Howard to spot her.
He looked terrified at first before he seemed to realise who and what she was. 'Does your owner know you're out?' He mocked, a wide grin upon his face. Beth growled in annoyance but Howard just shook his finger at her. 'Ah, ah, ah, you lay one little paw on me and you're in big trouble with the boss.'
She scowled, her shoulders sagging as she padded forward and slumped down beside his chair. Howard smirked triumphantly and settled back in his chair to watch the film. Beth yawned again and allowed her body to change back to its original human form where she proceeded to fall into a doze.
The sound of raised voices woke her and she sat up, startled. The grocery store was abuzz with activity; Howard had disappeared and had been replaced with Diana who was standing in the doorway, talking to someone. She caught sight of Beth and scowled.
'You stay there, and don't do any of your stupid animal tricks.' She hissed and backed out of the doorway, followed by a shopping cart. In this cart, bound and blindfolded was the boy Sam. Howard was pushing the cart, looking very pleased with himself, behind him came Drake, holding onto a defeated looking Astrid.
'Get up,' he snarled at Beth, obviously not to thrilled to see her there. 'Get him.' He jerked his head in the direction of the little boy that trailed along beside Astrid.
Beth swallowed dryly and heaved herself to her feet. She gently pushed the little boy after them but he didn't seem to notice she was there and after a while she let him walk by himself. Diana led the way and they were heading for the school, in front of the procession that held Sam hostage. Beth trailed her feet along the ground, her head drooped and her tail sagged low to the ground.
'So you work for Drake, huh?'
She and glanced round; surprised to see Astrid was free of Drake and walking along beside her. She didn't look angry or scared, just slightly sad. Beth nodded slowly in answer to her question.
'Must be hard,' Astrid continued. 'Did he do that to your nose?' She raised an eyebrow.
Beth opened her mouth to respond but Drake was there, shoving her away. 'Don't talk to her.' He ordered, glaring fiercely at Astrid.
'Drake's very protective of his property.' Diana put in, smirking smugly at Beth. No one remarked on this and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Sam was taken a different way to them and Beth didn't miss the longing in Astrid's eyes as she was pushed into an empty classroom. The raven haired girl made for the window, she wanted air, she needed to see space, but Drake roughly shoved her into a corner. Apparently he wasn't best pleased with her at that moment in time. He leaned against the wall beside her, smirking at Diana and Astrid as they talked.
Beth's eyes darted round the classroom, looking for anything interesting. She soon spotted a packet of open biscuits on what she guessed was the teacher's desk. She licked her lips self-consciously and slowly shuffled herself over to the desk, careful not to attract any unwanted attention. Diana left without a glance in her direction and Drake was focused on Astrid, there was no way he could see her from where his glare was aimed.
She was inches from the desk now, her arm reached out for the open packet. Her fingers closed round the crumbly surface of the biscuit when suddenly a bat came flying out of nowhere, slamming down onto her wrist. There was a scream that wasn't her own, a loud crack and she shrieked in pain, pulling her wrist close to her chest. It was at an odd angle, her arm throbbed agonizingly and tears welled up in her wide gold eyes. She looked up at Drake, at his cold, uncaring expression. The baseball bat was slung casually over his shoulder as he watched her closely. The biscuit had fallen to the floor and he stood on it, watching it crumble under his boot.
'You don't eat, unless I tell you to eat.' He said quietly, behind him Astrid watched on with a stricken face.
Beth flinched as the sharp sound of Drake slapping Astrid hit her ears. She tugged fruitlessly on the chain but he had tied it tight and even if she got free she would have no clue what to do. Drake was like no one she had ever seen before. He was cruel, tough and seemed to relish in the idea of someone else's pain. Beth would rather have been locked in her cell than here, tied to a radiator like some mongrel. A bandage had been casually wrapped round her wrist and secured tightly with some tape.
Another slap and Beth turned her head away, frowning deeply. She could feel Astrid's eyes on her, silently pleading her to do something. Drake gave a short bark of laughter and moved across to the little boy. He ignored Beth as he passed, seemingly not interested in her at the moment. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound of the raised voices across the room. Suddenly Drake gave a yell and Beth's eyes snapped open, staring at the empty space where Astrid and her brother had once sat.
'Where'd she go?' Drake shouted, glaring down at Beth as if this sudden disappearance was her fault. She shrugged helplessly, her eyes darting anxiously around the room. 'Shit.' He muttered under his breath and raced from the room.
Unfortunately, the fact Beth was still chained to the radiator slipped his mind as he sprinted down the corridors. She twisted on the end of the chain, frantically trying to break free from the annoying restriction. She slammed her fist against the radiator again and again, until beads of blood welled up on her knuckles and she fell against the wall in defeat.
Beth blinked back tears as she lay there, wallowing in self-pity. She stared at the blank ceiling of the classroom and wondered maybe if she pinched herself she would wake up from this bad dream and everything would be back to normal. She would find herself staring at the same bare four walls of the cell she had sat in everyday until the FAYZ. Panda had told her about the Fallout Alley Youth Zone earlier, he seemed to enjoy talking to her. She didn't say much back but perhaps that was the way he liked it, at least some of the time he got his say. Beth didn't mind, she liked Panda, he was nice to her and he gave her sweets, something she found he always had spare in his pockets.
The door to the classroom flew open and none other than Howard stuck his head in. 'Hey, I told you Drake forgot her.' He called, glancing over his shoulder before turning back to look at her and grinning widely. Panda pushed past him and Beth's tail thumped against the floor at the sight of him.
'She doesn't look too good.' He said, kneeling down beside her.
Howard snorted. 'Jeez, Panda, she hasn't always been a bundle of fun.' He looked down the corridor. 'We gotta' go, dude.'
But Panda wasn't paying attention, he lifted Beth's wrist, unusually gentle, and frowned. 'Do you think Drake did this?' He asked, dropping her wrist and reaching into his pocket. Beth sat up eagerly, her yellow eyes wide and waiting. Panda smiled and handed her a small blue gumball.
'Dude, if you don't come now, we're leaving you.' Howard shouted, glaring at his friend.
Panda rolled his dark ringed eyes but straightened out all the same. He looked at Beth and after a couple of seconds thought, reached down and yanked the chain free. Beth blinked but he was gone, out the door after Howard and the beast of a boy they called Orc. She slipped the small gumball into her pocket, wondering what to do now she was free. Her first thought was to go and find Drake but this was swiftly wiped from her mind. The more time she spent in Drake's company the more she saw just how cruel he was, and not only to her.
It seemed her freedom was short-lived though, when Diana appeared in the doorway. She rolled her eyes at the sight of a startled Beth on the floor.
'Come with me.' She instructed, grabbing Beth by the arm and leading her out the classroom and down the hallway. She was steered down more corridors before she was pushed through double doors into a huge sports hall. A boy she had only seen once before, Caine, was stood in the middle of the room. He was tall and handsome and seemed to radiate power. Beth was yanked to a standstill in front of him and he smiled softly down at her.
'Drake has gone after some nasty people,' he talked to her like she was a five year old. 'I want you to find him and help him, can you do that?' He raised an eyebrow at her silence. Beth nodded once and Diana released her.
They watched as she raced from the room in her wolf form. 'Poor girl.' Diana commented.
Beth had never tracked anyone before but how hard could it be? She had all the tools and if all else failed she knew her natural instincts would lead her somewhere. She ran down the main street, her nose to the ground, sniffing furiously. She could easily pick up the scent of Sam's friend, Quinn, the fear practically rolled off him but Drake was a different matter. It seemed he didn't have any human emoticon except maybe anger or possibly a deep hatred for Astrid and her little brother. Beth didn't know why, the two had seemed perfectly harmless back in the classroom but she wasn't about to go and defy Caine, now wasn't the time to change sides.
A new scent tugged her from her busy thoughts and Beth raised her head, one paw held tense in the air. A gunshot rang out and Beth flinched downwards, her stomach brushing the ground. It came from the cliff top, and then another. It was in that instant she was certain Drake was up there. She leapt off her back legs into a sprint, straight for the large building that resided up there and hopefully, Drake.
