Okay that didn't take so long did it? This is only because I'm kinda excited because I know for an absolute fact that no one saw this coming!!!! (I'll pause for a moment here while everyone scrolls down to see the big catastrophe I'm talking about) now, by now you're spoiled from scrolling down and I'm pleasantly smug but lets try and read the whole chapter and take in all the assorted catastrophes…

*freaky peppy cheerleader voice *: Ready? Okay?

Blood or Chocolate: A New Generation, Part 1

Chapter 12: Catastrophes

I recognized the howl instantly, maybe because I'd been expecting something to happen after days of quiet on the Jacqueline front. I knew she was the one behind the attacks, I knew she wouldn't stop until she'd made her point or reached her goal, and I knew that that howl coming from so close by was her.

"What the hell is that?" Agent Mahone's head snapped towards the window as if magically the shades would push themselves back so he could see into the forest beyond.

Gabriel looked at me. There were a million things in his face, but the biggest emotion peeking through was uncertainty and I had never seen Gabriel seriously uncertain before. He always knew what to do.

But I understood. And the truth was I didn't know what to do either. We couldn't just go out there and stop her from doing whatever she was doing to cause such a ruckus, that would expose us-the very thing Jacqueline wanted to do-we couldn't do that. And we couldn't just sit here and let the "professionals" handle it; they had no idea what they were dealing with; It would be irresponsible of Gabriel and I to let them get injured or killed because of us. It was our job to protect everyone in this valley, including the humans-even if their being here was only temperary and a nuisance.

Gabriel and I were exchanging another worried glance when we heard moments later a very human scream.

In an instant everyone, excluding Claire and her aunt Abigail, came rushing out of the room to the back sliding glass doors, pushing through them, and racing to the woods. Jacque must have heard it from the lounge and he was too, along with Gabriel and I, the first to arrive in the small clearing just a few yards into the woods.

What I saw was probably the very last thing I expected to see. Because not only was there a human in a dark suit lying on the ground bloodied and lifeless but there was also a half skin clad, half furred form struggling against a slim wild beast's vice-like grip on his neck: Pierre.

The second Jacqueline's wild harried form spotted us she released her hold on the young loup-garou and dashed away, and what could we do? We couldn't go after her that would be suspicious, and what if they caught us instead of her out there? We couldnt risk it. We just had to take care of Pierre. I reached him first.

He was blinking out of consciousness from loss of blood when I reached him.

"Pierre! Pierre! You have to change back! You have to! Come on, come on!" I coaxed his barely lucid form.

He must have barely heard me. He blinked and shuttered and seemed to shrink into his skin the moment we heard Agent Mahone and the rest of the suits enter the clearing. Then he passed out.

The agents quickly assessed the situation, looking for the first time in my eyes like trained professionals. A few checked on their fallen agent, seeing he was lost they moved on to where I was kneeling on the ground next to Pierre. "He's alive." Gabriel quickly told them while others, guns ready, approached the outer edges of the clearing.

"It went that way." Jacque pointed towards the east, knowing that his sister really went west but also knowing there was no way we could send them in her true direction if she was now foolish enough to attack federal agents.

Agent Mahone nodded at six agents to head east then he turned to another, "We need an ambulance for this boy."

"No, our healer-er-medical technician will see to him." Gabriel nodded at Rolf Wagner who had arrived on the scene to go get Jenny. "Bring some of the men to take him to room three." He added gruffly looking down on Pierre who still held the black eye and buised brow from a blow he had given him not even an hour ago. He looked guilty.

Agent Mahone glared at Gabriel like he was stepping on his authority, which he was but this was our land, Pierre was one of our own whether he was an official part of our pack or not. "Chuck" would not dictate what happened to him. A few agents started taking pictures of the "scene."

In minutes four males from our pack were lifting Pierre carefully to the inn. Room 3 was apparently going to play host to a patient as well. I watched, worried, as they carried him away. Jacque was holding cloth tight to Pierre's neck, stemming anymore blood loss but he had lost so much already. Jenny was going to have her work cut out for her.

I reached for Gabriel's arm, he wrapped it around me and started leading me back to the inn. We were stopped by a man in our way. Agent Mahone was not through with us. "Wait one minute. I need a statement from both of you telling me exactly what you saw."

"They just witnessed a good friend being mauled to death by a wild animal and that same friend could be dying right now. Don't you think you could give them a minute to see if he's okay?" Charlotte had finally appeared, just in time.

"Three hours." Mahone did not looked pleased. He turned to the dead agent.

Gabriel, Charlotte and I walked to the inn together in silence. I took Charlotte's hand. She looked so worried. It was only then that I remembered she grew up with the twins, they were her friends long before they were mine. If something happened to either one of them…

When we got to room three Jenny had ushered everyone out, even a burly agent who made Bucky look small had been ordered out by the tiny genteel female. When we entered the only ones in the room were Jacque, still assisting stemming the blood flow and Philip standing pale in the corner with the most hopeless expression I'd ever seen written on his face.

"There's nothing you can do here." Jenny said without turning around reaching for something from a bag of gauze and herbs.

"I'll stay, you go." Charlotte placed her hands over Jacque's bloody fingers to relieve him of his duties. I saw him send her a warm grateful glance before moving towards the bathroom to wash up.

I glanced over at Philip's ashen face. It was the most pitiful pained expression…what must it look like to watch your other half possibly bleed to death before your eyes? To see a face mirrored to your own covered in blood? I called to Jacque and led him out into the hall. Gabriel followed us.

"Since you don't mind getting your hands bloody…" I went back in and stole some fresh bandages from Jenny's bag. She hardly noticed, she was deeply involved in whatever she was doing. I led them to Claire's room.

It was a very quick clinical process removing Claire's old bandages and wrapping fresh tighter around her to stop and latent bleeding, helping her sit up in a wheelchair we kept around the inn for disabled guests and rolling her in to sit next to where Philip stood. She took his hand. He didn't look down at her but he gripped her's back tightly. I stood back and watched this for a moment, then realizing I would only be in the way by staying I backed out of the room with Gabriel and Claire's aunt, leaving Jacque to stay to switch off with Charlotte in assisting Jenny when she needed to take a break.

"I need to talk to Abigail a minute, why don't you go check on your brother?" Gabriel suggested once we were in the hall.

I probably should have stuck around to see what her story was but I didn't know if I could retain any information at this point. I mean Jacqueline had attacked Pierre! It wasn't just that he was a loup-garou she attacked that shocked me, it was that he was one of her own: one of the pack she previously belonged, led, how could she…How wild and unthinking had she become in her exile? I couldn't think. I needed the small comfort seeing my little brother's smiling perpetually cheerful face would bring me.

When I arrived at Tomas and Esme's cabin I immediately knew something was wrong, mainly because my mother didn't meet me at the door anxious for news of what had just happened. The cabin was silent.

I let myself in wondering how many catastrophes we could handle before we came apart at the seems.

Oh no! Review! Tell me what you think is going on! New chapter by Friday I hope. :D melissaturkey

And yes I know its short again. I only have two hours at home at night anymore before I have to go to sleep to start the day agian, so chapters from now until the middle of april will be pretty short, but the upside to this is that I can crank out more, quicker or at least I hope I can. So this is a good thing, no?

Review! :D melissaturkey