Thanks so much for the wait. I will not be posting until my exams are over. Uni stress has made me pretty angsty and I'm sure you can tell. Thanks for the support and reviews. I really appreciate them.
Ch 14
Ramon and Liam fidgeted in their seats as they drove further and further from the warehouse.
"We can't just leave her." Ramon said through the silence.
"I know." Liam seethed. He checked his rearview mirror for the hundredth time.
"Then what are we doing?"
"I'm gonna go get her boyfriend."
"What? What's he gonna do? How are we supposed to tell him 'Hey, I kidnapped your girlfriend and now she's surrounded by a pack of wolves!'. That'll go over real well I'm sure."
"I don't care, I just need to tell him where she is and leave it to him to do whatever."
"What if she dies?" Ramon asked.
"Chloe's life is in her hands now. We're leaving for good, Ramon. She gave me... no, she gave us a chance to leave this all behind and now I will. I won't let her sacrifice go to waste. We can't come back now."
Ramon nodded. "Ok."
They had driven to where Chloe lived based on the information Ramon had mysteriously collected and Liam rushed to the front door. He vigorously knocked. Liam was greeted by a large handsome man who looked as though he were in a hurry.
"Hi." Liam started awkwardly.
"I'm kinda busy, what do you want?" he asked.
"This is gonna sound weird but...Chloe is here." Liam took out a notepad. As he worked on writing an address, he spoke, "So Chloe is in the warehouse. She helped us escape. She's kinda trapped there taking on a few guys. Um, yeah." Liam pulled off a note and handed it to Derek. Liam raced back into his car that had already been running, he rolled his window down and yelled, "Sorry in advance, but she's in big trouble. Good luck!"
Liam quickly pulled away from the house and drove away like a madman. He was leaving everything behind now and this was his first step to freedom.
Derek glanced down at the pink note in his hands. He wasn't sure of its validity. He walked over to his computer and typed in the address. Google displayed a building that had long been out of business. He zoomed into the map to get an image of the area. It was most certainly run down from whenever google last took an area photo.
He picked his phone up and quickly dial his sister's number.
"Tori?" Derek asked.
"Yeah. Hey, so I tracked down her phone through some hardcore hacks and GPSed the shit out it and it led me to this cute cafe. Her car is here but the wheels are busted. Her cell is on the ground and Chloe isn't clumsy enough to just leave her phone so I'm guessing she got kidnapped."
Derek took deep breaths to remind himself that panicking wouldn't help Chloe. "Some guy just drove by and gave me an address to where Chloe is."
"What?"
"I know. It's really suspicious. I don't know if it's a setup or not."
"What did this guy look like?"
"Tall, pale, this guy had a bit of a limp. Definitely a wolf."
"I think that was her ex. Chloe told me Ramon had found her a few hours before she went missing. Maybe they kidnapped her? But why would he want to lead us to her then?"
"Looks like they were in a rush to leave. They were driving in the opposite direction of this warehouse."
"That doesn't make any sense. They have to be lying. Why kidnap her and leave her?"
"I don't know. It didn't look malicious. I would have sensed that. He said something about Chloe saving them. Something about her taking on people."
"Alright. There's only one way to find out. I'm willing to take the risk. Text me the address. I'm gonna find her no matter what."
"Should I join you or should I go after them?" Derek paced around the front door.
"If your wolfie senses didn't sniff out a trick then join me."
The dial tone went flat as Tori hung up.
"Simon, we're leaving!" Derek called.
...
Tori scoured the yard full of buildings, hoping she'd find Chloe faster. The witch was mumbling a tracking spell as she searched. She had a feeling that the freshly ripped up dirt was the cause of necromancy which couldn't be good. She understood how much Chloe hated raising the dead.
Tori continued to wander and used her weak tracking spell as a guide. In this moment, she wished she had bothered to learn more defensive spells from Simon. Tori walked past building after building and so far had found no signs of Chloe. to a building with the back door open and covered in crimson mud imprinted into the wall. The spell seemed to say Chloe was here.
As hope slowly weeded its way out of her heart, Tori came across a building with a back door open. A door that had been covered in crimson mud freshly imprinted onto it. The spell seemed to say Chloe was here.
She peeked in and searched room to room."Chloe?" Tori whispered. Tori skimmed over rooms and didn't see any sign of major life. The witch envisioned Chloe in some room, gagged and alone. "Chloe!" Tori whispered again as panic rose.
As Tori searched, she could already imagine the worst. Series of terrible, gruesome scenes played in her head and she cursed Chloe for making her watch numerous horror movies.
A quick idea flickered in the Witch's head. She had envisioned Chloe in some room, gagged and alone. "Chloe!" Tori whispered again as panic rose within her.
A hand wrapped around Tori's forearm and she immediately casted a knockback spell. The man flew across the room, his back collided with the cement walls. He groaned.
"Stay back. I don't want to have to hurt you." The Witch warned.
"You're with her aren't you?" The man said as he narrowed his eyes. Tori let the fireball in her palm grow fiercer.
"She? Who is she? Chloe?"
"Look, clearly, you're a supernatural so it's fine to say this but, my pack is here and a war broke out."
"Then what exactly are you doing right now?"
"Searching for others."
"Others?"
"Wolves." he stated.
"Why?"
The man stayed quiet. Tori threatened him, she rose the rising flames now at her fingertips closer to him.
"I told there were more." he sighed. "I told him."
"Carson?"
"Yeah. Our boss. He runs this whole operation"
"Carson." She whispered. The image of Andrew popped into her head. "Where?"
The man stayed quiet again. Tori rolled her eyes, growing more frustrated with every passing second. She pressed her hand against his skin. He yelped.
"Where?" she yelled.
"Down the hall. But he's dead now." he said bitterly.
Tori's eyes widened.
"How did this war start?"
The captured wolf sighed, "Liam and Ramon started this. If they had just stopped their man ea-"
"I don't care what they did. I'm wondering how a war between Chloe and a pack of wolves happened."
"She's protecting them, Liam and Ramon. If she had just let us take them, this wouldn't have had to happen. No one had to die."
"I'm sure Chloe's hand was being forced. You wolves probably left her no choice."
"I don't know anymore. "
"Where is she?" Tori asked sternly.
"Where Carson died."
She casted a sleeping spell on the man and ran. She had to find Chloe and she didn't want to waste any more time. Tori raced down the hall that she assumed the man had mentioned and tried to pull the door open. "I can't….get this… door open." Tori said in fragments with each push. Her final push had allowed the door to sit slightly ajar. The witch could see that a heavy weight sat on the inside.
Tori stepped back and casted her most powerful offensive spell. The door blew off its hinges and crushed whomever was on the other side and in the way. Tori frantically skimmed the room and two distinct, moving and very alive bodies stood out.
She had found Chloe, the blonde was collapsed underneath a man on the cool cement. Tori threw as many fireballs as she could at the man on top of her best friend. She could hear her heart drumming. Blood rushed to her ears as her mind went blank.
"Chloe!" she called. Tori was engulphed in finding her friend.
The man charged at Tori, he jumped over stray bodies which only made it easier to freeze him. She could feel her expression grow sour. Her whole body burned with an unbearable thirst for revenge, heat radiated off her. "You." she growled.
Tori briefly heard Chloe call out to her. The witch stared at her friend. Anger slowly seeped out of her. She could already feel the flames dying in her.
"Lucky bastard." she said as she ripped her gaze away from Chloe.
Tori wound up her arm and socked the man in the jaw. He was thrusted back and lost his balance completely. His body slumped onto the ground and stayed there.
Tori flicked her hand side to side to ease the new pain that she had inflicted onto herself.
The witch scrambled towards her friend. Chloe was badly injured. "Chlo?" She cried. Tori vigilantly scouted the area to secure their safety. Tori could see and smell bodies all around them, some looking like true zombies and some not so much.
Chloe stared blankly at Tori. The blonde was disoriented but shuffled closer to her friend. She wrapped her arms around Tori and whispered a series of thank yous.
Tori inspected her friend, she checked all over Chloe's skin as she worried her lip. Bruised finger marks and patches, a cut lip, a few claw-shaped tears over skin and clothes but no visual signs of any sexual assault at least.
Tori squeezed her friend, "I'm glad you're okay. Don't worry Chloe. Simon knows a shit ton of healing magic. He can fix you right up." Tori attempted to help Chloe up but failed.
"Sorry, I-" Tori stared down at her bloodied skin. She felt her whole body shiver, her hands shook and she apologized again. Tori tried to reassure herself that Chloe was a priority but she couldn't quite bring herself to stand yet.
Tori took her cell out and called Derek. "Derek? Pick up. Bro-"
"Yeah." he said out of breath. Tori could hear wind whipping into the speakers. His laboured breathing was enough to tell Tori that he must have been running outside.
"You here yet?" she said as her voice shook ever so slightly.
"Yeah."
Tori heard a door pop off in the distance. "Find us." Tori ordered before she abruptly hung up.
"Don't worry. Derek's here." Tori assured.
The witch scanned the room again, she anxiously stared at the twitching bodies.
...
Derek ran into the room where the girls had stayed. A sea of bodies lay waste around them.
He blinked at his sister. His eyes fell onto Chloe who quietly slept on Tori's lap.
"What took you so long!" Tori whispered angrily.
"I couldn't sniff you two out. It reeks of-" Derek looked around, he could feel bile rising at the back of his throat.
"I get it. Same. But as freaky as it is, I can't really stand. Help us."
Derek maneuvered his way around man after man. He caught a dead body curiously staring at him. A gurgling whine ripped through the air. Derek shifted away. He dashed over to Chloe and quickly picked up his girlfriend who had awoken from that ghastly noise. "Sorry." she whispered as she clasps her hands together and began whispering thanks into the air. The entangled and various dead bodies that lay amongst them fell still and Chloe nuzzled up against Derek's chest. "Let's go home."
"You okay?" he asked.
"No." she sobbed.
Derek kissed her forehead and balanced Chloe onto one arm. He reached out for his sister who had patiently waited for assistance. Tori pulled herself up with Derek's sturdy arm and carefully left the warehouse behind them.
Derek led his sister into his car and sat her in the front seat. Tori was quiet for once and stayed absolutely frozen as she stared straight into the distance where warehouse had been. Derek brought Chloe to Simon, who had waited in the back seat. He took Chloe from his brother carefully. As Derek drove, he listened to Simon's chants. He prayed that Simon could fix everything for Chloe; take her pain away as fast as possible. But some things aren't that easy to fix.