Vision for Sight

Chapter 14: Falling into Place

This was the fastest the tracking radar had gone in days, the wolves these humans sought to help where within four hundred metres of them. Morale was starting to rise, most of it however was due to Alice's positivity in the matter and enthusiasm not to give up though, not to mention her bounciness no was becoming somewhat amusing, even to Thomas. The blood they found must have come from another animal, if it belonged to one of the wolves they were following then they would have found it by now down and out due to blood lose. It was a relief to hear this from the skipper, it was his theory. There was however no way of knowing for sure that the blood did actually belong to one of them, it might well do, and something was spurring them on and evade them and always remain ahead. If that was the case, what was it?

Anyway, the radar being as frantic as it was, was relieving, finally they were gaining some ground on them. They made sure their camera equipment was functioning, they didn't want to come all this way with no documentation! Skipper had his rifle primed, loaded with a fast acting tranquilliser round slipped inside. He had to admit, he was looking forward to this. Although he couldn't help but worry about how long this was taking. He was doing this out of the good of his heart, he could have been paid a hell of a lot more for this. He had other jobs to do, three of which, that he would have been paid for, he had to cancel! As long as he got a mention in this, then hopefully he could get his business booming higher than ever and his crew could get paid a bonus.

They heard a howl of a wolf, and it was close VERY close. Grins appeared on all their faces, all but Thomas's anyway. Wolves howled when near the territory of another pack, as another way to mark boundaries, more hen anything else really. That…or it was as a warning. Their wolves many very well have just been found intruding…

Breakfast was cut short, and no once again Daria and Callen were running for their lives. She still had the blood from the catch all over her face, never having a time to even finish her, or his, fill before they were running. It all started when Daria heard talking, Callen went to investigate and returned minutes later fearing for both of them. They were indeed being chased, and after seeing who the wolves were, for the last few days! Four highly trained Alphas had been hunting them down, Lucas was serious then about what he said, and Daria feared just as much from what the wolf told her that day.

He led the way, bringing pain to his leg just so Daria could clearly hear his paw steps so she could follow. He didn't know what to do, he knew they'd catch them at some point if they just carried on running, and this time it wasn't just because of Daria, his leg was preventing him. It was hurting, he couldn't keep this up. Maybe by breaking their line of sight, it might confuse them a bit and give them some time to slip away? It wasn't a permanent solution, if these wolves have been capable of tracking them from scent and prints for the past couple of days then they wouldn't be quick to pick up any from around here. Anything to buy more time and add to their confusion was all he could come up with.

So to do this he led Daria in unplanned patterns, nothing the pursuers could predict and get ahead of. Unexpected is how the needed to think and remain. "What are we going to do?" Daria shouted in a panic.

"I don't know, I'm thinking alright!" He responded back fearfully. They couldn't hide, they would find them, and they couldn't run, they would catch up to them, to say their options were pretty limited would be an understatement.

"Do not lose them!" One of the perusing wolves bellowed fiercely, he really wasn't that far behind.

This was hopeless, Daria could see no way out. They were after her, not Callen, maybe if she stopped then they'd let him go? "You need to keep moving."

"Mom, we need your help!" She shouted.

"Don't give up, you need to trust me sweetheart."

"Stop." Callen said, rather too quickly but was fast enough himself to catch her as she ran into him. "We'll do the same as before, you're going to hide and I'll lead them away."

"You can't possibly outrun them!" She exclaimed. "They're too close."

"We don't have a choice."

"KEEP MOVING!"

"Callen we've got to go, trust me."

"We can't Daria!" He snapped. "We can't possibly outrun them. If we can just…"

"No, you need to stop and listen to me now." She grabbed his shoulders, making him look right at her. "You need to trust ME now, please Callen."

"There's a river up ahead, you take him there, you'll be safe."

She had placed her trust in him for this long, maybe it was only fair he returned it. But it was hard, placing his life in the paws of someone who can't possibly know what lies ahead. He looked back, the wolves closed in, honestly had no idea what he was planning on doing anyway, it was complete coincidence that the last time they split up they ran into one another again. His plan wasn't going to work and they WOULD catch him and eventually find her. But that still didn't give him hope in trusting her. The way he saw this, there was no way out, he could only let her have hope. He nodded. "Ok, let's go."

Relieved, Daria moved to his side in order to follow him. "This way, there's a river up ahead." He grinned a little bit, how could she possibly know? But then again maybe she could hear one further then his own hearing capabilities could reach? Either way, he had to let her believe there was hope in escaping this, but also wanted to believe there was still a chance himself. Who knows, maybe there was a way out. He pushed on, it was faster when he led the way and instructed her around the obstacles they came across.

Neil chuckled as they sprinted on, his eyes never leaving the target, Daria. They were locked on, letting his body bring itself closer to the kill. "There's no point in running, we will catch you!" He shouted. This tease inspired the rest of the wolves in his company to begin shouting their own torments, enjoying the thrill of this very different sort of hunt.

"Daria they're getting real close." Callen told her while glancing back.

"It's not much further."

"Just keep moving!" She shouted back.

She clearly didn't understand what he meant by "real" close, this was literally a few dozen yards away, and still closing. Daria could hear their panting, the thundering paws of the five wolves baring down on her and Callen, she couldn't keep this up, the lack of breath was starting to get to her.

Looking back again, when he should have been looking ahead, Callen tripped over a log, causing a yelp of both surprise and pain to escape his lips when he fell. Daria pretty much tripped over him, making him cry out a second time when she landed on that one bad leg. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head, Daria still lying over him and breathing heavily, he could see the whites of the wolves' eyes and the sounds of their growls. A tear fell from his left eyes as he looked down to Daria. "I'm so sorry, Daria. It's over." She pushed herself up, spinning around towards the wolves.

"Not yet…" She said determined. "MOM!"

The atmosphere changed in a matter of seconds, Callen virtually feeling nauseas at the stomach twisting sensation. A gloom set over them, caused however by the dark clouds that manifested overhead and out of no-where, growling silently as if a pack of a hundred wolves grumbled in sync. He watched Daria, the wolves never ceasing their sprint and not noticing the forming clouds above them when something unimaginable happened, but also something so familiar.

Lightening streaked out from the clouds, screaming as it came crashing out from the skies and crashed into the ground in between Daria and their chasers. The power of it struck them back sweeping them off their paws, including Daria who instead of being thrown back, was toppled over. Callen sat himself up a little more and opened his paws to catch her.

Neil, Saleen, Karl and Steve had never tasted the dirt in such a way and from such an unnatural occurrence, it knocked the wind out of them severally and left them extremely disorientated. They didn't know where their heads were at, mostly likely still the ten feet in front of them where they were to begin with.

Callen's jaw was hung agape, even more so when an extremely thick tree not too far away creaked and groaned before it collapsed, shaking the ground surely for miles around. It was so loud, but it was perfect…It blocked the way for the chasing wolves, an obstacle they'd need to climb over after reviving yourself. But before all that though…what the hell happened?!

"Come on, move it!" Daria clambered off him, dragging him up and nudging him on to lead the way. Never mind the other wolves, his own train of thought hadn't caught up to him yet. He wasn't sure what to think about what he just saw, where he was going, who was chasing them, he was just left gobsmacked.

"Come on…g-get up!" Neil ordered, his own legs shaking from the lightening. He shook his head, kicking Steve beside him to encourage the black and brown wolf to get up.

"What the heck…was that?" Karl gasped, crawling forward towards the collapsed tree to help him up. "The girl is a witch!" He proclaimed.

"It was a freak strike, nothing more." Saleen added, rolling onto her front and craning her neck to the right to ease the ache there. "The mission hasn't changed, come on, they're getting away."

"No, stop!" Karl snarled, shaking away his disorientation and clearing his senses. "This is serious; how did she do that? Ad how did she do that to you back home at the riverbank?"

"It wasn't her." Neil growled back. "Know your place, Lucas tasked me to end her life or else we can never go home, we are all in this now, we've all done something to unset Lucas so I suggest if you want to see your mate again I suggest you shut up and jump over that tree!"

"Come on, it's just up ahead, I can see it!" Callen ushered, leading Daria closing alongside him. Every other step, or something like that, he'd glace over his shoulder to see where the wolves were, or if there was any more lightening behind them. He wanted to see it again, he had been hoping it would happen again, after all lightning strikes twice, and that was all he was clinging to before he jumped to a supernatural conclusion. His mind was everywhere, escaping, confused, his leg, Daria, the river…where did he start? The river had to be a good starting point.

They came to a grinding halt, finding the river was more than just a river, more something similar to a raging rapid! Ok, maybe not to that degree, but it was a fast moving river, and it was deep, even the strongest wolf wouldn't have a chance swimming through it. So therefore swimming across wasn't an option, especially seeing as Daria couldn't swim. "Well?" She questioned. What were they waiting for?

Callen shook his head. "We can't cross, it's too fast and deep."

"There's a tree upriver, hurry!"

"What's upriver?" She asked, turning her head to the side in order to hear out the wolves gaining on them again.

"I don't know; it goes around a corner."

"It's your only hope, I can help you."

"There's a tree, it can help us get across." She started walking in the direction, feeling the splashes of the water droplets on her pelt she could tell which way the river flowed, just walk in the opposite direction.

"How could you possibly know that?" He responded, this time a little more demandingly.

"I tried to tell you once and you didn't believe me." She answered, turning back to him. There was a pause between them, Callen first thought was about if she was really trying to say it was her dead mother telling her all this? Because, admittedly, everything unexplained so far that has happened around them, and more specifically her, is starting to point in that direction. Sure he believed in such thing but only when there was no other answer, and until lately he thought he had those answers about this she-wolf, but maybe the question needed rethinking. This tree she say's is up ahead could provide another piece to this puzzle.

The sounds of the barking wolves made him come up with his reply. "Ok, let's go." He caught up to her, admiring her determination on the subject for a moment, before letting her know he was beside her and guiding her on. Running alongside the river, a tree did come to sight, acting as a bridge across it. It was ridiculous, she knew, she knew it was there. But how was not the question, he was starting to believe this story or hers now, just maybe it no longer was a story. If they can use it to cross maybe they can dislodge it from the other side? That way they couldn't be followed.

Callen nudged her towards it, keeping an eye on the enclosing wolves he could see now running alongside the stream too. "Come on, hurry up!" He seethed tensely. Daria brought her paws up, feeling just how wide it was. Not particularly, but enough to walk across. She anchored her claws in to provide stability, lower herself before springing up and onto the tree. Callen continued to hurry her along. And when she had covered enough he too leapt on, but once he did he turned around to start walking backwards, this way he could try and fend off the wolves should they too clamber on.

Slowly, they edged their way over, Daria feeling in front of her before taking steps to make sure she didn't slide over the side. The force the water droplets were hitting her at showed how fast this river was flowing, still water made her worry, this was just petrifying. "Daria hurry up!" This time he shouted, but suddenly she came to a stop, causing Callen to back up into her. "Hurry up doesn't mean stop!"

"I can't find the tree." She said fearfully. He craned his neck around, leaning riskily over just to see around her only to find the reason why she couldn't find it, was because there wasn't any more of it. It was snapped off; the tree didn't reach the full way across leaving about a metres gap between them and the riverbank. It seems the force of the river might have snapped it off during a point when the river might have been higher. Either way, it left them in deep trouble, they were now blocked off on both sides. Neil cackled to himself at seeing their trouble and how they didn't see it to begin with.

"Well, well, well. Caught in a spot of trouble are you?" He laughed. Callen's clear response to that was a deep growl and the bearing of his teeth. "There's no point in running now, you have no-here else to go.

"Daria why the hell did you bring us here?" He snapped back to her.

"This is the right place; you're going to be ok."

"Seriously? There's no-where to go, how do we get out of this?"

"You think?" Saleen snickered as she checked out the log thinking if it was safe to jump on with them. It didn't look very stable, it shook and moved each time the river hit it with some force, it seemed to be one good hit from the river to come clean off. This finding she whispered to Neil who again began to laugh before nodding to her. Saleen turned to Karl and Steve, bringing them over and explaining what their plan is.

"Now then, there are two ways we can do this." Neil said. "The first is far easier and much better for the two of you. Or…" Suddenly, the tree moved a great deal, causing Daria to slip and Callen having to catch her and bring her back up. Karl had barged the tree, loosening it further. "The second which involves both of you drowning in this river. And if that doesn't do the trick, the waterfall at the end of it will which."

It made some sense now, water flows quicker towards a waterfall. The ground wasn't particularly steep here so that wasn't the reason why, a waterfall had to be it. Karl reared up again to take another run at it, moving it a few inches this time. It was loose now, it just needed moving over the edge.

"Everything will be ok; you need to trust me."

"We'll be ok." Daria said. "We're going to be ok."

"I might be but you can't swim. And I won't be able to hold you up in that." He said worriedly back to her.

"Tell him that no matter what happens…"

"…We will get out of this, you just need to stay strong." Daria finished, feeling as though it wasn't even her that said it.

This time, both Karl and Steve took a place beside the tree, nudging it ever closer to the edge, wobbling Daria and Callen, making them both gasp and finch, gripping the tree tighter.

"If the tree goes with you the odds are against you, you need to jump!"

"Callen we have to jump." He looked to her in disbelief, was she really willing to throw herself into this knowing that the chance of survival was just as good as walking towards the wolves. But then again she did jump off the boat and away from those humans fully aware of the consequences.

The tree moved again, Saleen left the boys to it and stood alongside Neil and watched the two with a smirk. She wasn't happy about this, they were young, in her eyes they have done nothing wrong. But they wouldn't be able to return home until this was done, and they'd be ridding the world of another weak wolf, that was something she did believe in.

Callen nodded, he understood now, their chances were no better jumping than walking off with them. "Let's do it." Together, they turned to face downstream, Callen eying the water and trying to see through it to find how deep it really was. This was going to be tough, he doubted his own ability to swim through this, find somewhere to get out before hitting the waterfall and do it all without letting Daria drown.

"I promise, everything will be ok, you will both be ok."

"Kick and scratch right?" She asked, fear all spread across her face and in the form of a worried tear. He chuckled lightly, no point in hiding his own.

"Yeah, that's it, kick and scratch."

Love a good cliffhanger me! haha

As always, leave a review, send a PM or whatever, ove seeing what you guys think. Things are starting to get interesting, and just so you all know, I have plannned out, start to finish, the remaining chapters. There shall be no more then five max.

On another note, I have had a thought in my head that has been been in my head pretty much every day since, no exaggeraton. It is of course a story Idea, and those who loved the series before, it is to do with the A Son of Wolves story. Now, the reason why I'm very persistent to write this out is because it'll be nothing like the others. It will feature our main characters, only this story is more of a one shot, looking into what would've happened after the alternative ending where Leo did pass away. HOWEVER, It will be a darker and...well, different. There has been no planning or writing to this, it's been nothing more then an idea. So here's the deal...if more then five of my readers say they want to see it, in the form of a review or a PM, I will write it. Just take into account what I said about it, because I know for a fact that the series changed as it went along and I wouldn't want to finish it on this kind of note. I shall leave it for you to decide. If you want tmore information about it send me a PM. Until next time. :)

The FalconWolf