Chapter 21: Thanks for waiting! School had me held up with exams and stuff. It wasn't cool.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain...
I wriggled out from Kiba's grasp to make my way to the window. Drawing back the red velvet curtains I could see the black sea of armoured soldiers marching just a few feet below us.
"Shit!" I hissed and dived to the floor, "they're everywhere!"
"Damn, damn, fuck!" Kiba yelled out angrily as literally jumped from the bed to the door, bolting it with ease and hurriedly moving around the room to try and get us organised.
"How did they know we were in Geneva!" Alexis screamed as she stuffed all of our money into a neat black leather sling bag.
"There must be some sort of tracking system," Alice suggested as she gathered our passports and IDs.
"Or Jaguara and her armies of death are going on an all-out rampage!" Tsume growled as he too checked out the window before closing the curtains and stalking the room in anger.
"Pull it together or we die, it's simple!" I snarled at them as I unbolted the door and peered outside. Coast clear for now. If we could make a clear run to the roof we might be able to escape by jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
"Look, Your Highness, we don-" Tsume began, but was cut off by loud screams and the sound of gunfire.
"We don't have time for all the Alpha male stuff right now! We need to go!" Blue shoved past Tsume much to his annoyance.
I stepped out of the room and motioned for the others to follow. Left, right, another right and through the door to the service stairs. The stairs were disused, but still in a good condition. It was certainly strong enough to hold the weight of a few teenagers who were mostly lupine.
We pounded up the stairs and burst out of the roof door. The smell of petrol hit my nose, but I chalked it up to my ailing mental health. Bullets whizzed past us, missing my head by mere millimeters.
"Evan!" Kiba held me as we all hit the cold cement of the fortress-like hotel roof.
"They're on the roof of the St. Sharon Hotel!" A gruff male voice boomed over the roaring gunfire that had us pinned down against the floor. Was the voice slightly Russian or am I still imagining things?
"Crap, they found us!" Hige yelped and I scowled. We were completely pinned down, we would be caught.
"I'm not going to die here!" I growled and bolted to my feet. I barely miss the barrage of bullets that are aimed at me as I run from the spot where my pack is to the edge of the roof. I paused for as long as I dared before making the leap.
"Aww, shit!" I yell as I landed not-so-gracefully on the shingled roof of what appeared to be a bakery. A tile slid out from under my foot as I ran across the roof and I was nearly thrown off balance. It's no big deal, it's not as if I'll die if I slip...right?
The bullets were peppering the dusty clay tiles on the roofs of the Geneva houses and shops, but still I pressed forward and ran, tempting fate and narrowly avoiding death. Surprisingly enough I was able to dodge every projectile that was fired until I was safely tucked away behind a cluster of larger buildings about twenty yards away from where the hotel was.
I walked carefully along the rooftops until I was sure I couldn't be seen by anyone. Thunderous footfalls made me crouch low. I relaxed when I registered it was my pack that had followed me.
"What took so long?" I smirked as I stood up straight and met their very angry eyes.
"What the hell was that?" Kiba growled and I sighed. Here we go again...
"I did what I had to do to survive, showing you a safe route of escape in the process," I hissed at him.
"You could have died!" Alice scolded and I laughed.
"How many times could I have died and didn't?" I asked her and she fell silent, "If we live our lives fearing death then how can we possibly hope to defeat what is after us?"
"That doesn't mean run into the bullets head first!" Kiba yelled and I shrugged.
"I'm okay, not a scratch, but if we stayed there they would've caught us and killed us," My logic was rock solid at this point and even Kiba had to agree.
"Still, don't be so reckless," Kiba mumbled and tsked in frustration.
"I really don't care," I spat as I walked to the edge of the roof and began to climb down. Luckily the building was only two levels high with a balcony so it would be easy enough to get to the ground. In one swift motion I hopped down to the balcony and then jumped down to the grass covered ground.
I didn't bother to wait for the others as I checked the back alleys for signs of Jaguara's troops. It was clear, but I could still hear the sounds of armour rattling and the shouts of the now desperate soldiers. Failure for them would mean death. I heard the others behind me as I ran down several alleys and side streets.
Our general direction would be the Eastern outskirts of Switzerland and then on to Russia where Jagaura would have no power whatsoever. Thank you, Cold War. I sniffed the air.
"Does anyone smell smoke?" I asked and they stopped in their tracks.
"And petrol," Hige winced and our eyes widened.
"Get moving!" I yelled as we sprinted out into the main street to be greeted by the towering flames that would end the city of Geneva...
I cringed at the heat of the fire and had to pull my jacket higher to shield myself. The black armoured soldiers must have given up and decided to take care of us in one go. This would kill thousands and leave more homeless. This was inhumane even in Jaguara's standards.
"We need to get out!" Sammy screamed and I grabbed Kiba's hand as the pack fled down the street. The sky was painted a fiery orange red from the blaze that consumed everything down below it. The plumes of dark grey smoke were thick and sent the smell of burning through the now thinning air.
The fire spread quickly and we were barely able to keep ahead of it. A loud crack sounded and we spun around to see the church on was burning ever so nicely. The topmost spire was breaking loose and was mere inches from falling down.
"The spire!" Alexis shrieked as it broke off and plummeted to the cobbled ground.
"Move!" I pulled Kiba along with me and snagged Alice as I rushed past her. The impact swept us all off our feet, but Kiba wrapped me up in his arms before I could hurt myself. A scream burst through the sounds of rubble falling and glass breaking.
"Sammy!"
"Oh god, Sam," I crawled over to where she writhed in agony. The spike from the top of the spire had ricocheted through her leg when it hit the cobblestone. I turned her over into the recovery position and gasped at the blood on my hands. The glass from the ornate stained-glass window had shattered and pierced her back filling it with crystal shards.
"Evan, leave me here," She whispered and I felt warm tears spill down my cheeks.
"No, no, no, you'll live," I stroked her arm and tried to keep her with me. Kiba crouched next to me and held me close.
"It's okay, I'm not afraid to die," She smiled at me and I sobbed loudly.
"When you see Rust," I had to pause to stop myself from having a breakdown, "tell him I loved him,"
"Sure thing," She began closing her eyes. I placed a kiss on her forehead.
"I love you Samantha," I buried my head into Kiba and cried for all I was worth.
"Thanks for being there for me," Alexis smoothed Sammy hair back and hugged Alice.
"You fucking bitch, you die here after all that's happened," Alice sniffed and hugged Sammy as best she could, "I'm going to miss you,"
"Thanks for being one of my first human friends," Kiba smiled as Sammy closed her eyes and her breathing ceased.
"We need to leave," Tsume offered his hand to both Alice and me, "I know it hurts, but we can always avenge her,"
I took Tsume's hand and let him and Kiba lead me away from one of my best friends in the entire world that died because of me...
I stand at the edge
To look at the world
I rise so high
With wings unfurled
Fanning flames
To kill all lies
Death in all eternal planes
I'll be alright
I shall sleep sweetly
I give up living
Now completely
Do not worry
Death works neatly
This I promise
Do not strife
For remember that
I loved my life
Okay, sorry for the LONG wait and how short the chapter was, but I should be able to update either weekly or bi-weekly with longer chapters.
Please review.