Light rain dribbled down from the cloudy night sky, contacting against everything within reach. An occasional low rumble emitted in the distance and rolled on until eventually fading until another shortly took it's place, a warning of stormy weather approaching.
"There's nothing here either..."
The silhouette of three humans shuffled around the driver's side of the fourth and final car in the small clearing as they closed the last door of the vehicle they'd search. No luck had followed them ever since...
"We should have never left the group...what better luck out here, alone with those...things." the man said, glaring at the wetness of the ground.
The female arose from assuring the daughter, running a hand through her own hair. "That man was going to lead our group to ruins. Lead us all to ruin. We cannot over-think the decision we made. It was for the best. We're definitely better out here than with them."
A brief quiet between the two adults left room for another low roll of thunder to speak clearly without interruption. A face rub and a long, exaggerated sigh was what she got back. "You're right. I'm sorry honey...I'm sorry."
The man glanced down at his youngest. His only child.
"Hey, sunshine."
Approaching and kneeling down to his child's height, he gently placed his hands over her smaller ones. Gazing into her eyes with the love of a guardian, he smiled widely. "I know things are scary. And I've never been good enough at assurances...mommy would tell ya, ha...but two things are for sure in this crazy world we now live in. None of this is on you, and we'll protect you with everything inside of us to keep you safe, okay? You're gonna be just fine without the burrow. We're gonna be just fine."
Her parents couldn't tell, but their child's eyes had already started to water up, her now conflicted emotions concealed by the rain that began to slightly increase in intensity. But she feigned a smile regardless. She had nothing to fear, right? Mommy and daddy were here.
The child's mom joined a kneeling position down next to her husband and hugged her child, failing to subdue streams of tears falling, despite best efforts.
"Jolene," the child's mom tearfully called to her child. A hand rested with a playful thud on top of the kid's head. "We love you. And we're going to get somewhere safer."
The mother got back to her feet as her lover joined her. "This rain isn't helping. Let's ge-"
"ALRIGHTY NOW! Come on out, I know we heard ya!"
The pair of parents immediately ducked down with their child behind the van they had last searched, a sharp chill of panic washing over them as they held Jolene close. The call had definitely come from their north, but they had no idea where exactly. The dad's hands began immediately trembling.
"Just shut up, Jason! Shut up! Before you bring any other unwanted attention!" one of the unknown assailants whispered harshly. "I already saved your ass from those damn disco bees because of unnecessary shit like this and I won't do it again!"
Ignoring his two companions, the third one took a few steps towards the group of abandoned vehicles and reached towards his waist. Something black and and compact was lifted up into the air, it's presence something to be feared by anyone with enough knowledge. Something more of absurd rarity in current times. A gun.
"Now, let's just make this nice and quick. I know you're behind one of these cars. So you can either come out now and ease your troubles, or we'll come over ourselves and just end whoever's there...and we'll make it slow."
"How do you even know if they're human?" one of the assailants remarked with gritted teeth. "Are you really gonna risk this one?"
"I saw their heads before they ducked back down. They ain't no Mutes."
The father closed his eyes tight and pounded the ground with a fist. No time to wait. No time to find other solutions. With a swift turn, he faced his wife and daughter.
"Donna, I need you to trust me, alright? I need you to take Jolene and hide here behind the car; run into the forest when their not looking."
His wife's eyes grew as wide as they possibly could, immediately following with a sharp head shake. "No, no, no, no, not like this, honey not-"
"Do this for Jolene."
"...I-"
"Honey, I love you."
The wife began to sob along with Jolene, trying to stifle herself, but current tensions made it hard to suppress. "l-love you too."
The husband then eyed Jolene with the softest gaze he could muster. "Daddy's gonna play hero, okay, Jolene? No matter what happens, I'm never gone. I'm always right here," her father placed a balled fist against his chest, by his heart."Stay strong, no matter what. It get's hard but-"
"I'm gonna count to three, and that's it! If you don't come out, I'll make you wish you did. I swear on my grave."
The haunting words etched themselves into the father's mind, and then into his heart.
"Donna," Jolene's father whispered shakily to his wife as he took a quick glance under the van to find the assailants getting closer. "Do this for her...keep behind the car, and I'll get their eyes away from here. Take her and run that way," he said with bated breath as he pointed towards the east of the forest from their position.
"Just do this for her," Jolene's father repeated as he got up and raised his hands in the air, revealing his position to their instigators. He walked slowly from behind the van, never taking his eyes off of the firearm one of them brandished. How the hell did he get one of those? Couldn't be...
"Stop! You got me, okay?" the husband inched himself away from the van and away from his family, trying to get as much space from them as possible.
A hardy chuckle emitted from the gun-brandishing human. "Well, took ya long enough, don't you think? I was thinking I was gonna have to waste some of the only precious bullets we have! Come over here, now."
The father slowly walked forwards, moving slightly to the left as he approached to get their eyes way from where he once was. "What do you want with me? I don't have anything of value. Been searching through these cars and all I found worth while was some stupid pens, ha." the father lied with a faked chuckle...well, white lie. They really didn't find much of anything worthy at all.
"Maybe, we're writers? I think they're pretty note worthy."
"Ah-ha, I get it! That was pretty go-"
"Shut up."
"Alright, damn."
The father was internally losing his patience. Maybe I could get the gun. Maybe. Maybe if he gets close enough. Maybe not...maybe-
"Look, man. I know there's someone else behind that van right there."
The words nearly stopped the father's heart.
"What? No, it's just me. See I came through not long ago and-"
The thug slowly walked up to the father and stopped within a foot. He easily towered over Jolene's father by some inches.
"I'm going to shoot you right here and now and leave you for those damn forest dwellers if that other one doesn't come out. She won't fare any better. And no counting this time."
"Look, man...I'm telling you..." Jolene's father cursed himself harshly for pausing. "There's no one behind the...run! Run now! Go!" Jolene's father commanded as loud as he could, pushing himself forward towards the gun the man had gripped, trying to restrained the arm that held it. The other two offenders quickly came to his help, one of them delivering a solid punch to the father's gut.
The wife took the chance and took off with Jolene in her arms, nearly stumbling off her balance as she did. Just as it happened.
Just as thunder crackled throughout the night sky.
Just as the round went off.
The sound paused the wife mid-run. She instinctively turned back and held her daughter even tighter.
"Duncan!" the wife screeched, her eyes now laid upon the twitching form of her husband, the assailant's attention now on her. She turned to run again, nearing the forest with every step.
"Knew I was right." the gun wielding bandit muttered to himself as he took aim. Three shots rang out.
The mother felt a hot, searing pain in her thigh and abdomen. She soon found herself tumbling forward and on top of her child, her vision quickly hazing. Her mind blanked out and failed to fully move her arm, leg, anything on command. But she found that she could still speak.
"Jolene..." the mother managed to get out. "Go...run away. Run..."
The small child couldn't form any words. Only a dry throat.
"We love...you..."
Jolene couldn't speak. She tried, but she just couldn't bring forth any words.
"Should've just come out, lady! Maybe things could've been different...maybe!" the voice echoed.
"We need to get out of here now. Screw the cars, those Mutes are going to flock here any second!"
Finally wiggling herself from under the heavy weight of her mother, Jolene found her unresponsive.
"Mom? M-mom, please...mom!"
The murder turned from his partners and back to the wife, widening his eyes.
"What...that's a kid?"
Jolene looked up at the murder of her mother, then back to her corpse.
"No matter what happens, I'm never gone. I'm always right here. Stay strong, no matter what..."
Eye's filled with anguish and warm tears, Jolene picked herself up and swiftly dashed for the forest. One of the assailants caught her form moving quickly towards escape and began to run after her.
"Let her go!" the man yelled at his partner, his words bringing him to a stop and quickly glancing back and fourth between him and the forest in which the young girl fled.
Jolene was now completely submerged in the darkness of the forest, out of range and out of sight.
"You're an idiot, Mark."
"I'm also the one with the gun."
"Exactly!"
"Besides," the man re-holstered the pistol, ignoring the remark. "...if we don't get to her...the forest surely will. I think the forest is a lot more suited. Let's get out of here. We'll come back to the cars ourselves when things calm down here."
Jolene ran and ran.
She didn't know what else to do. It was all she thought she could do.
With no idea if the murderers of her parents where after her, she kept her small legs in motion, muddy footprints continuously left in her wake. She tried to stay forward on a path of sorts, but the forest wasn't a trail and every moment or so, trees and bushes would throw her aimlessly in a whole new direction. The darkness didn't help. 'As long as I'm going away...as long as I'm going forward...' she thought through the panic that was still swarming amongst her mind.
'Gotta keep going for mom and dad gotta-'
One foot landing in the wrong place at the wrong time was all it took for her to slip against the loose dirt weakened by the rain. Her momentum launched her forward as she instinctively brung her arms in front of her to ease the coming impact. She hit the ground with a skid, the grassy terrain luckily taking most of the stun away from what could have been a rougher landing. Even though she had finally been forced to stop running for the moment, Jolene's rapid heart rate persisted. Her first immediate thought as she sat herself upright was to continue running, but she really hadn't noticed just how tired she really was until now, the buzz of adrenaline stimulated from earlier now wearing itself thin.
It was only in this unexpected calm that everything came crashing down on top of her. Whatever community she had was gone. Her parents were gone. And she was all alone by herself in a world she hardly even knew, nor understood. And with the Mutes. That's what her parents referred to them as. The creatures that she'd never seen first-handed. Only from afar. Her parents always kept her safe from having to deal with them.
Until now.
In the whirlpool of this hard realization once again, she began to cry. The tears flowed unrestrained and unfettered down her cheeks as she held her head in her hands, letting all of what happened overflow with nothing censored. No parents to assure her otherwise. Crackles of thunder from the coming storm accompanied her mental agony.
It was at this time that the rain began to die down back into a simple drizzle for the moment. Jolene began clearing away the excess of water from her face as the tears slowly faded, her vision slowly coming back to her control. And-
"Grrrrrrrr..."
Jolene froze in place.
She stood still, a deer-in-the-headlights with no light in sight. Any reliable form of illumination came from the streaks of lighting from a storm that had grown closer. She then began slowly scanning her head from left to right. Her breathing halted and she held her breath. She knew she heard it. She just didn't know what it was...or where it came from. But it wasn't the trees. And it wasn't the thunder.
She scanned again, slowly and cautiously getting to her feet. Right to left. Left to right. She backed up just a little. Right to-
There it was.
Something.
Something in the bushes in front of her.
Did you see it?
Jolene did.
Something purple that illuminated through the thicket. And it moved, but just slightly.
Jolene didn't wait. She turned to run again. Dashing as fast as she possibly could, she put as much power into every propel her legs gave. Dodging the many trees and vines that threatened to slow her down in the seemingly never-ending darkness, something scraped against her cheek, leaving a burning, tingly sensation. She managed her sprint well, but she still heard it behind her. Whatever it was. And it was getting closer.
Jolene's breathing soon became labored once again and her legs were fairing just about the same. She swore she could hear more of them. She didn't dare turn around. But she was so tired...she couldn't keep going...
A quick succession of thumps sounded behind her and before she even realized what happened, she collided forward onto the forest floor, a heavy weight pressed against her. She mustered whatever strength was left in her to get whatever terror was on top of her off, but all she could manage was to twist around and face her attacker.
No...
...
...
...
"Listen...you hear that?" Jolene's father noted as he paused and looked at his daughter.
Jolene looked around and then trailed back to her father's unfaltering stare. His smile grew.
"Just listen carefully. Hold your breath a bit if you have to."
Jolene held her breath a bit more tense than she had to, but began concentrating nonetheless. It was rather faint, but Jolene finally caught it, just as her father approached and leaned down to her size.
"Those are the howls of the Mute Wolves. Our biggest goal is staying out of their territory range. They're already dangerous enough, but entering their territory is a trip down a whole other level of danger." he explained, getting just a bit more serious in his tone.
"Don't be scared, though. We're right here and we'll keep you safe. But things can happen. And this is very vital for you to know..."
Jolene leaned in closer in anticipation to her father's closing words.
"Whatever you do, even when it's hard...if you ever find yourself in a position where your unable to escape and in contact with these Mutes, show no fear to them. Stand your ground as best as you can."
...
...
...
She was staring straight into the eyes of a Mute Wolf.
The neon purple eyes merely glared back. The area was tense with similar glares. She just couldn't see them yet. Her mind wanted her to scream, but her voice had failed her once more. One by one, more revealed themselves. They were all, to her surprise, rather young looking, all appearing about her same height.
"Very good, little Josie. Now, please release her."
The voice came through very calm and silky, the owner stepping from behind a larger tree from further away alongside another slightly taller wolf. They were both the tallest of all the rest, clearly the alphas of the group. The more feminine of the two donned a pink light jacket, a black professional dress underneath topped off with a pink pearl necklace to complement her attire.
The more masculine-looking wolf wore a similar getup; a pink long-sleeved shirt with a bow-tie to top it off. An ascot scarf of a darker shade of the same color was tied around his neck, draping evenly over both of his shoulders.
It was only then that the human child fully realized the younger wolves were all sporting the same proper clothing, much akin to a boarding school. They approached slowly as the younger wolf that pinned Jolene retreated to the ring of wolves that now surrounded her. What seemed to be the female of the two adults moved forward closer to a now cowering Jolene, kneeling down in front of her as she silently trembled.
"Forgive my youngest child's actions. She was rather...ecstatic to see who it was thrashing nosily through our forest. And who might you be?" the older wolf Mute asked, a tense look widening into a smile and unintentionally showing off a few of the numerous piercingly-sharp teeth inside.
What was she to say, what was she to say?
Give them her name? Then they would know. Then if she escaped, they could ask around. But then it hit her. She wasn't going to escape. This was it. Whatever fate that lay in wait and want was dependent on how she responded, and running was long out of the question. So she did the easy thing. She gave them her name.
"J-Jolene...my name is..."
"Jolene..." The adult wolf duplicated, raising her head and tilted her vision slightly above the human youth's head, as if taking in the name like a fine wine. "Oh, darling. What a beautiful name that is. My name is Cecilia, and this is my husband, Alphonso." the wolf waved an arm towards the taller wolf now standing behind her.
The father wolf didn't move and his stoic expression remained the same.
"Hello."
"Now, there is no reason to be afraid of us...Jolene. We were on a walk and were merely curious as to who was coming toward our home so fast. We heard the ruckus earlier and thought maybe it could be danger...but it has become clear that you are no danger...am I correct?"
Jolene immediately shook her head. "I-I don't want to hurt any of you, so long as you aren't going to hurt me." The words came out half-choked on fear, but she was gaining just a bit her calmness back, surprisingly, despite current events. Or maybe she was just that tired?
"Well then..." the adult wolf adjusted her pearl necklace slightly and looked back at Jolene, an expression more somber and serious. "If I have your trust, then perhaps I can safely inform you that I have committed a lie on my behalf."
The small human blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Giving out a small sigh, she got just a tad closer. "We heard the ruckus in the forest clearing, yes...but we also witnessed what happened. We saw your caretakers die."
The words she spoke came by like a train. Jolene's mother and father flashed into her mind again as lighting struck a tree uncomfortably close them, rattling the younger wolves.
"M-mom, dad? Can we go? The storm...I 'm scared!" A younger wolf Mute admitted desperately, fur standing on end. The other siblings agreed and chattered amongst themselves as the father calmed them.
The wolf mother continued. "Jolene...we can accommodate you; give you a place to live. I know you have no one else, but we can help you survive. And I know that trusting Mutes like us is not what you've been taught to do. However, you must trust us if you want a chance for a better future, and then you must be tested. And it won't be easy."
Jolene felt the need to cry, but the tears never came. She didn't know these creatures. Father and mother warned her not to get too close to any of them, promising to protect her from danger...but they were gone now. And she couldn't act strong in the face of them like her father told her. So what else did she have?
Nothing...
'Nothing but them...' the human child thought to herself.
"I-I...I-"
The wolf now known as Cecilia leaned in closer than ever before, slowly wrapping her arms around Jolene and pulling her close. She squirmed at the surprise embrace, but a strange feeling of safety washed over her.
"You don't have to be afraid, Jolene. You're all alone. Unless you choose not to be."
The words were whispered into her ears and for just a moment, everything felt normal. She felt like she had a chance. And so, looking up at the wolf, Jolene gave an answer so quiet, that only Cecilia could hear.
"Okay."
