The journey back to the city was much easier than the one to the den was. Michael and Selene found themselves traveling back through the underground tunnel in no tie. Not to say that they weren't looking over their shoulders.
Selene hated the feeling of being watched. She hated feeling like the prey as opposed to the predator. She only hoped she wouldn't have to feel that way long. Once they got the pack moved in to the safety of the new den, they could focus on Marcus and the vampires, and the sooner they did that, the sooner they could end this war once and for all. It was amazing how just one person could make her change her whole view on the world in just a single night. Now that Selene was with Michael, and Viktor was dead, she was getting tired. And not physically, just tired, tired of the war, and tired of fighting. She used to live for it, she would wake up every night ready to fight, but now she was sick of it. Mind you, she'd keep going strong until the final battle played out. But she tried to imagine what would happen after the war was done. She tried to imagine her life.
They walked through the secret passageway the lead into the back of Raze's office. Michael opened the door and Selene walked in. The office was empty.
They went down to Aubrey's office. Michael knocked on the door. There was no reply.
There was a lot of noise coming from the common room. They walked in and what they saw shocked them.
There was blood and bodies everywhere. About forty out of the one hundred or so lycans were dead. Those that were still alive moved about the bodies weeping. Children cried, women wailed, and men sulked.
Selene was awe stricken by the entire thing. It was a devastating scene. Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her leg. It was the little boy from a few days earlier. The one who Selene gave the ball to. She bent down to her knees.
" My mother…my father…they're not getting up…" he cried.
Selene looked over to where the boy was pointing. The boy's parents were dead on the ground, bleeding profusely. Selene took the boy's hand in her own. She didn't say anything. What could she say? That everything was fine, that everything would be okay? It obviously wasn't fine, and it wasn't going to be okay. Not for a long time.
Aubrey ran up to Selene and Michael. " Thank Lucian you two are safe! We assumed you were dead!"
Michael looked around, horrified. " What happened?"
"A group of vampires attacked not two hours after sunset. We held them off and chased them away, but they killed off a little less than half the pack." Aubrey said. He was bleeding from various places on his body, but he looked for the most part okay.
Selene turned to Aubrey, still holding the boy's hand. " We're going to have to move sooner than we planned."
" And in bigger groups." Added Michael. " The sooner we leave the better."
Everything was in chaos. Michael tried to get the remnants of the pack together and to pay attention but none of them were listening. Fed up, Michael walked over and pulled one of Selene's guns out of her holster.
" Hey…" she started, but she was silenced as Michael fired three shots into the air.
Everyone fell silent and looked at him.
Michael jumped up on a crate to elevate himself so he could be seen and heard. " Listen, everyone. I know what happened here was a tragedy. I know you are hurt and you're mad, but we need to calm down right now."
" How would you know what we need? While you were out with the vampire, this happened!" somebody shouted out.
" Just listen, please." Michael reasoned.
" Why should we? You weren't even here to protect us! Some leader you are!" a woman cried out.
" Yeah!" someone else agreed.
" Everyone just shut up and listen to me for one god damn minute!" Michael yelled. This silenced the rebellious outbursts. " What Selene and I were doing was making sure that a new location was safe enough to move the pack to. We obviously cannot stay here. Marcus will be back to finish us off, for sure. Aubrey, Selene, Ravyn, and I have been making plans to move you guys to a safer location."
" When were you going to tell us!" came a yell.
" I'm telling you now." Michael responded.
" I'm not leaving. Let them come! This is my home and I'm willing to die protecting it!" someone shouted.
Selene jumped up on to the box. " We can't stay here. We'll be slaughtered for sure. You can choose to trust us and move to a new location, or you can stay here and die like cattle. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but we can win this war. But we can't do it here and we can't do it now. We're not asking you to risk your lives for us, but we are asking you to trust us with yours." The little lycan boy came running up and clenched to Selene's leg like his immortal life depended on it. Selene looked down at him, then to the crowd. " Look at this boy. A few days ago he was playing happily with his friends, and now his parents are dead. If we all stay here, we're basically telling him he had nothing to live for but death. He has nothing to look forward to. He might as well end his own life before Marcus and the death dealers do it for him. But if we move to this new den, he might actually have a chance to grow up. He might actually live to see the end of the war. We all will. But if you don't trust us to lead the way, you might as well end your own lives right now. But if you just trust us, and follow us, we can lead the way to a new world. A world where vampires and lycans live in peace. I'm not saying you'll all make it, because that's doubtful. But what I am offering is a chance, a chance to survive, a chance to live on past this war, to a better life."
The crowd absorbed Selene's words.
Michael smiled at her, and then looked back to the crowd. " All of you willing to move, come to Raze's office in a half an hour. All of you wanting to stay, well, stay. And maybe we'll see you around."
Michael and Selene jumped off the crate. Selene picked the boy up in her arms and carried him with her to Raze's office.
Aubrey came up to Selene. " That was amazing. Truly. Could not have done a better job if I had rehearsed it."
" Thanks Aubrey. But it's easy to speak that way if it's coming from the heart." She said to him, and then she and Michael turned to the little boy who was sitting on a stool.
" So I never got a chance to ask you, what's your name?" Selene asked the little lycan boy. He had dark brown hair that was reaching down to his eyes. He had a fair skin tone and was tall and strong for a six year old.
" Damian." He said.
" Oh, well hello Damian. I'm Selene and this is Michael." She said to him.
Damian smiled. " I already know who you two are. My mommy and daddy talked about you a lot. They thought it was really great, what you were doing."
Michael smiled. " So Damian, are you going to move with us?"
Damian's eyes lit up like only a child's could. " Yes!"
This gave Michael and Selene a smile. " And maybe one day, you could even be a leader of your own pack." Michael said.
Damian got very, very excited as he smiled. " Could I really?" he asked, hope in every edge of his voice.
Michael looked at Selene. Selene replied. " Sure you could. No doubt. Would you like that?"
" Would I ever!" Damian replied.
Aubrey smiled as he came in. " He reminds me of me when I was his age. He's got all the traits of a good leader."
They talked with Damian for a while. It passed the time. Finally Raze came up and announced that it had been a half an hour. Nobody came. It was only Michael, Selene, Damian, Aubrey, Ravyn, Raze, Frost, and Jared in the room.
Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on the door. Michael walked over and opened it. He stood aside as about twenty lycans walked in. A little while later, about thirty lycans came in. And a couple of minutes after that, about ten more came in.
Michael got up in front of them. " It's good to see you all. Now this is how we're going to do this. We'll wait until morning, that way the vampires can't follow us. Then Aubrey and I will lead groups of ten over to the new den. By the time we get to the last group it will be dusk, so Selene and Ravyn can bring up the rear. Then once you all are settled in, one other lycan and I will go make sure covered our tracks. We should be all done the move by morning the day after tomorrow. Everyone got it?"
There were mumbles of yes. But suddenly, a huge explosion came from the common room. Ravyn ran out to see what it was, and then she came back.
" They're back!" she shouted.
" Okay, no one panic! Keep quiet and still!" Michael half yelled, half whispered.
Aubrey came up to Michael. " We'll have to do this faster than we thought. We have to get everyone out of here, in larger groups. There's about sixty lycans. I guess we'll split them up in halves."
Aubrey nodded.
Michael turned back to the group, who quivered with fear. Michael turned back to Aubrey. " Our group will have to go the long way around." Aubrey nodded.
Michael turned once again to the group. " Everyone, listen! New plan! Instead of groups of six, we're going in two separate groups. Ravyn and Selene's group will go first; while we hold them off, then our group will bring up the rear. Now, all of those willing to fight stand over here, and everyone else stand over on the opposite side! Quick!"
Selene, with Damian in her arms, ran up to Michael. " I don't like this plan, Michael!"
Michael looked at her. " Selene, just go, okay? We'll be fine. You need someone to get them off your trail. Frost and Aubrey will bring up the second group."
" What are you going to do?"
" I'm going to try to through them off your scent. Try to be as confusing as possible, okay? Back track as much as you can, but mainly just get there."
" Michael, I'm not leaving here without you."
" Selene, please. If something does happen to us, the pack needs a leader. They need someone they can trust. That someone is you Selene. Please, just go. I'll see you by sunrise, I promise!"
" You promise."
" Cross my heart."
Selene reluctantly nodded. She leaned in and they shared one passionate kiss.
Michael looked at her. " Now go."
She nodded and went over to Ravyn. Luckily the way it worked out, she had about thirty or forty lycans in her group, which still left enough to fight. " Everyone follow Ravyn!" she shouted as Ravyn led the way down into the under ground tunnel.
Selene watched as Damian went down the hole, and then she turned around and gave one last glance at Michael and the brave lycans who stayed behind. She heard Damian called her name. She looked at Michael. " Michael!" she called out.
He looked up at her.
She hesitated a moment before calling out to him. " I love you!"
Michael smiled. " I love you too!"
And with that, she smiled, and jumped down the hole.
Michael, Aubrey, Frost, Jared, and the twenty or thirty brave lycans who stayed behind did their best to barricade the door. Raze had gone down the tunnel to see if the vampires were anywhere else that was dangerously close to the group that had just left.
They used everything they could find. They put anything against the door. Desks, cots, bookcases, chairs, everything.
Raze came back up. "I didn't see, hear, or smell any. I think they're all here."
" Makes sense." Frost said. " They probably still think we're all cowering here in corners with our tails between our legs."
" Not today or any other day. Today we fight." Michael said as he loaded an automatic pistol with UV bullets. All of the lycans were stalking up on guns and ammo. Luckily, Raze's office also served as an armory.
" Amen to that." Jared said.
Aubrey looked to Michael.
" What?" Michael asked.
" Nothing." Replied Aubrey.
" Why were you staring at me then?" Michael asked.
Aubrey shook his head. " It's just…you've come a long way, Michael Corvin. Lucian would be proud."
Selene and Ravyn had the group of lycans move as swiftly and as quietly as possible. It only took one noise to alert the vampires to where they were. She had them back track a few times, to confuse their scents and mix them together. They avoided the trip wires, and were in the forest in no time.
Selene decided they should slow the pace down. That way, those who were falling behind could catch up. Aubrey was right when he said that Damian possessed the traits of a true leader. Damian kept up with the set pace, and he never complained. In fact, he even helped bring back some of the lycans that were wandering astray. He was the first one to sense that they were close to the den. Selene only hoped that she could help raise Damian, to watch him grow up, like she never could with her own nieces. She wanted to take Damian under her wing, adopt him as her son. She was so proud of him already. She just hoped that Michael and the others were doing okay.
The vampires had broken in to the common room now. They had yet to break in to the office yet, though.
" You think we should make a run for it?" Jared asked.
" Yeah, should we, before they actually discover that we're in here?" Frost added.
" I dunno, do you think Selene and the others are far enough away, yet?" Michael asked Aubrey.
" They should be. It's been at least an hour." Aubrey replied.
" Okay, here's what we're going to." Michael started." Aubrey, and the rest of you, take all of the ammo and food you can with you. Fill all of these bags with as much as you possibly can." Michael said, pointing to the backpacks and duffel bags. "While you guys are heading to the den, I'll try to draw the vampires away from you for as long as possible."
" No, man, I'm staying with you." Aubrey said.
" You sure?" Michael asked.
" Me too." Said Frost. " We're both sure."
Michael smiled. " Okay. Jared, you know how to get to the new den?"
Jared nodded. " Yeah, I do."
" Okay, then you'll lead these guys there. Remember to try and back track and stuff like that. Mix all of your scents together into one chaotic mess. They can't smell nearly as good as we can anyway." Michael said.
Everybody went to work gathering their things and shoving everything the needed into bags. Michael, who was the last one, was just about to jump down the whole when he heard a bang from the door. They were trying to get through. Michael looked up. There was a fancy curtain hanging from the ceiling with Celtic designs and what have you. Michael raised his gun and shot at the rope holding the thing up. Then fast as he could he jumped down the hole, slamming the hatch behind him, and the curtain fell over top of it. That bought them about ten minutes, tops.
It had been about a half an hour since the first group arrived at the new den. It was almost dawn and the second group had yet to arrive. Damian was playing with other children, and Selene was pacing around all over the place. The other lycans were getting settled in, and waiting for the others as well.
Selene was worried about Michael. Thousands and thousands of worst-case scenario's played through her head as the time passed. She scolded herself for worrying so much. She reminded herself that when she was a Death Dealer, she would be focusing on the war and how to end it. But then she shook her head. She wasn't a Death Dealer. Not anymore. She was a vampire fugitive, and a leader to the lycans.
Selene became very dizzy and light headed. Had to stop her pacing as she stumbled over to the nearest chair.
" You okay, Selene? You look very flushed." Came Ravyn's concerned voice.
" I'm fine. It must be all of this activity and stress." She said to her friend.
" Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be here soon." Came Ravyn's not-so-assuring reply.
Selene looked at herself in the mirror. Ravyn was right. Selene had never seen so much color in her cheeks for a long, long time. But she had no solution for why she felt so sick. She couldn't think of any reason. She hoped Michael would get there soon.
Suddenly there were sounds of footsteps from the common room. Selene rushed out there. All of the lycans had returned except for Frost, Aubrey, and of course, Michael.
" Where are they?" she asked as she asserted herself in front of them.
" They were bringing up the rear, making sure we didn't leave any tracks. The vampires caught up to our group so Frost, Michael, and Aubrey fell back. We lost them in the crop fields. Michael ordered us to go ahead without them, so we did." Jared said.
Selene sighed. Why does he have to be so damn heroic?
Michael was crouching in the crop field, flanked a couple feet back by Frost and Aubrey. He waited for the remaining vampires to walk by, he dared them even. He noticed they were very close to where the initial massacre from the day before was.
There was a crunching sound from a vampire. He walked close enough so that Michael could shoot him, but suddenly he felt the muzzle of a gun on his temple.
" Drop it." Came a deep voice. Michael looked up and saw a vampire.
But before he dropped his gun, he felt the gun get taken off his temple as the vampire whipped around to shoot Frost, who was making a lunge at him.
" Frost!" Michael yelled out. He attacked the vampire, breaking his neck in one swift motion. He ran over to where Frost was laying on the ground gasping, silver seeping through his blood stream.
Some other vampires came towards Michael, but Aubrey took them down, but got slashed in the chest by a silver blade.
Aubrey staggered over to Michael. " Michael c'mon! We have to go before the other's catch up!"
" Help me!" Michael shouted. They weren't far from the den. If he could just get Frost back there, he could help him. The silver was spreading slowly. He had a chance.
" Michael just leave him!" Aubrey commanded.
Michael looked Aubrey in the eye. " Aubrey, either help me bring him back or go on without me! I'm not leaving Frost behind!"
Aubrey looked around, deciding if he should go or not. But then he got down and got one of Frost's arms. He wrapped it around his neck, and Michael got the other side. Slowly but surely, they made there way back to the den.
Selene had resumed her pacing by the time she heard the hatch open again. She rushed out to the common room, only to be pointed in the direction of the medical office. She burst through the door, to find Michael working on Frost.
" Michael!" she said with relief. Besides a bleeding gash on his head, he looked to be okay.
Michael looked up for a second. " Frost got shot by a silver nitrate bullet." He said as he tried to pull the slug out of Frost's chest. " Selene, is there anyway we can extract the silver from his system?"
Selene thought quickly. " It would have to be sucked out, but even then, he would loose to much blood to recover."
" Is there any other way?" Michael shouted.
Selene thought as fast as she could. She looked to Michael. " He would have to be injected with your blood, and a vampires blood. That would make him a hybrid, and he might be able to fight off the silver, but I'm not sure if it would work fast enough to save his life…"