Chapter Six

Everything was happening so fast. I couldn't keep up. I was being dragged; cold, bony fingers digging painfully into my flesh, scraping me, creating smaller wounds. There were more now. Zombies, I mean. I couldn't make out the exact number, but I knew there were more than just the three. I had two grabbing at my arms and throat, and at least three were pulling at my legs and torso. Simon was screaming, and his face appeared in my sight, eyes wide and mouth open, spilling out rushed words I couldn't make out. When I finally managed to catch what he was saying, I heard:

"It's not working, Leah! I can't do magic! I thought–"

He stopped, his head spinning around for something else that'd caught his attention. His arms shot out, pointing at me, but his gaze was still elsewhere.

"Stop them!" he called. "Hurry, Chloe! Make them stop!"

I heard another voice then, a female one, but her words were drowning out by the loud snarls from the wolf and the clicking of teeth and bones coming from my attackers. I could feel a sharp pain appear in my shoulder. Screaming so loud it hurt my lungs, I bent my head to the side to see the dead female with the hole through her stomach, her face lowered above my shoulder, blood seeping out from under it. When she raised her head, I could see the oozing flesh wound, new on my shoulder. I screamed again as she snapped her head upwards, teeth chattering together and a loud, guttural sound escaped her throat before she began to lower again. Her mouth toward my skin.

"Stop."

The woman did as she'd been told. Her eyes widened and she looked away from me, a low snarl passing her lips as she glared at something, hatred filling her every feature.

"Stop," the voice said again – that female voice from before. Her voice was so calm, concentrated, and I tried to lift my head to get a glimpse of her, to see who it was that could speak to this monster, and actually have it listen.

"Leave," I heard the voice say. "Go home."

Before I could grasp what the words meant – I mean, these were dead people buried in a forest. They didn't have homes – the woman's head snapped back to me, and she once again bared her teeth, preparing to bite me.

"Don't listen to him!" the voice said, louder now, almost angry. "Do as I say! Go! Leave this."

The dead woman's eyes shifted from my skin to look back at the speaker. I stared at her face, at the blood – my blood – that stained her mouth. I could feel the hold of the others weaken around my limbs. Suddenly the woman's eyes rolled back in her sockets, and she fell to the ground, her body stiffening briefly before going completely limp. Then she just lay there. Dead. Not living dead, but actually dead.

I could hear the thuds of the others, falling to the ground, dying, even though they were already dead. When I felt new hands on me, I freaked, lashing out to defend myself, but when I saw Simon hovering above me, I forced myself to calm down.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice deeply worried and stressed, almost panicked. "Let me see."

His hand placed itself just below my new shoulder wound. Even though he didn't even touch the injury itself, just the skin around it, I still jerked away and let out a cry of pain.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed, pulling his hand back and placing it against my cheek instead. "Leah, talk to me. Please."

I stared at him, trying to speak. But I couldn't. I was still too scared. I rolled my head to the side, finally able to see the woman.

She was small, almost as short as me, but I knew she was older than my fourteen years. I could see it on her face; the seriousness of her gaze, the stiffness in her lips. She had to be around Simon's age. She wasn't a child, like me, even if her blond hair and blue eyes made her appear youthful and innocent.

On a normal day, even with her frightening stare, I don't think she would've scared me. But this wasn't a normal day. She wasn't normal. The mere sight of her chilled my bones.

Because beside the woman, stood the wolf, still snarling and patting his paws against the soft ground. The fact that she didn't even react to his presence created a sickening feeling in my stomach. Any second now the wolf could jump her, bite her head off.

But she didn't even seem to care.

"Is she alright?" the woman asked, her eyes shifting to where Simon hunched above me.

I looked back at Simon.

"Leah?" he asked, grabbing my face gently within both his hands. "Leah, speak. Please."

I opened my mouth, trying to force at least a syllable out from my throat, but when the wolf huffed violently, the fear increased. I let out a small yelp and tried to squirm further away from the beast, but the pain in my shoulder didn't allow me to do so. I fell back onto my back, squeezing my eyes shut as the pain seared all the way down my arm and chest.

"Dammit, Derek! You're scaring her!" Simon yelled. "Would you shut up?"

The wolf silenced almost immediately.

"Leah?" Simon asked. "Leah, open your eyes. It's okay. It's okay, I promise. He won't hurt you." I opened my eyes as Simon continued, "Remember I told you about my family? That's Derek, my brother. He would never hurt you. Believe me."

I stared into his eyes. He seemed sincere enough, but that still didn't remove the fear I felt for the large animal. But I did remember what he'd told me, and I did believe him, so deciding that my fear had to be ignored, for now, I tried to sit up, Simon gently placing a hand behind my back as he helped me.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

"I think so," I said, grimacing at the pain in my shoulder, increasing with even the smallest movement of my body. "Maybe if you help." I tried to smile, but didn't really manage a real one. Simon, however, seemed to be smiling for the both of us. Even if it wasn't a happy smile, it was still a smile. Comforting. Reassuring. Which was probably the idea behind it.

After he'd pulled me to my feet, I glanced over at the young woman again. She met my eyes, and she too smiled, giving a little wave with one hand.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Chloe."

"Leah," I gave back.

Chloe opened her mouth to say something more, but before she could, the wolf – Derek – huffed beside her. It sounded almost annoyed. My hold on Simon's arm tightened automatically.

"I think that translates into: Introductions later, escape plan now," he said, chuckling beside me, but stopped abruptly when someone shouted behind us.

We both swung around, and I scanned the forest. My heart started racing again when I saw the many figures moving through the trees. The inmates. They'd all found us.

I turned to Simon, and he was already looking at me.

"I know," he said. "Hurry."

I nodded, grabbed his hand and searched the ground for the stones again. Simon saw them first, pulling me along with him until we stood right above them. Once again, I hugged him tightly, staring at the spot right outside the barrier. Placing my hand against the cool, glass-like surface, I tried to imagine myself pushing through it. My concentration briefly broke when someone shouted my name – in that drawn out, totally crazy evil villain way – but I did my best to ignore it and regained focus.

And then it happened. At the same second we crashed into the ground, one of the prisoners slammed into the barrier, the invisible wall pushing him backward. I looked as more of them did the same thing, and couldn't help feeling a little amused. It just looked so funny; person after person doing the exact same thing the one before had done, no one seeming to understand that it wouldn't work. It brought a memory to my mind, a quote from Albert Einstein: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

And that's what it all looked like: Insanity. The way their bodies moved screamed insanity. The way their eyes blazed screamed insanity. The words they screamed at us … Well, maybe not insanity as much as just downright rude.

I hadn't realized that I was still holding on to Simon, and quickly detached myself from him, pulling back. He met my gaze, and offered another smile. I was just about to smile back, when his eyes left my face, and his smile expanded into something I couldn't ever imagine being on the receiving end of.

He was on his feet before I could react, Chloe throwing herself into his arms. Is stood up to, trying not to stare at the two of them.

"I was so worried!" she exclaimed, her voice so different from the controlled, focused tone she'd used earlier. "Liz tried reaching you but she couldn't get in your … She said you were in a cell. Oh, God, I could only imagine what they did to you."

Simon chuckled, hugging her back.

"Actually," he said. "It was quite nice. Sort of like a short vacation from all the craziness." His eyes met mine. "And the company wasn't so bad either."

I smiled, then scowled as someone shouted a very, very, bad word from behind me.

"We should get …" I stopped. Once again I felt that tugging fear in my gut, realizing we were finally outside the barrier. We'd done it. But were we still a we? Now, that I'd helped Simon get away, even if he'd promised he wouldn't abandon me, was I still included in the we? Or was it them, and me?

Simon pulled back from Chloe, his eyes searching the faces of the many prisoners.

"Yeah," he said. "We should get going." He looked back at Chloe. "Dad?

"Back at the van, with Lauren and Tori. It's not far. We can–"

Her words were interrupted by a loud snarl. I realized it came from Derek, and when I turned to look at him, his teeth was bared, and he was facing the barrier. Following his gaze, I realized that they inmates had all vanished. No banging, no screams. It was silent again. But I still took several steps backward, not even caring that it was in the direction of Derek. It didn't matter how scary he was, because on the other side of the barrier stood something even more scary than a werewolf.

My dad.

"Leah …" he said, breathing my name as if I'd been caught with my hand down the cookie jar, making him disappointed in me. "What are you doing?"

I didn't have time to answer him, because before I could, Simon stepped closer to the barrier.

"She's doing what she always should've!" he snapped. "Getting the hell away from you!"

My father didn't even look at him. Instead he kept his gaze directly on me, his face showing more emotion than I'd ever seen before. And it wasn't the kind of emotion I would've expected under the circumstances. No rage, no disgust. No. He looked at me … almost fondly.

I couldn't speak. I couldn't even do anything. All I could do was stand there, watching the kind smile on my father's lips. Simon was still yelling at him, but I didn't register a single word.

My father put his hand out, palm flattening in the air against the invisible shield, saying, "Look what you can do, Sweetheart." His voice was filled with so much pride it started aching in my chest. "And the cell? How far did you go? The lobby? Outside?"

It was as if my mouth was working on his own, as I answered, "My room," so quietly I didn't even expect him to hear it. But he did, and he beamed at me.

"Extraordinary, Leah! And with another person following along. I can see great things for you in the future, Sweetheart. I am so proud."

I took a step forward, not really aware of the action.

"Really?" It came out high-pitched, a desperate word.

"Of course!" my dad said, taking his hand off the barrier. "I love you, Sweetheart. So much."

One more step forward. "You do?"

"Of course I do. Leah, you are more important to me than anything."

I thought I was going to cry. A lump formed in my throat and I could feel the way my eyes widened with anticipation. This was it. This was what I'd always wanted. My father was finally telling me he loved me! That he was proud of me! Everything would be fine from now on. He was going to respect, love, and be there for me! He…

"If you love her so damn much, then why did you tell your zombies to bite her freaking arm off? Can't you see she's really hurt?"

It was Simon that'd spoken. His voice brought me back to the present, and I realized that I was acting crazy. I couldn't let my father do this to me. For years now he'd used me as nothing but an employee at his precious prison, never truly cared for me. Why would he start now, just because I'd manage to transport a little further than normal?

I glanced at my shoulder, seeing the wound, realizing the pain had disappeared as my mind had been caught up with what my dad was saying. The pain was back now though. Big time.

But I didn't allow myself to care. My smile disappeared, and I glared at my father, remembering every bad feeling he'd ever made me feel.

"Simon's right," I said. "You don't love. You never have. You tried to kill me!"

"What I did .., " my father said through clenched teeth, "was trying to keep you from making a huge mistake. I'm sorry if you got hurt, but you only have yourself to blame for that. If you'd simply gone home when I told you too, things wouldn't have escalated–"

"If I'd gone home," I interrupted, "Simon would still be locked up! And he hasn't done anything, Dad! I read his file, I know you were asked to capture him, but it never said why! Was it because of the money? Are you really the kind of man who would imprison an innocent guy just to get some more cash in your pocket?"

"Innocent?" my father said, the word almost a laugh. "You think he's innocent? Oh, Leah, please. None of them are innocent. This girl," he pointed toward Chloe, "killed a man. Shot him to death. Just like that! And the wolf, Leah, he made sure some young kid got stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. These are not good people Leah, and I swear to you, if you leave with them, you won't be alive for much longer."

I glanced around me. At Derek, at Chloe. At Simon. I didn't believe my father, but still … I didn't know these people at all. Even Simon was a stranger to me, in a way. I mean, we'd only shared a few conversations. That didn't exactly make us BFF's.

Derek snarled, and I quickly moved away from him, almost tripping over my own feet, expecting him to charge for me. Kill me, now that their cover had been blown. But when I looked at the wolf, his gaze was at my father, hatred in his eyes.

"Don't listen to him, Leah!" Simon yelled, and I looked at him instead. "We would never hurt you, remember? Please, come with us. You need to get away from here, Leah. Come on, we'll see London, New York. Hell, we'll even go to Alaska. I don't want this for you. You deserve better."

I stared at him.

"I-I don't …" I didn't know what to think.

"He's lying to you," Dad said. "Come back through the barrier and I promise I'll make sure you're safe and that they'll get what they deserve. They're evil, Leah. They don't care about you."

I was still looking at Simon.

"We care about you, Leah," he said. "I care about you. I think you're super cool, remember?"

I couldn't help but to smile at the memory.

"What? Slow down!"

Surprised, I looked at Chloe. She was staring into thin air, her posture rigid.

"Oh, my God," she exclaimed. Then, she spun around to face us. "We need to leave! They're taking down the barrier. He stalled us!"

Fur swooshed past me, and before I could blink, Derek was by Chloe's side, growling at Simon, who appeared beside me, grabbing my arm.

"Please," he said, begging, staring into my eyes. "Please, come."

I looked at my father, a pleased smirk on his face.

"Now!" Chloe yelled. "We need to go right now!"

I could see them now. The guards, the zombies. They were all standing in the shadows behind my father, slowly making their way into view. There was so many of them, all waiting for the wall in front of them to fall, so they could get to us. Just as the air in front of me started to flash with intense, yellow lightning, I realized that this was my fault. I'd been the one to stay back and talk to my dad. Not them. If I hadn't been so desperate for his attention, we could all been far away by now, maybe even inside that van Chloe spoke of earlier. But no. All thanks to me we were about to get attacked by a whole lot of people. And dead people. There had to have been over fifty people charging toward us, dead and alive.

I turned to run, knowing it was pointless, but doing it anyway. But I didn't even get two meters before someone knocked me to the ground. I landed on my hurt shoulder and screamed at the pain. I rolled to the side, only to experience even more pain as my cheek slammed into something cold and hard.

It was the gun. Simon must've dropped it when we transported.

I didn't think about it, just did it. I reached for it, rolling onto my back, pointing the muzzle at the shadow above me, and fired. My hands jerked back, and I almost hit myself with the weapon, but managed to avoid it. I had felt something splatter onto face, and I knew it was blood.

I raised the gun again, ready to shoot a second time if needed, but froze when I saw the man in front of me.

"No …" I croaked, barely managing to say the word.

Karl stood above me, arms hanging at his sides as he stared down at himself. At the bloody spot in the middle of his chest. When he raised his eyes, looking at me, all I saw was chock. His lips moved, as if speaking, but no words came. His eyes were so wide, his face to pale, he could've been one of the zombies.

But he wasn't. He was Karl. Very much alive Karl. Until now. Until I'd shot him.

"No!" I cried, my voice breaking. Tossing the gun away, I got up on my knees as Karl tumbled to the ground. He landed with a hard thud! and I leaned over him, pressing my hands against the wound.

"No, no, no!" I cried. "Please! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it! Please!"

Tears were streaming down my cheeks now, my throat aching so much I thought it would burst open. I stared at Karl's face, his eyes closed, mouth slightly open.

"I'm sorry!" I said, bowing my head down and squeezing my eyes shut. "I'm so sorry …"

I could hear my father shout, Derek growl, Chloe and Simon screaming – but I didn't care. All I cared about was Karl, and how he was going to die today, all because of me. I was a murderer. I was no better than the rest of them. I belonged inside the cells along with all the evil inside that prison.

"No! Listen to me! ME!"

I didn't know who my father wanted to listen to him, but I turned my head toward his voice, but something stopped me, causing me to look down at my hands.

Karl's fingers were curled around my wrist, his hold so weak I feared the effort was hurting him even more. I looked at his face, finding that he was looking right back at me.

"It's okay …" he breathed, his eyes closing, opening again. "It's okay, Leah …"

"It's not okay!" I shrieked." I shot you!"

His fingers tightened ever so slightly around my wrist.

"No …" His voice was so soft I could barely hear him. He closed his eyes again, this time not opening them. "No … You're good. I'm good. It's okay … Don't be …"

"Karl?" I shook him, desperately. He coughed, opening his eyes. One of his hands lifted itself, and he gently placed his palm against my cheek.

"I love you, Leah," he said. "Like my own."

My tears fell onto his forehead, and I leaned down, pressing my face into his shoulder. He groaned in pain, but still placed his hand at the back of my head.

"I love you, too," I cried into his jacket. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. You did good."

"But I killed you."

He didn't answer me, and I felt his chest sink, and still. His hand slid from my hair and landed on the ground, arm outstretched. I lifted my head from his shoulder. His eyes were closed, and I knew.

Karl was dead. But still I grabbed his shoulder and shook him as hard as I could, screaming his name. When someone grabbed my waist, pulling me away from Karl, I tried to hold on to him, but failing. I could hear Simon say my name and telling me we had to go, but I wouldn't listen to him. I screamed for Karl as I watched his body get further and further away from me as Simon dragged me with him. When he swung me around and lifted me up into his arms, I buried my face at the crook of his neck and cried with everything I had. I barely registered when he let go of me, putting me down onto something soft. I could hear people talking, rushed words exchanged between them.

"Leah." Simon pulled me to him, closing his arms around me.

"It's okay, Leah," he said.

"No," I sobbed. "It's not."

Simon kissed the top of my head.

"It will be. I promise."

But I didn't believe him. I'd killed Karl. Nothing was ever going to be okay again. Ever.