Bearly alive

17

Not to be presumptuous or anything, but I think Roman meant me. Only I am literally locked in here and he’s the one that told me earlier not to even think about touching the door. Honestly, after what happened last time I did, I’m not particularly keen on trying, either. But Roman needs my help. My mate needs my help, not to mention that woman needs my help. That woman who somehow sounds familiar even though I can’t see her face.

“Goddess! Just give me a sign!” I gasp and shout at the same time after I snap back to reality. Then the light above me flickers. It’s so quick that I could have imagined it, but nonetheless, it gave me an idea. It might prove hard to execute, but at least I now have a starting point. Cue the plan, Stella to the rescue.

My new scheme relies heavily on two things. First, I need to find the circuit box in the house and cut the power. And this is where it gets tricky, for the second thing my plan relies on is that the front door is on the same circuit and not a different one.

I search frantically until I find what I'm looking for, then flip all the circuit breakers in the hope of cutting the power. Just before I'm about to run through the dark and try the door, out of the corner of my eye I catch a large, red leaver. I pull it, knowing that this is what actually cuts the power, then laugh to myself about how I was about to fry off the remainder or my hair. I guess rushing is the fastest way to slow you down.

Feeling pretty confident that the front door won't zap me like a mosquito, I take a deep breath and just go for it, expecting the worst but fiercely hoping for the best.

The very cold air of the night hits me full force, but I welcome it because it means my plan succeeded. Oh, thank Goddess!

I start making my way through the darkness as fast as I can. It proves way more difficult to find the right direction than I had initially thought. After I seem to pass the exact same area more than a few times, I stop, deeply frustrated. All the trees look the same, especially on a dark night with not too much moonlight, but I’m positive I’ve seen these trees more than once.

My frustration threatens to turn into anger quickly. I know where I'm headed, yet I have no clue where I'm headed. And I have no one to ask for help. Hell, I’m the help!

An idea keeps poking its head in my mind. I shake it off, not too happy with the prospect. But it won’t go away no matter how hard I try to find another solution.

I mull it over.

It's not like it can go worse than the way I'm doing it now, right?

With no one to answer me either yes or no, aside from my wolf which is a definite yes, I deduce that the potential benefits outweigh the risks.

Just another pros and cons list later, and I'm staring at the moon through a small clearing between the tall fir trees.

"Aaany second now." I mumble, the fact that I've stopped moving invites the cold deep in my bones, a shiver crawling on my spine.

"Come on, come on, shift!" I yell out in frustration after nothing else happens besides me losing precious time.

I'm starting to get really cold, which for a shifter is saying something. That poor, injured woman must be about to give up and beg Roman to kill her rather than help her. The idea of failing her now, after all I've managed to do despite how impossible it seemed, angers me and fuels something within, something primal. I convinced Roman, the man that kidnapped me, to go out in the middle of the night and look for her. I managed to get out of the house despite the electrified exits. I did that, so I can do this too.

"Shift, damn it!" I almost shout, but rather the sound comes out more distorted. There is no pain, but I can definitely feel the changes happening to my body. Whatever I did, either getting angry or screaming at myself, it worked.

Still adjusting to my new form, I slowly find my rhythm before all senses activate. It’s surreal how quickly I started feeling like part of the environment, how quickly I soaked in all the smells, sounds and heartbeats, and how quickly I have adapted.

Before I know it, I take off running. Part led by my wolf, who I’m struggling to find a more appropriate name for, it doesn’t take me long to feel where Roman is. And the woman, of course, but Roman is like a beacon, like a strong magnet pulling me to him.

When I’m close enough to the duo that I think Roman would be able to sense me but an injured person won’t, I stop, remembering that lycans are technically extinct. While I’m not completely at peace with being one, or convinced I actually am, I figure it’s safer not to share it with too many people either. So I start praying to all the Gods in the human and supernatural world to shift back. I genuinely thought it would be easier, considering the first time I shifted back very easily, but it’s proving to have been just beginner's luck.

I was so focused on trying to shift back, that despite my lycan senses I got caught off guard when a loud, booming growl broke the night’s silence. I instantly knew who it was, and took it as Roman’s way of telling me to hurry my ass up. I tried extra hard to get my body into shifting back, only it wasn’t necessary. The cold hit me hard, and I scrambled to fix Roman’s shirt tighter on my body. I guess it’s good he’s ten sizes larger than me because the clothes didn’t get too damaged during my shift.

Right, now it’s time to show Roman I can be trusted and prove helpful.

I reach the area where Roman and the woman are in no time, but despite knowing they are here, I can’t see anyone.

I still find it awkward to call Roman. I don’t even think I've ever said his name out loud, so I start psyching myself up to call out to him.

“Stella!” His loud voice saves me from having to speak first. “Stella, down here.”

My head spins around aimlessly as I try to locate his voice. It’s dark, but I can still see enough to know they are not here.

He said down. What does that mea…

I stop, nearly skidding to a halt. It’s very hard to see, but there is a steep valley that can easily be missed since it’s so narrow that the other side appears glued to this one. I start my descent carefully and it’s not long before I spot some large boulders that look freshly fallen judging by their precarious position.

“A little help, please?” Roman asks again. I approach carefully and see him straining to hold a boulder up. Then I realise the others are all piled up on top of the one he’s holding. He’s essentially the only one preventing those huge rocks from falling on top of the frail looking body that is shivering ever so slightly on the ground.

I gasp, not expecting the situation to be so bad. The stench of blood is nauseating, and to make things worse, there is a tree branch sticking out of the woman’s abdomen.

“W.. what can I do?” I ask with a shaky voice that I’m sure doesn’t fill anyone with too much confidence. But hey, I made it here, so I’m not counting myself out just yet.

“My angel. She’s here.” The limp figure on the ground speaks. The recognition hits me immediately. It’s the vampire that Roman paid off in that motel.

My grumpy mate mumbles something that sounds like saint, not angel, and the vampire tries to wave him off. Only that her hand barely moves. My eyes travel the length of the blood soaked body, stopping at what I previously thought was a tree branch. It becomes pretty clear it’s actually a wooden stake. She was shot, on purpose.

“I lifted these to free her, but instead got stuck like this.” Roman catches me up. “I can’t let go or the rocks will fall and crush her. She can’t move at all, that stake’s been in there a few hours. I’m surprised she can talk.”

“Watch it, bear.” The vampire speaks, her voice still not holding an ounce of the warning that I’m sure she intended.

“I need you to drag her from here, and then I can let go.” Roman ignores her.

“What about the stake?”

“We can try to get it out after. Come on, grab her feet and pull.” He urges me. I notice the way his muscles are straining and remember he must have been holding all that weight up for a very long time.

I do as instructed and grab the vampire’s legs, pulling carefully. She moans in pain and I can see she tries to help push herself along as much as she can. The terrain doesn’t make for an easy operation, but when she screams, begging me to stop, I practically lose my footing.

“f**k!” Roman curses, his arms shaking quite evidently. “It got caught. The stake got caught.” He nudges his head and I notice a long vine disappearing under the bloodied body.

I’ve never been more thankful for my small frame, because right now it allows me to crawl under the rocks, in the tiny space where the woman could barely fit.

“Can you lift them a little higher?” I plead with Roman. He doesn’t reply, instead, I hear his teeth grinding and hear the cracking sounds as the space I am in grows a little bigger. I use it as my chance to put my arms underneath the vampire’s shoulders and gently lift her body up. It untangles the stake and I can also push her to safety.

I hear Roman cursing again, the foul language drowned by the sound of falling rocks.

“Let go at three!” I shout and push the woman out with all the strength I can muster considering the way my body is folded in this small space.

“One.” She’s almost in the clear. Just one more push and then I can crawl out too.

“Two.” I strain but manage to push her out of the heavy boulder’s way.

I go on my hands and knees, moving as quickly as I can before I shout the last number. Only I don’t get to three.