Chasing Freedom

Chapter 3: Amanda Santiago

It has been two hours since Emily escaped from the mansion of Salvador. Her throat was dried from the hard breath. She stopped for a moment and sat under the tree. It was really dark outside, but she managed to see the surroundings because of the light of the full moon. The sweat in her temples is running down in her cheeks. She took a bottle of water and watched the full moon.

"I wish to make a grand escape, but this is better than to shred blood from escaping," she said to herself and let out a small laugh. Maybe she was just overwhelmed because after the six months she spent in the monster's mansion she was finally free, and she hoped that this freedom would last long. She felt nervous when she heard the howling of a wolf. Emily climbed the tree to camouflage herself with the dark shadow of the branches of the tree.

On the other hand, after George and Marlin attended the meeting, they went into an expensive boutique to buy some things for Emily, and it was George's idea. When Marlin saw the sparkle in her brother's eyes, she felt guilty. She was happy that her brother was starting to become warm again, but she wanted to save her brother from their law. A law that anyone who treats the human in a special way will receive a death punishment from the counsel. For the wolves, humans are food. Marlin was afraid that the news would reach the counsel that her brother was taking good care of a human. The reason why she helps Emily to escape is to distance Emily from George.

Back to Emily's side, she found a girl in her age bracket in the same branches. She was about to kick the girl when she remembered her face. She was shocked and she was speechless. Likewise, she knew that the girl she meets now was from the human world. But she realized something and she alerted herself. She was thinking that the girl in front of her might be a monster, a wolf.

"Don't move, or I'll blow your head, Amanda Garcia," Emily commanded while pointing her gun to Amanda's head. Amanda was surprised, and her eyes literally got wide. Amanda can't believe that someone knew her name. She raised her both hands, which means she was surrendering herself.

"How do you know my name? Are you human too?" Amanda asked and this time Emily was curious the way Amanda asked her.

"Too? What do you mean? Are you a human?" Emily asked and still pointed the gun to Amanda. Amanda nodded to her. She felt that Emily is a human too, so she answered her honestly. Emily looked straight into her for about two minutes, and she lowered her gun. She let out a big sigh, and she wanted to scream because of joy. Finally, she found another human in this monster world.

Amanda Santiago is a celebrity who was imprisoned in jail two years ago when she was accused of killing the leading lady in her project. Amanda was Emily's favorite artist until now.

"Amanda, how did you end up here in this world? Do you know how to escape this world?" Emily immediately asked Amanda. She wanted to know. She was thirsty for freedom. Amanda made a sad and fearful expression. She sighed and started to tell her story from the beginning.

"If you knew about this last two years ago, I was accused of a crime. The media made it public and that was my last face in public. How ironic is my life, right? Within my first two months in jail, I noticed some of my companions were missing. The police said to us and to the media that they got away and some received their death punishment. When the trials ended, I was accused of being guilty and the judge gave me a death sentence. I was so scared because after that trial they spared me two months to be alive and after that the sentence must be executed. I was about to give up at the time when the door of death was in front of me." Emily was seriously listening to Amanda. She was curious why Amanda tells her story when she was in the prison, but she attentively listened to her.

"I was blindfolded at that time. When we arrived at the place where I was going to be executed the police untied my blindfold. I was so curious why we were at the edge of the abyss. I'm not the only one who's going to be executed. We were five at that time. When I was about to ask, they pushed us in the mysterious abyss. I lost my consciousness after that. When I woke up, I was lying behind the big rock. I was about to call for help, but I heard a scream not far away from me. I looked in front of me and saw everything." Amanda was trembling as she continued.

"I saw a wolf eating my two companions. But I thought that was my greatest fear, but not until I saw in my two eyes that the wolf transforms into a figure of a human. I almost could not breathe at that moment. I thought that would be my untimely death. Likewise, I was so thankful the wolf didn't notice me, so I was able to keep my life until now," Amanda said. Emily was speechless. She can't believe what she heard from Amanda. Then, she remembered the night when she fell into the abyss. Then she realized that the abyss Amanda was talking about is the abyss where she falls. It is the location where they are forbidden to enter.

"If I'm going to analyze the reason why you are here is because of the police who brought you into the edge of the abyss?" Emily asked. Amanda nodded even though Emily doesn't see it.

"Yes, and because of what happened to me, I conclude that there are some humans here in this world. Most of them were jailed and sentenced to death," Amanda said, and the fear was evident to her voice. Emily was shocked because of what she heard, but there is something bothering her. Did the police know about this world?

"I don't know if the police know about this world but when I was a trainee in the army, we were forbidden to enter to a one location which is in the mysterious abyss in Monata City," Emily said. As she was thinking deeper about the mysterious abyss, they heard a howling not too much near to their location.

In Salvador's mansion, George and Marlin arrived late. George was smiling as he went up to the second floor to check Emily in Henry's room. As he opened the door, he saw Henry was sleeping in his bed. When he roamed the room, he didn't see Emily nor smell her scent. He became furious, and he started searching Emily in every corner of the mansion. His voice thundered around the corner because of the frustration he didn't see Emily. He went up again to the second floor and found his little brother Henry standing in his door while rubbing his two eyes.

"Where is Emily?" George asked Henry. Henry pointed to the bathroom.

"She's in the bathroom when I'm going to sleep. Let me call her," Henry said while yawning. He went in front of the bathroom's door and knocked on the door.

"Emily! Brother George is looking for you," he said. After one minute no one answered from the inside, so he tried to open the door and saw no one. He turned to George.

"She's not here," Henry said as if he is not interested in where Emily is. George's face turned red because of angry. He ran outside the mansion and started to search for her. Anyone who gets his way he immediately kills them. He was furious and he wanted to kill everyone. He felt pain in his heart. Not only that, but he remembered the feeling of losing someone again.

Marlin immediately went to Henry after the alpha went outside to find Emily. She was nervous and worried. What if brother George will find her? She doesn’t want to waste her brother's last chance to prove to the counsel that he is not taking care of a human. Henry was looking at her and spoke to her.

"I thought you would come back tomorrow?" Henry asked. Their plan was unsuccessful.

"I thought so but brother George insisted on coming back early. I can't stop him," Marlin answered. She feels uneasy now. She just hopes that George will not find her.

"I think my brother will find her. That's why I recommended to you that you should be back with brother George until tomorrow. He has a strong sense when it comes to that girl," Henry said, and he went back to his bed. Marlin didn't understand his last sentence. Henry is nervous too. He wanted to believe that his brother will not find Emily but knowing his brother, he can track her because of one reason that he just recently learned. He is afraid that his only last hope to know if his mother is still alive will vanish.

As George finished searching in the Northwest he went to the Northeast where he first met Emily. He doubles his speed and transforms into his wolf form. He is one hundred percent sure about Emily's location now because his heart is beating so fast not because of his fast running but because of the little connection to her. Within the first three months he spent time with her, he noticed something. Every time he came closer to her, his heart was beating so fast and burning in desire. He doesn’t know what desire is but after another three months he found out what it is. He was attracted to her. It is his first time to taste that feeling. Thinking about losing her; he felt a thousand knives were stabbed to him. He doesn’t know why, but he wanted to keep her in his arms.

When he arrived in the Northeast he was howling under the full moon. The birds in the trees were flying away from their nest because the birds feel the bloodlust from George wolf's howling.

George heard the many footsteps running away from his direction. He didn't hesitate to know the owner of those footsteps, and he's rushing towards the two-figure running. He smirked when he smelled Emily's scent. There's another wolf chasing the two running figures. Without a doubt, George beheaded the wolf. Emily was scared and nervous. She ran as fast as she could while holding her gun. While she was running, she looked at her back, and she saw the wolf chasing them. She tried to shoot the wolf, and she was able to hit it in the shoulder. But when she was about to shoot the wolf again, the wolf jumped into her, and now she was under the wolf. She was so scared. George takes away her gun using his mouth.

"Keep running Amanda! Save yourself!" Emily shouted with a bold voice. She's scared. Amanda was going to refuse her when the wolf looked at her and greeted its teeth. Amanda runs away because of fear. When George didn't see the woman with Emily a while ago, he went back to his human figure. He was half naked. He's perfect muscles in his body and well sculpted face were exposed in front of Emily. Emily was so shocked and scared when she saw George was smirking at her. She saw in his eyes the bloodlust.

"You can't escape me, Emily." His voice made her shiver in fear because of the cold.

"Do you remember what I told you when you're going to try to escape?" The evil intent was visible in his voice. Emily tried to push him away, but he captured her two hands and put it over her head.

"Don't try to escape me again. I will never mind doing it here," George said, and his evil smile was plastered in his face.

"Get away from me, monster!" Emily shouted and tried to shake him off away from her. George was hurt because of what she called to him. She was successful to get away from him, and she pointed her gun that she was hiding in her back all the time. She saw George's shoulder was bleeding because of her. Not only that, but she didn't hesitate to pull her trigger, but George's reflexes were too fast. George knocked her consciousness and brought her back to his mansion.