A hand covered her mouth before a scream could escape. They pulled her against their body and panic settled in as she attempted to turn her head. She thrashed against them, ready to try and fight until they whispered in her ear, "Hey it's me. Calm down." Relief washed over her when she turned to see Gil crouched beside her with a finger to his lips. He gently removed his hand and pulled her along. They put some distance between them and the dumpsters before speaking. "Enora, I don't even know what to say," he began; arms crossed and anger evident on his face. It made her flinch. "I know that sorry isn't enough, but I am. I did this selfishly because I wasn't thinking. It just happened." "But why? You know how dangerous this is and how much we care about your safety." "I don't know... A part of it felt like I owed it to myself. To not be useless and help out," she answered honestly. Gil pressed his hands to the back of his neck, releasing a long and heavy breath as he took a few

MEANWHILE, WITH GIL AND ENORA Another shot went off as the car sped down the empty streets followed by four others. In the rearview mirror she saw two more cars join in the chase from the side and men hanging out of the windows to aim. She screamed as she ducked her head when two shots hit the side mirror on Gil's side and blew out the back window. Shards of glass flew towards the front and grazed her hand, the rest sprinkling all over them. "Enora, reach for my bag in the back!" "Huh? Oh, ok!" she replied hurriedly, her shaking hands trying to get a proper hold of the bag on the floor. Opening it revealed a variety of weapons and other devices she didn't recognize. "Alright, grab the cylindrical cans and throw them behind us. Don't worry, they're smoke and flash bangs. It should slow at least one of down for now." "O–oh. I'll try." She grabbed two canisters and steadied herself as Gil opened the sunroof. She ducked back in when they fired again and tried to calm herself. She co

Two wolves stealthily passed between the cars towards the others, and she knew they had to be from the Quercia. She ducked her head down behind the seat, and whispered to herself in panic, "Oh no, no, no." The chances of them not discovering her were low and she didn't feel confident in trying to pick up a weapon. The cars were packed tightly around each other as they'd all arrived in a hurry, so they would hopefully serve as good cover. Gingerly, she walked backwards and around the car door, keeping her eyes on any glimpse of the wolves' fur. She knew they could probably smell her, but the area was large enough to keep a distance for now. She'd wished she had convinced Wilson to let her stay closer, the snail's pace she moved at making every moment more nerve wrecking than the next. In her bad luck, she turned too quickly at the sound of a glass bottle rolling and the canisters she was carrying hit the side of a car ever so lightly, but enough so that it alerted the two predator

Another snarl sounded in her ear. The air whooshed beside her from a missed swipe at her face and her heart leapt into her throat. Legs wobbled from the pressure of pushing their limits; it was after her and it wouldn't stop until she was caught. In the next moment, the world was ripped out from underneath her. Body weightless, she fell forward and into a mouth full of extra sharp teeth. *** Limbs stiff; weighed down by paralysis, she struggled to open her eyes. She willed herself to move, to not fall asleep again. She wanted to scream. Hands touched her arms with a gentle squeeze, and she was lifted into an upright position. The solace of an embrace eased her eyes open and calmed her spirit. They stayed that way for a while on account of her squeezing back whenever the hold attempted to loosen–it made Victor laugh. "I'm not going anywhere right now. I promise," he said, caressing her face. With a short nod she let go and looked around. She was back in her bedroom, but there was

Victor swiped the bag from the table hurriedly, but she had already imagined what it could be. The taste of bile was strong. Crawling up her throat, she had to turn away in order to suppress it, willing herself to keep it down. "That sick b*stard masked the scent!" Victor yelled out angrily, fist hitting the counter. He turned to her after a breath, "Give me a minute, ok?" She nodded in response, watching as he pulled out his phone and entered his bedroom with a slam of the door. With a tissue, she slid the note over to avoid touching it, her other hand still over her nose and mouth. Though she knew nothing good would come of reading it, her brain had convinced her to do it despite that. The paper looked of high quality as she opened it and found it to be quite lengthy as well. My dearest Enora, my sincerest apologies for what happened. I would have written sooner, but that vile man who dared approach you had to be dealt with. May we never find ourselves in this situation again. T