Hidden in Plain Sight

Four

I kept running, not knowing what else to do, until I made it to the stop point. I crawled into the small cave and recovered it with the greenery, I curled up into a ball and sobbed with everything I had. Heart wrenching sobs that came from deep within me. I don’t know how long I sat there a cried but it felt like hours until I heard voices coming towards me. I pushed my hands over my mouth and nose and tried to stop all the noise I was making.

“Dad, I’m telling you, there is someone round here. I heard crying!” One voice said, he sounded young.

“I can’t see anyone, son. If it was one of them things they’re probably dead now.” Another voice - older, gruffer said.

“Maybe it was an animal? You know the real kind.” Another voice said with a laugh. “Not the abominations that we’ve been killing.” They all laughed.

“Maybe… I really thought I heard someone crying. I’m sorry.” The younger voice said again.

“Ah, don’t be silly Ty! We’ve all been out here for over 24hours, all the adrenaline will trick ya into thinking you hearing things. There’s no harm in always checking though!”

“Exactly, I think it’s safe to say, that every last wolf is long gone, they will no longer breathe the same air as us son!” The older man spat the word ‘wolf’. They all cheered and celebrated while my heart crumbled into millions of pieces.

“We will keep the patrols going in the area for a bit longer to make sure they’re all dead but think we can go home now. We deserve our rewards! Everyone got their hit count?” A different voice asked with humour. They all cheered in agreement.

“Do you think I’ll get a reward as well dad?” Ty asked with hope in his voice. A big belly laugh called out.

“Most definitely son! You got some good shots in like the rest of us, you’ll get your share, don’t you worry.” His dad congratulated him. Their voices grew quieter as they moved away from where I was until I could no longer hear anything but the sound of my own heart.

I stayed in the cave for hours while I silently cried incase someone come back. I waited and waited, hoping I was wrong about my parents and they would be here soon, to be with me. But they never showed. I waited until nightfall till I left the cave and slowly started walking to the main town to find Aunt Maggie. There was still a long way to go, by the time I reached the edge of the town it was nearly dawn. I stayed hidden behind trees and bushes when I got near the edge of the town but stopped when I saw what was waiting for me.

Across the edge of the forest were gates and men patrolling back and forth, stopping anyone or anything trying to get into the town. I walked further down towards another point where I could cross but it was all gated off. There was no way to get into town! I looked around in a panic unsure what to do, this wasn’t in the plan!

I saw a big tree not to far and not to close to the edge of the forest, I climbed up and made myself comfortable as best I could. I pulled my backpack off and took out a water bottle and protein bar and silently ate while waiting for these people to leave.

~~~~~~~

I stayed in the tree for 2 days and they never left. They just swapped shifts, I listened to all their conversations from ‘the hunt’ as they called it, to some sports game, tv shows, girls, and just about anything else. I just couldn’t understand what was happening, they never spoke about why ‘the hunt’ suddenly came about or what caused the change in the law. They only ever said bout their scores, their rewards - which turned out to be money - and how much they enjoyed it. It was horrible, they were actually laughing about murdering innocent people! My family! I cried every time they spoke about it. They said today that they were moving all the bodies and doing a mass cremation so the - and I quote - ‘disgusting rotting flesh doesn’t smell or infect us.’ They’re the disgusting ones!

“What’s going to happen to the town now?” One of the female guards - Kelly, from what I’ve heard others call her - asked.

“Nothing, it’s going to be abandoned. The Mayor put strict law on anyone going near it, rumours have already started saying anyone who now goes there will turn into a hideous beast and die a painful death -” the boy - Callum - laughed alongside Kelly. “They’re gonna cut off power and water to it, meaning more for us. Now we haven’t got to share with those creatures, this town can finally thrive like it’s meant to!”

They both carried on talking about how their town is going to improve until their shift ended and other guards took over.

No one had ever noticed me sitting in the tree, on the third day I decided I couldn’t stay in the tree forever and came up with a new plan, so I waited until it was dark until I made my move.

Slowly climbing down, my legs crying out in protest from not moving for three days. I then slowly made my way back to my home, not having anywhere else to go. By the time I reached home, the sun was high in the sky. Our whole town was eerily quiet, the ground covered in dried blood, rubbish littered everywhere, bits of clothing scattered about. It was something out of a horror movie.

With soft sniffs, I walked towards my house and closed and locked the door behind me. Climbed the stairs and crawled into my bed and cried. Everyone I’ve ever known was gone. The only people who could help me, I couldn’t get to. I was all alone. 8 years old and alone. I should have just died with my parents, with everyone else in town, I wouldn’t be alone then. I stayed in bed for hours until my tears dried up. Late in the evening, I pulled my self out of bed and went into the bathroom. I turned to shower on, hoping that it hadn’t been cut off yet and let out a breath of relief when it started working. I quickly stripped down and jumped into the cold shower, not truly caring about the temperature as long as I could get clean.

I let out a small cry when the water hit my shoulder where I’d been hit. I turned my head to look and saw the bullet wound on the back of my shoulder. I made quick work on washing myself and my hair, switched the shower off and grabbed a towel and quickly wrapped it around my shivering body. I got the first aid kit out from the cupboard and put a fairy patterned plaster on my shoulder, when I looked in the mirror, I noticed I also had a bullet graze on the side of my face. I never felt that one. I made quick work at the first aid on myself and finished drying myself off. Then went to my bedroom to put on my thickest clothes I had to warm myself up. Brushed and towel dried my hair and put it up in a bun, walked to my parents room and climbed into bed. Pulled the photo of the two of them into bed with me and pulled the covers over my head and hugged the photo.

“I’m so sorry.” I whisper-sobbed into the mattress. “I couldn’t do the plan. I hope you can forgive me.”

I stayed there until I fell asleep, surrounded by their scent and my tears.

The next day, I woke up confused, couldn’t figure out where I was or what was going on. Took a few minutes for everything to come back to me and my heart instantly ached. I got out of bed and went to the toilet and was thankful it was still working. I went downstairs to the kitchen and got some cereal out and milk from the fridge that smelt like it was just about to go off so had as much as I could. Everything was so quiet, I’ve never known anywhere to be like this.

I sat there thinking of all my friends, my neighbours, everyone really that I’ve lost. All the old memories of them, of everything I was taught in school, about the world, about our kind. If what the guards said was true and there was no more werewolves in the world, then I was the only one. I would never meet my mate, never have pups, never have a pack.

It was all more than my little 8 year old brain could handle. I shook my head to clear the sad thoughts there and decided to keep my promise. I’d be a big girl and look after myself. I’d make up new plans and keep myself safe, just like I promised. With a nod to myself, I got up and got the notebook and pen from one of the drawers in the kitchen and sat down on the floor and wrote out new plans.

It’s just me now. I won’t let my parents down. I will survive. For them, for everyone in this town.

I had to.