Battle Of Alphas

CHAPTER FIVE

C R I M S O N V I L L E

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D A N I E L'S P O V

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We stride through the forest as the moon shines brightly atop our heads. The pain has receded and I know it is just a matter of time before the moon leaves the sky for the sun to take over, and with this, the pain will come back.

We are just a few hours away from the camp. We just got into Craven Forest, an isolated forest in Crimson Ville. Unlike other packs in the other cities and towns, Crimson pack doesn't stay in an open forest, well, we used to, but since the Killing of the other pack members, the surviving 15 members of my pack have made a hidden tunnel somewhere beyond craven Forest but still within Crimson Ville. We camp underground to ensure our safety from Nathaniel and Katerina's eyes.

“Dana,” I call to my sister and she halts the moment she sees I'm frozen. She tries to ask questions. She wants to know why I stopped her and called on her, but I place a finger over my mouth.

I draw her attention to my eyes balls and I roll them to both to the left and slowly avert them to the right.

I just heard the grasses on both sides move simultaneously. That is a sign. Dana and I grew up together and there are things we've learnt together. I don't need to say a word to her to understand me. She trusts my senses more than her own senses. It has saved us through a lot since we were kids. I can detect sounds and movements faster than she can.

Whatever there are, they are working together and in harmony. They've studied each other's movements and their senses are in sync. Only panthers can maintain this kind of cooperation in their movements.

“Panthers,” Dana whispers slowly, trying not to alert them that we're aware.

We are in total confusion, not knowing what step to take next. I don't know if we should keep moving, run, or shift and stand to fight, even though we both know we would last less than a minute fighting against two Panthers or three, rather.

We smell a third one above us. She must be up in the trees, but the darkness within the branches of the trees must be concealing her. The other two by our sides, one a girl and the other a boy.

“Run,” Dana whispers, and we both shift. We hear roars from all angles, and even before we can take a step, the three of them make a triangle around us and we stand in their midst, backing each other, not knowing where to go.

Dana and I shift back into our human forms as we see they're also in their human forms, not attacking at the moment.

I see the young woman in blonde hair, going eye-to-eye with Dana, a young man also in blonde hair, and then, there's a younger woman who must be about my age.

She has this glossy black hair, deep brown eyes, and a captivating face that would never make you believe she would be capable of taking lives. Unless you already know who she is, Katerina Hall, the beautiful model whose photos are everywhere and on almost every skin care products, body creams, and every other beauty product that is popularly used by women. But that is not her only story. Of course, that is the only side of her the Camera knows because they are controlled by Walkers.

To us, Katerina Hall is more than just a model. She, along with her fiancee, Nathaniel Law, has made us enemies and they want to plunge our entire species into nothingness for something they call the CREED.

She probably doesn't even know any of us, but was put up to this by Nathaniel.

Her pupils circles mine and I wonder what's stopping her. I do know she's not afraid of us and her cats are definitely not, but I wonder what's keeping her from taking action.

“Kat!” the blonde haired guy called to her, and she turned to him. He drew his brows together, and I know he's wondering why they are just staring at us instead of tearing us apart.

The cats don't have amplified senses for detecting sounds. Unlike us, even when they shift, they still perceive sounds like humans.

“What are they doing?” Dana whispers to me.

“Seems like they are waiting for her command,” I say to her.

“Why hasn't she given them the command to rip us apart yet?” She says.

“I have no idea,” I mumble.

Suddenly, everything changes. Katerina's eyes change gradually as her brown eyes transform into emerald green.

I watch her claws lengthen and her fangs protrude. The bloodlust in her eyes, her countenance, the rage, everything, looks entirely like a different person.

She roars, and the others called in submission, ready to follow her call as they both shift. We know we can't survive a fight with them, but it is way better than to stand and watch them as they rip us apart.

Even before we can shift, we all, Dana and I along with Katerina and her cats, everyone of us comes to a halt as we see flash lights all over us.

“Daniel, get down!” Dana calls to me as I spot a silver bullet rolling and tearing through the air, aiming at my head, and I duck that very moment.

“Walkers!” I scream. Dana and I move out of the triangle quickly as everyone is distracted. I smell them, they're all walkers, Walkers who know about the existence of our kind. How could this be?”

The two Panthers that accompanied Katerina weren't as quick, and whoever they are, shooting succeeded in getting a diamond bullet into each of their heads and they both died at a spot.

I have never seen anything like it. Panthers have never been wasted before me before, and the shock of it freezes Dana and me, not just us but Katerina. We should all be running, because whoever these people are, they've come prepared and they really mean business.

Katerina can't even comprehend the entire thing before she receives a bullet in her shoulder. She screams and falls to the ground in pain. The image of a panther in such pain has never come to me, and I never thought I'd see it. She shifts back immediately. I think the bullet is somehow keeping her locked in her human form and preventing her from shifting.

Dana and I would run, but we were surrounded. All we can see is the bright headlights of cars that are blinding us and keeping us from knowing where the bullets are coming from.

They open fire on Dana and me, and they get Dana down by burying a silver bullet in her arm and she passes out the next minute.

I raise my hands up in submission and they stop shooting. I see Dana is unconscious, but I can still hear her heart beat just like I can hear Katerina's.

“Cease him, and any other survivors, we are taking them with us,” a loud grim voice calls from behind the light and the next thing I feel is a thick device in the shape of a bracelet being put on my right wrist. I don't bother to resist, for if I do, I know where it will end.

They try to put the same device on Katerina's wrists and she tries to resist even with the bullet in her shoulder. She's strong, but with everything, they zap her in the back of her neck with some device and it sends her into unconsciousness.

They assume Dana is dead, just like the other panthers, and they leave her laying there unconscious. They give Katerina and me a shot from a really long needle and my eyelids begin to fall over my eyes gently. It closes until I can no longer see light, and I know it is the effect of the substance.

Every sound echo to my hearing as I continue to slip into nothingness gradually. I know one thing for sure: they didn't miss their shot on Katerina. They definitely didn't plan to kill her, and it was never that they missed the target. And for me, I believe they'd have buried a bullet in me anyway even as I surrendered, but it seems like they have plans for me too.

I feel them lift me up and throw me into some vehicle. And they also brought Katrina in. They slam the door and the vehicle starts to move.