New home, New town, New life (Book 1)

Chapter 11

I paced around the front hall for hours. Nightfall came and went. Eating nor sleeping came to my mind. I was too worried for either of those. "Are you still waiting by the door?" Hunter came up to me.

"Yes. I'm worried. It's been three days and they still haven't come back."

"Why are your eyes red?"

"I don't have to answer that." I continued to stare at the door.

"Yes you do. It's your job to answer any question we may have. Whether it be personal or not." 

I took a deep breath and looked at him. "I sat in a corner crying for hours last night."

"Are you that worried?" He sounded more human than a monster now.

"Yes. My Dad is out there and Lockwood, a family friend, is out there. Of course I'm going to worry a  lot about them. Seeing as you aren't going to worry about them, I will." I couldn't tell if I made any sense or not, but I didn't care. I was too worried, tired, scared and hungry to care. "Come home already." I whispered to myself.

"Pen?" Wolf approached me.

"What!" I yelled to cover up my tears.

"I don't think you should sat there much longer. You'll go insane." 

"I don't care! I want them to come home!" I was crying again, but this time, I didn't care who saw. I was so worried for Lockwood, but even more worried for the only family I had left, my father.

I told Snow to stay at the house, but she didn't. She's so stubborn! So, we both went out the gates. It was completely different. It was a land of war now. I turned and looked Snow in the eyes. "Snow, go back in the gates and wait for me there. It's way too dangerous out here for you."

"No. Partners stay together. For everything." She was so damn stubborn! Ugh! Is this what it's like having a child like me?! I knew she wasn't going to go back, no matter what I could say to her. So, I let her come with me. 

Her and I walked around looking for them. "Dad! Lockwood!" I would call out. After what felt like an hour of looking, we came across another person. He was badly wounded. I ran up to him with Snow on my heels."Sir! What's going on?" I yelled over the sound of gunshots.

"Kid, get out of here! It's too dangerous!" No, I need to know where they are!

"Have you seen my Dad?!"

"What's his name?!" He shot off a few more rounds before he collapsed. I looked over him, he had multiple bullet wounds in him. He nor I had anything to clean the wounds with, so I took off my shirt and tore it to pieces, covering most of the wounds. 

"Come, I'll take you a safer place!" 

"Almost this entire world is a was zone! There's no safe place!" He grunted in pain as I helped him into a hole from a bomb. "I don't care about myself, kid! You and your pet should get out of here!"

I could see that he wasn't going to make it. "I want you to tell me, what is your wish!?" Another explosion went off nearby. I held Snow and the man as the ground shook. 

"What's your name, kid!?"

"Penelope, yours!?" 

"My name's Victor!" He coughed.

"Tell me Victor, what is your wish!?"

"My wish?" He laughed at the thought. "To have a beautiful daughter with a beautiful woman!"

"I don't think you can make that happen. Pen!" Snow yelled to me.

"I can, but it would be a 50 percent chance!" I looked over a Victor, and took a deep breath. I didn't think my virginity would be going to an almost dead man in the middle of no man's land. "I can let your wish happen, but I can't guarantee that it will be a girl!" His coughing was getting worse, and his blood was starting to show through my makeshift bandages. 

"What are you saying, Penelope?!" 

"Just trust me!" I stood and started to remove my pants.

"P-Penelope! W-What are you doing!?" 

I slipped my pants and underwear off. "Trust me." I whispered into his ear. He looked at me with red cheeks as he covered himself. I slowly brought myself down onto his lap. "Are you ready?"

It was sad, he died a few minutes after we had finished. There was a small flower near us, so I lightly kissed his eyes and placed the flower on his heart. "I hope I can fulfill his wish." I thought. I shook my thoughts off and lightly touched Snow's back and started running. Quite a few times, I tripped on a dead body. Snow screamed every time we saw someone die. "I don't like this!" She cried.

"I know Sweetheart. Just look at me. I'll keep you safe." She did as I said and she only looked at me as I continued to run around frantically looking. "Dad! Lockwood!" I kept screaming for them.  I looked for hours, but we had to bunk down soon. Nightfall was creeping up on us faster than I thought.

"Pen, why did it get so quiet?"

"It's dark out. No one wants to open fire on their allies." I heard something slowly moving closer to us.

"Do you hear that?" Snow whispered into my ear. 

"Whoever is out there, I know you are there!" I was just loud enough for them to hear me.

"Penelope? Is that you?"

"Lockwood?" 

"Yeah." He came over to us quickly, but her was alone. 

"Where's my Dad?" I could feel my heart starting to race with fear and worry.

"Him and I got separated when we exited the gates."

"Which way did he go?"

"I don't know. All I know is that he was right behind me one moment, then the next he was gone. Since then I've been looking for him."

I looked down at the ground. "We have to find him." 

"I've been trying, but my old legs can't take me far." 

I looked up at him, my eyes set with pure determination. "First light tomorrow, take Snow and go back. I will find him. That, I can promise." I balled my hand into a fist.

At first light, I gave Snow a hug and a kiss. I told her that I would see her soon and not to worry about me. Not that  it would stop her from worrying though. She's just like me in many ways. As I watched them crawl through the mud, I couldn't help but feel sad. I took a deep breath and shook my head. I had to find my father. I had to bring him home with me.

I crawled around in the mud, hiding from everyone I saw with a gun. I wasn't taking any chances of getting killed. As I crawled around a fresh dead body, I was spotted. A man with what looked like grenades strapped to his belt held my down, yelling in a language I didn't know. "I'm sorry! I can't understand you!" He kept yelling at me, and eventually turned me onto my back. I recognized him, and I think he recognized me too.

"Penny?" 

I nodded slowly. "I know you form somewhere, but I can't remember. I've had a head injury." I slowly moved my hand to my hair and moved it, showing the still healing wound. 

"It's cool dude, but follow me. I'll take you somewhere safe." He let me up and ran off quickly. I struggled to keep up, especially with stray bullets and bombs going off around me. He took me somewhere relatively safe. "How did you get out here?"

"I can't tell you. I'd be killed if I told you."

"Okay well, what are you doing out here?" 

"I'm looking for my Dad."

"He's probably dead by now, dude. This war has been going on for three years now."

"He's not dead!" I yelled at him.

He shrugged. "So you don't remember me huh?"

"No sorry." 

"Well, I remember you coming to my house looking for a picture that my sister found in her room." 

I furrowed my brow. "How is that possible? That was 100 years ago."

He smiled at me. "Your little wolf told me how to get there. The place you came from." 

"I never saw you there."

"I never went the whole way. I just stayed in the cave. That way, no one knew I was there." He laughed. "Time is so different in the cave alone!" I looked at him with a strange look.

"You were alone?" 

"No. My sister was with me." 

"Where is she now?" He smiled at me again. It was a strange smile. Like he was innocent, but guilty at the same time. I stared at him. "Where is she now?" I asked again, hoping it wasn't the answer I was thinking.

"She's--" He paused, making it look as if he was searching for an answer. "Safe."  

I didn't like that smile he had. It was creepy. "So umm-- I'm looking for someone. " I was hesitant. 

"Who you looking for?" He tilted his head in curiosity. 

"A man. Black hair, 5'11, emerald green eyes, a limp with his left leg and a small tattoo of a lion cub on his right hand."

"Ah! Yes! I have seen him. He was with an older man." 

"Yes that's him. Do you know where he is?" I prayed that his answer would be good.

"Yeah. He was heading toward the cave at first light this morning. Why do you want to know?" He was expecting me to answer him.

"I was sent out here to look for him. Told to bring him back." I gave him a little as I could. He didn't seem in the right mind.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "That's not true. Don't you be lying to me little girl." 

"Well in my defense, you wouldn't answer me about your sister. So, I don't exactly have to tell you about the man I'm looking for or the reason behind it, do I?"

"Clever girl." I eyed him for a moment, then got up to leave, but he grabbed my wrist. I turned to him, panic ripping through my body. "If you must know, my sister is still in that cave. Now, I must know the truth from you." His grip around my wrist got tighter. It hurt, but I didn't let him know that.

"He's my father and I came out here looking for him." With my honest answer, he smiled and let me go. I turned and ran, not looking back. I didn't want to know if he was following me or not. When I got to the cave entrance, I opened it just enough for me to slip in and closed it right behind me. 

"Soil? Soil is that you?" I heard a girl ask. I froze. There was no way! I had killed Soil in that house! There was no way that he was alive! I panicked and ran. I ran straight for the second gate and continued to run right to the front steps of the house, only then did I stop running. My mind was racing, my heart was pounding.

"There's no way." I thought.