Breaking Free

Encounter

I huff in a wheezing breath, as I start to slow my pace. I had ran a long time before I felt safe enough to stop. My muscles are aching, desperate for a break after such little activity for so long. I take in my surroundings, lush trees and greenery. Eerily quiet, as the surrounding wildlife is aware of my presence. I wasn’t exactly quiet in my arrival here. I know I’m deep in the woods. I’d say I’m roughly 8 miles from the border of my hometown. From what I remember of the map of the area, there should be plenty of woods surrounding me. I want to avoid walking into any settlements at the moment as I’m sure my image will be all over the news. My father has no doubt been notified of my escape and will stop at nothing to catch me. He has too much on the line with my freedom. The nearest town is 30 miles south west of Ankaren Ridge, where I just escaped from. If I remember right the town is called Timberline. I decided I needed to gather supplies. If I can get to Timberline by nightfall it will be the perfect opportunity to take what I need to survive. I quickly shift to beast form, knowing my senses and abilities will be heightened. I feel my face elongate along with my teeth. My ears stretch upward and my hearing increases. My arms sprout fur, and long claws grow from my fingertips. My body stretches upwards and my muscles grow taut, which causes my orange prisoners garb to split in places. I’m taller and larger in wolf form, causing clothing to be an issue. Werewolves are bipedal in wolf form, with the ability of dropping to all fours, due to our legs shifting to resemble that of a true wolf. My blonde fur covering my body is peaking through the tears in my clothes. My tail has split through my pants. I decided to throw the tattered garments off, and leave them behind. I’ll just have to stay in beast form until I can find some more inconspicuous clothing. I quickly bury the clothing to hide my presence here. I start running full speed towards Timberline, making sure to stay as deep in the woods as possible.

Roughly 6 miles pass without incident, but I am now picking up some strange scents that I don’t recognize. I decide to stop to rest and take in my surroundings. I see nothing but trees around me. One tree appears to have been damaged with deep slashes that the tree has healed over time. There is a babbling creek nearby that I desperately take a drink from. I sit and rest by the creek, cooling my paws in the water. The scents are old, but I’m unable to tell just how long it’s been since the owners have passed through. I pick up hints of cedar-wood, pine, and musk. Woodsy scents that I imagine could only belong to the animals that inhabit the woods around me. My fur on my neck begin to stand on end as paranoia sets in. I hadn’t put much thought about what other creatures I’d run into out here, not In my desperation to escape. Having never been out of Ankaren Ridge, I’m not familiar with the scents of wildlife. Let alone the scents of other supernatural beings. My own father has a similar musky scent. I can only assume that I am smelling other werewolves. I can’t pick up how many, or how long ago they had been here. There is a possibility that they could be friendly. However, from what little knowledge I have, I recall werewolves are territorial creatures. If there is a group of werewolves surviving out here, they might not take so kindly to a stranger invading their home. It’s too late now for me to change my course, I need those supplies. My grumbling stomach and parched mouth tell me that much. Ideally I’ll find some clothes slightly bigger than I wear in human form. I need to be able to shift without worry of damaging my clothing. An ajustable belt for a water skin, and maybe a survival knife would be immensely helpful. Timberline supplies Ankaren Ridge with food and other products to earn a living. I don’t know for sure just what I will find. I decide to continue forward with more caution, trying to move quickly but quietly. I don’t want to run into anyone or anything while I’m so ill equipped. I take one last deep drink from the creek and stand up. I stretch out my limbs and begin to jog off. As I leave my resting place behind me, the scents too start to fade in the distance. Maybe I was worried over nothing after all.

I’ve traveled maybe 2-3 more miles, and I can now pick up the scents again. It smells much more fresh than last time. There is one with hints of cedar-wood again, which smells particularly more present than before. I hold my breath and look around, using my senses to pick up anything out of place. I’m not immediately aware of anything moving, but that doesn’t mean that I am truly alone. I creep around, trying to find a direction the wolves had moved. They appear to have headed to my left, but the scent of cedar-wood still smells very strongly. I creep forward and away from the direction the wolves had went, trying to avoid contact. As I move on the scent of cedar-wood only gets more potent. It seems as though it’s all around me. A twig snaps to my left and I freeze. No other noise is made, but I continue to hold my breath and listen. After what feels like hours I begin to move again, wanting to draw as little focus as possible. As I pass under a large tree, I hear a grumbling growl above me. I jerk my head towards the sound and roll my body away as a dark grey wolf launches from the branches. The wolf stands to its full height and snarls at me, I lower into a defensive crouch. The wolf is a male, and has nearly a foot on me in height. I stand 5’10 in human form, as a beast I’d say I stand about 6’10. I know this would be a tough fight based on the size difference alone. My eyes dart around me, I don’t know if this wolf is alone. I take off the direction I came from, supplies be damned. I’m not sure I can take on multiple wolves on my own, especially after 2 months of little activity. All the running I’ve done today has left me fatigued, I don’t move as quickly as I would like, and am tackled from behind. The wolf is snarling over me “Why are you creeping around our territory?” He growls out “Who sent you here to spy?”

He is definitely not alone, that question confirmed my suspicions. I throw an elbow back, it catches him on the side of his head. I use all of my strength to throw him off while he is disoriented and let out a snarl of my own. My nose tells me this is the wolf I’ve been smelling. Back in a defensive crouch I feel secure enough to converse with the wolf. “No one sent me to spy! I was not aware of a werewolf presence here.” I say defensively.

Im not sure how much information to give out. I am worried to admit that I am alone.

“Lies!” The wolf snarls out at me “This territory has been claimed for years! No rogue wolves would be unaware! There are markings everywhere!”

He makes a pass at me that I swiftly dodge. I get a blow in to his chest that has him stagger back. He growls in frustration and I can tell he didn’t expect much of a fight. My mind wanders back to the tree with deep slashes that had healed over. It must have been some territory marking at one point. I quickly put some more distance between us before I speak. “I’m being honest! I’ve lived hidden in a human settlement and was found out. I barely made it out, and have been on the run since!” I tell a half-truth.

I don’t want to expose who I am. The disdain people have for father is deep, I fear for what they would do with me. They could attempt to use me as a bargaining chip, not that my father would care if I was a hostage. They could also just publicly kill me on the spot for association. I don’t expect anyone to believe me about my father’s genetics, but I can’t dethrone him if I can’t expose him. The best thing for everyone is for my father to be removed from power. I know this wolf won’t recognize me in beast form, if I can just avoid shifting. “I don’t want a fight, I’m just trying to survive.” I tell him.

“Likely.” He snarls “You rogues have been trying to hit our supplies for weeks!”

I’m not getting anywhere with convincing him. I don’t think I can outrun him, and I hear the thundering of running coming from multiple directions around me. The wolf must’ve called for backup. “We’ll see how your story holds up.” He says.

The wolf growls out at me. 4 other werewolves emerge from the woods and converge on me at once. I shove one of them off. He is all claws and fangs and one clawed hand catches me in the side. Another tries to grab ahold of me and I kick her square in the chest. She snarls as she stumbles backwards. I spin around to the first wolf and he is circling to find a weak spot. There are too many of them for me to keep in front of me. The three behind me move at once and grab me. I try to shake them off but my fatigued muscles are failing me. My arms are yanked roughly behind me as I bite one of my attackers. I feel a prick in my neck and I stumble as the world fades to black.