To Be Free

4

I'm awoken by the sun in what feels like the shortest night's sleep ever and get up to go to the bathroom. Once done with my business, I head straight for my coffee maker. This machine will definitely be missed when I leave, but I can't take it with me, so I may as well enjoy it while I have it. “Everything was quite throughout the night. We should leave tomorrow if possible.” Xena informs me, I grunt in response as I sip my coffee, thinking about my next steps. “ I agree we can leave tomorrow night. It will help with sneaking around and staying unseen until we can get out of the city.” I responded. “ We should head towards the woods so that we can hunt for food and stay away from anything that can be used to track us. We are close to the Appalachian trail, which could be a good place to hide out for a while and then move to another city." Lara suggests.

“Yeah that sounds good, we should pack light and grab some containers for water and canned foods that won't go bad so quickly in case the hunting is scarce.” Natalie adds.

While we discuss our plans, I'm taking in their suggestions and starting grabbing things I would need for my time on the trail. I don't have many clothes and I don't think my shoes will last long out there. I should probably stop at a*****e for some good hiking boots since they'll last longer in the woods. I managed to find some good-sized plastic containers I could use for water and left them by the sink and started going through my canned foods. Some are getting ready to expire soon, so I think I'll leave those at a neighbor's door and take the ones that still have a few months left. Once I have my bags packed, I grab my oversize hoodie and some cash and head to the store for some shoes.

As soon as we walk out the door, we are all on high alert, making sure we aren't followed and looking for anything suspicious. I made my way to a sporting goods store and headed over to the boots. “ We should get a tent and sleeping bag while we are here. There might be times when a cave isn't available. Winter is also around the corner, so a heavy-duty coat might be good too," Alora suggests. Hmm, that might be a good idea. I agree and head over to the camping section to see if I can find something that will fit in my bags. After finding everything I need, it is almost dark as I make my way home, my eyes sweeping back and forth looking for anything out of place. I relax once I bolt my door and head over to my bags to pack up my purchases. After zipping up the last of my things, I headed for a quick shower before making dinner. I take my time considering it'll be a while before I take a shower again, so I'm soaking it all up while I can. “Do you guys think we have everything we need or do we need anything else?” I asked “I think we have everything for now. We can always head into a city at some point and get more things later on,” Xena replies. I turn off the water and wrap myself in a towel and head out to the kitchen. I look through what I have left to eat, although I don't have a big appetite right now. I know I should eat in case if I can't for a few days. As much as I don't want to leave, I know it's better to be safe than sorry. It just makes me sad to leave another place i was starting to consider home. I feel my eyes getting hot from the tears I'm trying not to shed.

“I know it would be hard to leave if it wasn't for those assholes we wouldn't have to, but I would rather us be out in the woods than back inside one of their cages.'' Kara says. I know she is trying to make me feel better, and I do agree with her, but that doesn't make it suck any less right now. I heat up some raviolis and sit at my table to eat. I don't really taste it as I chew and swallow and I'm done within minutes. After putting the dish in the sink, I headed back to my room to dress.

“Someone just came in through the roof entrance.” Alora tells me and I froze for a moment. “Put on your clothes, we may need to leave tonight and turn off all the lights,” she added. I do as she suggests and quickly dress in my dark clothes and pack up the last bit of my things and put on my boots. I'm glad I went with some steel-toed boots. It'll sure be helpful in a fight. I make my way to the sink and fill up my containers and put them away. I strap my bag to my back and sit at my kitchen table and wait. I use my wolf hearing to listen out for anything out of the ordinary. I hear whispering in the hallway, but it's too low to make out what they're saying. There's the sound of multiple shoes heading in my direction and I take that as my que to make my way out of here. I headed towards the window in the back of my apartment that I left open earlier. The sounds of footsteps stop outside my door as I make myself out the window and down the fire escape. I'm one level down when I hear a loud thud and the sound of wood splintering as they try and break in.

I made my way down as quickly as possible. I looked up to the window in time to see someone pop their head out the window and see me. “ SHE'S HEADING DOWN THE FIRE ESCAPE!!” I heard the man yell, and they started following me. Once I hit the ground, I break into a run and start making my way towards the forest. It's a few miles away, so I did my best to remain hidden and take the long way around to get there. I wish I had taken the time to plot out the best route, but I'll just have to wing it from here. I made my way to a dark alley on the next block and lie low behind a dumpster and used my hearing to check my surroundings before moving on. The sound of tires squealing made me freeze, and I made myself as small as possible while waiting for them to drive by me before making my way to the other end of the alley.

“Maybe I should glamour us until we get closer to the forest.'' Alora suggests. “No, it'll take too much energy, and I'm not sure if they can track our power usage. Better to just lie low and move in stealth. If they do find us, we will need all our strength to fight through them.” I responded “maybe you should let me take over. We can get there faster at my speed and be out of the city in no time.”Kara tells me. As I weigh my options, I'm inclined to agree with her and let her take control and we take off. The world is nothing but a blur as we run through alleys and race to the forest. Once I view it we slow down and check the surroundings to make sure we aren't followed. Looking towards the forest, I notice a few SUVS parked close by and a few men dressed in all black making their way towards it. “ s**t they might have guessed where we were heading and are trying to block us.'' Kara says “we may need to fight our way through. Lucky for us, there aren't that many here. It should be pretty simple.” “ Still be careful. Who knows what they've brought with them to take us down. We can't take the chance of being hit.” i tell her, “OK, I hear ya don't have to kill my fun.''she mumbles back. After rechecking the straps of my bag, we raced towards the men. Kara leaps and takes down the closest man and sinks her teeth into his throat, tearing it out completely. By then, the rest had noticed me and drew their guns. Using our speed, we dodge bullets left and right, getting closer to the men and striking them dead. As much as I hate killing anyone, we know it's necessary to keep them from following us into the woods. As Kara drains the last man, a few more SUVs show up, and she drops him and turns and runs into the forest.

We ran for hours, still on an adrenaline high front he fought and the blood we drank. By now it's the middle of the night, and we stumble into a clearing and decide to stop here for the night. Kara relinquishes control and I shift back into my usual form. Using my wolf senses, I scent the area to make sure we are in the clear before setting up camp for the night. I take a long swig of my water and sit on a small boulder to catch my breath.

“How do they keep finding us? Why can't they just leave me alone? It's not like I go out of my way to bother them anyway,” I say. We stood in silence, lost in our thoughts as I set up the tent and took out the sleeping bag. I take out some canned sausages to eat. I don't want to take the chance of building a fire just yet, not until I get deeper into the forest. “Well ladies, this is our first night in the forest,” I said jokingly. I finish my snack and head into the tent and get comfortable in my sleeping bag and try to catch a few hours of sleep.