Alice and The Rogue Wolf

Chapter 32

In the air, time felt immeasurable. All I could hear was the heart beating out of my chest, the whistling of the wind, and the distant voices of the guards as they screamed in my direction.

Anticipation had got the best of me, making me believe leaping off that metal balcony would bring me death but now in flight, all I felt was freedom as the wind rushed through my sticky fur.

I had always longed for this moment such as this so when I was lucky to get it, my joy knew no bounds. However, it was when I realized that I didn't have a parachute strapped to my back nor a pair of wings did I know this short-lived moment was coming to an end. Gravity which had been holding onto me suddenly began to feel burdened by my weight and after giving me a second of pause, it sent me crashing down to the muddled earth with only my fur to be improvised as a protective shock absorber.

Jonathan was frustrated that out of all the trained guards he had sent into the house, none of them could capture me and let me escape. To further surround the house, he had moved the guards which stood at the entrance of the fortress and placed them around the building to secure me even more. Perhaps it hadn't crossed his mind for once that I would come flying through the air.

Luckily for me, the balcony opened to the front of the building so my flight landed me a far distance from the house and just a few more steps before hitting the tar road. For a moment after I crashed, I sat up to nurse my slightly aching body. Despite the pains that came with it, I was stunned at the fact I had just jumped out of a storey building. It felt like something I would check off a list of fantasies but if I had to do any checking off, that would be for later as a drone spotted me and soon began to run after me.

When at first, no one had seen where I landed, Jonathan never stopped raining demeaning epithets at the ones, who in their cowardice, had fled from facing me. He was so infuriated that he shot one of the erring guards repeatedly with a tranquilizer gun, making me spite him even more.

After a while of searching, one of the guys in the drone control tower was quick to pick up my trail from one of the overhead beams of the drones. He almost immediately sounded a message announcing that I was still okay after the usually ghastly jump.

"Okay! This is your final chance to prove to me that you all are all the time and effort you put into training for the task of serving this pack," Jonathan screamed at the guards. "Every single one of you should go out there and get her, and this time you better not fail me."

With that order, every single guard that stood outside the main house at the time of Jonathan's lecture dashed out and ran towards me pumped with more anger and adrenaline than I could imagine. But it was too late. Because when Jonathan's pep talk was still in session, I had already taken to my heels, and even though I still felt weak, I now had enough gap to my advantage, well except for the drone up ahead that was still hovering over me like a persistent bug.

I tried to shake it off countless times but I had no success. It shone as brightly as ever and was perhaps the only thing that guided the guards in their pursuit of me. I was just lucky, I guess, that this particular drone had either exhausted its stock of tranquilizer darts or didn't have any in the first place. But I knew I had to lose it as soon as possible so I galloped past the tar road and into the woods where I was more likely to have a chance against it.

I knew its beam was bright, but when shielded by the thick leaves of the tall vegetation of the forest, it was barely going to reach enough ground. That would leave the machine with no choice but to lower its cruising height and then I would be able to effect the plan I had in mind.

As soon as I ran into the woods, the drone was reluctant to join in and remained high up for a while but when it couldn't keep its eyes on me not picking up my trail anymore, its controller dropped it to a lower height. His reluctance in the air had privileged me a little window of time to be unspotted and in this momentous darkness, I cooked a brilliant plan.

The drone was not that large, but it was built with a strong rotor that helped it descend into the forest through a less leafy tree without its propellers getting stuck. Just as it found its way in, I also began hearing the growls from the guards from far off as they began hurtling into the forest as well.

Meanwhile, the drone began picking up heat signatures behind a tree which it must have figured out to be my own. With renewed speed, it tore through the air and was about to make a stop at the oak tree when I slipped out from behind, and with a swing from the club in my hand, it came crashing down on the forest floor, its blades whirring to a stop. Not satisfied, I swung the club as many times as I wished and when I heard the guards coming closer I headed off on a path that would lead me away from them but go the tar road. Before I left, I quickly used one of the drone's sharp blades to trim off three strands of my fur so its scent could distract them while I escaped.

With their main source of light gone, the guards were stranded. They quickly called for the other drones to trace where I was but I was already far off before the little machines arrived with their beaming lights. Just as I had planned, they soon caught the scent of my fur and followed it to their failure while at the same time granting me a clear window of escape.

When I had finally gotten a long way off, I paused to take in my breath and celebrate the joy that I had finally earned freedom. Though it cost me my bag of clothing, belongings, and phone, it turned out to be worth all of it in the end. Well, I could have used the phone to reach Mrs. Allen, though, but I had smashed it in one of the rounds of being chased.

A smile crept up my lips as I began recounting all that I had gone through in one night. From scramming on the roof to being sandwiched between a vicious chase indoors and a sky full of tranquilizers outdoors. I could stop giggling at how I whooped some of those guards back at the house.

And lastly the jump with its suspense, height, and risks. Having to leap off the balcony of a building without any time to reconsider was one of the worst yet best moments of my life.

Now I had gotten away successfully I changed back into my human form. The night was old but the moon was still as lucent as ever and was enough to light up my path as I began strolling weakly on the side of the road looking out for any sign of Mrs. Allen or her car. It was at this moment I wished even more that I wished I had retained my phone. Who knows? The poor old lady probably had to cancel for some reason or the other and must have called me to tell me about it.

But I didn't want to fill my mind with these doubtful thoughts so I kept going and that was when that pounding migraine that had been non-existent for the past few days returned. I had thought it was just a temporary headache that was perpetrated by the strenuous activities I had done, and that after a while it would wear off but when it made me halt in my tracks, I knew things were more severe than I thought.

My hand was clasped instinctively on my forehead and I could feel the sweat. The skin around my face began to redden from its usual pale white nature and seconds later my headache had escalated into a fever which had my body shivering.

My legs also felt too heavy to move but when I finally managed to take a step, I felt a warm liquid trickle out my nostrils and down my lips; blood. The more the thin line streamed down, the more I knew I was steadily losing my consciousness.

I feared that another step would worsen my situation, but I ignored my instincts and lifted my leg just as I was about to stamp it on the floor, my knees grew weak and I wobbled over screaming the first name that came to my mind; "Brayden!"

But it was too late. I was standing so close to the road so as I fell, my head landed on the side of the tar and I passed out.