“The other tribe. They’re afraid of witches.” Well, that wasn’t anything mind-blowing. Plenty of people were afraid of things they couldn’t understand. But, why was she talking about them now?
“Did they mention that to you?”
She sat down on the bed and drained the rest of the mug. Her eyes scanning the room, she looked like she was looking for a place to set the mug. She kept holding it close to her. I went over and took it from her.
“I think they did. I don’t know. My mind is…clogged. There are things that I know I should remember, but I can’t. I feel like I’m watching five movies at once on different screens.” She held her head.
“I know. It’s okay. The herbs that I gave you should help. They will take a bit to kick in though, if you want to go to sleep.”
“Yeah. I’m just going to lie down for a while.” She climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her. I turned off the lights. “We’ll talk in the morning. Good night.” I went and set her mug in the sink. Flicking on the television, I woke up Ian, who was passed out on the couch.
“How’s she doing?” He rubbed his eyes and wrapped one arm around me.
“I think she was given something for submission. If I’m right, she’ll be able to tell us by morning.”
“Bad ass.” He started snoring. I flicked through the channels. I didn’t see what everyone found interesting about television. Peering into the worlds of others, whether real or imagined, was a cheap substitute for living. Using only one or two senses at a time, how could anyone accept that as the real thing?
I was sick of sitting inside. Surely Ian wouldn’t notice if I went for a little walk? He was dead asleep. I needed to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. I lifted up his arm and crept away from the couch. He continued to snore. I tiptoed back to the closet. A sweater might be a little warm, but I didn’t want to risk it. Chills wouldn’t help anyone. I put my arms into a cream cashmere sweater and shrugged it on. I peeked into the bedroom. Vivica’s light snores comforted. Whether or not the herbs I gave her worked, she needed the rest. I grabbed some sturdier sandals from the closet and slipped them on my feet. I looked down at my toenails. My right big toe had a chip missing. I must have banged it on something. When I got back, I needed to file it.
I held my breath and walked into the living room, then out the door. I exhaled after the door clicked shut. The whitish glow of the porch was almost blinding. I couldn’t see the path that led from the porch to the road. Fumbling my way to the railing, I used it to guide me down the steps and onto the asphalt patch in front of the cabin. Although I didn’t think of it when I first arrived, did any of the shapeshifters use cars? I hadn’t seen one since I arrived, but all of the middle cabins had asphalt patches in front that connected to the dirt roads. Making a mental note to ask Gerard, I continued down the pavement to the dirt road at the bottom of the slope. Taking a right would head down the winding road back to the other row of main cabins.
I turned left. Why not explore the rest of the camp? My feet crunched along the uneven path. The fresh air smelled clean and crisp, even if it was slightly chillier than I expected. I pulled my cardigan a little bit tighter around my body. The sounds of the forest drifted in the night air. Various insects floated in clouds around me. The dirt path was well lit, but I could see up ahead the distance between lights begin to grow. With each light I reached, I had to walk further.
Some twigs broke on my right side. Was it a raccoon? It didn’t sound very heavy. There was a light on the left, far in the distance. Could that be another building? A prickle reached the back of my neck. I was hit with the overwhelming sensation of being watched. I began to walk faster. A hush overcame the forest, my footsteps thundered in my ears. The lights and shadows of a building were about five hundred meters away. More movement to my right in the forest. From the size of the cracking brush, it was much bigger than a raccoon. The rustle of underbrush and branches cracked as something large crept through the forest.
When I made it to the building, I was disappointed to see that it was an empty guard outpost. The lights were on, but the guard was not inside the small room. Why would they need a guard out here?
Two yellow lights appeared in the forest. I stared at them, trying to figure out what they were. Small and close together, they floated a few feet above the forest floor. The lights came closer. Transfixed, I couldn’t move. What were those twinkling lights. It wasn’t until the shadow appeared in the path did, I realize those lights were eyes. A cold pit of fear erupted in my stomach. The enormous shadow lumbered closer. It was tall enough to force me to look up at it, even though it was across the path. Trembling, I began to back up. The shape stepped into the light. It was a bear, but not like one I’d ever seen. It was much shaggier and looked triple the size of any bear I’d ever seen. Should I run? If I ran, it would catch me. But, if I stood here, certainly it would attack. Why else would a bear be out at night except to search for food? Maybe if I tried talking to it? Should I be authoritative or nice?
“I’m going now.” I said in my most authoritative voice. The bear tilted its head, as if it weren’t sure of what I said. Standing as tall and straight as I could, I marched down the path towards home, without taking my eyes off him. The bear watched me for a second, then took a step forward. Without thinking, I sprinted down the path. Pumping my legs and arms as fast as I could, I barreled down the path towards my cabin. Sweat poured from my brow and I gasped for breath. Focusing on running as fast as I could, I didn’t dare look back to see if the bear was behind me. For a few minutes, I could only hear the sound of my ragged breaths and the pounding of my feet on dirt. It only took a few minutes to reach the light. I jumped up onto the first porch I saw and whirled around. There was nothing behind me. Whatever the bear had seen and wanted; it wasn’t me.
I carefully walked back to the street and peered into the night. I couldn’t see past the lights, but I didn’t need to. I turned right and ran the rest of the way home, up the red steps, and into the front door. When I walked in and closed the door behind me, I was greeted by Ian, Adam, and Gerard. Well shit. Gerard stepped forward with a menacing look on his face.
“Sit down Cat. We need to chat.”
-22-
The shapeshifter that had been following me had been spotted three different places in the camp. Out of everyone, I’d gotten the closest. That thought gave me the creeps.
“What do you think he or she was doing here?”
“We’re not sure, but I have a feeling it had something to do with you.”
“Me? What would it have to do with me?”
“Vivica woke up while you were gone. She was panicked. She started screaming your name. She said t
hat her tribe was looking for you. They didn’t want a witch to bear the child of a shapeshifter.”
“I don’t understand.”
“All of the breeders that they captured were kept in the same quarantine location. For some reason or another, it came up. The guards overheard. And now they’re trying to find you. At least according to Vivica. She was so upset we actually gave her sleeping pills.”
My tonic had worked. But, why the urgency? “So, why would they be looking for just me? Aren’t there other witches becoming breeders?”
Gerard and Ian exchanged looks. Ian nodded and began explaining. “All of the other witch prospects got sent home. It was an executive decision. We didn’t want to risk any blow back from the other tribes. We figured if we slipped one of each witch, elf, human, dwarf, and all of the others into the breeding mix, it would be less noticeable.”
“Except when the others got kidnapped, they took mostly non-shapeshifters.” I got it now. But what were the odds that a kidnapper would select the majority of non-shapeshifting girls by accident. Surely these things could not be left to mere chance. “Someone must have orchestrated it from the inside. That’s the only way.” Whoever helped the kidnappers was still inside this camp. Waiting for something.