Chapter 3

-Dante-

What just happened? What the hell just happened?!

I was driving as fast as I could to get far away from that hell I just escaped from. There were times when I was hyperventilating, and times when I wanted to stop the car so I could cry my eyes out because of the emotional turmoil I was in. I was shaken to the core, and my panicking mind was unable to even start processing what just happened.

I had no idea if I was being followed, or if the car had a tracking device, but stopping wasn’t an option. For the longest time, I didn’t even know where I was, but then I spotted a sign that finally gave me a clue where I was. I was close to home… I kept using the small side roads, but I occasionally passed people, and they all stared at the wreck that was my vehicle. I was drawing a lot of unwanted attention and feared I would be pulled over by cops if I continued much further, but I wasn’t able to decide on what I should do next.

My aching shoulder wasn’t helping at all, but as long as I was filled with fear and adrenaline, I paid no attention to it. I must’ve been driving for half an hour, maybe even longer, when the pain had grown so bad I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

I almost fainted at the sight of the bloody arm. It was then that I remembered I got shot after turning back to human. It took me another moment to remember that I couldn’t heal fast anymore due to all the experiments that had been done to me. Besides, the bullet had to be still in me…

I stopped the car at the side of a quiet road that was lined up with old spruces on both sides. For a moment, I just sat there, staring at my still-bleeding wound. It couldn’t kill me, right? If the bullet had been made of silver, I wouldn’t be conscious anymore, and that was the only material that could kill me – if aimed at my heart. But it hurt. My God, it hurt. I let go of the steering wheel and couldn’t lift the injured arm anymore. I tried, and almost fainted.

As I stared at the wound, I was growing anxious. I still had no idea what to do. I could still continue driving, but I was getting closer to the nearest city, where I’d be easily spotted. My home city… I wanted to go home so bad it hurt even more than my broken arm. I wanted to see my old friends and my family. Did they know I was still alive, or had Lena come up with some bullshit story that I was dead? She never told me what she said to my parents and my sister.

But… I couldn’t go to them. Not now, anyway. If Lena was still alive – I had no memory of her after I broke free from the cage – the first place she would search for me was home. I had to find a place to hide and make sure she wasn’t after me anymore. And then there was Killian. His wounds had seemed lethal, but he was surrounded by a bunch of doctors and scientists, so it was safe to assume he’d survive.

“Dammit…” I sighed in frustration, wiping cold sweat off my forehead.

I really should’ve killed him when I had the chance. That man was bound to come after me as soon as he was well enough to walk. I knew him well enough to be sure of it.

I leaned carefully against the backrest, keeping my eyes on the quiet road.

I… I killed people… I tried to push out the images of the blood-riddled laboratory so I wouldn’t start throwing up. I never was a violent man. The only few times I’d been in fights was when I had way too much to drink. I didn’t even own a gun because those things scared me… I was used to paying my troubles away, not kill people. I was just a rich ex-frat-boy with a rich ex-queen-bee as my wife. Well, ex-wife…

What I would give to go back in time to make sure I was never bitten…

Suddenly, I saw a car in the distance, and I shot up in my seat, my heart starting to race in my chest again. The car turned off the road long before reaching me, and I sighed in relief but didn’t let myself relax. I was too close to the facility in a car that was easy to recognize. I had to get moving… but where?

The hospital was out of the question, as was the police. That was the number one rule for our kind: never seek help from humans or you’ll get into a lot more trouble. With the anomaly in my blood, I’d only be discovered by another bunch of money-hungry bastards who would find ways to benefit by using me. I couldn’t trust any living being anymore. At least any human…

“Chase…” I whispered the name I hadn’t even thought about in years.

He was the first person to pop up in my head at a time like this? Did I really have no one else I could trust? I ransacked my brain, but the answer was no. I didn’t know anyone else in my society since I’d been too much of a coward to get to know anything about supernaturals.

I continued driving. I was still unsure if I could go to Chase after such a long time, but I really had no one else to turn to. He didn’t live that far away either. With the pain slowly spreading throughout my body, I wouldn’t be able to drive longer than for an hour or two. It was already becoming an issue for me to stay focused. I also had to get rid of the car before reaching the city limits – not my home city, but the one next to it – so I didn’t have any time to waste since I’d have to walk the rest of the way.

I tried not to think about what would happen if Chase didn’t live where he used to anymore… I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go on before my body would give up from the exhaustion, and if he wasn’t there anymore… This was my only chance. I was still too close to the facility. I was on the verge of panicking again, so I tried to force those thoughts out of my head.

I drove as close to the city as I dared, fighting back the darkness that tried to swallow me. Staying awake was getting harder and harder, and eventually, I had to stop when I nearly crashed the car, scaring the shit out of myself. There was a bridge right in front of me, and I narrowly missed the concrete railing. I stared at the steep riverbed and the flowing water far below me, trying to calm down.

Then a thought occurred to me, and I carefully looked around to see if I was still alone, before backing up a bit, turning the wheel until the car was facing the river. Then, I turned off the engine and made sure the gear was on neutral before getting out.

It didn’t require a lot of work to push the car off the road. I watched it roll down the hill and crash into the water. I checked my surroundings once more while the car was slowly being pulled under by the current. I was still alone.

Once the car was gone, I continued my way by foot. I still had miles to go. I only had the poorly made pants on, and my arm and whole left side of my body were soaked in blood, so I had to avoid being seen. I was in luck after twenty minutes of hiding in the bushes every time a car drove past me. I was clearly close to the city since I found myself in a small, quiet suburb. One of the houses had laundry drying outside.

I made sure no one saw me when I sneaked to the house and stole a small towel, a pair of gray college pants and a black hoodie. I wished there were shoes lying around as well, but I wasn’t that lucky. I took the clothes and retreated to the closest batch of trees before tying the towel around my arm and putting on the clothes.

As I continued my way, I felt a little bit better. Things weren’t looking any better for me, but at least now I wasn’t drawing attention to myself. Except for the missing shoes, but at least I wasn’t bleeding all over the place anymore. I pulled the hood over my face and kept my head low as I walked, trying to keep a steady pace.

I regretted not trying to find food or water before leaving the suburbs. I nearly turned around to go back since I was in desperate need of fluids. And I was hungry. The road hurt my feet, I was still dizzy because of the blood loss, and my mental state was crumbling fast, but I kept going. After a while, I found a ditch with running water, and no matter how bad it tasted, I had to drink it since it was all I got.

Every time I saw someone, my heart started beating faster. If I got too close to them, I broke into a cold sweat. When an older man walked right past me, his shoulder almost touching mine, I couldn’t breathe. I was nearly paralyzed from fear. My sight turned blurry, and I wobbled a few steps until I managed to get a grip on myself. I hadn’t even realized how much I feared humans… And it was all their fault. I couldn’t help it – Killian and the other handlers made sure I had no willpower to stand against them.

It was a problem. I soon realized I wouldn’t be able to walk through the city while it was crowded with people. I had to wait until the shops were closed and everyone had returned home. I found a place to stay, deep in the woods, but still close enough to the house where Chase once lived. I was glad to sit down to rest my aching feet by a fallen tree, where I wouldn’t be seen. I wasn’t sure if it was safe for me to fall asleep, but my body didn’t care. I had run out of strength, and soon, I passed out.

*****

The next time I woke up, the forest around me was already dark. And it was raining. For a moment, I was scared and confused, fighting to get my body to move. The pain had become excruciating, and by the time I was back up on my feet, I was crying. I was soaking wet, cold, hungry, thirsty, scared… the list went on. For a short moment, I considered killing myself just to get away from all of it. I didn’t know how long I slept, but it clearly hadn’t been enough.

“Chase…” I breathed out his name. I was so close… I couldn’t give up now. Chase would help me. I knew he would… He had to…

That was the only thought giving me strength anymore. I looked around, trying to remember which way to go so I could get back to the city, and after a while of trial and error, I finally found the right direction. I was shaking uncontrollably by the time I saw a road. My feet were full of blisters after walking miles barefoot, but I knew that if I stopped now, it would be the end – the end of me.

The streets were quiet, and when I walked past one of the shops, I saw a clock at the back of the dark room. It was almost three in the morning already… Chase was already asleep… Would he hear me if I knocked on the door? I’d found out soon enough – I was almost there.

Thankfully, his home was located in a quieter part of the city. If he still lived there. The last time I saw him, he lived above a small tea shop, where he also worked. The owner of the shop was apparently a family friend who had offered him the job and the apartment after he got kicked out of college, and out of home.

The building was easy to spot since it had such a unique design. I saw it in the distance and hurried my steps. The building had four shops on the first floor and four, two-story apartments right above them. I stopped in front of the tea shop, feeling so happy to see it that I started sniffing again. The first floor was two feet lower than the sidewalk, and there were three steps I had to walk down to reach the door. The apartments had their own stairs leading up to the front doors, so I hurried up to see the name on the door above the tea shop. I stopped to stare at the nameplate.

“Cooper…” I sighed in relief, resting my hand against the door.

Chase Cooper. He still lived here! I had to take a moment to gather myself, before I pressed the doorbell. I looked over my shoulder as I waited, but it soon became clear that no one was coming to answer me. I pressed the bell again, and even knocked on the door, but nothing. I peered inside through the windows, but the apartment stayed dark.

“Please…” I whispered as I pressed the bell once more. Nothing.

I turned to look over my shoulder again, knowing that I couldn’t stay there for long before someone would spot me. I tried to think of what to do. Chase still lived here, but either he was such a heavy sleeper that he couldn’t hear the doorbell, or he wasn’t home.

I walked down the stairs and turned to look at the shop. Chase once used a spare key to get inside… I made sure no one was around when I walked down to the shop. There was a small space under the bigger staircase that led into the backyard, so I carefully made my way through it. The yard was surrounded by fences and filled with all kinds of herbs that burned my nostrils. There, in the corner, I saw a small statue of a swan, almost hidden under the herbs. That was where Chase once had the spare key.

I sneaked to it, and grabbed the statue, revealing a small, green box underneath it. It let out a quiet clang when I took it, indicating that the key was still inside. I felt a bit dirty when I took the key and returned to the door of the shop. The lock opened, and I hurried inside before anyone could see me going in. I locked the door and closed the curtains, before turning around to see the shop.

It was just as I remembered… The small area was full of old shelves, holding all kinds of different teas and coffee beans from all over the world. The scent was actually quite pleasant, especially after the back garden.

It was a good place to wait for the morning. At least I was warm, and there was a small office and a bathroom behind the registers. I walked straight into the bathroom to drink as much water as my body could handle. I saw my pale reflection in the mirror and couldn’t believe it was me. I hadn’t seen my reflection in ages… I was pale and skinny, and I had dark circles around my eyes and chapped lips… My dark-brown hair was glued to my forehead, and it was much longer than six months ago. I used to be handsome with my Spanish heritage, but now I looked like a homeless guy, maybe even worse.

I cleaned my wound carefully, trying not to pass out from the pain. The area around it was bright-red, hot and swollen. I had to take a break a few times while cleaning it up since my nausea was growing worse. Eventually, I had to stop since, without the proper equipment, I couldn’t do much else about it.

There was a small couch in the shop, just big enough for me to lie down so that my legs were hanging off the armrest while using the other one as a pillow. I didn’t have anything to use as a blanket, but the shop was pretty warm, and I was too tired to care about searching for something to use.

Everything would be all right in the morning. Chase would wake up and help me out… He probably knew how to treat my wound as well. And maybe give me some food…

Unless he was still mad at me for breaking up with him after I found out he was a warlock.