Vixy dashed toward the back of the cabin after a small patrol of guards had passed by. We had been waiting for a while as the sun slowly began to set over the western hills. The routes each group of hunters took were easy to memorize from the vantage point we had along the treeline. We had been staking out the place for hours, passing the time by creeping through bushes to look for any way to cause maximum mayhem to Faytvill’s local hunters who had carved out a clearing in the nearby forest for hunting, gathering, and farming.


    While circling the perimeter, I noticed a fenced-off area connected to the back of the lodge, however, small cracks in the wooden boards revealed a generator that powered the cabin’s lights and other utilities inside. From the pocket of her stolen uniform that we retrieved from the two guards we had killed earlier, Vixy found a lighter with some fuel still left in it. The plan was to sneak past the guards, hop the fence, and drop the lighter into the generator’s gas tank. With some luck, we’d have enough time to escape before the hunters’ compound exploded in a ball of flames.


    Following my companion’s movements, I traced her steps until we were both leaning against the fence post obstructing us from the generator.


    “Here, give me a boost and I’ll open the gate from the inside,” Vixy ordered. Without question, I bent down and cupped my hands for her to rest her boot on. Using all my strength, I propelled her upward to reach the top of the fence so that she could slide over. After she landed on the other side, she fulfilled her promise by unlatching the fence gate, allowing me to enter.


    I closed the gateway behind me as Vixy slid next to the generator, its metal frame gently humming as it burned fuel to create electrical power for the hunters’ lodge. With a couple of strikes of her thumb, she was able to ignite the light and placed a small flat rock along the smooth bit of the spark wheel to keep the flame lit. Unscrewing the gas cap on the side of the frame, she dropped the lighter inside before quickly screwing the cap back on.


    Racing back through the gateway, we turned the corner to make our way back into the cover of the forest.


    “What do you think you’re doing?” A loud man’s voice yelled at us. “Damn, kids think they can sneak off from working the fields?” I snapped my gaze toward a tall man looming over us. Behind him were two other men with rifles pointed at us.


    “Who are you? I don’t recognize your faces?” The man continued to bark in our faces. He cocked an eyebrow while pushing the tip of his long-brimmed hat upward to reveal several wrinkly lines along his forehead.


    “We’re new here…” I stammered, looking for a way to get out of the conversation before the generator blew up with us next to it. “We got lost, we’re sorry.”


    “SORRY!?” The man screamed in our faces. “There ain’t no sorries allowed out here, son. In fact, for your punishment, I think it’s best you sleep with the animals tonight!” He displayed a toothy smile while rubbing his chin. His two lackeys laughed to themselves as they approached, putting the barrel of their rifles to our backs.


    “There are demons in these parts, and if we can’t expect you to know your places, then we’ll have to teach you, ya hear?” The man spat in my face.


    Just beyond the fence, I could hear the sound of the generator hissing. A sudden pop alerted the hunters, distracting them. Without hesitation, Vixy turned around, swatting the gun barrel away toward the other hunter holding me hostage. The guard squeezed the trigger, causing the gun to fire off a shot right into his buddy’s leg, giving me an opening to escape as he reeled back in pain.


    “Give me that!” The older hunter grabbed the gun from one of his subordinates and aimed at Vixy as we fled. He fired a bullet, hitting her in the back of the chest.


    “Vixy!” I screamed, turning back to assist her. The hunter re-aimed his rifle from the recoil, placing its sights over my head, but before he could fire, the generator finally exploded. A loud boom sent bits of flaming balls of steel into the sky causing the hunter to miss his shot as a bit of metal landed on his head, melting the hat he wore to his scalp.


    In an instant, I shifted into my werescale form and lifted Vixy off from the ground. Her chest was rapidly heaving as I carried her past the treeline, disappearing into the woods as the hunters scrambled to put out the fires created by the explosion.


    After covering enough distance from the campsite, I placed Vixy on a soft patch of dirt. Copious amounts of blood were seeping from the bullet wound in her chest as I scrambled to find the ingredients Alice had mentioned for creating the healing salve. Grabbing a handful of nightshade berries growing on a small shrub, I found a rock with a smoothed indent which made for a good enough container while I searched for insects to nab. Unfortunately, I was too anxious and fumbled to catch anything. Thinking quickly, I desperately carved a hole in the dirt with my claws to collect as many earthworms as I could find.


    Placing the worms along with the nightshade, I mixed the ingredients using my index finger, crushing them beneath my claw. After a few seconds, the mixture produced a thick paste similar to the one Alice had made. I wasn’t sure if it would have the same effect, but if I didn’t try something, Vixy would die anyway.


    Satisfied with the modified salve, I rubbed it along Vixy’s chest wound, making sure to cover and fill the hole sufficiently. Unfortunately, my transformation had shredded the stolen uniform I was wearing, so I instead tore off a piece of her long sleeve to wrap around her torso to stem the flow of blood. The tourniquet I made wasn’t perfect, but her ragged breathing stabilized. However, I knew Alice would have more knowledge and better tools to give her a better chance at survival.


    Knowing I did all that I could, I picked Vixy back up and set off back toward the sewer tunnels. By the time I had found the entrance again, the sun had already set and nighttime had fallen.


    Racing through the labyrinth, I found myself back in the Hive. “Alice! Alice! I need to find Alice” I continually screamed as I pushed my way past the hybrids forming a line in front of me. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    “What is the meaning of all this noise?” Kaine appeared, pushing himself in front of his fellow guards. He peered down at Vixy’s body in my arms, flaring his nostrils when he realized the gravity of the situation.


    “Move! Get out of the way!” Using his strength, he pushed several brood members aside to make a path for me as I raced toward the shaman’s hovel. Alice was there to greet me as I made my way inside the stone hut. The wise woman had already prepared a batch of healing salve just in case of a situation like this.


    “Place her on the slab, I’ll take a look at her.” Alice carried a bowl of the paste in her frail palms.


    I did as the old hybrid had instructed and placed Vixy on the flat stone surface. “Remove her bandages, I need to look at the damage.” Again, I did as I was told and slowly released the tourniquet I had quickly tied.


    “Hmmm,” Alice inspected the wound as I removed the last wrap from Vixy’s chest. “You made this?” She looked up at me.


    “Yes, I found some nightshade, but couldn’t catch any insects or find any larvae so I dug into the earth and used some worms I gathered instead,” I explained. “Will she be alright?”


    Alice nodded as she set aside the bowl of salve to retrieve some scraps of thick moss. “Yes, thanks to you, she’ll be fine. That was some quick thinking to use earthworms as a substitute.” Alice congratulated me as she lifted Vixy’s torso up to wrap the moss around her wound.


    “I wasn’t sure if it would work or not, but I’m glad it did,” I replied, letting out a sigh of relief.


    “I’ll need to monitor her for a bit, see if there are any side effects, but the modified salve is doing its job. The bleeding has already stopped and her skin is showing signs of regeneration. Good work newcomer. Rumorey will be pleased, assuming you found the hunters’ hideout.”


    “We did,” I answered. “Well, more like Vixy did. She’s a great scout and saved my life again when we were almost captured after we set the hunters’ lodge on fire. She took a bullet for me and so I had to save her.”


    Alice nodded, “She’s a hard werescale to be around. A natural loner. Many avoid her, finding it difficult to tolerate her cold attitude. However, I am thankful you were there for her.”


    I shook my head, “She’s saved me a number of times. I’m still in her debt, and probably will be for as long as you’ll allow me to be a part of the brood.”


    The wise woman stood silent for a moment before speaking again, “Go ahead and seek out Rumorey, tell him about the success of your trial and he will anoint you as a full member. You deserve it.”


    I glanced back at Vixy as she grumbled incoherently in her sleep. Relieved that she was still alive, I followed Alice’s command and left to search for Rumorey.


    Stepping out of the doorway, I was stopped by Kaine as he towered over me, “What did you do?”


    “What do you mean?” I spat back at him. “Vixy risked her life to save mine and I brought her back here after we destroyed the hunters’ hideout.”


    Kaine straightened his back in an attempt to intimidate me, “How do I know you’re not lying? I promise you human, if anything happens to Vixy, I will personally grind your bones beneath my teeth!”


    “Why don’t you go ask her when she wakes up?” I took a step forward to challenge him. He was much bigger, but I wasn’t afraid after what I had been through. “We stole a lighter from some hunters in the woods and dropped it into a gas-filled generator. We watched the whole compound burst into a ball of flames before she was shot. I did what I could to patch her wounds using what Alice had taught me and now she’s stable. Don’t believe me? Go and see for yourself!” I pointed to the doorway behind me that led into the infirmary.


    Kaine ground his teeth together as he spoke, “For your sake, she better wake up, but believe me, if any part of her story doesn’t line up, I’ll kill you.”


    “Both of you stop!” Rumorey’s familiar voice split the tension. I watched as the brood elder emerged from the front of the crowd. He passed by me to enter the shaman’s hovel. From inside, I could hear Alice and him conversing, but I couldn’t make out anything they were saying.


    Finally, Rumorey stepped out from the doorway. With his booming voice, he commanded everyone to leave and give Vixy some space. Slowly, the crowd dispersed with Kaine being the last to leave, but not before sneering at me in disgust.


    “Follow me, newcomer, I need to speak with you for a moment,” Rumorey said while gesturing me to follow.


    I did as he said, walking side-by-side as he spoke. “Alice tells me you completed your trial and rescued Vixy after an unfortunate incident. I thought I heard something rumbling on the surface, but wasn’t sure what it could’ve been.”


    The elder stopped to look at the running sewer water before speaking again. “You’ve shown great promise, Seth. You were brought to us against your will, fought Kaine in a trial by combat, and fought against your own kind while also rescuing one of our own. I believe that makes you an official member of the brood.” Rumorey turned his head toward me with a smile, “Congratulations. There won’t be any celebration considering some of your brethren are still resilient to change, but you have my thanks.”


    I couldn’t help but smile as pride filled my chest. Despite the unexpectedly arduous journey, I felt a sense of belonging here in the Hive. “Thank you, I don’t know what to say.”


    Rumorey shrugged, “No need to say anything. Tomorrow, you will start your training with Kaine to become a scout like Vixy. He will teach you the art of combat and don’t worry about his temper. You will come to understand why he is the way he is in time. Once he sees that Vixy is alive because of you, I’m sure he’ll see what I and Alice see.”


    I stood next to the elder as he watched the water flowing beneath him. A moment of silence passed before I spoke, “With all due respect…” Rumorey turned his gaze toward me.


    “Go on,” he said after another moment of awkward silence passed.


    “I would like to become a shaman, like Alice,” I said, unable to look at him out of fear of the consequences of defying his word.


    “Hmm, what an interesting request,” he said while stroking the horn under his chin as if it were facial hair. “Consider it done. You’ll still need to train under Kaine, but Alice did tell me that if you hadn’t created that healing salve she makes, Vixy would’ve bled out. Yes, I think your suggestion is the correct one.”


    “Thank you.” I could feel my lips spreading into a long smile as I became overfilled with joy.


    “Now go to the mess hall and get yourself some grub soup. I’m sure you’re hungry after everything you’ve been through.” Rumorey commanded before leaving me to stand alone.


    “Yes sir, and thank you again for this opportunity!” I thanked the elder as he left.


    “You’re welcome, brood member Seth.” He said before turning the corner out of sight.