《Otherly Natural》 Chapter 1 Otherly Natural Chapter 1 Cassandra looked out the window of her new room. They were still out there. She moved the shade aside to get a full look at that van with the gaudy buzzing fly symbol wrapped around its side. It was parked in someone''s driveway right across the street. Their vehicle stuck out like a bug in soup and hadn''t moved an inch in a whole week. The voice of one of those punks echoed in her head- ¡°That''s what our ¡°cute symbol¡± is all about,¡± he''d said while she had been tied up in the back of the flatbed of his ugly truck, She hadn''t been able to move, so that van had been filling her vision where it was parked next to the truck. ¡°It''s who we are. What the Fraternity of the Fly is all about. See, flies eat things that aren''t alive no more, or that shouldn''t be alive. That ain''t natural. We follow the Signs of the Fly right to you things. Works every time.¡± He had used this pause in the narrative as an opportunity to push the silver knife that was in Cassandra''s shoulder deeper and she screamed. The man had laughed and went back to ignoring her and waiting for whatever he was waiting for as her blood dripped off the side of truck and into the dirt. Cassandra could sense her bound hands behind her but her body just felt numb. She''d been able to think about nothing save escape at the time, but come to think of it, that flatbed had smelled a lot like blood. Even before she''d been cut, the scent had washed over her- probably from a previous deer hunt or something. She wondered briefly if that''s what had alerted Minerva to the area in the first place. Funny how little things could make such a big difference in the most important events of your life. Anyway. Casey let the shade fall again, and took a breath, scratching at that spot on her shoulder. She''d healed from that wound the next day, but the scar wasn''t quite gone yet. She wondered if it was permanent. Whatever, it was OK. She was safe now. All of them were. It''s not like the situation was resolved or anything, but this week was certainly better than the one before. She took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of Lilacs she was sensing from Delilah''s balcony garden from a block over. The ocean wind always brought it right to her nose. The fragrant flower was strong enough to overpower the scent of the sea. It was always a pleasant combination, like a refreshing after scent. She suddenly found herself hungry, and began stalking into the common room despite her best efforts to appear casual. Fortunately, no one was there to see the wolf hunting its prey in the nearby refrigerator. More scents greeted her now as air swirled around from her opening her bedroom door. There was, for example, the overpowering scent of human blood coming from Minerva''s room, for example. Mixed with that smoky burning smell from the mishap with Sunny earlier. She almost wished she could commiserate with her friend about the Flies outside, but after all, it was still technically the day and even then, Minerva was entertaining ¡°visitors¡± in there. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Two of them, if Cassy remembered right. Sunny''s door was also closed. She had a visitor too, so Cassy should probably not bother her either. Cassandra went over to the refrigerator in the side kitchen in the common area and took care to not rip the freezer door off its hinge, took out a big hunk of meat there from the portion of deer they''d wrapped in plastic, what was left of it, and popped it in on the counter. I should probably cook it, she thought, but why not do it her way? No one was here, after all. She poured herself an iced tea, got a bit of lemon from the bag in the refrigerator and popped the slice on the edge as she stirred in some sugar. Maybe she should go out onto the balcony so those thugs could see her sipping it casually? No, it would be better to ignore those Neanderthals completely. While she sipped her tea, she continued to breathe deeply like Minerva was teaching her, and picked up the pamphlet Mellie had given them when they''d moved in. Melinda''s Wayhouse for the Otherly Natural and Downwardly Mobile Nice old lady, Cassandra thought. It essentially just says everything is free except for utilities, and please don''t trash the place, she thought, deciding not to open it . She couldn''t help but wonder why Mellie was so generous. But, if it was a trap, wouldn''t it have sprung by now? Also it seemed this would be a better trap to hang out in than whatever the rotting Fly boys had in store. Or whatever that was from last week. Cassandra laughed at that. Nah, she wouldn''t hurt a fly, she thought. Well, maybe a Fly. If their meeting had been any indication. Cassandra found herself drifting back to the night they had met. The silver knife in Cassy''s leg had slowly taken its toll as she lay there, tied up, paralyzed, and falling in and out of unconsciousness. The flashback was interrupted by the scent of raw meat hitting a crescendo in her head. She had forgotten about the meat for a moment, but the scent was filling the whole room now and it was so thick she could literally taste it in her throat almost. She ripped into it with her hands not really having the patience to wait. She finished scooping meat into her mouth, but decided to get some paper towels to avoid getting covered in blood. You know, in case anyone knocked on the door or happened to see her through a window. With ''protesters'' outside, she should probably be careful. While she was cleaning up, Cassandra heard movement from behind the third door, where her second roommate lived. The door suddenly opened, and a woman with dark hair, a dark hat, and a black ankh hanging from her neck emerged. She nodded at her, moved to the outer door, and left without a word. There was a beat, and Cassandra looked back into the third room, but there were no lights in there, and the light from the window all the way in the back was already getting dim as the sun was below the horizon. Cassandra sat down in her couch in the common room, content to wait, as there was a loudish BOOM that came from the room. There was a flash of light. Suddenly, big, roiling fog began to come from seemingly nowhere and filled up the common room, obscuring her vision a bit until she could barely see at all. A heavy wave of cold air washed into her feet. Nothing more happened for a beat, except for more Booms, like thunder. Cassandra walked over to a button over the oven going by memory and the scent of burnished iron she smelled there after a sniff or two, though she had to wave her hands in front of her face to clear the roiling mist out first. Finding the button underneath her fingertips, she turned on the fan, though it barely had any effect on the fog at first. Then there was a rush of air, another bang and some of the fog swirled into an area in the center of the room, making it easier to see. ¡°Hey Sonny,¡± Cassandra said, sipping on more of her iced tea. Chapter 2 Otherly Natural Chapter 2 (updating Sundays) ¡°Hi Cassie,¡± A voice said brightly as the fog cleared out a bit, Cassy saw that it was a mote of sunlight about three feet in diameter that rushed into the room. In the center of what was essentially a massive sunburst, was the figure of a woman with glowing blonde hair that faded into just pure light at the center of the burst. You could see her hands and legs, but the light in the middle was so bright that nothing could be made out at all. ¡°Sorry about that! It was kind of a humid day and I had to draw on a lot more heat from the room than I thought in order to manifest and so all the water vapor in the air condensed into fog since I''m kind of hot, and then I brought a little more mass then I intended to, which made a vacuum, so the sound of air rushing back in-¡± ¡°It''s alright,¡± Cassie said mildly, adjusting her lemon to get more of it through the straw, ¡°you know how to make an entrance! Always fun.¡± Cassy brushed some of the condensed water from her brow, brushing back her brown hair where it collected with the rest that fell just short of her shoulders. The coolness from the fog was actually a relief since they had terrible air conditioning. Still better than none, she thought, smiling a bit, ¡°So, I didn''t do anything bad, like last time?¡± Sunny asked, looking sheepish. ¡°You didn''t do create sunlight at night in front of a vampire bad, no,¡± Cassy said with a smirk. Then her expression softened. ¡°It was fine, Sunny. Really. I liked the fog. Neat trick.¡± ¡°Oh. Okay!¡± Sunny said, looking mollified. After a beat, Sunny started looking around the room, hovering over towards the door. ¡°Did Shelly get out OK?¡± Her voice was a bit strange, but not unpleasant. It had a kind of celestial warbling to it. Definitely not created through a throat, that was for sure. Ghosts didn''t really have those. ¡°A woman of few words,¡± Cassie said. ¡°But then again, some would say that it''s better if Necromancers don''t speak too much.¡± ¡°Well that''s not very nice,¡± Sunny said in a petulant voice, though her expression still looked so radiant it was kind of hard to be sure. ¡°I''d probably never make it here without her ever since I had to leave home. Temporarily.¡± ¡°Doesn''t it feel weird in there? In her head or whatever?¡±Cassy asked. ¡°Oh no, Hollow Necromancers are very nice with their spirits,¡± She said. ¡°It''s very relaxing, and I can do lots of stuff I did before¡± ¡°And what does she get out of it again?¡± Cassie asked, trying to keep her voice from sounding too hard but mostly failing. It''d been a rough week. ¡°You''d have to ask her,¡± Sunny said with a wink. Or maybe it was more like her light turn off and on again. That was at least the best way that Cassy could interpret it. ¡°Seriously though, I think it makes her more powerful or something? She always tells me that she learns a lot,¡± Sunny said. Cassie nodded. There was quiet for a bit where no one said anything. Then Cassie remembered something that Minerva had been talking about and she blurted it out before thinking about it enough. She was in that kind of mood. ¡°Sonny, have you been- Our first electric bill already looks three times above the average-¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The edges of Sonny''s sunburst grew pink, much like the real sunset just passing outside. ¡°Oh no! I''m sorry! Sometimes I get sleepy and just take energy from the walls. I''m sorry!¡± She looked super distressed and was like vibrating in the air and dancing around in slow circles like a guilty dog. ¡°I''ll stop with that, I promise! There are lots of other energy sources I can use!¡± ¡°Oh right, I totally didn''t think about the situation. I keep thinking of you as human. It''s OK, I just wanted to make sure I hadn''t miscalculated somehow.¡± She shook her head. This whole situation had her out of it. She held up her hand as Sunny started looking more and more distressed. ¡°It''s really not that much, come to think of it,¡± Cassy said awkwardly. Sunny started spinning around even more furiously. Cassandra was starting to view this as her ¡°thinking mode.¡± Maybe it meant she was turning her embarrassment into ideas? Cassy was still trying to understand how Sunny worked. She stopped after a moment and said, ¡°I''m no good at human money yet. I completely forget about it. But- I can help some other way? Yes? Fix a problem?¡± ¡°Hey now, remember, you were a human at one point.¡± ¡°That was a boring time,¡± she said with emphasis. Then laughed. ¡°Just kidding. I like humans! Well, certain humans. Ooh!¡± And with that, she vanished for approximately half a second. Then she popped back into the room with a smallish snap this time. ¡°Those humans outside in the van. You don''t like them right?¡± ¡°I do wish they would go away on their own,¡± She admitted, grumbling. ¡°I''ve got an idea!¡± She said and popped out of existence again before Cassandra could get a word in edgewise. She was only on her second sip of iced tea when Sunny popped back in again. It couldn''t have been more than 10 seconds. ¡°Sunny!¡± Cassy said, concerned. ¡°Where did you just go? What''s going on? It''s fine, you don''t have to do anything! I was just being grumpy! You should tell me before you do anything drastic Sunny looked distracted. She didn''t really respond to anything Cassy had just said. ¡°OK, wait for it. We have to see if he''s actually online right now. He is! Ooh, he''s so annoyed! He''s going to do it, yay! Go to the window. The window, quick!¡± Not knowing what any of this meant, Cassandra walked back into her room and pulled the blinds back again. Nothing happened for a good 20 seconds, but Sunny had floated over her shoulder, following her, and was still vibrating with enthusiasm, so Cassy kept watching. What could this be about? Cassie wondered. She looked over at the van with the guy who had tried to kidnap her last week where it was still positioned in a lot across the street. This time she was a bit calmer, so she was able to note some more details about it. She realized that those jerks'' van was actually parked in someone''s parking space. It wasn''t a public parking lot like she had thought at first, though it did look like one. No, it was someone''s driveway. Did the kidnappers know the people from where they parked? There was a light commotion coming from the porch, making it easier to see now that the sun was almost fully down, otherwise, it would''ve been quite dark. Suddenly the door opened and a man in his fifties walked out. He had a light beige shirt on and glasses. He moved slowly but with purpose, and the man in the driver''s seat of the kidnappers'' Fly van put his window down as house-guy approached. The man from the house said some choice words to him, looking angry, and pointing at something Cassie couldn''t see. The kidnapper in the driver''s seat held up his hands and said something that sounded like he was trying to talk the house-man down. It didn''t work. Finally, the kidnappers started driving off. When Cassandra realized what was happening, she cried into her hand a little, taking a deep, shuddering breath as the van drove away. The man in the driver''s seat she didn''t recognize, though he glared daggers at her as he turned past their building, turning right so they could see then see the back of the van. But, the man shifting around in the back with binoculars on his neck, Cassandra recognized him. She forced herself to stare him down while she scratched her shoulder. She still remembered what his breath smelled like. Like old fish. She remembered as he brought the knife down on her back. The agonizing shock of pain. she could somehow still feel his hand brush past her shoulder even as the dagger was in her back. She had shivered almost as much from being disturbed by the touch of his hand ¡°Oh god,¡± she said, shuddering and shaking her head, brown hair whipping around everywhere. She watched as the kidnapper she recognized receded from view utterly, gritting his teeth. Cassandra grinned despite the memory as the van left. ¡°Thank you so much Sunny,¡± She said. ¡°That murderous psychopath has been staring at this house for like a week I don''t think I even realized how much it was bothering me.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Sunny said, whirring in circles across the room, shards of sunlight spattering across the whole room. ¡°I''ll try to get more energy from the sidewalk outside, it''s just so easy to get it from the walls! She protested, the yellow sunlight turning a bit pink with embarrassment. ¡°How on Earth did you do that though, Sunny?¡± Chapter 3 Chapter 3 ¡°Easy! My friend Seepa, I talked to her, and since she''s like me, you know a ghost or spirit or angel or whatever. And- when we talk it''s super fast! It only took like a second from your point of view! Anyway- Seepa likes electricity and computers and stuff!¡± Sunny was talking a million miles a minute at this point. Although apparently, she can go even faster, Cassy thought. The combination of being super energetic and literally being made of light was dizzying. ¡°She- Seepa found out that one of her friends not only lives super near us, with GPS addresses but actually is in the building where the van is! She''s Internet friends with the owner! He''s a human though, so talking with him took a bit longer. He didn''t know his son was letting those horrible men park there and told them to leave because he doesn''t like them using binoculars on people right on his front driveway! ¡°Wait, hold on. You found the guy who owns the house down there?¡± ¡°Well, yes, or no- not me. Seepa did. My friend! She''s Internet friends with like everyone! And she just told him what was happening in what are those called again? Right, in an E-mail. Then, he kicked them out! Hooray!¡± ¡°You did that in seconds. That was amazing Sunny. Seriously.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± She said, glowing a bit brighter. ¡°How did you even do that so fast?¡± ¡°I''m made of light!¡± Sunny said. ¡°Also, notifications. Humans always look at their phone when they beep.¡± The center room that smelled strongly of human blood opened up and three figures came out. A pair of two women appeared first, and the third came up behind them as they came into the common room. Minerva rubbed a wet towel on the other girls'' shoulders and raised their collars as they moved toward the apartment. ¡°Thank you, friends. Have a lovely evening,¡± The woman''s rich voice said with sincerity. The girls left. Minerva turned towards Sunny, her eyes growing wide on seeing Sunny''s light, and cringed while scrambling backward, hiding behind the door, and Cassandra thought she heard a hiss coming from behind it. ¡°I fixed it!¡± Sunny said in protest. ¡°I took out the blue stuff and the red stuff that humans can''t see so it doesn''t hurt anyone anymore! It doesn''t burn anyone anymore!¡± Cassandra thought about it for a moment. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Blue stuff and red stuff. She means ultra-violet and infra-red,¡± Cassy reasoned. ¡°It''s mostly the ¡°blue stuff¡± that gives you trouble right? The ¡°active ingredient¡± in sunlight?¡± Minerva took a deep breath, not coming out from behind the door. ¡°Yes, I understand Sunny. I told you it''s OK, but if you''ll forgive me, I still find it unsettling. Could you maybe do a different color for now darling?¡± Sunny''s sunny sphere rotated contemplatively and slowly the color shifted from yellow to red. Minerva came out from behind the door, shutting it behind her with the flick of her wrist. It shut perfectly with no puff of air and no slamming sound. She was wearing a comfortable red dress, and she stretched languidly, saying ¡°Ah, now that is much more my color,¡± She said with a genuine grin. Sunny twirled a bit. The woman surveyed the room as she walked out. Cassie couldn''t help but watch the way she moved. No wasted steps, she never stepped on a single kink in the carpet, and never moved with an ounce of uncertainty. People have told Cassie before that Minerva moved like a panther. She moved like a dancer. When they had both been running full out last week, Cassie had jumped off of every tree and smashed into every branch. The woman had looked like she was barely touching the ground at all while running below her. She had looked like she wasn''t even using her muscles like she was moving twice as far with every step without even putting in an effort. Minerva looked at Cassandra and her face immediately showed concern. Cassy realized her eyes were still wet. From all of remembering, most likely. How had Minerva noticed before Cassy had? ¡°Honey, what''s wrong?¡± The new lady asked, immediately, coming over to where Cassy sat in a chair. She lifted a finger towards Cassie''s eye, and then looked back at her, that expression a question. Cassie just nodded, not knowing what else to do, giving permission. Minerva wiped her eyes and held her face lightly, searching for what was wrong there. ¡°It was just that van,¡± Cassie said, overly quietly. ¡°I''ll kill them,¡± Minerva said, her eyes flinty and her voice instantly harsh. Seeing the way Sunny and Cassy jumped a bit at Minerva snapping, she smiled and turned it into a joke. ¡°I''ll bite their heads off,¡± She said, lightly snapping with her jaws but you could still clearly see her dagger-like fangs flash. Sniffling unconsciously, Cassy felt a wave of self-hatred. She wasn''t some helpless girl. She had evaded capture from them for miles. until they-d sucker-punched her with that silver buckshot and their stupid knife. She shouldn''t be this afraid of them. The lady looked serious again, still looking Cassie in the eye. ¡°If the memory keeps coming, at least keep making sure you add in and remind yourself how it finished,¡± she said. ¡°And also remember how many of them it took to capture you, and what you could''ve done to the first few if you''d wanted.¡± Cassie took another shuddering breath, focusing on remembering. That sensation when the first few started shooting at her was still somehow fresh. She forced herself to remember she''d taken away their gun in a minute, broken it in half, the memory of that flash of action where their necks were exposed, deciding to run past them instead. The adrenaline-surged chase through the woods, the ambush at the end. Pain, restraints, then Minerva coming. She''d moved through them like a witch, looking each one in the eye, telling them to drop their weapons and not to follow. A call to Melinda. Escape in a car. Safety. A new Home. Minerva clapped her hands together, dispelling the tension. ¡°It''s time for an Apartment Meeting, roomies!¡± She said, loud and decisive. ¡°Clearly, we need to discuss what can be done about our violent fans, the so-called ¡°Fraternity of the Fly. Personally, I find their attentions tiresome. Ideas?¡± Otherly Natural 4 Ch. 4 (updating Sundays) ¡°I have no idea!¡± Sunny said cheerfully, a reddish sun coming across as joyfully sinister. ¡°Oh come on,¡± Minerva said. ¡°Someone must have some idea?¡± ¡°Maybe they went away forever?¡± Sunny said hopefully. Little specks of yellow were trying to peak out of the red, but Minerva kept giving her a look and the full red kept coming back. After a moment, Minerva sighed and went over to a section of the room that was set up like a bar, with a long table framing running next to a window that peaked from the common room into the kitchen. She just sat there, on a stool, leaning to the point where the area crossed with the back wall. Well, what shall we do instead then?¡± She asked. ¡°Well, I feel like, since last week, we''ve done nothing but unpack and keep our head down,¡± Cassandra said. ¡°Well, Mel said that she''d be putting out newsletters that she''d post around the area,¡± said Minerva, bouncing a finger off her lip. ¡°We could see if anything interesting is happening, perhaps? Now that we don''t have a plausible vector for Flys outside ¡°accidentally¡± getting shot? Still too dangerous to leave, maybe, but shouldn''t we know more about our humble little neighborhood while we all dream of emancipation?¡± ¡°Actually go outside? Sounds good.¡± Cassandra said, already putting a hand on the doorknob for the first time in what felt like forever. ¡°I miss the sun,¡± Sunny grumbled as they headed out into the outside space between apartments. It was still shielded from outside viewing from the road, at least. ¡°Even dreadful balls of gas have to sleep, or at least be on the other side of the world, ¡° Minerva mused. Sunny crossed her arms and hovered wearily outside, sinking a bit toward the ground and looking for all the world like a reluctant puppy who''s done with its walk and just wants to go home and nap. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Minerva sighed as Cassandra locked the door. She reached into her pocket and produced a long rectangle nearly the length of her arm. ¡°Is that the Super Max Phone Battery Extender Version 10.1 from Cellphone World?¡± Sunny asked excitedly. Frowning, Minerva looked down at her ¡°I...guess? Well then, that is rather specific.¡± ¡°But, you don''t need it? When I take from it, um it often-¡± ¡°Fries instantly? Oh, don''t worry dear. I have a- friend who has a hundred of them. She told me she could give me as many as I pleased. Tried to give me 5 of them yesterday. I''m sure they wouldn''t mind. You know what? I''ll take care of it right now.¡± Minerva took out her phone and tapped at it a few times. ¡°There. She said she''ll gladly give me many more. I had to practically beat her back. The lady wanted to drive over right now from work! I will have many more later. So this one''s yours, Sunny.¡± Sunny immediately zipped around it, visible electricity sparking from it and directly into the red orb that was Sunny. Gingerly, Minerva put the bar on the ground and took a few measured, cautious steps backward. It wasn''t long before a single whisp of smoke came out from the bar, and Minerva picked it up, tapping at it for heat a few times, wrapped it up in some rubber, and put it in her purse. ¡°Thanks!¡± Sunny said, her red orb showing bits of bright yellow sunlight coming through here and there, like a sun through clouds. ¡°Um- Sunny-¡± Minerva said, biting her finger to avoid hissing again. ¡°Oh right, got it,¡± Sunny said, and the yellow winked out, and now it was a smoldering bright sphere that bathed the night red. ¡°Perfect,¡± Minerva said. She licked at a little blood from where she had bit her thumb. ¡°What kind of friend would you give you amazing energy like that?¡± Sunny asked. ¡°Why, the best kind,¡± Minerva said mysteriously, smiling. A single fang stuck out over her lip. She looked over at Sunny and frowned a little. ¡°I do realize we are in a place that was founded for strangeness, but we may pass by an area that''s visible to the street. It may be best, Sunny, if-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Sunny said, and the red light dimmed, until it looked more like an outline of red lights, swirling right next to her shoulder, where she got the sense only she could see Sunny clearly as a faint glowing outline of a girl. To everyone else further away, she likely just looked like a trick of the light. She pulsed suddenly in the quiet space between apartments. ¡°Don''t worry Sunny, think of it as conserving energy so you can really go nuts when you need to do so. We''ll find something that will really help. For certain.¡± Sunny blinked in her red outline, looking like a gingerbread...woman. ¡°OK,¡± Minerva said, clapping her hands together. ¡°Let us find out what is on this, board of messages?¡± She looked around and saw only one other apartment across from their own, and stairs leading to the lower floor. Except- Something glittered in the moonlight at the top of the stairs. She saw a round shape, as a small satellite dish, but flexible and thin, like gossamer. Chapter 5 CHAPTER 5 And just like that, it was gone. She caught a glimpse of it falling away, making it look like it had just fallen down the stairs. Minerva''s ears detected some kind of faint splash, like something small falling into water a ways away. She waited a minute, not moving, in case this even was an immediate foreshadow of what was to come presently, but nothing happened. Minerva toed close to the edge of the stairs, peering down below, but saw only grass. She resolved to remember it, and confide in her compatriots later, but decided it didn''t warrant concern at present. She thought back to what she had just told Sunny. Had she sensed that thing before becoming fully aware of it? If anything required bright light for just a few seconds, this was a great candidate. Not yet though. Time to just keep an eye out. ** A door slammed in the distance, and Cassandra was brought back instantly. The memory had been hanging over her head for a while since this week happened, but she felt she couldn''t hold it back anymore, and it just blasted full into her mind. ** It was an unfamiliar house, but it reminded her of the only permanent house she''d ever really had. Her parents'' house. More than that. The house of her pack. Some 20 of the People in number. Not anymore. She was here, but no one else was. She was curled up on the ground, on a bit of her own clothing. Slowly the memory of the death of her pack came back to her Tears sprung into her eyes. But not before she saw a note on the table in the sparse room. How had she even arrived here? Who had brought her here? She remembered climbing a tree after they''d told her to run and she couldn''t hear them anymore. Before she read the note, she went to check the source of the slamming door and maybe, the cold. She found the front closed in front of an inch of dust, with a wide pattern where it was dust-free, where the door had slammed and disturbed it. Well, that solved that. Although, she could still hear the wind howling from the other side of the house. Cassandra headed in that direction, moving against the wind that was now flowing freely through the house, making papers fly here and there, rattling window casements, and blowing bits of dirt and leaves past her face, whipping her hair about. Cassandra made it to the other door, which was wide open. She pulled and pulled on it, and it eventually moved. It was like her uncle had always said, the People were a lot stronger than they looked. Cassy especially. It was morning from the light that streamed in, and all she could see was the Forrest. Well, not her Forrest. A Forrest. She could tell that the wind would tell her so much about what was nearby, but it going by too fast for her to get a good breath of it. Doing this was like trying to dance around in a circle real fast and pay attention to what you were seeing, it was just too much. Little flecks of water jumped off of her eyes from the wind, flying out of sight behind her. She pulled the door past the halfway point, let go, and dove back into the house. The door slammed behind her and she felt a bit of a twinge of happiness that she was that fast. She imagined her uncle''s eyebrow going up, impressed. Then she remembered the way she had last seen him, fighting, bleeding from silver-tipped crossbow bolts, caught in a silver net, as she ran and ran and climbed a tree. She fell onto her tailbone, wincing, and leaned against the wall as the images overwhelmed her. They were all gone. First her parents, then her pack, her family. Why not here too? She closed her eyes but the scenes of the hunters catching everyone were still there. ** The next day, the wind had died down, and Cassandra was desperate to get outside. She hadn''t been able to get comfortable at all on her bed the night before, she couldn''t do anything but think about her pack, and her family. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Her family had been followed by the men that eventually got them for a while. On the attack before the last, they''d had to leave the gear behind. ¡°The gear of men,¡± her uncle had said with a dismissive laugh. He pointed to the wolf ears Cassandra had left out on accident. ¡°We are men, but we are something else too.¡± And with that, though without food, tents, and other gear they had brought, her uncle and the rest of her family had taught her about what the wolf nature of the People gave them. They dug holes into the side of hills, each big enough for an adult and a child or two. They had changed forms and hunted game, easily bringing down animals. Deer for the adults. Cassandra had caught a rabbit. Remembering, Cassandra had left the house they gave her, not even remembering the note, and began dragging leaves and sticks into the house. At first, she''d tried shifting and digging a hole in a hill, but she thought begrudgingly that it was likely safer in the human house. It was cold outside, so nothing was living in what she brought, she could smell it. She pushed furniture into the bathroom, since it was near water, just like she had been taught, putting sticks over it like wolves would in front of the holes in their den. She covered over the top with leaves, and finally, when it wasn''t working great, heavy blankets she found. She put a big pile of leaves on the floor, but then added pillows to it for more support, again, begrudgingly. After a bit of work, she got the feeling that she wanted, but also more comfort from the human, and access to water and everything she needed. Cassandra smelled the lightly decaying leaves she laid upon and was instantly brought back to the den they slept in, before the last attack. It made her cry a little, but she felt safe, and slept, imagining her uncle''s scent nearby, like it was in that den. They had turned into their normal animal form to have enough space in the den so they didn''t have to build it so big it would collapse. Uncle had told her it was unusual for wolves to build dens for pups as old as herself, but then again, they weren''t wolves. Same with dragging leaves and moss in for bedding. ¡°We aren''t wolves,¡± He had told her. ¡°We''re the People.¡± Transferring to her animal form, she curled up there, with it dim inside with some light outside the leaves rustling beneath her. She tried not to shiver with fear and cower from the memories that kept repeating again and again. She lay in her bed for hours, though it was not close to dark yet. Her uncle''s wolf form had dark fur with white spots, and he smelled confident and calm. His eyes were a cool blue color but had a warmth to them, like melting ice. It was at that moment when she had picked up another scent, strange but familiar- humans that smelled like blood. The sequence started again, and she cowered and put her paws over her ears to try to make it stop. Finally, she leaped over the tub area, and then reached up to carefully grab a stick that held up her canopy of blankets, She managed to get it out without causing a collapse by nosing it out of the way and then rubbing it with her teeth gently. At that point, she leaped right back into the further part of her den in the tub, all the way in the back, sat down, and began gnawing on it to try to work off some stress. It was still hard to even think about what had happened, like having a crick in your neck and it hurting when you tried to turn and look in a certain direction. The little werewolf tried to get herself to do something else, to look around for food even, because she was hungry, but found she couldn''t get herself to do anything but chew on her stick. She needed the comfort too much. Presently, her stomach started growling. She''d managed to avoid digesting any wood since that never seemed to help very much, so reluctantly she let the biting stick fall out of her mouth, and hopped out of her little den, and the place that was also a bathroom tub, onto the tile floor. Her wolf-form claws clicked onto the tiles as she padded onto the soft carpet and suddenly stopped. As she was leaving the bathroom, she looked back at her den. A cornucopia with a wooden coat hanger, high chairs, leaves, grass, and sticks, a mix of human and wolf, just like her. She took a few more steps into the hallway. Suddenly, Cassandra felt dizzy, since this was one of the areas with the most airflow in the entire house, given that there were many widows in the room with the main door, there was a vent over her head, and even more windows beyond on the way to the kitchen. Currently, it was all flowing over her on the way to the kitchen in one direction, rather than flowing in opposite directions which would''ve been even worse, but it gave the sensation of taking her away on a river of scents. She could tell that there was food nearby, but not sure where. However, there was so much more! One of the windows wasn''t quite secured, and she smelled animals of all kinds through it, and the scents of the forest, humans, vehicles, and almost an infinite amount past that. There was one that stood out far from the rest though. A wolf. He smelled like he could be her brother. The wolf smelled more like her than any she had ever caught the scent of outside her own family She forgot herself for a moment and smashed through an open window screen in the second story before she even knew what was happening. Shifting back to humans to open doors would take too long, and she was able to lock on to a few branches to break her fall on the way down. The screen cut her a bit, but not too bad and besides, she healed quickly, but the point was - She couldn''t lose his scent! He was far away and it was getting faint! Cassandra took off at a dead run through the wind, her legs unfolding and folding beneath her at a rapid pace, almost leaping over every obstacle. She awkwardly led the other wolf into the house after shifting human to open the door and then back again. He seemed confused by the conflicting scents, backing away cautiously, but then she playfully bit at him and he immediately followed her, likely from pure instinct. She trotted into the house but soon was racing when he started following her full tilt. Instantly, she changed where she was going, and raced around the living room, breaking some of the soft wooden furniture like that thing table. It was made from trees but wasn''t nearly as durable! It was a joy to go full speed with another wolf at her heels, and she kept up the game, biting at him lightly but only getting bits of fur. Finally, she realized she was still hungry, and there was the scent of a rabbit in the air, so she raced after that, knowing he would follow. Out the open door, they went, and she completely forgot about leaving the door open. Her family had said before that she shouldn''t do that since it was important to humans. But in wolf form, she barely cared. Caves were always left open, weren''t they? And- Rabbit! In no time flat the odd wolf was beside her, racing side by her side now, she was no longer the quarry. They were chasing the new quarry together. She spared a glance for the young kind-of wolf as they raced through the forest. The way he would slow down here and there to sniff at the air. He had the scent now. He knew fully what was going on. A short time later, he had the rabbit in his jaws, and this time Cassandra was the one following him. He tried to veer off one way or another, but she playfully tried to pull it out of his jaws whenever he did that, and so she was able to herd him towards the house. He was so excited, and the house smelled like her anyway, so she didn''t have too much trouble getting this to go the way she wanted, fortunately. He ran back inside her house, and they raced around again, him playfully keeping the rabbit away from her. Eventually, though he was a little ¡°slow,¡± probably on purpose, and she grabbed half of it. In a short while, they had both consumed half of their catch, oddly egalitarian for wolves, and her suspicion was nearly complete about what he was. But- he acted so wolf-like- Still, she knew. He was like her. Chapter 6 CHAPTER 6 (updating Sundays generally) He jumped up in front of her, planting his feet on the ground and holding his body back, spring-loaded. They played for a bit more, and then Cassandra decided to go back to her den while he followed. She was all slick with blood, so she did the once again distinctly unwolf-like thing of turning the shower on with her jaws, wrenching the circular human mechanism until it spit out water, and let it carry all the blood on her coat away down the drain. She snapped at the water as it came down, making a game of it. Before long, the male ¡°wolf¡± showed up in the bathroom doorway, sniffing the air, curious. She didn''t react and continued washing herself off, so he slowly walked into the room and hopped over the bathtub. It only took another moment or two of her not reacting, and he was snapping at the water too. She retained enough of her memory of her human self to paw at the drain enough to stop it up, and then she knelt down and let the water rise a bit so she could more easily wash herself completely. She grabbed a bottle of soap nearby and squeezed it with her jaws enough for it to fly open and fire liquid into the air, settling under it. She pushed everything a bit with her paw, as much as she could reach, to get soap going and bubbles. The boy wolf looked at her in confusion for a moment and sniffed at the scent in the air. Lilacs. He didn''t run away but didn''t come closer to it either. Still better than smelling nothing but your scent going down the drain, she thought. She liked the smell and figured she shouldn''t just let herself smell like blood and rabbit guts since a human was probably coming soon. Didn''t humans not like that kind of thing? After a while she let the drain go again, after some romping in the water as wolf pups do. She felt human clean now anyway. The ¡°wolf had hopped out and was rubbing his fur on a towel that fell on the ground before she could even do anything else. Something tickled at the back of Cassy''s wolf brain, and she realized the human side of her was complaining about being in the bathroom with a boy. She nosed him out of the room and closed the door behind her with her jaws. He looked a bit crestfallen, though he went. He had dark coloring on his fur, with a white patch over one eye. She had never really paid attention to it before. Unfortunately, he went into one of the corners of the house and laid down, resting his head on his paws. She shifted back into a human and put her hands on her hips, trying to decide what to do. As she did, she noticed that there was a note on the table in the main room with the fuzzy floor down here. There was a note. Her parents taught her to read along with the rest of her kin before, what happened, happened. She still was working on it, But it was enough for this anyway. She began reading. It said- Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Hello, Cassandra, Welcome! You''re home! Myself and my organization heard about what happened to you. We decided to help until you can find a better situation. We have never met. My name is Vera. I am looking forward to meeting you! I got you pudding pops and lunch meat. Also bones? Was in a hurry. Will come back with more food soon. Do not leave the house. You are safe here. Do not mind spirit on roof. Will protect you. Don''t wander far! P.S. Nice to meet you. P.P.S Will be back soon. We will make this into a home, promise! Cassandra had to think about that for a while. Idly, she went into the cold box that smelled strange and found the bones there. She handed a few to her friend in the corner and this seemed to at least cheer him up a bit as he gnawed on them. She didn''t understand much of what the letter had said, even though she could read it well enough. She knew that someone had brought her here, but hadn''t thought much about who it was or the hows or whatever. Mostly, Cassy had tried not to think about what had happened at all. But now she was getting a bit more about it, it all made sense. Cassy couldn''t remember the name of this organization, but her father had called them the ¡°Best Humans.¡± He''d said that they''d had a connection with their family for a long time. And with that, she decided she''d been thinking enough for one day, as the memories came flying in again and she had to wipe back tears, so she decided to go back to the wolf, but waited for a second first before doing it since she noticed her wolf-friend, a member of the kin, was still gnawing on the bone. It was like he was trying to crack it open and eat it, but he was also pausing a lot and looking toward her den in the bathroom. Cassy thought about what to do now. Her new friend looked sad, so she focused on that, and then had an idea, from a memory. She suddenly turned on a dime and loped out of the house. Her friend followed. She went outside, and she saw what she was looking for right away. No, I mean, like your name. As one of the kin? He bit again, snapping at the air. ¡°I don''t know what that means. Can''t you transform? Haven''t you ever been human before?¡± He shook his head. A strange gesture coming from a wolf. ¡°So, you understand me, but you can''t transform? Head nod. ¡°So you still don''t have a name yet? After all this time?¡± ¡°He bit the air again.¡± ¡°Wait, are you saying that''s your name? Your name is, ''Bite?'' Or is it only that action that''s your name since you can''t speak English?¡± Another bite, this time he leapt first and bit the air at the top of his arc. ¡°OK, I guess you''re right. There''s barely a difference when you''re in your wolf form. OK. Follow my lead.¡± Cassy then shifted wolf and grabbed the kiddie pool that she had spotted in the yard before. She grabbed it with her jaws and started trying to pull it toward the house. Her new friend, Bite, immediately bit the side of the pool as well, and together they dragged it inside. It took some doing since they were both small, and the pool only barely fit through the door after some warping, but they managed it. For some reason, Cassy decided to drag it up to her room where she had slept previously. She then ran back downstairs with Bite following her. Cassy hunted around the yard a bit for what she had also seen before. Bite got a little excited and was just running around in circles in the yard. However, finally, she found it. Turning the wheel thing was hard as a wolf, but after some tugging with her jaws, the green hose leap to life with some water coming out. Bite immediately went over to drink some of the water, but as she continued to growl at it and turn it in the same direction more and more with her jaws, Bite got the right idea and immediately grabbed the front of it with his jaws as more and more water came out. He then ran off for the front door with water flying over his head, some of it landing on him in what looked like a wild water snake. Once the hose got stuck, and she had to go pull it out with her jaws, shaking it back and forth like it was a dead rabbit. All at once it came loose and Bite, who had been pulling with all his might, fell backward in an explosion of limbs. The hose fired water everywhere as it fell into the wooden floor of the threshold and the stairs. Bite, recovering quickly, jumped on the hose again like it was an unruly snake, and ran up the stairs with it, water streaming down the stairs as he did. Now a wolf with a mission, he released the head of the hose over the kiddie pool once he got it into her room. Gravity, however, had something to say about it and the hose fell off the side of the pool and began pulling the whole thing back down the stairs. Ever dutiful, Bite chased it back down the stairs, grabbed it again, and just full out leapt with it into the pool. He splashed around the pool with it a bit, as if deciding whether he could drop it or not. As Cassy arrived back into her room, it appeared he had decided to just keep holding it, becoming his own mobile wolf fountain as the pool quickly began to fill up. Cassy leapt into the pool with him, and they splashed around for a while.