“Shit.” Oscar, still cradling Ananya, oscillated between leaving her and staying rooted. “How many are there, Karsten?”
“Around a hundred or so, possibly more,” Karsten said, trying to remain stoic, but the franticness in his tone broke through the facade. “He’s rallied support from nearby towns who are against integration.”
“Do we have any casualties?”
“None so far. We’re trying to get the injured out of the way right now.”
“Alright.” Oscar breathed heavily, steam puffing from his ears. “Ananya, stay here with your friend. I’ll be back.”
“What? Wait-!” Ananya began to object, but she was cut off when Oscar kissed her and shifted, following Karsten into the pack.
“He’s fast,” Stella noted, turning her wheels to face Ananya, who was still staring at the path Oscar had left. “What are you going to do?”
Ananya’s jaw set. “I’m going to help bring everyone to safety,” she said. “I can’t let Samiya do it by herself.”
“But he told you to stay here.”
“I know, but I’m the Luna, and I can’t sit and do nothing while lives could be lost,” Ananya said. “Come on!” She rounded Stella’s wheelchair and crept through the thick trees, keeping one eye on the ground to watch her footing and one eye toward the path in front of her to make sure she wouldn’t be ambushed again. She didn’t look back to see if Stella was following her, but the crunch of leaves behind her told her that she was.
They snuck behind the houses, and occasionally Ananya would peek around the corner to witness the fight. Shifted wolves fought against the butts and heads of the guns being waved in the air. Some of the humans fighting growled and brandished their teeth, jumping hither and wither, and Ananya wondered if the wolves were really the animalistic ones.
They reached the front of the pack by the gates, where a few cots had been set up. Coincidentally, Samiya was also there, struggling to raise the injured onto the stretchers behind her. A few fellow nurses tried to help, but they too were distracted by the fighting.
“Samiya!” Ananya rushed to help her. “Stella, help me lift them.”
“I gotchu.” Stella brought her chair around and took the heads of the injured people, allowing their bodies to make an arch so Ananya could reach their legs.
“What are you doing here?” Samiya hissed. “You should be getting to safety!”
“I’m not letting you work alone,” Ananya said stubbornly.
“You’re injured! Your back is bleeding!”
“I’ll survive,” Ananya grunted and continued to lift the bodies. Samiya opened her mouth to object, but a groan from one of the hurt humans distracted her, and she was forced to resume her work.
“The Alpha will be furious.”
“I’ll take the blame.”
“He won’t like this.”
“I know.”
The young doctor sighed. “You want to help, don’t you?”
“I don’t want to be helpless.”
“Ananya! Samiya!” Dhrys ran up to them, and behind him, Ananya caught the bright ponytail of a stone-faced January Bayor, whose expression was one of a woman with a mission. “You guys gotta get out of here!”
“We can’t!” Samiya exclaimed over the sound of a gunshot. “There are still people who need to be moved!”
“We don’t have time,” January Bayor said briskly. “Dafowick’s advancing, and he has silver bullets. They’re deadly to your kind. Karsten wants you all to get to safety. He and the others are going to retreat.”
“Retreat?” Ananya’s eyes widened. “Oscar agreed to this?”
January Bayor studied her. “We don’t have a choice. It’s either we retreat or let them kill everyone. Silver is deadly to wolves, Ananya. One bullet can kill them, and a scratch from one can severely injure them.”
“What about June?” Samiya questioned.
January Bayor’s lips pursed, and another gunshot burst into the air. “She escaped,” she admitted. “Dhrys and Cai weren’t paying attention to her and she ran off.”
“But Kathie beat her with silver!” Ananya said. “How is she unaffected?”
“I’m not sure,” Samiya admitted. A cry tore through the wind followed by another gunshot. “We can’t focus on that now though.”
“I’ll help you,” Stella offered. “Officer Bayor, you and Ananya get to safety. You’re still injured.”
“I’m fine,” January Bayor snapped. “But Ananya, we need to go. It’s not safe for you here.”
“Why does everyone keep telling me that!” Ananya shouted, and with eyes raging she whirled on her wobbly feet and careened away from Stella. “Why do you keep trying to pull me away? My job is to help! How can I help if you won’t let me? How can I do anything if you won’t let me?!” Her jaw was wound tightly and her saliva tasted acidic. “None of you trust me! None of you believe in me!”
“Ananya, enough! Don’t be selfish!” January Bayor ordered briskly, grabbing Ananya’s arm. “You’re endangering everyone here by throwing a tantrum! Just listen for once to what I have to say!”
“I do listen! I always listen!” Ananya retorted, balling her fists. “I listen to everyone, but nobody listens to me! Can’t you just let me do what I want for once?”
“You’re angry, and when you’re angry, you act foolishly,” January Bayor said icily. “You need to respect your body’s limitations. You know that you can’t help without other people behind you. In terms of intelligence, you excel like no one else, Ananya, but this is not your area of expertise. Come, now.” She didn’t wait for Ananya to answer, and January Bayor began dragging Ananya out of the pack.
“Hey! Let me go! Stop it, Bayor!” Ananya struggled and tried to pull her arm out of January Bayor’s grasp. “Hey!! Are you ignoring me? Listen to me!”
January Bayor said nothing and continued to pull Ananya along, passing a pile of broken weapons and used bullets. Ananya kept resisting, but her strength compared to January Bayor was like comparing a feather to a nickel. Both were light, but the feather was always going to be lighter than the nickel.
“Hey - wait.” Ananya’s heels dug into the dirt, and the hair on her neck rose. Her pulse beat madly. “Something’s…wrong.”
“What?” January Bayor turned. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“No, I-!” Ananya was cut off when a large mass lept on her from her side, knocking her to the ground. She screamed as she fell and her body rolled in the dirt, stopping only when her head hit a rock.
“Ananya!” January Bayor lunged for her, but June pulled Ananya away at the last second with her teeth, sending the Officer careening. Her face dove into the dirt and she lay motionless for a moment.
“You think you can get rid of me that easily?” June rasped, her words tangled with saliva and growls. “You think that you can throw me into a cell and be done with me? Oh, sweetheart, it’s not going to be that simple. I’ve waited years for this, and I’m not about to back down now.”
“Ugh!” Ananya struggled to release her wrists, which were held between June’s claws. She felt the sharp tips scrape against her skin and sensitive nerves and tears welled in the corners of her eyes. I need to get out of here! What should I do? She brought her knee up and knocked it into June’s stomach. The wolf howled, stunned for a moment, and Ananya kicked her away and grabbed a stone.
“Don’t come near me!” She warned. “Don’t…don’t…” She couldn’t move. On her back, she was helpless, and a gnawing, vexing sensation appeared in her stomach like a small monster cackling and eating her determination.
“What? You think a rock’s going to stop me?” June pounced, her claws sinking into Ananya’s wrist, causing her to drop the stone. Ananya rolled with her, her hair pouring over her face and onto June’s muzzle. She turned her face to avoid June’s snapping jowls as she searched furiously for January Bayor.
“You’re really starting to annoy me, girl!” June snarled. “Why won’t you just give in? It should be easy for someone like you. Escape this world; nobody cares about you anyway.”
“You’re wrong!” Ananya argued, gathering her strength to push June back. The wolf’s teeth grazed her cheek, but she resisted a flinch. “I have people who care about me! I know my worth, and I know that I’m never going to go down without a fight.” She felt her muscles burn, though, and she worried that her words would be proven wrong if someone didn’t intervene soon.
“Bitch,” June hissed, and just as she was about to bite on Ananya’s neck, a SMACK sounded from behind her. June stilled, then, with a lazy swirl of light, shifted into her human form, collapsing beside Ananya. The back of her head was quickly drenched in red, and when Ananya looked up, she saw January Bayor standing over her, holding the bloodied end of a branch.
“Good thing they have these lying around everywhere,” she panted, dropping the log. She crouched and helped Ananya up. “Did she hurt you badly? Can you walk?”
“If you hold me, yes,” Ananya said, gingerly touching the fresh wound on her cheek. “Did you…is she…?” she observed the motionless body before her.
“I’ll check.” January Bayor helped Ananya lean against the tree behind them and approached June. She brought out her gun and knelt beside June, pressing two of her fingers to the woman’s temple. She hesitated, then stood and returned her gun to its holster.
“Well?” Ananya peered at her.
June sighed. “She’s dead.”
So...June’s dead! What did you guys think? Is there any significance to January Bayor killing her?
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