Chapter 24: Escape Plan

DANICA

A new day dawned, and I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even realize my heart was pounding in my chest. I had just stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, when Hugo burst into my room, nearly knocking me over.

“Are you coming with me to Creed’s?” he asked, his voice urgent. I was touched that he thought to include me, that he had taken my words to heart.

He froze when he saw me, standing there in nothing but a towel. I was grateful he couldn’t see into my dreams. The same one had been haunting me for a while now, and it always left me feeling flushed and flustered.

I needed to break the tension that was building in my mind. “So early?” I asked, surprised. Creed’s meetings were usually held in the evenings.

“Something happened last night. We can’t waste any time,” Hugo replied.

“Give me five minutes,” I told him, and he waited for me downstairs while I got dressed.

Hugo was on edge, his worry palpable. “Did they find some kind of evidence?” I asked as we got into his car. He drove like a man possessed.

If the ride had been any longer, I would have asked him to slow down. “If I don’t do something, they might,” he said, his hand clenched tightly around the steering wheel.

I had never seen Hugo angry before. He had an attitude, sure, but this was different. It was unsettling to see this side of him, a side I never knew existed. It was a stark reminder of the many facets each person hides within themselves.

Hugo pulled up in front of Creed’s house, not even bothering to park properly. He practically sprinted inside, and I followed, struggling to keep up. I could hear loud voices coming from below. It sounded like they were in the basement.

Hugo was already heading down the stairs, but I hesitated at the top, taking in the brick steps and the cobwebs that adorned the walls. I slowly made my way down, and found myself in a room filled with people. They were all members of Creed’s group.

I couldn’t see past them, but I noticed chains hanging from the ceiling. I squeezed through the crowd until I was at the front. My heart stopped when I saw a werewolf, chained and panting heavily.

I turned to Hugo, my eyes wide with terror. Creed’s voice echoed from the corner of the room. “We have a very rare find in our hands. Could it be a werewolf?” he asked, but no one answered. The idea was too absurd.

“Or maybe it’s just some kind of animal mutation. After all, this is no ordinary wolf. Its body is built differently. We’ll just have to wait and see. If it’s not a wolf, it can’t stay in this form forever,” he said, his voice filled with pride.

It made me sick to think that he could be so callous. I had thought that beneath his gruff exterior and disdain for the world, there might be a kind heart. But no one with a heart could do this to another living being.

“How did you catch him?” I asked, my voice echoing in the silence. All eyes turned to me. I hadn’t even realized I had spoken out loud. Any shyness I had felt evaporated in the face of such cruelty.

“You missed our last meeting,” Jackson said, and I shot Hugo a look. He was the one who had left me alone.

“I was busy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about this,” I said, my voice steady. I did care, but not in the way they thought.

Jackson narrowed his eyes at me. “Why are you here, Danica? Why come here at all?” he asked.

I knew what he wanted to hear. He wanted me to say that I despised these creatures as much as he did. But he didn’t know that I was one of the ones he should be hunting.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts, to find the right words. But when I spoke, my smile was genuine. “I want to help create a safe environment. I need to protect my equals from all evil. I’ve only recently realized that this is my purpose—to protect my equals.”

My equals were out there in the forest, living under constant threat. They were the ones I needed to protect.

Jackson didn’t seem convinced, but Creed looked pleased with my answer. “Very well then. I went hunting and set some traps yesterday. This one was difficult to bring here, but with the help of others, I’ve captured him. This could be our path to the truth,” he said, his voice triumphant as the others cheered him on.

“Did you drug him?” I asked, my voice cutting through the cheers.

“No, he’s been through enough. I can’t risk pushing him over the edge,” he declared, a hint of laughter in his voice.

“I think we could all use a breather. He’s not going anywhere. Let’s head out,” Creed suggested, and the group began to disperse. Everyone, that is, except Hugo and me.

“Are you two coming?” a voice called out to us.

“We’d like to stay a bit longer, if that’s okay. We arrived later than everyone else,” Hugo replied.

The man simply nodded and continued on his way.

“Hugo, we have to get him out of here,” I whispered, certain he could hear me.

He turned to me, his gaze steady. “I know,” he said, approaching the wolf.

The creature’s head jerked up defensively as Hugo neared, but Hugo managed to catch its jaw in his hands. His hand slipped between the wolf’s teeth, and blood began to pool on the floor.

I could see Hugo’s muscles straining to keep the wolf subdued, but his face remained impassive. I rushed over to them, reaching out to stroke the wolf’s fur.

“We’re going to get you out of here,” I promised, my voice as soothing as I could manage. The wolf seemed to relax slightly, and I noticed tears welling up in its eyes. It had been mistreated, and now it had no choice but to trust us.

Hugo glanced at me, and in that moment of distraction, the wolf pulled away. But it didn’t attack.

Hugo moved to the side of the room, tearing a piece of fabric from his shirt. “I can help,” I offered, taking the cloth from him. His palm was deeply cut.

I carefully wrapped the fabric around the wound, trying not to cause him any more pain. “Does it hurt like it would for a normal person?” I asked, noting his lack of reaction.

“If it were you, I’d feel it more,” he replied, our eyes locking.

“Is that why you’re always so careful with me?” I whispered. “So you don’t get hurt?” I questioned.

I finished tying off the makeshift bandage, but I didn’t let go of his hand. He shook his head, never breaking eye contact.

“I don’t care if I get hurt. I couldn’t stand to see you in pain,” he confessed, and I felt a pang in my chest. I expected my heart to be racing, but instead, there was just a dull ache. An ache that seemed to make up for the lack of a racing heartbeat.

I pushed aside the thought of that pain; it wasn’t important right now.

“We need to figure out how to get him out of here,” I said, looking away. I tried to step away, but he held onto my arm.

“You know I can feel it, right?” he asked, and I sighed. Did he understand how he made me feel? His expression fell slightly.

Did he realize that the pain I felt was because of his words? Instead of dwelling on the guilt I felt for reacting that way, I pulled away from him and moved closer to the wolf.

“Do you have anything that could break these chains?” I asked, turning to Hugo. He didn’t respond, instead moving to the side of the room and picking up a pipe. He pulled something from his pocket that looked like a crystal, and when he combined the two, the pipe split in half.

“Well, that works,” I said, surprised, though I wasn’t sure why anything surprised me anymore.

“Yes, but we can’t just let him go. They’d kick us out, and we wouldn’t be able to stop this from happening again,” he explained. He approached the wolf again.

“You’re going to have to hurt me badly enough for them to believe us,” he told the wolf, but I was the one who responded.

“You can’t…,” I protested, but he continued.

“We’ve been down here too long; they’ll get suspicious. We’ll wait until it’s dark, so you can escape unnoticed,” he told the wolf. “I’ll come down and cut the chains, then you’ll attack me. Make it look like I can’t fight back. Danica will be upstairs, keeping the doors open. You’ll run upstairs as fast as you can. If anyone gets in your way, do what you have to, but try not to kill them,” he instructed, and the wolf nodded in understanding.

“Once you’re out, warn every wolf and every pack you can find. If they’ve caught you once, they’ll try even harder next time,” he added. I didn’t like this plan. It was risky, and it could result in serious injuries.

Hugo turned his gaze toward me. “Remember when you asked me to train you?” he questioned, and I found myself nodding, surprised by his sudden query.

“Consider this your first lesson,” he declared.