Chapter 54: Chapter 54

“Cole, how far can your ears pick sound if you focus?” Katie turned to Cole without sparing a second. She had finally stopped her rushed actions and looked to be in deep thought over what was going on. Cole was slower on the uptake. He had been able to recognize the voice on the speakers to be someone that he knew... soon enough, he was able to recognize it to be the boy who sometimes walked with Katie, the name, however, came later than he’d hoped. Kyle was like a shadow to him as of the three boys, he did not talk to Cole at all and the two had developed an awkward relationship that was restricted to greetings and nods.

“At this time, there is nothing I can’t pick up on school grounds and a little into the forest,” he replied, perking up his ears to try and pick up the sound. A half transformation had them getting longer and pointed, allowing him to borrow the added range of hearing that werewolves had in their wolf forms without having to fully shift.

“And there is no one in the area, huh. Figures, I guess he’s talking through the speakers through a wireless connection that he established. What a pain! A rogue that had an education... Odd,” she said.

“No, the school is empty. Hold on,” Cole closed his eyes and focused, even more, waiting for that moment of silence. There was a bit of too much silence though. He managed to block his own heartbeat from the assortment of sounds that came into his ears. However, he found that he had to search for the second heartbeat that was of the person next to him. Katie’s heartbeat, if only for a moment, seemed non-existent.

After waiting for nearly a second, a heavy beat sounded from her chest going dead-silent in the next moment and staying that way for what felt like three seconds. The rest of the sounds did not cause any alarm to go off in his mind. Nature was undisturbed in the entire school and the immediate forest that surrounded parts of it that weren’t the road leading back into town, “All I can hear is your heartbeat slowing down incredibly and nothing else. Are you fine?”

“Yes, I did that to reduce the distractions so that you could focus on something else. Didn’t it help?” she asked as though what she had just said meant nothing at all.

“That’s creepy. It’s more of a distraction than a normal heartbeat that I can isolate,” he retorted.

.....

“Oh sorry, didn’t think of it that way. That rocket would have been fun to see,” she said, rubbing her temples.

“Oh, yeah, though it doesn’t look like a rocket project. More like something educational to show how much information on space that has been gathered by the student presenting it. There is nothing impressive though. Most of it just looks like those boring lessons of the solar system that I was forced to sit through in school,” he groaned, looking at the poster.

“Yeah, that’s true. I wonder what trigger was used to know that we’d reached this place,” Katie mused, “Wait, you paid attention in your science class?”

“What are you trying to insinuate by that?” he asked, “Of course, I pay attention in science class. Werewolves also have dreams beyond the pack, you know.”

“That’s very hard to imagine. With all the biology going on in those bodies, not to mention a certain goddess who’s constantly watching, I find it so hard for the

“You’ve been irritable today. Did my display displease you that much?” Katie asked. She’d been planning on keeping that to herself, but it was becoming excessive.

“No, it’s not you. It has nothing to do with you,” Cole began to walk heading for the exit, calling for Katie to walk with him with a nod. “Earlier, after you left the Hunter’s Agency, something else happened.”

“You caught that scent again?” Katie asked.

“Yes, I did. And this time someone stopped me from following it, someone who I didn’t expect to do so. It all didn’t make sense at all. It’s been bothering me ever since. I was told that the next I was to catch that scent, I’d find her. I don’t think I should be talking to you about someone else though. It’s quite weird...”

“No, it’s fine... if it helps you feel better, then go for it. Consider me a therapist,” she joked.

“Okay, Dr Chase... I’ve chased her down a lot that I feel like I don’t want to find her anymore. It’s irritating,” he huffed.

“Oh my... that bad, huh... Did they also tell you that you will find them sooner than you might expect,” she told him seeking his eyes.

“Yeah, I was told... wait, how would you know that?” it was Cole’s turn to get suspicious.

“Just a hunch... I’m still shocked that my best friend turned out to be Ash’s killer,” Katie said lightly. Silence took over them when she said that. She had to look back when she noticed he was standing still.

“What did you say?”

“Kyle, my best friend, always has his head in books...” she repeated.

“He’s a human. How am I supposed to believe that?” Cole raised his voice. He had his hand balled into a fist. ‘Oh, I mentioned Ash. I guess that realisation hadn’t gotten to him yet.’

“So, you hadn’t realised it... that the person I was hunting this whole time was Ash’s killer or did you think I was simply looking for one more rogue,” she asked.

“I know what you were hunting, but how did you turn on your best friend so quickly?” he said, “You sound so sure that he’s the killer almost as if it’s obvious.”

‘Cole, your words, they arouse so much anger in me. Why do you have to make it look like that?’ Katie felt like telling the Royal before her. His eyes shone a brilliant bright blue; his face was one of rage. Mixed emotions were clear in them as he looked at her. He was confused, angry, bewildered, murderous and yet hesitant, all this he showed on his face clearly. Katie walked up to the Royal until they were too close for comfort.

“The difference between the two of us is a small one hidden behind our ability to conceal our emotions. If I was like you, Kyle would be on the brink of death by now, but I can’t rush to that conclusion just yet. He was my best friend,” she said.

“How are you so calm about this? Ash is not coming back and you know who killed him. Why do you stay so calm like you didn’t just find out very important information?” he said.

Katie put her hand around Cole’s neck and brought him down so that she could listen to her more clearly, “Want to know something? Rogues are afraid of me,” she said.

“What’s that supposed to...”

“The only way Kyle would have the courage to do what he did and admit he was the killer was if he had already gotten far away and was safe in a hidden location. If he was still in Brigadia, I’d know it... in my gut. Kyle Dwyer is miles away from here...” she said, letting go of him and walking on. Cole remained transfixed to the spot. There was no doubt about it, Katie was livid... Cole couldn’t tell how he hadn’t noticed it earlier, her heartbeat itself was unstable as it kept speeding up and slowing down...

....................................

Miles away from the town of Brigadia, deep in the forest that surrounded the remote town, a forest so thick that one would not think of staying there. The place was referred to as no man’s land for its uncertainties. In a world like this, forests were used as country and town borders and no one was allowed to venture into forests that were out of towns. It was obvious that rogues could use places such as these as hideouts and as a result, hunters usually set out expeditions to sweep those parts and make sure there were no rogues within a certain radius from the settlement they were meant to protect.

Roads through these parts were built wide to reduce unnecessary accidents. The added employment of a hunter helpline for all such highways was another measure that was put in place to help broken down vehicles in need. Each travelling car was required to have a Hunter phonebook with a list of helplines for all respective highways. The war was clear once one was out of the safe haven of a well-protected town. The Rogue King had the whole world trembling just because of his ruthless force.

Deep within the forest, five men sat around a campfire gathering around it for warmth. The night was especially cold and the fire was dwindling in the wind. There was wood, but caution dictated that they would keep the fire minimum to avoid raising suspicion. It would have been easier to simply shift and have their fur act like a blanket, but that would increase the range of their scents and even help the wind carry it further.

A lot of measures had been put up for these kinds of people that didn’t want to get caught and lacked the manpower to fend off an attack. The five men were rogues that had been stationed at this outpost to pick up someone.

“Just who is it anyway? The guy we’ve come to pick,” one of the men asked.

“Don’t worry about that. He’s still a kid... about to turn eighteen too,” another replied.

“Wait, so he’s one of those spies that were dispatched into this region seven years ago?” the man asked.

“Not really, he is more special. He was dispatched nine years ago and has been in hiding ever since. The Rogue king says he’s probably more important than all of us present here combined. To the King, he’s the most important asset that the rogues have...” the man said. His voice was rough and he radiated power that dwarfed that of the other four. He was not an ordinary werewolf and was rather... an alpha that had been given power by the Rogue king himself.