Chapter 3: Chapter Three: The Last

“Akira.”

Akira moaned as someone shook her shoulder.

“Akira,” her mother whispered, shaking her shoulder again.

Akira opened her eyes and looked at her mother. She sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the bump on her mother’s forehead.

“Mama,” she cried.

“I’m okay, baby girl. We’re getting out of here.”

“Where are we going?” she asked, sitting up.

Temple moved quickly through the room, gathering clothes and items she knew her daughter would not want to leave behind.

“Wolfric is setting up a place for us to hide, where your father won’t find us,” Temple said as she placed the full bag onto her daughter’s bed.

“Wolfie is helping us?” Akira asked with excitement as she jumped out of bed.

Temple nodded. “He is preparing his family jet right now.”

Akira squealed with excitement.

“Shh,” Temple said, placing her finger to her lips. “We don’t want to wake your father.”

Akira covered her mouth with both hands.

Her Wolfie is helping her and her mama escape her father. She will be with her Wolfie soon!

They quietly left the house and walked down the sidewalk. Temple did not have her own car, and Apollo kept the keys to his vehicle hidden from her. They heard rustling and turned to find three giant wolves.

“Wolfie!” Akira screeched as she ran to her wolf and rubbed her face against his white fur.

Wolfric licked his Psychi’s cheek. When Temple had called him in a panic and told him what had happened, he had almost run to their house and killed the bastard. But they all know how that would have worked out.

“I take it you three are our rides?” Temple asked with a chuckle.

Wolfric nodded to his Psychi’s mother.

Temple nodded as one of the wolves picked up her and her daughter’s bags, then the other one leaned down so she could climb onto his back.

Wolfric moved so his Psychi could climb onto his back, then stood, and they were off.

It did not take them long to get to the airport where his family jet waited. Once Akira was off his back, he shifted to his human form.

Akira squealed when her Warrior shifted to his human form and jumped into his arms. She rarely got to see him human.

“I will meet you and your mother at the destination,” Wolfric said, holding his Psychi.

“You’re not coming with us?” Akira asked as she squeezed her Warrior tight.

Wolfric shook his head. “It would be too suspicious if all of us disappeared at the same time.”

She nodded, but he could feel that she was sad. He pulled back and looked into her bright amber eyes. They were even more beautiful in the dark, the way they shined.

“I will meet you at the hideout,” he promised.

She nodded, then leaned up and kissed his cheek.

He smiled and placed his hand against her cheek, then leaned his forehead against hers. “I will always be with you.”

She nodded as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I will come for you,” he promised.

She smiled and looked into his beautiful eyes. She believed him.

“Time to go,” his brother said, helping Temple onto the jet.

“I will see you soon,” Wolfric said, then kissed her forehead and sent her on her way.

Wolfric watched the jet take off. Soon, he will hold his Psychi again. But right now, he needs to find an excuse to leave town.

~⚔~

Akira closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep once they were in the air. Soon, she will be in her Warrior’s arms again.

A loud noise woke Akira, and she looked at her mother.

“We’re going down,” the pilot said over the intercom.

“Mama?”

“You will be fine,” her mother said, taking hold of her hand and closing her eyes. “I will make sure of it.”

“Mom,” Akira said when she saw her mother’s shield surround her.

If her mother protects her, she will not be able to protect herself.

“I love you, Akira,” Temple said, looking at her daughter.

“Mommy,” Akira cried out.

“You will be safe, baby girl,” Temple whispered. “I promise.”

Akira shook her head. “But you can’t protect you.”

“You are what matters,” Temple said, squeezing her daughter’s hand. “You are all that matters,” she said, then laid her head back and closed her eyes. “My sweet, sweet, baby girl,” she whispered.

Akira screamed as the jet crashed through trees, and finally, the ground. Everything flew all over the place; if it were not for her mother’s shield, a bag would have hit her in the face.

Once the jet settled, she looked over at her mother. She was barely breathing, but she was still alive.

“Mama,” she whispered, shaking her mother’s arm.

Temple opened her eyes and smiled at her daughter. “They answered my prayers,” she whispered.

“We made it, mama,” Akira said with a smile.

Temple shook her head. “No, baby girl, you made it,” she said, then closed her eyes. “I asked the Gods to let me live long enough to keep you protected,” Temple said with a sigh. “I love you, Akira.”

“No,” Akira cried with a sniffle as she tried to unfasten her seatbelt.

The shield slowly dissipated as her mother took in a ragged breath.

“Mama!” she screamed. Akira finally got the belt unhooked and knelt in the seat, facing her mother. “Please don’t leave me,” she whimpered.

Temple opened her eyes one last time and lifted her hand to her daughter’s cheek. “I am so proud of you,” she whispered.

Akira cried out when her mother’s hand fell to her lap.

“Mommy!” she screamed, trying to get her to come back. “Open your eyes. Please!”

There was no response. Akira laid her forehead on her mother’s shoulder and cried.

How will her Wolfie find her now?

~⚔~

“What do you mean the jet went down?!” Wolfric demanded as he held his phone to his ear and paced his brother’s office. “I had that jet serviced before it went into the air!”

He listened to the man on the other line, his heart sinking to his stomach. The jet holding his Psychi went down halfway between here and its destination.

He needs to find the crash! He needs to find Akira!

Wolfric hung up the phone and turned to find his brothers standing in the doorway, watching him.

“The jet went down between here and its destination,” he told them, though he knows they heard the man on the other end of the call.

“We’ll set up a search party,” his oldest brother said with a nod.

“We will find them,” his other brother tried to assure him.

“You need to prepare yourself,” his oldest brother said, watching him.

Wolfric shook his head. She is alive—she has to be.

~⚔~

Akira shivered and opened her eyes—she had fallen asleep against her mother. She looked around the jet and frowned. How will she find her way to Wolfie? Akira doesn’t even know where he was sending them.

First, she needs to see if anyone else is alive.

Akira crawled through the pieces of the jet. It had split in half when it had hit the ground. She finally found the pilots and silently cried for their families. Akira shivered again as she returned to her mother. It is so cold she will get sick if she does not find a way to block out the cold and get warm.

She found their bags and pulled out sweaters and sweats, then pulled them on. She felt a little better, but it was still freezing. She found blankets and pillows and made herself a tent, using the chairs to hold up the blankets. When the sun comes up, she will search for wood and try to make a fire. She used a few of the blankets to cover the exposed part of the jet.

Once she was through, she ducked under the tent she had created and pulled the blankets around her. She soon fell asleep, the crash plaguing her dreams.

~⚔~

“Akira.”

Akira sat up when she heard her name. “Who’s there?”

“Akira.”

“Mom?” Akira asked, moving from the tent.

Her mother’s body was still in the other seat across from where she had set up her tent. She frowned. She must have imagined it.

“Akira.”

Nope, there it is again.

Akira crawled out of the jet and looked around. The sun was up, and there was snow on the ground and jet, and it was colder than it had been last night.

“Akira.”

Akira stumbled as she walked away from the jet. “Who’s there?” she asked. Akira turned in a circle as she tried to find who was calling out to her.

“Akira.”

Akira stopped and looked around the small clearing she had walked into.

“Hello, Akira.”

Akira spun around, and her mouth dropped open. Standing before her was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She wore armor, and her dark wings were folded behind her.

‘Is she an Angel?’ Akira wondered.

“I can tell you are trying to figure out who I am,” the woman said with a smile.

“Uh, yeah.”

The woman tilted her head back and laughed, then smirked at Akira. “I am Brynhildr.” The woman swept her arm out before her and bowed to Akira.

“Um, yeah, sure. She’s dead.”

The woman laughed, “of course I am. But that doesn’t mean I can’t come to you.”

Akira eyed the woman. “Are you here to rescue me?”

The woman frowned. “I am sorry, but as you know, I am dead. But I am here to make sure my last descendant survives the wilderness.”

Akira blinked. “I am the last?”

Brynhildr nodded. “You are. You and your mother, but now…,” she stopped talking and frowned again.

Akira sniffled as a tear slid down her cheek.

Brynhildr cleared her throat. “Now you are the last. And I cannot let you die out here.”

Akira looked around her. “Where am I?”

“Somewhere you should not be. But I was told you must.”

“I must what?” Akira asked, confused.

“You must survive this trial.”

“Trial?” Akira asked, even more confused.

“I hate this as much as you do, my child.”

Akira snorted, “I doubt that.”

“Snarky child,” Brynhildr scorned.

The smile on Brynhildr’s face when she said the words showed Akira that she was not angry.

“Why do I have to survive this?” Akira asked.

“Because it will strengthen you,” Brynhildr informed her. “I was told that I can help you survive, but I cannot help you escape.”

“Escape?”

“I cannot rescue you.”

“Oh.” Akira scrunched up her nose. “Will Wolfie find me?”

Brynhildr smiled. “In time. But until then, let me first show you how to make a fire without matches.”

Akira nodded and followed Brynhildr. They found sticks that would make a nice fire. Brynhildr showed her what to look for, and then they returned to the jet. She squealed with excitement when the fire took and held. It warmed her and kept her dry.

The worst part was finding food. To keep her strength, Akira must not only eat twigs and berries but meat as well. And since everything is in hiding while there is snow on the ground, Akira had to decide whether she could handle eating humans. She could not eat her mother, so she found a place to keep the pilots frozen and fresh. It was not too bad; it tasted kind of like chicken.

Akira buried her mother in the clearing she had met their ancestor. She placed a cross made from sticks to mark where her mother’s head rested. She does not want to step on her mother by accident.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Akira learned to hunt, fish, and cook like they did before there were stoves and fishing rods.

Akira grew into a woman she would never have been if she had not been left to fend for herself in the wilderness when she was thirteen.