Chapter 23-Escape Part 2

"That's great!" Shane exclaimed. "Let's hurry up and get out of here."

"Should we take his car, or try to run?" Roe asked.

"According to what I'm getting from him, we'd be more noticed if we tried to drive his car out of here than if we snuck off into the woods." Adrian replied, then handed the guard back his car keys.

"Okay, but remember I'm a lot slower than y'all are."

"If you need to, you can ride on Shadow." Shane told her.

"I could also carry you. We'll get there together, and quickly." Adrian said.

Roe nodded at them. "Okay. Let's get out of here."

Adrian turned to the guard. "I need you to go in that room." he said pointing to Shane's room. "Sort the meat that's in the refrigerator. One stack for drugged, and another stack for not drugged."

"Okay." The guard walked into Shane's room, and Adrian shut the door behind him.

"Spell time." Roe said. She placed the book on the table, and opened it to the correct spell. "Each of you put a hand on one of my shoulders. You both need to be touching me for this to work. And we should be able to see each other, but other people won't." They did as she asked, then Roe muttered the spell and waved her hands. "Okay. That's done. You don't have to touch me anymore. The spell should hold."

They both took a step toward the hallway door, and stood there waiting on Roe.

She picked up her grimoire and placed it on her left palm. As she muttered the spell and waved her hand over it, the book shrank until it fit in the palm of her hand. Adrian and Shane watched spellbound as the book got thinner and thinner then turned into a tattoo of itself on her palm. She lightly brushed it with her fingertips until it was on her forearm, then she stopped. She noticed the two men looking at her. "It'll migrate further up on its own. We need to get going."

"Okay." Shane said, then turned to Adrian. "Lead the way."

Adrian slowly opened the door and listened carefully. I don't hear anything, but let's stick to our link until we're out of here.

Okay. Shane said.

Okay. Roe agreed.

They quietly walked down the corridor, making so many turns Roe had gotten lost. Are we going the quickest way out? She asked Adrian.

Actually, no. That guard showed me the best way to get out without running into any guards. So, that's the route we're taking. It also takes us closest to the woods. Adrian replied.

So, if we're sneaking out invisibly, why couldn't we take any of the other prisoners with us? Shane asked.

I don't know how many people I can cloak, or for how long. The spell says that the more people, the less time we have. This is the first time I've been able to cast this spell. Roe answered him. It's just too dangerous to try to take anyone with us right now. I'm afraid we'd be somewhere surrounded by guards and my spell would fall.

Oh, I guess that makes sense. Shane replied sorrowfully.

We'll come back and get them. Hopefully before they have a chance to move anybody. And if not, we'll try to capture some of the guards and convince them that it's in their best interest to tell us where they went. Roe tried to reassure him. I'm not any happier about leaving them here than he is. I wish we could take them with us, but it's impossible right now. The sooner we get to Joe, the sooner we can get them all out.

After a few more twists and turns, they approached another door. This one looked like it was steel, and would lead to the outside. Adrian stopped just before opening it. This should be the door to the outside. The guard he knew where it was because he'd had to patrol it, but he'd never opened it. He wasn't sure, but he didn't think there was an alarm on it. We need to be careful, just in case.

Okay. Roe said. How do we do that?

As far as I could tell from the guard's thoughts, it's not far from this door to the fence that's around this place. The woods are just on the other side of the fence.

What kind of fence? Roe asked.

Chain link about eight feet high, with barbed wire running around the top. Adrian replied.

I'm not sure I can get over a fence like that. Roe said.

Don't worry about it. Adrian reassured her. I can easily jump that fence holding you.

Okay. Roe replied. I just don't want to slow y'all down.

We won't be getting help anytime soon if you're not with us. You're our link to Joe and Agent Maitland. Adrian told her.

Not that we'd leave you, anyway. Shane interjected, glaring at Adrian.

No, of course not. Adrian said.

Okay. Roe said. Now that we vaguely know what's out there, are we ready to go?

One last thing. Adrian said. As soon as I open this door, we run as fast as possible to the fence. I'll pick you up Roe, and jump the fence. Shane, just make sure you get over the fence.

They both nodded their agreement, and got ready to run. Adrian listened to see if anyone was coming, and upon hearing nothing, opened the door. They all quickly passed through the door and took off running, just as an alarm started sounding.

Shit. Shane said. Apparently that door did have an alarm on it. We don't have long before they come out here looking for us.

RUN FASTER! Adrian commanded as they ran full out toward the fence.

I've never run this fast in my entire life. Either they're slowing down for me, or I've gotten a whole lot faster. Roe thought as she got to the fence just a few seconds after the two guys. Shane was already halfway up when she got there. Adrian scooped her up and jumped the fence, landing on the other side. A few seconds later Shane joined them, dropping down from the top of the fence.

Slowly now. Shane said, seeing the guards start pouring out of and around the building. Don't make the leaves or grass shake too much, it'll attract attention. I know it seems better to run, but if we make too much commotion in the bushes they'll know which way we went.

Adrian nodded to him. Thanks for the reminder. It's been a while since I was prey.

They started slowly moving back into the trees making slow, deliberate steps and attempting to not rustle the plants too much. They got far enough into the woods that they wouldn't be easily seen by the guards, and then started to run again.

After about thirty minutes of full out running, Roe stopped and bent over her knees panting. "I can't do this anymore. I can't run like this and keep up the invisibility spell." she quietly gasped out.

"Either one of us can carry you, or you can drop the spell for now." Shane told her. "Or both, actually. We may need you later, so it might be a good idea to let you rest for now."

"Shane's right. If they're all human, they're not going to follow us through the woods. They're going to be looking for us near roads and businesses. Anywhere we may be able to catch a ride, or use a phone."

"Okay, I can do that. We'll probably need my powers more later than we do now. We're going to need to find a phone, and somewhere we can meet with Joe. Actually, we need to find out where we are, first."

"I'll change into Shadow, and you can ride him for a while." Shane told her. "I'll still be able to communicate with you using the link, even in wolf form."

"Okay. Let's see if we can find a road."

"I'll carry your clothes." Adrian told Shane.

"Okay, thanks."

Roe turned her back to him as Shane took his boots and pants off and shifted into his wolf. Roe turned back around when he nudged her in the leg with his nose. He's so pretty, such a gorgeous chocolate color. Roe thought. It's not going to be a problem to ride on him. He's the size of a small horse. With a boost from Adrian, she climbed onto the back of the large wolf. Now what do I do? I don't want to hurt him by pulling his hair out.

Just grab a big handful of scruff. Shane said. It won't hurt me.

Okay. Roe said and grabbed two big handfuls of fur. I hope he's right.

Hold on. Shane told her as he and Adrian took off running again.

Oh, my Goddess. This is so amazing. I feel like I'm riding a horse, no he's going way faster than a horse. I feel like I'm flying.

They ran for another thirty minutes before they came to a road.

"Wow. That place must have been in the boonies." Roe said as they stood looking at the road from the cover of the trees. "Either that or we came out on the wrong side."

"I'll take the wrong side over the middle of those guards any day." Shane said, after he changed back to human.

"Well, yeah." Roe said. "But it's not going to be easy to get back there and get the others out."

"It may not be that bad." Adrian said. "We may be able to look at a map of the area and find a better way to get back there."

"I don't think I could." Roe said, then laughed. "I'm pretty much lost, other than there's a road in front of us. What're we going to do now?"

"I'm going to see if I can smell anything interesting." Shane said. "I'm going to let Shadow have control of my body, so if I don't immediately answer you, I'm not ignoring you." Then he walked out of the woods and over to the edge of the road, sniffing both ways.

"Okay." Roe said, nodding.

"Roe, why don't you see if you can see anything interesting with your witch sight." Adrian suggested.

"Okay. I don't know what you think I might see, but I'll try it."

"See if you can find another witch. They might help us. Or something else friendly, maybe. I don't really know either. I just want to explore all of the possibilities."

"Oh, okay." Roe said before opening up her witch sight. "I don't see anything really interesting. There's just a few spell remnants around here, and from the glow I'd say that they're pretty old." She stepped closer to the road and Shane and looked in the direction Shane was looking. "There's a glow coming from that way, but I don't know what it is. It may be where a big spell was cast, or it could be a town that has a witch. I just can't tell."

"Okay." Adrian said. "Shane do you think we should go that way?"

"I don't know what it is, but something's telling me to go that way." Shane replied, Shadow having given him back control.

Adrian nodded. "You both agree that we go left from here, so that's the way we'll go." He walked over to the edge of the road to join them.

"Okay." Roe replied. "Now I see why you wanted me to see what I could see."

"Yeah. I tried to see, but I apparently have a limited field of view when it comes to seeing magic." Adrian told her.

"Well, that's interesting." Roe replied thoughtfully. "I wonder just what your range is."

"I don't know, but I can't see the glow you're talking about."

"We'll have to see what it is, later." Roe said, then jerked her head around the other direction. "What is that noise?"

"Get back into the woods. A car's coming." Shane answered her. They all ran back into the edge of the woods, and crouched down among the plants so they could see who was coming down the road. It took a couple of minutes for the car to get close enough for them to see into it.

That car is going really slow. Roe linked to the others.

Yes, it is. Shane replied. I'd bet they're looking for us.

Probably so. Adrian said.

Should we watch them, or move back deeper into the woods and go on? Roe asked.

Let's watch them for a few minutes and see what they do. Shane suggested.

It would be nice to know if they're going in the same direction we are. Adrian added.

Okay. Roe said.

They stayed camouflaged in the bushes in the edge of the woods until the car was out of sight.

"I'm sure they're looking for us." Roe said.

"Me too." Shane said. "And they're going the same direction we are."

"We're going to need to be really careful about where we go from here."

"If we can find a person that's alone, can you hypnotize them into letting me use their phone then forget we were ever there?" Roe asked Adrian.

"Yes. That shouldn't be a problem." Adrian answered.

"Just don't forget to delete the number from their phone when you're done." Shane said. "That way it'll be really hard for anyone to figure out that we used them."

"Good idea." Roe said.

"But first, we have to actually find somebody." Shane said.

"Yeah." Roe replied. "That might be an issue."

"Here comes another car." Shane said. "This one's driving a normal speed."

"I wonder if they're part of this or an innocent passerby."  Adrian said.

"Shane, how do you feel about getting hit by another car?"  Roe asked speculatively.

"Um, I'd rather not.  Why?"

"I was thinking that if you got hit by them, we might be able to use them to get somewhere.  Or get a phone and an idea of where we are, anyway."

"Oh, okay. I guess I'm fine with that, but we'd better get a ride out of it, or we'll have to stay here for a bit. Depending on how hard they hit me, I may not be able to go far because of having to heal."

"Okay.  I'll go down that way a little bit."  Roe said, motioning to the right. "And tell u if it's one person or more than one."  She took off running through the woods, parallel to the road, knowing they didn't have much time before the car got to them. As soon as they get out of the car, hypnotize them Adrian. That'll keep them from driving off until Shane and I can get there.

Sounds good, Roe. Adrian said.

Yep. Shane said, turning back into his wolf, and getting ready to run out into the road.

Okay, I think I'm far enough away now. Roe thought, as she stopped running. She crouched down in the edge of the woods, just in time to watch the car go by. I could only see one person in the car. She quickly told the guys.

Shane saw the car, then leapt out of the woods just in time to be hit by the front right corner of the car. The impact threw him a little off the road into the grass on the other side. As soon as Roe saw Shane running toward the car, she started running back too. Adrian ran up to the car as the driver stopped and got out. He quickly had the woman under his control.

Shane, are you alright? Roe asked him.

Yeah. Shane replied a little groggily. I'll be fine.

Can you get up? She asked him, as she reached the back of the car.

Yeah, I'll be stiff and sore for a little bit, but nothing major. He replied, slowly getting to his feet.

We need to get going. Adrian said. I've been looking through her mind, and she's going to the next town, Ashland. We're not far from Sunset.

No, we're not. Ashland's the town where the Ridgeline Pack is. Let's get in the car before anyone else comes up. Roe told him, getting into the back seat of the car.

Would that pack be of any help to us? Adrian asked, getting into the front seat of the car, next to the woman.

I'm not sure. Roe shook her head. I don't know who was chasing you and Shane in the first place. We'd probably do better to lay low and get into the neutral territory between the two packs and meet Joe there.

That makes sense. Shane said, as he got into the backseat of the car with Roe.

"Let's go." Adrian said to the woman. "Just ignore the fact that we're with you." She put the car in gear and drove off down the road toward Ashland.