Capture My Heart

We didnt waste any time.

Everyone seemed to be busy doing something, collecting the information we’d gathered so we knew just who was on patrol and just where they’d be, or stressing out as I was doing.

I was nervous. I was anxious. I had no other thoughts but concerned ones. Thoughts went in and out of my head at terrifying speeds, always worried and panicked, but never enough to turn back and stop this. I was too determined to let my fear keep everyone from taking the possible only chance they had.

It wasn’t that I was concerned for myself though, but for everyone here as a whole. I mean, who knew what would happen today. We might not make it. We might be dragged back and punished, or killed.

Or worse still, we might make it free and then get lost. What did any of us know about how to navigate in the middle of the flipping rain forest?

Violet pricked at the vampire’s minds, assessing for the perfect opportunity to run.

I was worried at her to the point of being sick. I could handle it if I lost anyone else. Life would go on if De’Andre died, or if Jay did, even if Poppy died I would pull through. As long as Violet was safe they didn’t matter.

I was sad that was how I was thinking, but I couldn’t deny that Violet was all that mattered.

Everyone was in some kind of a state, watching each other prepare mentally and wondering whose thoughts would leave and whose would stay, and hoping that it could be so simple that no ones left.

It was lunch time when Violet told us mentally that she had the perfect opportunity, and we could see in her mind that it would be.

One of the guards on the South side was planning on ditching for an hour with his mate. It wasn’t long, and it wouldn’t have meant anything any other night, but tonight it did.

My heart seemed to be working hard all night, beating so loud that I was sure the vamps could pick it up while my palms shook often, for no reason at all and I felt sweaty.

I wasn’t actually sweating of course; I just had the sensation, which was rare for a wolf. My whole body was on overdrive. I couldn’t control it.

I hadn’t been this nervous since…ever. I’d never been in any situation this intense.

The final few hours leading up to the departure, my body was on autopilot. I barely understood a word anyone said to me unless it had something to do with the immediate escape.

I couldn’t even get a wink of sleep when time grew closer, and stayed up to keep watch with Poppy while Violet had her eyes shut in concentration as she waited for it to be time.

It took only a few hours and she rose up, and nodded to me, while all three of us went into the tents to wake everyone up. We were as quiet as possible.

Beck grumbled silently at being awoken but that was the most complaint we got.

Everyone was gathered, wearing nothing but the clothes on their backs and having nothing figured out but that the second we got out, we were gonna run, and we weren’t going to stop.

We separated into groups, seeing as we had to sneak across the camp, and lately they had installed these blinding spotlights that would swirl around the camp and occasionally passed over everyone through the night.

De’Andre, Briana and Kyle had timed these, as they were automatic, and each one of them led a separate group of three or four across the camp to the south side, timing everything perfectly so we didn’t catch anyone’s attention.

De’Andre Poppy and Joana took off across a wide margin of space, right behind a bright beam of light before they hid behind a tent, Poppy’s eyes locked on mine while she waited for my group to go next.

Violet slid her tiny hand into mine as a few beams crept slowly across the ground. Briana waved her hand from where she was standing in front of us.

We all followed after the same beam of light and in a few seconds we were sitting beside the guys and Poppy who hugged both me and Violet fiercely. I didn’t see why she bothered, but maybe it was just starting to hit her that she might lose one of us. This wasn’t over yet, we still had a ways to go.

It took only a few minutes, but Jerome, Jeremy, Jay and Kyle came next, Jerome at Joana’s side.

I could see why he had wanted her to go before him, in the first group; the same why I had insisted the Poppy go on in that one too. We couldn’t lose them.

I had preferred Violet be there too, but she was stubborn and refused to leave my side. It made me smile inside, to see that she wouldn’t leave me, but I never showed how happy I made me.

Besides, we might get separated sooner or later. There was no time for appreciating anything, cause’ it could be ripped away in seconds.

We had roughly two hours to get to the south side, which was just enough time, due to the tests the light timing group had made earlier.

No one wanted to cut it too close though, and so the first group stopped waiting for us, and headed on, as everyone behind kept up as best they could and just focused on themselves.

Violet was gripping my hand so hard by the time that we were half way that it would take much to break it. I was more careful with hers.

Twice we had almost been caught in the light by running too fast, and we were so nervous. If we got caught at the hour it had become, we would have no excuse.

It was early morning and wolves were supposed to be in bed the same time every night, plus, we were running.

An hour and fifty five minutes after we took off from our start, and we were where we were supposed to be.

“Where are the boys?” Joana whispered. She had lowered herself onto her stomach with me and the others and was staring across the ground. Poppy shushed her silently and tilted her head to the side, listening.

We had no exact idea why we got down on the ground…either to avoid the light or to look like we were sleeping we weren’t sure but it wasn’t like we were just going to stand out in the open like idiots and wait for something to happen. Lying down seemed like a good idea.

Soon though, maybe after two minutes had passed Poppy breathed out a sigh and the four guys in group three dove after a light to where we were behind a small group of tents and sleeping wolves.

The tricky part had passed, and now we just had to wait for the opportune time and let Violet do the rest.

I squeezed her hand gently as her eyes closed in concentration and everyone grew tenser. We were tightly wound, our muscles coiled and nerves stretched tight, close to snapping.

A few more beams swirled around us and strayed past, before Violet nodded. The vampire had taken off, and now his post was abandoned.

“I need to concentrate,” Violet whispered, and I held her tighter before releasing her when she admitted that I wasn’t going to help her by touching her. Again, I was wound to tight to show my pleasure at the thought.

Violet, as she had explained to us earlier, was currently trying her tele-I can’t remember the word…

Whatever. She was using her abilities to move things with her mind to try and turn off the electric fence here, where the vampire had abandoned his station. She had no idea if this work, or for how much time, or if it would set off an alarm, but we had to try, and were out of time to work.

Poppy had informed me of several more groups being taken and slaughtered from the East side of the camp. I didn’t like the agony in her eyes when she told us this. It made me sick to look at anything that made her sad like that.

The same way she had looked when she had slipped into her slight depression, only with a lot more emotion and a million times more pain.

Violet huffed quietly, and I could see that her head was hurting as she gently massaged her own temples…

“There are so many wires!” She hissed silently and then went back to focusing. I wanted to ask her how she could be certain of what she was doing, but I couldn’t, and so I had to trust her.

Everything tonight seemed to be moving in slow motion, so what really felt like days was maybe a few hours passing while we ran and Violet sat and tampered with the system for only a few minutes before we all were given the silent okay to creep closer to the wall as Violet prepared to hit the right switch or hit the right wire or whatever it was she would have to do.

It was Poppy squeezing my hand now instead of Violet as Beck slowly laid a hand against the wire shooting into the air.

The closest tents were maybe ten feet away, and they blocked the flashing lights from discovering us…at least while we were on the ground.

Beck closed his eye slowly as his hand made contact, and then smiled wide before starting to scale up the fence so fast it left me reeling.

I was shocked at his sudden rash actions, but and bit on my tongue to keep from yelling at him to come down, that he was gonna kill us all.

He was on the other side and smirking at us after only a few seconds, right as a beam passed over the high edge of the fence.

I whispered for Poppy to start climbing and to make sure she made it to the other side, no matter what happened, but she ignored me, staying with me and Violet as in small groups the rest of our friends climbed to safety.

This was the part I hated.

Violet had to go up last, in case something went wrong with the wires.

Poppy and I climbed at the same time, but I fell behind due to my continual looking down where Violet was tense on the ground.

By the time she made it over the fence, I was about to burst with relief. Of course it wasn’t over. It was never over. We had made it, but that meant nothing.

Poppy dashed over from the guard station the vampire had abandoned, something I couldn’t quite make out crumpled in her hand. I didn’t have enough time to identify it or ask what it was before Violet turned the electric fence back on and everyone could read the same thought in each other’s heads, without even being connected.

Freedom.

We ran like hell.