Slaves of the Moon

"Cassie, pack up your things," I ordered as soon as I had my sister back.

Cassie stared at me dumbfounded. "What? Why? What's wrong Emma?"

"We're leaving Cassie," I said firmly. "Go pack your things. We're going as soon as you can get a bag together." I tried not be affected by my baby sister's tears. I didn't want to leave anymore than she did, but I had no choice. We were in danger here. If we left now, we might have a chance at a real life...even if it was somewhere else.

I packed a single bag with clothes. I didn't bother getting taking much else. Susan would take care of it all in hopes that one day we would be back to claim it. Secretly I was hoping the same thing, but I didn't have as much faith as Susan would...or as much as Cassie would. I went out to my car and tossed my bag in back. Cassie joined me a moment later. I ran back and locked the trailer. Now unless someone broke in (which they might) only myself, Cassie, and Susan would be able to get into the trailer. Those three were the only ones who needed to get in anyway.

Cassie was crying silently in the passenger seat as we drove away from the trailer knowing that we might not be gong back. "I know baby," I whispered as I drove trying not to feel completely anxious. "I don't want to leave either, but we have no choice. Those men who attacked us will come back and try to hurt you and me. I won't let them touch you again."

Cassie didn't say anything. Secretly I had known she wouldn't, but that didn't make me feel any better. I didn't want her mad at me. I didn't want her to hate me. I wanted her to understand. Maybe one day she would too. Then she would be able to forgive me. Hopefully we would both still be alive when that came.

We were out of town and on a rural road I knew well within twenty minutes. We had a long way ahead of us. I didn't know how long though. How far would we have to run to be safe? Would we ever be safe? The thought was completely depressing. Then I thought of the Volkov brothers. Or rather I thought of one particular Volkov brother. I thought of Kayne. He would be upset when he found out that I had left town. Would he wonder about me? Would he try to find out what had happened to me...where I had gone? Would he remember me for as long as I would remember him? The unexpected thought startled me. I hadn't known him for more than a few days...but I knew I wouldn’t forget him. How could I? He was Fang Volkov. He was different. As much as I hated to admit it, I was going to miss him.

Headlights came up behind us and my heart jumped into my throat. Please let this be a coincidence. Please don't let them be after us already. But somehow I knew that despite my fervent wishes otherwise, that behind us were the men stalking me and Cassie. My father had been right. They were going to get us and there would be nothing I could do to protect my baby sister.

The other car rammed into our bumper and I heard Cassie scream. I gripped the steering wheel and tried to keep the car straight. I wouldn't be able to out distance them. My car wasn't made for speed. I also knew that if they rammed us too many times I would probably lose control and who knew if Cassie or I would survive the wreck. If I stopped now we might be able to make a run for it through the woods that surrounded the road. I started pulling over to the side of the road and didn't bother to look over at Cassie. "As soon as I'm going slow enough, get out of the car and run. Don't look back, don't wait for me. Just run.

I didn't look over to see if she nodded or if she would be able to move. I couldn’t. It might give away too much. But she did go. I didn't have the car stopped when she bolted and ran into the trees. I followed suit and let my car roll. I didn't care. It didn't matter. Only escape mattered. I could hear them behind us though. They were coming. They wouldn't leave us alone. It was at that moment that i realized they would never stop. They wouldn't let me and Cassie escape and they probably wouldn't let us live. That thought brought tears to my eyes. Adrenaline poured through my system as I started running faster. Cassie was having trouble keeping up and I knew I couldn't leave her behind. I took Cassie into my arms and kept running, praying we would be okay.

Then I tripped. My body curled around Cassie's and turned to the side to try and protect her. When I looked up we were surrounded with guns pointing down on us. "Two choices Emma," one of the men said with what was probably supposed to be a pleasant smile. "You know what they are, make the smart one."

"You'll kill us either way," I spat bitterly.

The man shrugged. "This way you live longer, be optimistic for your baby sister." He grabbed my arm and dragged me up and another man grabbed Cassie who was crying out loud now.

"Leave us alone!" Cassie screamed angrily.

The man laughed. "Can't do that kiddo. Your dad owes and he'll pay up one way or the other."

Our hands were tied behind our backs and the men began dragging us back to the cars. Wolves howled in the woods, but I wasn't afraid. My heart started pounding though. Somehow the sound of those wolves gave me hope that I had denied myself before. Gold eyes flashed in the darkness and for the first time I realized that the moon wasn't out tonight...it was a new moon. But what could that really mean? Nothing right?

The men were getting nervous. I could feel it when their grips tightened on my arm. The men took out their guns and looked at the woods suspiciously. There was a scream. One of the men had disappeared. The men were anxious now. Another scream. There were three men left now. The three remaining men exchanged looks. They thrust Cassie and I towards the woods and bolted running. The wolves bolted after them. There were shots. There were screams and snarls. Then silence.

Cassie was trembling next to me as we waited to see what was going to happen. Would those wolves come back and kill us? I knew they would come back. But I didn't think that they would kill us. I hoped not at least. I saw a black wolf and a brown wolf emerge from the trees and flank us. It was not long later before a figure started coming out of the trees.

"Kayne?"

Kayne seemed shocked by the fact that he was walking towards us and I couldn’t quite understand why. "Um, hi Emma."