This Is War

The fire crackled as the flames danced around the wood it devoured. The way the flame's colors changed caught Alexa's attention. The power that a simple flame had and what it could easily destroy. The reflection of the fire played in Alexa's eyes as she began to place the skewer, holding several marshmallows, into the flames. Vanessa had been right. Alexa slept the day away and she wasn't sure why it really happened. And as she stared at the flames, she couldn't help but wonder why her body would let her sleep that long.

"You officially have burnt marshmallows."

The sound of her sister's voice startled her, causing Alexa to jump. She blinked her eyes a few times before looking at the marshmallows. Vanessa was right, they were burnt way beyond being able to to save them. Pulling the skewer out of the flames, she picked at the burnt marshmallows and tossed them into the flames.

Vanessa had seen the way Alexa had jumped at her words. It wasn't hard to miss the way Alexa was so distracted. She was never like this before. Alexa would always do something, not just sit still and stayed quiet. It scared Vanessa. It made Vanessa wonder what had happened to her sister during those three years. She watched as Alexa placed a few more marshmallows on the skewer and placed them back into the flames.

"Ali..." Vanessa's voice was soft. She was going to attempt to get her sister to speak about what was bothering her.

"I promised, didn't I?" Alexa's voice was even. She never once looked up at her sister. Her eyes carefully watching the flames to ensure her marshmallows didn't burn to a crisp this time. Vanessa would never give up. Alexa knew that. She was never going to stop bugging her about what had her so....off. Alexa didn't even know the real reason behind her quietness. It was just....there. Maybe spending half of a jail sentence in solitary did this to her. The endless days being locked in a room with no one else gave her several reasons to be silent. It was just easier to stay quiet.

"That promise isn't worth anything if you are moping around." Alexa felt her sister practically stare at her. It took everything Alexa had in her to not look toward Vanessa. She knew the moment she turned to look over at her, she would come face to face with the puppy dog eyes that everyone knew she used to her advantage. "Come on Ali." The whine in her voice was almost to much for Alexa. She wouldn't be able to handle it much longer. And as she looked over at her sister she saw exactly what she expected. And that sight sent her mood over the edge.

"Ughh!" Alexa growled loudly as she stood up practically throwing the skewer in the fire, turning to her sister. The marshmallows and skewers were engulfed by the flames. For as much as she wanted a nice golden brown marshmallow, it went out the window the moment she saw her sisters eyes.

"Ali.... Did you hear that?" Vanessa was up out of her seat the same time Alexa had. But instead of looking at Alexa, her eyes were looking out at the woods around them.

"I didn't hear anything." Alexa said raising an eyebrow at her sister. She looked around their surroundings as well. "What did you hear?" Alexa asked. She was no longer irritated with her sister. She was in 'big sister mode'. As much as her sister irritated her, Alexa knew when Vanessa was worried about something. She would drop what ever mood she hand and tend to her sister.

"It was a growl." Alexa could hear the fear in her sister's voice, but she wanted to laugh.

"A growl?" A smile grew on Alexa's face. "You do realize where we are at right?" Of course there would be animals up on the mountain. They were in a camp ground in the middle of the woods. There was bound to be some kind of animal passing by.

"This isn't funny Alexa! I heard it!"

It was then that Alexa couldn't help but laugh. Her sister was always paranoid. A simple sound could send her hiding under the covers for a week. Nothing had changed about her sister. She was the same scared little girl she always was. She figured her sister would have grown up a bit. But the proof of her still being scared of the little things was right in front of Alexa's eyes.

Vanessa glared as she watched Alexa laugh. Alexa always did that. It didn't matter what it was Vanessa was worried about, Alexa always found some way to make fun of her because of it. If Vanessa hadn't been to worried about the growl she heard, she would have been glad her sister was actually laughing. But even with her sister's laughter echoing through the camp grounds, Vanessa heard it again.

The growl came from somewhere to her right. It was low and deep. The sound of it sent chills up her spine. How was it that Alexa couldn't hear it? Oh, right she was to busy laughing at her to even pay attention to what was going on. Even as her eyes scanned the trees and bushes frantically, she couldn't find the source of it. And the thought of there being some kind of animal out there watching them scared her. The sound of another growl reached her ears from her left, causing Vanessa to look in the direction she heard it. She was beginning to shake with fear.

"Ali...." Her voice was laced thickly with fear and Alexa heard it as she just said her name. It caused her to stop laughing and stare at her sister completely confused. "There is something out there."

As soon as the words passed Vanessa's lips, there was another growl. This time Alexa heard it. She froze where she stood. She wasn't sure where the source of the growl came from. But it caused her to look around for any sign of the animal that was stalking them. Fear had began building up in Alexa. But she wasn't going to show it. She was the older twin, she wasn't about to let her sister see she was just as scared.

Alexa looked at where they were currently standing. The car was a good few yards from them. There was no way they would be able to run to it if they were already being stalked. For all Alexa knew, it could be a pack of anything that was looking to feast on what laid out in front of them. If they ran, it gave the animals a reason to run after them. Alexa looked around for anything that could possibly protect them, but nothing she saw would do any good.

"What are you looking for?" Vanessa asked as she watched her sister look around them.

"Anything to use just in case."

"Just in case?! Alexa what are you thinking?" There was panic in Vanessa's voice. It made Alexa stop and look at her.

"I'm thinking that if we run to the car, they will come out." Alexa kept her voice even for many reasons. She knew her sister would freak out easily. Staying calm for the both of them was the best thing to do. She didn't need to have Vanessa scared more than she already was. Alexa turned her attention to the fire pit. An idea stuck in her head and she had just what she needed.

Just as Alexa was ready to grab what she needed, the sound of howling filled her ears. She relaxed a bit. It was just wolves. "They wont bother us." She said more to herself than to Vanessa. When was the last time there was a pack of wolves that killed people?

"A-Ali!" Alexa turned toward her sister, but what she saw beyond her sister sent a chill up her spine. One by one the pack of wolves moved out of the bushes and into the camp ground. The sight itself caused both girl's eyes to widen. Never once have they ever seen so many wolves in one pack. What started out as five grew to well over twenty. The sight caused the girls to stand frozen. And that was just from the view they were currently looking at. Alexa looked around hoping she found the back of them free of wolves, but they weren't.

"Nessa I need you to stay calm." Alexa had whispered as she inched towards her sister. Her steps were slow and cautious as she watched all of the wolves that surrounded them. As she reached her sister, Alexa looked her over and noted the silent tears that were falling quickly from her eyes. She knew well enough that if she didn't say something, Vanessa would surely panic and run.

"Why is there so many?" Vanessa voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm not sure." Alexa said watching them. The wolves walked further into the camp ground. Most of them ignored the girls. Others looked directly at them, but did nothing. A sigh of relief passed Alexa's lips. "See, they wont hurt us." As the words passed her lips, she watched Vanessa relax a bit. And Alexa was glad she did.

More than half the wolves were passed them when they both heard the growling start. Each wolf bared its teeth and the loud growls passed their snouts. They all looked in several directions. There was something out there they did not like. The sound of growling caused Alexa to jump as the one closest to them stared right at them as it growled. It was actually looking straight at Alexa. Vanessa had been frozen from when the growling began. But if Alexa was the target, she didn't care if her sister was frozen, as long as they left her sister alone, everything would be fine. She needed her sister to be okay.

Alexa took a step back and the wolf's growling picked up. Lead it away from your sister. The thought played in her mind as she took another step back. With each step she took, the wolf took a step toward her. As long as she didn't turn and run, she would be okay. All she had to do was lead it away. That was before she heard the thump behind her. She didn't even want to look behind her. Her eyes were on the wolf. She heard several other thumps around her. Each of them coming from somewhere. But she didn't care what it was. Her eyes were to busy on the wolf in front of her. She watched as the growls intensified. She hadn't even realized the screaming that filled her ears were from her sister.

It was then she finally took her eyes off the wolf in front of her. Several of them came out of nowhere. Men and women. They came from every direction and none of them seemed to care that the wolves were there. In fact, they were attacking the wolves. She watched as one man brought down a grey wolf without a even the slightest struggle and snapped its neck. She took in the scene with her eyes wide. They finally landed on her sister who was still frozen in her place.

"Vanessa!" She cried going to take a step forward but the wolf in front of her kept her from doing so. She watched her sister turn towards her. Alexa realized then that Vanessa hadn't noticed she had left her side. She watched as Vanessa's eyes widened as she noticed how far her sister was from her. "Its okay." Alexa said nodding towards her sister. "Just breathe." She tried to calm her sister. Tears had filled her own eyes as she watched her sister.

Vanessa's view of things weren't as pleasant as Alexa's. All Vanessa could see was her sister backing up into one of the men that just popped out of nowhere. Her mouth opened to speak but nothing was coming out. Her mouth was dry and tears filled her vision. How could she just breathe when her sister was surrounded by a wolf and a human that was able to take down a wolf without hesitation? All she could do was lift her hand and point behind her to give Alexa the warning she couldn't find the words to say. But it was to late.

She watched as Alexa's confused face began to turn. The human man came right up behind Alexa and bit down into her neck. Fear filled Vanessa as she screamed for her sister. They had both screamed at the same time. The wolf that stood in front of her sister went to attack the man. Without hesitation and without losing his hold on Alexa, he was able to toss the wolf half across the camp ground where another waiting human snapped its neck. The fear was to much for Vanessa and she did the only thing she could do. Run.

Alexa watched as her sister ran away. The sound of the growling and whimpering had mixed in with the sound of her lungs fighting for air. She wasn't able to scream anymore, she wasn't even able to fight what ever it was that held her. What ever it was that bit into her neck so effortlessly, it was causing her so much pain. She was becoming lightheaded. She had never once lost this much blood. The last thing she heard and saw was the sound of howling, and wolves retreating back the way they came. Before darkness grabbed a hold of her, she heard the worst thing an older sister could ever hear, her baby sister screaming for help.