After the man gave Ken clear instructions, he and Emma said their goodbyes. Emma watched as Ken went off to look for his mate. When he rounded a corner and disappeared, Emma sighed and returned to the lounge. She went inside and got herself a drink. Sitting by the bar, she gulped her whole drink down. She was now truly alone, which made her miss Tommy more than she had done before.
“Why is a lovely lady like you alone?”
Emma turned and saw a very handsome young man. He was very tall. “Where is your companion?”
“He left,” Emma said. “Found his mate.”
“So you’re all alone.”
Emma nodded.
“I hate to see pretty women looking so sad,” he said. “Come, let’s dance.”
Emma smiled and got off the chair. She allowed herself to be led by the man to the dance floor. “I’m Emma.”
“Pretty name for a pretty girl,” he smiled. “I like that. I’m Jake.”
Emma chuckled. “Not surprised. You look like a Jake.”
A slower song came on. Emma wasn’t very comfortable being so close to a stranger but she decided to endure it. The other alternative was being alone with her thoughts and she dreaded that. At the end of the dance, he wanted to take her home but she turned the offer down. She still had some money from earlier so she found a motel to sleep in.
During the night, she had remembered two twins she had met a year ago. They came from a pack deep in the south. She and Tommy had helped them and they’d said the two could go to their pack if they ever needed any help. Emma figured it was time for the twins to return the favour. She asked the receptionist for the location of West Crescent pack and the woman was kind enough to give her a map. The pack was in the southern region.
“The werewolves and the vampires in the southern region are at war so I don’t think it’s a very good idea to go there,” the woman warned.
“What’s the fight about?”
“I’m not very sure but it must be about territory. I don’t really know. All the information I have is based on rumours.”
“It’s alright,” Emma said. “I’ll take the map and take a chance. If I find out that the conflict is serious, I’ll retreat. I have to pass through a number of packs to get there.”
“Pro-tip,” the woman said. “Stay close to the towns. Don’t use the rural roads. They’re much more dangerous.”
“Thank you for everything,” Emma told the woman before grabbing her things and leaving.
Emma went into the grocery store and bought some supplies and put them in a bag she had bought earlier. She saved some money from the road and started walking. She was lucky to find a truck that was going down south. It was carrying animal manure. She promised to pay her fare so the driver let her go with him. The journey would have been perfect if not for the stinky manure in the back. The manure had been made from bat faeces and they smelled really horrible. It was hard to ignore. Her supernatural senses did not make things any better.
When she finally got off the truck, Emma felt a bit relieved. She studied the map and followed the receptionist’s advice, sticking to the main road. For a long time, nothing much happened, save from the occasional invites to hitchhike. Emma decided to decline the offers. You could never know who the person in the car was. She and Tommy had survived that long as rogues by not over trusting people. They had learnt from the experiences of others.
It was around four pm when it started to rain. Emma had reached a forest so she decided to go into it. She found a large tree with thick heavy leaves and a wide base. She was relieved that it was able to shield her from the tiny droplets of rain. She opened her bag and took out two pieces of bread and started eating. Being alone sucked, Emma realised. She hoped she would find a friendly group of rogues willing to let her join them.
When the rain stopped, she resumed. The sky was now covered by a white cloud cover. Emma pulled out a polythene bag from her backpack and used it to cover her head as she hurried out of the forest. Whenever wind would blow, the water that had settled on the tree leaves would rain on her, making her feel colder. She was shivering when she emerged from the forest. She could see a smaller road branching off the main highway ahead. Pulling out her map, she realised that she should take it.
Just as she was about to reach their, she sensed vampires. She saw a car coming and thought they were in it. She ran into the forest so that they wouldn’t see her. Even after the car had passed by, she could still smell the vampire scent. She decided to continue her way, but through the forest. It was too dangerous to be on the road. If an enemy was in the forest, they could see you clearly but you wouldn’t see them. Although the cold was getting to her, Emma continued making her way through the trees.
Suddenly, she sensed something else. There was a werewolf in the vicinity, a very scared werewolf. Emma sniffed harder and figured out the location. She took slow steps towards it while chewing the herbs the receptionist had given her.
She sensed warmth. There was a fire nearby. Emma continued walking until she saw two tents in a small clearing. There was fire burning in front of the tents. A large iron sheet had been suspended over the fire, to prevent it from getting extinguished by the rain. Emma wondered if it was a rogue camp.
She walked around the camp at a safe distance, peeping from above the undergrowth when she needed to look again. Having reached the eastern side of the camp, she rose up to look again. Her eyes met those of a young girl of about 15. She was a werewolf tied to a tree. The girl’s eyes widened. Thankfully, she was gagged. She might have screamed.
Emma ducked when she saw a figure coming out of the blue tent. After some time, she stood up and saw a teenage looking boy walking into the forest. He was a vampire. It became clear to Emma that vampires had kidnapped a werewolf girl. What was she supposed to do?
Emma wanted to turn away and run but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She felt a need to save the young girl, one of her kind. It annoyed her but she knew she would never forgive herself if she left that girl alone.