Chapter 1 1

He broke through the woods at a running pace. Feet hitting the ground hard as his body bent forward in awkward angles struggling to keep the beast within him at bay.

It was horribly hard. He could feel the monster pressing against his skin, slithering and coiling like a grotesque air bubble that seemed to grow only larger with every greedy gulp of air he took. Everything hurt. He knew the moment he stopped for a breath of air he would collapse then and there.

With one hand clutching the side of his torso, Shadow veered to the left and careened through the woods. Low hanging branches like gnarled fingers tore at his face and skin. Pain lanced through his body, each step like agony as his left lung spasmed.

He stumbled at the howls that ricocheted through the hilltops. They echoed across the woods in a call for blood. His blood.

He pressed on harder. Faster. Sweat dripped into his eyes, blurring and burning. He felt a sharp prick on the back of his neck, his hackles rising at the scent of wolfs-bane in the distance. All around him.

He needed to get out of this woods. Somewhere clear. A highway perhaps. Away from the hunters that had found his hiding spot, away from the traps hidden beneath lacklustre autumn leaves. Away from their hollow eyes and empty smiles.

Move. The voice came unbidden from the bottom of his throat, rising like a hot air bubble that needed release. It was speaking to him again. His beast. That ugly, grotesque formless creature that had claimed him from birth and ruined his chances at ever having a normal life.

This wolf that set him apart from humanity. That had him struggling for scraps and normalcy in a world that loathed the very existence of beasts.

"Quiet-" He spat out with a raspy breath, ducking low and stumbling over roots that interlocked over the earth like fingers. "Can't hear nothing."

Move. It repeated. That voice which spoke with a luxurious ease, not once ever quite angry. But today there was an edge to it, a sliver of impatience that propelled him faster, harder. The beast was never worried, much less anxious. Its usual calm steady demeanor had become an unwelcome anchor in shadow's life.

Hence why this sudden discernible shift in its tone had set him on purposeful edge.

Faster. Faster.

Turn left.

Right now.

You're bleeding. Stop coughing.

There should be a-- he felt the hiss of something whistle sharply past his ear before the blinding white pain clouded his vision. The gunshot sound came after, a loud boom that tore at his eardrum.

Shadow fell with an agonized scream. His voice cut short by the hard ground that sloped gently down the hill. He rolled and rolled without break, arms rising at the very last minute to shield his scraped and bruised face.

At the bottom of the hill he rolled to a stop. Pausing briefly to cough up a gargle of blood. Rising unsteadily, he stumbled the rest of the way just as a flash of light beamed above his head over the tall looming trees like sentinels keeping watch over the horror show.

"Keep em coming boys! Loose the hounds! I think I see the little bastard." A cacophony of laughter and one long whistle later, he heard the pounding of feet on the forest floor as the hounds were loosed at the command.

You're not going to die. The voice resurfaced like a quiet firm whisper. Muffling every other voice of doubt and agony, stifling even the pounding ache that began to creep behind his right eye which was partially blinded. You are not going to die.

"I'm..." his teeth clenched hard as a sharp breath pulsed up his throat. "I'm-"

Take a left.

Obediently he did so, slamming into a thick tree trunk and using it as a stopping motion. He could feel the fatigue creeping through his limbs, weighing him down as the blood flowed copiously.

... there's... cliff edge... not... beast... there... incoming... LISTEN TO ME!

The roar surged through his nostrils like a burst of caffeine, rebuking every slumber that crept along his peripheral vision insidiously swallowing him in darkness. He shook awake just as a black creature lunged at him from the left with outstretched claws and maws agape.

He turned a moment too late. The claw grazed over his shoulder, curling deep at the base of his collarbone and whipping him like a doll to the side. Shadow collapsed hard, he bounced and rolled gasping as the claws detached themselves as they separated. His feet barely touched the ground before he righted himself and crouched low, one bleeding hand limply pressing into the cold earth.

The beast circled him, haunting red eyes watching his every moment as that horrific mouth spread open and revealed rows of teeth small and sharp like sharks. It lunged once more and they crashed into each other, both eager for the upper hand.

He could feel its breath.

Rancid and hot, the stench of compost and decay slipping into his nostrils which burned. They wrestled and rolled around in a violent blur of shadows until he found himself pressed on his back and the beast's gaping jaw snapping hastily at his throat. With one hand closed around its throat to keep it at bay, Shadow reached blindly around the earth for something, anything.

His muscles trembled. His one good eye seemed to swim in and out of consciousness yet the strength did not leave him. He could feel the tension of the beast within him rising up to the occasion, the grip around the hound's throat hardening like steel. His elbow locked and did not move.

Futile flesh, the voice murmured lazily, you have ten seconds to find something and pierce its eye or else your hand will give in.

Desperate he groped about blindly until finally-- his hand closed around a sharp piece of stone. With a grunt, he swung hard and stabbed the wolf through the eye. It howled in pain and shock, struggling to rear back but the grip around its throat did not yield. Shadow interlocked his long legs around its waist and drew the wolf back down, dislodging the stone and taking another blind swing.

Hot blood burst across his face painting a vivid canvas on him. He held on and continued until the huge lump of flesh slumped across his bare chest, hissing and bucking its hind legs like an epileptic.

Get up. Run.

And He did. Without hesitation he got up and made for the edge of the woods as more gunshots echoed over his head.

"Son of a gun! He killed 'em!"

"Loose them hounds. Bring him dead!"

"But the chief said-"

"I know what he said, but the chief ain't here, I want him dead."

The edge of the forest gleamed in the horizon, drawing him closer to it and closer still. Had the gunshot not burst his eardrums, Shadow would have heard the roaring of water crashing down the forty foot drop cliff. But he did not.

And the beast inside him had gone silent in expectation.

A sliver of hope like the first break of dawn spilled in his chest as the clearing came to view, but that soon dropped to horror at the sight of the cliff edge. He slid to a halt and whipped around, ready to take another corner when three more hounds spilled from the woods effectively blocking his path.

Shadow stiffened. He watched them, pacing back and forth as blood lust eyes locked onto him.

He had one option really. And he was willing to do it with the help of his beast. And he was considering it, when the voice disrupted his thoughts with a firm yet quiet command.

Jump.