43

“Trying to stop us and failing. They don’t seem bright enough to realize they can’t.” I point out.

“So the spell made them stupid?” Carmen verbalizes my suspicion and I shrug, deflated, and searching the fog and the moving figures for the one wolf I want to see yet don’t since he jumped over us back there. I don’t know how to feel, knowing he’s there, despite not being able to feel him, but he’s intent on chasing us.

“I would say they’re more like on auto pilot. One thought, one urge, and all other reason has flown away.” It’s the only way I can describe how they are right now and Meadow nods, wiping her soggy face and pulling herself back together with that fierce aura of command kicking in now her shock is dissipating.

“The spell has them looking for wolf blood, no matter what stands in their way. They don’t seem to think beyond that. It’s pure instinct and no sense of being able to calculate beyond it.”

“Are you sure that’s what they’re doing? I mean has anyone actually tried to see if they will do anything to us?” Carmen looks form her to me, severe doubt written all over her face, which only pushes me to doubt myself what’s happening here.

“Do you wanna get out and see, Chica? I will happily oblige in opening the door and throwing you out to test this theory. See how long you last in the fog.” Meadow snaps at her and Carmen rolls her eyes, sitting back bitchily and crosses her arms over her bust in a haughty manner. Anger and dislike pouring into her eyes which are piercing like daggers in meds direction. Strangely, despite being the last thing we need it’s somehow comforting to see them behaving like they used to and normalizing things for a second.

“I think what they’re doing now, is proof enough. If they wanted something else, I doubt they would be attacking.” I try for a gentler approach, but Meadow and Carmen are sat in stubborn silence and both stare right ahead as we progress. The atmosphere turns frosty and I sigh to shake off the battle of these two stubborn femmes. My arms are getting sorer by the second due to holding them up with intent, and my energy is waning with holding my powers straight and steady for so long to keep the fog clear. I wonder how much further before we are free from it and I can take a small breather. I’m not used to using my gifts for long stretches of time, usually only quick bursts.

“It’s getting thinner, I think I might be able to see without you doing that.” Meadow breaks into my thoughts, sensing my tiredness which is coming way quicker than it normally does and I sigh with relief and drop my hands in relief, sighing heavily and rubbing my shoulders to ease the pain. “Reserve it for when we really need it. You’ve had a rough night and probably should rest.” She throws me a look that says ‘please’ and I sit back to let the ache from my arms disperse.

The thuds at the rear persist but their futile attempts at stopping us or hitting us seem to push them to stop trying, well at least tail off as more of them fall back the further we go. They become less frequent and less violent and more like small thuds that barely do anything other than shudder the walls for a second. It looks like they are bound to the homestead and fololowi8ng us is not an option. I feel like we’re all holding our breaths and silently praying they give up soon, as we carry on forward at breakneck speed and Meadow stays with her eyes glued to the road and her foot pressed hard on the gas.

“Thinner means it’s maybe not going to be much longer, right?” Carmen breaks the tense silence and leans forward as though she is peering outside to try and see any kind of end to the smog and I sigh listlessly.

“I don’t know. The mountain is miles to the north, and it reached there. So if it does thin we have miles of it yet.” I point out in deflation and rest my head against the frame of the window, peering out into endless mist for miles.

“It reached the mountain?” Carmen gawps at my words and I nod my head as she sits and stares blankly at me, her eyes misting up and she shakes her head to clear the obvious emotion. “All those wolves, all those children.”

Meadow looks shocked for a second and narrows her eyes before glancing at Carmen from the side.

“When did you become miss ‘I give a rats ass?’ I’ve never known you to care about anyone except yourself and now you’re crying over wolves you spent a lifetime treating like trash.” Meadow’s anger spikes and I know it’s born of frustration and the tension of our current predicament but its harsh, even for Meadow.

“Meds” I reach out and lay a hand on her arm and throw her a look that’s meant to say ‘calm down’ in a bid to diffuse and settle this hostility. Carmen has suffered a loss too and it’s obvious she loved her mom and is still in a lot of pain. I’ve never known Meadow to be so callous with a wolf’s feelings like this, normally she is so maternal.

“A lot happened when you all left. There were people I cared about….. things change.” Carmen turns forward and stares out the window to hide the instant welling of her tears across her eyes and I sit in awkward silence for a moment, throwing Meadow a strained look and she sighs loudly, letting out a heavy breath and slaps the wheel hard, making me jump.

“God dammit Carmen. Don’t fucking do that. Last thing I need is to feel guilty over the likes of you. I never saw an ounce of humanity in the two years you were in our pack, and now I don’t even…. People don’t change that dramatically.” Meadow can’t help the venom in her tone and despite me having more reason to not like this girl, Meadow has still never let go of her grudge about Carmen’s misdemeanors of the past. Maybe because they have a two-year history and a lot more than I ever did with her, maybe that’s why. I just don’t get why she asked for her to come if this was how she intended to be with her.

“What would you know?” Carmen mumbles it to the window and more to herself than Meadow, her mood spiking into many conflicted feelings that I can’t read, and I honestly don’t know how to mediate. I love Meds to death and well, Carmen, she’s not my favorite person, but I do feel this isn’t the time nor place.

“What did you say?” Meadow is obviously looking for a fight and I get it. She’s in pain, this is how she is. Her outlet when she needs to vent is to be fierce and Cesar is usually the one to handle her like this. Her pain comes out in aggression, loud sassy attitude, hot fiery passion, or sheer fury, and she has only us two to take it out on. She would never do it to me, not because I’m her Luna, but because she protects and loves me like she’s my mother and I never get her rage. Cesar can handle it; he draws it to him on purpose when she gets this way so he can take her back down to a normal level.

“I said…. What. Would. You. Know!” Carmen bites it back at her boldly, annunciating every word cattily, turning with a tight expression, eyes ambering out in anger. This time turning fully hostile and the heat and sparks begin to rise between them like high voltage energy, crackling as Carmen’s own temper bites.

“Stop it.” I snap at both of them and raise my hands to wipe my face in frustration “You two better not be like this for this entire trip.” My patience snaps, my attempts at hopeful and upbeat are stomped out and instead heavy fatigue grips me as my head starts to ache. I can’t deal with this shit.

“I’m sorry.” Meadow grinds her teeth, glancing to me with apology and a hint of defeat on her pretty face and goes back to the road, something coming to her realization suddenly as she widens her eyes and quickly turns left to right with a quick head move. “They’ve stopped” she points out and instinctively I turn and look out the back window, seeing nothing but the distant still shadows of figures in the fog, unmoving, and letting us leave with no more interaction. Carmen turns too.

“Why did they stop so easily?”

“Maybe they can’t go any further….. look” Meadow points ahead pulling our attention back to the windscreen and we can see where the fog thins out enough that its’ barely there, finally an end in sight to this depressing smoke. It’s definitely thinning to almost nonexistence and I wonder if maybe the spell really does weaken when they leave it for any length of time.

“You don’t think…” I trail off not sure how to word it, but Meadow cuts in.

“Maybe, I mean it’s a possible back up plan right…. kidnapping them one at a time and keeping them out of the fog out here to see…. If all else fails.” She shrugs, a look of possibility glinting in her eye.

I blink at her, my gut churning over, gazing back one more time at the distant figures and sigh heavily, expelling some heaviness now we know we are running free.

“It can’t be that simple. There has to be another reason they aren’t following us.”