Chapter 33.1 - Trap in the forest – part 2

Aniya gasped and assessed the situation with her usual quick thinking. Now everything made sense. The Hunters gathered such a huge list of suspects because they had not only spies everywhere, but they could also rely on a Werewolf working for them, someone that could sniff other Werewolves and serve as proof. She made a forced grin and said, “Internal Affairs special agents. Need to know basis, and you don’t need to know. What you need to tell me is why the Hunters let you join the first assault team, considering they are so against women doing fieldwork.”

“Let’s just say I know someone in the High Council that took pity on me when my older brother suddenly changed into a mindless beast at sixteen and killed my parents. My brother was about to kill me when the Hunters arrived and took him down. They took me into custody, but because I was only eight years old, the best they could do was train me and give me a home. When I changed at sixteen, that person got the confirmation that I was also a Werewolf, but instead of ordering my execution, he found a spot for me. Thanks to me, my team has killed or arrested more Werewolves than any other Squad in the Hunters. This mission is just one of many.”

Aniya nodded and whispered so low that only Lisa and Violet could hear her, thanks to the high hearing sense of a Werewolf. “I hope your team was informed that I have a friend in that cabin. I don’t want anyone shooting him.”

“Our orders are simple, Aniya. Attack the cabin, shoot anyone that moves. If your friend stays put, no harm will come to him. If he makes a sudden move, it’s his fault.”

“I don’t care about your orders, Violet. I don’t care how hard your life was, or your trauma from seeing your brother kill your parents. If you or anyone tries to shoot my friend, you don’t need to worry about the Werewolves in there.”

Violet made a weird smile while caressing her assault rifle and whispered, “Is that a threat, Aniya? I don’t react very well to threats.”

“I wasn’t threatening, I was telling you. This is what is going to happen. You will go to your team and tell them they aren’t allowed to shoot anyone. Lisa and I will take care of everything, and my friend will help us as soon as he sees me. Understood?”

Violet lost her smile the moment she saw a flash of Aniya’s light that lasted for a split second and felt the pressure over her body. She tried to fight the sudden urge to curl in fear, but the way Aniya was staring at her was more than enough to make Violet feel her heart stopping. Without a word, she slowly nodded and got up, going to meet a group of five Hunters that were seated next to a tree.

Lisa touched Aniya’s elbow and whispered, “What do you think? Shall we be worried? What is she doing here, anyway? And she is a Werewolf working for them?”

“If she or any of her friends make a move against Nick, I won’t stand still. I always liked her, ever since we bumped into each other when we were six years old, but if I have to choose between her and Nick, I will always choose him. No wonder the Hunters we have met so far were so full of shit. They had one Werewolf working for them and helping them. I don’t know who that guy that took care of her is, but he for sure brainwashed her. I don’t know if we can help her, I just hope she does what I said.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Aniya didn’t answer because she was looking at her childhood friend and listening to her conversation with her Squad. Lisa understood what Aniya’s silence meant. She sighed and remembered all the times they all played together, or when they met Emma Atkinson and how Aniya didn’t like her at first.
It was Violet that nagged Aniya to give the weird girl a chance, and the four of them became inseparable friends. They were together through all the good and all the bad days. They were together when Lisa fell for Davis the first time she met him. They were together when Emma’s mother died of cancer. They were together during birthdays, Christmas and holidays. Inseparable and best friends for life. Or at least, that was what they all thought.
Lisa glanced at Aniya and she then looked up, watching as the leaves moved with the wind and thinking that would be the day their friendship ended. It would be impossible to be together with Violet again, as if that day never happened.
Lisa frowned and remembered that it all made sense now. Every time they were together, Violet’s scent reminded her of Davis. It was the familiar scent of a Werewolf, and she never knew it. More than once, she thought Violet could be Davis’s secret girlfriend, and that made her sad more times than none.
It was clear now, and she felt stupid. Then Lisa remembered all the times that Violet mocked her for liking an older guy, and got angry because she always made her feel that there was something wrong with her by always saying that young girls don’t fall for men almost old enough to be their fathers.
…

After a quick lunch made of combat rations and energy bars, Dan Rossi signalled Lisa and Aniya to join Violet and her Squad, and he explained in a whisper, “We are going to follow the path to the cabin, being careful not to make too much noise, but enough to attract the attention of the Werewolves inside the cabin. There are more groups like this scattered all around the cabin, and they will also approach more silently and slowly than us. Our scouts sent a message that there was a big group of unknown people hidden in the woods around the cabin, probably over twenty. They are for certain with Adrian Gordon, and they are ready to flank us the moment we assault the cabin. Aniya has a friend infiltrated in that group inside the cabin, so we can’t shoot first and ask later. Lisa, Violet and Aniya will take care of that group inside as fast as possible while we get ready for the ones that are coming from the woods. Understood?”

Aniya stared directly at Violet and saw her nodding while avoiding looking up. That made her worried. She was either disguising for the Hunters not to notice, or she was preparing something. Aniya grabbed her wrist as Violet went past her, only to receive a frown and a quick snap to get free.

Lisa noticed and whispered as Violet was passing next to her, “Bad decision, Violet. I never liked you anyway, so I won’t have any trouble splitting your head.”

“Let’s see who will be splitting heads, shall we?”

Lisa saw the weird smile that Violet had and the way she was pressing the assault rifle against her chest. As Aniya approached her, Lisa whispered, “You take care of the ones inside the cabin. I take care of Violet. Tell your father to watch over the others. I don’t trust them.”

“What do you mean, you take care…”

One stare from Lisa was enough for Aniya to understand. Lisa noticed or heard something.
Over the years, Aniya learned to trust Lisa’s judgement. She always had fun with any situation, but when things were serious, she was the first to see through it and to act accordingly.
Aniya remembered the first time she realised Lisa was not an airhead like she pretended to be. They were in a club, together with Violet Green and Emma Atkinson. Suddenly, Lisa pulled Emma towards her, at the same time that she kicked a random guy straight into his nose. He still had his hand reaching out for Emma’s butt to pinch it, and Aniya was almost hit by a gush of blood from the guy’s nose, if Lisa didn’t push her against another guy behind her, that was about to grab Aniya’s breasts from behind.
The next thing that Aniya noticed was Lisa jumping over that guy and giving him the beating of his life. Two security men arrived to check what all the fuss was about, only to be greeted by a red-faced Lisa who shouted that if they dared to touch her, she would kill them.
That was the last time they went to that club because they were banned that same night, together with the two guys that tried to abuse them. While the four girls went to another club to continue the evening, the two guys went into an ambulance to the nearest Hospital.
Aniya felt tears in her eyes fighting to get free, but she didn’t have time to be emotional. Nick was counting on her. She didn’t have the luxury to hesitate between Violet and Nick.
Slowly, Aniya approached her father and told him to watch the Hunters closely, because Lisa had a feeling they were up to no good.
Dan Rossi disguisedly nodded. He knew very well how sensitive Lisa was, considering that every time he tried to disguise that he was checking her out, she always caught him looking at her. No other woman, younger or older than her, has ever done that.
They were walking along the path for some minutes, with their bodies lowered and pointing their guns in all directions, as if they were checking the surroundings to fool anyone that could be hidden in the woods, and looking at them. Acting as if they were just checking to be sure they weren’t going into a trap.
Dan Rossi whispered about the assault plan. He looked around to confirm if his orders were understood and he then looked at his watch. According to what the group of Hunters near the map told him, the other groups of Hunters would surround the cabin from other directions, flanking the Werewolves that were hidden.
When the cabin could be seen, Lisa and Aniya went to the front of the group, and Violet joined them. Lisa had a gun in her left hand, and she carefully took the katana from the sheath at her back.
Aniya was carrying the double-barrel shotgun and pretended not to notice the frown on Violet’s forehead when she saw Lisa holding the katana sideways, with the gun leaned over the hilt and pointing forward, ready to shoot or slice, according to the situation. It also enabled her to slice left, to where Violet was walking, in a clear sign that Lisa could kill her if needed.
When they reached the cabin, the group went straight to the porch, avoiding the windows. While Lisa and Violet were on each side of the door, Aniya crouched in front of it, glancing at the others that were close to her father, making a semicircle and looking at the path in front of them and the surrounding woods, as if they were checking to see if they were not being spotted by someone hidden in the middle of the trees and bushes. That was normal procedure, according to her father’s explanation, while they were walking along the path. A group of three entered a place. Another group stayed behind, covering their backs so that they could easily turn around and shoot anyone that attacked the first group if they faced trouble.
Aniya raised her open hand and began counting from five to backwards, lowering one finger at a time and paying attention to the conversations inside. Someone was laughing, and Nick’s voice reached her, accusing the laughing man of being lucky. The sound of his voice calmed her because it meant he was alright.
When she reached zero, she grabbed the doorknob, and with a quick twist and a powerful push, she slammed the door open.