The Sound Of Silence

Lya

My eyes nearly rolled back in my head, the sensation of Oliver’s presence again all consuming. I had missed this. I could practically hear the missing piece of me clinking back into place. A smile flitted across my face as lightning danced across my skin, embracing me like a warm hug. I could almost smell him.

'Might as well get a chance to feel all warm and fuzzy again,' my wolf sighed. 'It has been too long.'

'Never again,' I agreed.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and rested my head on my knees. Tala may have thought she was helping, but it really was just making me sad. I missed home, I missed my mate. It was a cruel reminder that even if everything went to plan, there was a very high likelihood I would never see him again. Part of me wanted to see if I could reach out to him, but the other part didn’t want that small glimmer of hope.

My heart broke for Danica. I hadn’t heard much about her life, but I was certain it had been filled with more suffering than she deserved - just like mine. At least I had gotten almost two full months of happiness before ending up here. I’d be lying if I said she would have an opportunity to find that after we got out of here. I was fairly certain we would be leaving in body bags, if at all.

No one ever really talks about just how deafening silence is. Sure, the ‘resounding silence’ gets used as a descriptor, but until you’ve been truly submersed in unequivocal silence, I don’t think you realize just how loud and all consuming it is.

That’s what I noticed first. Everything was silent. No hum of electricity or regular beeps acknowledging the electronics keeping our cells locked shut were still working. I imagine all three of us were subconsciously holding our breaths just to avoid being the first to threaten the lack of noise. I lifted my head out of my arms and slowly opened my eyes. I hadn’t noticed the blackness behind my closed lids. It was so impermeable, if it weren’t for the frosted glass windows letting the half moon light in, I wouldn’t be able to see at all. As it were, my werewolf eyesight was able to amplify the small bits of light available so I could distinguish what was going on around me, which was admittedly not much.

The silence continued for either seconds or hours - I couldn’t determine which - with the three of us barely risking taking a breath. Slowly, I stood up and made my way to the cell door. I didn’t expect it to budge when I pushed against it, but it swung open.

“You’d think they’d come and make sure we were still secure if we were that important to them,” I mused, my voice resounding and clanging against the walls. I took a few steps out, the sense of freedom nearly crippling me.

'Can we just get the fuck out of here now?' Tala demanded.

I turned around, looking at the others. Danica shuffled to the front of her cell, standing as close to the door as she dared. I offered a small smile and pulled it open for her, keeping in mind she wasn’t one of us that was blessed enough to be able to touch silver. The guard still stood nearly unmoving and conveniently blocking our exit.

The cracking and explosion of what sounded like fireworks at first rattled the building. My head snapped around as one of the windows blew out and a bullet went whizzing over our heads. Danica shrieked and threw herself to the ground, crawling over to where I stood facing our guard.

It had been tempting to put off training all the times Oliver begged me to, exchanging sweaty brawls on the field for days spent with him. The few weeks in a cell would have definitely made me a little rusty, but I was going to pretend that the ability to pretend to be courageous was a skill that never quite went away - just like riding a bike. I’d sure need those skills now.

I looked up to the guard with pleading eyes. “Please tell me this is part of the plan.”

'Avoid the windows,' his gruff voice echoed in my head.

“Danica can’t mind link, she’s a rogue,” I reminded him.

He pursed his lips and looked down at me. 'I’m only responsible for you.'

I furrowed my eyebrows and followed the link he created, trying my best to mindlink for the very first time. 'Well I’m going to be responsible for her, so your job will be a lot easier if you include her in things.'

He was a man of little words. All he did was nod and turn to lead us through the door. I crept along obediently, Danica right on our heels.

“Do you know him?” Danica whispered to me.

I spared a glance back over my shoulder. “He’s part of the Wulver Pack.”

“Yeah, but do you know him?” she repeated. “Like, what’s his name?”

I bit my lip. “Uh… no. Hey guy, what’s your name?”

“Liam,” he muttered gruffly.

I turned back to Danica. “His name’s Liam.”

“And you trust him?” she demanded.

“It’s the only choice we have.”

Liam stopped us short at a doorway and grabbed my arm, pulling me forward and leaning down to whisper in my ear. “Stay as clear of everything as you can. You don’t know battle, and everyone out there is seasoned. Your one and only job right now is to stay alive. You keep yourself hidden.”

“Fat chance,” I scoffed. I’d go down fighting with all the other people I dragged into this.

I got just the hint of a smile out of Liam. “I know.” He stepped through the doorway and swiftly shifted into a large brown wolf, dashing off in the direction of war cries.

I beckoned Danica over to me and gave her a once over. “Do you know anything about how to fight?” I asked. She just shook her head. “And you’re scared shitless?” She nodded. “So you’re planning a getaway as soon as you see an opening?”

“Please don’t judge me,” she whispered.

“I’m not,” I assured her. “I’m scared shitless, too.”

Danica’s hands shook as she gripped my arm. “I-I’ve got things I need to do before I die.”

“Then don’t die,” I said, giving her as reassuring a smile as I could muster. Maybe it was because we were imprisoned together, but I felt obligated to make sure this kid got out alive. She didn’t have any dog in this fight. “You need to make sure when you run you aren’t followed, though. They’ll kill you if they get you alone. Strength in numbers.”

I looked around the hallway, trying to find something I could use for defense.

Bingo.

May the Goddess bless whoever's brilliant idea it was to have this building up to code once upon a time. I marched over to the emergency box and drove my elbow into the glass. I pulled out the axe, the beginnings of a smirk developing with my probably horrible idea.

I wasn’t sure if the look of horror on Danica’s face was because of my expression, or the axe I was holding. “I don’t think I like what you’re thinking.”

“We’re closer to the hunters than the wolves, right?” I asked, glancing up at her. “So we have to get through them somehow. I’m not going in defenseless, and I’m not shifting and drawing too much attention to myself.”

Danica nodded in understanding. “What do I do then?”

“Skirt the perimeter, stay as far out of the fray as possible,” I told her. “When you find an opening with no one at your back, you run.” I studied her for a moment. What should be such childlike innocence was marred with too much trauma. “When you’re sure you aren’t being followed, you go to Snow Moon Pack. Got it?”

Oh, to run. A skill I was oh so familiar with. Formerly just a lost girl who ran away from every little problem under the guise of protecting those I loved. This time around, the best way to protect them was to run into the problem head on.

My, how times change.

“Why don’t you do the same?” Danica asked.

I flipped the axe over in my hands, studying its weight and balance. I didn’t know anything about axes, but I figured if I’d be lobbing it around, I needed to get as good an idea of how it felt as possible. I stepped out of the doorway, looking out to the battle that was just beginning. The smell of blood was thick in the air, and already bodies had fallen on both sides. War was probably a thing I’d never have to get used to, because I doubted I’d make it out of this alive.

I bit my lip. Staying alive was so important, because my life was linked to Ollie’s. Maybe Liam was right, and I should just stay in the safety of cover and wait for people to come find me. Or I could escape from it all with Danica.

A howl resounded from just outside the door. I smiled. It was a howl I would always recognize. Tala clawed at the edges of my mind to get out, but we had our plan.

“I can’t run away anymore.”