Chapter 152 Wreckage


    Thest thing I saw before Selena shoved me through the portal was Enzo’s pained face staring back


    at me.


    Then, suddenly, I was back in my home realm. I was exactly where Edward had first taken me through


    the portal before, but before I could even collect my bearings, I was alerted by the sound of a rogue’s


    howling from the direction of the campus. I had to move and get somewhere safe before I could do


    anything else, no matter how long I wanted to spend writhing on the forest floor in sadness. The rogue


    howled again, but sounded a little closer this time.


    I cursed under my breath and scrambled to my feet, whipping my head this way and that frantically


    before I decided to run in the direction of the town. The campus was likely crawling with rogues now,


    and although I wanted to go back and search for my friends, my best bet was to go where there would


    be fewer rogues for now, and where Lisa and Ronan would be least likely to be wandering around. Not


    only that, but hopefully I could find supplies.


    As I ran, the thought of the gun shop just outside town where I went before crossed my mind. However,


    as I thought about the possibility of shooting and killing any of my friends or ssmates, I decided that


    I’d rather try my luck hiding out until the Fullmoons came to help… If they were stilling to help.


    The closer I got to town, the more I realized that there was a very good chance that the Fullmoons


    would lose against the Crescents even if they dide. With this many rogues on the loose, I wasn’t


    sure how well even the Fullmoons would fare if they tried to fight. Would they give up on the town


    entirely?


    The town started toe into view. I slowed down my pace and took more caution as I made my way


    through the woods, always on the constant lookout for rogues or Crescents. Thankfully, it was mostly


    quiet; until I got to town.


    When I got to town, I nearly let out a yelp of surprise when a rogue walked right past the building I was


    about toe out from behind. I quickly pped a hand over my mouth, pressing my body against the


    wall of the alleyway. I didn’t even breathe.


    I could hear the rogue’s slow, ragged breaths. Even though I held my breath, I could still smell its fetid


    stench. It lingered in front of the building, sniffing the air. I couldn’t move; I could only squeeze my eyes


    shut and try not to cry.


    The rogue lingered there for what felt like an eternity. I swore that it could hear my racing heart as it


    slowly began to shuffle toward me…


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    But then, suddenly, I heard the sound of a distant gunshot. So did the rogue, who suddenly stopped its


    sniffing and let out a loud, keening howl before scampering away.


    I wasn’t sure who shot that gun or where they shot it from, but they may have just saved my life.


    Now that the coast was clear, I finally released my breath and let out a sigh of relief before slowly


    poking my head out from between the buildings.


    The quaint little strip of shops that I had be so ustomed to as being a safe, cozy ce was


    now nothing but wreckage. Shop windows were shattered, debris lined the streets, and cars were left


    abandoned in the middle of the road. The little town that had once been a lively ce filled with voices,


    laughter, and music was now dead silent, save for the howling wind that blew down the street.


    I gulped and slowly stepped out from between the buildings, keeping down and darting behind cars and


    trash cans as I crossed the street toward the abandoned convenience store. I didn’t know how long I


    would be waiting for the Fullmoons’ help, so I knew that I needed to gather any food and supplies I


    could carry.


    When I entered the convenience store, it seemed to be mostly untouched. Even in the state of things, I


    felt a little guilty as I grabbed a backpack off of a shelf, ripped the tag off, and then began to fill it with


    canned food and other supplies. It felt as though I was stealing, even though I was only doing what I


    had to do to survive.


    I was filling the bag with first aid supplies when I suddenly heard the sound of broken ss crunching


    underfoot. Without a moment of hesitation, I quickly darted behind a shelf and crouched down; a


    human was clearly approaching, but I couldn’t be certain who it was.


    The footsteps stopped outside. Then, my heart leaped into my throat as I heard the door open, causing


    the little bell to tinkle against the ss.


    I heard the footsteps begin to meander through the aisles of the little store. There was the sound of the


    stranger taking some things off of shelves and clearing his throat.


    If this was Ronan or any other Crescent, I would have to make a run for it. They wereing closer,


    and my only option was to make a break for the door and run as fast as I could… But, as I shifted in my


    crouched position, I made the grave mistake of stepping on a stic wrapper that sent a loud


    crunching sound through the shop. My heart stopped at that moment. The stranger stopped, too.


    I heard the sound of a gun cocking.


    “Come out. I have a gun.”


    Wait… I knew that voice.


    “J-James?” I called out.


    “Nina?”


    I felt my heart leap. I quickly jumped up and came out from behind the shelf, my eyes filling with tears


    of joy. We stood there in disbelieving silence for several moments before he lowered his gun and ran to


    me, throwing his arms around me.


    Neither of us spoke for the longest time. We held each other like that in the middle of the store,


    swaying back and forth as we both sobbed into each other’s shoulders.


    Finally, I pulled away and took in James’ appearance. His face was dirty, and his clothes were a bit


    tattered, but he looked otherwise healthy and uninjured.


    “Where have you been?” he asked quietly, his voice shaking.


    “It’s… A long story,” I replied. “Too much to tell now.”


    James nodded understandingly. “I found a safe ce to hole up in,” he said. “It’s not far. But it’s getting


    dark, so we should go now.”


    I nodded, just happy to have found one of my friends. We quickly grabbed some more supplies before


    James poked his head out of the door, checked to see if the coast was clear, then waved for me to


    follow.


    “Was that you who shot that gun earlier?” I asked as we walked.


    James was quiet. I could tell from his somber reaction that it was, in fact, him. My mind flickered back,


    then, to the letter that Enzo and I found and the presentation that James apparently made at the


    symposium. “Have you been killing werewolves?” I asked.


    “We can talk about thatter,” he whispered, picking up his pace as the sun sank further behind the


    hills. “For now, let’s get to safety.