Chapter 222: High Speed Chase
Enzo
Even though my wolf woke up finally, I still didn’t have the strength to shift just yet. Thankfully, however, I was able to run fast, and my night vision was better than it was just minutes before. As I ran through the forest, I didn’t know exactly where I was going, all I knew was that I needed to get away before Selena and the witch did something horrible.
I still couldn’t fathom exactly what was going on. I knew that Selena put some sort of spell on me, but I didn’t know what it was or why she did it. Whatever it was, her intentions were extremely dark and sinister. I knew that much.
However, I didn’t have the time to stop and think about any of what was going on. Selena and the witch were both hot on my heels. They ran at inhuman speeds through the woods; even the witch, who looked old and crippled, ran like a bolt of lightning. Every time I glanced over my shoulders, I could see them getting closer and closer. All I could do was urge my legs to push me faster through the forest and hope that they wouldn’t catch me, because I knew that they would kill me if they did.
“Come back here, Enzo!” I heard Selena shout behind me. “I promise I won’t hurt you too badly! It’ll just be a little cut, and then it will all be over!”
I cursed under my breath at Selena’s words, and pushed myself faster. I leaped over rocks and tree roots, dodged around trees and bushes, and crashed through the underbrush. I didn’t care that thorns and branches were scratching up my skin and causing me to bleed. The only thing that was important was getting Selena and the witch off of my trail. They had to give up soon, once they realized that I wouldn’t stop… Right? But they didn’t stop.
At one point, I heard Selena’s footsteps approaching too close for comfort, and I swore that I even felt her hand brush the back of my neck. I dodged out of the way at the last second before she could catch me, my heart racing a mile a minute.
She was too close. I needed to shift if I was going to get away from her.
“Fio, I need to shift,” I said to my wolf as I ran at breakneck speeds through the dark woods. “Please. I know you’re tired, but I need you.”
“I’m trying my best,” Fio replied. “But something is missing. I can feel it… But I don’t know what it is.”
I furrowed my brow, processing what Fio was referring to as I leaped over a fallen tree. My foot hit the tree and I nearly lost my balance, but I managed to stay upright and keep running. What was Fio talking about? What was missing?
Somehow, I could sense that the missing link was there. It was just out of reach. If I could only force my way through the thick fog that was surrounding my brain, maybe I could reach it and figure out what it was.
But the fog was still too thick. I would need to focus harder, but it was difficult when I was also focused on running away from Selena.
As I weaved around another tree, I tried to picture what it was that I was missing. It was a person… If I really pushed myself, I thought I could picture a face. A woman’s face.
At first, I thought it was Selena’s face. But as I ran, stretching my mind all the while in order to focus harder on the face, I realized that it wasn’t her at all. It was different. It was the girl from the woods earlier; the one who tackled
Selena.
Her name… What was it? How did I know her? Obviously she held some significance, but I couldn’t make out the details through the fog. Somehow, I knew that I was familiar with her. She was the missing link; she was the source of the strength I needed to break out of this spell.
What was her name?
I dodged another attack from Selena. Suddenly, the witch appeared in front of me; she had circled around somehow and they were trying to cut me off. I quickly leaped out of the way, tumbling down a hill that was thick with dried leaves. I felt my arm get scraped badly, but it didn’t stop me from scrambling to my feet at the bottom and continuing to run.
I needed to remember her name… If I was going to shift, I needed to remember this girl.
Suddenly, it came to me. I didn’t know why, but all of a sudden, I felt her name float through my mind, as though she stepped through a door that brought her closer to me.
“Nina,” I said to my wolf. “Her name is Nina.”
Fio’s entire being bristled with recognition. Suddenly, I felt even more of his power surge through me, and I felt myself begin to shift. I didn’t know why I needed to remember that girl’s name or her significance in my life, but somehow, just her name gave me the strength to shift.
And, like a flash, I shot forward on four legs instead of two. My primal instincts took over as I weaved through the forest, as though my mind felt clearer
than ever. Selena shifted behind me,but I already had a head start in front of her, and when I looked over my shoulder I saw her gray wolf form slowly getting further away as I pushed myself faster and faster.
It felt like I was flying. I didn’t even pay any attention to where I was going; I just needed to run. And if there was one thing that I was good at, it was speed. I had always been faster than the rest, and I was faster than Selena now, even with her sickening combination of werewolf and witch powers.
Selena followed behind me for a long time. I didn’t know how long I was running for, but she stayed in my peripherals for a good distance. I kept weaving around trees, taking winding paths through the forest and trying my best to confuse her. At one point, I doubled back and passed by her like a blur, leaving her stupefied for a few moments before she came to her senses and chased after me again.
What felt like an eternity passed. I ran, feeling the wind through my fur, until I thought that my legs would give out beneath me.
And by that point, I didn’t sense Selena’s or the witch’s presence anywhere nearby.
Of course, I couldn’t stop entirely, but I slowed to a lazy run, checking in all directions in case either of them showed up again. Thankfully, they didn’t; I had lost them.
Finally, I slowed down to a walk, then finally stopped so I could collect my bearings. I realized now that when I began running, I had no plan as to where exactly I was running to, but at the time that didn’t matter. However, I quickly realized now that my haste had come with some consequences.
I was now entirely lost, in the middle of pitch black woods, with nowhere to go from here.
