Chapter 10 Return to Westcliff

Shalom's POV...

I realized whoever was controlling the drone wasn't shooting at me or at anything, they were just shooting to see what it would hit. It hovered for a moment, but I didn't move. I heard it leave as I twisted to peek over my shoulder, then I felt a pinprick scratch on my elbow. Carefully, I ran my fingers over my scarlet cloak. There was a dart caught in the thick wool. I pulled it out then twisted the cloak around. There were three darts impaled in the cloak over my backpack. I pulled them out and tried to feel for any others. I dropped them in an empty pint jar from the shelf because I knew we would need to find out what was in these darts if they could drop a Raver and force them back to their skin. Creeping over to where Corey lay on the stairs, I dragged him across the floor, and into the corner out of sight. Pulling out several darts, I put them in the jar too, then tucked it in my back. I checked his pulse and breathing before I covered him with an old carpet, hoping to hide him too. Surprisingly, Justice was already asleep, used to napping in his sling while I did other things.

Looking up at the sky, I didn't see the drone. Sneaking out into the snow on the sheltered side of the house, I peeked around the corner and over the stacked cord of wood at the barn. Men in snow camo were walking around. None of the Ravers I saw were moving, some were in their skins and others, their wolves, but I hadn't felt any of them die. The house his me from the soldiers' sight, but I didn't know how many drones there were. I strained my ears listening for the drones as I looked at the tree line. I prayed that Mr. Black's enchanted cloak would protect us from detection, but I didn't know if it worked for technology. I didn't know if it would keep the cameras of the drones from seeing me.

The prick on my arm burned painfully and I could taste something metallic as I started to feel woozy. I considered shifting into my wolf to be able to run faster, then my wolf said she couldn't. Whatever was in the dart trapped me in my human form. Clutching Justice to my chest, I pulled my cloak tighter around me and sprinted as fast as I could. Running into the trees, I dodged behind a larger cedar and crouched down as a drone flew overhead. Panting, I glanced out from under my hood and watched it fly past. After it almost collided with the swaying trees, it left. It didn't see me; it couldn't see me.

Emboldened, I pulled a branch off the cedar then dragged it behind me as I quickly jogged through the woods. Twice I had to follow the road to get around the many boggy parts along Terryall Creek. The sound of vehicles forced me into the woods the last time. I kept moving toward the direction I hoped was south, dragging the branch to hide my footsteps. I knew I needed to get to State Highway 24 before I could head east to Florissant. Slipping on a steep incline, I curled around Justice to protect him. I felt a sharp jab in my leg and passed out before we stopped sliding down the snowy slope.

VvvvvV

I woke slowly to a familiar swaying motion. Richard was carrying me.

"Where?" I groaned, and he stopped.

I felt so groggy as I clutched Justice to my chest instinctively. It was dark. The snow was still falling. Wind rushed through the trees overhead and the frozen woods groaned as it swayed.

Richard crouched, shielding me from the gale while settling me on the ground before he shifted into his wolf then shrank into his human skin. "Easy, lass."

"How'd you find me?" I murmured around my thick tongue.

"I followed the scent of the cedar bough ye used to hide your tracks. You were very clever. I lost your trail a few times and about had a panic attack when I found you passed out in the snow."

"Not that clever. When I pulled the darts out of my cloak, I missed one," I yawned, and the cold air hurt as I inhaled. That was when I noticed Justice was asleep with a bottle.

"Ye cannot feed him. The darts smell of silver mixed with several things that could hurt a pup."

I could only nod which was a mistake because it made my head spin. "The others?"

Handing me a bottle of Gatorade from my backpack, Richard looked at me sadly. "They found Chelsey, Ryan, and Corey. I saw them being carried out of the root cellar in handcuffs. Carl and Matthias were out for a morning run as their wolves. We are the only four who managed to escape. Everyone else was darted, but," he hesitated as I shook my head, then he continued angrily, "The ones that didn't have their skin back were killed, including the boy and his dad... The rest were loaded into vehicles and taken away."

"Ohgawd, no." His words horrified me because I knew that our surviving packmates would be killed or experimented on. I was desperate to find Chelsey and Ryan. "We have to help the kids," I groggily insisted. "They were humans, mercenaries of some kind."

"No, Shalom. We have to get you and Justice to safety. You two are too valuable a bargaining chip for the enemies of werewolves and all nonhumans," Richard insisted. "Drink. You need it."

"What are we going to do?" I murmured as I gulped the sweet and salty orangish flavor.

"The others are making false trails to lead the soldiers away. We'll be in Westcliff by morning. Saul said Dr. Trinity is there with Will," Richard revealed.

"You spoke to Saul?" I muttered the question as he gestured for me to drink more.

"Yes, I called him from Divide... That man and boy were left there at a house, but it wasn't their house. I don't know where they came from, but they didn't have a pack tattoo so they must be city wolves." He tipped his head listening. "We have to keep moving. They are searching for you with a helicopter, but your cloak is hiding us. I'm taking you straight to Westcliff. After the Fae doctor says you're okay, we're leaving." He grew back into his Raver and picked me up.

A few minutes later, I heard the thumping sound of a helicopter somewhere above, but my anxiety was not strong enough to overcome the sedative still in my system and I fell asleep again.

VvvvvV

I woke laying in the snow, sitting up, I wondered where I was then Richard's Raver stalked out of the woods. Holding his finger over his lips, he then shifted into his wolf and then his skin.

"We have a problem. There are several cameras around your cabin. Someone is hoping you will come back."

Closing my eyes, I nodded. "Let's go to the airport. Only Saul knows that I can fly a small plane." I looked at the sky. "But I don't think I can fly in this weather. Do we know how long this storm will last?"

"Only a few more hours. Saul can fly if you can't or Will."

Nodding, I stood but he picked me up. Before I could protest, he insisted, "One set of tracks... If anyone manages to track me, it will look like I laid a bundle here then came back for it." He shifted into his Raver then stomped around, covering his human and wolf footprints.

He started toward the town, I was saddened to see the husk of burned buildings and homes as he walked. I still didn't know who had burned the town when the city Ravers attacked us. Richard had admitted that they were guarding me, and Saul, and then Will in secret before the chaos of that night but the Monarch Mountain Ravers didn't know who lured the others to Westcliff. We arrived at Silver West Airport surprisingly quickly then passed it. He carried me into one of the abandoned homes just a few miles away. Dawn was breaking over the eastern side of the valley behind us.

He transitioned all the way back to his skin. "I'll go to the airport alone, so if any are watching it will seem like I escaped or didn't know of the attack."

"Don't shift when you are there so they don't get a picture of your skin side." I dug through the kitchen drawers looking for a pen. Scribbling a note on my steno pad, I put it in a plastic bag as I normally did. "Be careful, Richard."

Nodding, he squeezed my shoulder. "If I don't come back..."

"I know. I'll leave, then I'm going to Cades Depot."

"You can't go alone." He grumbled.

"Galen will help me," I insisted, "And Greyson and Saul... You should hurry before it becomes too light. The sky is clearing."

"I'll be back as soon as I can with the Fae doctor. Rest."

I watched him leave us then changed Justice's diaper before warming some water for another bottle. Taking out the can of formula, I set the glass jar with the darts on the counter. I glared at them and the liquid leaking from the tips. Painfully, I expressed my milk into a bowl for Nicolea to test while my wolf and I grieved our murdered packmates.

Looking around the house, I wondered about the silver haired couple who had lived here. There were no pictures of children or grandchildren, just the two of them all over Colorado, covering many decades, an RV in the background and always with a dog. I hoped they weren't here when the Revelation Night happened. Sitting in a chair near a window, I watched the sky becoming brighter and bluer as the storm ended.

VvvvvV

Richard carefully stalked around the Silver West Airport, finding more cameras then he noticed that the internet was turned off to the hanger they used to collect and store data. He waited and watched as a Hummer arrive. Jon Lance and Nicolea Trinity got out with a vampiress so he lumbered out from one of the hangers in clothes taken from a home.

"Morning, Dr. Lance, Dr. Trinity."

"Who are you?" Jon looked shocked as the bundled up vampiress held her arm in front of him protectively.

"Get inside, Alpha Wems," Nicolea ordered then she shut the door behind them while she called Saul, and made the introduction, "Jon, Bethany, this is Richard, former Alpha of Monarch Mountain Pack. Where is Shalom?"

"She is close. Our group was attacked, darted with a tranquillizer that forced them to shift to their human skin. All the ones who weren't back to their skin were killed. Shalom escaped with Justice, but there was a tranquilizer dart stuck in her cloak. She fell in the snow, and it stuck her," Richard revealed.

"I'll go to her house," Nic announced but Richard shook his head.

"She isn't there. We were forced to flee during the storm. There are three trail cameras linked to a sat-phone watching her house so I took her to the home of a former coworker and his wife. We have news."

"I have news for you too, Alpha Wems," Jon announced, "We found the planes and the chemist who made the Elm Street weapon is dead."

"It doesn't matter," Richard interrupted with a growl, "The Pure Human Movement is preparing for another attack The terrorists are making and using more Dust of Rage and we may know where to start."

"We have to warn the Covenant and the Monarchy," Bethany insisted. "We have to warn everyone."

"And have Aliza Abbott arrested," Richard growled.

"We have to have proof first," Saul announced, hanging up his phone as he and Will walked in.

"I'm glad you heard," Nic said as she put hers on a desk.

Richard eyed them all then nodded, revealing, "I don't think it's safe to talk here... I handled your outdoor pests while I waited." He held out the crushed remnants of two small trail cameras and a cellphone.

"Damn... Last night after you called and said you were coming, all our computers turtled like someone was downloading our system," Jon revealed. "We turned them all off and disconnected the internet."

"I'll call Jake and tell him to come." Saul glared at Richard when he growled, scolding, "He needs to see her and Justice. You have no idea how bad it has been for him."

"We saw the papers," Richard revealed. "Galen." He added at Saul's surprised look.

Saul muttered something under his breath about that damned Fae then apologized, "Sorry, Jon. No offense, Nic."

The redeemed Demonus Fae laughed loudly as the human CSI shrugged, "Try being married to one."

Smirking, Saul dialed on the Satphone, and listened for a moment then said, "Jake, you need to come to Westcliff, Will relapsed... His Raver almost escaped, but Richard came and helped us... We also need one of the computer guys, our entire computer system crashed... Yeah... We'll see you soon." He hung up and sighed. "He'll be here in less than two hours." Then he looked at Richard. "What exactly happened that you would bring her here instead of going somewhere safe?"

"Two evenings ago, we had a boy and his father show up where we were staying. They had just been made into Ravers, they still smelled sweet like the snow of that night. Yesterday morning during the storm, men with military drones and tactical gear attacked the farm. Only two other Ravers escaped while I was looking for where the boy and his father came from. Those men... They darted everyone with something that forced a shift, then killed anyone who didn't have their skin back." Richard rubbed his beard. "Shalom's cloak protected her from being seen by the drones and helicopters as she fled with J.J. until she got darted on accident. She's recovering but that isn't the news. Shalom found something in her husband's journals, a place in South Carolina near a pharmaceutical production facility. We think it might be where they are making or storing the weapon."