Moving Forward

Rain (24)

Warmth. A slight breeze. Mild humidity. The tickle of grass in his ear that Max didn't much enjoy but was too comfortable to complain about. He pawed at the annoying sensation and turned onto his side with a sigh. This was nice. It wasn't exactly silent but there was nothing to really disturb him either.

He dreamt he was a lake. Calm. Still. Not partial to anything around him. But then the rain came. At first it was light, barely even there, but it quickly turned it a downpour that flooded his banks. Made him roar and flow and push his limits. Filled him with energy and passion. And when the rain receded, he felt a deep longing for it.

When he finally woke up, Max was greeted by silence; even the birds kept quiet. Where was Lara? Where were the kids playing across the water? Dizziness swayed his vision as he stood, forcing him to take a moment. Something wasn't right, he could feel it in his gut; his bones tremors with the thought of a fight.

"Max?" Lara's voice. "Max, something wrong?"

Max nodded, grabbing Lara and trying to herd her back to the truck despite her weak protests.

"Max, really, you're being dramatic! Is it your ptsd? If it's acting up I can take you home." The concern in her voice caught him.

Was it his ptsd? He could be imagining the silence. Hell, he'd not even noticed Lara at the edge of the tree line until she'd called him a few times. But it'd been ages since it had kicked in full force. Maybe... but maybe she was right. It wasn't the first time it had ever caught him unaware.

"You've been a little overwhelmed lately, haven't you?" She said, rubbing slow circles on his back. "Maybe you just need like a day off. No wolves, no other people, just relaxing quiet."

That... sounded nice. Max waited in the truck while Lara packed away their stuff. And in the calm, he was seized him from behind, an arm over his throat and a hand over his mouth. The familiar smell of chloroform. His elbow hitting the window. Legs kicking the footboard. Slipping on the mat. The faint scent of copper. Who was bleeding? And after what seemed like an hour - but couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes - the world faded to black.

The cold floor greeted him when he woke. It was rough - the inside of a cave - and the slight breeze carried a chill. Trying to lift his head caused it to pound and sway and regret lanced through him with each movement. Once he'd pushed through it, he made his way to the edge of the cave, only to find a pair of unfamiliar wolves snarling at him with more lurking around the forest edge at least a hundred metres away. If he shifted, he could take on one, maybe two wolves, but twenty of them? There was no chance. And Max was sure that there were more waiting out of sight.

The only thing that was a surety in this situation was that Max wouldn't be allowed to leave. That meant he'd likely spend a lot of time doing nothing but waiting. So he chose to change. At least in jaguar form, he didn't have to worry about getting cold or needing weapons. He was a weapon all of his own in this form.

In this form, the smell of wolves intensified, and not a single one smelled familiar. Testing his boundaries, Max strolled back to the edge of the cave to once again be met by snarls and growls. But they didn't move. One paw after another, the growling became more intense, but the wolves did nothing. But the second Max's paw touched grass, the pair guarding the entrance lunged forward. It was clear that any further would result in pain.

Max bared his teeth and snarled right back at the wolves, but he wasn't stupid. Slowly, he retreated into the cave, never once showing his back until he was sure he was hidden in the shadow.

Time passed torturously slow, and as Max came to understand that nobody intended to come see him today, his body lost its tension. It would likely be back tomorrow when the situation dawned on him properly, but at the moment, he was still reeling from the possibility of having an episode of PTSD and he was tired. So, so tired. Even if sleep didn't come to him, allowing the tension to seep out from his bones was better than sitting in a tense pile on the rock floor. Besides, if he actually managed to fall asleep in a tense state, there would be no chance of him waking up refreshed. He'd probably feel worse than he did now. And so, he shut his eyes and let himself melt into the floor. Of course, his ears stayed alert. He was tired, not stupid. If anyone approached him in this state, he'd already be at enough of a disadvantage. Adding to that by becoming complacent would be asking for whatever harm came his way.

A breeze rolled in through the cave opening, bringing with it a hint of rain. It made him wonder if he needed to be concerned about the cave flooding while he rested. But there wasn't a river nearby, so he doubted it.

River... Was Kyle thinking of him? Trying to track his scent? It wouldn't be possible. Max was sure he'd been transported in a car - a great way to ensure that Kyle wouldn't find the right direction to follow. Was Kyle worried about him?

Why did they take Max? Why not take someone more important? Why not Carter, or Amelia? That wasn't to say Max wanted them to be the ones in this situation, but it just didn't make sense to Max. He wasn't needed in the pack. It was the River family that the wolves looked to for guidance. 

Gillespie - and Max was certain it was him who had ordered this abduction - had taken the wrong person.

But what was more surprising was that Max didn't have a single doubt that if he just waited long enough, sooner or later, Kyle would show up. Whether it would be specifically to rescue Max or not, he knew that Kyle would be instrumental in his release.

Oh. He understood now. Gillespie was smart.

He hoped to all that was good in the world that Kyle could find the strength to leave him.

The rain came down without prejudice. What Max had thought would be a light drizzle turned out to be a heavy downpour that would certainly wash away his scent from where he'd been napping by the lake and make it ever more difficult for Kyle to find him.

Good. The harder it was, the longer Kyle would be safe from Gillespie.