Arden: The Gift Of Delirium

40. The Omega

Wolves don't hunt singly, but always together. The lone wolf was a myth.

***

Zane

I'm starting to think Athens was not the best place for our visit.

I stood to get a better view of what was going on, so did everyone else. I couldn't really make out what was going on with all the people running around. I felt my eyes shift again and concentrated on the people and the setting, trying to find out what was happening.

"Is that a..." I heard Ace start.

"It's a wolf." Armani confirmed.

A wolf. What in the world? The wolf trotted around the court, sniffing out something. People ran from it, getting out of its path. Natives, tourists, and certain business owners were trying to shoo it away from their shops and carts.

"It's not common for a wolf to just end up in a commercial area like this, right?" Perri asked Camilla. She was staring at the scene with a confused expression.

"Right."

"Wait," Nikki mumbled. She stepped closer and pointed at something. "You see that girl?" Arden looked at who she was talking about."That's the same girl we saw the other day at the statue."

"You're right." Arden replied. I looked at what they were staring at and I saw that it was in fact the girl we saw the other day with the boys. The same girl with the feather in her hair. "She's a kobalo." Arden turned to Camilla. "What do you know about the Kobalos in the city?"

"Personally, I don't know them. However, lately I've been catching them in the act a lot. They're usually not a huge problem in the city- in fact their pranks and actions are usual rare. But, they've been out causing a lot of disruption lately." Camilla turned to us. "Have any idea why?"

"No, that's why we asked you." Arden stated. I looked back at the scene to see the wolf now beginning to get destructive. The gray wolf cornered a woman with blonde hair and I could feel my heartbeat go up.

Before I even had to instruct her to, I heard Armani curse and perk up. We watched as her eyes glowed and she lifted her hands and put them together, only to bring them apart and reveal a black arrow. It was pure metal and the arrowhead was like a spade you'd see on a playing card.

Camilla clicked her tongue. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Armani had a hopeful and anxious look on her face. "I'm trying to lure him away from her." She muttered. She paused. She sighed as she tried to find a target. "If I stick it with the arrow, it'll retreat but, I can't hit it with people running back and forth like that."

Arden stepped forward next to Mani and her eyes were also shifted. "Get ready." She told her. Armani waited, the arrow in her hand, reared back, ready to be thrown. I can see it on Arden's face, her mind was working-calculating. "Now!" Armani threw the arrow straight forward, it spun through the air, hitting the wolf right in its ass.

"Oh my goodness, I hit it's butt." Armani frowned. The wolf stood down, turning away and limping away from the court. The woman who was being cornered, instantly fled before it could come back. She left the scene screaming.

"Whoa." Camilla smiled. "That was totally sick, how'd you hit it all the way from here?"

I shook my head and started making my way down to the pathway and court where everyone fled. Everyone was surely gone, even the kobalo girl who was standing there simply a few minutes ago, laughing at the way people ran from the animal.

Once we all got to the court, there was no one left outside. "Damn, must've been some wolf." Ali tsked.

Everything seemed fine, the wolf didn't do much damage. Just a few over-turned tables and chairs. "What about others?" Perri asked."Don't they travel in packs?"

Armani shook her head. "I think that was an omega. If he is traveling in a pack, if there are other wolves around, we would've seen them by now, but they probably have no care for him."

"Hey guys," Ace called out. "Look at this." We all went to Ace where he was bent over something on the ground. When I saw what he had discovered, I thought my heart was going to give out.

Feathers. More feathers. There was a group of them gathered in this particular spot and they were all covered in blood. The white feathers were stained and leaking a puddle of blood beneath them. My mind went back to the woods in Green Brook where I saw something very identical.

My mind made the connection between the Kobalos and the feathers. Wherever there were feathers, there was also some kind of situation. What if the Kobalos were behind all of this?

"Oh my gods." Camilla gagged. She stood up and instantly walked away from the pile.

"What happened?" Nikki asked, reffering to the feathers.

Ace picked up a feather, staining his hand. "It's human blood for sure. And it's all from one person."

"Why would there be human blood on a bunch of bird feathers?" Arden asked seriously.

"Bird feathers, I thought we were dealing with a wolf." Ali shook his head.

Ace looked up at Arden, his eyes glowing. "I don't know. But, whoever this person was, they lost a good amount of blood. And the blood is fresh, they couldn't have gotten far." Ace muttered.

"Are you suggesting we go look for the guy?" Perri asked. Ace shrugged.

"We can."

"Seriously, you're going to go looking for a man who's bleeding out all over the city? How can you guys do that, the smell is literally putrid." Camilla waved us off as she stood a couple feet away.

I looked back down at the feathers, still trying to figure out a connection between all of this.

"What. The. Fuck?" I heard Nikki mumble; I also heard Armani gasp.

Soon my friends were quiet until Camilla spoke again. "Who is that?"

I felt a grip on my arm and I turned to Ali who was trying to get my attention. Everyone was staring at something, into the field we were all just sitting on a couple minutes ago.

I furrowed my eyebrows and turned my attention to what they were staring at.

Forget the damn feathers, this definitely knocked all of the air out of my lungs. She was talking to the Kobalo girl and in her hand, she was twisting a single white feather.

We all stood, to make sure we were actually seeing right. "Please tell that's not-"

"Johanna." Arden cut me off.

*****

DUN DUN DUN! Not confirming anything but do you think the gang is out of it? Are they just imagining things? Is seeing Johanna a coincidence? Or is it really her?

But what about the wolf and the feathers? Crazy. Next chapter, theres an answer to a pretty huge question. Truly bizarre.

School's starting and i'm hoping I have time to write and update more. Until next time, munchkins,

-brittany.