[Closed] Branded

Starts here...

The pack had contained everything I needed really. It was weird, the act of him giving it to me and granting me the opportunity to leave would be considered a kind gesture in any other situation, but I just felt manipulated. I could feel it in my bones that something was coming, and it wasn't the same feeling I had before, and it wasn't the same feeling I had during any of my... episodes with Lilith.

There had been a small plane waiting for me. A woman had stitched up the wounds that required stitching on the flight, while my broken bones healed because of the vampire blood they had force fed me, the gashes all over my torso, back, legs, and arms, the bigger ones anyway needed attention. I should have been wary when she offered me painkillers, but even if the vampire blood mostly healed my broken bones my body knew better. It still ached from them breaking. I still had no idea where I was or where it was taking me until it landed in a small town. East Wenatchee the sign said. The flight was long, and it was late when I had arrived, but even then I couldn't stop. A black van, just like the one I had seen picked me up and began taking me home. I was dropped off outside the very same barn I had been captured, it was late, and as much as I wanted to get home, I didn't at the same time.

I checked the pocket of my jeans for the flash drive, which oddly looked exactly like the ones I always wore. In fact... All of the clothes looked like mine, even down to the wear and tear of my leather jacket. My clothes had been destroyed when they... Did what they did to me, but these looked exactly like mine, as if they were...

Once I was certain the flash drive was in place I moved over to the barn and parked myself at the side of it. The entire thing hadn't been burned, which meant there was plenty of non scorched wood around, and I began gathering what I could to build a fire. The sky was clear, and I couldn't sense a storm. Maybe I wouldn't get much sleep, but that wasn't why I was settling down, that wasn't why I was building the fire...

I pulled off my jacket, then my shirt, and placed them onto the pack after pulling out a blade. It was a decent sized knife, three inches at it's widest point, and about seven inches long. It was almost like they knew what I was going to use it for... It was the perfect size... I twisted my body so my shoulder was in the light of the fire, so the symbol was in the light of the fire... One last look before I began heating the blade...

When I pressed it against my shoulder I could hear my flesh singing, I could smell it... I could see it. But I didn't cry out. My expression was flat. I felt the pain, but... Something inside of me was different. It hurt like hell, but didn't? At the same time it didn't. I didn't even have any time to really evaluate how fucked up that was before I heard foot steps ahead of me. I gripped the blade and held it out, not knowing what to expect but not willing to find out the fucking hard way either. Not after what I had just spent two weeks enduring, not after what I had just been through.

The man got closer, and when his face was illuminated by the fire I realized it was the wolf I had sentenced to rogue that night at One Shot. He looked horrified, ''Whoa...'' I dropped the blade and quickly reached for my shirt to put it back on. ''What... What the hell happened to you?'' He stammered and placed his hand over his mouth. I was in an accident. I lied, as I straightened out the fabric of my shirt. ''It looks like you went through a meat grinder...'' I forced the air out of my nose and reached for my jacket and pack. What is it? I knew he wanted to say something, and I didn't have time anymore to waste on small talk.

''I just... I want back in Onyx.'' I didn't even hesitate, I kicked some dirt over the small fire to put it out and just looked at him and started walking, and as I passed him, I spoke. Then you're back in. I could hear his feet rushing after me, ''Wait a minute? You're serious?!'' - I'm always serious. I kept pushing forward. ''What changed your mind?'' - I've been given a new perspective on things.

---

I could see the lights from Index ahead, and I threw my pack over my shoulder and stopped to look at the man behind me. Here is where we part ways. And I only have one thing to say to you... I took a step closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. If you're back in, you're back in as my ally, as my brother, not my enemy. He looked almost afraid, like he had expected me to say something else, or do something else. And his expression became contagious as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me and patted his hands at my back.

#VinSolo