Avi and Kirstie sprinted through the trees towards where they last heard the sound. Who ever howled hadn't howled sense and they hadn't picked up on a scent or heartbeat yet. Kirstie didn't care very much, but Avi was worried.

The further they rush into the woods, the more concerned Avi became and the more confused Kirstie became.

Avi was going to continue, but Kirstie yanked him behind a bush and clamped her hand over his mouth.
"Mmmmm!" Avi muffled.
"Sh!" Kirstie hushed.
"Mmmmmmmm!" Avi muffled again.
"Avi! Shut u-ew!" Kirstie whisper-yelled, tanking her hand away after Avi licked it.

Avi smirked deviously as Kirstie wiped her hand on the ground.
"Stay quiet." Kirstie whispered.
"Why?" Avi whispered back.
"Because trucks in these woods only mean one thing." Kirstie replied.
"What?" Avi asked.

There was a short paused and Kirstie sighed softly.
"Hunters."
------------

"You sure he would want to come here? What kind of shapeshifter purposely goes to a high school?" Scott frowned, sniffing some more.

Scott's face twisted slightly in distaste and he rubbed his nose.
"What's that smell?" He asked.
"Ghost Ash." Kevin sighed.
"What the hell is 'Ghost Ash'?" Scott asked.
"It's used for many purposes. If liquified, it serves as a drug for shape shifters that either puts them in a forty-two hour daze, or completely knocks them out. If used in powdered form, it acts as a barrier that no supernatural being can cross once connected in a shape of the creators desire." Kevin responded.
"Wait. Is that what made Jake so hostile?" Scott asked, turning around to check behind his back.
"Yes. My mother mixed the liquified compound with salt and werewolf salivate. However, his of smell is far stronger than a normal weresnake.-"
"Why do you keep saying that?" Scott cut Kevin off.

Kevin stayed silent for a few seconds.
"- That meaning the liquified effects triggered him and studies show that dazed or confused reptiles become hostile. With that being said, he's obviously not a normal weresnake, as a werewolf is usually stronger than a weresnake." Kevin finished.

Scott opened his mouth to say something, but a clear liquid dripped from the ceiling and landed at his feet followed with a soft hiss.
"Kevin." Scott froze, not making a single movement.
"What?" Kevin asked, turning around.

When Kevin looked up, his eyes widened. Jake was sticking to the ceiling. He was half-shifted again, with scales on one side of his face.

Jake dove for Kevin, but Scott tackled him mid-air and wrestled him to the ground. Jake snaked his legs around Scott and twisted hard, throwing Scott down the hall.

Kevin flashed his claws and lowly growled, earning a hiss from Jake.

Jake slithered down the hallway swiftly, leaving the duo. Kevin jogged over to Scott to help him up.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"A weresnake just threw me down a hallway with his legs wrapped around my neck. What do you think?" Scott asked.
------------
"This way." Kirstie waved, pressing her back against the side of the tree.

The two both listened closely to the conversation happening just a twenty feet away. They could smell a werewolf and hear several heartbeats.
"Y'all got rid of the bodies? I don't need no dead dogs lyin' around." A raspy male voice said.
"It's done. I trust you plan to keep your end of the deal?" A smooth female spoke.
"You're little dog boy is down there. Y'all are some sadistic fucks to want to torture it. Anythin' with that kinda power is better off kilt." The male voice said.
"What we do with him is none of your business. You've got your money, now go. We'll be back next week once you've got more creatures. Collectors pay a fortune for fangs and eyes." The female voice spoke. "Get the prods from the truck and grab the Ghost Ash. This one's close to breaking."

Footsteps made their way towards the truck and Avi and Kirstie bolted, ducking behind the bush again.

From their position they could see a female werewolf being bound by chains to the ground, four people in suits and three in regular jeans. They could also see a hatch propped open on a small pole. The bound werewolf was panting and she was fully shifted.
"Let him go! Do whatever you want to me but let him go! He's never hurt anyone!" She screamed.

One of the men in jeans kicked her in the stomach, earning a grunt from her.
"Shut up, mutt!" He shouted.
"We'll ask you again. Where is the rest of your pack?" The female in a sharp suit spoke.

The female werewolf flipped her hair out of her face and glared at her.
"Up your ass. Start shooting." She growled.
"Okay. But not because you asked me to." The woman spoke, reaching into her suit project and pulling out a gun.

Avi covered his eyes, turning his head. Kirstie watched with a hard stare. The single echo of a bang rang through the woods seconds later, followed with a thud.
"Burn this one with the rest. We'll just have to be extreme with the young one in the cellar." The woman said, climbing down the open hatch.

Kirstie and Avi waited until the men in suits climbed down and the men in jeans drove away in a dusty pickup truck.

"T-they just... they just s-shot her." Avi gawked.
"That's what they do. They find innocent creatures and kill them because they're afraid of what we're capable of. Of what they don't understand." Kirstie said, her voice laced with verbal venom.
"What now?" Avi asked.
"We get the innocent creature they're torture in there out." Kirstie growled, her claws extending.

Avi swallowed a small lump in his throat and followed Kirstie as they snuck over to the hatch, sliding down the ladder and staring down the dividing hallways.

The entire place was dark and dank, with leaking pipes and eerie yellowish-green lights simultaneously lighting the narrow passage. It felt like a military bunker.
"Let's go. I want to get them and get out." Avi whispered, beginning to walk down the left divide.

Kirstie grabbed Avi by the collar and yanked him down the right divide, walking on the tips of her toes.
----------

Scott leaned on the bleachers, gnawing on his nails. Nearly fifteen minutes ago, the Jake playing football on the field was sticking to the ceiling and hissing at him.

Kevin watched Jake's moves carefully. They were fluid and slinky, almost like a snake slithering through grass only sloppier. He could tell the Ghost Ash was still running its course.

Fans cheering on their respective teams seemed to mask the situation. Scott was nervous that at any moment Jake would start lashing out and biting people and he and Kevin would be the only ones to protect them.

After another twenty minutes of watching the game, Scott became antsy. He could see a noticeable different in Jake's behavior. It was slightly aggressive and cunning. It was practically dancing around the other players.

Finally, someone tackled Jake to the ground. When Jake got back up, he rolled from a bended back into a wobbly stumble.
"He's trying to fight his shift." Kevin spoke.
"How can you tell?" Scott asked.
"Pay attention to his skin. From far away, it looks normal. If you look closely, you can see the grooves from his scales crawling underneath. It's itching to come out." Kevin spoke.

Scott stared at Jake's arm and almost immediately he noticed. He could see the soft scales forcing against his skin underneath the almost paper white flesh.
"Damn. We need to stop this game." He spoke.
"That's not going to happen. These are Americans watching high school football. That's like pulling the reflection from a mirror." Kevin replied.

Scott frowned and clenched his fist.
--------

Kirstie and Avi both pressed their backs against the wall as they listened closely. They could hear the electrical buzz of stun batons and the shrill groan of a high voice.

"Shame. You're pretty cute. We might even have some fun with you before we kill you." A male voice chuckled, earning a growl from the creature in question.

Kirstie tried to peek over, but she slipped back behind the wall when she saw just how close the Hunters were.
"What now?" Avi whispered.
"We do what they think we do." Kirstie's eyes glowed yellow, "we run wild."

Avi smirked and his eyes also glowed yellow. The duo growled and sprinted out into the open, both roaring loudly.

The Hunters all either jumped or prepared their guns.
"Thank goodness!" The boy chained to the fence cried.

Kirstie charged full speed towards the nearest hunter with a gun, kicking him in the stomach and breaking his wrist. Avi picked up the closest hunter to him and tossed him into a wall head first.

The female hunter pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the boy chained to the wall.
"One more move and he gets a full chamber." She spoke clearly.

Avi froze but Kirstie smirked.
"That won't be happening." She said.

The female hunter cocked the gun and smirked.
"Why not?-what?" She gasped when Kirstie's claws wrapped around her wrist.
"Because you can't shook with a broken arm." Kirstie laughed, snapping her wrist and tossing her into the wall.

The boy chained to the wall smiled gleefully, contrary to his presentation.

He had blood all over his face and clothes with messy hair and torn garments. He was bound by almost red hot chains and he was drenched in sweat.

Avi quickly made his way over, slashing the chains with his claws and helping the boy down.
"Are you okay? What's you're name?" He asked.

The boy took a deep breath and smiled thankfully.
"Mitch." He said.