Many of the know-nothings were watching now. I could feel their eyes burning into me as they stared. None of them approached me and many took the extra effort to move out of the way. To them, I was probably no different than the boar.

Are you any different? The voice asked me.

I didn't have an answer.

Besides, it continued, you are covered in blood.

There were many cracks that coated the cement I ran across. Through those, grass and weeds poked out to greet the sun. I spent so much time focused on the people, I didn't notice when these little pieces of nature reached out and grabbed my ankle.

I hit the pavement as the impressive strength of the weeds pulled back. My assailants grew, looking to wrap up my legs before I had a chance to recover.

"You're dead, fox!" Gust shouted.

He was jumping off the roof of one of the squat buildings that surrounded me. His weaponized arm had become something resembling a thick, heavy club which he held over his head as he sailed down towards me.

That little asshole was really about to kill me.

I reached down and easily tore apart the grasses that ensnared me. I was up in the next second, ready to leap out of Gust's attack, when my leg reminded me how reckless I had been. It was less of a leap and more of a fall as my injured leg buckled under my attempt to jump.

There wasn't time to curse it out. There wasn't any time left to avoid getting crushed by a giant, tree-sized, arm. I held up both my arms just as Gust brought his down, catching the thing before it turned my head to paste. My arms shook and my already complaining leg practically screamed under the new weight put on top of it, but I held on. I sunk the sharpened nails of my fingers deep into the bark-skin as I glared at Gust.

"The hell are you doing?" I shot.

"You were supposed to dodge, stupid," he hissed right back.

Those words made it harder for me to concentrate on keeping his tree-like arm from crushing me. "What—?"

Gust cut me off my lifting his arm—with me still attached—and flinging it casually to the side. I was dislodged easily and sent crashing through one of the few windows that wasn't already broken into.

If people weren't already screaming and running, they certainly were now. I could hear them even as I lay dazed in the darkened room of whatever sort of place I was hurled into. As I moved to get up, the tinkling of glass greeted me and the new pains sprouting throughout my body made me very aware of the various shards that were now a part of me.

"You were also supposed to let go before I threw you," Gust said as he stood in the window. His arm slowly snaked into the room, forcing me to back up until I hit a shelf or a wall.

"What are you doing, Gust?" I repeated. "Where is everyone else?"

"You need to leave," he answered before his arm shot forward and gripped around my chest. "Get out of here before I really have to kill you."

Before I could answer him, I was pushed forward. His arm crashed me through whatever had kept me from retreating, and then through several layers of obstacles after that. It released me as soon as the sun was hitting my skin and I was left rolling across rough concrete as my body ached and screamed protests at me.

Get over yourself, I wanted to tell it. We've been through worse.

Gust or his arm didn't follow me through the holes I made in the building. I didn't see him at the window anymore and, for that matter, I didn't see anyone else. This little area of streets and buildings had been abandoned save for the constant ring of sirens in the air. Flowers and weeds were starting to grow out of the cracks around me, so I was back to running.

Mary's warning still echoed in my head. We had to get the kids and get out before reinforcements arrived. Even if those kids didn't want to be taken away. Even if they were trying to kill us.

I wasn't getting very far in any reasonable amount of time. My leg wasn't the only thing slowing me down, and I had to slow to almost a stop every time I spotted a new piece of glass glinting in the sunlight. Pulling them out definitely hurt more than when they went in. Even if Gust was not trying to immediately kill me, I was going to give him more than just a piece of my mind when this was all over.

Two new sets of noises joined with the wailing sirens. A drone of heavy wing beats and a clacking of horse hooves on pavement. Both of them behind me.

The white beast was high above the buildings. It flew in jagged, jerky patterns, but otherwise it seemed unhindered by its lack of eyes. It was definitely flying towards something.

"I thought you were handling it," I thought at Stallion as the black horse ran up to me. My body was in too much pain to try and bother forming words.

"Not much I can do when it flies, man," he answered back. He stopped when he caught up and I found myself looking away from him when his eyes trailed over me. "I could say the same to you."

"You're following that thing, right? Let me on and let's go."

Stallion used his head to help boost me up as I struggled to claw my way to his back. The little stabs of glass and growing bruises were starting to hinder everything I did, and he was damn tall.

"Are you okay, man? You are kind of bleeding. Like, a lot."

"Just a brat who's going to get what's coming to him," I answered as I grabbed a hold of Stallion's mane. "Now let's go. We can't lose it."

He obeyed without a word. But we weren't running for more than a few seconds before he asked, "Where's Mary?"

"She had to deal with the Tusk problem." I squinted at the sun, trying to find the white husk of the creature against the white clouds and light blue sky. It was near impossible through sight alone, but thankfully the hum of its wings was still strong. I was able to spot it just a few blocks down, still zig-zagging through the sky. "If we're lucky, we should all be going to the same place. Can you go any faster?"

The horse huffed. "You asking or telling?"

Despite our situation, I cracked a smile. "Bit of both?"

"Then hang on. Don't expect me to stop and turn around if your weak ass falls off."

With that, Stallion took off at break-neck speeds. Probably a literal definition if I didn't lower myself against his body and used his massive neck to shield against the blow back of wind. I lost my smile as I was reminded of being in a similar situation—riding something much different than my friend.

"I think that man I killed was her brother," I said.

Stallion didn't say anything. I wasn't expecting him to. My words would be lost amidst the churning, howling wind that roared around us.

As Ovidia's monster flew lower and lower to the buildings, I knew we were getting close. More of the wildlife that grew beneath cement attempted to reach out and stop us, but they could do little to hinder Stallion's powerful strides and leaps. If these kids wanted to interfere, they'd have to do better.

An arm of churning bark shot out from an adjacent alleyway. It connected and held on to the bricks of a building just across the street we were racing down. A perfect roadblock. And one that occurred just before Stallion had a chance to leap over it.

"Shit! Hold—" he started to say, but I never had the chance to finish listening before I was plowed into from the side, knocking me off the horse and into the very bricks the arm had been holding on to.

"Stop," Gust said. There was a shaking in his voice as his normal hand kept me pressed against the brick wall. "Stop making me do this."

"I'm not making you do anything," I said through groans of pain.

Stallion was lying in the middle of the road. He was kicking and flailing in a bid to get back up, but it would take time. Time I probably didn't have.

I was even surer of that when the less than normal hand released its hold of the wall and proceeded to close around my head. I managed to get my hands around either side of the large palm, but I could feel the skin rolling and reforming in my grip. Between that and the huge amount of strength attempting to push past my feeble attempts to keep it at bay, I knew I wouldn't be able to last for long.

"Why didn't you listen?" Gust asked me as his voice continued to shake. "Why do you have to be so stupid?"

I noticed he was crying. Snot fell down from his nose as he sniffled and wiped at his face with his now free hand.

"You're the one acting stupid!" I shouted as the pain of everything almost became too much. "I'm trying to save you guys!"

Gust didn't say anything and his hand only pushed closer to my face. I went to kick him away, but my legs wouldn't budge. The weeds had returned to ensnare me and now I lacked the strength to pull them apart. It was taking every ounce I could scavenge between the ever worsening aches in my body to keep my head from being squished like a grape.

I searched for Stallion again, but he was having problems moving on his own now as grass grew out around him. They pulled and gripped at his kicking legs and while none were able to hold on for more than a second, new life sprung forth before Stallion could get his bearings. There wouldn't be enough time for him to make a heroic rescue. Lilly was making sure of it.

"Whatever's going on, I can help you," I pleaded. "Please, Gust."

The hand only inched closer and closer. It was becoming all I could see.

It was going to hurt me. It was going to kill me. She was going to kill me. If I didn't do what she said, I was going to die.

"Mommy," I said as tears welled up in my eyes. Her large hand easily pushed aside my weak attempts to stop it. Dad would be sad when he found out what happened, but maybe they would stop fighting when I was gone. When the hand fell across my face, all I saw was darkness.

And, then, bright light. The sun was shining in my face as Gust screamed a horrible, gut-wrenching scream. He fell back from me as he held aloft his hand. His human one. It was bleeding. It was missing half a finger.

I looked for where it might have landed on the ground, but it wasn't there. It was in my mouth. I spit it out into my hand. It was so small, I didn't realize it was there at first. But it was there. After I snapped his other arm he had tried reaching for me again, so I bit off his finger.

The little yellow flowers, spiky leaves, and frail grasses shrank away from my legs as I stood up. Gust was curled up on the ground, pressing his bleeding hand against his body as his other arm twisted and writhed beside him.

I wanted to tell him I was sorry. But, more than that, I wanted to say:

"You should have listened to me."

I walked past him and started limping in the direction I last saw Liebling fly off to. The sound of clacking hoofs reminded me that Stallion was still here.

"Stay here and make sure Gust doesn't escape," I said to him without looking back. I couldn't risk it. I would lose sight of where I was going if I looked back.

The clacking stopped and Stallion didn't answer me. I could only assume he would look after an injured child over trying to disobey me.

I couldn't run anymore. The best I could do was limp and drag my numbing right leg. Liebling was long gone, but I didn't need her for guidance any longer. There were sirens still ringing and flashing blue and red lights to point me in the right direction. More weeds reached out for me, but they only brushed against my worn shoes and legs. She knew better than to try and stop me.

Before long, I was approaching where I knew everyone was. It had to be the tallest building in the town, the way it stood over everything. Most of the flashing cars and people with guns were here now, blocking off the roads around it and point their guns up at Liebling. The white monster clung near the roof of the building, clicking its jaws and swiping at the air.

The building itself was a dead giveaway as well. The roads and streets around it had crumbled and broke apart and wild plants had grown up from the exposed earth, wrapping around the walls, into windows, and covering the main door.

The men with guns seemed unsure what to do. The ones in the back were stuttering and complaining about being 'unable to contact the men upstairs' while the ones in the front were attacked and beaten back by the plant-life when they got too close to the building. If Wildwood had been trying to keep the world of witches a secret, it was about to burst wide open.

"You need to step back," one of the men with guns said to me. He had his gun pointed at my chest. I had been so focused on the building I didn't realize how close I had gotten. "This area is now restricted. Step back or..."

The man trailed off as his eyes took in more of me. The tattered clothes. The limping. The blood. I think he saw something else too. Something in my eyes that made his gun shake bad enough to fall from his grip.

"S-Shit!" he stammered as he scrambled to catch it, but I was upon him before he could.

A swift punch to the stomach and a palm shoved up under his chin was all it took. I was trying to be careful and I hoped I didn't kill him, but I didn't have time to check. His people were turning towards me, and smoke was beginning to billow out from the windows near the roof of the building.

These men only said more than a shout before drawing their guns in my direction. I had enough time to knock out one more before they started firing. A spot near the back of my left shoulder bloomed with new pain as I took down another. It was at this point that the ones closest to me saw what the first man had seen. They were running away and shouting at their companions to do the same.

The ones hiding further away behind their cars weren't so quick to turn tail. They still fired, and a few more shots found their way into my stomach and chest. While the pain was great, it wasn't enough to put me down. I had been through worse. This was nothing.

But the pain was great. A lot of blood was spilling out of me. And I could still do little put limp towards the entrance of the building.

"I'm trying to help you assholes," I tried to say, but it only came out as a whisper and blood soon overtook my words. It fell from my mouth like a stream.

It was Stallion who came to my rescue, yet again. Before more bullets could find me, he came up from behind, scooping me up in his mouth and dragging me the rest of the way towards the front door.

"Quit screwing around, man!" he shouted, his voice filled with panic and worry, before he deposited me on the stairs.

He continued running, crashing through the wildlife and the front door before disappearing into the darkness within. I scrambled up the stairs after him as the men stopped firing in their attempts to follow. Though while I was able to tear apart the regrowing plant-life looking to cut off the entrance again, the gunmen were less fortunate. Their screams and shouts of pain were soon muffled as great leaves and vines closed in on the doorway behind me.

Inside had to be pitch darkness, but my eyes were on my side once again. I could make out everything from the smashed reception desk to the crumbled chairs lining either side of the room. Everything was like the cabin. Overgrown. Changed.

I swallowed down my building desire to be sick as I switched my attention to Stallion, who was in the middle of trying and failing to force his way up a flight of stairs that were draped in wildlife that swung and snapped at his every attempt to move towards them.

"I'm almost positive Mary and Tusk are up there," Stallion said as I limped over to him. "But I can't—Shit, dude, what happened? You look like you're about to kill over."

"Just one of those days," I thought back to him.

My eyes trailed over a few of the chairs that remained standing. My body desperately wanted to sit. There was even a couch that was only half ruined. But I knew if I stopped now I wouldn't be getting up again for awhile—if ever. This was the most I could remember pushing my body in a long, long time. How much could a familiar's body really take?

I suppose I was soon going to find out.

"Stay close behind me," I said as I approached the stairs. "Maybe bite off anything I miss."

"Are you sure about—"

Lilly's creations didn't give me time to be sure of anything. They reached for me and I tore them to pieces with my claws. Every movement should have been a great pain, but I was acutely aware to the growing numbness in my muscles. While it made enduring the ascent of the stairs a little easier, I worried what would happen in the future. Would I have enough time to finish what I started before my body gave out?

Nature reached out for me and I took it apart again and again. The stairs extended and looped around. From what I could see past dangling vines and drooping leaves, they could lead us all the way to the top.

"You're doing good, man. Just hang in there."

Stallion kept his head pressed against my back. At first, if I had the extra energy, I would have wanted to tell him to back off a bit. But after the next few flights I found that I was grateful to him. If he wasn't there, I would have fallen. My body was nearing its limit. I could feel it as something burned in every muscle in my body. It was a heat that was enough to tear through the numbness.

My muscles were tearing apart. That's what I was feeling. I was breaking down.

As if sensing my growing weakness, the wildlife redoubled their efforts to stop me. Some loose tangles of greenery even managed to wrap around my flailing limbs. If it wasn't for Stallion reaching past and ripping them off with his teeth, they would have had me.

But with the absence of his head I knew I was destined to fall. All I had control of was the direction. The joints in my arms made a sickening popping noise as I fell forward against the wooden stairs. It was such a relief to stop moving. Too much of one.

"I can't keep going, Stallion," I thought to him. I couldn't even summon the effort to shake off the growing claws of nature as they caught hold of me again.

And, again, it was Stallion who ripped them free. "Mouse is up there. The kids are up there, man. You have to keep going. For them."

I gritted my teeth. There he was lecturing again. Like he knew everything.

"Stallion—"

"If you can bitch, you can move."

I was hoisted into the air by the scruff of my ruined jacket. My feet scrambled to find purchase on the stairs, but I couldn't put any weight behind it. They flailed like limp noodles. I couldn't even summon the strength to shake off the reaching of Lilly's power.

"This isn't working! I can't do it!"

"Damnit. You want me to save your ass again?" Stallion moved forward, shaking his head from side to side as the plants fell from my legs. He kicked and pulled at his own bindings, but didn't stop. "You stole my girl. You killed my best friend. You made me leave the best life I've had in a long, long time. If I left you here to die, you couldn't say a damn word."

Stallion kicked and pulled and shook. The horse grunted at every lash and tight grip the thorn filled wildlife placed on him. He cursed me almost every step of the way. And, for his benefit, I kept silent. I still didn't know what his deal was. Why, if he really felt the way he did, didn't he just leave me here to die?

I still wasn't any closer to figuring him out, but I would let him do what he wanted to do. If he wanted to carry me, I wasn't going to stop him.

Not that I had the energy to. It was really nice not being able to move. If I closed my eyes, I almost couldn't hear the shaking of foliage or the grunts and pains of Stallion as he tried to save us.

What was he even doing?

What had I been doing?

Suddenly, I couldn't remember.