There wasn't much in the way of food and drink. Just some day old deer and meat from other smaller animals, half eaten apples, and cracked jugs of water. Mary, Stallion, and I filled our stomachs in silence. With the feral familiars, the strange witches, and our creator watching our every move, there wasn't much else we could do.

"Now hurry along," the witch said once we stomached all we could. "I expect you all to be back before the sun goes down. You won't leave your mother waiting, will you?"

"No ma'am," Stallion answered at once.

"We will return as swiftly as possible, Mother," Mary said with a polite bow.

I gritted my teeth, but forced a smile when the witch turned her head my way. "Be back soon."

As soon as Mary and I mounted Stallion, we set off in the direction the old woman had shown us. It had occurred to be just then that we didn't have much to go off of besides a general direction, but Tusk was moving with a purpose. His teeth and general bulk tore through the dense underbrush as he ran ahead of us, intentionally or otherwise giving us a clear path in his wake.

"Guess he knows where to go," I said out-loud.

"Lucky us," Stallion commented.

"He has to still have a connection with his previous Master's children," Mary said. "Latent or otherwise."

I found myself looking at the back of my friends head as she sat in front of me. How was she able to just flip switches like that? One moment she was shooting me and was prepared to kill the one who created us, and the next she's acting like a loyal servant and talking like we were friends again.

It wasn't the first time I wondered something like that, and it wasn't the first time I was too scared to ask. Also, it was nice, hearing her like this. Even if it was just an act, it made me feel warm again.

She shot you, that voice in the dark corners of my mind whispered to me. Kat said she was going to shoot her. Should you really be letting your guard down like this?

It had been so long, but I still remembered that moment we shared in the dark tunnels of Wildwood. She said to just play our parts for a little longer. What if she was still playing a part, even now? Shooting me. Acting like she was going to shoot Kat. Maybe that was just part of some masterful plan of hers.

Or maybe she was desperate, the voice countered. Maybe that was the most real version you are ever going to get.

"We're going further down the mountain," Stallion said, deliberately or otherwise cutting me off from my spiraling train of thought.

"Would Ovidia really try taking them into the town?" Mary wondered.

Don't think about it, Foxy. She's here now. She's helping. That's all that matters right now.

And later?

"Ovidia?" I asked.

"The 'bug girl'," Mary said, keeping her focus on the path ahead of us.

We had to go slower as the mountain became steeper, but Tusk and Stallion were able to keep their footing and keep a steady pace. The town in question was becoming clearer and clearer the further down we descended. I was even able to make out people and cars as we neared the base of the mountain. Was this Ovidia person really crazy enough to try and escape through such a place?

My chest tightened at the thought. Both Mary and I looked like a couple of murder victims with our injuries. Looking down at my bruised hands and blood plastered clothes, I realized I looked more like a murderer.

"Are we really planning on going in there?" I asked Mary. "Words gonna spread to Wildwood pretty fast if we all go into a town looking like this."

"If Ovidia is doing her job then they already know we are here," Mary answered without turning around. "But, still, we shouldn't go in without a plan." She cupped her hands over her mouth before shouting, "Hey, Tusk, hold up!"

But Tusk didn't stop, or slow, or even turn his head in our direction. The boar kept running as we reached the base of the mountain and then through the tall fields of grass that separated us from the know-nothings.

"Damnit, I know he can hear me," Mary hissed before grabbing on to Stallion's mane. "Stallion, stop."

Stallion did so with a shake of his head as we entered the grass. "Ow, sure, but next time you don't have to pull so hard."

"Sorry," Mary said as she hopped off him.

Tall was an understatement. My friend was nearly swallowed up by the grass as she landed on the un-seen earth below. Only her shoulders and head remained visible and Mary almost seemed forced to raise her arms up over her head as she made a pained face.

"These blades of grass are sharp," she said. "Something like prickles on either side."

"Need a lift back up?" I offered with a hand extended her way.

Mary examined the hand, and then my face. Her eyes seemed to be searching for something. I tried a smile, but all it did was make her look away.

"Alex," she said.

I swallowed. The way she said my name made it feel like I was standing in that prickling grass right beside her. I didn't want to hear what she had to say next.

So, part of me was almost relieved when the loud droning interrupted us. Like some sort of predatory animal, Ovidia's white monster burst from a thicket of trees. Its scythe hands cut them apart like twigs while its rapidly moving wings blew aside the biting grass as it flew in a direct path towards us.

"Move!" Mary shouted as she dived and disappeared into the grass.

Stallion obeyed, but he was slow to start. I knew almost immediately he wouldn't get far before the creature caught up and tore into us.

Not again.

"Foxy?!" Stallion cried. He had to know what I was thinking, but I wasn't going to give him time to try and stop me.

As he tried to run, I stood and pushed myself off of him. The monster was close. I could see its big, yellow eyes hone in on me as I sailed through the air towards it. But its arms weren't yet ready to swing. It could do little but watch as I crashed into its face and dug my hands into its bright, bulging eyes.

There was an ear-piercing screech. The high pitched clicks and squeals sang inside my head with terrible clarity. It left a ringing in my ears that wouldn't soon go away.

But I wasn't left to deal with my growing deafness for long. The monster was still very much alive, and I was forced to dig my hands even deeper into the gushing liquid of the thing's eyes as it thrashed and tried to swing me off. I wasn't able get much of a grip, not until one of my kicking feet found something hard and sharp.

For the briefest of seconds, I thought my leg had exploded. That's what it felt like when the creature's jaws came down around it. The muscles were pierced and the bones cracked before a black horse came charging into the creature I tangled with, easily knocking us apart.

I braced myself for a painful collision with the ground, but instead was greeted by Mary's scowl and glaring eyes as I fell into her arms.

"Will you ever stop doing stupid, reckless things?" she asked breathlessly.

Despite the pain in my leg, I wasn't numb to how tight she held me. Or to how her angry eyes appeared to swim as tears built up within them.

"You guys need to go!" Stallion shouted in our heads, making us both jump. He was circling around the blinded creature as it fruitless wiped at its dripping eye sockets with one arm and swiped in random directions with the other. "I can make sure this thing doesn't accidentally wander into the town, but Ovidia obviously left it here to distract us!"

"Or kill us," Mary said as she bit the inside of her cheek. "Damnit all."

"You can let me down," I said as Mary seemed to struggle with the next move. "It didn't have a chance to get a good bite. I can still run. We can't waste anymore time."

Mary hesitated for a second, but let up when I squeezed her shoulder. I was forced to grit my teeth and hold in the desire to shout out when my injured leg met the ground, but it could hold my weight. I might have lied to her about how bad it was, but I could still move it. There wasn't time to worry about me.

"Hurry up and finish that thing off," I said to Stallion. "I already did most of the work for you."

"Right," he called back as Mary and I took off in the direction of the town. "Easier said than done, man!"

The saw-like grass scraped and clung to my clothes as we ran. Tusk had made a pretty clear path already, but Mary suggested we steer clear of it.

"If Ovidia is planning on us following her, she's going to have a trap ready," she said as we neared the town. "The best response is to split her attention."

All I could do was nod back. The pain in my leg was getting worse, and I had to keep my teeth clenched and my throat tightened to hold back the growing shouts and cries. It was going to get worse before it got better. That's just how it goes.

I did want to ask her if she knew what to expect in a know-nothing town. Maybe there was some way for us to blend in until we could catch the witch by surprise.

But as the screams and wailing sirens filled the air at our approach, I soon realized a subtle approach wasn't going to happen.

The buildings and streets near where Mary and I entered from were practically deserted. Just a short ways down, however, chaos reigned. People running down streets. Cars with bright, flashing lights zooming by. For one reason or another, a few know-nothings were breaking windows and taking things out.

"Let's make the most of this," Mary said. "Don't try and do anything to stand out."

It would be pretty hard to do that, I wanted to tell her. The most I could do was scoff and nod my head when she looked my way, but she seemed to buy it.

Despite our questionable appearances, no one seemed to notice us. Everyone was either running, breaking into places, or pointing little devices at a scene that was rapidly unfolding down the road.

This had to be the source of all the chaos. Here, at this intersection of several streets, cars lay upturned, poles were crumpled, and buildings smashed. Those few who weren't using the things with screens to watch the event were unmoving on the ground or pointing guns at what stood in the center.

And, of course, it had to be Tusk in the middle of all of this. Huffing and bleeding as he desperately looked around for an exit, but with none to be had. Everywhere was blocked either by cars or know-nothing's with guns. Mary and I were forced to stop among the onlookers as several men in blue were making a barricade between us and Tusk.

"Please, go back to your homes!" one of the men was saying. "The situation is under control!"

"See those cars?" an onlooker said to another. He held up the little screen he was holding. "That fucking boar knocked them over! I caught it all here, man!"

"This is bad," Mary muttered darkly. "If we don't find and deal with Ovidia soon, Wildwood is going to be all over this place before we can escape."

"What's the plan?" I whispered back. I was completely out of my element. Standing here, favoring one leg and feeling the see-through ooze from the white beast's eyes still drying on my hands, I felt like all eyes were on me. Even if they weren't.

"We can't count on Tusk getting killed here. More than likely, he'll just continue causing collateral damage." Mary reached into her shirt and pulled up a black bandana which she used to cover the lower part of her face. "I'll get him out and try to reign him in. You go on and find the kids while there is still time."

I counted the number of people with guns. There were at least ten. The growing sounds of sirens told me there would soon only be more.

"Mary, I don't think—"

"While there's still time, Alex," Mary repeated, grabbing my arm when I unconsciously reached for her. "That little detail is quickly falling away. Do you want to sit here worrying, or do you want to save those kids?"

She threw my arm back at me and I turned and ran. I only made it a few blocks before the gun shots started, and I had to look back. Thankfully, it was only shots directed at Tusk when he made his move and, much like Mary had theorized, they did little to stop him from plowing aside two of the men in order to make his escape. I caught sight of Mary shoving aside another in her bid to follow before everyone disappeared as a building I was unknowingly rounding obscured my view.

I was forced to keep looking ahead, but without Tusk's connection, Stallion's speed, or Mary's guidance, I had no idea how I was going to find the kids on my own.

But, maybe it wasn't about finding them.

Tusk had to still know where he was going. Mary would be there to back him up.

"Gust!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I ran.

And it was like she said.

"Lilly! Leaf! Trout! It's Foxy! I'm here!"

We had to split her attention.

...

*Author's Note*

Things have just started heating up, and already Foxy is split from his friends. How will this effect what comes next?

Whatever comes, whatever you guys think, I would love to hear your thoughts!