Sam awoke with a strangled gasp, the remnant fear from an already-forgotten nightmare still coursing through her body and making her heart race. She was just in her room, she reminded herself. There was nothing there to be afraid of. She grabbed one of the many plushies on her bed at random and hugged it to her chest, feeling its soft faux-fur against her skin. She could smell Roxy’s lingering scent on her sheets. She could see the faint outlines of old glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling that had been there since she’d been adopted. She could hear the muffled sounds of crickets chirping their mating calls in the woods outside. She was safe.

Sam took a slow breath and sat up, the ends of her freshly cut-and-layered hair tickling the back of her bare waist. She’d thrown off her shirt earlier in the night when she’d gotten too warm, but now she was craving the extra layer of comfort. After fishing it off of the floor and pulling it on, she was feeling much better.

She’d known that Roxy semi-frequently cut her own hair, but she hadn’t expected her to be as skilled with scissors as she was, all lesbian jokes aside. She’d made quick work of all the unwanted excess hair the ritual had bestowed Sam with and cleaned up what was left into, ironically enough, a wolf cut. Sam had never really given much thought to the state of her hair aside from wanting to keep it long, but after Roxy was through with it, she found herself constantly observing her own reflection, admiring the new look with an unconscious grin.

Thinking about her incredibly talented girlfriend made Sam aware of a faint feeling of concern that definitely wasn’t her own, floating through her body from the mark that Roxy had given her like a drop of ink in water. Right as she noticed it, her phone started vibrating on her bedside counter, signalling a call. An adorable picture of Roxy going cross-eyed while trying to look at a dop of ice-cream on her nose lit up the screen. Sam picked up her phone and answered, faintly realising that it was a little past two in the morning.

“Hey, Rox,” she said with a sleepy yawn. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Sam,” A soft voice replied. “You alright?”

Sam chuckled sleepily. “You felt that, huh?”

“Yeah. Nightmare?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

Sam hesitated. “I’m not even sure I can remember it, to be honest. What about you? What are you doing up so late?”

There was a small pause on the other end of the phone. Sam felt a slight twinge of half-hearted guilt from Roxy. “How do you know I didn’t just wake up as well?”

“You wouldn’t have felt my little mini heart-attack if you were asleep. So what were you doing?” Sam replied with a smirk.

Roxy sighed. “I may have been up playing minecraft with Leif. In my defence, we were on a bit of a roll. I’ll go to bed soon, I promise. She’s already logged off, I’m just finishing stuff up.”

“Okay, hun. I believe you,” Sam teased sarcastically, sticking out her tongue even though Roxy couldn’t see her.

“You just try to get back to sleep, okay? Text me if you need anything. I love you.”

A smile broke out across Sam’s face, accompanying a heat on her cheeks as she felt the sincerity of Roxy’s statement swimming around through her. “I love you more.”

“I love you more.”

“Nope. I love you more.”

“I love you more and you can’t prove otherwise.”

“I love you more, and since I’m older you can’t talk back to me.”

“Go to sleep, dork. Or I’ll come over there and put you to sleep myself.”

Sam smirked. “I wouldn’t say no to that.”

“I hope you know that I can literally feel what you’re thinking about, and I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but I was actually planning on knocking you out with a frying pan to the head.”

Sam pouted. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m tons of fun and you know it. Now go to sleep.”

“Fiiiiiiiiine,” Sam whined. “But only if you do too. I’ll be able to tell if you don’t.”

Roxy yawned loudly into the receiver “Now there’s a deal I can get behind.” There was some shuffling from the other end of the phone as Roxy presumably got up from her computer and settled into bed. “Goodnight, Sam. I love you.”

“I love you too, Rox. Nighty night!”

There was a snort over the phone. “Dork.”

—

A lot changed in the wake of the ritual. The training regiment had calmed down quite a bit after the true extent of Sam’s power-up was discovered. With her wolf out, she was able to move so fast that she could barely even be perceived by the naked eye. She could punch straight through solid concrete. She was able to carry both Roxy and Leif on one outstretched arm even without her wolf. Roxy had no doubt that she could probably carry both Pedro and Clarissa as well if she had her wolf out, but neither of them seemed curious enough to try. She was like a real-life superhero, and it was as terrifying as it was awe-inspiring. And attractive, but Roxy didn’t mention that part to anyone.

Their newfound emotional bond was already proving its worth. Roxy never had to guess anymore what Sam was feeling at any given moment, and vice versa. They could have silent conversations from opposite sides of town. If either of them was having a bad day, the other would send a burst of comfort and bright energy that would never fail to perk them up. It was unreal, and being able to truly feel the depths of Sam’s adoration for her was something that Roxy didn’t think would ever get old. She did appreciate that it was possible to block out the emotions if she so chose, though. It would be pretty hard to get to sleep some nights otherwise, if one of them chose to stay up while the other slept.

There was also the slightly unexpected side-effect of non-verbal pack communication, which seemed to have spread through Sam to the rest of the pack. Roxy and Leif could be hanging out on their own, no werewolf in sight, and still be able to get ideas and intentions across with nothing more than a slight glance or a tap, occasionally no action at all. It came in handy when Leif kept unwittingly hogging the chips while they hung out. Roxy didn’t even need to ask her to pass the bag anymore, she just did it. It was almost funny, the way it sort of felt like she was controlling Leif with her mind, if not for the fact that Leif could do the same thing to her. Or the fact that Leif could just ignore the command and keep the chips to herself if she so chose.

Roxy still hadn’t spoken to Martha since their last fight. She’d been doing her best to just pretend that she didn’t exist, and although she’d tried a few times to get Roxy’s attention, she mostly seemed unphased by it. Honestly, that angered Roxy even more. She didn’t even have the gall to care that she’d completely pushed her daughter away. On the bright side, her dad seemed to be putting in extra effort to compensate. Roxy thought she’d hidden it quite well, but clearly he could tell how much her mother’s apathy towards her was affecting her. There were nights where, try as she might, she couldn’t stop the emotions from leaking out, even with Sam’s supportive energy being sent her way. It wasn’t uncommon for her dad to hear her crying as he walked past her room, only to come in and give her a shoulder to let her tears out on. As much as feeling Sam’s comfort helped, Roxy had always been most receptive to physical touch, and it was usually exactly what she needed to feel at least a little bit better.

They were talking less, as well, her dad and Martha. Whatever discussion they’d had after Roxy stormed out, they clearly hadn’t come to an agreement. There was a rift in their family, and she wasn’t sure if it was possible to fix it as things were. It was a fundamental disagreement in values, an argument that clearly hadn’t come up between her parents until Roxy came crashing into the picture, girlfriend in tow. She didn’t really know what their relationship was like before that, if she was being honest. She’d never really seen either being incredibly affectionate with one-another. Part of her wondered if she was just the product of a night of passion between two business partners who otherwise only really had a passing fancy for each other. She’d never heard of them trying to have another kid, that was for sure, and given how conservative she knew her mother’s side of the family to be, it wasn’t unthinkable that they might have stuck together out of principle after Roxy was born. They didn’t even marry until she was five, anyway, not to mention the whole ‘not taking each other’s last name’ thing. Was there ever really any love between her parents, or were they just begrudging roommates for her sake, until she came along and broke the camel’s back? It was a depressing train of thought that Roxy found herself thinking about far too often lately. Part of her wanted to ask her dad to tell her the truth of the matter, but truth be told she was too scared of the answer to go through with it. At least she knew without a shadow of a doubt that her dad did love her, regardless of her potential origin.

Roxy tried her best not to focus on the slow but seemingly inevitable collapse of her family and instead focused on the things that were going well for her, such as her training, her relationship with Sam, and her upcoming birthday in just over two weeks. Leif had mentioned something about a plan, but they had yet to talk about it. At least that was something to look forward to. Leif never let her down in that department.

—

Roxy lounged in Sam’s lap during their mid-morning break, enjoying her scent and the feeling of love pouring through her. Ever since Sam had powered up, Pedro and Clarissa seemed to relax quite a bit and the frequency and length of their breaks on training days reflected that. Leif had never shown up for their morning run, something that Roxy found a bit odd. Despite how much she loved to complain, she’d never once missed one. She had called ahead to tell them she wouldn’t be there, which eased any potential worry about her absence, but the question of why still hung in the air, teasing Roxy with its mysteries.

She was mindlessly browsing on her phone when the girl in question finally walked in. Sam immediately shifted behind her, her curiosity as she sniffed the air quickly turning into amusement.

“Woo!” Sam exclaimed. “Go Leif! Get it, girl!”

Roxy looked up, confused by the reaction. Leif seemed just as perplexed. “Uhh, what?”

Sam smirked slyly. “Congrats.”

Roxy watched on in fascination as Leif’s face slowly turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. “Wait, you can tell?!”

“I can tell you haven’t showered since, at the very least.”

“What’s going on? I’m so confused,” Roxy said.

“Our dearest little Leify just got laaaaaiiiiid.”

“Oh shit!” Roxy exclaimed. “Nice, dude!”

Leif ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to keep her cool. “I-I didn’t get laid, asshole. I- we just- ugh! It’s none of your business!”

Sam snorted. “Either way, whatever you did, her scent is all over you. And I mean all.”

Leif’s face somehow turned even more red and it looked like she was about to spit a retort, but Pedro interrupted her from the other side of the room, not even looking up from his book. “Leave her alone, Sam. You’re not the only werewolf here, and let me tell you, Leif’s not the only one who’s shown up to training covered in someone else’s scent, among other things.”

Sam sputtered and Roxy could feel her embarrassment. Honestly, if she wasn’t equally as liable as Sam in what Pedro had just accused her of, she would be laughing along with Leif. That burn was a bit too funny.

“Thank you, Pedro!” the green-haired girl said in relief.

“Oh, don’t think you’re off the hook, either. You do still need a shower and we’re not starting training till you get one. No offence, but you stink of more than just sweat.” He shot her a cheeky smirk.

Now it was Leif’s turn to sputter, this time in mock betrayal.

“Oh, lay off them, Pedro,” Clarissa chimed in. “Wasn’t it you who said we should just ‘let teenagers have their moments’ after the ritual? Besides, do you wanna maybe share with the class what you and Valerie got up to the day after?”

Pedro choked on air. After coughing up half a lung and finally regaining his breath, he turned to Clarissa angrily, a slight growl in his throat. “I can assure you that absolutely nothing happened, pendeja. I took her for a drive out of town and that was it.”

“Yeah, but aren’t you two going out to dinner tomorrow night as well? Or did I hear that incorrectly?”

“I told you that in confidence!”

“Woo! Go Pedro! Get it, girl!” Roxy exclaimed, to the laughter of everyone except the man in question. He was desperately trying to keep up a mask of annoyance, but Roxy could see the edges slipping, along with the slight crack of a smile at the corner of his mouth. Honestly, she was happy for him. The guy needed more friends than just them, Clarissa, and Carol, as much as she did enjoy when he joined them for family dinner at Sam’s house. A man with a well-adjusted social life certainly didn’t spend as much time working as he did, that was for sure. And besides, could you even count the three girls as his ‘friends?’ Was it really possible to be friends with someone less than half your age?

“Well,” he said, his facade finally breaking into an embarrassed smile. “That may be how things are going, yes. We’re meeting for dinner tomorrow.”

“You already know you have to give us all of the deets afterwards.” Roxy sat up and turned to him with a grin.

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Sure, chiquita.” He was probably trying to suppress it, but the big, goofy grin on his face expressed his amusement clear as day.

“So, Roxy.” Leif called her attention, sensing that the previous conversation was pretty much over. “Birthday plan?”

Roxy snapped back to her friend, her interest piqued. “Ooh, yes, yes. Let’s hear it!”

“So, I was thinking, now that Ross has his licence, we’re not stuck to the confines of town, are we? I say we grab some camping gear and find some remote-ass place way out in the middle of nowhere, where we can see all of the stars. We bring some drinks, bring some joints, Sam will have enough space and isolation to bring out her wolf, it’ll be awesome!”

Excitement bubbled up in Roxy’s gut. “Dude! That sounds amazing! I’ve always wanted to go properly star-gazing! Oh man, I’m already pumped!”

“Uh, I’ve never smoked before,” Sam muttered, slightly. “I don’t even know if werewolves can.”

“Don’t worry, babe, you don’t have to if you don’t wanna. I’ll teach you if you do, though,” Leif said. “It’ll feel like you’re sinking into the universe, while staring up at the universe. It’s wild. We should also make sure to bring a ton of snacks.”

Pedro cleared his throat loudly. “You guys know I’m a cop, right? I could arrest you for possession and underage drinking.”

“Weed’s legal here, dude,” Leif replied.

“Not until you’re twenty-one. Eighteen under doctor’s orders,” Pedro shot back matter-of-factly.

A little bit of Leif’s fight seemed to drain at that. “You… you wouldn’t actually arrest us, would you?”

Pedro sighed. “Probably not, no. I really don’t give a shit about petty misdemeanours, if I’m being honest. Why waste my time with that when there are more important cases to solve? Besides, teenagers are going to do stupid shit regardless of what the law is, and I would be a hypocrite to chastise you for shit that I used to do at your age, too. Just don’t drive under the influence, okay? It would be a shame if all this training went to waste just because your car got wrapped around a tree. Also, to answer your question, Sam, yes, we can smoke, but our tolerance is really low, so take it easy.”

Leif grinned. “I knew you were cool, Peddy.”

“Don’t call me Peddy.”

“Sure, Pedrick.”

“You know what? Maybe I will arrest you. But only you.”

At that moment, Clarissa’s phone started ringing. “Oop, gotta take this. Once I’m done, how about we get back to training?” she asked the room. Everyone agreed and she walked into another room to take her call. Roxy settled back into Sam’s embrace, soaking up the last of her affection before training kicked off and they were likely pitted against each other. That was one part of Sam’s powerup that annoyed her; she was practically impossible to beat in a fair fight anymore. Her reflexes and speed were simply too much for Roxy to be able to keep up with.

A few minutes passed before Clarissa walked back into the room, though something was clearly wrong. “So…” she said, taking a few deep breaths before continuing. It looked like she was struggling to keep her composure. “I’m, uh… I’ve got some news.” She swallowed. “I’m going to be… going away for a- a little while. I-I’m not sure how long.”

Pedro frowned and stood up, concern written all over his face. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I just found out that my m-mother is… sick. Th-the kind of sick that you… don’t come back from. I’m going to fly b-back to Winnipeg to… to look after her for a while.”

“Oh, Clarissa,” Pedro consoled, pulling the woman into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

The three girls all got up and piled into the embrace. Roxy didn’t know what to say, but she could feel Sam’s empathetic pain in waves. She knew what it was like to lose a parent.

She sank into the embrace, her fragile hold breaking just a little bit. “Th-thank you all. I… I’m really gonna miss you guys when I’m gone, b-but I’ll see you all again.”

“We’ll miss you, too,” Roxy whispered, and it was true. Clarissa had done so much for her. She was the main catalyst to her discovering her love of working out, to actually building herself into the person that she wanted to be. She couldn’t have done any of it without her guidance.

Clarissa slowly pulled out of the embrace, her eyes a little red-rimmed. She took a deep, emotion-riddled breath, but there was a grateful smile on her face. “Man, when I get back, I’m gonna put you little shits through the ringer so fucking hard.”

“There she is.” Pedro slapped her on the back. “You’ll be alright.”

“Just don’t get too lonely without me, you old bastard.” She smiled back.

“Hey! I’m only three years older than you!”

“And you three,” Clarissa said, addressing the girls. “Don’t you let him bury himself in work. I don’t care what you have to do, you make sure he gets out. Feed him twice a day, and take him on walks in the morning and evening.”

“Alright, Clar, that’s enough.”

There was a strained smile on her face, as though she was trying to hold back her laughter or her tears, or more likely, both. “He has these pills he needs to take, crush them up and put them in his food, he won’t notice. He needs to take them, otherwise his junk won’t work, so make sure he has them before his date tomorrow night.”

“Alright, I’m done. I’m gonna wait outside.” With that, Pedro left.

Clarissa chuckled wetly and wiped her eyes. “Ah, there’s nothing like making fun of Pedro to make you feel better.”

“Hey, Clarissa?” Roxy prompted.

“Yeah, kid?”

“Thank you for training me. I really don’t think I’d be where I am today without your help.”

“Aw, don’t sweat it. You were a blast to have around. You all were,” she replied, looking to each girl in turn. Leif looked like she was about to cry and Sam was… well, she reached that point a fair ways back.

“Now,” she clapped her hands. “Enough of all this sad shit. I’ve got one last day to train with you lot and I’m gonna make the most of it! Sam! Come here so I can knock you around!”

Roxy smiled. At least some things would never change.

—

Roxy and Sam walked hand in hand through the door of the diner, heading towards the booth that their friends had already claimed. Roxy could feel Sam’s happiness at finally being able to go out again. The cure had come just in time for them to go out and celebrate their three month anniversary together, as well, which had ended up being an amazing day. Today, they were just hanging out with their friends, taking advantage of the increased amount of free time they had in the unfortunate wake of Clarissa’s news.

Leif, Brooke, Ross, and Lukas were all already there. Honestly, with how their friend group was going, it was more like a triple date than a regular hangout, but no one was going to complain about that. It was a little funny that the original trio all somehow managed to find relationships within pretty much the same odd few months, though.

Leif spotted them walking up and called out a greeting, prompting Brooke to look up from her phone beside her. The second she saw that Sam was present, she turned white as a sheet. Not exactly what Roxy was expecting, that was for sure. Brooke had been acting weird for a while, especially in regards to the topic of Sam, but it almost seemed like she was… scared of her or something. Roxy squeezed Sam’s hand in a silent message and she squeezed it back. She noticed it, too.

“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” Roxy greeted, sliding into the booth behind Sam and choosing to ignore Brooke’s weird reaction for now. The girl in question seemed to have pulled her poker face out, and it was alarmingly good.

“Oh, nothing,” Leif replied. “We’ve just been waiting for you guys to show up. And waiting. And waiting. And, oh look! You’re finally here!” She smirked. “Seriously, how are you two always late when we hang out?”

“Oh, you’re one to talk, miss ‘it’s none of your business where I’ve been all morning,’” Sam shot back, her own smirk bright and apparent. Roxy subtly eyed Brooke during the exchange. She’d been watching Sam intently, and her eyes widened a little when she bared her teeth. Odd.

“You’re really not gonna let me live that one down, huh?” Leif sighed.

“Live what down?” Ross asked. He hadn’t been there the morning of her missed run, either, but that wasn’t unusual for him. He seemed perfectly satisfied to sit down at a desk and solve the puzzles Pedro laid out for him over working on his body, which was fair enough.

“Nothing! Live nothing down!” Leif interrupted before Sam could reply.

“Sure, nothing.” Sam winked. Roxy felt confusion through her mark. “What’s wrong, Brooke? You seem tense.”

On the surface, Brooke looked completely cool and collected, but Roxy wasn’t able to sense the unconscious signals that her body was giving off. Sam could, however, and clearly things were not as they seemed. “Tense? I’m not sure what you mean,” she replied simply. There was a spark of something in her eyes. Of what, Roxy couldn’t be sure.

“I- it just-” Sam faltered. There wasn’t really any way for her to explain what she could sense without revealing her identity to those who were unaware. “Sorry, I guess I’m not that good at reading people.” She laughed it off and awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

Something tapped Roxy’s shoe under the table. It was Leif, who shot her a questioning glance. Roxy understood her intention.

What was that about?

Roxy shrugged back in response. Whatever was going on with Brooke, she wanted to keep Leif out of it as much as she could, lest the girl get hurt. She sent Sam a silent message to just drop it for now, and their lunch continued as normal. They got their food and dug in. Roxy watched fondly as Sam somehow managed to take a bite out of her triple patty mega-burger without unhinging her jaw, though others at the table seemed far less impressed, especially considering the mess she made in the process.

“So, Rox,” Leif started as they were eating. “Are you busy tonight? I’ve got all the stuff for your birthday prepared, but there’s a bit extra in case you wanted to come over and, uh… sample the product?” She shot her a sly grin and Roxy couldn’t help but snort.

“I’d love to, but I’m working late tonight. Covering my manager’s shift, and it goes till midnight.”

“Man, screw them! Just ditch it!” Leif replied dismissively. Roxy noticed Brooke immediately pull out her phone and start texting someone.

Roxy sighed. “I would, but I really owe him one. He covered for me when I had to run out all of a sudden when, uh… you know what happened.”

“Oh, Sam’s ‘accident?’” Leif asked.

“Yeah.”

“Accident?” Brooke asked quietly, lifting her head from her phone. “When… when was that?”

“June 15th” Sam replied. Roxy sensed a pang of sadness. “The same day that…” She coughed awkwardly. “Anyway…”

“Accident, huh?” Brooke all but whispered, seemingly to nobody but herself. There was this… look on her face that Roxy couldn’t parse. Her phone went off and she fished it out to find a text from Sam.

Sammie <3

(1:48pm) Brooke just got really really angry all of a sudden. Her heart’s been pounding all day too, ever since we showed up.

That’s it, I’m gonna figure this out. (1:48pm)

“Hey, Brooke? Can I talk to you? In private?” Roxy asked, in a tone that offered no challenge. Leif shot her a questioning look but she ignored it.

“O-oh, sure, I guess.” The girl stood up and Roxy followed her into the bathroom. “What’s up?” she asked once they were alone.

Roxy took a deep breath and steeled herself for whatever was about to happen. “What’s going on with you lately?”

Brooke frowned. “I-I’m not sure what you mean.”

“The last few times we’ve hung out you’ve acted really weird, especially when it comes to Sam. When I first mentioned that Sam was sick and she wouldn’t be hanging out with us for a while, you seemed relieved to hear it. When she showed up today you looked like you’d seen a ghost, and when she mentioned her accident just now you seemed to get really angry all of a sudden. Even aside from all of that stuff, you’ve been really weird around me, too. You haven’t today, but every time we’ve hung out before now you’ve always asked me what I was doing for the rest of the day or the week. I keep seeing you staring at me out of the corner of my eye, and now you’re doing it to Sam, too. I’m trying not to accuse you of anything here, but whatever’s going on, I’m not sure I like it.”

A weird expression flashed across Brooke’s face before she settled back into her strangely good poker-face. “Roxy, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. What are you implying?”

Roxy sighed, her irritation rising. “I just wanna know what’s going on with you. You never acted like this before, it’s like your opinion of Sam has suddenly done a one-eighty for no reason. I would’ve thought that now you’re with Leif, she would be taking most of your attention, but it’s almost like the opposite has happened. Obviously I don’t know what it’s like for you guys when you’re alone together, but whenever I’m around you two she seems to be the last thing on your mind. Like I said, I don’t want to accuse you of anything, but if whatever game you’re playing ends up hurting her in any way… Well, I won’t be happy, that’s for sure.”

Brooke looked at her incredulously. “I’m sorry, are you threatening me right now?”

“Should I be? Are you gonna end up hurting Leif?”

“Of course not! Believe it or not, I do really care about her! It’s just that I have… other priorities that are occasionally more important,” Brooke growled.

Roxy scoffed. “I’m not sure glaring at Sam and asking me weirdly specific questions count as priorities.”

Brooke just sighed and shook her head. When she looked back up, it was an expression of pity that adorned her face. “I’m trying to help you, Roxy. I wish you could see that.”

“What?” All of Roxy’s fire suddenly died in a cloud of stifling confusion. Why was she looking at her like that?

“You’ll understand soon, I promise,” she explained tiredly, that pitying look never leaving her eyes. “Until then, can we just pretend this never happened? I’d like to at least try and have a nice day, and I don’t like arguing with you. You’re my friend.”

Roxy was silent for a few seconds as a twinge of guilt slivered through her. “...Fine. But this isn’t over.”

Brooke looked like she was about to say something in response, but she settled on just shaking her head again before walking out. Roxy stayed in there for a little while longer, reflecting on whatever that was. Brooke was trying to help her? How? And what did Sam have to do with it? And what about that look? It seemed as though she felt sorry for her. But why?? Roxy was so confused.

She could feel Sam sending her own confused feelings in response. Roxy tried her best to send back something reassuring, to indicate that it was fine and there were no issues. She sighed. Whatever was going on, she doubted she was going to figure it out today. She splashed her face with water to refresh herself before checking her hair in the mirror. How bad could whatever it was be anyway? If Roxy’s original theory about Brooke just having a crush on her was right, then she was probably just a little poly or something, if her claim about caring about Leif was to be believed. Still, the sudden dislike of Sam was a bit much to warrant that.

Roxy stepped out of the bathroom and returned to her friend’s booth. Like Brooke said, she would just try to ignore it and enjoy the day. Sam’s face lit up as she walked around the corner and into her line of sight and Roxy kissed her as she sat back down. She tasted like burger. Roxy smiled.

—

Roxy stepped out onto the street, relishing the cool night air after her long shift. Her feet were aching like a bitch and the rest of her legs weren’t doing much better. She couldn’t wait to get home and flop onto her bed, joining Sam in the blissful release of sleep. Her mark had been pretty much silent for the past few hours, so she could only assume Sam was already peacefully snoring away. It was about a 25 minute walk home, so she took a breath and got started.

The night was silent, not a car driving past nor a person on the street. It made her uneasy, but it was probably for the best. She didn’t really know what was better; a creepy, unnervingly empty walk home, or running into someone who was out past midnight for whatever reason. Probably the first one, she guessed. Though, it didn’t remain a guess for much longer.

After a while, she got a weird feeling. A sickeningly familiar feeling. On a hunch, she turned and looked behind herself. There was a man, walking down the street behind her, his face and hands obscured by the hoodie he was wearing. Okay, very very creepy, and more than a little sketchy, but nothing to get worried about. He was probably just like her, walking home late at night. She noticed that his footsteps were completely silent. Her hand closed around the taser in her pocket as she continued walking.

.

He was following her. He was definitely following her. She had taken four right turns to check and he was still just walking behind her, not making any move to catch up. Her heart thudded heavily against her ribcage, but she forced herself to calm down. Whoever this asshole was, he was alone. She could take him, no problem. He wasn’t even that much bigger than her. He was probably just waiting for her to turn into an alley or somewhere secluded so he could mug her. She would just disarm him and break his wrist, just like she did with Kimberly. No problem, right?

“They’ve already tried to get Sam, but since that failed it’s not unlikely that they’ll go after one of you two instead, to try and lure her to them.”

Pedro’s voice rang through her head and a burst of adrenaline shot through her system. What if this wasn’t just a mugger looking for a quick buck? What if this was the hunters, finally making their move, finally retaliating for when Sam took out their hunting party. She involuntarily swallowed, her hands starting to shake. Stay calm.

She fished her phone out of her pocket as cooly as she could. She didn’t want to give anything away to the person behind her. There was no way he didn’t know that she knew he was following her after the little loop she’d done to check. She pressed on Pedro’s contact and put the phone to her ear. It rang.

And it rang.

And it rang.

And it clicked. An automated voice informed her that the person she was trying to call wasn’t available. Her heart dropped and she swore under her breath. What was she going to do? She wasn’t so confident that it really was just one person that was following her anymore. How many more were out there that she just couldn’t see yet? How many of them could she take at once in a fight? She really wasn’t keen on finding out.

Not knowing what else to do, she kept walking, her gait picking up slightly. She turned corners, paying attention to the names of the streets she was taking in case she needed them. She was halfway through crossing in front of the mouth of an alleyway when it happened.

A man stepped out in front of her, blocking her way. He was dressed similarly to the man behind her. She locked eyes with him before defiantly turning back around, only to come face to face with the one who’d been following her. Her heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through her system, preparing for what was to come. She was considering making a run for it across the road when an unmarked van pulled up next to her and blocked that path, too. The door slid open and two more men slipped out. Roxy stopped hesitating.

She turned and sprinted down the alley, the only path left to her, and they immediately gave chase. She pulled her phone out once again and did what any girl would do while being chased by strange men in the dead of night.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Hello?!” she panted as she ran. “I- I need police! These men are chasing me! I think they want to kidnap me!”

“Where are you?” the responder asked calmly.

“Running down an alley off of Gibbs Road! M-My name is Roxanne Kindley!” she added, just in case.

“Alright, Roxanne, police are on their way. Just stay on the line as long as you can.”

Roxy just nodded to herself as she kept running, keeping the phone against her ear. The men weren’t far behind her, but they didn’t seem to be gaining much ground on her, either. She took a random turn in the alley and came face-to-face with a chain-link fence. Without thinking, she shoved her phone between her teeth and jumped at it, deftly pulling herself over without losing much speed. The men didn’t slow down much, either, but she did make a little bit of distance on them.

“Roxanne? Are you alright?” the responder asked.

“Y-yeah, just had to jump a fence. I’m not sure where I’m- oh shit.”

It was a dead end. It was a dead fucking end. She turned around. The men had slowed down to a walk as they came to the same conclusion as her. There was nowhere else to run. Fight or die.

“Roxanne?”

She ignored the responder, instead putting her phone on speaker and placing it on the floor. They should be able to hear whatever happens, but this way it wouldn’t get in her way. She pulled out her taser. “Alright, you fuckers,” she whispered, mostly to herself, before raising her voice so the hunters could hear her. “You want me so bad? Well, come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough!”

There was no hesitation. The hunters all rushed at her as a unit. She ducked past the one closest to her left, swinging around and hitting him right in the nose with a palm strike. He recoiled backwards with a grunt, but she had no time to celebrate as the other three were already on her. She jabbed her taser out while backing away, trying to ward off her attackers while making some space for herself. A hand reached out to try and grab her from the side and she punished the man’s overreach, shocking him.

He screamed and spasmed, knocking the weapon out of her hand. Well, fuck.

She blocked a punch that was aimed for the side of her head and used the man’s momentum to pull him off balance, throwing him in front of his friends to try and make some distance. She was fighting defensively, trying to hold them off for as long as she could until the police arrived. One man rushed forward, trying to tackle her. It was all too easy to counter and flip him to the ground, but that left her open to the man who was now swinging for her again. She ducked under the hit and returned a punch right to his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over and Roxy spun, swinging a kick at the man she knew was behind her. He blocked it, but the steel cap of her work boots combined with the force behind her leg broke his arm with a satisfying snap. He screamed as he recoiled.

“You little bitch! You’ll pay for that!”

She was briefly distracted by his threat and as such was taken by surprise when a fist sunk into her side, right in her kidney. She gasped, the air rushing out of her lungs. She tried to turn around to her attacker, but an elbow smashed across her cheekbone, filling her vision with white and knocking her to the floor on her stomach. A weight immediately descended upon her and pinned her arms behind her back. She thrashed against him, but it was no use, he was far too heavy.

“Get off of me, you fucker! Let me go! I’ll f-fuckin’ kill you!”

She couldn’t see from the angle she was stuck at, but the man was shifting around a little. “Sure you will, kid. Now, I think it’s past your bedtime.”

There was a sharp pain in her neck, like the sting of a needle, and all of a sudden the world began to spin around her. “Wha- what d-d-did you j-just ssstick me w-with?!” she slurred, not sure if she was expecting an answer. Blackness swarmed around the edges of her vision, quickly taking it over. She watched helplessly as one of the men smashed her phone. There was a dark chuckle above her.

“Oh, Emmerich’s gonna have fun with you.”

The world faded out around her. Darkness closed in. Roxy passed out.