Chapter 25: Next Move

When we exited the hospital, we saw Isabella waiting for us outside. Lily was still in her arms, sleeping soundly. Ava flinched when she saw her but quickly regained her composure and put on a kind smile.

A look of surprise crossed Isabella’s face when she saw the terrible condition we were in.

“What did this to you?”

“A monster,” I responded simply. “Let’s go back to the truck.”

Isabella followed us back to the truck, carrying Lily in her arms. When we got to the truck, she placed Lily in the front seat, and the rest of us sat in the back.

“What kind of monster could’ve injured you like this?” Isabella asked.

“It’s called a demogorgon. Its strength was unnatural.”

“Clearly. So what are we going to do next?”

“Liora is severely injured, and even though he won’t acknowledge it, Derrick is too. Our goal for now is to recover from this battle.” I said.

Isabella nodded along, agreeing. After a while, we arrived at the hideout Derrick told us about. It looked like some kind of abandoned warehouse.

The moment we stepped inside, I was greeted with the scent of dried blood and sweat. I was actually wrong about it being a warehouse; it was actually an old boxing gym.

It wasn’t the cleanest place, but it would have to do. There was a small mattress in the corner, so we decided to place Liora on it so she could rest. Since Isabella was committed to protecting Lily so I didn’t have to worry about her much as I passed out shortly after.

…

The next morning, I woke up to the little bundle of joy bouncing on my chest.

“Big brother Liam, it’s time to get up.”

“Five more minutes, Lily,” I moaned, trying to shake her off, but she adamantly clung to my neck.

“No, I’m hungry!” She pouted and tightened her grip around my neck. Next thing I know I felt a wet slimy substance on my face as she tried to nibble on my cheeks. Her teeth wasn’t sharp enough so she couldn’t actually break through my skin but still, she was getting her saliva all over my face.

Sigh.

I was too tired to do anything about it so I just decided to let her be.

Just then, Derrick approached us.

“Liam, get your lazy ass up. We need to go on a supply run.”

“Supply?”

“There’s a supermarket not too far from here. About a 15-minute drive from here. We’re gonna need supplies if we’re going to stay here until Liora heals.”

“Then you go get it. I’ll hold down the fort while you’re gone,” I said, flipping over and closing my eyes to slip back into my peaceful reverie, but that all slipped away when Derrick lifted me up and tossed me over his shoulder and started walking off. This elicited a giggle from Lily, who thought we were playing around. She jumped up and seated herself right on top of Derrick’s head.

“Giddy up~”

“I’m not carrying all those supplies while you just laze around. Get your girlfriend to hold down the fort,” Derrick said.

At the mere mention of ’my girlfriend,’ Isabella appeared out of nowhere with a frown on her face.

“I’m not his girlfriend.”

Derrick brushed her off.

“Whatever, watch over things while we’re gone,” he said, giving her a wave.

I glanced up at Derrick and saw Lily beaming with joy as she sang a song from an anime she always liked.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to bring her with us?” I asked. If a monster like the Demogorgon showed up again, I didn’t know if I could protect her.

“Trust me, she’s in the safest place possible.”

When we got to the truck, Derrick threw me in the back like a sack of flowers.

“Come sit in the front with us,” Derrick said as he walked away with Lily.

“Asshole,” I mumbled to myself as I climbed out of the back of the truck and took a seat in the front. “If you wanted me in the front, then why did you throw me in the back?”

Lily sat in my lap while Derrick manned the steering wheel. As soon as my head hit the leather, I started to doze off, but I was startled awake by the sound of Derrick’s voice.

“You know Liora has woken up, right? She seemed to be doing better.”

“That’s good,” I replied, falling back to sleep but for some reason, he looked irritated by my response.

I knew exactly what it was about. It was the same old topic.

“Your relationship with her is weird. I’ve seen twin werewolves before; they are inseparable. There are cases where they could even read each other’s minds. The two of you don’t share that kind of bond, and I think that it’s mostly your fault. For whatever reason, you’re cold to her.”

“I don’t think I’m cold to her.”

“You are. Think about how she got injured at the school, how she got shot. I’m positive you could’ve done something to help, but you didn’t. Why is that?”

“She got sloppy.”

My answer only served to infuriate Derrick even more. His hand tightened around the steering wheel, and a vein popped out of his forehead.

“Just forget it!”

I understood where he was coming from, but I had my own reasons for doing things. My reason was that Liora needed to grow without me getting in her way. That’s the best possible gift I could give her. At the school, when she thought that I wouldn’t save her, she fought for herself.

She was able to think of solutions on her own without being overly reliant on me. In this short time, she had known betrayal, felt despair and helplessness. All of it was making her stronger. I saw a lot of potential in her, and over time, she would adapt to this world and maybe even conquer it. Hence, my only job was to make sure she didn’t die.

Derrick and I drove in silence until we arrived at the supermarket. We were left dumbfounded when we saw the scene outside. There were scores of people lined up outside the store with weapons in their hands. It was mostly a group consisting of middle-aged men and women.

Some of them had knives, others had bats along with various gardening tools. They surrounded the store entrance. Derrick and I exited the truck and approached a rough-looking man who seemed to be leading the mob of people. He was a tall man with a long beard. He was also the only one there with a gun.

“What’s going on here?” Derrick asked him.

The man looked him up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, then frowned.

“Take a look for yourself,” the man gestured to inside the supermarket.

Looking at the man warily, Derrick and I approached the window of the store to take a look inside. Our eyes widened in shock when we saw what lay on the other end.

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