Chapter 159

Judy’s POV

When I returned to the camp, Tabby was the one who greeted me first.

“Are you okay?” She asked, rushing toward me.

I wasn’t sure what to say. I was fine now, though I was a bit sore from the fight, all the wounds I had from it were completely healed.

I touched my neck, frowning at the memory. Everything that happened felt like a dream.

The canines had sunk into my neck and the blade was digging into my flesh as well, but both wounds were completely healed, not even a scratch lingering in place.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “I think so…”

“I’m so sorry!” Allan, one of my teammates said as he rushed over to me. “I didn’t know what else to do. I’m so sorry I ran and left you there!”

“It’s okay. At least you got the flag,” I said, motioning for the second flag that Sherrie had stored with the first one.

“Still, I shouldn’t have left you there,” he breathed, looking defeated.

“No, you shouldn’t have. She could have died,” Tabby said, folding her arms across her chest.

Allan looked defeated as he stared at the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” he breathed again.

“The food is almost ready,” Sherry announced from the firepit they built.

By now, almost everyone was back. Some were covered in blood and dirt, and others looked unscathed. I didn’t tell anyone about the random she-wolf I encountered in the forest because truth be told, I wasn’t even sure it was real. I could have imagined the entire thing. I didn’t want them to think that I was crazy by telling them that a random she-wolf who wasn’t on our team saved me for no reason and then disappeared.

We ate fish and deer that were roasted over an open fire. It was oddly delicious despite it not having any seasoning and the food combination not matching.

It appeased my wolf at least.

“Some of us should get some rest and the others should start hunting for more flags tonight,” Chuck announced.

I’m not sure who made him the group leader, but nobody seemed to be arguing with him. I think most didn’t want the responsibility to be a leader and were happy that Chuck took the reins.

He seemed as if he knew what was doing so who were we to argue with him?

“I’ll go,” I said without thinking, making everyone turn to me. “I hadn’t had a chance to hunt for a flag yet,” I added.

I also wanted to see if I could find that black wolf again and see if she was okay. Mostly so I could confirm that she was real and not my imagination.

“I’ll go too,” Tabby suggested. “I’m not sure I can sleep much right now anyway.”

Chuck nodded.

“Sherry and I will keep watch over the flags that we’ve already captured, and the rest should get some sleep. I think a couple hours for sleep should be enough and then we can switch around the jobs.”

We all nodded in agreement.

With our tasks at hand, Tabby and I left the campsite and went into the dark forest.

We didn’t bother shifting into wolf forms.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened out there?” Tabby asked after we were far enough away from the campsite.

“What do you mean?” I asked innocently, avoiding her eyes.

“Allan told me there were three wolves that attacked him and then they turned on you after he got away. Did you fight them all? Did they get away? Did they surrender?” She hammered question after question, and I should have known I couldn’t keep this a secret from her.

“One of them died and the others got away,” I said softly.

“That explains why I heard a chopper in the distance,” she murmured.

“Did you kill him?”

I shook my head, nibbling on my lower lip.

Her eyes widened.

“Was it someone else on our team that saved you?” She asked, turning to face me.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “Someone saved me, but she didn’t smell like a teammate.”

“It was another she-wolf?” She asked.

I nodded.

“She had black fur and her wolf was huge… bigger than an average she-wolf. I’m not entirely sure who she was. But I’m determined to find out.”

“You don’t know who she was?” She asked. “She didn’t shift back after rescuing you?”

“No, but get this… she healed me by licking the wounds on my neck,” I showed her my neck; there wasn’t even a scratch on it.

I was still in disbelief over it.

“Wait what??” She asked, dumbfounded. “She healed you and she wasn’t part of our team?”

“She healed me by licking the wound,” I emphasized. “It was so strange. And then she just disappeared.”

“You don’t know where she went??” Tabby gasped.

“No,” I admitted. “But I would like to find out.”

We searched the forest for a long while, searching for the flag and sedulously keeping our eyes out for the black wolf. The sun had long set, and it was dark but thanks to our wolf eyes, we were still able to see during the night as if it were daytime, even in our human forms.

“Maybe we should get a better view,” Tabby suggested, glancing up at the tree. “You’re a good climber.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Give me a boost up,” I told her as I held onto the lowest branch of the tree. She grabbed my feet, and I was able to use her to get a higher stance and climb fully onto the branch. It was stable enough that I was able to stand on it without any issues.

Once I was on the branch, I was able to hoist myself up onto others and climb along the side of the tree while Tabby stared at me in awe. She expressed that she wasn’t a good climber herself, and our time in the arena was just from adrenaline.

I continued my way up until I reached the top; I had never been afraid of heights, so this wasn’t a big deal for me.

From the top of the tree, I was able to see almost everything, even the other campsites of the other players. They weren’t able to see me, but I could see them. It seems that they were doing what we were doing as well, taking shifts. Some were staying by their campsite, keeping an eye on their captured flags, while others were sleeping.

I scanned the area, my eyes trailing along the forest grounds. I spotted some other wolves from the different teams roaming around, hunting and waiting. They weren’t near us yet, but at least I knew which direction to avoid right now.

Out of all the wolves and humans I could see from this height, I didn’t see the black wolf that saved me, and I wondered if she was one of the others in human form.

I tried to get a good look at their faces, trying to figure out if any of them looked familiar. I’m sure I’d be able to see it in her eyes.

Why would she bother saving me if she was from another team?

“Do you see anything?” Tabby asked from the bottom.

I remained quiet, not wanting to give up my location because if I shouted back at her, the others would be able to spot me without question. My eyes continued to scan the area, and I saw some other animals that roamed the forest grounds, such as bears and even more deer.

I saw something in the far distance, and I narrowed my eyes.

Was that a cave?

If I were to hide a flag anywhere, it would be in that cave without a doubt.

I started to climb down from the tree, scratching myself on the way. I hissed in pain as I felt blood trickling down my leg; my pants ripping in the process. When I landed on the ground, harder than I normally had, Tabby rushed to me.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

I nodded and glanced at the wound on my leg.

“Just a scratch,” I murmured. “There’s a cave up ahead. There’s probably a flag in there.”

She nodded and together we started towards the direction of the cave. It took us about 30 minutes to reach the entrance; it was covered with rocks, leaves, and bushes, so we had to work together to make a clearing to get through.

“You think they would really hide something in here?” She asked, glancing around at her surroundings.

“Without a doubt,” I murmured.

I glanced up into the sky and saw that one of the many drones was following us. With the drone above us, I knew that Gavin had his eyes on me.

I gave the drone a pointed look just as we cleared the rest of the shrubbery away from the opening; at least it was enough to wiggle our way through.

“I don’t like this,” Tabby murmured. “I feel like we are walking into a trap.”

“We don’t have a choice,” I told her and without another word, I slipped into the dark cave.