Chapter 1
Caitlyn’s steps were slow, careful, as she meandered through the forest with unbreakable focus.
Her rifle was cocked, ready, moving with every turn of her head just like procedure dictated. Just like she was taught.
The freshly rained on dirt squelched softly beneath her heavy duty boots, the sky black as ink above her head. The only light she had was the small torch clipped just above the scope of her rifle.
It gave a sphere of visibility just in front of her. Allowing her to see where she would take her next step but nothing further.
Shuffling noises just ahead made her jolt, quickly taking aim.
A squirrel scurried out from the bushes just ahead of her, giving her a strange look as it went.
Breathing a soft sigh, Caitlyn did her best to shake off her nerves. It wasn’t like she was scared. She wasn’t afraid of the dark, in fact she quite enjoyed venturing around at night to find quiet places to watch the stars. The ghost stories associated with the forest just behind the Academy had no effect on her because she didn’t believe in ghosts.
No, the reason for her nerves wasn’t because of something supernatural like ghosts. It was something entirely plausible. The thing that was making her heart beat faster, the thing making goosebumps raise on her arms was something far too real.
Werewolves.
The Piltover Academy Boarding School was a place where bright young students learned to protect themselves and their loved ones from the savage beasts that lurked in the shadows.
Every student learned how to properly defend and fight against wolves. Every student was expected to be more than ready to take action against any of those night crawlers at a moments notice.
Which is why Caitlyn couldn’t help but be concerned when all classes were cancelled for the week.
‘Maintenance’ was the official reason. The reason posted on notice boards and emailed to students who asked, but Jayce had heard from Viktor who had heard from Mel who had heard from whoever the hell else that the real reason, the reason the faculty didn’t want students to know, was that there was an official werewolf sighting in the forrest just behind school grounds.
One part of Caitlyn could understand from a safeguarding point of view why classes would need to be cancelled if there was a bloodthirsty animal on the loose nearby a school. She wasn’t an idiot.
The other part of Caitlyn saw the rumour as exactly what it was. An opportunity.
The opportunity. To prove to everyone she could handle herself. To prove to her parents she was capable, more than capable of putting down a werewolf just as well if not better than any other student at that school.
To set herself apart. To protect.
The sound of rushing water signified to Caitlyn she was getting closer to the centre of the forest.
She pressed forward, continuing on until she came across the familiar creek that ran along jagged rocks. She followed the direction of the water until she came across the stones placed just close enough to act as a makeshift bridge across.
Each step she took carefully, avoiding the water lapping at her heels until she was safely on the other side.
Then, she ventured even further.
Caitlyn was sure this was the deepest she had ever traveled into the forest. Possibly the deepest anyone had traveled, seeing as the occasional piece of trash or can of beer became far less frequent, then non-existent.
The small path was growing narrower and narrower, the night grew darker and darker.
At one point, when Caitlyn looked down at her feet, the small dirt path she was following was no longer there. Only grass.
She swallowed down her nerves and continued.
It was getting more and more difficult to keep forwards. The ground was becoming more uneven and the clearings were getting smaller and smaller. Caitlyn couldn’t change direction to avoid obstacles for fear of getting lost, so she opted for doing her best to squeeze through the narrow gaps and tight spaces.
Her uniform was constantly being stretched and tugged at by the looming branches that were sharp, like fingernails or claws from malevolent greenery out to scrape and claw and hurt.
The silence of the forest was broken up by another shuffling sound. This one louder than bushes being swayed by wind, or the scurrying of a squirrel.
Caitlyn tensed, trigger finger positioning itself on her rifle as she turned to locate the sound the best she could.
It came again, seemingly from up high and Cait turned her muzzle towards the trees.
Shuffling, branches creaking, looming, dipping further and further.
Cait’s breaths were heavy, sweat beginning to form at the back of her neck.
Every nerve was on a razor’s edge.
Don’t hesitate. Came the instructions from Grayson, one of her professors, in her mind. The worst thing you can do, when faced by a beast, is hesitate.
Even the crickets that had chirped grew silent with the noise. The rushing water was long gone by now and the only sound Cait could hear was the eerie, heavy shuffling from above.
Hesitation has killed far more men than any wolf, I can guarantee you. A howl burst through the silence, reverberating, and startling a gasp from Cait’s mouth.
A hunter who hesitates is the greatest ally to the wolves we try to kill.
The howl brought on more. From different places, and Cait was no longer able to locate the direction of the shuffling.
They act as food. They distract the more skilful hunters and motivate the beasts to continue their carnage.
She spun frantically in a circle, rifle aimed at the sky like a mad woman.
A hunter who hesitates is better dead than alive.
Crack.
A large blurry figure slammed into the grass just behind Caitlyn.
She whipped around, muzzle aimed at the groaning figure on the ground and her trigger finger twitched-
“Violet?”
The pink haired student groaned again, pushing herself onto her elbows, then she sat back on her knees, grimace clear on her face.
“Don’t call me that.” Was all she managed as she staggered to her feet.
Letting out a frustrated hiss, Cait sent a cursory glance around before folding her rifle and holstering it on her back. She reached out to steady Vi as she almost toppled over, then had her hands slapped away by her stubborn classmate.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” Caitlyn demanded, quickly falling back into her Student Council role. “The forest behind school is off limits to students.”
“I’m guessing I’m here for the same reason you are, Cupcake.” Vi sent her a smug smirk as she sputtered.
“I- I was sent here by-“
“Save it, Kiramman. We both know that whatever you say next is gonna be a lie, and I’m not gonna believe you.”
Caitlyn watched Vi stretch her back and arms with big, over exaggerated movements and theatric noises. She rolled her eyes at the display.
“I’m not lying.” She lied lying-ly. Vi merely echoed her eye roll before pushing past her and continuing forward. “Hey! You still can’t be here!”
“I’ll leave when you leave.”
“That’s not- I’m not leaving. I have something important to do.” Cait grunted as she swatted down the branch Vi didn’t bother to hold down. The second she had pushed through them, she let go, sending them swinging back at Caitlyn. “But you are. It’s dangerous.”
“But Super-Cupcake can handle it all on her own? Yeah, no, I’m not just going to let you handle the big bad werewolves all on your own.”
Cait froze in her spot. Then she quickly forced herself into motion as Vi didn’t even falter in her movements. “You heard about that?”
“Yeah.” Vi scoffed. “What, you thought because I’m poor I can’t hear? The whole fucking school’s been talking about it.”
“I never said that, do not put words in my mouth. And when did you hear this? I found out the day before yesterday.”
“Oh damn, I found out a few minutes ago.” Vi stated nonchalantly as Cait gaped.
“A few minutes ago? Do you even have a plan?Or- or your rifle? Or traps? Or-“
“I have two guns, Cupcake.” Cait relaxed a little. At least Vi wasn’t entirely unprepared.
She tensed right back up again when Vi turned to face Caitlyn, flexing both arms with a cocky grin. “Both are locked and loaded.”
“Oh for-“ Caitlyn pinched the space between her brows and took a deep breath. “You need to head back, Violet. Now. It’s too dangerous to be unarmed.”
“I’m two-armed, Kiramman. I just showed you.” Vi continued on. Slower this time, allowing Caitlyn to keep up and walk by her side.
“Not funny.”
“Your mom thinks I’m pretty funny.” Cait gawked at the pink haired girl.
“You did not.”
“Okay, yeah, that wasn’t my best work.” Vi relented. “Low hanging fruit. Way too easy.”
“That is socompletelynot what the issue is. I don’t ever want to hear mention of my mother from you ever again.”
“Lighten up, Cupcake. I was kidding.”
“I’m going to assume you keep using nicknames because you don’t know my actual name, so I’ll jog your memory. It’s Caitlyn.”
“Kiramman.”
“Caitlyn.”
“Cupcake.”
“Fine. Kiramman.”
“Too late.”
Caitlyn groaned in annoyance while Vi huffed out a laugh. The moon was high in the sky, small beams stabbing through the small gaps between the leaves above them.
The forest had reverted back to silence. The squelching of Cait’s boots against grass was now accompanied by Vi’s heavier footed steps. Caitlyn would never admit it, but she was thankful for the small comfort a second presence provided.
“So, is falling out of trees just an every-day kind of thing for you?” Cait sent an appraising glance to the student next to her, who other than a few scratches, and dirt smeared all over, seemed completely fine.
“I’ve had a lot worse.” Vi waved her off casually. She had shoved both hands in her pockets and was strolling with a swagger not at all appropriate for someone who should be prepared to fight a savage beast at any moment. “Maybe you should get more used to climbing trees if you’re planning on going werewolf hunting. Walking along the forest floor leaves your position wide open.”
“If you’re so worried about your position maybe you should climb back up.” Cait grumbled, rolling her eyes at Vi’s soft shrug.
A thought crossed Cait’s mind and she sent a curious glance to Vi.
Her movements were loose, confident, but her shoulders were tense. Despite the openness of her stance, her eyes were constantly darting to and fro. Her face was pinched ever so slightly, and if Cait squinted she could make out the slightest furrow between her brows.
“Wait,” Vi sent her a questioning look. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“What?” Vi scoffed, then laughed loudly. “What are you talking about?”
“You are! You absolutely are! That’s why you haven’t crawled back up to your tree.” It was Cait’s turn to let out a laugh, watching the panic and irritation cross Vi’s features. “I never thought I’d see you of all people shaking in your boots.”
“I’m not ‘shaking in mah bewts’, I’m just being vigilant.”
“You always mock my accent when you have nothing better to say. It just means I win.”
“‘Yew always mock mah accent when yew ‘ave nothin’ be’ah to say-“
Howling broke the two from their bickering. This time was louder, closer. Caitlyn could feel Vi tense beside her and Cait was sure she was doing the same.
“Pass me your torch.” Vi murmured lowly. Cait complied, unclipping it from the scope.
The pink-haired girl scanned the surroundings with her torch. Bushes, trees, rocks, rocks, bushes, trees.
Vi stepped towards the rocks much to Caitlyn’s confusion. She pressed her hands to the side of one of the boulders and groaned as she pushed.
“What are you doing?” Cait asked tiredly.
“Give me a hand. I think there’s a cave here.”
“What made you think that? Oh, silly me, I forgot about your X-Ray vision.” Despite her griping, Cait moved to help push the boulder. She doubted she was much help but with Vi doing the majority of the work the pair still managed to shove the boulder aside just enough to reveal a small gap close to the ground.
“I saw the corner poking out.” Vi clarified as she caught her breath. “Someone must have moved the boulder in front. Like they were hiding it.”
Cait couldn’t help but be impressed by the level of observation the typically muscle-headed girl possessed. She begrudgingly admitted she would have never been able to spot such a small detail. Internally, of course.
“The X-Ray vision definitely helped though, Cupcake.” Vi sent her an obnoxious wink, and Caitlyn remembered exactly why she hadn’t complimented the girl aloud.
“What do you think is down there?” She said instead of cursing.
“Only one way to find out.” Dropping on her ass, completely uncaring about the state of her uniform, Vi scooted forward on the wet grass to feed her legs into the gap. Then, she laid flatter, propping herself on her elbows to push herself further in. Finally, she lay flat, gripped the roof of the cave and shoved herself all the way inside.
“Violet?” Cait called softly as she disappeared inside.
“Come on in, Cupcake, the water’s fine!” Vi’s voice echoed slightly, sounding further away. She didn’t seem to be staying put to wait for Caitlyn before exploring.
The blue haired student let out a frustrated noise at being left behind, looking down to her already-ruined-but-not-beyond-repair uniform and the wet, dirty floor. She sighed, resigning herself to a trip to the dry cleaners once this was all over.
Vi whistled lowly at the sheer size of the cave. It was more than quadruple the size of her dorm room at the Academy, and it was cleaner than she’d expected.
“Damn, do you think ol’ Heimer would rent this place out to me?” Vi traced her fingers on the outermost wall, where scrawls and drawings of jagged lines in colours too dark to decipher covered the expanse of them.
“Wow.” Caitlyn whispered, taking in the space. She stepped forward a few steps to be out of the small corridor they landed in, the space expanding massively after. There were a few puddles of water scattered around, splashes of colours one could only assume was blood but no indication of where it came from.
“What do you think made these?” Cait’s attention finally turned to the drawings. She frowned.
“It must be humans.” She clicked on her torch and traced the purples, greens, blues of paint. One picture appeared to be a monkey. “It’s too precise.”
“Or it could be the ‘were’ part of a werewolf.” Vi commented offhandedly, and Caitlyn was suddenly reminded of why they were here in the first place.
She quickly upholstered her rifle from behind her and unfolded it, turning off the safety and surveying the surroundings.
There were three large entry points they had yet to explore. One just opposite, one to the left, and one to the right. Every one of them left the pair vulnerable.
A tap on her arm made her whip the gun around, nozzle nearly hitting Vi in the face as she hurriedly raised her arms in surrender.
“Jeez, Cupcake,” Vi’s eyes were wide. “Did you see something I didn’t?”
“Not yet.” Cait lowered the barrel, a little sheepish at her quick, slightly over the top reaction. “But we have to stay focused.”
A low growl rumbled, echoing throughout the cave.
Proving me right.A smug part of Caitlyn thought before she shoved it down, tensing once more.
Vi stepped ahead of Cait, unconsciously putting an arm out to shield her as her eyes whipped around the surroundings.
Cait couldn’t help but appreciate the action. Despite the ultimate futility of the motion, seeing as Vi was unarmed and Caitlyn was the one with a gun.
But still. It was appreciated.
The growl rumbled again, louder this time, and it felt as if the air rumbled and vibrated with it.
Caitlyn fired a warning shot into the air, sending Vi jumping and pieces of rock to come crumbling down from the roof of the cave.
“What the fuck?” Vi hissed, sending Cait a look mortification.
“Warning shot.” Caitlyn explained, because of courseVi hadn’t bothered to skim stand-off protocol before heading into a possiblestandoff with an actual werewolf. “To give it a chance to back off.”
“That’s only if the roof isn’t gonna fucking collapse if you shoot it.”
“It’s every time. Otherwise you haven’t given enough notice and you’re liable for terrorising a peaceful populous.”
“‘In circumstances such as this, an announcement or loud declaration can act as sufficient warning.’” Vi recited, as if reading it from a passage.
“I’m positive that’s not true-“
A blur dashed from the left corridor, barreling towards them with lethal speed.
Cait was quick to take aim, but the wolf reached her before she could fire.
She was thrown to the ground from the force. Cait managed to shove her rifle between the beast’s giant maw, barely keeping it from her face.
It snapped and gnawed on the gun, snarling. Cait could hear the metal creak beneath the force of its bite.
Suddenly, the wolf flew off of Caitlyn. With a loud thump. It was around the height of Cait’s shoulder, much larger and much more imposing than the textbooks had described.
That also meant it crashed into the wall much harder. Vi was quick to follow her kick with a flurry of punches to the snout, eyes, anywhere she could hit.
“You can’t punch a wolf!” Cait blurted out in shock.
The wolf was whimpering with the hits before it snapped, growling and running at Vi who managed to pull herself up onto its back.
“Not much else I can do, Cupcake!” Vi’s voice was strained, panicked.
It seemed confused at Vi’s disappearance, whipping its great head around as Cait lined up the shot.
Until Vi managed to get her bearings and began pummelling the top of the wolf’s head which was doing little other than pissing it off.
The wolf then began to buck and run and jump, trying to throw the pink-haired student off its back. Vi yelped with each buck, wrapping one arm around its neck and punching with her free hand whenever she got the chance.
This had the unintended side effect of pissing it off even more. Making it buck harder and by proxy, ruining Cait’s shot.
“Stop punching it!” Caitlyn yelled.
“You want me to cuddle it instead?” Vi called out sarcastically.
“If you have to!”
With much effort, Vi managed to wrap her second hand around the wolf’s neck. She tightened her grip, choking the wolf as best she could seeing as there was little else she could contribute.
“I really wish I brought something now!” Vi yelled.
Caitlyn deftly ignored her. Lining up her shot, bringing her trigger finger in place and firing.
Bang!
The bullet zipped through its shoulder. It roared in pain, shaking to and fro which sent Vi dangling around the side of it’s neck. Cait gasped at the sight.
The wolf then went crashing into one of the cave walls, slamming Vi and forcing her to release her grip and sending her slumping down the wall.
The sound of the bullet combined with the heavy crashing sent more rocks falling from the roof of the cave.
Long cracks formed across the roof and walls. Cracks that promised collapse of the structure with further testing.
The whole place groaned and creaked, dust scattering.
Vi coughed and hacked, one hand grasping her stomach as she hunched over on the floor.
Cait didn’t have the time to stay concerned, not with the wolf’s attention now on her.
Thinking fast as the creature began to run, she raised her rifle to one of the cracks just above it and fired.
The wolf yelped as large rocks came tumbling down, crushing it against the floor. The cost was the broadening of pre-existing damage. Piles of rubble and debris fell unpredictably.
Caitlyn picked herself up, rushing towards where Vi had managed to stand, leaning heavily against the wall and throwing her arm over her shoulder.
“We have to go.” Caitlyn was glad when she was met with agreement, instead of the usual arguments.
It took great effort for Cait to drag the two towards the entrance in which they came, pointedly ignoring the thrashing and howling from the wolf behind them.
Thuds of paws against the ground came form behind them and Cait didn’t turn.
She was practically dragging Vi across the room when she felt a harsh shove send her stumbling forward onto her face in the small recess they’d landed in.
She turned around just in time to see Vi being slammed into the wall by her arm, the wolf’s jaw biting deeply into her forearm and sending blood squirting from the puncture.
The impact sent more rocks crashing down from the roof of the cave, completely sealing Caitlyn away from them.
———————————-
After spending what felt like hours clawing at the rocks that kept Caitlyn away from Vi, after crawling back up through the gap and sprinting back to school grounds to get help.
After enduring countless medical tests, mind numbing lectures from her parents.
After having to beg and plead for the faculty to send someone to look for Vi. After enduring denial after denial, calling it a ‘waste of resources’ for someone who was ‘already dead’, after her parents finally took pity on her and forced the school to send a team of professional hunters into the forest to look for the pink-haired student who had saved her.
After being corralled into the private dorm room her parents had paid extra for her to have, and after being told not to worry about Vi too much because they ‘weren’t friends anyway.’
After all of that, Caitlyn sat at her desk and opened her textbook.
She flipped through the pages with a keen eye, not needing to look at the contents page to know exactly what she was looking for.
‘In a building, dwelling, or any roofed environment, unstable structures such as scaffoldings or unfinished construction zones, caves or mineshafts.
In circumstances such as this, an announcement or loud declaration can act as sufficient warning.’
Caitlyn closed the book gently, in great juxtaposition to the huge amounts of emotion that had bore over her like a tsunami and left her now feeling empty and exhausted.
Closing her eyes, she let her head thump against the hardcover. Tears welling unwillingly.
She allowed herself a minute to compose herself before forcing herself to stand.
Get out of this disgusting uniform, shower, get ready for bed. Caitlyn felt like a zombie as she went about her routine. Methodical and emotionless.
Once she was in bed with lights off, she could have a few minutes to cry.
A few minutes turned into a few hours. Once the floodgates opened, Caitlin couldn’t stop them. She didn’t even try to.
The night’s proceedings were so emotionally taxing and overwhelming that Cait could barely process her thoughts.
She’d been caught breaking one of the most important rules in the Academy. She had physically seen and attempted to fight a real life werewolf.
She’d seen someone die today.
Or not die. Maybe. Hopefully. God, Cait was hoping she hadn’t seen someone die today.
She hoped she hadn’t seen Vi die today.
Caitlyn wasn’t sure when the shift had happened. The shift from regarding Vi as irritating and reckless, to mildly annoying and reckless, till finally, just reckless.
There was a part of her that recognised, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, that she had given into the same stereotypes and preconceived notions everyone else had about Vi.
Before today, she’d thought Vi was violent and aggressive, that she hadn’t opened a book a day in her life and that she hadn’t spent a day in her life caring about anyone other than herself.
They had never really interacted before. Outside of the few terse and not at all positive moments where Cait had to carry out Student Council duties; finding out why she had cut class, or handing her missed work.
Vi had always made it a point to try and get on Cait’s nerves. To the point where Cait didn’t bother even pretending to be nice to the other girl.
From the glimpses of Vi Cait had seen throughout the night. Things so innocent as her being just as scared as Cait was, to her bravely fighting a wolf with nothing other than her bare hands despite that fear.
It made her wonder if they could have been friends.
Three knocks sounded out. Powerful, quick raps that almost seemed panicked.
Caitlyn wasn’t sure if she’d fallen asleep, or if she’d truly been crying for so long, but when she sat up to check her phone it read three am and she was less than pleased that she had a visitor.
The knocks sounded out again. Three. Powerful. Desperate.
Heaving a sigh, she managed to pull herself out of bed and pull open the door. The tank top and sweat pants she wore weren’t the most flattering but Cait wasn’t in the mood to care.
The person stood at the door, however, made her rethink that decision.
“Cait,” Vi rasped, looking like she’d just crawled out of hell.
Her uniform was in tatters, large holes and tears all across the white button up and navy blue blazer. Her tie was in half. Her already messy hair was stuck up in places, stained almost black with dirt and grime.
Similar stains ran through her clothes, were spread across her face. What was the most concerning was the blood. A large pool of it covered her right side. Another darkened her right sleeve, upper trouser leg and her stomach. All of these were accompanied by bite punctures, only her stomach varied with three long rips resembling claw marks.
“Vi,” Cait felt the tears she had just pushed down resurface. Relief hit her like a fucking Mach truck and she placed a hand over her mouth to muffle the sob. “You’re alive. Oh thank goodness!”
“Cait,” She rasped again, almost vacantly as she stared at the girl in front of her, uncomprehending.
The blue haired girl was unable to help herself. She pulled Vi into a powerful hug, squeezing tight as she sobbed with relief. Vi was alive!
Vi winced and Cait immediately pulled away in terror, looking the girl over.
“Did I hurt you? Jesus Vi, you need to go to the infirmary. These look awful.”
“Cait,” Vi gasped out, her eyes widening. “Cait, Cait, I-“
Caitlyn tugged the girl inside her room, seating her on one of the couches she had in front of her bed. She knew she should’ve called the infirmary the second she had the chance, but Vi seemed like she really didn’t want that to happen and besides, she’d already broken one rule today. What’s one more?
“I’m going to go get some first aid supplied, okay?” Caitlyn explained gently.
Just as she moved to retreat to the bathroom, Vi gripped her wrist. Hard. She winced as she felt extremely sharp fingernails digging into her skin.
“Cait,” Vi rasped again, and this time Caitlyn looked at her. Really, really looked at her.
Vi’s eyes were bloodshot and wide. Dried blood ran down her nose and she wore a haunted look of panic. The first thought that struck Caitlyn was that something was really wrong.
“I don’t know what’s happening.” Vi cried out the second she finished her sentence, relinquishing her grip on Cait’s wrist to hunch over and clutch at her stomach.
“Violet, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
One of her hands came up to her mouth, clutching at her face as Vi groaned in pain. Caitlyn shuddered. It could’ve just been a trick of the light, but she swore she saw Vi’s spine move beneath the uniform.
“I’m- I’m coming back, okay?” Caitlyn didn’t wait for a response, rushing to the bathroom and closing the door behind her.
It was a good thing she did, because with an almost inhuman speed, she felt something thud against the door.
Cait reached shaking hands down to lock it, before stumbling to the medicine cabinet and fumbling for her syringe.
“Cait,” Vi chanted from behind the door. Another thud. Another. The door was beginning to crack on its hinges and Caitlyn faintly registered that these were the first times she’d heard Vi call her ‘Cait’.
After tonight, the adrenaline that was filling her almost felt familiar as she searched for the bottle she needed.
With a loud crash, the door flew open. “Cait-“
She stuck the needle into Vi’s neck and depressed the plunger, stepping back as far as she could.
Caitlyn wasn’t an idiot. She’d read about the possibilities that could occur after a werewolf attack. She was aware of how lycanthropy spread.
Although maybe that wasn’t even what had happened. Cait tried to convince herself. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe Vi would wake up tomorrow and press charges against her for drugging her against her consent.
“Cait,” Virepeated, though this was more a growl than a rasp.
She stumbled forward, towards the other student who backed away slowly. Vi crashed straight into the sink where Cait had stood prior, clutching the basin to hold herself up.
“Cait,” She babbled.
Then, Vi was falling. Down, down, down, with Caitlyn barely managing to catch her.