Chapter 20 Twenty
Day turned into night as Danica continued pushing forward; only when her lungs and body could no longer withstand it did she finally stop.
Leaning forward with her hands on her knees, she greedily sucked in large gulps of air as she tried to take in her surroundings.
Surveying the area, she determined she wasn't near the training grounds or the barracks anymore; that much was certain. Instead, she found herself deep in the woods and had no idea which direction would lead her back to where she came from.
Laughing inwardly, she plopped on the ground and mentally kicked herself for being so impulsive. She had thoroughly managed to get herself lost.
Not wanting to stick around too long, Danica pushed herself up and began walking in the direction she was pretty sure she had come running from. Worse comes to worst, she would end up even more lost; at best, she would at least find a road or something to indicate exactly where she was.
As she began to move, she felt a stare burning a hole in the back of her neck. Whirling, she tried to pinpoint the source of the feeling but found nothing.
Blaming the sensations on paranoia, she began to walk again, trying to push aside the uneasiness that was starting to grow within her, but no matter how hard she tried, it just continued to grow.
Unable to shake the sense of being watched anymore, Danica turned once again; this time she found glowing red orbs eyeing her from a shrub.
"Rogue," she whispered, attempting to move but finding that she couldn't.
Completely frozen in place, she watched as a calico wolf emerged from the shadow, baring its teeth at her.
Trying to remain calm, she never let her gaze move from the creature's eyes as it moved closer and closer to her until she could feel its hot breath on her face.
The wolf let out a snarl, causing Danica to feel the other being within her stir. Try as she might to claw at consciousness, it was just too powerful, and in the end, it forced her to sideline as it took over completely.
Danica watched in terror as a guttural growl escaped her lips and a feral smile formed on her face.
In front of her, the wolf began to look alarmed as the now-in-control being took a few steps closer, ready to pounce at any time.
With a howl, the wolf lunged at Danica, trying to get the upper hand, only for the being to grab ahold of it by its neck, subduing it instantly.
Try as the wolf might, it couldn't break free as the being tightened her grip, causing an angry howl to escape its lips.
"Shouldn't have messed with me," she cooed as she ran a hand along the wolf's muzzle before easily snapping its neck. "Poor bastard."
With a satisfied smile, the being watched as the wolf fell to the ground, unmoving, before checking her surroundings to make sure that it didn't have any friends lurking around. Once she was sure she was fully alone, the feral being allowed itself to grow dormant once more so that Danica could take back control.
Confusion engulfed her as she replayed what had just happened. How was it even possible that she just watched herself take on a rogue and easily kill it? Feeling insane, Danica grabbed her head as she fell to the ground.
It wasn't possible, right? There was no way that she had split personalities, right? Lost in denial, she curled into a ball on the ground beside the lifeless wolf that she had taken out with her own two hands.
She wasn't sure how long she lay there before the ground started vibrating under her cheek and footsteps began to sound.
She couldn't bring herself to speak when Mason's worried face came into view as he easily lifted her off the ground and hugged her to him.
The confusion on Mason's face was as plain as day once he noticed the dead rogue that Danica had been curled up beside. However, he didn't bother questioning it as he held Danica close against him and began making his way back to the barracks.
When they returned, they were greeted by two of Mason's underlings, who were standing guard. Nodding, they allowed Mason through as he quickly headed towards his room with Danica still in tow.
Still in shock Danica didn't bother arguing as he entered his dorm and sat her down on the bed while he went to find a medic to examine her. She continued to remain unmoving and unspeaking as the medic looked her over and determined that nothing was wrong.
It wasn't until after the medic left that Danica was finally able to find her voice.
"I killed that rogue," she murmured, as if she still couldn't believe it. "But it wasn't me."
"What do you mean it wasn't you?" Mason asked, furrowing his brows. "How could it not be you?"
Danica shook her head and said, "I don't know; it was another being altogether. Am I crazy? Do I have split personalities?"
"Let's try to focus on calming you down first," Mason suggested, taking a step towards Danica.
"DON'T COME NEAR!" Danica screeched, scurrying back away from Mason's touch. "I may hurt you."
"What are you talking about?" Mason demanded, quickly closing the distance between them. "You would never be able to hurt me."
"Stay back!" Danica pleaded as Mason was bending down to touch her.
Not listening, he was now completely in front of her and bending down so that he was at eye level with the very frantic Danica. Reaching out a hand, he touched her cheek, making her look at him.
"See, you aren't hurting me now, are you?"
Feeling Mason's warmth run through her, Danica tried to claw her way back to sanity.
"Not yet, but what if I eventually do?"
Despite Mason's assurance after what happened with that rogue in the woods, Danica wasn't a hundred percent sure that she wouldn't do something to him if that being were to take over her body again.
"Please, now tell me what happened," Mason urged, leaning his forehead against Danica's. "What happened in those woods that has you so shaken?"
"Something's wrong with me," Danica stammered, still unable to calm down. "Something took over and killed that rogue."
Images of the other being controlling her body surfaced, causing her panic to grow again.
"What do you mean by something?" Mason asked, pulling away just enough to look into Danica's eyes.
"Anytime I've been in danger, some other being from within me emerges," Danica whispered as she began shaking violently. "With the rogue attack beside the road, it was there; with Rebecca, it was there; and now with this rogue, it appeared. It is like I'm completely pulled into my own head, and it becomes me while I can do nothing but watch."
"Could it be your wolf?" Mason suggested. "Maybe it is your wolf helping you?"
Danica quickly shook her head; it definitely wasn't her wolf. Thinking about it, Danica hadn't even mentioned her wolf to Mason since she realized it was trying to communicate with her.
"This is something totally different," Danica spoke with certainty. "Something darker."
Frowning, Mason took in Danica's words.
"What do you mean darker?"
"It's hard to explain." Danica admitted before diving into full details about everything.
After Mason forced her to talk to him about the being, she finally began to calm down. Now that she could think straight, she realized that there was something much more than just having a locked-up wolf within her going on. Now it was just a matter of figuring out exactly what it was.