Chapter 45: Chapter 45

"Ethan, t-they are catching up," I told him when I glimpsed behind. Dubiety and reverence were clouding my mind as I heard the blistering sound of the siren coming from the automobile and the lights waving in the atmosphere, signaling someone was on the loose.

He didn't say anything, but his sprint went faster than before. I hugged him tight, scared to descend dead on the ground. I saw from my side Bobby was enjoying this as he stuck his tongue out. His eyes are on the edge of crying like the wind stroke gratingly on his face. I wish I was just a dog who could bark, sleep and eat all day.

My grasp tightened around Ethan when gunshots fired through the sky, and it was followed by a loud alarm. Bobby shrieked, hiding between Ethan's arms. I ingest the dread that's building up in my system. I look up at Ethan, whose eyebrows are furrowed. His ominous eyes are glued on our path. The way he dashed above the roof of the neighborhood was incredibly fast.

I'm scared. What if we get caught by the authority? What are they going to do to Ethan's situation? Are they going to put us in jail? Are they going to separate me from Ethan? Just the thought of it makes my heart feeble.

"Hold on." I heard him mumble. I looked ahead and saw we were leading toward the forest. Ethan's paw seized my body, secured as if he was scared to let me fall. I looked back again to see if they were still chasing us. Fortunately, we lost them when we were in the middle of the forest. They can't get their vehicles here, and the place is pitch black as if you are falling into an endless abyss.

I looked at Ethan, whose shoulder went relaxed. I smiled and was about to celebrate our journey when I heard a loud gunshot. As if a missile was launched, it echoed through the whole region. Everything slowed down when Ethan roared, and he dropped us. I reached for his paw, trying to grasp it, but it was too late.

We dropped to the ground, rolling unto the dirt. I bumped into something so hard that I wailed in so much pain. I heard the cry of an animal beside me. When I turned around, it was Bobby who couldn't get up. Even though my whole body was numb, I crawled to Bobby's side and embraced him in my arms.

"It's okay, baby." I kissed him and then carried him. However, I dropped to the ground. My knees were getting wimpy. I glanced down at my lower body. My eyes widened when I saw I was bleeding. My fingers in my foot were damaged severely.

My vision became blurry, and my tears were peaking to stream down. I sniffed and then looked around, trying to look for Ethan. I couldn't find him since the area was pitch black, and the whispers of animals and creatures around us didn't help. I tried to get up on the ground. My knees were wobbling, but I pushed aside the pain away from my thoughts. I carried Bobby, who's also weakened.

"E-ethan!" I screamed for his name, looking for him. I grunted every step I made. M knees were getting vulnerable, but I fought back. I need to find him. We need to get out of here before they can find us.

I stopped dead on my track when I heard a loud whistle coming from directly in front of me. I squint my eyes as I felt Bobby in my arms shrieking in fear. I toned him down and then focused my attention on the front. The sound was blurry because they were distant, but I recognized who they were when they got closer to our spot.

"Oh no..." I shook my head in fear when I saw they followed us right here. They have police dogs to search for us! My heart started to thump so quickly.

I hurriedly looked around, searching for Ethan. I struggled, slipped, and crashed to the ground because I couldn't walk properly. I was about to break down because I couldn't find Ethan anymore when Bobby barked at something. I furrowed my eyebrows and then followed where he was looking at. I slowly walked to his place, then I ceased in my tracks when I saw who it was. I covered my mouth as my tears started to stream down.

"N-no..."

He was shot. I dropped to the ground and lightly tapped his cheeks,  waking him up. I called his name as my voice cracked. Bobby sat beside him, helping me to get him up. I gazed up front and saw lights waving around, looking for our spot. Ethan can't fight. He's wounded and needs medical care!

"E-ethan, please wake up." I pleaded while biting my nails. He didn't respond. He's unconscious, which means the shot hurt him so bad. I looked up when I heard noises. They are coming here towards us!

"Ethan, wake up, love. We need you. We can't leave you here." I cried. My tears are falling on his cheeks, but still no budge. I was getting desperate, so I had no other choice but to stand up and hide, dragging Ethan with us.

Bobby helped by biting his jeans. He was so heavy, and the authorities were coming in our way. I looked around, trying to look for something that could help me to distract them. I pick up a rock and then sigh before throwing it away in the other direction.

"This way!" someone shouted, then ran towards the direction where  I threw the rock. I let out a sigh of relief, hoping we lost them this time. I looked down when I heard a grunt coming from someone. My eyes widened when Ethan was coughing with blood.

"Ethan, oh god!" I almost cried in joy when I embraced him. At least he's alive. I smiled and then helped him to get up. He winced in pain, unable to stand straight. He glanced down at his wounded shoulder. His lips pursed, about to go berserk when I stopped him.

"Ethan, you can't. They might hear you." I begged, but he didn't listen.

"They almost killed me, Natasha. They-" he suddenly looked down at my feet. His eyes gleamed and narrowed into slits. His jaw moved tightly while clenching his fist.

"They hurt you." then he glanced at Bobby, who couldn't stand up. His eyes darken.

"They will pay for this." his fangs showed, and his claws emerged, ready to attack and ravish the daylight out of those cops when I held his cheeks. I made him look me in the eyes, entreating him to don't do anything stupid.

"Ethan, please, you can't go out there to attack them. They will capture you, Ethan, and separate you from me. I can't afford that. We can't leave you." I looked down at Bobby, who hung his head low, looking so downcast.

Ethan was furious. I could see the bloodthirst in his eyes, but when he looked right into my eyes, that's when he snapped back to reality. He shook his head, messing with his hair, already bedraggled.

"I'm sorry, my beloved. Let's get out of here," he muttered, then carried me swiftly in his hands, even though he's also injured. I held Bobby in my hands then we flew there, far away from the sight of the officers who did not stop looking for us. I glanced back. They are shouting and risking their lives in the forest.

I wonder if ever the truth will come out, what will happen to us?

"We need to move out."

I stopped putting bandages on Bobby when Ethan suddenly came down rushing from the stairs and appeared before us. Bobby barked at him and wagged his tail happily.

"Are you sure? But-"

"We can't stay here any longer, Natasha. They might find us and ask about our identities." he sounded so stressed about all of these. He massaged his temple, then rested his body on the couch but groaned in despair when he remembered he had an injury in his shoulder. He moaned while trying to massage it, but I slapped his hands away.

"You need to be careful, or otherwise, you won't get better," I argued, and he just rolled his eyes but sighed in defeat.

"Let's think of this thoroughly. We need to look for a place to stay if we will get out of here." I told him while looking around. Without any reason, I got nervous.

We were silent for a minute. What I could only hear was our heart beating across the living room.

"What if we changed our identity?"

"What?" I shot him a suspicious look, and he just glared at me, asking me to listen to him this time. I shut my mouth and nodded, gesturing for him to go on.

"If we change our looks, names, and the way we dress, no one will know us, and we will be invisible to the other people. We just need to move to another city, like we vanished."