"Eat up." Ryker slid a tray of food against the table I sat behind and the noise of plastic scraping against metal made my ears ring. My nose stung as I inhaled the strong scent of the warm porridge and soft biscuits, and my fingers immediately sought out the banana placed beside the bowl.

I was silent as Helda and Ryker sat opposite me, their trays coming to rest on the table as well. Pale bags were under Helda's eyes, and her mouth was slanted into a frown, her misery evident as she began to consume her own porridge slowly.

The banana I had was not ripe, and I realized this after taking a nibble. Grimacing, I placed it down on the yellow tray and lifted a spoon, deciding to focus on the watery, tasteless porridge instead.

Voices were loud around us, and I saw so many grey uniforms that my head hurt. Men and women walked to tables which held their breakfasts, most of them alert despite the early hour. My eyes begrudgingly followed along the long plain white walls until I saw a clock.

Three a.m.

We would be leaving Corozal in an hour's time.

"Olivia." Helda's voice was soft and I locked eyes with her, reading the fear and nervousness in her tired gaze.

Her eyes lowered to my hand which grasped the spoonful of porridge and I looked down as well, watching the way it trembled and shook in the spoon, my own fingers shaking until I allowed the porridge to slip away and pour back into the bowl.

Everything was so loud. The laughter, the noises of boots against the floor and the sound of utensils. I was already in a strange, tired and uncomfortable state, and my surroundings were not helping at all.

Anxiety ate away at my insides, and I bit my tongue hard, swallowing the blood that arose.

I set my jaw, pushing the tray away firmly. I would not be able to eat this morning.

I saw Ryker's look of disapproval, but his expression morphed into polite interest when the room abruptly quieted. He turned in his chair, as did Helda, and my eyes ran over the three women and five men, one of them being Eric, standing in a line by the entrance of the room.

"Good morning. We all hope you had a good night's rest." Quinn Collins' voice echoed as she greeted us, her hands clasped before her.

Collins' glasses were gone, and her eyes seemed to be even more penetrative as she surveyed us. An obnoxiously large gun was strapped to her waist and my eyes dipped low to the hilt of a knife peeking from a lower pocket of her pants.

"At precisely four, we ask that you join the commanders by the clearing. From there, we will be travelling to Woodsworth." Quinn called out, and my eyes travelled back to her face.

I noticed the small tremble in her hands, the barely noticeable way she inhaled shakily before speaking again, "Are there any questions which you all would like to have answered?"

Immediately, voices floated around the room, and my lips parted in disbelief and in awe, as faces cleared with happiness and excitement.

I could feel myself frowning as I straightened in my seat; these men and women were, more than likely, going to be facing lycans and killing those who attempted to stop the rescue. The possibility of one of their own being killed was high, of a townsfolk being harmed in this rescue was high, but they all were so happy...too happy.

I watched as a smile broke across Quinn's and the other council men and women's faces, excluding Eric, who by then had begun to speak with a female trainer.

Her name was Adeline, I believe. Eric met my gaze over her head at a pause in the conversation, but I quickly turned away when Helda asked that I join her outside.

"It's too loud inside," Helda hissed, her pale hand clasping my wrist as we left the room, leaving Ryker to sit alone at the table to finish his breakfast. I nodded in agreement, wrangling my hand from her grasp when it became apparent that she didn't realize how tight she was holding me.

"Sorry." Helda apologized at my withdrawal, but I knew her mind was elsewhere. We both came to a stop outside of the building, and I folded my arms, eyes seeking out the rising sun as Helda began speaking again,

"I don't think I'm ready for this," She told me, her voice quiet and apprehensive. "I'm contemplating withdrawing from this rescue."

I didn't look away from the pink sky. The cold smarted my cheeks, and I heaved the heavy coat I wore over the plain light yellow uniform I was given further up my shoulders. "Have you spoken to any of the commanders about this?"

"No." She shifted beside me, coming closer as her voice lowered, "I will have to try to partake, I suppose. I'm just really nervous."

I nodded, rolling my shoulders as they tensed; her speaking of being nervous made me anxious as well. "I'm sure everyone may be a bit nervous."

Helda snorted, and I faced her. She gave me a look of incredulousness. "Are you sure about that? They all seemed pretty happy inside there."

She jerked a thumb behind her at the door, and I couldn't help but agree. They were elated and so eager. Perhaps they were so confident that they'd be able to successfully save the humans of the town?

"Girls."

Helda and I both turned at the approach of Elizabeth. Her glacier blue eyes, so similar to her niece's, were filled with mirth, which ebbed away when she remained fixated on my blank expression.

"We have to leave to go to the grounds soon," Elizabeth said, a hand drifting down the side of her white shirt, fingers trailing along the butt of a gun in a holster.

I watched her hand, suddenly becoming weary as she carried on speaking, only breathing a bit easier when those fingers fell away from her weapon. "Eric wants to speak with you, Olivia."

I nodded, pausing to grasp and squeeze Helda's hand in comfort, and then left her. My ears seemed to burn when I returned back into that loud room, and I immediately found Eric, propped against a wall.

He straightened, lips parting to speak, but I gestured with my head that he follow me elsewhere. Bewildered, he allowed me to guide him away from the noises, and we came to a halt in a hallway.

He stood on one side of the hallway, and I the other, and occasionally, people would pass by between us, quickly uttering words of 'excuse me' or 'good morning'.

"What is it?" I asked Eric. "Is there a problem?"

Someone passed by us, and I noticed the way Eric's eyes lingered on the woman's ass before quickly darting back to me. I lifted an eyebrow, and he eventually asked me,

"How do you feel? About what we're going to be doing today I mean?"

I shrugged a shoulder, my back pressing against the warm wall behind me. "Okay." Was all I managed after a moment of thought. "I just hope no one is killed, is all."

I could feel Eric's eyes on my face, even when two burly men passed by, and I practically had to flatten myself against the wall before I was barrelled over.

Hesitating briefly, I decided to cross the narrow distance so that I stood beside Eric, which allowed people more room to pass by in the hallway.

"Be prepared to face the sight of death, Olivia." Eric's voice dropped, becoming cold and stern. His sharp eyes travelled over me. "Any hope of no one being killed is useless. People will be murdered."

I clenched my teeth, my fingers curling into tight fists as I recalled the sight of the many people who had died in the MoonKlaw Prison. My clenched fingers lifted, knuckles rubbing over my mouth as I swallowed thickly.

"But no humans will be killed," Eric spoke again, making me frown up at him, confused. His eyes glittered with an emotion I couldn't quite understand and his lips curled in a cruel smile. "I can assure you that for certain, Olivia."

**********

The smell of fuel invaded my nostrils, and I ducked my head, eyes pressing tightly together as I resisted sneezing. My fingers held the seat beneath me, nails digging into the hard plastic as the van took a sharp turn.

My eyes immediately turned to Helda who sat opposite me. Her hands were clasped in her lap, seatbelt pressed tightly against her chest and eyes watering every few seconds; I worried that she was going to let her fear get the best of her.

"Five minutes." A man with dark hair sprinkled with grey yelled from where he sat, near to the door.

Grumbles responded at his words and I straightened in my seat, my boots tapping restlessly against the floor as I avoided making eye-contact with the six people around me.

Eric, who was one of these six individuals, had spoken very little throughout the half an hour drive, as he seemed to be lost in his thoughts instead.

I had noticed, before finally leaving Corozal, the shift of attitudes amongst those in the community; a somber mood had seemed to catch hold of most, and any sense of excitement had drifted away.

My stomach twisted mercilessly, and I inhaled a shaking breath, hands lifting to adjust the black gloves I wore when the van slowly came to a halt.

Winston, the man who had been shouting the time, opened the van door, a bit recklessly, and I flinched as cold wind burst into the vehicle.

Without a word I stood, feeling Eric's eyes on me as I walked out of the van and lowered my feet to the ground.

With a quick glance around, I could see vehicles which carried others from Corozal, and people were slowly emerging from them.

Helda brushed my shoulder as she staggered forward, and I caught her forearm so that she wouldn't fall, and watched her for several long seconds. She was panting hard, and I could see a line of sweat begin to form on her upper lip.

"We are not far from Woodsworth." Eric told me, seeing my confusion when I saw no town. "Stay close."

I nodded, shifting my body closer to his own as we began to walk, following the line of people that were already ahead of us. It didn't take us long to see the entrance of the town, and when we finally came to a stop, I blinked in confusion at what was before me.

Five men and seven women, humans, stood huddled together, whilst two lycans, male and female held onto the shoulders of a dark-haired male lycan, who refused to look up.

Eric breathed in harshly as Quinn strode forward, gun aimed and voice clear, her confidence both somewhat stupid and admiring. Behind the three lycans, I could see many more lycans in the town, and noticed how they blatantly stopped to observe the scene unfolding.

A young lycan girl held a teddy bear, and I could hear soft music playing from it.

"You imprisoned them!" Quinn yelled to the lycans, gesturing to the humans, her anger palpable. The female lycan, who held the one who still looked to the snow covered ground, narrowed her eyes.

"Ma'am, we only came to know of what he," The female gestured with her chin to the dark-haired lycan in her grip, "was doing with some of the humans yesterday. We don't tolerate those sorts of monstrous actions in this town, and no one should be imprisoned simply because of their race. We've now decided to let you all choose his fate or punishment."

Quinn's upper lip curled. "How did you know we were coming?"

It was the male lycan, who also held the dark-haired lycan, who spoke this time. "We saw your vehicles approaching this town fifteen minutes ago and figured you wanted to take the humans. We've heard of you all before," Unnatural silver eyes ran over us all, and I shuddered.

"They are free to go with you. They do not trust us, even though we promised them no harm will come to them further." The female said, and I noticed the way her voice cracked with emotions; pity and sadness.

Nonetheless, the humans didn't hesitate to dart towards us, and I jerked in pain when Eric roughly elbowed me.

"Take them to the vans," Eric demanded. I scurried away from him, gently taking the arm of a boy who looked to be just a few years younger than myself. He looked starved, and his eyes were watering with unshed tears as he looked up at me.

Behind me, I could hear Helda speaking softly to another former prisoner, and I began walking, but paused when Quinn began speaking once more.

The two lycans by now had released the dark-haired male who had kept the humans imprisoned, and Bryant emerged from the crowd of the men and women of Corozal. The sound of a gunshot echoed in the air, and the boy in my hold trembled in fear and from the cold. Cursing under my breath, I took off my coat and gave it to him, only looking away from him when he had it on securely.

"You should be on your way then," The male lycan spoke gruffly, eyeing the dead lycan a few feet away from him, but then looked up at Quinn and offered a warm smile. "A snow storm is approaching."

Quinn's smile was anything but friendly, and the gun she raised slightly higher in the air, seemed to be a signal for the others to raise their weapons as well.

Bewildered, I looked to Eric, but he paid me little attention, as he too lifted his own gun.

Confusion meshed with shock and my breath caught in my throat in realization, my eyes widening.

Unable to move, I watched in horror as the people of Corozal began to shoot and kill the lycans, who had been a mixture of men, women and young children, all who had simply been watching and had posed no threat.