THE ABANDONED TOWN

　　Camilla is seating in the garden, opposite the backdoor, pretending to be having a picnic by herself, but in truth, she is waiting for Lisa to come through, so she can give her their more stolen goods and the latest news on her father.

　　Camilla isn't bothered that someone might see them as they sit in the open, she is alone at home. Jessie left the house a while ago and Peter has been almost invisible ever since Ethan left for his business trip. She practically has the whole house to herself and as soon as she is done with Lisa, she will go search Ethan's room for even more merchandise.

　　The back door opens with a gentle creak and Lisa slides in as smoothly as a small child will slip into a crack on the wall.

　　"Hey, Cam!" She greets grinning from ear to ear.

　　"Spill it, Lisa, what's up?" Camilla asks unable to curtail her smile. Whenever Lisa is smiling like this, it's bound to be something great and Camilla can't wait to hear it.

　　"I got a million bucks for the goblet!" Lisa squealed, jumping in excitement.

　　Camilla's eyes open so wide, they could fall off. "No, way!" She exclaims.

　　"Yes, way!" Lisa retorts, brought out the cash from her purse, and starts fanning herself with some.

　　Camilla grabs some of the cash from her hands and starts counting. "Lisa if we continue like this, we don't have to steal anymore for life!" Her life is finally having hope!

　　Lisa stops squealing and settles herself onto Camilla's picnic blanket. "Camilla, we need the money. We need all the money we can milk from this place. We can't stop. Ever!" Lisa says and Camilla's heart squeezes.

　　"I have been in this game longer than you, trust me, you don't need to have second thoughts about our job. It's the only way. Daddy's bills won't get paid if you stop and we both know you don't want that." Lisa pulls Camilla's hands into hers and gives them a slight squeeze. "We'll be alright, I promise."

　　"Lisa, I am not having second thoughts about our job, I am only saying if we can get five more of these we can start a business and earn clean money..."

　　For some reason ever since she got to Ethan's place, she has been wanting to create a better image for herself. She has these thoughts about Ethan finding out what she does for a living and what he may think of her. She doesn't want him to hate her for her line of work.

　　"I think you are starting to lose focus staying in this house. You should come out. You should come out tonight and go see your dad, it will help strengthen your resolve. It will help remind you why we do what we do. We need this money Cam, so get your ass in that house and find us more golden goblets," Lisa snickers.

　　"Yeah..." Camilla trails as she thinks about it. She does need to go see her dad and get her resolves strong again. She is doing this work for him and not anyone else.

　　They both fall silent as Camilla starts arranging the money and putting it back into Lisa's purse.

　　Lisa picks up an apple from the basket in front of Camilla and takes a bite from it. "So how is Ethan? Have you told him you have a crush on him yet?"

　　Camilla stops putting in order the money in her hands and looks at Lisa in shock. "Lisa! I do not have a crush on him. " Even as she says the words, her cheeks heat up and she quickly drops her head so her hair can cover her pinked cheeks.

　　"Uuuh, so your mouth says it isn't but your heart says a different thing. Baby girl, you are blushing!" Lisa exclaimed, bursting into laughter.

　　"You are crazy," Camilla states, hiding her laugh.

　　Ethan is cute and very kind but she doesn't think she is having a crush on him. Who stole from her crush? She only appreciates his kind of person and they connect sort of and that is all.

　　"But I do want you to know that I will give you my full support if you do decide to give your blushing cheeks a chance. The guy is cute and he has so much money you can get lost counting," Lisa says, staring straight into Camilla's eyes.

　　"Naah, that is never going to happen. I don't think I have time for relationships." Camilla says, dismissing the idea. She has her father to worry about, she can't add up another grown man to the list. Her heart won't be able to handle it.

　　"I mean It, Camilla," Lisa says, pulling at her hand. "You deserve to be happy. You are the sweetest person I have ever met-"

　　"I am also a thief Lisa, I don't think Ethan will want to be with that kind of person."

　　Lisa clicks her tongue and drops her apple. She stares at her friend, her eyes giving away her emotions.

　　"Camilla, why are you being so hard on yourself! You are perfect just the way you are, if he doesn't see you for who you are inside, then he is the one missing out!" Lisa states.

　　Camilla smiles at her.  Lisa was taking the situation as if Ethan had even asked her out in the first place when he hasn't. They were only friends who enjoyed each other's company and nothing more. But to make Lisa happy, she nodded accepting all her advice.

　　"That reminds me, I found more silver trays and saucers," Camilla says passing the bag to Lisa.

　　"Now, this is what I am talking about!" She squeals peaking through the collection. "We'll be riding cars in no time! If you continue like this." Lisa pats Camilla on the back and the both of them start giggling like school girls.

　　This is their life and they have to make the most of it by being happy with the little they get.

　　They sat on the blanket eating fruits and sharing a good time.

　　"One day, we'll remember this trick you are doing here and laugh about it..." Lisa chuckles staring at the big house behind them.

　　"Yes, we will!" Camilla says with a smile.

　　They soon heard approaching footsteps, causing a stop to their fun-filled day.

　　"Camilla, I have to go, someone's home! " Lisa whispers as she packs up the new stuff Camilla had given to her and slipped out the same say she came.

　　**

　　The smell of anguish jolts Ethan awake from his short slumber. He looks around him and discovers that they were already in the town. Everywhere is deserted as the smell of death lingers in the air.

　　As the Alpha, Ethan feels the emotions even more than Max, his driver, who only concentrates on his work, not realizing they were moving closer to trouble with each revolution the tires make.

　　"Alpha, I think you should inform the Gamma of our arrival," Max says from behind the wheels. "This place looks like a good spot for an ambush it will be good to notify him that we've gotten to town."

　　"Of course," Ethan responds, pulling out his phone to call Mike.

　　Max is right. The emptiness of the streets, the stillness of the buildings are already bad indicators of danger looming around. They should inform Mike of their arrival, he will be able to curtail any attack from his end. After all, this is his territory. Gammas in their pack were like lords in a kingdom, they have rights over lands and areas, making them very influential and powerful amongst the locals. For this town, Mike was their lord.

　　Ethan holds out his phone and starts scrolling in search of Mike's number when a piercing and deafening howl fills the air.

　　Max briskly stops the car and looks back at Ethan for help. "Alpha did you hear that?"

　　Ethan furrows his brows as he also tries to figure out what could have caused such a sound. It was a cry too painful to even remember. Ethan and Max are still deep in thought when a second sound erupts in the air.

　　Unable to just stay in the car and wait, Ethan pushes the door to his right side. "Call, Mike, tell him we have a situation," Ethan yells passing his phone to him.

　　He jumps from the car and tears open his shirt. The sound of popping bones fills the air as Ethan begins to transform into his wolf. Considering the urgency of the matter and his power as an Alpha, the change takes barely seconds. His large white wolf runs through the streets in search of the source of the sound.

　　He passes through alleyways and checks under staircases but finds nothing. He is about to give up when the sight of a pink dress catches his eyes at the basement windows of one of the last houses down the street.

　　As quickly as he changed into a wolf, Ethan changes back into a human again and makes long strides to the front door. He tries to reduce the force of his bang but the suspense is already telling on him, as his fist connects to the door, the wood shatters in the first impact.

　　"Shit!" Ethan curses under his breath.

　　He pulls the remnant of the door open and it comes right off its hinges. He pops his head into the house, checking if he could see someone.

　　Since the door is already destroyed and no one is coming over, Ethan steps in and invites himself to where he saw the flashes of a pink Dress in the basement.

　　"Hello?" He calls as he strides confidently through the house. "Anybody here?"

　　Just like the streets, the house is also deserted and no one responds to his calls.

　　"Help!"

　　Ethan hears a whisper and he turns around searching for where it came from. He turns in the other direction and finds no one. What's going on?

　　"Hello, is anyone in here?" Ethan calls again yet no one answers.

　　The house is scattered like whoever lived here left in a hurry. Cutlery was on the tiled floor, clothes were hanging from every angle, the furniture was in a disarray.

　　What happened here? -Ethan asks himself.

　　He finds a corridor and moves through it until he gets to the end of it. There he finds another door. But this time the door is open. He takes the first step, testing his weight on the old boards. The old stair creaks under his weight but remains in place. He is about to take a second step when Mike stops him.

　　"Don't go down there Alpha!"  He warns.

　　Ethan turns back and sees Mike standing in the corridor with his arms folded to his chest. How come he didn't hear him come in despite his sharp senses?