Chapter 176 - First Stage of the Competition (3)

Adrianna's eyes were wide with shock and fear. It was the healer of the Blue Moon Pack. She moved closer to him and brought off the pole carefully, using her magic to place him softly onto the grass. The first thing she did was to attend to his wound. She felt helpless for not being able to call for help for the healer. Angry, anxious and nervous, she tried her best to fight her tears. 

"How did you get here?" she asked as she placed her hand on his gashed stomach. "And who did this to you?" 

The healer looked at her with sullen eyes. She knew that there was no way he would survive unless he got proper help. All of her magic wouldn't be of use to help him as he had lost a lot of blood. 

The healer was unable to answer. He couldn't even move his lips. Looking at his situation, Adrianna delved into his mind as she stroked his head. "Stay here for a while… I won't let you die…" she said before firing her flare gun. While she waited for the portal to open, she saw everything that was in his mind – all the details of the incident. 

The portal opened in a few minutes and Professor Ziu stepped out. He looked at Adrianna who was looking at the wolf in front of her. He was shocked at the gory scene and asked, "How did this happen?"

Adrianna kept her head low and said, "I know who did this, so I will see to it. Please take this wolf back to his pack. He is the healer of the Blue Moon Pack and a very important person." 

"You used your only flare gun for him, Adrianna? Now what will happen if you fall into danger?" asked Ziu, feeling helpless. 

"I had to use it, or else he would have died. Please hurry. You must help him now, or else me doing this really would have been for nothing. He has already lost a lot of blood!" Adrianna hurried Ziu. 

"Adrianna, you are now on you own. Do you realize that? So try not to fall into any danger. Okay?" shouted Ziu. 

She didn't reply. She was only musing at the audacity of those who had done this. They had done it to scare her - to show how much more powerful they were and that they would stoop to this level to get their revenge. 

She exhaled and watched Ziu step inside the portal. He turned to look at her and said, "Adrianna, you should keep in mind that almost everyone around you is an enemy... Take care…" The portal closed. 

She had two missions that day: to find a neotide, and to find them! 

She mentally communicated to the animals that they should tell her if she was being followed. 

"Well, you were followed the entire day yesterday!" said one of them. 

Adrianna became angry at her foolishness. How could she not detect that she was being followed? The healer's mind had revealed things that she thought would never happen, and the animals verified her suspicions… 

"What about today?" she asked as she walked. 

"They are not anywhere near for now." 

Adrianna walked for a bit before her walking turned to running as her rage built up in her. She headed to the highway again. This time, she ran towards the town, and as expected, she found a group of neotides wolfing down on a deer. As she neared the neotides, she counted that it was a group of eight neotides. All of them stopped feasting on their catch and looked back at her. They stared at her as she walked closer. Then one of them gave out a low howl. 

Adrianna turned and ran in the opposite direction. The neotides left their catch and ran after Adrianna in her werewolf form. Vikra had asked them to bring back any werewolf that they saw in the forest. They dashed after her as they shape shifted. 

Adrianna ran until she entered the forest in an area where she had prepared a trap. She screeched to a halt right in front of the trap, which was hidden under a sheath of green leaves and branches. 

The neotides came in front of her as they howled, not giving her any route to escape. Then without a warning, two of them leapt at her. Adrianna leapt at their heads. She left large gashes on their backs with her sharp claws. Two of them landed on the other side and were wounded so badly that they couldn't move. As Adrianna landed, she shape shifted into a human again. 

Adrianna was now surrounded by the rest of the neotides who attacked her together without even giving her a moment to find her balance. The six of them ambushed her, all pouncing onto her at the same time. Immediately, she created a bubble around her to protect herself. None of them could enter it. They kept clawing and scratching the bubble to break it. Adrianna stood in her place and walked in her bubble towards the trap. They followed her, all while trying to pierce the bubble. One of them jumped onto the bubble, only to be bounced back as though he was an elastic band. 

All of a sudden, the bubble burst, much to her surprise. How could her bubble break? 

"There is someone watching you. We told you long time back," she heard a whisper from the onlookers.