A Hunter's Keep - #1 of "The Hunter's Series"

Lizzy’s POV

“I don’t know anything,” I answered rolling my eyes. I didn’t care about the furious alpha or the fact, that having Derik standing right in front of me, made me feel more secure and brave (or stupid?) then I normally was.

To no one’s surprise, Alpha Vector didn’t believe me.

“It’s the truth!” I yelled at him, when he thought growling was going to resolve the situation. “They don’t let anyone who isn’t initiated to leave the compound! And even if they would, there wouldn’t be much I could tell you! We weren’t allowed to have any tools! No maps, no compass… They didn’t even let us know the names of any landmarks – others than the once we gave them…”

“Landmarks?” Derik suddenly said, turning to me. His eyes clam and collected. Like a real leader…

“Could you describe them?”

I nodded and a moment later we were all in Derik’s office. A huge map in front of us, and me trying to back track the route I’d been taken do far. Which wasn’t all too helpful, since I didn’t catch the names of any of the cities and towns I’d been to. So all we had was what I knew from the base.

“There was a mountain with snow on the top,” I said, trying to remember every dingle detail I possibly could. “And we would train in the swamp from time to time; it was about an hour or so out on foot. And there was a tower – like the Eifel Tower, but smaller, like an oil-tower, but with huge antennas on it.”

“That narrows it down to only all of Texas,” Lucas muttered sarcastically.

“Telephone stations, Lucas,” Derik said, pointing to some black marking on the map, before turning to me again. “Keep going!”

“The sun was on my left when it came up,” “The night I ran; the sun came up on my left. Doesn’t that mean I was heading north?”

“So, the base is south,” Alpha Vector murmured. His voice sending shiver up my spine and making my hair stand on end. I really hated that guy.

I shook my head and tried to concentrate.

“Corn,” I muttered, remembering the smell that crept over the base ever fall. “When the wind was right, we could smell corn.” I looked to Derik, who’s expression remained calm and kind. He’d even send me an encouraging smile from time to time, giving me a really hard time hating him. “I recognized the smell, because it’s the only thing my mom could ever cook.”

“Groceries?” Betty suddenly asked, like she’d just had an epiphany. “Where did you get them?”

“I don’t know,” I answered as always truthfully and shrugged. “The grown-up’s would take a car and come back with whatever we needed.”

“Do you remember any logos? Signs?” Rick chipped in, apparently seeing where Betty was coming from.

“Starbucks,” I answered. “The car was always littered with Starbucks cups when they came back.” I tried to think, since it seemed to be important to them. “Walmart, McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza… My brother once came home with a new rifle.” I remembered, because it gave me the creeps. “Tony’s Guns & Rifles. That’s what the bag said.”

“Bingo!” Lucas shouted and jumped up from the computer and came over to us. “There’s only one city, that’ll match the other landmarks…” His eyes intensely roamed over the map, until he found what he was looking for. “Here! It’s an abandoned mine.”

“Aluminium!” Derik smiled and looked up at Alpha Vector. The man nodded and within seconds, everybody in the room seemed to move as one. Everybody having something to do, like they’d been waiting for this start signal.

I just stood there, looking all confused at Derik.

“Aluminium?” I echoed. I didn’t remember mentioning aluminum…

“You have a very distinct smell of aluminium, love,” Derik said, his smirk making my heart skip a beat. “It’s mixed in with your natural scent.”

I’ve lived in an aluminium mine? I don’t know what shocked me more: the fact that I had lived in a mine or that Derik called me ‘love’.

I quickly looked away feeling my face heat up. I hated what he did to me!

I glanced back down at the map; at the spot where Lucas had pointed. So, that’s it? That was my home?

“We’re going to wipe them out,” alpha Vector said, a smirk spreading across his big face, making him look even more unpleasant the he already did. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Derik growled lowly, putting the big man back in his place just as I glanced up at Alpha Vector.

“Can I come?”