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 Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:50 am
This is a work in progress. I'm still writing in my notebook, but I will try to update it with more and more as I go along. I hope you like what I have so far.
I do love feedback and comments! if you see anything that needs changing, PLEASE TELL ME! I want this to be in good condition and I'm not afraid of corrections. I want to publish some day, so let me know if you see typos or something that doesn't sound right!
Someone mentioned to me it moves too fast, what do you guys think?
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:52 am
Chapter 1
I walked down our pitch dark street miserably. It was 1 in the morning on the late August night and it was freezing. There was a full moon tonight and it was the only light I had to see down my long suburban street. None of the street lights were on because of the thunderstorm that had caused a power outage earlier that day. With nothing but houses on my left and the forest on my right, I clambered down the sidewalk thinking through the past events.
My friend Anna had invited me to a slumber party while her parents were away.
"It will be just the two of us." she had said, "We'll get a chance to hang out for a while."
Of course my parents had said it was fine and they had dropped me off at about 10:30. However, Anna had lied: she had actually made plans for a big party that night. Lots of guys and alcohol had been there. Anna knew I would never agree to come to it if I had known about that. I refused to drink and drunken guys were always idiots. But Anna was like that, very opinionated and pushed me to give in to pressure. I was there for barely an hour before they had arrived. I yelled at Anna for her stupidity before I finally waded my way through the party and all the guys who tried to grab me as I left. I didn't even bother to grab my things before slamming the door and storming down Anna's front porch steps at about Midnight.
So here I was shoeless, coatless, and very angry as I made my way home. Anna lived about twenty minutes away from my house by car, so walking home, especially in the cold, was slow going. Luckily, I had gone to Anna's since I was six and I knew the way by heart.
I peered into the dark forest on my right. There was a light fog on the ground and it shown in the moonlight eerily. I shuddered. There had been reports of a wolf in that forest starting two months ago. I knew the forest went for miles and miles, but the thought of a wolf creeped me out. I tried to ignore the prickling of my hair on the back of my neck and went back to thinking about Anna. Deep in thought and fury, I didn't hear the first rustle behind me. But when it came again, I quickly turned around. "Who's there?" I asked scanning the dark street. For a second I thought I saw a pair of yellow eyes gleaming at me from a bush, but when I looked again, they were gone. My heart began to race, but I tried to ignore it. It was nothing I told myself. I turned back around and kept going, starting to fiddle with my cross necklace. It was the one my grandmother had given me, and I always played with it when I was nervous.
I heard the rustling again and began to quicken my pace. There is nothing there! I yelled inside my head. I was being silly...wasn't I? The next thing I heard sounded like soft footsteps behind me. I swung around just in time to see a giant black dog leaping through the air at me. I screamed as his feet landed on my chest and forced me to the ground. I tried to pull myself out from under him, but he grabbed my left arm at the wrist and sunk his teeth into it. I screamed louder, trying to get someone to come out of their house and help me. But all was quiet in the darkness except the growling of the huge dog and my screams for help.
I tried kicking him off but he only bit my arm harder and dug his claws into my chest. I felt my warm blood begin to slide down my arm. Starting to cry, I desperately fought the monster to get off. I kicked him in the stomach as hard as I could, and he let go of my arm. He then began to grab towards my neck. I closed my eyes and began to punch at his face. Then, in the silence of the houses, I heard what sounded like a gun shot. I opened my eyes in time to see a tiny silver flash whiz through the air and hit the dog right across his back. He yowled in pain and backed away from me. Both of us looked up at the houses to see a tall man running toward us, a long hunting gun in one arm. The dog bared his teeth at me one last time and then took off into the forest.
I didn't wait to thank the person who had shot the dog, I just got up and ran. I ran as fast as I could without looking back, trying to pay no attention to the searing pain running through my left arm as well as my body. I felt my blood drip on the sidewalk as I turned the corner to my street. As soon as I reached my house I was light headed from the loss of blood that was still falling from all my wounds, and could barely stay on my feet. I fumbled in my pocket for my keys and jammed them into the door. when I heard it click, I shoved open the door and ran up the stairs without ever even trying to be quiet.
I ran into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. My heart was pumping like crazy and my mind was going a mile a minute. I slowly staggered over to the mirrors to see how bad it was. I nearly fell over from what I saw. My face was covered in scratches and bites. My clothes were torn all over and my body was a bloody mess. Some of the gashes were more than a foot long and covered every inch of me. But worst of all was my left arm, which looked like it had no skin left on it. Blood poured from the biggest wound which was just under my wrist.
I stepped back from what I had seen and accidently fell into the bathtub. I looked around my bathroom. Blood footprints covered the floor. There were bloody handprints on the sink and the door. I moaned from pain and the sight of the mess. Putting my feet into the tub with me, I closed the curtain and turned on the sprayer. I laid on the bottom of the tub without even bothering to take off my clothes. I let the water wash off the blood and clear the wounds. The stinging of the hot water on my open flesh didn't even matter to me. I laid there soaking till the lightheadedness came back. My loss of blood made my entire body weak and ache. Eventually my light head was so severe that I lost consciousness.
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:57 am
Chapter 2
When I awoke the next morning, I was in my bed. I gently lifted up my covers to find that I was bandaged from head to toe, and I had my pajamas on. I smiled inwardly, my parents always took good care of me. I sat up, expecting to feel excruciating pain, but when I moved, I only felt achy all over. It was more like I was covered in bruises than in scratches.
Thats weird I thought. Just then my brother, Steven, came walking by my doorway. When he saw me sitting up, he ran to the edge of the stairs and yelled down to my parents,
"Mom, Dad, she's awake! Jade's awake!"
I heard the sound of footsteps clambering up the stairs as my brother ran in the room beaming. He had to get out of the way as my parents pushed their way into the room. They were followed by a guy I didn't recognize.
He was wearing a long white coat and had a look of a guy who was very wise. I figured he must have been a doctor because he wore a stethoscope around his neck. My parents came to the side of my bed and looked ready to hug me, but they hesitated, probably figuring I was in enough pain already. They moved aside as the doctor came forward.
"Let's see how the wounds are healing." he said, gently lifting my arm.
He began unraveling the bandages slowly, being careful not to rip them off. When the first of my skin started to show, a confused look started to appear on his face. The more bandages he took off, the more confused he looked and he slowly started to look like he had gone into shock.
"what the...?!" I tried to see what the matter was, but I couldn't sit up quite right with him holding my arm.
"what is it?" I asked, beginning to get worried. Maybe it was worse than I thought.
He lifted my arm up so I could see it. There was nothing there! I wasn't even black and blue from where it had felt like there were bruises! My parents and brother gathered around to see what the doctor was so shocked about. I let them see my perfectly clean and healthy arm. They stared at it with astonishment.
"It's a miracle!" My mom said, examining my arm over and over again.
She looked at the doctor for some explanation. He seemed deep in thought, and gestured to my parents to talk to him out of the room. My parents followed him a little reluctantly and shut the door behind themselves. My brother sat on the bed next to me an gave me a funny look.
"What?" I asked, starting to pull off the rest of the bandages.
"What do you mean 'what'?" he asked throwing up his hands. "We found you bleeding to death in the bathtub two nights ago! What happened?"
I had finished taking the bandages off my right arm and had moved to start my left.
"It was two nights ago?! Man, I must have been tired!" I said, grinning.
My brother didn't find it funny.
"I'm serious! We thought you were dead! We called the ambulance immediately! What happened? You were supposed to be at your friends house."
"Yeah, I guess I decided to come home." I said, not wanting to think about Anna right then. He looked like he was going to ask why, but he kept quiet and waited for me to tell him.
"Well, on my way home, I..."
I stopped, looking down at my left hand that I was unwrapping. There, on the wrist that the dog had bitten, was the imprint of a pawprint. It was black and blue like a bruise, but it looked like a tattoo and didn't hurt when I touched it.
"What are you looking at?" My brother asked as he took my hand. "What's this?" He looked at the pawprint wide-eyed."You didn't get..."
"It's not a tattoo if that's what your thinking." I said, pulling away. "I don't know how it got there, I swear." I added as he looked at me suspiciously.
"Then what is it? How did you get it?" "I just said I don't know, I mean unless it's from..." A horrible thought occurred to me. Could it have been from the bite? was that thing that attacked me not really a dog?
"Well? What happened then?" my brother was starting to get impatient from all my partial attempts to tell him what had gone on that night.
"Alright, here's what happened, I was walking home when some black dog attacked me. I was a mess from him scratching and biting me, and he bit my arm here where the pawprint is." I pointed to it, "See? that's it okay?"
"You were that beaten up from a dog? Usually dogs don't just randomly attack people! Unless they had rabies or something, but even then they don't hurt people that badly."
"Well that's how it happened, but I don't know exactly what it was. It might have been a wolf or something for all I know. It was really dark that night."
"Alright, alright, I believe you. It just seems odd, even if it was a wolf."
At that moment my parents returned into my room looking somber, but they smiled when they saw I was sitting up and talking.
"What did the doctor say?" I asked them.
"Well, he wants to run some more tests on you to make sure that everything really is okay. But it does look like you'll be able to go back to school in a couple days."
"Yay." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
"So what happened to you? We were worried sick about you."
Slightly annoyed I had to repeat myself, I explained everything about that night, leaving out the part about the strange pawprint. After I had finished, My parents and brother left me so I could get some rest. Not that I hadn't had enough already, but the doctor insisted I sleep a lot. He then left, satisfied I would obey.
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:00 am
Chapter 3
The next couple of days I was constantly being visited by the doctor, and they were the worst days of my life (or so I thought). The doctor ran blood tests *shudder* and even took samples of my skin to figure out how I had healed myself. At one point he saw the pawprint, but rolled his eyes and ignored it, probably figuring I was just a stupid teen with a tattoo. But I was glad he didn't say anything about it, it would have been hard to explain it's odd overnight appearance. Especially when he already struggled with my healing ability.
He kept muttering to himself and never told me the results of my tests, but he seemed persistent to keep me at home in bed for as long as possible. Finally, on the fifth day of my absence from school, my parents managed to convince him I had to return before I got too behind on schoolwork.
So, the following week I was back at school with a bit of a surprise. Apparently, a girl had gone missing the day I had the run-in with the dog, or wolf, whatever it was. Her name was Jasmine, a mysterious girl who usually hung out by herself or with her other mysterious friends. I knew her from a few of my classes, but she was quite quiet when she wasn't with her friends. Many kids didn't seem too worried about her. She was always disappearing at one time or another, but this was the first time she had been gone for an entire week.
I walked through the halls and saw all the lockers had a poster that said 'Missing Girl' with her name, address, and picture on it. She was a pretty girl, even if she did keep herself in solitude. I turned away from the posters and headed towards my locker. Everyone seemed to be staring at me, and I felt like all eyes were at my back. I wheeled around to see if it was true and everyone quickly looked away. Ignoring them, I started to again head towards my locker, when I heard something.
I turned around again, but everyone seemed to be going about their own business. Then, I heard it a second time. It sounded like a voice. I strained my ears to hear what it was saying. The voice was deep and raspy and a bit creepy to listen to. It spoke, not in english, but in a sort of groaning and growling sound, that I could almost understand. Closing my eyes to focus on the voice better, I listened as hard as I could. It seemed as though it was slowly getting louder, and a little clearer but still beyond my grasp of understanding. I pushed my mind out to where it was, straining... straining...
"Ahhh!" I jumped a mile high as I suddenly felt someone tap me on the back.
Turning around, I became face to face with Anna, my once best friend. At first I smiled, happy to see her, but then the night of her party came flashing back into my mind. My smile turned to a deep frown, and she looked at me with solemn eyes.
"I know, I know, your mad. What I did was wrong, and you have no idea how sorry I am..." she broke off and turned away from me for a moment. Behind me I heard the bell ring for the start of school.
"We've got to get to our class." I said, starting to head in that direction.
"No, wait," she reached for my hand.
"I don't want to be late on my first day back you know." I said to her.
"I know, blame it on me, but I gotta tell you how sorry I am. If it weren't for me, you'd never have gotten attacked! It's all my fault." she buried her face in her hands. "You almost died because of me!"
"It's okay, really." I grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to class. "We are not going to get in trouble right now." I mumbled.
~~~
The next week went by fairly quickly, and I was back to my normal routine, except the occasional visit to that annoying doctor. My parents desperately wanted him to affirm that I was perfectly fine, but he never told them what he was working on. Unfortunately, things weren't as normal as I thought, and I was soon going to see the TRUE damage done by the dog.
It was Friday night, 2 weeks after my attack. I was in my bedroom sitting on my window seat, looking out my window. It was going on 7:30 and the sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon. I looked out to the East and saw the half moon (or 3/4 moon, whatever they call it) starting to show itself in the darkness. Strangely, my eyes fixed upon it as if I were seeing it for the first time. I stared at it, feeling a sense of joy and an odd sense of fear.
My skin started to tingle all over, as if my hair was standing on end. I looked down at myself, the moonlight was hitting my skin and making me look even paler than before. Suddenly a searing pain shot through my body and it felt as if I was on fire. Yelping, I jumped away from the window. As soon as the moonlight left my body, I was perfectly fine and the pain left. However, my left arm was still tingling. Looking down at my wrist, I was just in time to see the pawprint scar glowing white and then slowly fade away.
The door swung open and my parents and brother were looking at me wide-eyed from the doorway.
"What happened?" they all said in unison.
"Why did you scream?" my mom asked.
"Uh...it was nothing." I said, trying to think of some explanation. "I...uh...saw a spider, but I killed it."
My parents know I hate spiders so they just nodded and left, looking quite relieved. As my brother turned to go, I grabbed his arm. He gave me a questioning look.
"I need to talk to you." He waited until our parents had gone downstairs before coming inside with me and shutting the door.
"What's up?" he asked, sitting on my bed. My brother was the only one I knew I could confide in. I loved my parents, but they wouldn't understand this.
"Well..." I started to say, wondering where to start explaining. "Come here." I gestured to the window. He got up and came by the it, the moonlight coming right on him, and yet he was unscathed.
"I knew it!" I said, talking to myself.
"Knew what? What are you talking about?" he was very confused.
"Watch."
I reached out my my left arm and stuck it in the moonlight. At first, nothing happened, but after a couple of seconds, my skin started to burn. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. My pawprint scar was burning white again. Steven stared at it in amazement and reached out to grab my arm for a closer look. I let out a small squeak that would have been a scream if I hadn't been biting my lip. He heard my squeak and saw from my face that I was in pain, so he pulled my arm out of the light.
"Do you know why it does that to you?" he asked, watching the scar fade back to it's normal color.
"I have no clue. All I know is it hurts REALLY badly when the moonlight hits my skin." I answered, not taking my eyes off the scar.
My brother and I just stood there for a minute, not saying anything. After a while, I decided to break the silence,
"I'm beginning to think this all has to do with that dog and my bite." I said, going through what had just happened in my mind.
"What do you mean?" my brother asked.
"I mean this all has to be connected in some way, but I can't figure out what yet." My brother gave me a puzzled look. "Well, do you know what any of this means?" I threw up my hands, but he only shook his head.
"I don't know, but maybe we should tell our parents." He started to head for the door.
"Nooo!" I yelled, running after him and grabbing his arm.
"Wait! let's first find out what this all means. I don't want them freaking out on me and calling that doctor again."
"But maybe the doctor can help." he said, pulling away.
"No, Steven, please!" I begged him. "Just wait until I am ready to tell them." He stopped and slowly nodded his head.
"Alright, fine, but first promise me you won't let this get out of hand." He looked me straight in the eyes.
"I promise." He smiled.
"Good. Wanna go get some ice cream?" he asked, punching me in the arm. I grinned, rubbing the spot where he'd hit me.
"Sure, but I get first dibbs!" I pushed him out of the way and raced down the stairs, with him directly behind me.
"Oh no you don't!"
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:03 am
Chapter 4
The next couple of weeks went by normally, except I avoided moonlight as much as possible. Anna didn't try to invite me to any more of her surprise parties, but she did begin to wonder why I never did anything at night anymore. I wanted to tell her my secret, but I was still unsure about how much I could trust her. The missing girl had been talked about on the news and pictures were still lingering around the school as well as on light poles and the sides of buildings. However, by now most people had given up on finding her. It had been nearly a month since her disappearance and even her parents were beginning to lose faith in her return.
Most kids at school were convinced she had run away for good. Her friends were especially sure of it, apparently she had thought of doing it many times before. I didn't pay much attention at first. I was more focused on my own problems, but a rumor had started around the school that caught my attention. I already knew that Jasmine had run away for short periods before, but her friends started saying that it was only on full moon nights that she would leave. Usually she would return the next morning, a little ragged, but seemingly unharmed. I wasn't sure if I should believe it, her friends being as odd as they were, but then I remembered the night she "ran away". It was the same night of my attack, when there had been a full moon. I told my brother about it, but he only figured it was a coincidence. So I thought no more of it.
That Thursday night, nearly two weeks after I discovered my reactionto moonlight, I found a bigger surprise than I was expecting. I had looked at my calendar briefly that evening and noticed that tonight was supposed to be a full moon. Despite my avoidance of moonlight, I had always loved the moon. Even when I was younger the moon had fascinated me, but I liked the full moon the best. So, as usual, I waited near my window to it rise. Tonights was bigger and even brighter than usual, and I watched it ascend at a safe distance. It rose above the trees slowly, and was only slightly visible at first in the fading sunlight. I was sitting in the shadows on my bedroom floor patiently, waiting to see it come into full light, when my brother called me. He wanted me to come downstairs for a momentl. I sighed, but got up anyway, figuring I'd see it when I returned.
I ran down the stairs and into the living room. My brother and parents were sitting on our couch watching the television.
"What's up?" I asked, wondering what was so important. My brother pointed to the T.V. which was on news.
"Its talking about the missing girl." he said. They hadn't talked about her for a week now. I walked around so I could see the screen. It was showing two police officers with dogs standing in the forest, over a jacket.
"They found her coat." my father said to me. The jacket was red and silver, our schools colors, but it was torn apart and covered in dirt and leaves.
"It appeared to have been ripped up." my dad continued, "as if by some animal. They found her blood on it too and apparently some wolf fur." he looked up at me, expecting my to put two and two together.
"So they think a wolf killed her?" I asked, already knowing the answer. My dad nodded.
"Well that's enough of that." My mom said, picking up the remote and changing the channel. "let's watch something more cheery, shall we?" I gave my brother a quick glance and raced back up to my room.
The sun was completly gone now and the full moon showed brightly right outside my window. I gazed at it in wonder, as if in a trance. I started feeling strange and my whole body tingled. I wanted to look down, but my eyes never left the moon. I began to walk towards it, unable to stop. I had no more control over myself. Closer...closer...I was inches from its light. I wanted to scream, to run, anything! but I kept going, my arms outstretched. Then I heard it, a voice. The same raspy, growling voice I had heard two weeks ago. It called to me, it pulled me. I struggled inwardly, tried to go back, to get away, but it was too late. Stepping right into the moonlight, my body felt like I had just walked into a blazing fire. I desperatly wanted to yell out for someone to help me. My scar glowed so bright it became blue on my skin. Every hair on my body stood on end, and then, it grew. It was becoming darker, and ten times its normal length. Then I fell to all fours, my fingers became smaller and my palms larger. My feet shrank and became more of a circular shape. My hair was sucked into my head. My back legs got shorter, and with a loud crunch my knees became backward. My nails grew longer and more pointed. They turned black and curved, like an animals. My nose grew and shaped itself into that of a dogs. My ears crawled to the top of my head and grew taller. All the while, my body was growing in width and length. My clothes became tighter and tighter until they ripped apart, leaving barely anything on my body. The only fabric left of my shirt was like a torn edged tube top on my upper chest. My pants basically fell apart until they were like jean underwear, and were so tight I felt the strain.
Then my senses became more clear. I could smell the two people walking past our house outside, see all the grains of wood on my window pane, hear....footsteps. My brother was coming up the stairs. Heart leaping, I begged for some way that he could get me out of this retched body. help me I thought to myself, unable to speak any longer. I heard him come towards my door and grip the handle. As he opened the door, my hair was still growing and my transformation was not yet complete. His jaw dropped at the sight of me. He shrieked and started to back out of my room, No! Wait! I thought, wishing I could shout it, but all that came out was a long howl. Then suddenly, I felt my eyes change, and somehow I knew my turning had finished. I turned around and jumped through my open window. I had no control over my new self, I was a werewolf, a creature I never dreamed existed. I landed softly on the grass of our front yard and took off towards the forest at my right. I couldn't even look back, couldn't even cry. The wolf had me now, his senses took over me and I did only what he wanted me to.
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:15 am
Chapter 5
Why? I thought to myself, Why me?
The raspy voice of the wolf answered me,
You cannot choose to be this. He kept running, deeper into the forest without so much as looking back.
Please, please! Let me go... I begged him. He only laughed at me, a deep, roaring laugh that made me shudder inwardly. We passed tree after tree and still ran, it amazed me he never seemed to tire.
Where are you taking me? I asked him, almost too afraid to know.
I go where I please, was his only answer as he turned and started to head off to our left. I had lost track of where we were by now, but the wolf seemed to know exactly where he was going, as if he had been through here many times. Turning again, we went off to the right this time. I felt so lost and alone in this horrid body. Now, with this other being controlling my every move, it seemed as if I would never be a part of humanity again.
Everything I had been through the past few days began to make a lot of sense. The black dog was a werewolf, that's why it attacked so fiercely. The tattoo was it's mark on me, the place it had managed to bite me and infect me with this disease that was now taking over me. And the moonlight, it's effects on me seemed to be the last piece of the puzzle of events.
The wolf slowed a little and looked up, the moon was shining brightly through the trees, and I suddenly realized it's light had not burned me since the change began. I sighed in my head, wishing I could be back home, in my warm bed surrounded by people who excepted me and didn't know I was this monster. I wished I didn't know I was this monster, or at least never became it. A chilly september wind blew past us, blowing through my silvery grey coat of hair. Coming to a stop at a clearing and sitting down, the wolf raised his head to the white orb in the sky and let out a long howl.
The moon then started to darken, he looked up at it again, a large cloud was moving in front of it. We stayed there, watching it as it slowly dissappeared. When it was gone, I started to change again. All the hair fell off me and flew off in the wind. As it left, I heard a soft growl in my head, it was as if the wolf was telling me he would be returning to haunt me again soon.
I looked down at myself, it was definently me again. My tattered clothes hung from me and swayed in the light breeze. I shivered in the cold of it and clung to myself. Wait...I had control again, and I was able to move freely! But...how long would it last? Standing up, I looked around. Nothing seemed familiar to me, the wolf senses had left with the thick grey coat. Where was I? The dark forest seemed to surround me and close me in, I felt so alone.
Facing the direction the wolf had come from, I started out of the clearing into the woods. My human feet crunched the newly fallen leaves loudly, my ears wincing from the sudden loud noises I was making. The wolf had been perfectly silent before, and here I was a clumsy human doing a terrible job at it myself. I moaned, wondering why this all had to happen to me. A sudden strong wind blew loudly past me, seeming to carry the voices of the trees with it. I shuddered, looking around the dark trees with a small peak of fear. Something inside me forced me to keep going, I had to get out of here! I had to find somewhere to hide before the moon showed its white face again. Beginning to run, I headed straight ahead hoping the forest would end at some point.
I stole a quick glance at the sky, there were many clouds, but the breeze told me they were moving quickly and the moon would be able to come through soon. I rushed through the forest as quickly as I could, focusing only on getting out of this wretched place. Suddenly...
"what was that?" I whispered to myself, stopping dead in my tracks.
I had heard something, I was sure of it. Scanning the forest with my eyes, I also kept my ears open for any sign of movement. when it was silent for a while, I sighed to myself, figuring it was my fear playing tricks on me. Turning back around, I was ready to head out again...when I heard it once more. I didn't stop to listen this time. I took off at a run without even a glance behind me. Whatever it was, it would have to catch me if it wanted me.
I ran and ran, keeping my eyes fixed on the trees ahead of me. I heard the movement behind me...and listening I realized, it was chasing me! Running faster, I almost wished the wolf would take over so I could escape this thing. I quickly glanced behind me, whatever it was, it was big. All I saw was a tall black figure, mostly hidden in the darkness, but whether he or she was friendly, I wasn't going to chance. I kept going, but the churning of my stomach and the prickling of my hairs told me the moon was coming out. I saw the darkness of the forest get gradually lighter, and the pale light glimmered off the dark leaves. My heart leapt, maybe I would be able to get away after all. Then a thought struck me, what if the wolf doesn't want to run? what if he wants to stay and attack the figure?
Noooo! I thought.
I took another look behind me, wondering how close it was. It was gone! I stopped running for a moment, listening for it intently. The forest was silent again, and the only sound was the rustling of leaves in the wind. I shivered slightly in the chill again and looked around me. Maybe I was alone again. Then it occured to me that the forest seemed very dark. Turning my head to the sky once more, I saw another large storm cloud had covered the moon, hiding it from sight. The air smelled wet with the coming rain, and I took a deep breath of it in exhaustion. It had to be past midnight by now, and my eyelids were heavy with a need for sleep. As the wind whistled past me, I heard another rustle to my left. My head jerked in it's direction, but it was so faint I told myself it was only the leaves again. All was quiet for a while after that, and I stood there feeling goosebumps start to form on my arms and legs.
I was about to start off again when I felt something heavy on both of my shoulders.
"Surprise." I heard someone whisper behind me.
Practically jumping out of my skin I felt a cold chill go down my spine. I slowly turned around. The figure was that of a teenage girl about my age. Though I couldn't really see her features in the faint light, I could tell she thought this was incredibly funny. I furrowed my brow at her,
"That wasn't very nice, ya trying to give me a heart attack?" I mumbled quietly.
She only laughed and started walking around me, examining me up and down.
"So.." she started to say, staring at my tattered clothes. "What brings a girl like you all the way out here?"
Her eyes finally rested on my face and I suddenly realized who she was.
"Jasmine?" I said, the word falling out of my mouth before I even knew what had happened.
She wrinkled her nose at me, clearly annoyed. "What do you want?" she spat.
"I..." a slit of the moon showed through the trees, showing her features more clearly.
She was taller than me by a couple inches and appeared to be quite skinny. Her hair was a dark brown with what looked like some lighter highlights, though the light was too dim to tell for sure. It came about halfway down her back with loose wavvy curls. As the light brightened slightly, I could see that she too was wearing only tattered clothes. I was going to ask why when we both shot a look at the moon. For now it seemed the clouds would still keep it mostly covered.
"You what?" she asked a bit rudely, turning back to me.
"I was only going to say that I didn't come out here looking for you." She smirked and turned away, starting to head back into the forest.
"Wait!" I said, stepping towards her. She stopped, but didn't face me. "What happened to you?" I asked. "Everyone thinks your dead."
She sighed and looked at me, "I'll tell you, but not here." She looked around a moment, and then continued, "Come with me."
Leading the way through the forest, I noticed she seemed to know her way quite well. She took so many twists and turns that my head started to spin. Just as a drizzle of rain started to fall, we came to a large cave. It was small and barely visible against the dark face of a short mountain where it lay. Trees were thick around it's entrance, but a man made clearing stood before it. Without a word, Jasmine led me to the mouth of the cave and stepped inside.
The air in the cave was thick and heavy, smelling damp and musty. I looked around a bit and noticed a few things out of the ordinary. A small black and red backpack hung from a sharp rock that jutted out of the rough wall. On the ground, there was a large blanket with a wolf pattern on it. This laid next to a dark spot with ashes scattered around it, obviously for a fire. On the blanket, there was a dark blue sleeping bag and stripped pillow, along with a small bag that looked like it was used for food. Jasmine went over to the sleeping bag and sat down, looking at me expectingly. I stood there uncomfortably for a moment,
"You can sit down." she said to me as if it were obvious.
I came and sat beside her while she reached for a camping lantern that sat next to the bag. She flipped on the switch and the cave filled with a bright white light. Setting the lantern beside the charcoaled spot she reached for the bag.
"Hungry?"she asked, pulling out an apple and some bread.
I felt like I was starving, but I only took the apple. Putting the bread away, she watched me eat for a moment.
"Aren't you going to have anything?" I asked between bites.
"No I ate already." she said, now looking around the cave.
The hard floor was uncomfortable and I shifted uneasily. I felt odd eating while she just sat there, but my hunger was overpowering. My eyes wandered to outside the cave where the light drizzle had become a much harder fall and it's sound echoed throughout the cave.
"So..." I said, wondering how to start the conversation. She didn't seem eager to explain herself, but started to anyways.
"Ah yes...I was going to tell you why I disappeared." She reached into the back pocket of what was left of her tattered jeans and pulled out a small knife. A wolf design like the one on her blanket covered it's handle, and she fiddled with it a bit. "Let's just say I couldn't take my home life anymore." she continued, flipping the blade out of the handle. "So, I ran away, this time for good." she showed me her arm and a long cut that had been drawn across it just an inch or so from her wrist. "I tore up that stupid school jacket and left my blood on it." she set the blade next to the cut so I could see she had done it herself. "Then I left it where I knew they'd take a while to find and took off. I'd been to this cave many times in the past and knew it would be the perfect place to hide." She laid back on the blanket, satisfied with herself.
I glanced out at the rain again. The loud pitter patter of the drops on the leaves seem to fill the air refreshingly, and a soft mist was covering the cool ground. I walked to the mouth of the cave and leaned against the left wall. The entrance was almost concealed by trees, but a foot wide gap of it's left side was open. Reaching out one hand, I let the raindrops splash on my palm and slide down to my elbow. Thinking to myself, a sudden thought came to mind, and I turned back to Jasmine again.
"But wait..." I began, placing my wet hand on my chin. "The police said there were wolf hairs on the jacket along with the blood." Her head turned to face me, and she seemed surprised by my statement.
"I put them there." she laid back again and shut her eyes, "It had to be realistic."
I wanted to ask her where she would of gotten wolf hair, but I decided against it. Perhaps being nosy to someone who had been trusting enough to bring me to their hiding place was not such a good idea. Instead, I went back to looking out of the cave. It wasn't long before eventually the two of us fell asleep on the blanket. Listening to the quieting sound of the falling rain.
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:20 am
Chapter 6
The night wasn't easy to get through, and I was constantly waking up feeling sore from the hard cave floor. Moving to a more comfortable position I managed to fall back asleep, but only to wake up again a few moment's later. When it wasn't stiffness that woke me up, it was my thoughts. My mind was racing with confusion. How could I be a werewolf? Why this? Why now? What was I supposed to do about it?
By the time morning rolled around, I hadn't gotten much in the way of sleep. I dragged my exhausted body to a sitting position and blinked sleepily around the cave. From the light coming through the gap, I could tell it was quite early yet. Jasmine didn't appear to be anywhere in sight, so I figured she must be out in the forest.
Outside, I heard the small drops of leftover rain falling off the leaves. A sweet smell of the fresh water wafted in from the air, and for once in a long time I felt peaceful and calm. However, it wasn't long before I realized my parents would soon find out I wasn't home.
Jumping to my feet, I ran to the mouth of the cave and peered into the forestry. Jasmine was still nowhere to be seen, but I didn't have time to find and thank her now. I raced out and looked around. I had no idea where I was... Crud...How am I going to find my way home now? Jasmine was gone, and I hadn't any clue how I'd even gotten here last night. Great, just great
The world was wet and misty, drops were covering leaves and spiderwebs around the cave. I sighed in frustration as I scanned the area with my eyes. Such was my life, chaos in the midst of peace.
Just then, I heard some rustling in the trees to my right, and Jasmine came popping out of the brush.
"So, you're finally awake." she said, brushing off some pine needles and leaves that clung to her wet limbs.
"Yeah." I replied casually, looking her up and down for a moment.
Now that it was daytime I could see her more clearly than before. She had changed from her tattered clothes into a nicer, better conditioned outfit. On her feet were tennis shoes that seemed old and well worn. She word dark, faded jeans and a short sleeved t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a low, messy braid that was slung over one shoulder. I noticed a leaf sticking out of her hair and pointed at it.
"You have a..."
She reached up and pulled out the leaf before I finished the sentence, looking at it with a bit of annoyance. She then let it fall to the ground beside her. After a moment she looked back at me, a small amused grin spread across her face.
"You look so lost and forlorn..." She laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh along with her.
"Actually...I do kinda need your help getting back to the city."
Suddenly turning away from me, her grin faded. "I'd rather not..." She started walking back into the cave.
"But I..."
"I promised myself I wouldn't go back there." She cut me off, pulling out her knife and beginning to sharpen the edge of a stick she'd picked up.
I came to the caves mouth and leaned against it's side. "But I can't just live out here! I don't want to run away...Please?"
Avoiding my eyes she kept whittling away at the stick. "Only if you promise never to mention seeing me, or this cave, ever." she spoke sternly.
"My lips are sealed."
She finally looked up, "Alright, but I'm only taking you to where the trees thin out, no further."
I nodded, "Fine."
Standing up, she dropped the stick and put her knife back away.
"Follow me."
I made way for her to exit, but she stopped for a minute, looking down.
"What?"
"You'll need these."
She had taken out some flip-flops from her backpack and I realized she had been looking at my bare feet. I took them happily.
"Oh yeah..thanks."
She grinned again, "Come on, it's getting late."
***
Man she was a fast walker...I had to quicken my pace a lot to keep up. It seemed she was nervous, because she was constantly glancing around and behind us as we went. She also stopped every time something made a noise. 'Did you hear that?' she would ask over and over. However, I didn't dare ask why she was so uptight. It didn't seem right to me.
Together we made our way through the trees and bushes. The sun was starting to rise over the treetops. The world was slowly getting lighter and lighter with it's slow movement. We sped up a little and kept going, all the while I was thinking of how I would explain myself. Even if we made it back before my parents noticed I was missing, I would still have to face my brother, who had seen my change. My mind wandering I didn't notice the root that stuck up above the ground...
"OOF!"
Jasmine turned around in time to see my face hit a ton of leaves. Laughing, she pulled me to my feet.
"Don't you look where you are going?" she asked.
I felt my face grow warm, "I was...thinking...sorry."
She pulled me along, "Come on we don't have time to dawdle, and we're almost there."
After a few more minutes of walking, I noticed the trees were indeed starting to get thinner. I also started to see lights in the distance. Jasmine quickly threw her arm out in front of me.
"Alright..." she whispered, looking around again. "This is as far as I go. Can you find your way from here?"
I peered through the trees. "Where exactly are we?"
Sighing, she pointed to her left. "The school is just down there, like three blocks. Don't you recognize it?" she seemed quite annoyed with me.
"Uh, yeah, sorry. I'm a little slow in the morning."
She only shrugged, "Whatever, I'll see you later."
With that, she turned and ran back into the stillness of the dark trees, soon disappearing. Taking a deep breath, I headed out of the trees and onto the yet quiet suburban street. The school was actually quite a ways from my house, so I had to be quick if I was going to get home before things got suspicious. Just to be careful, I stayed inside the edge of the trees. I didn't want to attract too much attention to my dirty, torn clothed self.
The sun was now visible in the sky, and I would have guessed it to be around 5 or 6am. A breeze came through the trees, rustling their leaves. Freezing, I started to jog to keep myself warm. I hoped if anyone did see me, they would think I was just another crazy health bum that went running in the wee hours of the morning wearing barely anything. Luckily I didn't see more than two cars as I wound my way around the edge of the trees to my house.By now, my cheeks were probably red and flustered from the cold, and my throat felt dry from all the running.
When I was no more than a block from my home, I noticed something that made me stop. Just down the street, I saw a man coming around my corner and heading this way. Normally, this wouldn't seem out of the ordinary. However, he was wearing a large overcoat and carrying a large shot gun. Lots of people in the neighborhood went deer hunting, but rarely were they seen walking down the street in all dark clothing holding their guns.
From where I was it was hard to see any of his features, but somehow he seemed oddly familiar. He also seemed suspicious the way he kept glancing around, as if looking for someone, or something...I stepped further into the forest so he wouldn't see me, everything about him making my heart race in my chest. He walked on the opposite side of the street from me, all the while scanning the forest with his eyes. I stayed low to the ground and as still as I could until he passed by my hiding place.
When I was sure he was out of ear shot, I quickly got back to my feet and took off again. This time I stayed further inside the trees, and kept checking back behind me. After coming to my corner and stepping out of the safety of the forest, I quickened my pace. Now my throat was burning, and my legs and arms were numb with cold. An icy sweat trickled down my forehead as I ran up my front lawn. I only paused for a moment to take a breath before clambering to the door.
I started to reach for the handle, when I stopped myself. What was I doing? I couldn't just walk in. So there I stood, pondering what to do, my body ice cold and clouds of my own breath emitting from my nose. Looking around my house a bit, I realized something. My room was probably the easiest one to sneak in our of all of them. Mine was located at the top right of the front of the house, above the kitchen window. There was a vine ladder that came beside the windows so the ivy that clung to our house wouldn't pull apart the siding. The plant went up the ladder and around the windows, creating a perfectly climbable source for me. Being careful to not be seen by anyone who might be in the kitchen, I snuck over to the ladder. Ivy had long been dead since the colder weather set in, but even the brittle stems were wound so tightly to the ladder that they would hold my weight.
I started the climb, digging the flip flops into the vine ladder to keep from falling. As I came to my window, I was faced with a bit of a challenge. How was I going to maneuver myself inside my room without dropping to the ground? Glancing at the frozen earth, I noticed it was a lot higher when you're human than when you're a werewolf. I clung to the vine for dear life, and peeked into my window. The room was just how I'd left it, except that the window had been shut. However, it appeared to still be unlocked.
I reached my fingers to where it parted into two seperate pieces of glass. Unfortunately, windows aren't meant to be opened from the outside, and as much as I yanked the window refused to open. I tried harder, only to slip and almost fall off the ladder. Arching my neck over the pane I looked in once more. This time I noticed something I hadn't before. It seemed as if there was someone lying on my bed. I couldn't look very close without risking another chance at slipping, so I had to hope it was only my brother. Taking a deep breath, I tapped lightly on the glass. At first nothing happened, so I tried a little harder. This time, there was some stirring from the occupant. I bit my lip as I waited, and sure enough, Steven's face came bobbing up out of nowhere looking bewildered at my position.
Wasting no time, he swung the window open for me. I had to duck as it came across the ladder where I was holding on and grabbed onto the sill. He got a hold of my arms and pulled me inside my warm room. I sat on the window seat for a while, shivering uncontrollably. Man it was a relief to be home though. Steven wrapped my comforter around me and fumbled in my drawer for some warm pajamas, all the while saying nothing. He turned around while I changed and hid the pieces of leftover clothes in my closet. When he faced me again, he didn't look surprised anymore, but he was still speechless.
I patted the spot beside me for him to sit down, which he slowly did. Though he didn't make eye contact the whole time. Pulling the blanket around us both, I rested my head on his shoulder. Sometimes it felt like he was my only friend in the world, and now was a time when I really needed him. He sighed, drawing the blanket in closer and finally looking at me. I knew he was burning with questions, but he stayed silent for a while, as if he knew I didn't want to talk about it just yet. I stole a glance at my alarm clock on the bedstand, 6:50am. My heart sank as I realized my parents would soon be poking their heads in to see if I was up and dressed yet. This was the worst possible day to go to school. With a terrible night just now behind me, I didn't need anymore stress. We quietly sat there for a few more minutes, the only peaceful quiet I'd had in hours. My brother broke the silence as the clock read 7:00am.
"You want me to tell them you're not feeling well?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. I smiled, he really was a great brother, even though we had our differences.
"Yeah..." the word cracked in my yet sore throat, but he heard me all the same.
Slowly rising to his feet, he tucked the blanket back around me and headed out of the room to the stairs. I listened to his fading footsteps until they died away, trying to keep my mind off the evening I had yesterday. After a few minutes, I got up and laid on my bed, trailing the comforter behind me as I walked. I breathed out a long, satisfied, comfortable sigh as I sunk into the mattress. It didn't take long for me to fall into a deep sleep.
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This is how far I am on the computer! theres more in my notebook but I don't have the time these days to type a whole chap up O.o anyways, hopefully soon!
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