Shadows Lurking
Twenty

May 1st, 2006 – Monday, 9:35am

The classroom is quiet for the most part, but there are a few students whispering back and forth about the upcoming vacation. Everyone has been bustling about summer and their plans. Even James has been talking us up about going off to some lacrosse camp for Lycan’s, and not just ones from our school. Apparently, more than just Rienridge Lycan’s can go to this camp. Mattheo has been bugging him about replaceing new friends that love the game just as much as he does and leaving us behind.

Amaya settles in beside me. She places her books and such in front of her on the corner of the desk while humming to herself quietly. She’s been in a better mood than usual since Valentine’s Day. It’s as if it takes much more than the usual banter from James to bring her mood down. Even Mattheo hasn’t seemed able to push her buttons like before.

Jordyn Mayfield, one of the older boys in year five, jumps through one of the open windows and lands on his feet with a huff. He slowly lifts his head and stares at us younger kids before offering a smirk and waiving. He waltzes up to the front of the room and places an apple on the desk near the front of the room. Either he’s being nice and leaving Professor Lorne a snack, or that’s a pranked fruit.

“Great,” I mutter. “We’ll be blamed for that one.”

Amaya chuckles quietly to herself. “Maybe if you wouldn’t let them drag you down with them, you wouldn’t be looped in when the blame is dealt.”

The growl dies in my throat, knowing she’s right. The entire year has been spent letting the boys drag me through their ridiculous pranks, only due to not being able to mean it when I tell them no. I want them to be happy, and if that means scrubbing the equipment building or clearing brush in the woods every weekend, then I’ll do it. There’s not much else I could be doing with my time anyways. I’m caught up in every subject, besides the human ones. I’ve seemed to be excelled in those, putting me up with the fifth years. To Professor Dawes’ disappointment, I turned down the option of taking courses with them though.

“Good morning, children.” Professor Lorne stands at the front of the room. His tall frame is sturdy, and his face always carries a cheery expression. “Now, I know everyone is filled with excitement for the upcoming summer break, but I must ask that you remain focused on your studies. We wouldn’t want anyone falling behind having to repeat this class with the next batch of third years, now, would we?”

Most of the students agree with him before taking out their notebooks. The man begins writing on his chalkboard while humming to himself. As soon as he notices the apple and bites into it, I’m sure the four of us boys will be sent to the headmaster’s office as usual.

“Nice watch,” Amaya says quietly. My eyes meet hers and she motions towards my wrist. “You’ve been messing with it for a few minutes now. Is it new?”

My hand encases the watch, feeling exposed now that someone’s mentioning it. The boys don’t talk about Christmas or the gifts we got. Mainly due to Corey having bad experiences at home during the holidays, so they tend to veer from the topic.

“It was a gift,” I admit. “From my grandmother. It belonged to my grandfather.”

“That’s sweet,” she insists. “I had gotten a ring that belonged to Grams. It doesn’t exactly fit me yet, but when it does, I’ll be wearing it all the time. I wanted her to be the one to pass it down to me, but I’m not sure if she would have. I have an older sister it should’ve gone to, but she’s a bit estranged right now.”

Her emerald eyes dampened at the mention of her grandmother that had passed away. I remember sitting in her room with her and the boys while they attempted to cheer her up. She had been a mess, and it wasn’t something I like to remember. Amaya has always been strong, cheerful, and putting everyone else’s problems ahead of her own, so seeing her like that was- It was difficult.

“I’m sure it’s beautiful,” I assure her. “And if it belonged to your grams than I’m sure she would’ve wanted you to have it.”

“Ah!” From the front of the room, Professor Lorne begins grabbing at his face while grunting in discomfort. The apple from his desk is now laying on the stone floor, rolling back and forth as if it had been dropped. As it comes to a stop, I notice the bite mark in it and the chunk missing. Professor Lorne removes his hands from his face and begins feverishly patting it while a slight panic sets in eyes. Boils cover the man’s face now. His eyes turn towards us students before darkening. “Boys!”

I sigh while closing my notebook. “I’ll catch you at lunch.”

“Enjoy detention,” Amaya hums.

Corey, James, and Mattheo meet me in the hallway. As James finally exits the classroom, Professor Lorne steps towards us and scolds our behavior. “Headmaster Grey’s office. Now, boys!” He then steps back and slams the classroom door in our faces.

“Pretty boy’s not so pretty now,” Jordyn laughs from behind us. Turning, we’re met with him, Kendrick, and another boy from their year. “I guess he’ll have to grow a personality rather than rely on his good looks.”

“You got any more of that stuff leftover for Finley?” Corey asks with a smirk.

James shakes his head before pushing Corey down the hall. Mattheo and I follow them down the hall. I steal a glance back at my cousin. He holds an apologetic smile, but he offers no aid in our situation. So much for family.

Just down the hall from the administration office, there are faint voices drifting towards us. As if a moment of history repeating itself, I replace myself being slung against the stone wall by Mattheo. His arm is outstretched across my chest as the other two are scrambling to flatten themselves against it as well.

Faintly, Professor Dawes can be heard scolding someone. “...bringing something like that up. Now, the council will have no choice but to look in on the matter.”

“It was for his own good, Lenora.” Collin’s voice coming from the other hall causes poor Corey to shrink down until he’s holding his own knees to his chest. “If I had said nothing and they replace out later from someone like Finley, things would have gone down a lot differently. You know how he feels about this place. He wants your job for Gods’ sake.”

“And that is something you need not worry yourself with,” Kerum says. “Phineas will not be the headmaster here as long as I have a say in it.”

Collin groans now. “That’s the problem here, old man. You won’t have a say in it if the council discovers shadows circling the grounds. They already suspect you from before.”

Mattheo’s hand grips the front of my shirt, and his face contorts into one of confusion and worry. James hushes Corey who is panting at my feet.

What would the council suspect Kerum of when it comes to the shadows?

“Come on,” Mattheo whispers. He leads us from behind the wall. Corey becomes glued to my side, trembling with fear. “Hey, Professors! Mister Woods.”

“Boys-“ Professor Dawes becomes startled by our sudden appearance. “What on earth are you four doing out of class?”

James rubs the back of his head. “We might have been blamed for something we didn’t do.”

Collin’s eyes zero in on his son. His gaze darkens and his voice is even darker. “What did you do this time, boy?”

Hearing him call Corey boy causes my skin to stretch. “He didn’t do anything.” Collin stares at me now, stepping forward, but Kerum stops him with a hand on his arm. “He didn’t. It was Jordyn Mayfield.”

“Rylan,” Mattheo hisses.

“It was him,” I plead with them. “Everyone in class seen him place the apple on Professor Lorne’s desk.”

“Apple?” Professor Dawes asks.

“Yeah.” I nod. “After he ate it, he got these bad boils, and Jordyn told us that the professor had to grow a personality rather than depending on his looks now.”

Professor Dawes sighs and looks to Kerum. “He’s telling the truth, Kerum. This morning, before first class, Mister Mayfield asked about frog legs. A key ingredient in boil hexen’s.”

Kerum nods while motioning towards the courtyard. “We’ll see to this. You boys are to clear Lethe while we fix this.”

“But we did nothing wrong!” Mattheo exclaims.

Kerum smiles while motioning towards the courtyard once more. “Think of it as a punishment you will most likely be serving after summer break.”

Ignoring the burning stare Collin gives me, I shuffle past the professors and into the courtyard with the other three boys. None of them seem eager to clean the path, but it’s better than standing there with Corey’s sad excuse of a father. We pass the field and enter the wooded area leading to the paths.

“Have you lost your mind?” Mattheo grabs both of my arms and shakes me back and forth. “What were you thinking? Jordyn’s going to actually murder all of us!”

I shove him off me. “I was thinking that Corey’s dad would’ve pulled him to the side and beat him for something he didn’t even do.” My eyes meet Corey’s, and he forces himself to look away. “Why not say anything? You’re only making things harder on yourself by skirting around the problem.”

“You don’t know what it’s like,” he mumbles. “You don’t know a thing about my life.”

There’s a silence in the woods now. There are no birds or animals chattering, no leaves blowing in the breeze. James and Mattheo only stare at their friend, pain etched onto their faces. They must not have known, or just didn’t want to admit it to themselves.

“I do,” I finally admit. “I know exactly what it’s like. That’s how I know he does it.” Corey holds my stare now, his eyes watering. “I know that anytime you mess up he hits you. At first you thought it was just a mistake, something that he didn’t mean to do, but then it happened more often. He got more violent as time went on, and sometimes it was more than once a day. I’m sure it started as a drunken slap, but then one day, without any alcohol on his breath, he hit you. No matter what you may tell yourself, he will never change. Your dad is sick in the head, Corey. A father- A real father- would never hurt their child.”

He brings a hand to his head and runs his fingers through the tangled curls. A sob escapes his lips. “He just gets so angry…”

Mattheo rushes forward and grips his friend. Tears stream down my own cheeks as I reach him. He falls to his knees, and I hold onto his shoulders as James and Mattheo hold him tightly. His tiny sobs are nothing compared to his wrecked frame shaking in fear. Admitting something like that to people you care about can’t be easy. Corey may not be as strong as other Lycan’s, but he’s one of the strongest I’ve ever met.

“We’ve got you,” James promises. “He won’t touch you again.”

“We can tell Arthur,” Mattheo offers. “He’s alpha. He won’t let something like that keep happening.”

“No!” Corey shouts, shoving us away from him. “Don’t tell anyone! No one can know, please.”

They both stare at him before looking to me. I know what he’s feeling, what he’s going through. He knows that people replaceing out would mean things change. The routine, the knowing what’s next are what’s keeping him going. There will be no change, even if people knew, unless he accepts that he deserves the change.

I shake my head at them. “We have to wait.”

“Are you serious!” Mattheo stands to his feet, angry. “We can’t- No. No way are we waiting-“

“It’s my choice,” Corey says, a bit more firmly this time. “Not yours.”

Sighing, I push James and Mattheo farther away from Corey and force them to pay attention. “Unless he accepts that he needs help, he won’t want anyone else to know. He thinks he can fix it on his own.”

Mattheo holds his arm out. “He can’t-“

“I know that,” I hiss. “He doesn’t though. Give him time. Let him see that on his own. It’s the only way.”

Neither seems okay with the idea, but they both nod and begin walking towards the trails. I stare back at the trembling boy behind me. He’s where I was a year ago. He’s being beaten, hurt, and feels there’s no way out. This school, these boys, are his only break from all of that. I didn’t have that, but I’m thankful that he does.

From the edge of my vision, I see them, the shadows. They creep in and out of the tree line, seeping into the damp soil. They won’t bother the school, not while I’m around and can see them. This place is a sanctuary for Corey, and maybe not just him, so it’ll stay untouched as long as I’m here. The only way to guarantee that is to figure out where they come from and what they want with Rienridge.

May 2nd, 2006 – Tuesday, 1:12am

James hops the fence first, followed by Mattheo then Corey. I struggle to grip the bars, but eventually pull myself over. The boys continue down the winding path and I follow them. They had been quick to reassure me that they sneak into town more times than I liked to hear.

The weight of sleep is heavy. I’ve been awake since five o’clock yesterday morning. The boys though seem wired and ready to go on this adventure. I’m not sure what they’ve been eating or drinking but it can’t be healthy.

The path leading into town is still covered by the trees, creating this serene tunnel of darkness. There are barely any traces of moonlight breaking through the small gaps overhead. Walking it reminds me of the first time I walked up it towards the school with Kerum. He had been a stranger at that moment, yet I blindly followed him. I hadn’t known it then, but he had a calming scent around him, as if a deep part of me had known it would be safe to follow him.

It was the best decision I had made.

“What should we be on the lookout for?” Corey asks.

James jumps over a protruding tree root. “I don’t know. Maybe something involving the murders.”

“But how do we know where these people were murdered?” He asks.

Mattheo stops just near the entrance of the path. “We know where at least one took place.” My skin tightens at the idea of them entering my old house and seeing the damage I had caused. Mattheo motions just across the street. “A man was murdered just there. Rylan and I found it that time I sent that kid to the hospital.”

A deep breath leaves my lips, a sigh of relief. Following them, we reach the sight of the murder. There are no shadows like last time, nothing to indicate the rumors of Lorcan returning. Below our feet there are deep brown stains, places where blood once pooled.

Mattheo crouches down beside me and whispers, “What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Something- Anything, really.” I stand and wipe my hands on my jeans. “I figured there would be something here, some trace of-“

Mattheo notices the pause. “Trace of what?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

Down the sidewalk there are two lights just in front of where the park is. The lights barely illuminate the benches and fire hydrant, so the rest of the playground is enveloped in darkness. I briefly remember Thomas mentioning the park as a place that he would hang out at during the nights his mother worked the late shifts at the neighboring town’s hospital. My feet carry me closer towards the small park without a second thought. If there’s a chance to see Thomas again, I have to take it. He tried so hard to help me, to befriend me. He at least deserves to know a little bit of why I disappeared with no trace.

The park is quiet. There are no children playing on pieces of equipment, no parents lingering and smoking as they gossip about the other parents. The lamp overhead flickers a few times, giving the entire area an eerie effect.

A hand on my shoulder stops me from entering the playground area. Mattheo stands near me, sniffing the air, as if testing it for something out of place. James steps closer and sniffs as well.

“What is that?” James drags out. “It smells like a sack of old pennies.”

Corey shudders on the other side of me. “It’s blood.”

“What?” James screeches. “What do you mean blood?”

“He’s right,” Mattheo agrees. “Something in or around this area is bleeding.” He takes another whiff. “Nothing heavy though. Whatever happened, it wasn’t a serious injury.”

“We should go,” James urges. “We should get some help.”

“We can’t,” Corey argues. “We’ll be punished if they ask how we know. We can’t tell them we were out here like this.”

“The worst they’ll do is give us detention or call our parents-” He stops and stares at our friend now. Corey looks away from the three of us, rubbing his arm nervously. “Right,” James draws out. “You’re right. We can’t tell them.” He faces me and Mattheo. “So, what do we do now?”

Mattheo throws his arms up. “Investigate?”

He glances at me, and I offer a shrug. “We’re the biggest and scariest things out here. I don’t see why not.”

Each of us takes a few steps forward, but our steps falter. A shuffling sound in the distance and the sound of someone whimpering stops us. Whoever is out there is in some serious pain. Another bit of shuffling and then the sound of skin connecting with skin, roughly. I know that sound anywhere.

“Someone’s getting beaten,” I whisper harshly.

Mattheo nods. “I hear that.”

Corey begins panicking. “What do we do- Interfere?”

“Yeah, we jump in and either get beat up or kill them defending ourselves,” James says sarcastically.

“What if we scare them off?” I suggest.

Mattheo nods, a smirk growing on his face. “That could work. You three come through those trees and break up the beating. I’ll go around and cut them off, jump out and give ’em a good one. Just wait until I’m in position.”

“Alright,” James chuckles while positioning himself to start running. “Get ready, boys.”

Ignoring his enthusiasm, I rush forward through the trees. The park is still dark in this area, but it’s not as hard to see. There’s another lamppost and just under it are four shadowy figures. One is placed up against the lamp while two others hold them by their shoulders. The fourth one is dealing some blows to the stomach every other one switching an arm. Someone is definitely taking a beating.

James and I grow closer to the situation ahead, and it doesn’t take long to see who it is that is receiving such a brutal beating. Thomas Langston, the one and only, is pinned against the lamp by Brently’s goons as the peanut continuously lands blow after blow to the kid’s stomach. My insides flare with each muffled cry that escapes from behind goon number one’s hand.

“Hey!” I shout at them. “Let him go!”

“Rylan, what are you doing?” Corey hisses out.

James pulls me back towards him. “What about the plan?”

“Forget the plan,” I growl. “He’s my friend.”

Brently drops his fist and turns to face us. His lips turn up into a smirk. “The town’s little killer is back, and he brought his freak friends.”

Corey huffs from behind me. “Talking a lot of smack for someone within biting distance.”

“See, boys. What’d I tell ya?” His eyes narrow on us. “Bunch of freaks.”

James steps forward, his hands raised as if to offer peace. “We don’t want any trouble this time. We’re just out enjoying a nice stroll in the park. Right, guys?”

Corey growls at the three bullies. I smirk while replying, “The jury’s still out.”

“Rylan?” Thomas’ voice is weak. “Rylan, just go. I’ll be okay.”

He did this before too. Anytime these guys would start on him he would ask me to leave. I always did, but this time- This time I can’t.

Brently steps closer. “Whatever you bunny-eatin′ freaks want, run into the woods and replace it. We don’t accept weirdos like you here.”

The boys, still holding Thomas, laugh at Brently’s words. I don’t replace them funny. My shuffle in place, nerves gathering in my lower stomach. Whatever I need to do, I’ll do it.

Twigs snap in the distance to our left. There’s a low growl, and steam emits from the bushes close by. Deep from the darkness, a giant wolf steps through the foliage. Mattheo lowers himself, his stomach nearly touching the grass, and ready’s himself to launch. Without a second thought, the wolf lunges forward and startles the three bullies. They each fall and scramble to their feet. Brently screams, his eyes nearly popping from their sockets, and he leaves his friends behind. The two boys struggle to keep up, shouting for the peanut to wait on them.

Thomas breathes out heavily and leans against the lamppost. His hands rub over the sensitive area of his stomach, and he chuckles quietly. Mattheo steps towards him, still in wolf form, and lowers himself so he’s laying at Thomas’ feet. The small blonde boy doesn’t seem startled, freaked out, or scared. He only laughs quietly while patting Mattheo’s head.

“Good one, Matt.” Thomas chuckles out heavily, “I think Brent might end up in a psych hospital now.”

I rush at them and grip Thomas’ shirt. His small body hits the lamppost roughly, but he keeps his composure. “You- You knew?”

Thomas smiles at me, as if I don’t have him pinned against the same post Brently had. “How do you think they found you, Rylan?” Slowly, I release his shirt from my grip. “My mother’s Lycan. I didn’t get the gene because of my dad- He was human.”

That day at school, when I nearly punched Brently, but Mattheo stopped me- “You told me they were freaks. You warned me about staying away from them. Why?”

“It’s something I do down here. I spread rumors to keep kids from wandering into the woods and coming across Lycans. My dad did stuff like that too before he died.” Thomas offers an apologetic smile.

“I don’t- I don’t understand-”

“When I realized you might be one of them, like my mom is, I told Matt here.” He throws an arm around Mattheo’s large neck. “He would constantly sneak down here with these two idiots-” He motions towards Corey and James. “-over the last couple years, and we became friends. He promised to make sure you were truly a Lycan before telling anyone.”

The sound of bones breaking and repositioning themselves fills the dark, quiet park. Mattheo offers an apologetic smile as he steps closer towards me. “And I did- Make sure you were a Lycan before telling. That day I caught your arm and saved that townie a nose-job. The amount of pressure I held your arm with should’ve snapped it in half, but it didn’t. After that I ran back to the academy and told Kerum about what had happened. He was angry about me leaving the grounds, especially during the day, but he eventually thanked me for letting him know you were in town. None of that would’ve been possible though without Tommy.”

My eyes meet Thomas’, and he nods. “I just wanted to make sure you were with kids like you. You weren’t fitting in down here, and I could tell it bothered you.”

“You could’ve told me,” I huff out. “Explained some of it to me in some way. I was in the dark, Thomas. I didn’t know what I was or what I was capable of. I almost beat a kid to death.”

He nods. “Cody. I remember. That, and your temper, made me think you might’ve been a Lycan.” Thomas grins while patting my shoulder. “I was right.”

His hand lingers there, as if waiting for something to happen. His blue eyes widen, and he steps closer. “You’ve changed. No punch this time ’round?”

I shrug his touch off. “No. I don’t hit people anymore.”

“At least not as much,” James counters. “He gives Finley a good smacking around sometimes though.”

“You should see the way he takes him down,” Corey beams. “Better than any prank we could ever pull on him.”

“No kidding,” Thomas draws out. “I need to see that. You guys have been whining about him for years. I’d pay to see him get a beat down for once.” He glances around the park before asking, “So, what are you guys really doing out like this?”

Mattheo steps forward and places a hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “We’re looking for clues.”

“Clues?”

“About a murder,” Corey offers.

“Which one?” Thomas counters. “Rienridge has had murder after murder for almost a year now. Kids, adults, animals. No one’s been safe.”

“How many?” James asks.

Thomas shrugs. “I’d guess about thirteen total. If you just want humans, then it’s eleven. Adults? Six.”

Mattheo shuffles, kicking the dirt lightly with his boots. James staggers while placing his hands in his pockets. Corey stares off at the houses lighting up the street in the distance, through the trees.

That’s a lot of people being murdered. If the murders really are the work of Lorcan or the shadow hounds, then something more is going on that we’ve missed. There would be no reason, that I can see, for them to kill all of these people. Humans wouldn’t have played a role in Lorcan’s death.

“Does the sheriff know who’s doing it?” James asks.

Thomas shakes his head. “No, he doesn’t. He’s stumped about the whole thing. I did hear him talking to Mom though. He thinks it’s Lycan related.”

“I knew it!” Corey exclaims. “It’s got to be Lorcan.”

James’ face goes slack, and he sighs deeply. “Corey, we’ve been over this already.”

Mattheo glares at him before his voice drops into a warning. “James.”

Corey throws his hands up, exasperated. “Come on, James! It has to be him. He has to be real. Who else would go around murdering people like this?”

“That’s it!” James shouts.

Mattheo rushes at his cousin and holds his hands out, keeping him from getting closer to Corey. “Stop it, James.”

“No!” James pushes Mattheo off. “I won’t stop, Matt. He needs to wake up and face the truth.” James meets Corey’s stare, and he shakes his head, tears wetting his eyes. “Darren is sick, Corey. He’s lost his mind.” He holds his hands out, and with a shaky voice he says, “I know, okay? I know you want him to be right in the head, but he’s not. Lorcan is not real. There is no such thing as a shadow hound.”

The park becomes enveloped in silence. Neither James nor Corey makes a move to look at one another, to speak to one another. Mattheo stands in between the two friends, clearly unsure of what to do now. Both of his friends are hurt and neither knows how to move forward. James’ heart is in the right place. He doesn’t want Corey to get his hopes up that his brother isn’t crazy, but there are nicer ways to say it.

The sounds of twigs snapping in the distance stops our breathing. Collectively, we turn to face the woods separating us from the academy. At the edge of the tree line the black smoke begins pouring out onto the grass of the playground. I reach out and squeeze Mattheo’s wrist, attempting to inform him that something isn’t right.

From the smoke on the ground, shadows begin taking shape. Five wolves stand tall, taller than our wolves would be. Smoke- Shadows drip from them like liquid. With each step they take forward we take another step back. They keep walking towards us until they come to a step, fully formed and larger than possible.

“Sh-Shadow hounds,” James breathes out.

Corey gulps from in front of me. “Would it be wrong to say ’I told you’ right now?” Mattheo elbows him and he says quietly, “Right. I’ll wait.”

Thomas shakes from beside me, and I grip his arm, pulling him behind me. “Don’t move from this position. No matter what.” He nods but makes no move to look in my direction. His eyes are understandably glued on the giant wolves in front of us.

The ground shakes with each step the hounds take. They’re too big for us children to take on, but we can’t exactly run to get the help we need. If Collin were to replace out that Corey broke school rules, it would mean worse things than the hounds could possibly do to us. We can’t let that happen. We’re on our own.

With no notice, the boys begin shifting around me and Thomas. Their wolf forms radiate enough heat to create a personal furnace for the two of us. Within the growling and the heat, it becomes hard to make out the movements of the hounds. Their stomping and growling are now muffled, but I can tell they are closer than before.

“Change of plans,” I mutter to Thomas. “Run towards the swing sets and stay there. Don’t move and don’t try to get involved. Got it?”

He nods. “G-Got it.”

Once he’s safely away, I let the anger take over. Slowly, my body morphs until I’m standing tall with the other three. Each one softly growls in my direction as I push past them. A hound begins pouring smoke until their figure shrinks down, taking the shape of a man. The unfamiliar man steps forward, a smirk on his cracked lips and black veins covering his entire body. His dark eyes, mouth, and even his ears have liquid smoke seeping from them.

“Boys. What a surprise.” His voice is deep and dark. The man quirks a brow and points at me. “We were told this one here couldn’t shift. But look what we have here.” He comes closer but the chorus of growls stops him in his tracks. He lifts his hands. “Hey, hey. It doesn’t have to be this way, you know. Boss only needs Rylan. You other pups can run along now.”

None of the boys make a move to leave. The man smirks while chuckling out, “Alright then, boys. Looks like all four of you are meeting the boss.”

The man morphs back into a giant smoke dripping hound and charges at us. Mattheo turns to the side, taking the hit. The two begin tumbling, twisting and turning. I watch in horror as their jaws snap at one another in a clash of teeth. Fur flies in each direction, being carried by the breeze suddenly becoming less and less gentle than it was moment before.

James growls deeply as he connects with another wolf just as Mattheo had. Corey follows swiftly after. There are two more hounds, circling Mattheo has he struggles against the man. Ignoring the screaming voices in my head that this will only end badly, I charge forward. My movements are less clumsy, but there’s still uncertainty with each lift of a paw.

Am I doing this right?

Is running supposed to feel so lopsided?

What if I fall flat on my face before I even reach them?

There’s pain in my upper body as it collides with one of the hounds. The creature reeks of something being burned. Smoke fills my nostrils and I begin chuffing, attempting to breathe during the assault, but it doesn’t help. A searing sensation hits my back leg, and a deep whine leaves my throat. Something hot and liquid rolls through my fur and coats my entire limb.

Pushing myself away from the hound, I take notice of the second one turning back to face Mattheo.

No!

I rush forward, locking my jaw around the hound’s neck and biting as hard as I can. Hot liquid spills into my mouth, coating my tongue in something iron and heavy. A little more pressure and there’s finally a jerk inside my mouth, the sound of a bone snapping, and the hound’s lower body falls limp. Refusing to let go, I stalk towards the one I had previously been fighting. The hound growls, taking notice of its comrade dangling from my teeth.

“Agh!”

Dropping the hound to the ground below, I flip until I’m facing Thomas. The hound that had been fighting Corey is now toying with Thomas. Corey’s unmoving frame lays just a few feet from where he had been fighting just moments before.

No, no. Don’t be dead.

Thomas shouts once more, asking for help. I peel my eyes from Corey and rush towards the small boy attempting to push away a giant wolf with his feet. Before I can make it to him, there’s a crunch and he screams loudly. His face is contorted, and his cheeks are rosy, red as tears stream down them. The hound’s teeth are sunk into the boy’s flesh, twisting and tearing at his leg as if he was some prey freshly caught.

Thomas! No. No. No. Not him. Please.

Pain spreads through my body as I push myself. My body meets the hounds and Thomas screams louder. The hound lands a few feet from us, yelping as it skids to a stop. I stagger, attempting to stay standing, but my body is spent. My back legs burn and there’s a tick in my jaw each time I attempt to move it. Slowly, I lift my muzzle to Thomas’ shaking frame, nudging him. He barely registers the motion, lifting his head from the ground an inch before letting it fall back once more. His right leg is completely torn apart, barely hanging by the skin, and he’s slowly bleeding out.

Please. I whimper into the cold air. Please don’t let him die. There’s so much I never got to say. So much we never got to experience together. He needs to know I care about him.

“You’re pr-pretty cool-” Thomas coughs, blood splattering across my face. “-as a wolf, Rylan.”

Thomas, please hold on. I’m sure someone will be here any minute.

The boy beneath me struggles to breathe. His entire body begins convulsing with each ragged breath and blood spews from his mouth. Thomas slowly releases a final breath before laying still on the ground. His eyes stare lifelessly into the woods, staring directly at the academy.

No. No. No. Thomas.

The ground beneath me rumbles, shaking as though there is an earthquake. The hounds are still attacking James and Mattheo. Corey lays just as still as Thomas.

What- What did I do? What do they want from us? What had Thomas done to deserve any of this!

The temperature drops and everything grows quiet, muffled. The blood pumping through my head drowns out all the noise. Shadows begin seeping from Thomas’ body and becoming absorbed by the ground. The sight slowly disappears, my vision becoming blurred. My legs become heavy and black dots begin poking in around the edges of my vision. The only thing I’m able to grasp is the anger, only this time, I let it go.