In Times of Danger
Chapter Three - Questions of an Abnormal Complex
I sat on the porch the day after the incident on the knoll. It was one of the rare Fridays at Mainland that school let out early for Teacher conferences. Jasper had not been at school that day. For a strange reason, it seemed to irk me. I didn't even understand why that was; I didn't know him and I surely didn't care about where he was. But as I searched for the reason to my ire, I found that I wanted to see what he would do after my skittish behavior yesterday. A deep part of me felt guilty for having treated him so poorly, and my conscious was snapping at me to apologize. The old porch creaked slightly in the warm breeze of the bright day. Storm clouds thundered in the distance, lightning and thunder rolling across the afternoon sky as I looked up from my book, watching as the lights flickered in spears across the dark clouds.
With a sigh, I returned to my book. It was a new novel I had recently gotten out of my Father's collection. I had finished the Novel from yesterday rather quickly, not being able to sleep at all the previous night, and now I sat with the new Romance novel clutched lightly in my hands, eyes skimming the page and the image of a beautiful couple spinning together in a classical French waltz. My father's steps didn't startle me, and neither did the plate loaded with a sandwich and chips and a cup of tea set down next to me. I looked up at him, smiling gently down at me, and I couldn't help but notice how sad and tired he looked. "I've got to get back and finish some paperwork, Kat" he said, leaning down and kissing the top of my head, just as he did every time he left.
"Drive safe, and Come back safe, daddy." I said, hugging his leg, just as I always did. It was our own secret way to relieve the angst. The worry always hung over us. We had both lost Mom, and we knew that we were the crutches to each other; this was our own way to remind ourselves of that.
With a smile, my Father stepped down from the porch, the rickety old steps creaking slightly as he went to his old Chevy truck. I smiled and waved back as he pulled out, turning down the road to the Library.
I turned away, going inside quietly as I contemplated what to do with my afternoon. Munching on my sandwich, I turned off the Radio that Dad had left on, smiling gently at his small carelessness. He probably thought that Id want to listen. With a deep sigh, I finished off the sandwich hed made me, munching a few of the chips as I slipped the rest back into the bag. If I was hungry later, then so be it, but for now my stomach felt unsettled. As I went through the house silently, my thoughts wandered to the possibilities the day held. Looking down at my old torn up hip-huggers and my favorite T-shirt, I decided on my days adventure. With a kind of trance over me, I grabbed up the cell phone Dad always made me carry when I was out, slipping into my old Nike boots and heading out the door, not bothering to lock it- Nobody ever came to my house, it was too far out of the way. With a calm smile, I stepped into the woods that encroached my yard, leading to the dense forest with long finger-like streams winding peaceful pathways through it.
Ten minutes later, I stood in a small glade, the grass overgrown and well over my calves as I sat down, my legs crossed and watching the small winding stream in the corner of the small clearing. The entire atmosphere made me relax, and helped clear my mind to sort through the day. Between avoiding Jaspers fans and the boy himself, who turned out not to even be there today, the day had been entirely too stressful for my liking. With a sigh of contented bliss, I closed my eyes, letting myself fall back into the grass and drift off.
The growls of the wounded creature called to him, bright as day. The creatures feelings- crisp, biting panic, punctuated by a strong pride and a fierce loyalty, bit through him like waves, strong and even as he sped after it. With inhuman speed, they raced through the underbrush, hunter and pray.
As Jasper swerved quickly round a small, sapling of a spruce, the leaves not even bristling at him, the bear-like wolf stumbled once. That was all the invitation he needed; lunging quickly, the throat of the young werewolf broke easily in his long, pale and graceful hands. The pale skin was a stark, bold contrast to the musky, black-gray fur of the beast. Slowly, as the life extinguished, Jasper dropped the corpse of the young man, speeding off before it hit the ground. There was no TIME. Never enough time, not even when eternity stretched before him, there was never enough time to pay respect to the fallen enemy. The four pack members were gone or dead, only the Alpha remained.
In a dash of glittering skin from the punctuated light, and dark cloth, he dashed away, seeking out the feelings of the final beast. They swarmed in a fatal blanket around him. Anger, Remorse, Pain, Anguish, and an overwhelming sense of bloodlust- all forming a thick wave, pounding his senses. Suddenly, among the waves of feelings, a sense of the urgency of the hunt broke through, dimming the sad feelings and reinforcing the rage and hurt. The beast had found something to prey on.
Jasper could only pray it was a deer. Adding to his own speed, he rushed forward. Finally, the sight of the raised body, ready to plunge to a sudden death, and fangs and claws caught him.
In the instant he dove, bringing the huge animal down by the throat, the scream reached him, a strangled cry of human fear and flight as he watched from the corner of his vision the small form of a person fleeing. Rage. Unabashed, unrestricted rage pounded through his veins. His vision darkened, his golden eyes boring into the dying creatures fearful black ones. His control snapped, just as the wolfs neck snapped. With an angry relish, he watched as the Womans body fell limply to the forest floor with a dulled thump.
As he stood watching the form in the long, now cradled grass where someone had fallen into their dreams at the wrong time- in the wrong place. He felt the residual fear in the small clearing overwhelming his senses of smell and touch as he darted after whoever had been there, his mind reeling in prayer that he had intercepted the wolf in time whoever had been there had gotten away unharmed.
I had no way of knowing what had happened. Nor did I have any idea what WAS happening. I ran, simply, and primal, I ran from the danger my mind had presented. My long legs stretched to full extent to speed me through the forest, pushing me along quickly as I gripped to my ribs where a pain that seemed to grow with every breath lay at the center. Finally, the forest spit me forward to my home. With a cry of thankfulness, I sped forward, locking everything behind myself before allowing myself to collapse, my back against the wall as I slid slowly down, hiding in the kitchen next to the sink with a sigh.
I dont know how long I sat in that daze, watching in dull fascination as my shirt flowered with red before I realized it was blood staining the cloth. Another painful twinge woke me fully from the morbid trance, forcing me to rise shakily, seeking out the first aide kit. As I pulled the bright yellow kit from the kitchen cupboard, I wondered what had happened.
Chaos and Dark fur- not black Just Midnight dark with claws that were the size and shape of daggers. And a huge, gaping mouth filled to the brim with razor teeth. My mind couldnt wrap fully a round the image.
I cringed physically at the terrifying memory. The bear-like thing could have easily ripped me apart, and it had come very close. I was in wonder that it hadnt caught me.
The wound wasnt terribly deep, but it swelled angrily at me when I cleaned it, making me cringe as I took a gauze pad and taped it in place. I wouldnt tell my father- He worried enough without me telling him Id almost died while he was away.
Carefully, I lifted my now tarnished shirt off; the simple butterflies now glinting dully at me through the bloodstaining. With a silent whimper, I bagged it, tossing it into the garbage and burying it with old leftovers from the fridge.
The sudden knock at the door made me jump and spin around too quickly, giving me whiplash and forcing me to grab the wall for balance. As I righted myself, the knock repeated in a rapid, impatient manner. Taking a deep breath at the sight of a pacing human form on the other side of the doors glass pane. I stepped quickly to the door, all other thoughts leaving as I swung open the door, only to be met with a shocking appearance.
He ran, leaving the mutt of a creature to be consumed by whatever forest creature came upon it first, as he searched almost frantically for the human. It seemed an eternity before he found the small gray house tucked into the forest. With panting, bated breath, he stepped forward, peering around the yard and carefully judging it. The old Chevy truck in the drive seemed distantly familiar to him. Suddenly, human emotions- shellshock and an underlying calm that seemed to cover emotions that he could not reach to caused a chill over him. The feeling was all too familiar. In a few, swift steps, he found himself on the front porch. After a few moments of contemplation, he knocked on the door. A few silent moments passed as the mixed emotions in the house flipped around, too fast for him to follow. Finally, the cold sense of coating calm overwrought the others, but the door still did not open. Another round of swift knocking as a shocking amount of adrenaline resounded into his system, causing him to have to pace the doorway to control himself.
Suddenly, feet sounded inside and the door swung open, revealing a shocked, pale, and very shirtless Katrina Lengdin. He stood in shock as his gaze caught the gauze pad. After a few moments, her gaze followed his as a blush spread from the dark roots of her hair to the tips of her feet.
With a savage curse at himself, Jasper forced himself to release the rage, concern, and care. Looking into her eyes, he controlled his voice enough so that there was only a slight growl. "What happened?"
take it back?
