Chapter Fifteen: PlagueA Chapter by Joshua DonahueForbidden. Evan and his werewolf pack are called to an emergency meeting of all local werewolves where the virus strikes one of their own. But that is not the only new victim of the virus.
Previous Version This is a previous version of Chapter Fifteen: Plague. FORBIDDEN
BY: J O S H U A D O N A H U E
Chapter Fifteen Plague “Sorry, Mom! I gotta
skip dinner tonight,” I shouted, hoping she wouldn’t stop me as I ran by the
kitchen to head out the door; Luke was waiting for me with the truck down the
block. “And just where
do you think you’re going, young man?” she questioned me. “Uh---Luke’s?” I said,
winging it. It was quite easy to tune back into our normal mother-son relationship
that we had had before I left Hale the other day. But then again, our
relationship had now changed. We weren’t at each other’s necks like we had been
before. It was for the better, I suppose. “On a school
night? Evan, you know better than that.” “Right. But this
is school-related. See, we---Uh---Um---We’re working on a project together. And it’s due
tomorrow. Okay. Bye!” She stopped me
again. “A project, huh? What’s it on?” “Uh, pesticides.
We’re testing pesticides and how they affect insects,” I lied like a fox (a
wolf, actually). “It’s a
supernatural thing, isn’t it?” she said easily as if she hadn’t even heard my
excuse. “I---” She put her hand
up to stop me before I could explain. “You know what, I don’t wanna know. I
trust Daryl and Trent to keep you safe, and that’s enough for me. But I want
you home no later than nine-thirty!” But I barely
caught her motherly sentence because I tore out the front door like greased
lightning. I knew something
major was happening in the paranormal world that I had just recently been dragged
into. I jogged down
the sidewalk, stuffing my cell phone in my pocket. The night was
still, the moon was out---though not full again since that meeting in the woods---and
the wind was blowing a slight breeze upon my face, making my head full of hair
flow with it. Though quiet, the night had a sense to it that I couldn’t quite
place---like
something major was breaking through in the world. Something serious. So
serious that our wolf pack had to call an emergency meeting tonight. I scanned the
road for Luke’s truck and saw headlights flashing some ways down the street. I
took that as the signal. As soon as I
reached the truck and I climbed in the vehicle, Luke raced off at top speed. “What’s going
on, dude?” I asked while struggling to buckle my seatbelt while he was speeding
like crazy. “Something big!”
he said. “I got that. But
what is ‘something’?” “Otis.” “What about him?” “He’s been
infected,” Luke stated. “Infected by
what?” I didn’t know what he was talking about at first. “You know those
deaths that have sprung up in the papers and stuff lately about a mysterious virus
going around when we talked about it your first day at lunch? Well, that’s no
ordinary virus.” “What do you
mean?” “I mean, that
virus is designed specifically to infect and kill supernatural creatures. But
something caused the virus to infect mortals too, so the death rates have
skyrocketed.” “What does that
mean then?” I asked. “It means that
Otis doesn’t have very long to live, unless a miracle happens,” he stated. “But, there’s a
cure, right? I mean, that’s what scientists are for, right?” “Since when do
scientists know how to cure viruses that are meant to infect supernatural
beings?” I looked out the
side window in despair and stupidity. A minute passed
by slowly, and at the same time, speedily. “Is death the
only option from the virus then?” I asked Luke as I was still scanning the
passing-by features. “Yes,” he
gritted with his teeth. He was upset about having his grandfather infected, I
could tell. But Otis was my grandfather too. Still, I had barely known him for
a mere few weeks; it was different for him. “How long do we
have?” I questioned. “I don’t know.
But luckily, Otis thinks he will last a lot longer than the rest because his
supernatural immune system is a bit more vast and potent than the rest of those
that have been infected recently.” Some good news, at least, I thought gloomily. “So, where are we going now?” “Meeting. In the
woods. My dad and Daryl are calling all the local packs tonight. They’re going
to inform them what has happened. Susan is staying behind to take care of Otis.
She’s trying different brews that she knows, hoping one may work. She’s the
best at what she does, so she’s really the only thing that we got going for us.
As of right now though, Daryl’s the leader, being the oldest sibling from
Otis.” Typically---referring to the
only two or three times that I had even gone---it took Luke and me about ten to fifteen minutes to
get to the woods where it sort of became the werewolves’ “spot”. But not tonight,
only five minutes tonight. Luke’s urgency shocked me because nothing like this
had happened to me before. I had never actually known there was more to the
supernatural world than running around in a wolf and playing hide-and-seek. But
then again, it was only reasonable to say that there had to be more. I just didn’t know if I could handle all of this.
It was way too much for an average teenager to accept. When we arrived
to the campsite, we parked the truck in the same spot at the familiar clearing
fo that unforgettable night and exited the vehicle. There was no fire alight tonight,
however, and I saw no one. It was lighter in the clearing then the rest of the
woods, I noticed, considering there was no canopy above us; it was just Luke
and I. “Where is---” But before I
could even ask my question completely Luke said, “Follow me.” We began to walk
across the clearing. While in the middle of it, Luke began to shed himself of
his clothing, leaving me to look away awkwardly. After he morphed into a wolf,
he turned around to look at me, expecting me to imitate his actions. I didn’t
really want to at first, but then the animal memories of being free and living
in the wild washed upon me like the ocean, and I was obliged to do it. Within moments,
we were both running through the dirt, grass, and fallen leaves that cluttered
the forest floor. I didn’t know where we were headed, so I kept questioning
Luke about it. But “follow me” was the only thing that he replied. His urgency
was still alert, and his speed pushed me to my limits, but I stayed within
distance. We arrived at yet
another field. I had already found myself in so many fields that they all
looked pretty much the same to my eyes. But this field, however, had sort of a
small mound in the center of it, and on that mound, I saw a fire in the middle,
casting light on figures that I couldn’t place at first. Luke and I raced
up the small hill, my eyes coming to realize some of the figures as some of our
own. But there were other people whom I did not know; all of them were males
with a warrior-like physique, making me feel like a child trying to place his
feeble opinion into a crowd full of wise adults. When we reached the top, and
every pair of eyes were on us, I realized that people were morphed as both humans
and wolves. All of the human guys were wearing only a pair of jeans or shorts
because they had obviously ran the entire way as a wolf. Some of the wolves
that I saw made me feel even smaller than before---they were big, sturdy, and leader-like. “Now we may
begin. Everyone find a seat,” Daryl instructed, just like a true leader would
as he saw Luke and I enter the fire area. There were logs
that encircled the flames just like back at the clearing in the woods and many
people that were in human form sat there. But others, who were morphed as
wolves, either lay on the soft grass or sat like statues with full alertness. I
transformed back to my human side with my clothing still on, making me feel out
of place even more just as Luke did after he received a pair of jeans from his
father, transforming out of sight. Subsequently we
found a place with my other cousins Derek, Michael, and Edmund on a log. I
looked at Michael’s face to see if I had left a mark on his face from when I
had hit him unknowingly, but then I felt pretty stupid because I remembered
that werewolves healed extremely fast. “Duh,” I internally groaned to myself,
but then I recognized I had didn’t have fur as my outer skin. I was apparently
having trouble distinguishing human thoughts and verbal werewolf commands. The atmosphere
seemed tense when we had arrived, but it seemed to ease just a smidge now that
everyone was going to find out about Otis. Nevertheless, being in a group of
werewolves while they were on edge made me feel a little insecure. Then Daryl spoke
with Trent by his side. “Alright. Now, I’m not going to go through all the
usual speeches, I’m just going to cut right to the chase: our pack leader, Otis
Woods, has been infected with the virus that has been spreading.” There was an intense
gaze at Daryl from everyone. Every person that was in wolf mode had now lifted
their heads up and perked up their ears. There was even a gasp or two, I think. “Now, his mate,
Susan, is trying to cure him as we speak. Right now, that is the only cure for
him. John, any reports from your area?” Daryl said. An elderly guy
that could be guessed to be about forty or so spoke: “No. None of ours have
been infected, at least. However, the rates of the human infections continue to
rise daily.” The guy had dark hair with a few streaks of gray within it. He had
a certain glisten in his eyes, which made him seem all the more wiser. “I see. What
about the Walker pack? Anything to add?” Daryl asked. Another elderly
man stood and spoke. “No. But the infection has never really been big in area
so far.” Then he sat. “Walker pack?” I
said out the side of my mouth to Luke beside me. “Yeah. That’s
the Walker pack,” he said with a nod to the guy who just stood up. “He’s more
like a hippie, really, but still respected throughout his clan. And that’s the
Oakes pack,” he indicated to the man that was named John who had spoken first.
“And there’s the Sullivan pack,” he pointed to the guy across from us. “And the
Winston pack,” he told me while gazing at the older guy now reporting for his crowd. I looked away
and listened as Daryl specified the same facts that Luke had told me earlier
about the virus. One of the packs knew a friend up in New York, as it appeared,
that said the virus hadn’t reached that far, and he was having no problems. A
guy named Adam from the Sullivan pack knew a guy in Florida who said it was
fine there too. “So, it’s
obvious that whatever caused the virus has originated in our area,” Daryl said
after he learned all that information. “You think
something caused it?” a teenaged boy from the Walker pack asked Daryl. “Not something. Someone. And it’s our job to find out who that person is.” “But how can
someone create such a thing?” the same teenager questioned with curiosity and
confusion. “I don’t know.
But it’s our job to find that out. Maybe someone did it purposely to destroy
supernatural creatures like ourselves. Or maybe it was an accident. But however
it happened, I am going to find out. Now, who’s with me?” Daryl screamed the
last bit. In response, all
of the packs gave a cry of “I!” to prove their support. Talk about your werewolves, my mind voiced not feeling the need to
internally voice things anymore. There wasn’t
much more information that had to be told at the “emergency meeting”, except
the expression of all of the packs’ opinions and their perspective on the
virus, so it all came to a close. The packs were each ordered to use any
resource necessary to contain the virus so they could find a cure for Otis. But
I could see the looks in all their faces: doubt. Many believed that once you
became infected, there was no turning back. But this was one of their own that was
being talking about, so that gave them more of a drive. But is it enough? Typically, Luke
had informed me, the whole flock would hang around a little after the meeting
and make it more of into a party and possibly go for a hunt, but this wasn’t a
normal meeting. They would even perform special rituals and such, like at the
first meeting that I had been invited to when I was unaware of what I truly
was, he had said. Maybe there
would eventually be a normal meeting that I could walk into, knowing everything
that was going on, including about me being a werewolf, and be able to talk
with the other pack members. But the way things currently were, that too, was
doubtful. After the end of
the meeting and everyone was dispersing, Daryl called me to where he was at. I
walked over to him, unaware of what he was about to tell me. “I’m proud of
you, Evan,” he said, patting my back good-naturedly. “For…” I
proposed. “For doing as
Otis said. I know it was hard, but it’s for the best, you know. Those nymph
girls would do nothing but cause trouble. Glad to see you’re fitting in with us
so well. Just like your father,” he said. “Oh…Okay. Well,
thanks,” I replied, not wanting to point out that my father wanted out of the
pack. Then I walked
off with Luke, trying to push down those emotions that lingered to the bottom
layer of me about Summ--- I am a werewolf damn it and it’s time I start acting
like one, I said to myself. Then
I morphed into a wolf, and I trotted back to the truck with Luke, watching his
jeans shred as he transformed himself. I pushed all
thoughts away, and pretended like nothing was ever wrong so Luke would not pick
up on my internal conflicts and to prove to myself that this was what I was
born to be: a werewolf and nothing more. * * * I quenched the thirst
of my throat by gulping down a can of Pepsi, listening as Austin told a funny
joke. Strangely, since I had realized my
heritage and its many features, I had been drinking more and more often, as
well as eating. It seemed as if becoming a werewolf not only gave me an inner
wolf, but also an extra inner stomach. But the weight never showed. While at school,
being surrounded by Austin, Mitchell, Jessica, and Cheyenne made me feel…normal
again. But then there was the existence of Luke at our lunch table, which
reminded me of what I truly was. I wanted more than anything to be normal, or
at least act like it, but my wolf side followed me everywhere. One minute all
of the werewolf drama seemed really cool and made me feel powerful, but then
there were times when I felt like crawling into a hole and waiting there until
everything became normal again. Still, ever since the emergency meeting Tuesday
with the werewolf packs, I felt like I had fallen deeper into the dark hole of
the supernatural. I need to suck it up,
I kept reminding myself whenever I found my brain confused over what was right
and wrong. While I laughed
with my friends at the lunch table currently, thoughts of the werewolves raced
through my mind. I thought of Otis’ condition, the virus that was spreading,
and whether or not my mom was at risk just like the rest of the small town’s
inhabitants. I had been worrying about her ever since I realized just how easy
it was for the virus to show up on my doorstep of my family and take over them. I remembered
just a previous night when the virus had finally started to enter my life with
even more force. My mom had told
me Wednesday night at the dinner table: “You know, I think I’m going to be home
more often, Evan.” “Did you get
fired?” I had asked her in return. “No. I’m sure
the school has told you kids about that virus that has been going around lately
and how everyone is becoming sick and such, right? Well, it seems that people
are becoming more frightened of it, and seem to find more comfort in their own
meals at home than ours. So the owner of the restaurant is planning to open the
place only on certain days of the week so he doesn’t go completely out of business.” Even though I
had my quarrels with my mother, I still loved her, and I would do anything for
her, so my protective mode rose as I said, “Why don’t you just quit?” She had starred
at me in disbelief. “I mean, just
until this whole thing blows over,” I continued. “And who, Evan,
would pay the bills then? Besides, I like my job. It’s…small, compared to back
in San Francisco,” she had said as she began gathering the empty dishes from
the table. I shook my head
to pull it out of the past just as Mitchell spoke to us all at the lunch table.
“Have you guys seen that new Michael Myers movie yet?” he asked us. “No, but I want
to badly. That thing looks like it’s gonna be good,” Cheyenne said as she replayed
one of her favorite scenes from the previews. Then Jessica chatted
with Cheyenne about the movie as Austin and Mitchell began talking to each
other about something. Luke just remained quiet, however. After the first
meeting---the one where I whipped Michael in the face with a
tree branch---, I was a little scared of Luke and what kind of
occult stuff he was into; but I had learned the truth now, and things had
changed. We were more like brothers now. At times, I would wonder if our
friends would still hang out with us if they knew the truth about what we were
and what we could do. I asked Luke didn’t he ever want to tell our friends, but
he pointed out the way people treated the nymphs at school, and it made me
think twice. So maybe it was a good idea that our secret remained a secret, for
our sakes, as well as theirs. Since our
friends had their own minor conversations amongst themselves, my eyes wondered
around the lunch room. It all looked the same since I had first arrived, except
me; I was different, and that
difference made me feel like an outcast from everyone else with their normal lives. It made me envy them. They went
about the day talking about their dates tonight, which football team would
squash the other one, and the latest school gossip, while I, on the other hand,
was sitting still, racked with worry as I fretted over the virus that could
infect me, my mom, my cousins, or anyone else I cared about and if they would
die---not
to mention the fact that I already had a grandfather who was already infected
and could die any moment. Plus, there was the whole werewolf thing that tied
into it all and made it all the more complicated. How normal they were, and how
abnormal I was. As I grazed the
land of the normal around me, my eyes worked their way up the stairs and to the
section up top where the few tables were. I saw the group of girls that I now
despised with every fiber of my being ever since Summer had revealed her whole
“joke” with Rose. I didn’t believe it at first, but I had no choice but to
believe in the end. Summer was now my worst enemy, just as if I was any other
wolf in my pack. I had pushed her out of my life and away from my brain. She no
longer had any meaning to me, except the standard relationship that was embedded
into the lives of werewolves and nymphs. She was nothing to me. And yet, as I
looked up at the table, the girls weren’t doing their usual scanning of the
crowd. Instead, they were whispering in hushed voices that even my extra
werewolf hearing couldn’t detect. I admit, I was a little curious, so my ears
lingered there, trying to distinguish the voices of the group and the rest of
the cafeteria. I couldn’t get anything, however. I looked the
other way, feeling the gaze of Luke on me. Even so, I still kept glancing up at
the table every now and then to see if I saw Summer. I had noticed that she
hadn’t been at school for several days now---but I only noticed because she sat near me in
practically every class that I have. I hated her and her friends no matter what,
but my curiosity had always been a character flaw of mine. Then Austin drew
me, Luke, Chey, and Jess back into a group conversation with he and Mitchell
when he said, “We have a plan.” Jessica let out
a sigh and said, “What kind of plan is it this time?” “No, not that
kind of plan, Jess. I was referring to the Michael Myers movie,” Austin said. Jessica looked
away in slight embarrassment. “Oh…” “Anyways,
Mitchell and I were thinking about going to the movies this weekend to see it.
Anyone wanna join?” “Sure,” Cheyenne
and Jessica said simultaneously. “I’m game,” Luke
said. Then everyone
looked at me. “I guess.” “Say…tomorrow?
My dad’s car? Eight ‘o clock?” Austin asked us. Everyone agreed. “Good then. It’s
a date.” I didn’t know
whether Hale had a movie theater,
which I’m pretty sure it didn’t,
but I decided not to ask. Instead, I glanced towards the girls once again.
Summer was absent; and now that I had begun to think about it, I realized she
had been absent all day. That was odd. As my friends
talked about tomorrow and the plans we all had, I thought about her absence. I
despised her, of course, but her absence attracted me for some reason. I didn’t
know why, but I felt the need to know why she was not at school today, or had
been for the past few days. I started to go ask her friends, but then I
remembered the humiliation I caused myself the last time I had tried that. Not such a good
idea, I thought to myself. I waited until our lounging period came after lunch, and
I hung back in the cafeteria as the group of chicks was the last ones to leave.
I had promised my friends I would meet up with them later, so I couldn’t stay
long for the chance of Luke finding me. When they saw I
had hung back intentionally for them, the redhead, Rose, got a scowl on her face
immediately. “What do you want, mutt?” She called me a mutt. Now that was kind of odd for a
girl to call a guy, unless she knew my secret. “You know?” I asked her. “Of course we
know. How can we not smell the stink of you from across the room? Now, what do
you want from us? Hasn’t your pack taught you the rules yet? You have a lot to
learn, pup,” Rose retorted. Her friends
stood behind her, all with furious looks beaming in my direction; it made my
defenses even stronger. “Look. I just came to ask you question. That’s all. Now
let me ask the damn question so I can get the hell out of here and away from
you,” my voice rising. “Fine,” Rose
muttered as she looked to the side and away from me as if defeated. “Where’s
Summer?” I asked. “What do you
want her for?” Rose asked, her anger obviously growing again. “I have my
reasons,” I said. “Where is she?” “Well, you’re
wasting your time. She’s going to be gone for a while,” Rose told me, her eyes beginning
to glisten more than usual. She was crying. Rose no longer
seemed this stuck-up, snobby girl anymore. She looked more like a sad, frightened
little girl that needed to be rescued. I still didn’t like her though. “Where is she?”
I asked with a little more force than intended. But instead of
Rose answering my question it was another girl behind her. Autumn, I think was
her name. “She’s infected. She’s become infected by the---the virus.” Autumn
had small tears leaking down her cheeks now like she had just lost her best
friend. Rose gave her a
look of small fury as if Autumn wasn’t suppose to say a word, but Rose forgot
her anger immediately when I then said: “Show me.” * * * I didn’t think much
about what I was doing, because if I did, I would regret it. Still, I couldn’t
just ignore the things I was doing either. First, I was skipping school right
now. Second, I was associating with nymphs. Third, I was headed straight into
the enemy’s base. That’s right: the nymphs were taking me back to their place.
Although I was blindfolded---for obvious reasons---, my werewolf senses should’ve been able to detect
where I was, but I think they put some kind of special scent on the cloth so I
couldn’t smell anything past it. But that was the least thing from my mind
right now. I wanted to know if they were telling me the truth or not about
Summer. Even if it was true, I didn’t know what I would I do. Summer and her
little gang of nymphs had ticked me off enough to make me dislike them, and
possibly hate them, but not enough to wish them any harm. Regardless, I had to know for sure. To refrain from
touching me, acting as if I was the
virus that had been spreading, the nymph girls tied a rope around my wrist and
pulled me along behind them like a puppy dog. It was a little embarrassing, but
I merely pushed the humiliation aside. I felt like I
was in some kind of forest. Since we had snuck out of the school, they drove
some kind of vehicle some ways until I felt nature under my feet as I touched
solid ground. Afterwards, we walked with the majority of the time being
occupied by the cracking of twigs under my feet, as well as the rustling of
leaves. I heard Rose disapprove of the idea of taking me to see Summer, but
several of the nymphs thought it was a good idea in hopes of me and my wolf
gang having any news on the virus that I could relay to them. After that, Rose
shut up. The outside air
was warmer than before, but still cool. The month was now May as of today---I
noticed because I had seen it on Mr. Wallace’s chalkboard earlier, and I could
tell spring was going to fade soon, allowing the intense heat of summer to roll
in. I enjoyed this time of year, though. After what
seemed an endless amount of time of walking and being pulled by a rope, we
stopped. They removed the blindfold from my eyes, and I blinked several times
to adjust to the new lighting environment that I found myself in. I was in the
woods obviously, but it was more like in a clearing of some sort. I was facing a
house that was made of what seemed like wood. It wasn’t a two-story home, but
it still looked pretty professional. Off to my right, I could make out other
houses through the trees of the same structure, and I assumed that was where the
other nymphs lived at. There was no basketball goal, no paved driveway, or
anything else that you may see at a typical human home in South Carolina. I
didn’t even see the car we had rode in. But there was a flower garden that
outlined a dirt driveway from behind me and a more vegetable-like garden to the
side of the house. It looked like a home that belonged to a conservationist. Rose opened the
front door to the home, and I followed behind all the other girls one by one. Inside,
pretty much everything matched the outside: bare. It had pictures along the
walls, but no paint, inside flowers to give the house a more comfortable feel,
but no television, and carpeted floors, but no fancy decorations. Yet again, it
looked like they were trying to save the planet. Guess nymphs take recycling seriously, I muttered mentally. A woman entered
from what looked like the kitchen, and she let out a gasp at the sight of me.
She resembled Summer in some ways, I noticed. She then began shouting in a
language that I had never heard before, and she looked like she would rip my
head off if there wasn’t a group of nymphs between us. Rose ran forward
and pulled the woman out of the room and back into the area she had exited,
where I heard the woman continue to shout at Rose in the odd language. After a
moment, I heard Rose respond in the same manner, except a little calmer, to the
woman. Autumn then took the lead of the gang and led us down a hallway. She
stopped at a closed door. They then parted away from its entrance, and everyone
looked at me. I walked forward awkwardly, opened the door, and went in, leaving
everyone else outside. I looked around.
I saw an open closet not containing much items, a tall dresser beside a window,
and a bed with a nightstand beside it. But all of those monotonous things were
nothing to me. It was what was in the bed that stole my attention. Lying in the
bed, drenched in sweat, with her hair scattered like stray pieces of string,
was Summer. She was shivering like she was cold, but her body looked heated up
enough. Her covers were in a mess around her as she lay before me. I edged over to
the bed, knelt down beside her, and examined her thoroughly. Her eyes were barely
cracked open, but they looked up and saw me. “Evan, what---” she choked
out. She couldn’t even finish her sentence to me. Summer cringed
several times trying to reiterate the sentence, but she was in pain. Her throat
was hoarse, as her blue lips trembled. I could tell she was indeed infected. On the
nightstand, I saw a pale of water with a washcloth inside. I drained the water
from the cloth, and I wet Summer’s face and forehead. Seeing her like this hurt
me for some reason. I wanted to ease her pain, to make her feel happy. I wanted
to be the one to save her from this purgatory, before--- Then it hit me: she’s going to die soon, I thought. The virus kills, and it’s going to kill
Summer. I could smell
the faint scent of her honeydew smell, but it was fading, just like she was. My anger wanted
to be unleashed, but I tried my damndest to contain it within a mentally-locked
cage. “How long until
the virus takes its full effect?” my teeth ground at the girls still standing
at the door. I couldn’t say the words die
or kill because it would hurt me
even more. One of the girls
stuttered her words. “How long?!” I
asked with little impatience. “We don’t know.
Not long though,” one of them finally said to me. My eyes burned
with tears from anger and sorrow. My heart shook and its pumping was off the
charts. I leaped up from my crouch by the bedside, and stormed out the room. It
was too much for me. I punched the
nearest wall leaving a gigantic hole in it, paying little attention as blood
oozed from my knuckles. I banged my head softly against the wall in front of me
out of despair as hot, salty water leaked from my eyes. More anger needed to be
let out. So I turned around, and I found a nearby table in the hallway, holding
portraits. My hands flipped it over with such strength that it ended up at the
other end of the passage as everything on it exploded into bits. I pulled back
my fist for another attack at the wall, but someone held me back. “Evan! Stop it!
This isn’t what she needs right now! Do you hear me? Summer doesn’t need this.
What she needs is a cure!” Autumn yelled at me over my heavy breathing and
banging while grasping my arm with surprise force. I fell back
against the wall and slid down to the floor with my face in my hands, tears
emitting like a volcano. I was angry at myself. I hated myself for deserting
her when she needed me. I loathed myself for choosing the werewolves over her.
I reviled myself for leaving her behind. It was my entire fault. If only
I’d…I’d…I’d done something! Maybe if
I didn’t let her get away from me so easily, maybe she would still be with me,
regardless of what she said. If only… “Evan. Do you
hear me? She needs a cure,” Autumn repeated as if expecting me to whip out a
magical potion out my back pocket. I sucked up my tears so I could reveal myself to the
audience around me as I said, “There isn’t one.” “What?” Autumn
asked. “There is no
cure! All I know is that someone is responsible for the cure. That someone
created it somehow by accident or on purpose, and the werewolves are trying to
figure out who that person is,” I told them, steamy droplets still being
released from my eyes. I knew if Luke knew what I had just told them, I would
be in some serious trouble, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was that girl
that was in the other room right now, needing my help as she withers in pain. “But as long as
someone finds that person, a cure can be made, right?” Autumn asked. The other girls
remained silent as they watched and listened to our conversation. “I---I don’t know,” I
said bluntly. “But if it was
created, then it can be uncreated,” she said. But I said
nothing else. All of the girls
then began to shuffle out the hallway and into the kitchen where I heard Rose
and the other woman still conversing. I remained motionless, paying the least
bit of attention to the voices in the other room, and still shrouded by the
mess I had caused. Autumn lingered for a moment, but then, she, too, followed
her friends. I got up on my
feet and entered back into Summer’s room, trying my best to hide my emotion. She looked
lazily up at me as I entered and muttered, “What was all that―that noise?” The sound of her
voice was like a dagger to my body. I felt ashamed of myself for losing it a
few moments ago when I needed to be by Summer’s side. “Shh. Rest. You
need it,” I told her as I sat on the bed alongside her. Tears wanted to
escape me, but I had to be strong for her, so I held them back. I leaned forward
and kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes and drifted off into a sleep,
trying to forget her painful condition. Regardless of what she had said to me
before, I clutched her hand into mine, and squeezed softly to let her know that
I was still beside her, and I would remain beside her, even until the very end.
© 2010 Joshua DonahueAuthor's Note
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StatsAuthorJoshua DonahueJefferson, SCAboutUPDATE! 06.27.13 Hello, WritersCafe! I realize that I have abandoned my account since the summer of 2013. Since then I have started college, and I have experienced... a lot. However, this does no.. more..Writing
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