Chapter Seventeen: Against TimeA Chapter by Joshua DonahueForbidden. Now that Evan and his pack have the source's blood, a cure must be made. However, the werewolves have no intentions on giving the nymphs any cure. Will Summer die?
Previous Version This is a previous version of Chapter Seventeen: Against Time. FORBIDDEN
BY: J O S H U A D O N A H U E
Chapter Sixteen Against Time The run back home
wasn’t anything like the first. In fact, it wasn’t even a run. Dan and Brad---after
they had taken Hank home to Susan to fall under her care---drove back to the
cabin in a truck with a pickup-bed in the back that held all of us with space
to spare. Daryl had seemed to conclude that even though the majority of us
thought we could handle the run back home, we were stubborn and didn’t know
when to rest. He claimed we would all have fallen before we reached even a
quarter of the length, and it would consume days, if not weeks, to get back. Thus,
we all rode in the truck. I was so
grateful that I didn’t even care that it was hard and uncomfortable; my body
parts ached on the inside and out. Apparently, my werewolf side could take away
the major pain and its markings, but it was slow at resolving the issue of
aches after a long, hard night of fighting. Not to mention, I had a killer headache
that made it even worse. However, the cool midnight air helped somewhat. The
freshness and the new sense of clean oxygen it brought filled me, knocking away
my defective aura and replacing it with a much more brilliant, vibrant one. While I slept in the rear of the truck during the ride
home, I kept getting disturbed by frantic phone calls from my too-protective
mother. My phone seemed to have a mind of its own when it came to being powered
on or off. Regardless, I never did answer---I just silenced the incoming calls
from my mother. Yet, when we finally got back to Otis’ place, I realized I had
119 missed phone calls from my mom. On call number 120, I forced Trent to
answer it so he could get me out of the mess I was in. As I listened
keenly to the speakerphone, Trent told my mom that I was going to sleep over at
Luke’s house, and he had forgotten to warn her, even though I had told him to
tell her. She seemed to calm down a bit after our made-up story, but I knew she
would say something when I went home. All I wanted, though,
was to depart from Otis’ place and find myself at Luke’s house---because I really
was going to sleep there---and asleep on something comfortable. * * * By my extremely
non-scientific calculations, it had been four days since I had discovered that
Summer was infected; her surviving time, however, was incalculable. I still had
no type of communication with Summer or her friends to know her current health
condition, but I couldn’t imagine it was anything good. Trent lied easily to my mom again when she called back
later by telling her that he would take Luke and I to school and that he would
pick us up as well. She agreed, saying she would swing by and drop me off some
things so I could get myself cleaned up a little with some fresh clothes. I
really did need a bath, I realized. Nevertheless, when she arrived and hugged
me tightly, giving me my things, she gave me a suspicious and icy stare. She knew. She
knew I had been on a paranormal mission. Regardless, I ignored her and went back inside, allowing
her to go to work for the day---unaware of the things I had done the previous
night. Albeit, I did use the objects she gave me, but I didn’t use them the way
she intended: I didn’t go to school. There was no way that I could concentrate on Mr. Wallace’s lecture on chemistry,
or Mrs. Miller’s talk about the world and its “fascinating history”. I just
didn’t have the ability. What I needed to focus on was helping with the cure.
Luke seemed to want the same thing as I did because he stayed out as well (with
Trent’s permission). The cure wasn’t exactly made yet, though. Daryl had to
leave immediately when we awoke to go talk with the other leaders, so they
could put on their white lab coats and mess with some chemicals with the blood
that he had gotten from Phil. Daryl informed us all that John new someone in
the medical field that would help out with an entire crew of researchers if
necessary, which was probably the only way to make the cure. Even Hank was going
to help out with the other leaders since he had quickly recovered, thanks to
Susan. Luke and I wanted to get involved as well, but Daryl
declined us---yet again---and said we needed to stay home and rest so we could
recuperate from last night’s battle. I thought about disobeying his orders
again and trailing him---and I’m sure Luke did too---, but I recalled what we
had found ourselves in the last time we pulled a stunt like that: trouble. Derek, who
texted us during his classes, informed us that his dad had forced him to go to
school as punishment for what he did. In reply, I told him not to worry, that
sitting home wasn’t too much better. He seemed to understand. Although, his
texting afterwards became fairly unpredictable due to his fear of getting
caught in class. Luke’s older brother, Edmund, despised us now, by the looks
that he aimed at us every time he passed us to the kitchen or some other area
in Luke’s home. He probably hated the fact that he was trying to prove himself
the night before, yet, Luke and I managed to show up and ruin it all by
outdoing him. Still, he never said a word to us and vice versa. However, there
were a few tense moments between us when I entered Luke’s kitchen every few
seconds and raided it, filling my stomach with delights since it had not been
full in quite a while. Nonetheless, Edmund remained quiet. In the later afternoon, after much tedious boredom from
Derek’s erratic texts and Edmund’s bothersome stares, Trent came back to retrieve
Luke, Edmund, and I so we could be at Otis’ house, which is where all the excitement
was going down at. Even though it was a brief drive from Luke’s house to Otis’,
We kept badgering Trent with questions as to what was occurring, but he
wouldn’t tell us anything, claiming he knew nothing to tell. When we arrived and found ourselves in Otis’ living room,
we found Daryl, Derek, Michael, and Susan all huddled around our pack’s true leader. He was no longer sitting in
his bed, pleading for an antidote to his pool of pain and anguish. Instead, he seemed
to feel much better as he sat on the couch, gulping from an average drinking
glass. He didn’t have any sweat running down his brow, he didn’t seem to have
temperature reactions, and he didn’t seem to wither in pain. “So you guys made the cure?” Luke asked as elation began
to spread over his face, resembling everyone else’s expressions in the room. “Well, we
didn’t make the cure, but yeah, the cure was made,” Daryl said. “Damn you guys work fast,” Trent pointed out. “Well, when you have hundreds of people dying and a whole
lab facility with practically the cure itself in your hands along with people
who know what they’re doing, you get things done.” Daryl grinned at his
accomplishment. “I’ll say. So what about the others that have become
infected?” Trent asked, stepping up to stand beside his father to take in the
delightful picture before him. If Trent hadn’t asked that question, I was planning
on asking it. Daryl responded, “Well, we’ve come up with a solution to
that too. The other packs have already taken quite a stock home with them to
help give to their hospitals and stuff---with a certified signature to show
it’s a legit antidote from John’s friend---for the humans, so their towns are
pretty much covered. And since supernatural beings have different body
structures than humans, we had to make a cure specifically for them. SO they’ll
have to be treated by us instead of a human hospital. And as for the other local
towns, I’m going to send Edmund, Derek, and Michael out on this mission, seeing
as how Luke and Evan here, have already had quite a bit of an adventure for themselves.” At the plans that Daryl laid out before us all, Edmund,
Derek, and Michael all smiled with joy, leaving Luke and I to grimace from the
fact that just because we nearly died from a leader werewolf, and some how
managed to kick his butt, we were forced to take a hiatus from the werewolf
world. I hoped that Susan and Otis would intervene, noticing our
despair, but they were too content with their happiness to be alive and well in
one another’s presence. “What about the nymphs?” I asked with as much
innocence as possible, trying not to show that the word “nymph” fazed me, even
though every time that I even spoke of it, I thought of Summer. Everyone went
silent---not that they were talking very loudly from the start. “What about
them?” Daryl asked. I wished I
didn’t have to answer to him. Personally, I would prefer the true leader, Otis, to step up to the
plate and take back his role. Yet, he remained silent, sipping his liquid and
staring at me with a gaze that I could not place entirely. “Well, aren’t
you going to send them some? I mean, what if one of them is infected or something?”
I asked. Daryl shrugged
casually. “Don’t really care. It’s their problem. We found the cure ourselves,
so they can do the same. And if we find out one of them is infected, then we’ll kill them so another epidemic doesn’t
start.” I gulped, which
seemed to sound like an avalanche. Then I snuck a peek at Otis, but he was
still returning that very same gaze at me, so I looked away. Not noticing my
behavior or peculiar interest in the nymphs, everyone began to converse with
Otis to show their love and to make sure he really was better. Nonetheless, they
were just as sadistic and cruel as Daryl was when it came to the nymphs. They
would much rather kill them than help them. They could act as many mushy scenes
out as they wanted with each other, but I know how they really were. I merely crept away from the small crowd of werewolves---excluding
Susan, who was so happy that she was returning to the kitchen to make beverages
for everyone---and went outside into the front yard to stand on the porch,
peering at everything around me, but not really taking the visual inwards. Sudden
realization attacked me like the vicious animals my own family was, causing me
to be potentially blown off the porch: Summer was going to die! She had no way
for a cure because my own pack was being selfish with the damn antidote.
Without the cure to save her life from ending, Summer was actually going to die! I was enraged at my pack for being so cruelly
conceited…furious that I had failed Summer…and defeated, lost, and weak for not
doing a damn thing to help her! I couldn’t take
the fact that I had had Summer’s world on my shoulders the entire time,
trembling beneath its weight, trying with all my might to push it back into
orbit. But in fact, I had now dropped it and allowed it to shatter to bits. It
was my fault. Her death was by my own hands due to my inability to muster
enough strength and skill to save her. I was a complete failure. My heart was
aching to see her. To know her well-being. To know her every move. To know that
she was going make it. But no matter
how much I wanted to lie to myself, the truth was that she was going to die
thanks to me. My brain was
muddled. I had to think
of something I could do. Something that could help Summer. Something. Anything! I kept muttering in my head continuously. After a good
amount of time had passed, I finally thought of an idea that was practically a
no-brainer: I decided to steal some cure. I went back
inside, and I saw the small crowd had now disappeared. All that remained was
Otis, Daryl, Trent, and Luke; they were oblivious to my silent presence. I crept into the
kitchen only to find there was no need for the “creeping” because Susan was in
there, apparently revived and shot back to life as if she had taken the
antidote instead of her husband. “Oh, hey, Evan!
You scared me. Care for a cookie, dear?” she asked. Wow, when she’s happy, she really does a number! “No, thank you.
Hey, where’s everyone else at?” I asked nonchalantly. “They already
left. Daryl sent them out on their missions. You know, Otis really appreciates
all the help he has done for him as being the leader and all. It won’t be long
before Otis can take back over,” she said while rinsing some dishes in the
sink. “Where’s the
rest of the cure that they left here?” I asked, not taking heed to Susan’s extra
info about “being leader” and all that irrelevant crap that I could have used a
while ago when I needed to encourage Daryl to give the nymphs some of the
antidote. “What left over
cure? There is none. They took it all. There was just enough for the remaining
towns. In fact, Michael just left about twenty minutes ago, being the last to
leave with it,” she said absently. “Where was he
headed?” “Don’t know. You
should ask Daryl.” Then she began humming a classical tune to herself as she continued
her rinsing escapade. My heart dropped
to my feet. There was no way I could ask Daryl anything else because I really
didn’t need the extra suspicion. I walked back
outside, but this time, to the backyard. I paid no attention to it all,
thinking solely of Summer and her life, which unfortunately had depended on me.
Now it was over. There was no more cure for her body to consume, which meant no
more Summer for me to enjoy. But… Michael!
The name popped into my head abruptly. Of
course! Then, not
thinking my plan or actions thoroughly, I yanked off my t-shirt with ease,
chunking it to the ground nearby. I felt the sun spread across my back and
chest as it filled it with warmth. Then I kicked off my shoes, allowing the
mushy soil to cool them. I leaped in midair, morphing into the beast I truly
was and landing on all fours. Then, at the fastest speed I could possibly
manage, I raced off into the woods. I used every
ounce of energy that I had retrieved over the day from the battle in the
mountains. I gathered up my abilities that I had as a werewolf and exploited
them to my advantage: I was tracking down Michael since he was the closest one
with a cure. With him being
so young like myself, I could detect his scent easily. It was a very heavy
smell that clung to the air like a spider to its web. I couldn’t exactly
describe it, but I could distinguish it from any other smell effortlessly. I followed it at
the fastest pace possible through walls of trees, flowing streams and creeks,
and shrubby bushes without tiring myself out. But after about fifteen minutes
of traveling at an easy rate, I simply said a mental screw it! and sped up to the max for Summer. Within the next ten
minutes or less, I detected Michael was really close because his scent was so
strong that I could practically feel his presence before me. When I found
him, he was in a stray field, running alongside a dirty pond, which seemed
pretty deep at first glance, but after a second look, I could tell it was dried
up and the bottom was viewable. He didn’t see me when I saw him; that is, until
I yelled across the pond, Michael, wait
up a second! He looked in my
direction and noticed me. He stopped. In exactly five
seconds, I was right beside him. He was small, but that was only because he was
young. His fur was a lot lighter than the rest of us in the pack with a few
streaks running down the side. I also noticed he carried several tubes of tea-colored
liquid tied around his body. “Why did you
follow me?” he asked promptly. “I need some of
that,” I said benignly. “Some of what?” “The cure. I
need some.” “What?! Why?
It’s for your girlfriend nymph, isn’t it? I knew that’s why you asked Daryl
about them. I just knew it!” He’s a quick learner. “No questions. I
just need some.” I was intentionally ignoring his accusations and his negativity. “No! Associating
with them is forbidden, Evan! I’m sorry, but I won’t give you any.” He took off running
around the pond in order to reach the trees and get away from me. He was making
this a bigger deal than it was, I noticed. I hoped it
wouldn’t have come to this, but I had no choice. Summer had no choice. I ran behind
him, catching up to him without difficulty. I tried to nibble his legs so I
wouldn’t hurt him, just to make him pause a bit, but he was persistent. I had
to bite his tail. When I did, he
howled from pain, and he reached backwards and struck at my face. His claws dug
into my nose and stung severely, but healed within moments. “Go away, Evan!” he shouted at me. “I can’t! Not
until you give me some of that cure!” I replied. He didn’t
respond; he just kept running. Since I couldn’t
make him stop by biting, I was going to have to do something else. I came out
from behind him and up to his side. I pushed him with enough force to make him
fall into the water alongside us. I was hoping that the tubes of antidote were
strong enough to withstand a few hits, and I was right. They didn’t break as
Michael’s small werewolf body landed on the bottom of the shallow pond. He landed on his
side, but he immediately regained his stance with almost his entire body poking
out of the murky water below. He faced me. “Evan, don’t do
this! I don’t want to fight you!” he said urgently. “And I don’t
wanna hurt you! Look, just give me some of the cure, and I’ll go. Nobody will
know. But either way, I need that cure, Michael.” “I would give it
to you if it was for family. But for a nymph? You make me sick to my stomach. Falling
for a nymph? Who would have thought?” “Give. Me. The
damn. Cure.” I ground my teeth together to show my impatience with my cousin. “No.” I lunged at him,
clawing at his sides, so I wouldn’t permanently damage him. He wailed in pain a
few times, but he quickly healed and got over it. Hearing him get hurt by my
own claws made me feel disgusted with myself---but Summer needed that cure no
matter what! And if Michael was going to have to give it up unwillingly, then
so be it. He struggled
feebly as I pinned him down effortlessly. I extended one of my claws a little
longer so I could cut a tube from Michael’s side as he twisted meaninglessly.
The tube gently rolled off Michael’s side and splashed into the water. I snatched
it up with my jaws, my razor-sharp teeth keeping it in place, and then I took
off out of the drying-up pond. Michael started to come after me, I realized, as
my werewolf ears heard his paws plow against the earth, but then he seemed to
recall how simply I subdued him and thought twice about it. However, he
screamed at me as I ran away from the scene. “You’ll be sorry, Evan!” I didn’t care if
he told Otis or any of them. Hell, at this point, I didn’t care if he told the
whole damn world. As long as I got the cure to Summer, it would all work out
okay. He seemed to
reiterate the same phrase again to make sure I noticed his annoying screaming
in my head, but then I had ran so far and so quick that our vocal range
evaporated into nothing but thin air. My heart pumped---raced---sped-up---or
whatever you wanted to call it. All I know was that I ran like I had never ran
before since I had found out that I was a werewolf. Lightning didn’t have
anything on me now. I was probably the fastest animal in the animal kingdom because
I had a location in mind that mattered more than anything. Saturday, when I
had missed going to the movie theater with my friends so I could return to
Summer’s side, Autumn secretly showed me the way to their houses in the woods
in case I ever needed to visit them for some reason. She figured it was a good
idea, even though her friends probably wouldn’t have thought so if they knew. That’s
where I was headed. I could feel
something wrong in the very pit of my stomach as I sprinted. Something dark was
there, forewarning me that something bad had happened or was going to happen. Suddenly, I
rolled forward across the ground as a sharp pain entered my body throughout. I
couldn’t identify the source, but it didn’t matter because the pain was too
overwhelming---to excruciating---to think about that. I released the tube as I
gasped for breath, hoping the pain would cease. My entire body felt like it was
twisting into a thousand knots on the inside, making my heart wrench from pure
agony and terror. After a minute
passed, my organs seemed to loosen; the pain subdued to a small ache, but appearing
to leave an empty void in my chest even though I could still feel my heart beating
just as plainly as ever. I instantly snatched the antidote back up, and I sped
up to my maximum speed so that I probably looked invisible---forget the blur---to
anyone watching me in the forest. I was running so
fast that I reached my destination in less than fifteen minutes with the ache
still lying at the pit of my stomach. When I got
there, I allowed the tube of liquid to roll out of my mouth and hit the solid
ground. Then I morphed into a human, picking the cure back up with my bare
human hands. I realized I was still shirtless, but I didn’t care---after all, I
still had my jeans on, but was barefooted. The slight breeze against my bare
skin felt refreshing considering my body was above normal temperatures from
constant running. However, that
was unimportant as I faced the wooden, conservative house I had visited before
in the woods. I walked to the
door---forgetting to knock---and opened it, strolling right in. I didn’t bother
hollering the usual “Hello?” or “Is anyone home?”. Instead, I went straight for
the room that held Summer and her virus that I was about to get rid of with
this magical liquid in my hands. When I got
there, the door was ajar and inside were females. I recognized all of the
nymphs from school, the woman that had screamed at me the first time I had
arrived, and many more women of whom I did not identify. They must have lived
in the other homes through the forest, I supposed. All of the women were
clogging the space around the bed, and after I realized this, I pushed them
aside as I worked my way forward. I saw Summer lying motionless on her bed---no
screaming, whispering, heaving, sweating, or even breathing. She was utterly
still. I dropped the
antidote to the wooden floor, not paying attention to if it shattered or stayed
in tact, because the shock of what scene was lain out before me was indescribable. Summer was dead. © 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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