Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Interesting thing about sorrow?
It’s a privilege for those who can actually focus on it and grieve their loss.
Because when you have to survive?
All you can feel is the hollowness slowly eating at your soul.
Until you no longer recognize yourself.”
Levi
Levi, 6 years old
“This is a bad sign.” I sigh as an owl hoots in the distance and the wolf growls at me.
“There are no berries in here,” I tell him, moving the bushes away and showing him empty leaves.
“We should go somewhere else.” That’s when the owl hoots some more, and various howls fill the night, making me wince and glance at the full moon shining brightly in the sky and lighting up the entire forest.
The wolf pack will be hunting tonight, and that’s never a good sign for me. Quickly snatching a few leaves on the way, I head out toward the small cave peeking between the two trees, serving as a good cover from the hungry wolves who search for flesh to feast on.
I should know, I’ve hidden enough from them to know their routine and my wolf might be nice…but even he has his limits, and he’s no alpha.
He won’t protect me should they decide to rip me apart.
Wolf growls a little and then follows me, nudging me with his nose when another set of howls echoes, and I roll my eyes. “I’m going as fast as I can,” I whisper to him, mindful of my steps so the twigs don’t crack under my foot and alert any other predators around me to my presence.
I mean, humans, or rather monsters, who come here to hunt and kill while firing their guns with joy whenever they manage to catch an animal.
He invites them here all the time.
I’ve been living in this forest for the last couple of months, ever since escaping the basement, and the wolf became my only companion.
He showed me the lake where I drink water and bathe sometimes because Mommy taught me that I should do it every night. He helped me find this cave as well, and he’s the one who found all the food for me.
It’s mostly berries, mushrooms, and sometimes leaves. He brought me birds and rabbits a few times, but I could not imagine eating them while they are still breathing. Besides, all the blood made me sick.
At first, I thought he was huge. That was before I saw his pack and understood he must be a baby just like me. He doesn’t stay with me for long, just a few hours, and then goes back to the other wolves.
Every time he takes me out to explore more of the forest, I think he’s searching for a way out for me. It seems like an endless maze, with no escape.
I stay deep in it, though, and don’t wander any closer to the house where the monster still lives and hosts parties because he has a lot of guests.
Even though everything in me screams to go closer and maybe search for my little sister, I resist the urge.
If he catches me, he will kill me, and then he wins. I can’t disappoint my mom like this.
Despair envelops me, but I shake my head and focus back on the situation at hand.
Emotions, as Mama called them, are a weakness, and I can’t be weak.
Weak animals don’t survive in the wild. They’re hunted and killed.
I’ve learned so much about the outside world in all this time, exploring everything I could and remembering all the stories Mom told me.
The world is beautiful even if it’s so scary.
I scratch at my arm, sighing at the sight of new bruises that are also a constant in the wild. My only clothes are the ripped pants and a shirt that have become too small for me, and I wonder what I will do once more time passes.
I always pray at night.
Pray to the gods, Mom said, asking for help and mercy to get out, just like they sent the wolf to me.
I believe there will be a way for me to survive.
“You should go back,” I tell the wolf. “I’ll be fine.” I raise my hand and wait for him to nuzzle it before running my fingers through his fur, giving him a light pet. I always ask for his permission to touch him.
Despite everything, I’m so grateful to have him, and I hope every day he’s not just guarding and feeding me so I can grow and become a bigger treat for him.
Who knows?
Maybe young wolves also need to prove themselves to the pack by bringing the biggest prey.
I also watch him hunt, how he assesses the terrain, sniffs the scents, and follows them. His complete focus is admirable. “You aren’t going to eat me someday, are you?” He huffs, his teeth grazing my palm before he licks it, and I giggle. “I’m sorry, I just had to ask.”
We’re almost to the cave when the howling intensifies, and I freeze because it’s never been this close.
My wolf stops in his tracks, too, and after a second, pushes me again, but this time in the opposite direction. Something he has never done. “What’s going on?” I whisper, and he growls, which is his way of telling me to shut up.
He nudges me some more, so I speed up my pace as the howling becomes stronger and closer with each passing second.
No!
The pack found my cave?
Grabbing the heavy rock on the way, I start to run faster as the wolf joins me, and that’s when the howling sounds mix with the gunshots in the air, followed by the crows chirping.
What? No!
The hunters usually don’t come on a full moon, preferring to stay away from the wolves and always killing various ducks and rabbits. The forest becomes quiet when they enter, and the various deer, along with does, wander farther in to avoid them, protecting their young.
It’s the only time I’ve seen all the animals in the forest unite against one common enemy.
“The wolves are fucking here. I can’t believe it!” someone says, and it’s so strange to hear a human speak after all this time. “He was right. Robert was right. They are more active during a full moon.”
“Let’s hunt the fuckers. We’ve got rifles.” More gunshots, followed by the wolves howling, and my wolf hits me with his paw, so we dart to the right, onto the road we never wandered on. “He said if we kill the wolves, he’ll pay us a generous amount.”
“Because he wants the boy.”
My heart gallops in my chest at the implication, and I force myself to run fast, the wind slapping my cheeks as fear glides through my veins, and despite my lungs begging for oxygen, I do not stop.
Stopping would mean dying.
I have to survive, even though on most days I wonder why I made such a promise.
My feet burn, and the wolf continues to push at my back until I end up on the asphalt road, the voices still loud and too close.
My eyes widen at the sight.
It’s straight and spreads wide. I’ve never seen the ground so evenly laid out, and the open space is astonishing. There are no trees in sight but…mountains.
I gape at the open space so different from my usual habitat.
“What is this?” I wander and turn to the wolf who nuzzles my stomach, and I give it a long pat. “You brought me here? Thank you.”
Since more gunshots echo, he gives me one last nudge and then races back into the forest, tilting his head back and howling so loud I have to cover my ears. “Look at the gray wolf there!”
And just like that, he disappears from my view, the voices trailing after him along with the other wolves, it seems, since they answer his call.
He protected me once again.
I get on the road, looking around, not knowing what to do next. Do I wait it out, then go back into the forest?
It might be scary and cold at night, but at least it’s familiar. Here, I don’t understand anything.
The annoying sound of honking disturbs my senses just as bright light blinds everything around me, and I sit on the ground, wincing, completely disoriented.
Breathing through my nose, I blink and blink, adjusting my vision, waiting for the countless white dots to disappear, and gasp in horror when everything finally clears.
Because two men get out of a car—I think? It has four wheels where people can sit, that’s what Mom used to describe as a car—and smile wildly at me, reminding me so much of the monster.
They have the same cruelty in their gazes.
“Well, well, well. Would you look at that?” one of them says, playing with a small stick in his mouth. “Who do we have here?”
The other one nods. “Dirty and bruised up just like he described him.” They share a long laugh as I step back. “Underneath all this, though, he’s pretty. Too pretty.”
The way he says it sends more fear through me, and the familiar nausea that I used to feel in the monster’s presence shows itself again.
“Robert promised a good amount of money for him, John.”
John shrugs. “He doesn’t need to know we found him. He can keep his fucking money, we’ll get more for him than he offers. Besides, Robert is a psycho. He might kill us if we bring this kid to him.”
The other one doesn’t seem too convinced, judging by how he sighs. “Are you sure?”
“He will sell.” He takes a step, and I move back before throwing my rock at him, which earns me more laughter. “He’s a fighter, and the perverted fucks love to break spirits. He’s perfect.”
I turn around, but I don’t get far before strong arms wrap around me.
“Got you.” I twist in his arms, trying to bite him and kick him, only to cry out when he hits me hard, throwing me inside the car and putting something sticky over my mouth.
“Save the strength for later, pretty one. You’ll need it in hell. ”
Since I continue to struggle, they hit me again with something heavy, and everything goes black.
And if I thought I’ve experienced hell on earth back then?
It was nothing compared to what awaited me next.
As human greed knows no bounds.
A fact I’ve learned from a very young age.
Lavender
“My brothers are going to kill me,” I mutter under my breath, and it earns me a chuckle from Gordon, who parks by the coffee shop.
“Don’t worry, miss. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“Right.”
I hop out and rush toward their usual table located in the right corner, under the huge umbrella. The place is packed with servers running hectically between the tables.