What About Now?

Chapter 4 - Where Am I?

What am I doing here? I ponder as I slowly open my eyes.

Better yet, "where is here?"

Leaning my wounded arm against a gray concrete wall I silently look around, gritting my teeth painfully as I push against it to assess my surroundings. The wall is covered with a good portion of intricately laced vines, causing me to maneuver my hand around it, hoping to avoid getting pricked by any of the sharp thorns sticking out. Shaking my head, I attempt to to regain a sense of my whereabouts as I squint my eyes against the bright sunlight, but sigh when I only see the sight of the wall extending for miles. The only bright side of this situation is the strong gust of air blowing against my dirty blonde hair, causing the heat of the sunlight to become considerably bearable.

I close my eyes for a moment, sighing in relief when I feel the cool air blowing my dirty blonde hair behind my back. Listening carefully, I can also hear the birds chirping joyfully above me, causing the corner of my lips to turn upwards. However, my grin quickly turns into a frown when the realization of what I did finally dawns on me. I used my powers. It saved my mom. But why would it spare me? I've been nothing but cruel to it, constantly suppressing it from ever regaining control again. I thought my powers were dying down, but it's more alive than ever, I conclude.

"Wait! Mom? Mom, where are you?" I turn around hastily, tears brimming the corner of my eyes, getting nervous by the second when I can't locate her presence. "No! I can't lose her too, No, please!" I plead, continuing to frantically look around for her.

Now I'm truly alone.

I try to recollect myself by taking deep breaths. Come on Kai, you can't think like that. You'll find her. She can't be far from here.

The pain in my arm increases tenfold, drawing me away from my somber thoughts as well as making me curse those freakishly strong wolves.

"Great!" I mutter aloud.

My white tank top is covered in blood and my jeans are clawed off into shorts. I continue to assess myself for any more damage but quickly halt in doing so, realizing that my constant movement is intensifying the throbbing in my head.

I use my good arm to squeeze my head in hopes of trying to alleviate the pain. However, that only causes more blood to evoke to the surface.

I probably need stitches. Alright, just forget about the pain, I chant. I can still feel the bond between my mom and I. The bond feels faint, but it's there. That can only mean that she's somewhere close by. I begin making my way through the forest, walking near the wall as I search for her, but then quickly halt as a terrifying thought comes to mind. What if the rogue wolves that attacked us aren't that far from us either? I can't help but let that frightening thought consume me as I break into a sprint.

Perhaps I'm not as safe as I think. I mean without my mom I'm hopeless. I can't shift, and most of the time I can't tell when I'm in someone else's territory, let alone tell where a packs border begins or ends. Therefore, as I sprint down the edge of the wall I'm aware that I have no idea where I am or where I'm going. All I know is that I have to keep moving, keep running.

Left, my wolf voices as I continue sprinting.

I forgot that her presence barged out during the fight with those rogue wolves, providing me with the speed I required to dodge most of their synchronized attacks. But now, I no longer need her. I briefly close my eyes in an attempt to suppress her. I concentrate on pushing her into the deepest corner of my thoughts, but the loud snarling has me rethinking my decision. However, it isn't hers like I expect it to be, it's theirs.