The words snuck into my mind like a ravenous, filthy weasel, filling my body with malice and spite. A dark filled my heart as I stared blankly at gene with pursed lips. A scowl formed on my face as my mind began to piece together the clues. "Why hasn't he been caught yet?" I asked softly trying to keep my anger from erupting. Gene looked at me with his eyes fixated in a way that could only be described as emphatic concern in his eyes. "Because he has temporal immunity to the law" my eye twitches as I felt the vein in my neck throb from pulsating blood. "What you're saying is that while we're stuck here suffering, he walks free of his crimes?" Gene's voice dropped to a whisper as his lip quivered with hesitation. "Yes, I'm afraid so. The forest is to dense for vehicles to pass through, and to broad to send out law enforcement. The best we can do is drown him out or wait," I couldn't stand to listen to any more. I could feel my heart beating faster I paces back and forth rubbing my chin.
"Thomas, it isn't your place to do anything. If you take matters into your own hands, you could have a record against you. It can ruin your life," gene said slowly.
"Like they haven't ruined my life already, what more do I have to lose?"
"You're pride. If you do anything rash, you're no better than him,"
I stopped pacing. "You said that the tree line was to narrow for vehicles to pass," I questioned.
"Yeah, what about it," Gene asked cautiously.
"I think I may have an idea, but we will worry about that after the wedding, c'mon it's almost time, and you need to get ready," gene stared at me blankly for a moment. I could tell he was still processing what I just asked him. Smiling faintly, I gestured him towards the house. "Move, soldier," he chuckled and saluted me as he marched towards the house. Turning my back to him, I stared at the tree line thinking my plan carefully . I was so fixated in my thoughts that the sound of lesli's voice made me jump.
"I couldn't help but overhear you and Gene," she began.
"Couldn't help overhear, or couldn't help eavesdrop?" I smirked.
"A little bit if both," lesli muttered."anyways, I want in," I felt a shiver cross my spine as I stares at her.
"I can't risk it, you're to valuable," I muttered under vacant stare.
"Is it because I'm crippled, or is it because I'm a girl," she sneered.
"It's neither, it's just that your life is to...your life is to precious to be tampered with, I must go alone,"
"Then I will tell Gene," she threatened. "Good, tell him to write you a good obituary, cause I will kill you, if you do,"
"Why must you do everything in secrecy, Thomas?" I stopped scanning my eyes, and slightly looked up at the sky.
"Because if no one does, then how do we know justice has be served?"
"Revenge is not justice, it's anger and spite," lesli said looking at the ground. "If you want to go alone, then I won't stop you, and I won't tell Gene as long as you answer me this question: what are you, Thomas? What calls you to the forest," I looked at her with a slight smile before turning to head into the woods, leaving her in own words.
The soft underbrush crushed under my feet as I ducked under dangling branches. The rough appendage of the trees elongated fingers felt wet to the touch as a foul musky odor clung to my hand. Lifting my fingers to my nostrils. Sniffing the translucent liquid slowly I let out a soft gag as wiped my hands on the britches of my pants. "Wolf piss" I muttered. "Still warm"
The earth shifted slightly, as a low rumbling rang through my ears. Turning around, I froze in place as a crippling shiver shot through my spine. Standing before me was a massive mesh of fur. Shoulder height of the wolf, was about nine feet with eight inch incisors. It's nose crinkled with sincere ferocity as it's lip curled into a threatening snarl. It's golden eyes shimmered through dense fur, as it watched me move away with slight apprehension. The black beast spat silently as the deep rumble continued to echo through it's larynx. The next few moments took me by surprise as the wolf parted it's jaws to run a smooth and rough pink tongue over her teeth, before a soft but dangerous overwhelmed me that seemed to come from the wolf's tightly clenched teeth.
"Filthy human, who dares to trespass on to our sacred land!" The black lupine questioned hastily. I looked around with admiration and confusion as the wolf grew impatient. Words flew around my mind like the scrambler ride at the county fair, I took in a deep breath but all that came out was "talk". The wolf lowered his head to the ground as he stopped growling. "Yes, I do talk, but not very proud of it. Few of us actually speak to humans, but that doesn't explain why you're here, and why I haven't ripped you apart and eaten you," he said licking his teeth again.
" I am looking for a man named manny, he is a wanted criminal," the wolf say on his haunches and stared at me with a bit of a suspicious glance. "Criminal, hardly! The man saved me as well as my sister. Why, he even has me convinced my own brethren dare turn against me. But why am I telling you this, I have spared your life once. Don't think I will do it again, or you will feel what wrath Wisdom can really do...wait...you've got Athena's scent on your skin, what have you done to her!" The wolf leapt to his feet, and pounced on me, slamming my body against the dirt. "Where is my mother?"
"Dead...from battle..." The black wolfs eyes narrowed into slits as he picked up my body in his jaws and shook me ferociously. My head snapped to and fro at vicious speeds before landing on my side in the hard ground. "You dare slay a blackclaw?" He asked snapping his jaws, hunkering his body to the ground ready to strike.
"Wisdom, that is enough. He wasn't the one who killed her, Ember was," a voice called from behind. Wisdom turned around as a smaller timber wolf slowly padded towards me. "Stay out of this fang," he snarled as he licked his teeth from my blood. "Like if or not, it is the truth. Manny told her to. I've seen it," the timber wolf came around to my side, and sat next to me, licking the wounds. "Athena took a liking to you," Fang said, "but wisdom is right, you shouldn't be here it's not safe, if you want to see us, there is an abandoned cottage down the creek that Manny stays away from for obvious reasons. To close to civilization,"
"How do you know all this," I asked. The timber wolf lay on his belly and looked at me.
"Get on, I will tell you at the cottage. These parts are regularly patrolled," looking at Wisdom, he narrowed his eyes and gave a warning bark before trotting into the forest. Black pelt flicking against the brush.
YOU ARE READING
The Vagrant Shadow
Novela Juvenil"Monsters are made, never born" When Thomas Bravier stumbles across a pack of wild wolves he notices something strange about them: they are not like normal wolves, they are smarter, bigger, deadlier. Someone or something is mutating their genetic...
