BANG!
The loud sound echoes through my ears, causing me to run faster.
My pack had been laying in our clearing, peacefully. The alpha female, Luka, had been tending to the pups and the alpha male, Gakupo, was making sure everyone was accounted for. Lily, my adoptive older sister, was sleeping, and my older brother, Kaito, had been looking around nervously, as if he knew something bad was going to happen.
Unfortunately, he was right.
BANG!
I hear a whine of pain behind me and immediately know that Luka must have been shot.
No! She was like a mother to me! Especially after mine left Kaito and I...
I stumble a bit, looking back at the wounded wolf. Big mistake.
BANG!
Luka's deep blue eyes fill with fear and worry as a bullet enters my back leg. I let out a yelp as I take one last look at the wolf who accepted Kaito and I.
Then I run.
~~~
They're all gone.
None of then survived, not even Kaito or Lily.
I can still see Gakupo's purple eyes stare at me with a dead eeriness. I can also see the bright red, wavering trail in the pristine white snow that my wound left behind.
I lay on the ground and rest my head on the snow in front of me.
I had a family once, but they abandoned Kaito and I once they discovered the marks on our collarbones- Ōkami. We could barely survive on our own, until one day a woman with blue eyes and pink hair stumbled upon out camp. She told us her name was Luka and that she knew what we were and where we needed to go.
Once we arrived, we were slightly surprised to see wolves with crazy eyes colors. Before we knew it, we could do the same thing as them- shift between human and wolf at will.
Now, I had lost all of my family.
My ears perk up at the sound of footsteps in the snow, arising fear inside me. I try to stand and sprint off, but I've lost too much blood to stand up, let alone run.
I see a boy come around the corner, not carrying anything except his coat. When he sees me, he drops it and rushes over to me.
"Hey, it's alright. You're okay." He says in a soothing tone, though it doesn't calm me. My natural instinct is to ignore everything and run, but my mind is telling me to stay where I am and let this boy help me.
All too soon, I black out from the blood loss.
~~~
I wake up in darkness.
I panic from the disappearance of the powdery snow beneath me, replaced with cold concrete. My eyes adjust to the dark and I can vaguely tell that I'm in a garage.
Wow, I haven't been in any human building for some time.
I begin to stretch my legs out, but stop when I see hands in front of me. What? I never shifted! Relieved, I see that I'm still wearing the simple orange dress from the last time I shifted.
Frightened, I slowly look down at my leg, my long green side bangs falling in front of my eyes. Blood is staining the drab grey cement around my left knee, making me woozy still.
Suddenly, a small streak of light grows on the floor as the door opens. I looks up and gasp silently to myself.
It's the boy.
His blonde bangs fall across his face, barely covering his bright blue eyes. Those eyes meet mine with surprise.
He quickly steps inside the room and shuts the door behind him, not breaking his line of sight.
"Dad was right..." He mumbles to himself, but my sharp sense of hearing picks it up. "Lycans do exist..." He begins to walks towards me slowly, holding something in his hand. I scramble back, my eyes wide with fear.
"No!" He sticks his hand out. "It's okay! I'm not gonna hurt you." In his outstretched arm, I see a roll of white bandaging. He starts walking towards me again, then kneels down in front of me. We never break our gaze with each other. I can tell he sees the terror in my eyes.
"I'm gonna help you." He coos softly. His hand moves to adjust my leg, but I jerk away quickly.
"I don't want you to die..." He says fretfully. "I take it you don't either." What he says finally sinks in. Would Kaito or Lily want that? Would Luka want that?
No. They wouldn't.
I shake my head slightly, and slowly stretch my leg out so he can bandage my knee. That is what he wanted... wasn't it?
As he begins to bandage my knee, I croak, "Thank you." My voice sounds as if I hadn't used it in years, which I haven't.
I haven't been human for almost two years.
The boy looks up at me with surprise carved in his face. "What?"
"Thank you," I croak out again. "For..." I take a deep breath, not realizing how hard it is to get used to being human again.
"Are you okay?" He asks, his shock replaced with concern. I nod, not wanting to speak again. His sapphire eyes appear to stare right into me, reading me like an open book. "You're sure?"
I open my mouth to answer, but hesitate. Am I? To be honest, not really. So, I shake my head.
"What's wrong?" He asks, genuinely concerned. In reply, I pull back the collar of my dress a bit to reveal my indentity.
He stares at the green Ōkami on my collarbone with thought. Suddenly, his eyes widen with realization.
"The hunt," he says, his gaze shoots up at my face. "They killed your pack, didn't they?" I nod. His face takes on a hard, grim look as he finishes securing the white cloth around my knee. He stands up and motions for me to do the same.
"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up."
~~~
Within a few hours, I have new, clean clothes on and aren't covered in muddy snow and blood. Luckily, I seemed to remember how to take a shower.
But I still don't remember how to use my voice correctly.
"I guess I should tell you my name, huh?" The boy asks as I tentatively walk out of the bathroom.
He told me that he pretty much lives alone, because his father is always out and his mother disappeared about ten years ago. It's a fairly large house too.
I look at him, not saying a word.
"I'm Len," he says finally. "I'm guessing you're gonna stay quiet?" I hesitate before I see a pen and paper. Writing is something I could never forget.
My name is Gumi. I write on the blue stationary.
"Gumi?" He reads, then looks up. I nod. "That's a nice name." He flashes a bright smile at me, which I hesitantly return. It's probably the first time I've smiled in years. Then he pauses.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asks quietly. I stare at him with wide eyes, as if he asked me to stop breathing. But it's probably for the best.
We were all minding our own business, until we heard the first gunshot. I never thought we would stop running, until all of them were dead. Even the little ones.
I could probably do better, but what happened a few hours ago is something that I never want to remember. He looks up at me with sadness in his eyes. In my own I can tell he sees the hardness and grief.
"Is that really what happened?"
I nod, looking away. His fist slams against the table, surprising me.
"I'll be right back..." He mumbles, walking off. Did I do something?
I hear yelling from the other room, which makes me uncomfortable. My eyes close as I clutch my hands over my ears.
Some days were just terrible.
