Verdant II

Eight

Sila's POV 

There was a child on the ground, crying softly, cradling his arm to his body. He looked no older than five years. I ran over to him, skidding to a stop when he gasped and started scooting backwards to get away, looking terrified. "It's okay, I'm here to help you," I told him as he looked at me with a terrified, tear-streaked face. "My name is Silas. Can you tell me what happened?" I asked.

The child sniffled and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his sweater. "I'm Sky."

"Do you have a phone Sky, so I can call an ambulance?" I asked. The kid, Sky, shakes his head and fresh tears ran down his cheeks. "I want to go home" He whimpered.

"Okay Sky, are you hurt anywhere else? Can you walk?" I ask, assessing him and looking around. There is still nobody else on the streets, it's deathly quiet besides Sky's soft crying.

Sky shook his head again. "My arm hurts" he whimpered. I ran my hands through my hair frustrated and a little scared. I had no idea where the closest hospital was, or phone. I was not the right person for this situation. But nobody else was around, and I had to do something.

"Okay, If I carry your backpack, do you think I can walk you to the closest hospital? Or somewhere we can get help?" I asked him. Sky bit his lip, looking around. "My aunt is a doctor. She can help."

Phew. I took a deep breath, having a plan made everything easier to handle. Then I stepped forward and picked up Sky's backpack, and helped him to his feet.

"Do you know the way to your aunt's from here?" I asked Sky. "I'm new to the city" I explained. He nodded and started walking. I followed and watched as he cradled his arm and sniffled softly. At least he didn't seem to be hurt anywhere else.

I had no idea what happened to the kid and tried to coax the story out of him as we walked slowly. But he refused to say anything, so instead, I asked about his friends and family, trying to take his mind off the pain.

Suddenly we heard a loud howl. Sky stopped short, listening intensely. "I didn't know there were wolves in Boston," I said like an idiot. Sky snorted, and whispered under his breath "you have no idea human".

We kept walking, and after ten minutes we made it to the suburbs of Brentwood. Suddenly there were lots of people running around, and we stopped amidst the chaos. I had never been here before, and the place was nice: lots of large homes with green spaces. There seemed to be a mini town centre with a few stores and a medical office. The doors to the medical centre were propped open, and people were streaming in and out. Lots of them looked really injured as if there had been a large ten car accident or something. The smell of blood clung to the air, making me feel sick. I could hear people moaning, and screaming.

Sky looked terrified. "So many injured.." he whispered. His uninjured hand found mine and gripped it tight.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, and then inwardly cursed myself for cursing in front of a child. Several people stopped and stared at me. I looked around, unsure what to do.

Then a wolf emerged from the trees. A wolf.

I think my heart stopped beating. Fear seized me, and I froze to the spot. Nobody else seemed to notice the massive beast. Everyone kept staring at me as if I was the out-of-place thing in this town.

I think I might have hallucinated the next part, but the wolf turned into a human. A naked man stood where the wolf once was. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants from a basket sitting under the tree, threw them on and then ran towards us.

I just stared.

"Sky" the man called as he approached us. Sky was still holding my hand, I was still carrying his backpack. Suddenly my hand was empty as Sky ran towards this man-wolf thing and threw himself into his arms.

They hugged as the man sank to the ground, and carefully put Sky down, looking him over. The two of them talked quickly in hushed voices, and the adult hugged and kissed Sky on the forehead.

I still couldn't find my voice. I was rooted to the same spot, staring at the man that was only a minute ago a wolf. "What..." I finally managed to get out.

The man looked up and our eyes met. Recognition flashed in his eyes a second before I realized who he was.

I felt her presence before I saw her. Grace ran out of the doctor's office and scooped Sky up in her arms. She was crying and hugging her brother. Her dad kept his eyes on me as he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, stealing her attention.

"Silas?" She asked shocked when her eyes met mine. The panic that had frozen me to the spot lessened. "What are you doing here?" Grace asked.

"I found Sky hurt by the road" I explained. "He wanted me to take him to his aunt who was a doctor, and since I didn't have a phone I couldn't call an ambulance..." I responded, unsure of if I should mention the whole wolf thing or if I had maybe hallucinated the whole thing.

A loud shout from the left drew our attention. Three wolves came barreling down the street. "What..." I asked, looking around. Nobody seemed particularly scared, and the wolves ran into the doctor's office like nothing was wrong with that.

Grace's father told her to get me out of here, and she grabbed my hand and led me down the street. I kept turning back and looking at the doctors' office, waiting to hear people screaming or the sound of three rabid wolves attacking people. All I could hear was the sound of blood rushing in my ears as my panic rose.

Grace seemed stressed, but not scared. I looked at her hand holding mine as she marched us down the street and into one of the largest houses on the block. She unlocked the door with a key in her pocket and led me up the stairs to a bedroom. Her bedroom.

I sat down on her bed still trying to figure out exactly what just happened. Grace closed the door and sat down next to me. My hands were shaking in my lap, and I couldn't really catch my breath.

"Silas, breathe," Grace commanded, and I did as she said. I took three deep breaths before I could look at her. She was watching me with concern. "Werewolves." She simply said. "I, my family, everyone on this block, and about half the kids at school are werewolves".