Hunt

Chapter 30: Secrets Revealed

"Julie!" I shout as I frantically barge through the front door. The door was still unlocked, not a good sign. "Julie! Where are you?!" I cry out to my sister again.

The interior of the house was dark as I enter. Even though it felt like it was after midnight it was still relatively early out. Luckily for me our parents weren't even home from work yet. After frantically searching the rest of the house I find that my room door was locked. Odd... my door never had a lock. Something was blocking it from the other side. Winding back I slam my shoulder into the door, causing pain to flare up through my arm and the door to swing inward ever so slightly, whatever was placed against the door was heavy.

"Julie? Are you in there? It's me, I'm coming in." I call from the hallway, not hearing anything from inside I steel myself and slam into the door again.

With the sound of something heavy scraping against the floor I slowly begin to push my way into my room, finding that my dresser had been moved to block the door from opening. The room was pitch dark, and as I turn on the light a whimper from my closet alerts me to Julie's hiding spot.

"Hey, Julie. It's safe now, okay?" I state from outside the closet. "You can come out."

I wait what is probably thirty seconds before the door opens, Julie stepping out gingerly wielding a kitchen knife, shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. "K-Kyle?" She asks as she meets my eyes. She looked shell shocked, like she wasn't entirely present in the moment. There was a vacant look in her eyes. She was looking at me but not really seeing me.

"Hey, it's okay." I kneel down and talk softly, like I would if I was talking to a scared child, "Let's put the knife down okay? There's nothing to be scared of here. It's safe."

She clutches it tight for a moment before dropping it. The large knife clatters against the floor loudly in the tense silence. "W-what was all that?" She asks, the vacant look in her eye was receding the more she talked. She was coming back into the moment.

With a sigh I lead gently her towards the bed. "Okay...There is a lot that I need to go over with you now. But first I need you to tell me if you got hurt out there." I try to keep as calm as possible, but I can even hear the shakiness in my voice. I don't know what happened to her before I arrived. She could've gotten hurt long before I arrived in the field.

She slowly shakes her head, "I-I just scraped my knees when I tripped. I think I'm okay."

Looking her over quickly I determine she's telling me the truth, letting out the breath I had been holding. She hadn't been bitten, I had gotten there in time. I excuse myself for a second to check myself over and to get something to calm my nerves. There was a lot on my mind I wasn't ready to mentally unpack just yet. Making sure Julie is alright was distracting me enough to keep my mind off it for now. But I know the second I get a moment to myself it's going to be impossible to keep my emotions in check.

I was scraped up and bruised. A few of the larger cuts still sting and are sticky with fresh blood. Specifically where the wolves had pinned me down. However, I determine myself to be clean. I wasn't bitten and not needing any immediate emergency attention. Grabbing some water I return the bedroom. Julie had folded herself into the corner of my bed since I had been gone, her knees pulled to her chest as she had wedged herself as far against my bedroom wall as she could go.

"...Talked. It could talk... it said my name..." She's muttering to herself as I return. Stopping when she sees me hand her the glass of water. "Thanks," she whispers as she takes the drink in unsteady hands, tentatively lifting it to her lips.

Sitting next to her on the bed I ask the question that was nagging on my mind: "Julie? Why were you out there tonight?"

She shakes her head, staring deeply into the water in the glass. "I-I heard you sneak out. I wanted to see where you were going, but I got lost. I found my way to the park and waited for you to come back. But..."