Red Riding Hood

Chapter Eighteen

I would like to tell you that as I entered the darkness a flashback of my life came to me that was beautifully tragic, that dying was calm, relaxing even and that I found some kind of inner peace on my journey to the other side. But it wasn't. The pain that had tore through my body followed me and now lost in nothingness I continued to suffer. I had no sense of time so it could have been seconds, minutes or years as my body seemed to be tearing itself apart. How I was even functioning enough to take in what was happening to me was a mystery.

But then it stopped.

I was sprawled face up out on something hard, my throat was burning and I was numb. Opening my eyes I couldn't see anything. I was aware my left arm was bent above my head and my right was at my side. My legs were hanging over the edge of something as the ground felt soft and not hard like on my back. Even if I had been able to move, fear of falling would have kept me in place. What was happening? I thought back to when Marcus had been strangling me, at the point of blacking out my wolf had appeared. Was she here too? Just thinking of her gave me the ability to flex my fingers and with a great effort my arm moved along what ever it was I was laying against. It felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, numb and uncooperative. But I had moved. That was a start.

Finally the heaviness that seemed to be over my body lifted, pins and needles rushing through my legs as I came back to life. Slowly I managed to sit up, gripping on to the edge unable to see what was below me. But I didn't need to see. I sensed it. Death. I crossed my legs and shifted back, not wanting to risk falling. Now what? I reached my arm out behind me and felt nothing, moving along the floor to make sure there was more ground behind me and hesitantly I stood up. My body protested, my legs were weak and instead I went down on my hands and knees, slowly crawling around the dark space. There had to be something around here. Panic started to set in and soon I was curled into a fetal position, sobbing uncontrollably, mumbling for someone to help me. I wanted to go home. I didn't just feel alone, I felt like a part of me was missing and it scared me more than the darkness and the stench of death that seemed to be following.

A low whine soon caught my attention, my cries shifting to the occasional sob as I focused on where the sound had come from. Again the animal like noise was heard and not thinking, with great lack of agility I got up again and started to run as best my body would allow me. The noise was more of a yelp now, a howl leading me. It was her. My wolf. My shaky legs soon gave out from underneath me and I fell hard. Cursing out loud as new pain shot through my legs as I fell. Opening my eyes, I closed them again as bright light assaulted my eyes. Carefully I opened them again and waited for my eyes to adjust before trying to look around. I was in a forest. Tall lean trees surrounded me, the ground covered in leaves and shrubs I was lost. Her bark like howl came to me again, echoing around the silent world. I had to find her.

The closer I got the stronger I felt, my steps improving until I was able to jog and soon after I finally saw her. The forest opened into a field of green, dots of purple and white flowers added to the serenity of the area as a light mist hovered in the air from the nearby waterfall and the sun filtered down sending warm beams of light around us. It was beautiful. The white wolf was sitting by the river that flowed through the clearing and as she heard me, she turned and stared. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. My grandparents used to have a golden retriever and when ever I got home from school it would run up to the door before you had even finished walking up the path and the second you were inside he would shower you in kisses and crave your attention. For something that was meant to be apart of me, I thought she would be happier to see me. But instead she just stared.

Her color also intrigued me. I thought she would be black like Williams. I tried to remember the dreams where I had been in a wolf form but it was blank. Yet when I saw her with Marcus she had come from the darkness. So here she was – white. She turned so we were face on to each other; her curious eyes watched me before finally she lay down casually, her head resting on her outstretched paws. Just watching. I had taken three steps towards her, unsure of what else to do when her headshot up, eyes squinting she tensed looking behind me. I froze, a growl rumbling from within her chest and she finally got up and started to stalk towards me.