Empty as my Heart

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Razor-like claws protruded from the hazy mist that hung over the frozen trees.  Vines enveloped the sound of the night, never seeming to die with the forest floor although coated with icy frost.  Never-ending life, in a world of dying memories.

I clunge to James, arms clutching his, clinging for the life I hoped to fight for.  Yet fear seemed to lock up all fight I had left in me, and the only thought I could summon was of Ariana.  She had protected me when I failed to protect her.  I needed to return my favor.

How slowly would this creature reveal itself?  Was it analyzing us?  Calculating us as easy targets for prey?  If there was something more worth its hunger?

Then it sprang.

I leaped backwards, knocking James aside with me.  We plunged to the ground, me beside him on the ground.  The wolf had disappeared.

My eyes grazed the forest, searching frantically.  Seeing only darkness.

James scrambled upwards, hauling me with him.  I took one look into his eyes.  His face never left mine, hand grasping my palm, then we ran.

Ran, and ran.  Leaving the mountainside behind us.  Where a sleeping child rested, in wait for news of the surrounding area.  I pressed my hand to my ear, unable to block away the huffing growls of the unseen beast.

I knew this was the end, but I couldn't tell my feet to stop.  To let them slow, and give in to the unevitable.  James didn't have to drag me.  We ran, blindly.  It was a wonder we never crashed or tripped over underbrush.

Then I saw it again.

A shadow above the moon.  Leaping over our decending figures, cracking the ground as it landed in front of us. 

I stopped, suddenly enough to send me flailing.  I ended up crashing, falling fast and downward at a dizzying rate.  The hill was steeper going down than up, and I was most certainly going down.  Rocks jarred me, and I left a tiny little path of destruction in my burning loss of control.

The impact hit me as I came to a sudden halt, landing onto my back.  My breath left me, and I could only stare into what I would know as the brightest moon I'd ever seen.

Only...there was something blocking it.  I made a face, wincing as my changed features sent a stab of fire throughout my skull.

I could no longer see my moon.  A sense of irritation krept into my thoughts, and I wanted to turn and move whatever hid my sights.  I found my breath, breathing heavily enough to release the moans in my chest.  Then I found sense in me.

Something hot blinded my eyes, as if a drop of clear saliva dripped onto my face.  I lifted a palm, shakily.  The growl only stilled it further.

"Mae!" I heard someone shout.  James's own path of destruction lead me to thinking of his own fear for safety.

I made no sound.

"Mae!" he cried, and I was afraid he couldn't see me.  What if the wolf saw him before he did?

But then, my prayers were answered.  Cocking its head back, slightly, the large beast howled.  It was music, long and dark.  A battle cry in the darkest horror story.

I accepted the end, letting myself believe that James would, too.  Just as he looked into my eyes, revealing Ariana's own end before me.  He knew.  Emotions were just hints of betrayal here.  Nothing was certain, except for self-survival.

I failed my test.

This time, I lifted my hand and wiped the blood and sweat from my face.  I could see the beast, clearly, now.  And I wished that I hadn't seen it.

Despite the shadows and an overcast moonlight, the wolf was plain and visible.  Every detail shining through the few inches it possessed between us.  Thick, coal black pelt.  Teeth stained and sharp, lining the inside of its jaw like a shark's.

It's claws rested inches from my face, each large paw on either side of my head.  It stood over me with a sense of power that could only seem human.

I never would get over those wintery blue eyes.

They were all too human, glaring down at me with an obvious hate that lusted for my own death.  I could see that much, and I felt fear seep down into my very core.  The wolf towered above me, and I knew it was larger than a deer.  Thicker and more broad.

Deadlier than the largest bear.

Teeth bared, it lifted its snout once more, letting out another wistful howl.