Among The Wolves

Water

(Day Three)

Child, the time has come for you to go
You will never be alone
Every dream that you have been shown
Will be like living stone
Building you into a home
A shelter from the storm (White Owl, Josh Garrels)

A little girl, who sat at her mom's feet, looked up when the song finished. "Hey mom, you sing that song a lot."

A soft chuckle was the only reply.
"What does it mean?" Quizzled the young female.

The older woman set down her needlework. And reached to brush aside a strand of hair that was resting over her daughter's face. "You will understand when you get older, Kejyta."

"Water."

My eyes opened slowly from my restless sleep. I could hear the Eta (Warrior) leave the cell. The metal door grinding against the hinges as it closed. They had left me 'water' again. Was this the sixth time in three days? I just let out a small sigh and curled up tighter in the corner from which I laid.

For three days I was confined to this small cell. They brought me water but no food. A pain that my stomach never felt before was gnawing at my insides. Apparently, I was to be kept barely alive. When another wave of hunger pulsed through me, I begrudgingly began to get up. This cold cell had a moderately warm spot. The far corner on the opposite side of the window. It must have been connected to a heated room. In any case, my shivers at night were much less violent when I curled up there. Only when I went to retrieve my small canteen of water, did I leave that warm spot.

Per usual, the canteen rested on the lone chair in the room. Treasuring the wetness of the water, I drank it slowly. From the corner of my eye I could see the back of an Eta at my cell. Even though the door was solid metal, the rest was your typical prison. Thick silver rods criss-crossing each other. The Eta stood just outside with his back to me. Other werewolves patrolled the area. Once in a not-so-rare while I saw wolves saunter past my little domain.
I really wanted to go and inspect beyond the cellar to see if maybe I could get a glimpse of really anything that would tell me what was happening or what they would do to me. Instead, when my canteen was finished, I made my way back to my corner and curled up again; replaying my mamma's lullaby.

Child, the time has
come for you to go...

My stomach growled in disappointment when no more water came. It spasmed, begging for solids to digest. I began rubbing the scar underneath my white T-shirt. Now that the thick brown coat was off I could touch it again. The scar started at the nape of my neck and ended at the apex of my shoulder. Back when the scar was healing it would ache and rubbing it brought relief. Of course the scar did not hurt anymore but it was a habit now whenever I was stressed.

Scrunching closer to the corner wishing that warmth would come faster I brought my dirty hands close to my mouth. I breathed my warm breath onto my chilled fingers.

You will never be alone…

That soft lullaby kept my mind's eye away from the death of the recruits. I pretended that the girl, the other female recruit was in the stall with me. In a figment of my imagination she'd keep me company and tell me stories of family fun, good food, and jokes about the little water we got. Our friendship was a mirage but I held onto it, it was the only thing happy (though fleeting) I had to make me smile with my emotions.

My crimped muscles relaxed a bit when I noted that I was a tad warmer. I tucked my fingers underneath my arms and continued humming.

Child, the time has
come for you to go…

With that, I drifted again to a restless sleep.

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Hello! Just a side note! I did not write the lyrics to the song that Kejyta is thinking about. I have the song and author listed: White Owl - Josh Garrels.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!