Wolf Country

Chapter 8- Bitten

The next few weeks are a hectic mess of Gatherings, small meetings at the house, and sending search party after search party out into the dense trees. There haven't been anymore attacks since the night Adam's father died, but people are still on edge. A tense trepidation shrouds the members of the pack as they go about their lives, looking over their shoulders, checking twice that they've locked their doors, sleeping with their weapons close at hand. Some of the parents of the pack have taken to driving their children to school instead of letting them go on the bus, while others have temporarily withdrawn their kids from school. Without so much as a footprint from the killers, it's been hard to even begin to discover their whereabouts, and patience is running thin.

Adam has been suffering the most from this three-week stressful experience. At his father's funeral, he stood calmly by as the casket was lowered into the ground. Elena was released from the hospital after a few days and she leaned on her son for support, sobbing quietly into a tissue as her only love, the man she had made a one-time bond with, was forever blanketed by dust and dirt. The hospital had also temporarily released John so that he could attend. Wheelchair-bound, he gripped the armrests until his knuckles turned white and bit his lip, trying his hardest not to cry.

Now, three weeks later, things have somehow worsened. Elena rarely gets out of bed and spends most of the day crying and watching television with the sound muted. Adam tells me that she feels like she's not allowed to enjoy life anymore now that her mate is no longer here to enjoy it with her. With such a large house and no one to talk to, I'm still staying there with him, sleeping in John's room out of respect for Adam. Most days he doesn't come to school with me because of things that need to be taken care of in the pack, so he lets me drive Elena's car. 

"She never drives it anyway," he had explained as he handed me the keys. "She won't mind."

My mother was surprisingly okay with me keeping Adam company. She comes over sometimes and cooks, knowing Adam just doesn't have the strength to anymore, but he hardly eats anyway. He's lost some weight, but the biggest difference is his eyes. They're dead and dark, sunken into a gaunt, pale face. His clothes hang off of his body, which could be a result of the weight loss or due to his declining posture. With his confidence and composure gone, all he can muster is a weak smile whenever someone else says something humorous. He almost never speaks unless first spoken to. 

The weather seems to sense that the days have darkened, as a sort of shadow looms over the town of Jasper. It's almost always cloudy and cold; the wind whips our hair around and bites the exposed skin, chilling us to the bone. The days stretch endlessly into the bitter nights, when any rustling of leaves or twig snapping instantly wakes you up in the night and concocts insidious dreams.

Today is another day where I make the trek to school alone, leaving Adam asleep in his bed and Elena holed up in her room. I go downstairs and don't even bother making breakfast for them anymore. I used to do it every morning but I would come back to the house and see it cold and uneaten in the fridge or still on the counter. I hate going to school even more than I normally would now that pretty much the entire student body notices something is off. A lot of people are out "sick" and Adam, a normally kind and present individual, barely shows up to school. People have noticed that he's lost weight. Some even whisper about me as I walk past, letting their eyes glide over me coolly as I walk past their little huddles in the hallway. I wanna scream at them sometimes, tell them everything that's happening and beg them to help me instead of gossiping about me, but all I do is give a small smile as if nothing is wrong.

During the last period of the day, I sigh and sit next to Adam's empty seat for the millionth time, and for the millionth time I shake my head as the teacher looks inquiringly at the empty space. He looks sympathetic as he makes a small mark on his attendance sheet. After class, he calls me to stay after.