The Day Of The Tribe.

5.

5.

The trees swished from side to side, allowing the rays of the sun to drop on her face. She blinked twice before opening her eyes. She couldn't move. That was how she had always felt after the full moon; heavy and raw. She felt like her body had been used to grind stones. There was dirt all over her naked body. Her clothes were probably on another side of the woods, torn to shreds.

She lay on the warm morning grass, staring at the forest before her. For the first time in her life, she felt peace transcend throughout her body. The mixture of heat and prickly grass soothed her for some reason. It wouldn't be that way again, very soon. Fall was coming. She often hid this part of her self. The part that longed to jump around in a flower garden and play with butterflies. She sighed as she fiddled with a poppy flower beside her.

"Claire?".

She snapped her head in the direction of the voice and saw Naylor walking towards her. He was scantily clad in nothing but expandable shorts. He, too, was covered in dirt and dust. She let out out a sigh of relief at the sight of him, but she saw that something was wrong. He looked terrified, as though, he had just been paralyzed by his worst fear but he wasn't looking at her. His gaze was fixed on something behind her. Confused, she sat up and turned around.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw what was behind her. She went completely pale in the face. It was the girl from the night before, but her body was scattered into five parts all over the clearing. Her fingers trembled next to her heart. She couldn't believe it was really happening. It was the most horrific sight she'd ever seen but what hurt the most was that she knew it was her fault.

Naylor threw a blanket around her body as she was still trembling. She stood, barely staggering, and walked towards the girl's head which was on the opposite side from her left leg.

"No, no, no, no, no, no... ", she mumbled as she saw the girl's head clearly. It was covered in blood and her mouth wide open. Claire wanted to scream from the bottom of her voice, but her throat was completely dry. She couldn't voice anything. She collapsed hopelessly next to the girl's head as the first tear fell from her cheek. Then another and even more. She kept bawling her eyes out, rocking back and forth.

"You can't be dead"

Naylor walked towards her, his heart aching with sympathy.

"Please", Claire cried heartily. She slammed her hands on the grass and shook her head violently. "Please! Don't be dead!".

She dragged out her words as her voice shook heavily. She was afraid and hurt. She had actually taken a human life. It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time she had done it as a wolf... on purpose. Naylor crouched down next to her and cradled her shoulders.

"It'll be alright, Claire", he said.

"How can you say that?", she asked him between sobs. Her brain was pounding against her skull, crowded by emotions she couldn't ascertain. The girl was dead, but she was innocent. Claire knew that she had torn her apart like this, like she was no more than chaff. Her heart ached from just thinking about it.

"Come on. Let's get you home", Naylor urged. He held her by his side and led her away from the horrors of her reflection.

¤¤¤

She could hear them conversing outside her door. She wanted them to go away, yet she needed to hear what they were saying. She rested her tired head between her knees as she sat up in her bed. She wiped her tear stained and looked at her now wet fingers.

"What do you mean she killed someone?", Kevin's voice soared from behind her bedroom door.

"I mean she tore a human girl to shreds in the woods. What else could I possibly mean?", Naylor argued back. He knew Kevin would make the entire thing out to be his fault.