The Castle of Dreams

Chapter 8 - Following the Wolf's Tail

Rebecca was freaking out from the moment Wiley had woken her up this morning. But now? Ha, now she was hysterical. Both Wiley and Peyton had just disappeared and left Rebecca all alone in the woods, in the middle of the night, following a wolf. What in the world was she going to do? She had no idea where the boys had gone, no idea where she was, no idea why she was there, and absolutely no idea why she was following a wolf somewhere. Rebecca panicked when she turned around to find the boys long gone. "Peyton! Wiley! Guys? Where are you??" She asked. The wolf howled again and Rebecca jumped and found herself on her knees. 'Oh my goodness, I am gonna die.' She thought to herself. Then she remembered what the boys had said before they had mysteriously disappeared. The wolf could very possibly be leading Rebecca right towards Beckett. So, should she follow the wolf and hope she was getting closer to one of her friends or go in the only direction the two friends she had already found had gone in with hopes of finding them? Rebecca looked around the dark forest she was in and tried to think how much longer it was until sunrise. She had no idea, but she decided that she would follow the wolf. Rebecca didn't want to follow the wolf at all but Wiley and Peyton could handle themselves alone in the woods, Rebecca hated being alone but she figured following the wolf would be her best shot. The wolf would either track down a village where she could stay until her friends found her or better yet, Beckett. So, she stood up and listened to the sounds of the forest for a moment. When the wolf howled again, Rebecca followed the sound. It took forever, but finally just as the sun was beginning to rise, Rebecca stumbled upon a small village. Momentarily, forgetting about the wolf, Rebecca pulled her red cloak closer to her as she explored the little village. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she smelled the fresh bread coming from the bakery. Rebecca followed her nose over to the shop and saw the baker standing outside trying to sell his bread to the villagers walking by his cart. "Um, excuse me sir. But may I have a loaf of bread please?" Rebecca asked politely pulling a coin out of the small pouch she had in her basket. "Why, of course, madam." The baker said, taking the coin Rebecca was offering. His eyes widened in surprise and he looked at Rebecca curiously. "Uh, is something wrong?" Rebecca asked the Baker. The baker shook his head. "Oh no, do you have something to hold the bread in?" He asked. Rebecca nodded and set her basket on the flat top surface of the cart. The baker dumped his entire tray of samples into the basket and then a tray full of loaves of bread, muffins and even cookies, that a young girl about Rebecca's age had just brought out from the shop. Both Rebecca and the other girl stared at the baker as he continued dumping pastries and breads into the basket. "All I wanted was a loaf of bread." Rebecca said. The baker looked up at her. "Yes, but I am giving you what you payed for." He said. Rebecca glanced at the girl confused but saw the girl staring at her. "I'll be right back to get more bread." The baker said and turned around and ran back into the shop. The young girl walked over to the cart. "Uh, sorry for staring. It's just your cape...red, does that by any chance make you little red riding hood??" She asked. Rebecca stared at the girl. "I think so. I'm actually looking for my fri-"
"Bucket?"
"Beckett. But yes, do you know him? Is he here?"
"Yes, he's here. But h-" the girl was cut off as a yell cut through the air.
"HELP!" He cried. Rebecca immediately turned to the big hill. "Beckett!" She exclaimed. Turning back to the girl, she grabbed her basket off of the counter. "Tell the baker thank you for the bread." Rebecca said as she turned around and began running towards the hill. "Wait! There's no wolf. There never is, don't fall for his trick!" The baker called coming back out of the shop. Rebecca turned to face him. "The story might say there's no wolf but I followed a wolf here, and that's my best friend up there, I have to help him. Thank you for the bread!" Rebecca said turning and running towards the hill with the baker calling after her and the girl just staring after her. Rebecca ran up the hill as fast as she could and froze when she got to the top. Not only was there a wolf, but there were dead sheep lying everywhere, and by one of the corners of the sheep's pen the wolf had Beckett cornered. Rebecca was terrified she couldn't help Beckett, what was she going to do against a wolf? "Hey! You! Big bad wolf!" Rebecca found herself yelling anyways. Both the wolf and Beckett looked over at Rebecca as if surprised to find someone standing there. "Rebecca?" Beckett asked softly. The wolf swatted a paw at Beckett, causing him to cry out in pain, and then stalked towards Rebecca. Rebecca panicked. She wanted to run over to Beckett, who was now hurt, but on the other hand she wanted to run back down the hill. But she couldn't do either of those things at the moment. Slowly, Rebecca reached into her basket and grabbed something small and held it out in front of her. The wolf stalked closer and Rebecca squeaked. "Here, fetch!" She squealed, turning quickly and throwing the muffin down the hill. The wolf rushed past her pushing her to the ground. Rebecca took a huge deep breath. She hadn't thought that would actually work but it did and she had saved herself and Beckett, well for now at least. "Rebecca?" Beckett asked. Rebecca's head snapped up and found Beckett right where the wolf had left him, she jumped to her feet and ran over to him. "Beckett! Oh my goodness gracious, are you alright?!?" She exclaimed examining the long deep wound the wolf had made on Beckett's arm. Rebecca turned to her basket and tried to find the small first aid kit she knew was in there somewhere. "H-how did you find me?" Beckett asked, never looking away from Rebecca's face. She looked even more beautiful without her glasses on, how that was even possible Beckett didn't know. "And why aren't you wearing your glasses?" He asked. Rebecca finally located the first aid kit. "Aha! I found it, and well I don't know but I don't seem to need them anymore." Rebecca said opening the small kit. She pulled out some bandage wrap and a small disinfectant wipe. "What do you mean you don't need them anymore? You've needed them since kindergarten!" Beckett said. Rebecca nodded and opened the wipe. "I know, it doesn't make sense but then again what does make sense anymore?" She said wiping the blood from the gash. Beckett winced when the cold wipe touched his cut. "Sorry!!!" Rebecca said.
"It's alright. Do you know where the others are?" He asked. Rebecca shook her head. "No. Well, I was with Wiley and Peyton but when I turned around they were gone. So, I kept following the wolf an-"
"Following the wolf? You mean you were following that wolf all the way to me?" Beckett asked cutting Rebecca off mid sentence. Rebecca nodded and put down the wipe, picking up the bandage instead. "Yeah, I know. I was terrified but I made it to the village and I went to get a loaf of bread and this girl seemed to know exactly who you were and she acted like she knew me and then I heard you and I ran all the way up here and well, you know the rest from there." Rebecca finished. Beckett nodded slowly. Rebecca carefully began wrapping the bandage around his arm. When she was down she scooted up next to him and leaned against the fence. "I am so tired, and hungry." She said reaching over and grabbing her basket. Beckett laughed when he saw what was in the basket. "Did you get enough bread there, Red?" He asked. Rebecca laughed softly. "Oh, shut up!! I asked the baker for a loaf of bread and I handed him a coin and he dumped like everything he had into my basket!" Rebecca exclaimed showing Beckett one of the coins she had payed with. Beckett took the coin and examined it. "Well, it sure sounds like you quite the adventure today, huh?" He asked. Rebecca nodded slowly, picked up a loaf of bread and split it in half. Handing half of it to Beckett and keeping half for herself, Rebecca began pulling small pieces off and eating them. A comfortable yet awkward silence fell between the two of them as they ate. When she had finished, Rebecca found herself leaning her head on Beckett's shoulder. Beckett tried not to get too excited but he leaned his head on hers. With full stomachs, the two of them were too exhausted to do anything else. Many thoughts were running through Beckett's head at this very moment. This could be his chance to really tell Rebecca how he felt about her. After running it through a few times, he felt like he had it all thought out enough to say it. "Rebecca?" He asked softly.
"Hmm?" Came her soft quiet reply. Beckett opened his mouth to speak, but someone came over the hill. "Oh my gosh. What a terrible smell." A girl's voice said. Beckett and Rebecca looked over at the girl that had come up on the hill. "Sarah?" Beckett asked. Sarah weaved her way around the dead sheep and came over to Rebecca and Beckett. "Bucket! And you're gir- uh friend..Rebecca right?" Sarah asked. Beckett nodded while Rebecca just stared at the girl. This was the same girl that was with the baker just before, she did know Beckett somehow and Beckett probably told her about Rebecca and the others, still the girl made her jealous in a strange way. "I came to check on you guys. I didn't know if you were eaten or what but the villagers took care of the wolf and they'll be here any minute to see if you're okay." Sarah said. Beckett stood up and offered a hand to Rebecca who was staring off into space. "Earth to Red!" Beckett said snapping his fingers in front of Rebecca's face. Rebecca snapped out of her daze and looked startled. "What?" She asked. Beckett just laughed and pulled her to her feet. "Rebecca, this is Sarah. Sarah, Rebecca." Beckett said quickly introducing the two of them as the villagers came over up on the hill. The first person to come up to them was the baker. What he said confused Rebecca, but Sarah and Beckett seemed to understand perfectly. "You're alive, you beat the story!" He said.
"Only because of Rebecca. If it wasn't for her I'd probably look like one of those sheep right now." Beckett said. Rebecca still confused looked over at Beckett. "All I did was throw a muffin down the hill." She said.
"Is that why he ran down there? Hmm..it seems that Little Red Riding Hood is the reason for beating the story. I wonder..." The baker trailed off for a moment and then turned to Beckett. "Sarah said you have five friends you were looking for right?"
Beckett nodded. The baker seemed to consider this and walked away to assure the villagers everything was fine. While the giant group of villagers began to disappear a group of four teenagers made their way over to Sarah, Beckett and Rebecca. "BECKETT! REBECCA!!" one of the newcomers called. Rebecca and Beckett looked up and saw Wiley, Peyton, Casey and Baylee coming over to them. The six best friends ran to each other and shared a group hug, then each individual hugged another. Rebecca punched Wiley and Peyton both on the shoulder. "That's for leaving me!" She said. Both boys rubbed their shoulders and mumbled an apology. "What happened here? It looks like a crime scene." Casey said looking around at the dead sheep and all of the villagers. Beckett brushed a hand through his long hair. "Well uh..it kinda is." He said quietly. Casey, Baylee, Peyton and Wiley looked at Beckett confused until he explained. "I was just sitting there watching the stupid sheep and this wolf comes out from the trees and killed them all, and you guys, it basically happened how it was supposed to except I didn't die..because of Rebecca." Beckett said. Rebecca shook her head. "I barely did anything!!" She exclaimed.
"Wait, what did Rebecca do?" Peyton asked, confused. Beckett smirked and put his arm around Rebecca. "Rebecca, saved my life by standing up to a wolf, Pan. That, is what she did." Beckett answered. Rebecca shook her head.
"It was nothing. I still can't believe I even did that. I was so scared." She said. That's when Beckett remembered Sarah was there. He broke away from his friends and turned to her just as the Baker was coming back over. The villagers had one by one begun to return to the village. "You and your friends are in for quite the adventure, young man. I'll back down at the shop, come on down when you're ready, Sarah." The Baker said simply, turning and walking down the hill. Beckett met Sarah's eyes. "What was that all about?" He asked. Sarah gave a small laugh. "He believes in following your destiny, and for some reason he thinks you and your friends are about to discover yours." She said. Beckett thought about that.
"What kind of Destiny?"
"I don't know. But it's probably a great one." She said. "You should probably get back to your friends."
"I guess I should. But what about you? Will you be alri-" Beckett cut himself off when Sarah hugged him. "I'll be fine I promise. Good luck with whatever is about to happen but mostly, good luck with Rebecca." Sarah said letting go of him and turning to walk away. "Goodbye Bucket!" She called over her shoulder. Beckett smirked. "Goodbye, Sarah!" Beckett called after her. Rebecca and the others came over to Beckett. "Who was that?" Wiley asked. Beckett tore his gaze away from Sarah's retreating figure and looked at his friends. "That's Sarah. She kind of explained what was going on when I woke up." Beckett said. Rebecca snorted. "You two seemed pretty comfortable together." She said with a hint of, was that jealousy? Beckett glanced at the others and he knew they heard it in her voice as well. The others knew he had a crush on her, and thankfully none of them had told Rebecca. "Uh..I guess so? She's just a girl, Rebecca, nothing to worry about." Beckett said. Before Rebecca could say anything more Peyton cut in. "I think we need to discuss everything that's happened and eat, we really should probably eat." Peyton said. Rebecca held up her basket. "Bon Appetite." She said.
"Whoa, got enough bread, Red?" Wiley asked snatching a roll out of the basket and devouring it. The others each took a roll as well. "It's a long story." Rebecca said.
"Well, tell us." Baylee said plopping down on the ground and eating her roll. The others sat down around her and they all explained their days so far.