Little Red Wolf

Chapter Ten~

                                                                                 Chapter Ten~

Trees whipped past Rebecca's head as she bounded down a path behind Heidi. A breeze tickled her ears and she ducked around it. A squirrel crossed her path forcing her to jump over it.

Heidi looked back at the crashing sound Rebecca made when her paws slammed down onto a pile of dead leaves.

They emerged at the edge of the woods, away from any prying eyes. Without a second thought, Rebecca pushed down the hunger that was pressing at her chest and stood up on her two feet.

"Let's go see Archer," Were the very first words out of Heidi's mouth. Rebecca froze and shook her head jerkily. Heidi put her hands on her hips and started walking in the direction of the school.

"Heidi, I can't." Rebecca felt sick. Now that she was back, she didn't want to face Archer. "I can't say goodbye," She whispered.

"You will not die," Heidi said forcefully, closing the topic. "And it's not a goodbye. It's a hello." She smiled convincingly.

Rebecca felt like she was going to cry. Her desire to see Archer was pressing down on her, but her hunger was lifting its' head. She didn't want to be around people.

"Heidi," Rebecca mumbled, a sharp pang piercing her stomach. She moaned and dropped onto her knees. "I can't," Rebecca panted, trying to press her forehead to the dirt. She was suddenly burning up, her skin feeling as if she'd been shoved inside of an oven. The dirt was cool from the shade provided by the leafy trees overhead.

"You're fine," Heidi said confidently, smiling at Rebecca with a glassy-eyed stare. "Totally fine, completely fine, everything's dandy and fine." Heidi kept repeating the words over and over and Rebecca got the feeling that she didn't realize she was speaking aloud.

Rebecca managed to climb back onto her feet, but her legs were shaking. She leaned against a tree for support and took deep breaths.

"Let's go," Heidi said brightly, turning and walking out of the cover of the trees. Rebecca made to follow, but stumbled badly and tripped over a gnarled tree root. She landed hard on her hands and knees while Heidi cried her name in sympathetic horror.

"Red! Are you alright?" Heidi repeated the words, softer the second time, and crouched beside Rebecca who stared at the ground without blinking.

Rebecca attempted to open her mouth and answer Heidi, but she felt disgust rising in her throat. She closed her mouth frantically and opened it again only when she felt as if she were going to explode. Rebecca dry-heaved until her throat felt raw and her stomach felt like it had been scraped apart. Nothing had come up, but she still felt awful.

"Oh, Red," Heidi cooed and rubbed her back. "You're fine, you're fine," Heidi started chanting again. "Everything's fine."

Rebecca moaned softly and then stilled. She had heard footsteps pounding across the ground and the vibrations made her teeth rattle ever so slightly.

"What is it?" Heidi hissed quietly. Rebecca made a shushing gesture and Heidi quieted. The two sat carefully, still as statues and waited to see who or what was approaching them.

"Why are you still doing this?" An angry sounding voice echoed suddenly around them, causing both girls to jump a little bit.

"I have to, ok?" A second angry voice answered tersely. "If you don't want to help, go away."