Little Red Wolf

Chapter Eleven~

 

                                                                                   Chapter Eleven~

Rebecca didn't know where she was anymore. She'd run away from Archer without paying attention to where she was going. She'd wanted nothing more than to get as far away from Archer as possible before she attacked him.

She slowed to a stop and leaned against a tree. Her entire body felt like it had been dipped in lava, and the darkness inside of her was clawing around, trying to find a way out.

Rebecca knew that if her eyes were glowing, she was going to lose control. She couldn't be around anyone, not even Heidi would be safe if Rebecca lost control.

"Rebecca? Rebecca!"

Rebecca's heart jumped at the sound of Archer's voice. Her name was yelled again, and she recognized Heidi's voice mingling in the air with Archer's. Rebecca looked around and started to run again.

The voices faded away as she ran faster than she had in nearly fifty years. She felt as if she were flying, her heavy paws barely touching the ground. Without realizing it, she had run to the cave. Rebecca stopped running and braced her elbows on her knees panting heavily. Rebecca dropped to the ground and crawled on hands and knees into the cave.

The cave was just as she'd left it. She made straight for her corner, grabbing her blanket as she went. The wool was scratching her fingers as she curled up into a ball and tugged the blanket right up beneath her chin. Safe in the confines of the cave, Rebecca stopped holding back and sobbed. While she sobbed she felt the hunger growing inside of her.

It clawed up her throat, burning and stinging, and she retched between sobs. It slipped past her lips and twisted in the air around her, enveloping her in darkness. Rebecca tried to push it away feebly, her hands sinking into the darkness which was sticky like sap.

She sobbed harder, knowing that it was too late. The darkness had escaped, and now it was going to take over her. Rebecca knew that the only way to save the village was for her to die.

Moving sluggishly, she reached up for the lamp and knocked it to the floor. The glass shattered, pieces spraying across the hard-packed earth. The smell of gas filled the cave and Rebecca lit a match with shaking hands. She clutched her blanket tighter, closed her eyes, and lightly tossed the match onto the ground.

She was no longer sobbing when the gas caught with a whoosh and flames filled her vision.

Archer saw the flames before he saw anything else. He squeezed Heidi's arm and pointed through the trees at the bright orange bursts of light.

"Do you think it's her?" Heidi's face was a careful mixture of hope and fear. Archer nodded silently and began dragging Heidi over to the source. "Archer, wait," Heidi cried. "We can't just rush in there."

The two stumbled along, smoke beginning to sting their eyes. "We don't have to," Archer said finally. They had emerged from behind a massive oak tree to see a group of men huddled in a circle around a dark figure on the ground.

Archer stared hard at the figure and broke out into a run. Heidi reached for his shirt sleeve, but he pulled away too quickly for her to get a good grip.

"Archer please don't do anything foolish," Heidi yelled, blinking against the sudden onslaught of smoke that poured out of what appeared to be a cave.

Archer ignored Heidi and pushed his way into the middle of the circle. Several of the men tried to hold him back, but he only fixed them with the same look that he had fixed his father with earlier in the morning and they let him be.

Heidi followed slowly, her eyes scanning for any other signs that Rebecca had been here. She didn't want to believe that Rebecca might have set the fire on purpose.

"Rebecca," Archer mumbled and dropped to his knees beside her. She was sprawled on the ground, her face pale but streaked with ash. Her hair was sprinkled with ash as well, and she almost looked like she was sleeping.

"Oh Red," Heidi whispered under her breath, and turned away, hands catching her and drawing her up into a tight embrace. She recognized her dad's arms and sank into it, tears falling freely down her face.

"Is she dead?" Archer asked quietly. His voice rose suddenly in a roar. "Is she dead?"

The circle took a step back. Archer's anger quivered in the air and he turned his gaze back to Rebecca. He reached out and tenderly stroked her cheek. "She can't be dead," He whispered, closing his own eyes and feeling tears roll down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry son," Mr. Ainslie said, moving a little bit closer with Heidi still in his arms. "It would appear that she is gone."

Archer sank down, his whole body deflating. "She can't be dead," he murmured over and over. He laid his head on her stomach and cried while the men stood guard and watched.