The Good Wolves

Chapter 8

I had to walk back to Gerald's from the arcade. I was lucky to have remembered where to find the house.

Lupe said I looked sick, and I told her that I killed a wolf. She baked me a cake.

I went upstairs to my room and proceeded to do more research. Jake said that he had a pack, and they were my next targets. I crossed his parents off the list, as they had died in a car accident last year. I tried to see if Jake had any friends, but nothing came up.

I was about to look back at the victims, when my phone started buzzing. It was from home.

"Hello?" I picked up the phone, excited to tell my family about my achievement.

"Hey," Matt's voice said. "How's it going?"

"I killed one today," I said.

"You did?" He asked. "Tell me about it."

I gave Matt all of the gory details, excluding my vomiting in the arcade. He seemed thoroughly impressed with me for the kill.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" I asked.

"Shouldn't you?"

"Touché," I said. "Listen, I have some work to do. I'll call you some other time, alright?"

"Yeah, talk to you later," he hung up.

I sighed and turned back to the computer to look at the victims. I wondered if my parents thought this would be an easy job. I wondered if they knew that another hunter died trying to find Jake's pack.

I went into my bedroom and hurled myself onto the bed. I was sore from running, tired of research, and still slightly traumatized by the fact that I had no idea if I'd killed an innocent man. The story would spread around the school by tomorrow, but I couldn't stay home again. I would get behind in my classes, and my mom would kill me.

I gathered the strength to get up and change into my pajamas. It was still early, but I felt more exhausted than I had ever felt in my entire life. I fell asleep, for the first time in Kansas without Gerald's snores.

It was still dark when I woke up again. I stared at the ceiling until my alarm went off five hours later.

I took my time in getting ready for school. I pulled on black leggings and a maroon sweatshirt, and stared at myself in the mirror for a while. I looked more tired than I'd expected.

Lupe called me down for breakfast. She made pancakes, and served me a plateful.

"Are you going to the game tonight?" Lupe asked.

I had completely forgotten about the game, and the party. I nodded, and finished my breakfast.

I ran outside to the bus a little later than usual, and the driver gave me an irritated look. I noticed Dominic in the front of the bus, but he didn't see me. I walked back to sit with Mim.

"Where were you yesterday?" She asked.

"I was sick," I explained. It wasn't a complete lie; I had actually vomited.

She nodded her head and leaned back in the seat. I felt guilty when I thought of Mim being all alone on the bus.

School was nothing like I had expected. I thought there would have been security and police all over. I thought there would be girls crying, and everyone talking about Jake Kremisky's death, but no one did. It was a normal day of school.

Thoughts of Jake plagued my mind throughout the day. I still couldn't tell if I felt guilty or not. I wondered if anyone even knew about him. Surely someone had found his body.

By the time lunch rolled around, I was incredibly nervous. If my friends knew about Jake, they would talk about him.

"Lana, where were you yesterday?" Calvin asked when I sat at the table.

"Sick," I answered.

"Hey, did you guys hear about Jake?" Amelia asked. My face flushed.

"Yeah, the cops said it was an animal attack. They found his body near the lake," Luke said.

I frowned. Jake's death definitely hadn't happened at any lake, and it didn't look like an animal attack.

"Ew, can we please not talk about this?" Sophie crinkled her nose. "We shouldn't have to go around pretending like we ever cared about him. Everyone knows he was a huge pervert. Let's not go trying to make him sound all great and everything just because he's dead."

"Sophie," Amelia's eyes bulged out. "Be respectful of the dead."

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Let's talk about something happy, like the game."

"I can't believe they're not cancelling it," Calvin straightened the collar of his varsity jacket.

"Okay, more about Jake. Let's talk about the party," Sophie said.

"You're coming, right?" Dominic pointed his fork at me.

"Yeah," I tucked my hair behind my ears.

"I forgot to text you the information, didn't I?" Sophie said. "Do you have a ride?"

"No, I don't have a car," I told her.

"I do. I'll drive you," she offered.

"Thanks," I said.

The bell rang, and Sophie groaned dramatically. Calvin and Amelia kissed, and I walked with Amelia to our next class.