Ice -- Wolv book II

21 - Winnipeg

I'd met Dwayne during last year's summer, when I'd first begun looking for a steady job. I don't know what he saw in me at the time, but he'd nearly hired me on the spot.

He'd always been good to me--offering me extra hours when he could, and treating me as an equal rather than an underling. When I'd told him I was dying, he'd offered his help, and his offer had seemed genuine at the time. I wonder if it still stands. It's been what...five or six months already? He probably thinks I've been dead and buried for a while now!

I'd been skirting alongside the highway for hours, staying hidden in the brush yet close enough to the pavement to maintain my direction. Traffic, while still slow, had been steadily increasing, signalling the approach of morning. The cloak of darkness I'd been exploiting would soon expire.

The trees around me began thinning out as I approached the city limits, and soon enough, the thicket had ended completely, leaving me standing in an open field.

I looked nervously over my shoulder--if that helicopter is still buzzing around, it'll catch me in a heartbeat!

Up ahead of me and across a short section of field was an overpass and a cloverleaf, acting as a gateway into the city. Buildings sprung up not even a kilometer away from the overpass, looming in the night sky.

I drew in a few anxious breaths, than sprinted out across the clearing. The air around me was cold, bearing the slightest hint of frost. Winter can't be too far away down here, can it?

Once I'd reached the concrete structure, I dove underneath the elevated road and tucked myself in between two massive concrete slabs. I cocked my head and listened to the night.

No sirens blared. No searchlights blazed to life in my wake. I sighed heavily.

I'm still okay!

I wracked my brain, desperately trying to remember Dwayne's address. I couldn't even remember why he'd even given it to me--he was my boss, after all--but that didn't matter now.

His street address finally surfaced in my mind, and I stepped out from the concrete nook, back into the night air. I've only got about half an hour of darkness left, if that! I broke into a brisk jog, following the highway on the shoulder. My feet began to ache as the pavement began chewing at my bare toes and heels.

What I would give for a pair of shoes.

Finally, the sidewalk began, and I continued forward, watching what had been a field slowly rise up into the cityscape ahead of me. The roads glittered with thousands of tiny glass shards--or was that the last remnants of the night's frost, glowing under the streetlights?

Another jogger rounded a bend, nearly running into me.

"Watch it," he snapped. He looked me over briefly before pursing his lips and jogging away. I looked down at my clothes--the caribou outfit I wore was looking pretty sad already; several areas had blood smeared on them, and the hide was torn around the neck where I'd bitten down against the pain. Not to mention that it had been out of style for at least a hundred years already! Forget the shoes, I need better clothes! Dawn was nipping at the horizon, and once the streets really began to fill up, I'd stick out like a sore thumb.

I rounded a bend, then another, searching for a familiar street. Argh, it's been so long since I've been here already!!

I was quickly becoming exhausted. I wasn't a wolf anymore; running fifty miles a day was no longer an option for me. Neither is walking that far, for that matter!

Finally, a familiar street came into view, and I broke back into a jog, darting down the dark suburban road. Just in time, too!  The morning traffic rush was beginning as the sun began to peek above the horizon. There were more and more people on the sidewalks now, and it was getting more difficult to slip past them unnoticed. I look like I just killed someone! I silently prayed that I wouldn't run into any police.