Virals Pack: Reborn

Chapter 9: Revealed (Part 3)

A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I had spring break so I haven't had much chance to work on the story. But fear not, for I will no longer leave you hanging in suspense! 

Katrina pov

The pack's words rang in my head over and over. "I can smell blood... What do you mean it's your blood?...What happened?... You're lying...What happened???" 

I can't move, I can't breathe, I can feel my mind slipping into the all-consuming emptiness that has been present since...since...a switch goes off in my brain and everything tumbles into  chaos and suddenly...

 I. Cannot. Think. I. Cannot. Think. Or. Breathe. Or. Anything. 

My throat constricts until I'm silently choking.

No. No! No no no no no no...not another one. Not another attack. I. Can't. Make. It...

"Hey, are you okay?" My head snaps up and I suddenly realize that one of them is talking. Through a haze, I can see that it's the Hawaiian shirt guy, but I can't remember his name, all I can remember is...

"I know I'm a bit breathtaking, but I didn't realize it was that bad" 

He's telling a joke, this guy is literally trying to joke around to help me out of a panic attack. I don't know whether it was the way he caught me off guard, or the plain ridiculousness of it, but I began to laugh. I laughed until my sides hurt, which didn't take long because I was already oxygen deprived, and then I started crying. In the space of one bad joke, I turned from a panicked mess to a laughing, crying mess. 

Hi, his name was Hi, and he kneels next to me and says "But seriously though, are you going to be okay?" 

I sit there for a second, unsure of my answer. I still cannot think straight, and I suddenly find myself reaching towards him. I'm not sure what I was meaning to do, but I had a sudden need to be comforted by a fellow human. And to my surprise, instead of getting all awkward, he understands and wraps me in a hug. 

"Thank you" I manage to choke out through the crybaby years I've been holding in for so long, hoping that Hi would  understand just how thankful I was. He didn't reply at first, he began to soothingly stroke my hair before saying "You know, my mom used to say that happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light" 

I started laughing  "I didn't know your mother read Harry Potter books." 

Hi looked at me "What have we here then, a fellow sarcastic nerd type? Man, we keep getting lucky with the new arrivals" 

I was about to retort with a "sarcastic nerd type" response when Hi's stomach suddenly began to growl. Chuckling, I decided to reply with "Well lucky for you this sarcastic nerd packed some food in her bag" 

Hi nearly knocks me over in his rush towards my backpack. "Oh thank you, my saviour! I was certain I would perish without any sustenance, just look at me, I'm practically wasted away!"

Laughing, I watched as he rifled through my backpack in search of food. The first things he pulls out wasn't food, it was my plushies. "Hey, cool! You've got Sam and Tim! Wow, we really did hit the jackpot with you;  cute, sarcastic, nerdy, gamer girl!" 

Hi paused as his whole description of  me sunk in. To save him from embarrassment, I quickly reached into my pack and pulled out a granola bar from a hidden pocket he hadn't found yet. "And don't forget the most important part: snack provider"

Hi grinned at me and politely took the granola bar, then proceeded to tear it open and gobble it down. I laughed at his dramatic antics and found myself hoping that if Hi was this willing to accept me, then maybe the others would be in time. Maybe, just maybe, I could make this place my new home.