What Happened to Normal?

Chapter 3

B.J’s POV

Almost right after the first gigantic sound Brook yelped and rolled off me. Straight after that was a distant, what sounded like a victorious, yell sounded and then another loud bang. This time I yelped after a wave of pain came from my shoulder blade then expanded down my front left leg. I looked up towards the shouts of joy then immediately noticed we were in hunter’s territory. The two hunters in the distance carried shotguns and were aiming them at me. They began to run towards us and I looked down at Brook, who had Changed back into human form and had a bleeding hole in the lower left of her stomach, almost her hip. She was finding it hard to breathe but was still conscious.

I Changed back to human form myself and grabbed her than ran as quick as my legs would take me through the forest. As I would expect my coordination as a human wasn’t as advanced as it was while I was a wolf. I tripped over a thin fallen tree and twisted my body so that Brook landed on me and I landed on my back, winded. I caught my breath and stood, repositioning Brook so as my shoulder didn’t ache too much under the pressure of her body. I started to run again as the shouts of the hunter’s sounded after me. “Where are those f*****g wolves?” I heard one yell.

His companion then yelled, “Did you see the one that was with the first wolf we shot? Some guy just appeared out of nowhere, I think he was carrying our wolf! He had something!”

“C’mon!” The first shouted at his friend, “Let’s find the bastard that took our catch!”

I picked up my pace, using everything I could to Change my face slightly, giving me my wolf’s eyes. With my advanced sight I ran even faster, reaching the hill upon which Brook had led me to about fifteen minutes ago, when we weren’t running for our lives but for fun. I looked for an easy path up the hill and found a track, probably from hunters climbing up here, and used it. I ran as quickly as I could, careful to keep Brook at still as possible and reached the top of the hill. I stopped and as quick as I could, deformed my vocal cords and howled a distress call. I began to run again, towards the camp and heard the hunters far behind me. “That wolf’s still alive! Hurry up before its pack gets here and hunts us down!”

I ran faster and heard an answer to my call, more howls, Josh was coming. I quickened my pace and fell once again, this time harder and faster. I didn’t have time to twist and cushion Brook’s fall and had to throw her ahead of me so I didn’t land on her. She said something faintly after we landed, “B.J!” she was trying to yell, “B.J are you okay?” I sat up and crawled towards her before looking back, the hunters were on top of the hill, they had stopped. The hunters had probably seen the camp, and the small group from our pack in wolf form, running towards us. A pain had started in my head and I started to drift in and out of consciousness. Josh and some others were there. Josh was yelling at me. “What happened Ben? Where are the others?” I tried to ask him who the ‘others’ were but then I lost full consciousness and drifted into a deep, fitful sleep.

Brook’s POV

I watched in pain and awe as Josh screamed at B.J, who had been pulled away so that someone could examine him, to stay awake and answer his questions, a few of the wolves that had come bounding towards us Changed and came over to me, looking at my gunshot wound but not blocking my view of B.J, Josh and others. Josh was screaming at B.J, trying to get a response from him, but that wasn’t going to happen, he was out cold. “What happened, Ben? Where are the others? Was it the hunters? Where is everyone?” He was shouting. What was he talking about? Only B.J and I were there. He told the wolves he’d brought with him to take him to an empty tent and tend to him. He turned towards me and saw I was still awake, he ran at me and started asking me questions but one of the other wolves stopped him, she had a kind, concerned voice. It was familiar; it was B.J’s mother’s voice. “She has to be taken to the camp, her wound could be fatal, ask her questions later.” She looked over at B.J being carried away, “Ask them both questions later.” She pleaded.

“Susan, we can’t wait. We might already be too late.”

“We are not too late, Josh. We’ll find them”

I spoke up then, I squeezed out a few words, “What’s going on?” I whispered desperately.

“She’s delirious, Josh. We have to get her back to camp now. I won’t be the one to tell B.J She’s dead. I won’t. Nobody should have to tell him that.”

Josh stared at her, then looked towards me and down near my stomach, it had gone all numb there but I could still feel a dull pain. Josh nodded and Changed, so did Susan and another wolf that was there. Someone who didn’t Change, B.J’s dad, picked me up and put me gently onto the Changed wolves backs, which were lined up side by side and worked as a stretcher. B.J’s dad made sure I wouldn’t fall then bent down and whispered in my ear, “Don’t leave him, it will kill him if you do. And that will kill me.” With that he let me go and the wolves bounded towards camp, their paws hit the ground in union, making it a smoother ride than I would have thought. Halfway to camp I started to lose consciousness until finally, I was drifting to sleep. A sleep that was more welcome than the nightmare that was with me while I was awake.