What Happened to Normal?

Chapter 5

Brook’s POV

I woke up very suddenly and felt an almost unbearable pain on the left side of my body. I tried to sit up but was pushed down by unseeable hands and screamed in pain instead. “Brook! Brook!” An unknown voice came in my ear, “You have to stay still, you were shot by a silver bullet and need stitching up, I know it hurts but you have to bear with us, try not to move, scream or cry.”

I gave a whimper and opened my eyes to see I was surrounded by pack medics, most on the left side of the bed but some on the right, working from that side, shouting orders or trying to keep me calm. I tried to stay as still as I could but each time someone stuck their hand in my gunshot wound I flinched and regretted the movement immediately as it either pushed their hand deeper into my wound or sent it flying out. They kept on poking and prodding at the wound until one of the doctors gave an okay for the needle. I squeezed my eyes shut as they prepared the needle for some stitches. I felt the needle go in and gave a gasp. I must’ve been moving away from the needle because it shot out of me and it felt as if the hole had gotten bigger. There were hands stroking my face, trying to calm me, and other hands holding my body down. “You have to keep still, you’re spreading the wound wider and we have to stitch it up. Be brave Brook, we need you to do this.”

“Give her the sedative!” one of them yelled and I opened my eyes.

“Where’s B.J? Is he okay?” I yelled, remembering the forest and the hunters.

“He’s fine; he left about five minutes ago to look for Josh.”

I let out a sigh of relief, as long as he was okay, he took some pretty bad falls and I had noticed a gunshot wound in his shoulder. All of a sudden there was a prick on the side of my neck and then a bit of pain as the sedative liquid flooded into me. I sighed again and became very drowsy. “You have just been sedated and as soon as you pass out we’re going to continue with the stitches, when you wake up you might feel a bit of pain but-“ Then I was out, back into a deep sleep that seemed like it never left.

B.J’s POV

Josh had filled me in on the events of the previous night. Everyone was asleep until there was a loud scream from one of the teens as they were dragged away. Nobody knew where it had come from because by the time the first person had jolted awake the scream was cut off and the kidnappers gone. There was a search of the camp going out to the border of our territory but nothing was found except for the drag marks. The marks at the cubs side of camp went for about ten metres in different directions; the same was be said about the marks on the teens side of camp. There wasn’t a particular direction anyone had been dragged so there was no way to know where they had gone. Everyone had gone back to camp to try to sleep or make plans for the next day until they heard my howl and came rushing towards the hill, finding Brook and me lying on the ground looking very ruffled and wounded. I had passed out very quickly and Brook not long after me. They took us back to an empty tent and started to examine us, fixing me very fast and thinking that Brook was fine. Then morning came and she started to have trouble breathing and was screaming in her sleep, they noticed the bullet fragments and set to work on her. Then I had woken up, ran out and here we were now, at the marks on the ground where the teens were taken. We sat there in silence, Josh studying me silently. I looked up as I noticed a wolf, one with the same golden fur I had, running towards us. As she came closer she Changed then walked quickly to me. It was my mother, “She’s woken up, B.J. They put a thirty minute sedative on her because she was in a lot of pain but they’ve finished fixing her up, she’ll be fine.”

I stood up and hugged her, Josh walked away without a word, leaving us to talk. “So, she’s fine? There won’t be any more problems with her? She won’t be in pain?” I asked.

“Well, there won’t be any more difficulties with her recovery but she’s awake and she’s still in quite a lot of pain, but she’s asking for you.” She said then gave me a soft smile.

I gave her a quick smile, thanked her then Changed.

Mum had said she was still in a lot of pain, that was the bad news, but she wanted me. I quickened my running pace and reached the tent in a few minutes, bolting inside and looking straight over to Brook, the only one inside the tent apart from a few medics. Her head snapped towards the door, realizing someone had just come in. I padded over to her and propped myself onto my back legs and nuzzled her hand as it came down to pat me. I noticed there were scrape marks on the palms of her hands and on her elbows, she must’ve landed on them when I threw her. “B.J!” She said with a smile, “You came, I’m so happy to-“ She broke off as she doubled over and winced in pain, then was fine again, “I’m so happy to see you, are you alright?”

I Changed back to human form andstood, holding her hand. “I’m fine, you’re the one who got the worst of it, I just have a few bumps and bruises, a bit of a hole in my shoulder.” I smiled down at her.

“A bit of a hole? You had to get stitches!” She sounded concerned.

“You did too! You could’ve died!” I told her, beating her concerned voice.

“But you saved me, if you didn’t carry me back I would have died. But if the hunters shot had been better you could have died, we both would have.” She said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

I leaned down to kiss her, she backed off.

“Don’t think kissing me can take it back.” She looked into my eyes, “If I hadn’t taken you to the hill this wouldn’t have happened.”

“If you hadn’t taken me we’d have been kidnapped or you could have gone down the hill by yourself and died. I don’t care what happened to me, your actions saved us.”

Her eyes widened, “What do you mean kidnapped?” Her voice rose slightly.

I told her about what had happened while we were having fun and then shot.

“You mean, even Jared and Emily? Oh God B.J, I’m so sorry. We’ll find them.” She said, trying to sound sure of herself.

“I know we will, we have to. If we don’t I… I don’t know what I’ll do.” I said, feeling for the first time the full impact of the issue at hand.

“Come here” Brook said, reaching up towards me and wincing a little.

I did as she said and she arched into me and hugged me, the hug soon turning into a passionate kiss. We stayed like that for a little while and when we broke away from each other we noticed that the medics were gone. “I love you.” I told her, smiling as I said it.

“I love you too.” She said, smiling just as wide as I probably was. “You know,” she said, “that’s the first time you’ve said that to me, and we’ve been going out for over a year. Took you long enough!” She mocked me.

“Hey!” I accused her, “That’s the first time you’ve ever said it to me too!”

“Alright, alright, I give up. You win.” She surrendered before leaning up to kiss me again. We kissed once again until she broke away. “Get me out of here B.J; I can’t stand staying in this tent alone. I hate it, and it’s not even an actual hospital! I’d hate to be in one of those!”

“I’ll stay here with you, the doctors still have to keep an eye on you, make sure you heal properly.”

 

Brook’s POV

I watched B.J as he went over to the other bed that was in this tent, he must’ve been in that one while he was asleep. He pushed it up against my bed and got under the covers, moving up into the middle of our now double bed. “Get some rest, you’ll heal faster.” He whispered, leaning on his left side. His wound must not have been that bad as he leaned on it like it wasn’t there. I shimmied over to him and leaned on my right side. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me gently closer to him. I rested my head in the crook of his arm and closed my eyes. I wasn’t even tired but I tried to sleep anyway, not wanting this moment to end. He stroked my hair for ages until I fell asleep and I was truly happy, for the first time all day. The happiest I’ve been since we were in the forest on the other side of the hill. The happiest I’ve been since I put our lives at risk.