Lycan Pass

Lycan Pass - Chapter 11

 
      When I awoke, the Sun was just beginning to break the horizon. The frosty morning air might have chilled me if not for the thick coat of fur keeping me warm. I yawned and stretched my stiff muscles. I rubbed my snout on the rock before I realized that Trevor wasn't there.
 

     I swiftly hopped to my feet, my head swiveling from side to side, nostrils flaring desperately, hoping to find him. His scent was starting to get stale. A frightening smell assailed my nose and my heart skipped a beat. Blood. I called out to him, his name morphing into a howl as it escaped my lips. The sound echoed on the mountain tops, ricocheting off of the wall of earth. I received no reply. The bushes to the side of me rustled.

      Turning, I faced the perpetrator head on and growled deeply. The rustling noises continued. My hackles raised, my muscles tensed, and my fear scent penetrated my muzzle. Where was Trevor? What happened to him? Whatever is in the bushes, did it do something to him? I couldn't wait any longer. I launched myself off the rock and into the foliage. My shoulder connected with something solid, a loud "oof!" erupted from it. I managed to knock it flat on it's back, but before I could jump away, it wrapped it's arms around my torso and tackled me to the ground. My heart racing with the fear of death, I craned my neck up as far as it would go, and bit down hard on my attackers arm. Their blood tasted thick and coppery, completely unlike the rabbit that I had caught. The thought was wiped from my mind as the attacker let out a familiar sounding grunt of pain.
      
      "Diane! It's me. It's Trevor. Let go." I immediately pulled away, staring, startled, into his face. His dark brown eyes gave me a stern but forgiving look. In his hand was a rabbit that had a similar look as mine. I became human, being a careful not to hit his injured arm as my shape changed. I began to stumble an apology, but he just pressed a finger to my lips, signaling for me to be quiet. That's when I heard it. Movement about twenty feet away. My settling pulse stirred again and I could tell I reaked of fear. Trevor leaned down and whispered quietly in my ear.
      
      "Focus on something else; if it's an animal, your scent's going to give us away." I gulped down the panic and nodded. I instead focused on the sound of Trevor's heart, inches above mine. He was hunched over me in a protective stance, ready to defend me should the creature in the bushes locate us. My heart warmed slightly to the gruff boy, gracious that he was willing to risk injury to keep me safe, but also slightly frustrated that he thought I needed protection. I ignored my mixed emotions as the prowler came closer. Trevor's muscles tensed, bracing himself for a fight.
      
      "Trevor! Diane! Where are you? Diane?" John called. I felt a surge of relief when the doctor (or at least, that's what I think he is) walked through the underbrush and almost tripped over us. He let out a small yelp of surprise and stepped back. I watched his glass rimmed eyes widened. It took me a moment to realized what sight he taking in. Trevor still hovered over me and was glaring violently at John. I quickly shimmied away, face burning as I looked down at the dirt. I tried to mutter that it wasn't what it looked like, but John just shook his head and motioned for us to follow him.

      Trevor stood up slowly and offered me his hand. I took it and he hefted me up, avoiding eye contact as he turned away and followed after John. I took a moment to dust myself off, then trailed after the pair. We were quiet the entire walk back, none of us speaking until we got to John's office.
      
      "I'm disappointed in you both. You," he pointed at Trevor," for shirking your duties and taking off without telling anyone where you're going. And you," he turned to me," for running off irresponsibly into the forest after him. You could have been killed!" He shook his head sullenly. "As much as I don't want to, my job requires me to instil disciplinary actions. Both of you are under house arrest for two weeks, starting tomorrow. Until the arrest ends, you are not to leave the grounds unless accompanied by myself or someone with my written permission." I felt my jaw drop in outrage. I turned to Trevor to see if his was just as angry as I was, but he just sat there, jaw tight and staring at the floor. John cleared his throat and I swung my head around to him, looking to see if there was any trace of humor in there, if he was going to tell me it was all a joke. Nope. He looked dead serious.
      
      "On to other matters. Diane, as I said earlier, the Seer is expecting a visit from you. We will attend to that this evening, after you've had lunch." I think his frown actually deepened. "That's all for now. You're dismissed. Make use of your freedom while you still have it." Trevor and I stood up to leave. Right as I was about to exit into the hallway, John called me.
      
      "Oh, and Diane. Don't forget to clean up before we leave." There was a small smile on his face as I patted my hair and found pine needles. I sighed and nodded my head wearily. I jogged to catch up to Trevor. Instead of focusing on the punishment, I wanted to think about something more pleasant.
      
      "So what are you going to do with your freedom?" He didn't even glanced over at me, and kept up his fast pace.
      "I'm going to take a shower and come with you to the Seer's house," he muttered. I nodded my head.
      "I wonder what she wants?" I pondered. Trevor spun around abruptly and I almost ran into him.
      "Unless you want to shower with me, you can't come in here," he said. I looked around and blushed as I saw that I had almost followed Trevor into the bathroom. I muttered an apology and fled away to my room. I gathered some clothes that John had supplied me with shortly after I arrived. I rushed into the girl's shower room and grabbed a fluffy towel that had been hanging on a rack and put it on a hook just outside of the shower I was planning on using. I undressed and put my things in the corner.

      I fixed the water temperature on it's highest setting and tried to ease the ache in my muscles. Sleeping on a rock isn't the best thing for your back, and I was feeling the hurt. Speaking of hurt, I wonder how Trevor's arm is? He didn't bother with going and seeing the nurse or letting John take a look at it. Worry and guilt gnawed away at me. I wish I hadn't bit him. I need to learn how to restrain myself. My thoughts had completely consumed me when I heard a whisper.
      
      "Don't trust him," it hissed. My heart pounded.
      "Who's there?"
      "Don't trust any of them," it replied. "Trust only the Seer. They lie. They LIE. He killed them. Yessss, he did..."  Suddenly, pain split through me. My head was spinning as the world tilted and bucked beneath my feet, trying to throw me to the ground. The lights seemed to dim, then flash, only to dim again. I gripped on tightly to the wall of the shower, trying not to collapse onto the slick tile. The whispering kept barraging me, making my stomach lurch.

      "Who are you?" I begged weakly. At that moment, the world stopped. The spinning ceased, the earth settled, and the lights flickered back to their usual luminosity.
      "I am the truth," it said simply before I felt it's presence leave. I gasped in air, begging the nausea rolling in my stomach to leave. The sickly sweet scent swirling around me didn't help, and I fell to my knees, retching, but nothing coming up.

      I slowly laid down, feeling weak as the shakes overcame me, and let the water wash over me. My eyes slipped closed, and I fell into an uneasy rest on the floor of the shower. I heard somebody come in and yell in surprise, but I didn't care. I felt too weak. The water stopped and a towel wrapped around me. Someone picked me up, and soon enough I breathed in the familiar smell of the infirmary.

      The nurse asked me what was wrong. I barely managed to crack open my eyes, whispering "bucket" before I rolled over and puked all over the nice ladies shoes.