Deep Down

4

Song: Too Dumb To Die- Green Day

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I drag the heel of my hand across my face, waking up for the second time today. For a moment I lay in peaceful silence. Garner's blankets cocooning me until I realize that Garner no longer rests beside me. Rising with reluctance from my spot laying on the floor, I wipe my eyes again and step over our discarded chip bags. I stand alone in the room for a moment before deciding to venture downstairs. The clock on his bedroom wall reads eight o'clock, which means I've slept for upwards of two hours. Fuck me up.

I grab a hold of my jacket- which is completely dry now- as well as my phone. My mom has texted me three or four times, which means she hasn't gone into full panic mode yet. The hall outside of his room is empty and colder than before, as if the heat is off. The floorboards creep underneath my feet as I pass Gordo's room; he's not there. Downstairs the TV is on mute, the screen showing a newscast that no one is here to watch. I venture into the kitchen, and surprise surprise, its empty. My phone buzzes with a text a minute later, it catches me in my thoughts of whether Garner's family is dead. The text sent two hours ago but I am only now receiving it. Its a number I don't recognize and I open it with hesitance.

Fr.

(267) 678-***

It's Garner, Mom and Gordo are taking me to my lacrosse practice and I didn't want to wake you. I'd like to see you tomorrow :):)

Like I said, this text sent two hours ago. So many things about it seem off, one being the fact that I'm pretty sure Garner doesn't even play lacrosse. The next being the part where his mother and Gordo are both transporting him to lacrosse. Garner can drive and has his own car.

I hastily pull on my converse, that are now stiff and dry, and yank my jacket around my body. Something weird is going on, and I've been wary of it all day. My instincts tell me to leave the house and go home to comfort and a family that isn't going to murder me. Opening the rusty back door, I see rain that is much heavier than before. The sky is nearing complete blackness. I step onto the slippery stone of their walkway and speed walk to where the forest path leads to my Gran's house. Taking the main road may be the better idea, but I fear someone will kidnap me and harvest my bones for drum sticks. Besides, now I know the path like the back of my hand so nothing can hurt me.

I shove my phone deep in my pocket so it doesn't get wet, and start walking faster to the entrance of the woods. The rain hits me in globs that are hard to deal with and I swear as my feet slip on a flat rock. My butt hits the ground hard and I feel the impact all the way up to my throat. It's like the bones of my butt pushed everything forward and are now sticking out of my esophagus. An episode of Sponge bob comes to mind when they usually do; at a very wrong time. Patrick has his butt bones poking out of his mouth because he fell the same way I did. I snort not because it's funny but mostly because I hate myself for thinking of such a thing at such a time.

When I focus back on the situation at hand, the sky is becoming darker every second. I peer behind me at the sound of something near Garner's house. I hear the crash of what must be one of his mothers potted plants, which sends me back onto my feet. Running is my best bet, though I'm not sure whether I should do so toward the house or away. The trees are too thick for me to see the blue house anymore, and I fear that what I'll see I wont like. So I begin running in the opposite way, toward the long path and my Gran's house.

My feet slip and stumble as I shift my head around the forest, looking for danger. Halfway across the long path and that's exactly what I come upon; danger in the form of the biggest fucking wolf I've ever seen. It growls at me, a gnarly and menacing sound, and I halt in my spot. I think of that scene in Divergent when she lays down at the foot of the dog. I can't see that as being a plausible option at the moment. The wolf/bear hybrid growls again, its breath coming out in sharp huffs that stain the air with condensation from the cold. I take a step back, slow and careful, but it notices it none the less. The rain falls hard and heavy as the wolf takes steps even smoother than mine. One then two then three, and all a sudden hes running toward me. I have only a second to think, and in that second I conclude that running toward the sound at Garner's house isnt worth it. Instead I hit the wolf/bear with a surprise offence attack. I run full speed in his direction almost as fast as he's running toward me. The wolf doesn't slow or hesitate, instead speeding up. Fuckety fuck me up.

We sprint toward each other for what seems like minutes but is only a few seconds, each of us too stubborn to let up. As our last few steps near, the wolf takes a bounding leap into the air, higher than I can believe. It soars through the air, its mouth poised open to latch onto my neck in a finishing blow. I pull both my hands to the right like I'm swinging a bat in a moment of desperation. My double handed fist catches the wolf in the side of his huge open mouth. His teeth scraping my hand as his body flies in a different direction than he intended. I don't bother to check behind me as I hear his huge figure hit the ground in an ungraceful thump. Instead opting to try my chances at running for my motherfucking life.

As I sprint down the eerily silent dirt path, I can picture the wolf bear shaking himself off from my minor blow and becoming even angrier. I am supposed to be his supper after all. My sharp breath is the only thing the forest can hear as I continue crossing its depth. I guess I'm out of luck (pardon the pun but I've 'struck out') when I hear the wolfs fast footsteps once again close behind me. I drive my legs to move faster but I know I'll never be able to outrun such a beast. It pulls at a chunk of my jeans as it tries to slow me down by biting my ankle. I stop my running completely, attempting to turn and kick the snout attached to my ankle. I've run out of time to take action by the time my body is completely facing the beast. It collides with my body so hard I'm knocked to the ground with impact. The wolf doesn't start eating immediately. Instead he catches his breath while pinning my arms under his giant, same-size-as-my-face paws.

Wow what a great life I've had, spectacular. I would like to thank my mother for bringing me into this world but never letting me forget that she can take me out of it. I would like to thank my best friend Georgia for always laughing at my dirty jokes during health class. Lastly I would like to thank Garner for being a big dick frick and putting me in this whole conundrum.

When I have finished with my last little speech to the world, the bear hybrid has still yet to eat my face. I open my squeezed eyes. The wolf above me is sniffing at the air and let's out the beginnings of another one of his menacing growls. Something knocks him off me with the force of a missile. I scramble to sit up and watch what's gonna happen to my attacker. The craziest thing sits on top of the huge wolf, growling and nipping at its neck with an anger so desperate its almost humane. Said crazy thing being another, even bigger wolf- if you can believe that. A moment of maiming and graphic ripping is all it takes this new wolf to disarm the old wolf. It begins dragging its body away. The eyes of the bigger wolf meet mine for only a second, and in that second the familiar chill of my spin and numbness in my hands returns at full force. I can't pull myself off the ground for my hands and arms have forgotten how to work. Instead I sit completely frozen as I watch the wolf dragging his opponent into the pitch darkness of the forest. The sounds of the old wolf's dying whines is all I hear in the moments that follow, until they stop completely.

My breathing speeds as I wait for the other wolf to finish what the first one started. I'm figuratively pulling out a salt shaker and sprinkling some flavoring onto its meal. Instead all I am able to hear in the dark forest is the rustling of leaves on trees. A sound like a human grunt comes from where the wolf dragged the body, and my heart stops all together. The sound is guttural and almost pained, though it only lasts a second. Before I can process that I should be running for my life for the third time in a half an hour, a voice; low and deep, erupts from the darkness beyond the trees.

"Get out of here," the man's voice growls from nearby. I search for a figure in the bleak forest, but I see nothing.

"God?" I say dumbly. I hear a rustle to my left and jump in shock, finally scrambling to my feet.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" The voice says with a force that nearly knocks me off my unstable feet again. The voice doesn't have to repeat himself for a second time. I've begun running immediately. Weaving through the wet trees, the rain hitting me harder than ever, I burst out of the forest a minute later.

I collapse at the door of the black house, my ankle a mess of blood and my mind producing only one word in my panic-

Werewolves.

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