Effervescence

-3- what's that on your head

The fox scampers away, his vibrant orange tail bouncing beautifully in the white snow. I lean against the white front door and catch my breath. My wrist and head are throbbing equally. My tailbone is so.. heavy..

I take a deep breath and face the door. And knock.

"Come in, Xen. Just set the mail on the counter." I hear a raspy voice call out to me. My mind flurries. Who's Xen?

I step inside slowly. Instant heat reaches me; almost like pain. I immediately fall backwards into the snow with a great floomp. 

"You okay, man?" Another voice calls. I can recognize this one as Alexander, my eldest brother.

I didn't realize I was in such immense pain and dizziness until I thought about my well-being. I manage to stifle a scream into a long, drawn out groan.

Footsteps come to the door. "Come on, no time for snow an--"

The voice stops mid-sentence. Silence hangs in the air.

 "My eyes must be playing tricks on me again," Jay whispers to himself. "Not real, Jay, not real. She's not.. r-real-ly there.." A muffled sob. I want to look at him and tell him, "Jay! It's me! Griffin!" but I can't move, and all I see is sky. 

I wheeze to let him know I'm real.

Another moment of silence.

He runs out and immediately picks me up effortlessly off my feet, in a bridal-style carry. The sudden movement knocks the wind out of me and rattles my rib cage. "Gentle," I try to say. He doesn't hear me.

"Alexander, I want you to go and set up the fire. Barry, I want you to grab a blanket and pillows. Constantine, come and take Griffin and hold her till the couch is set up. I'm calling Doctor Flynn." He gently hands me off to Constantine, my twin brother, and runs to the phone. My brothers rush around the house as if their lives depend on it. Constantine stares at my face, as if he can't see it. I curl up the corner of my mouth to smile reassuringly at him, but I end up coughing, which gets worse and worse, until blood starts coming up.

"Hurry up!" he yells  at Barry. Barry finishes setting up the couch, and Constantine sprints over to it and wraps me tightly in a blanket. Barry looks deeply into my eyes, as if he's years and years older. His eyebrows push together. "Explain.. please."

I take a deep breath; my voice comes out a whisper. "Wolves." I mumble.

The one word seemed to take years of effort. I sigh.

Barry's eyes widen. "Did they--"

I finish the question for him. "Yes." Tears of shame edge into my eyes as I repeat the word. "Yes."

Tears are in his eyes too. "I thought you were dead, you idiot."

I smile and laugh, the tears sliding down my face. "I'm sorry, Bear."

"It's all good." He takes my hand and squeezes it. He reaches to my new werewolf ear and runs his fingers through the soft fur. "It suits you."

"You're not mad?" I mutter in disbelief.

"No, no, I am. Once I find the wolf that did this to you I'm gonna whoop his--"

Alexander walks into the living room. "He's on his way. He'll be here in five."

Barry sighs in relief and squeezes my hand. "Brothers.."

Jay, Constantine, and  Alexander walk to the couch and sit down around me. "Just going to say this quick.." Barry starts and takes a deep breath. "Griffin is now a snow-forest wolf. Turned by Scarr Davenport, who we're all going to tag-team and kill as soon as Doctor Flynn gets here. But Griffin deserves to know the truth." Barry turns to me. "..You're not alone."

My eyes widen in fear as my brothers stare at me. Then, slowly, one by one, ears seem to shoot out of their heads, and tails grow from their tailbones. I gasp.

"..plot twist.." Jay mumbles. Constantine hits his arm.

"I, uh.." My mouth dries. I manage to choke out, "Since when?"

"Since that bastard Davenport moved here with his cronies. He's been turning one of us every single year. We tried so hard to protect you, Finn.."

Alexander sniffles and all my brothers turn to him. "What?!" he sobs. "She was too young!!" He drops to his kneels and howls in sadness. We all kind of awkwardly pat him on his back.

A knock sounds on the door. Alexander stumbles to the kitchen and wipes his nose and eyes. Just as Constantine is about to open the door--

"Wait!" I whisper/yell. They turn. I point to my head. "Oh yeah," Barry says, putting his ears and tails back in.  The rest of my brothers follow suit, about to open the door--

"Wait!" I whisper/yell again. They turn. I point to my ears and tail. They all unanimously make an ohhhhh sound. Barry taps my head, and they go back in. I sigh. "Approved."

They finally open the door to see a rosy-cheeked Doctor Flynn, with foggy glasses and a look of terror on his face. "Sjensksknsns!" He exclaims. My eyebrows push together in confusion. "Bsosjwbeksosk!" He says, coming over to the couch, dropping his doctoral bag on the ground. He opens it pulls out a stethoscope, placing in the earpieces and putting the circular part over my chest. His eyebrows raises. "This sort of behavior.. isn't normal." He comments in his normal voice. "What is it?" Alexander asks, wringing out his hands.

Dr. Flynn raises his eyebrows. "She, uhm.." he frantically rakes the circle around my chest. "She doesn't seem to have a.. heart.. beat.."

Jay falls backwards and hits the ball, sliding backwards, mumuring, "No.. heart.. beat.."

I sit there, my eyebrows furrowed. "Huh."