Between Two Mountains

Chapter 4

This chapter contains depictions of mass violence that may not be suitable for all readers.

Sometimes, I think I can still hear the ringing in my ears and feel the pressure of the explosion pressing against my eardrums. They discovered pieces of a self-detonating bomb in the debris of the parking lot. The bomb was attached to the bottom of a family mini-van three cars down from our car. When the family turned on the car to leave Greendale Valley, the timer on the bomb detonated and the explosion wiped out everything within ten feet of the mini-van. They were Human.

The Creamery where the six year old and eight year old versions of Declan and I sat was just out of the explosive's reach. Its glass windows shattered and we, along with the other families and bystanders in the shop, were flung to the floor. Chaos erupted and the next thing that I knew, I was separated from Declan and shoved outside in the wave of panic.

I remember feeling scared. I remember feeling a pain inside my heart as if a piece or two were being ripped out of my chest. But mostly, I remember seeing the empty spot where our family car had been parked.

I started crying immediately, confused and alone in a place that looked nothing like it had a couple of minutes before. I didn't stop crying until I felt a hand grab my own and drag me back towards the other end of the plaza. I saw Declan's tearstained face as he tried to reassure me that everything would be all right. We weaved through people, who were frantically searching for their loved ones, and crouched in the corner of a clothing shop that was now empty.

I closed my eyes tightly, but the inside of my eyelids were painted red. I could hear people being dragged from the rubble screaming in agonizing pain. I began to cry again and Declan took me in his arms and turned me away from the tattered remains of the parking lot.

With a quivering voice, he began to tell me my favorite story about a Little Prince and an elephant that looked like a hat. My mom and dad would always read this story to me whenever I woke up from nightmares. He soothed my hair and back and we stayed this way until the red fire trucks and flashing lights of the ambulances cut through the madness. I couldn't wake up from this nightmare no matter how hard I squeezed my eyes shut.

The Valley had been full that day. The explosion killed many and injured more, human and werewolf alike. They were unable to identify the terrorists behind the event, but eventually linked it to an extremist human faction just as the case was beginning to go cold. I kept hoping that my parents would rise from the ashes, maybe even in their wolf forms and take us into their arms and never let go. I even dreamt that they would come home for years after the event and would practice apologizing for not handling the cold like a big girl. But, they never did.

Eventually, we had to leave Sterling and move to a smaller town with our Aunt Clara. After the event, tensions between humans and werewolves in Sterling increased and the unbreakable peace built there began to crack.

We've lived in the cabin by the stream since then. Now, instead of being surrounded by brick buildings and trolleys, we are surrounded by trees and acres of open land.

Haven is even smaller and more tucked away than Sterling. Humans and werewolves once again occupy the same space peacefully, but the nearest neighbor, Mrs. Boyd, is a good two miles away.

I like it here. I like the quiet and the fresh air. But, I'm not convinced it'll last forever.