Blood of the Wolf

Chapter III: Something Isn't Right

Cold. Dark, absent, empty. Cold

I opened my eyes and the sun blinded me, I looked at everyone gathering around. The paramedics, the police, even the fire brigade. I studied the perimeter surrounding the area. One thought leapt into my head. Corby. I shot upward and tried to get to my feet. I toppled over, rather embarrassingly. A paramedic rushed over to my movement.

"Are you okay?" she said gently.

I ignored her question and replied with "Don't worry about me, where's my friend? Where is Corby?".

She seemed confused. "Sir, you were the only one we found". She kept trying to ask questions, the normal routine for when someone has undergone trauma or an accident. I kept ignoring her and asking questions about Corby. Neither of us gave in for a while until I yielded and answered all of her questions. No memory of the accident.

"Can you tell me your name?" she said calmly as she examined my eyes.

"Conor Alby Woodman. Born Thursday, February 8th, 2001". I closed my eyes and sighed, remembering what today was. "Born nineteen years ago today...". I looked away from the paramedic and down at the ground. What a dreadful birthday present, I thought to myself. I peered into the woods and I thought I saw movement, but it was reasonably my imagination so I just ignored it. When the paramedic finished all her questions, she walked away and I asked her "May I stand now?". She Thought about it for a moment but eventually said I could. I stood up and tried to wipe all the dirt off my school uniform. My dry cleaning bill is going to be ridiculous. I knew I should have changed into something more practical. I thought to myself once more. I stood up just as I heard shouting

"Conor!" I heard from a familiar and calming voice. I opened my eyes just as I felt the familiar embrace of Serena Beaumont. As her arms were around my neck I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her up, hugging her tightly. "I was so worried, they wouldn't let me come to see you until you woke up and were examined. I'm so glad you're okay". She pulled away and leaned her head into my chest and looked around. She started getting the worried look on her face and looked up at me. "Corby?"

I looked away and shook my head. "They couldn't find him. He was in the car. He tried to warn me but I didn't realize until it was too late...". Tears started to accumulate into my eyes. "I've just killed my best friend...". Then my phone started ringing.

"How does that thing still work," Serena said as I untangled her from my waist and tried to retrieve my phone from my pocket. It took a lot of effort because my pants were soaked so there was a lot of friction from the extra density.

"Waterproof," I said simply, still trembling. Until I saw who it was. I answered promptly. "Corby!?" I said worryingly. I started pacing. I know it was only a few seconds but it felt like forever before there was an actual response

"Yeah. It's me. Sorry for worrying you..." He said, his voice struck like sunlight. I immediately felt relieved. He wasn't dead, I hadn't killed him. "I'm fine, don't worry. I went to get help. I don't do well around sirens and such so when they arrived I decided to not be around". I didn't care that he had left me alone like that, he was okay and that was all that mattered.

"Okay. Good. As long as you are okay and alive" I said, my voice starting to pacify. "Do you know what happened? I don't remember much from the accident."

"Yeah, I do. Do you want me to tell you what happened?" he said to me, worry in his voice. I told him I did, so he explained. "It's February, so the bridge had already started to freeze, so when it was frozen, you glanced away at something. I still don't know what it was though. I tried to tell you to slow down and to watch the road, but you didn't hear me. Once we were on the bridge I shouted your name, and you looked just as we crashed through the railing. After we hit the water, you went unconscious. I was still awake so I got us both out of the car and dragged you onto the riverbank. And you know the rest". I sat on a stump that was nearby and looked down. I thanked him for explaining, disregarding the fact that he sounded like he was hiding something. Just as I was saying goodbye he said something else. "Hey, Conor?"