Wake Me

Chapter Ten

Looking up at the pending storm above her, Dani realized her visit with her mother was going to be cut short by a different mother; Mother Nature. She shook out her blanket and began folding it to put it in her backpack. As she bent over to unzip her bag, she heard a twig snap behind her.

She spun around and found two glowing red eyes staring at her. Her heart pounded in her chest seeing the massive, black wolf-beast creeping toward her in what felt like slow-motion.

"That's a goo-good boy." She softly muttered, cautiously taking a step backwards.

The wolf-beast lowered its head and snarled, showing its glistening, long canine teeth. Its hackles stood up, causing Dani's hair on her arms to do the same. She blinked a few times, remembering the strangers dog was white, not black.

A deep growl emanated from the large beast, "I-I don't want to hurt you!" She exclaimed, looking for anything nearby that could be used as protection. It growled again, but this time, the ground vibrated beneath her feet.

"Help!" She screamed, fearing her life was about to end by the jaws of hell itself. Her plea for help alarmed the black wolf-beast; it launched at her as she dropped to the ground. In mid-flight, a blur of white fur flew over her crouched body, slamming into the black wolf-beast in a thunderous roar.

A fight between the black wolf-beast and the strangers hybrid dog ensued; fur flying, spit and blood splattering on her and all around. She covered her head with her arms, hoping the fight would end with the white dog as the victor. Her shrieks and screams didn't dissipate the sounds of tearing flesh and thunderous growls.

Dani remained huddled on the ground until it finally became quiet. She peaked beneath her arm and found a bloodied white dog biting down on the neck of the black beast. His red eyes suddenly closed and after a silent moment, black ashes rose up into the sky. The body of the black beast completely disintegrated, leaving behind her victor; a white, horribly shredded dog. He huffed and coughed, limping off toward the dark and foreboding pine trees.

"Come back! You're hurt!" She cried, wanting to help the strangers dog, who miraculously saved her life. Without any pause or deflection, he limped through the dark forest of trees until he was out of sight.

Shaking like a leaf, Dani whimpered in fear. She didn't know what she'd just witnessed, or how she managed to not die. Frozen, she remained huddled against her mother's headstone, wishing her mother was there; holding her, telling her everything was going to be all right...

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When Gunner and I got back to the house, David came outside to help carry in the groceries.

"Excellent timing! We just stepped inside for lunch when we saw you all pull up." David said, helping like a good brother should. "How was—shopping?" He asked hesitantly, knowing we did more than just shopping.

"Good. Everything is good." Gunner said, even though he hadn't said a darn thing after I admitted that if I wasn't born, my mother would still be alive.

David looked over his shoulder as I followed behind him with my hands full of grocery bags, "I like the shoes!" He said, "Did you get those today?" He asked, probably noticing that I was limping.

"No, first day to wear them." I muttered.

"Well, you look nice."

"Gee, thanks." A tinge of guilt suddenly penetrated my thoughts. Maybe my outfit, with my hair braided to the side and glittery body spray, was a neon light; I was trying to impress Gunner. Normally, it wasn't like me to get girli-fied to go grocery shopping.