Born Wild

Into the night

Koda walked into his room to see Tala's brown wedges tossed onto his disordered floor. The room was empty but the window was open, letting the chilly wind blow into his room.

Koda rushed through the living room and out the front door. Cambria, Hugo, and Astrid, who were cleaning up the mess from the party, followed in confusion.

"What is it Koda?" Hugo pleaded.

He stared out into the dark quiet forest and then back at them. The cold breeze made them all shake.

"She's gone."

Cambria rushed inside to grab their raincoats and flashlights as quickly as she could before coming back out. Astrid looked for footprints, but the rain had erased them. Hugo used his strong voice to call for Tala. He also reassured Koda that it was going to be alright.

They looked for several minutes and called for her but had no luck.

"How long could she have been gone?" Astrid asked the group, brushing her damp blonde hair out of her face and crossing her arms to block the cold.

"She had been in his room for at least 30 minutes." Hugo stated.

They heard the snap of a twig and rushed to see if it was her. Koda flashed his dim light toward the sound, the light fading into the trees.

A wolf with long brown fur and glowing eyes stared back at them. They gasped and stood immobile.

Koda dropped his light in fear before frantically picking it back up. He shone the light at the wolf again but it was gone.

Hugo moved beside Cambria to protect her. Cambria pulled her rain jacket hood up and grabbed Hugo's arm. Astrid pulled out a large pocket knife from her jeans and held it open.

A few minutes later they heard a quiet muffle. They found Tala on the muddy ground, soaking wet, covered in dirt, with small twigs in her hair.

Koda gasped and ran to her, kneeling beside her body and running his tan fingers over her cool forehead. He called her name but Tala remained unconscious. Koda grabbed her limp body and carried her inside to lay her on a towel on his bed.

"I'll stay with her. You can sleep on the couch or floor. I have extra blankets and dry clothes for anyone who needs them." Koda said.

The three of them were quiet with respect. They simply nodded and left the room. Cambria continued to clean up the house before making their beds. Astrid went out to her car to grab random extra clothes she had in her trunk for her and Cambria. Hugo shut all of the blinds and locked the windows and doors.

Astrid threw on a shirt and shorts and gave Cambria a shirt too. Astrid slept on the couch and across the room Hugo and Cambria slept together.

In Koda's room, he sat by the bed waiting for her to respond. She slowly drifted back into consciousness.

Her eyes barely opened. "Koda?"

He leaned closer and grabbed her hand.

"Are you okay? We were all worried about you.... Why did you go outside Tala?"

"Go outside? Why am I all wet and dirty? I came into your room to wait for you to talk and I fell asleep." Tala rambled.

"You were lying outside, there was a...well... I was worried."

"Oh." she grew quiet with realization and set her head back against the pillow. "I was probably sleepwalking."

"You sleepwalk?" Koda asked with surprise.