Barely Human

Chapter 17

Hey guys! I'm finally back! My internet has been down for the past several weeks so i havent been able to post. But! I have a nice long next couple of chapters so its all good. Let me know what you think, and as always any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Chapter 17

I woke up to the sound of howling coming from deeper in the woods. All too quickly, I sat up straight and looked around with my still sleep coated eyes. There is nothing but blackness surrounding me. The only sense that this is not just a nightmare is Sam's tense body beside me searching the woods for any sign of like just as I was.

I heard a growl, much closer this time and when I peeked over the edge of the boulder, I was met with twin sets of yellow specks, the light of the moon reflecting off of them and giving them an eerie tone. The growl sounded again- from the wolves right below me.

Suddenly, the first one leaps up and lands with its front paws on the boulder, just three feet below me. As I watch, it slowly edges its way closer, slipping only twice, and is soon pulling its hulking from over the side of the rock. Paralyzed with fear, I stand and stare blankly at the approaching wolf.

"Casey," Sam shouts, snapping me out of my trance. "Watch out!"

I turn to see Sam with a chunk of rock, easily bigger that my head, held out to his side. With a grunt, he flings the rock and it lands squarely on the shoulders of the wolf who was stalking me.

Turning back around quickly, I see another pair of wolves coming up behind Sam. Suddenly thinking up a plan, I race toward the wolves and, when I am no more than a foot away from them, leap into the air and shoot skyward.

I rocket around the top of the clearing, ripping off a decent sized branch from a nearby tree. I descend quickly so that I am behind the majority of the wolves. There looks to be six in all- including the one that Sam took out with the rock. They are fanned out around Sam, steadily advancing and pushing him backward to the edge of the boulder. This is my chance.

"Sam, jump," I shout as I plummet toward the boulder. I stretch the branch out to my side and sweet it under the feet of the wolves, knocking them all off balance. This causes a much needed diversion when Sam and I can make our getaway.

I make a swift cut upward and when I am a safe distance away from the incapable group of wolves, I look behind to make sure that Sam followed. He's not behind me. However, when I look down toward the boulder, I see a slightly blurry, white shape that appears to be trying to run away.

Rolling my eyes, I tuck my wings in behind me and plummet toward the earth.

As I get closer, I see that one of Sam's legs is dragging behind him as he crawls toward the edge of the clearing. The wolves seem to have recovered- mostly- and are now slowly stalking toward him. I pull my wings tighter around me and, when I am mere feet above the ground, I snap my wings out and level out so that I am parallel with the ground.

I approach quickly, more so than I had anticipated, and before I know it, I am feet away from Sam. He is obviously hurt- no surprise really- so I am sure to be careful as I roughly grip the back of his hoodie in my fist and jerk back up into the sky, away from the ravenous pack of wolves.

I soar higher up into the sky, the now unconscious and bloody teenage boy tight in my grip, and angle toward the drop-off. Right now, all I can focus on is getting Sam back to the hideaway safely and quickly.

A few long minutes later the tree line stops; so do I. I turn back around and hover right outside the edge of the cliff. Closing my eyes, I fold my wings and fall into the emptiness below.