Code Black [The Experiments Book 1]

Chapter 18: Wolves

Chapter 18: Wolves

            I was at the last activity before the campfire and the only one after dinner.  I decided to skip it, because I hate guns.  I will have to take it before I leave though, so I asked if I could take it instead of basketball tomorrow.  The day was cold and wet; foggy to the point of blindness, but a good day to walk in the woods.

            I wore the turquoise camp sweatshirt that I got from the gift store, with the last letter I got tucked inside the front pocket.  I thought I would call her sometime tonight to get some information about the mutant who creates water.  Amber said he would be the easiest to find, because he can’t fully control his powers yet.

            I walked onto one of the bigger trails that I knew eventually running to the waterfall.  It usually took a half hour to get there though, because the trail ended.  I wanted to see the wolves again; I wanted to see how they would react in normal situations.  I wanted to see if they were partially tame, or if they just knew that there was trouble, and had enough brains to help me.

            I walked alone for awhile, looking through the trees in every which way.  Every time I looked up, I saw Rebel and Mira above me.  They knew I wanted to see the wolves again.  When I got deep into the forest, I saw a fox run across the trail, but it was preoccupied.  It chased a white bunny, who looked scared out of its mind.  The bunny was too fast for it, and escaped into a small hole.  The fox smashed into the mouth of the hole, digging into it and growling at the rabbit.  It pounded harder against the ground, frustrated.

            As I walked on, past the fox digging into a hole, I heard a twig snap in front of me.  I could see the green sweatshirt of someone ahead of me, and I knew he wanted to see me.  Whoever he was, he hid behind a tree, waiting to jump out and scare me.

            “I can see you,” I said to him in an annoyed tone.  He sighed in defeat and walked into my view.

            “I thought you would, I’m not that sneaky,” Jerome said as he approached me.  For some reason, he looked taller then he did four days ago when we went on that walk.  He walked with a small limp, probably the last bit of recovery he had to get over.  He loudly walked over to me, and I stopped to let him get a break, “where are you heading off to?”

            “The waterfall, I wanted to check something out,” I said, wrinkling the note in my pocket nervously.  Jerome stuck both of his newly healed hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt.  He got his cast off and stitches out this morning, but he still cringed with pain from time to time.  My leg hurt every once in a while I got weird sprains in my leg where the cougar lashed me.  It reopened again when I accidently ran through a thorn bush.  I tried to run away from the other team in capture the flag.  My muscles still needed to heal, but for Jerome, his entire body needed to heal.

            “Do you mind if I come,” he asked, as I started walking again, this time more slowly and cautiously.

            “No, I don’t mind,” I said.  “As long as you don’t chicken out when we get there,” we started laughing at my comment.  He seemed to laugh at almost everything I said, even when it wasn’t supposed to be funny.

            “You don’t have to worry, I’m over that,” he said.  The vision of his attack popped in my head, making my smile drop.  I hated how the cougar attacked him, and it was partly my fault.

            We walked silently for a while; we didn’t really have much to talk about after my inner melancholy.  He walked partially behind and partially beside me.  He walked a little too close for my comfort, so I started walking to one side a little to keep some distance.  I guess he wasn’t going to give up on me, not now that he knew I liked him.