The TimberWolf Effect (Book I)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - The Beginning of The End

Timber and Emily were both poking at their mashed potatoes and meatloaf rather than eating anything. They were very nervous about the next morning when both of them would be starting school. Emily was starting first grade and was going to be in school until two in the afternoon instead of being released at half past noon. Timber was starting the fifth grade and having trouble with the idea of starting over again with new classmates, a new teacher, and a new classroom.

Just hours before dinner, they were happily putting their new school supplies together in their new monogrammed backpacks and picking out the first-day-of-school outfits they got on another shopping spree at Walmart. But as the day wore on, they began feeling anxious. Neither of them was smiling and talking as they usually did during dinner. Timber sat hunched over, swirling her lump of potatoes with her fork. She was not as nervous as she was before she started her first day of school in January, but her hands were shaking.

"Are you two alright?" asked Chad. "Are you worried about tomorrow?"

Timber and Emily nodded in unison.

"I know it seems scary," said Grace gently. "A new classroom and everythin', but you'll both be fine. Here's what I would like you to do right now. Chad and I are takin' tomorrow off of work. You need to decide who you want to bring you to school. We expect an answer before bedtime."

Having something to focus on other than school helped Timber and Emily feel better and they started eating and arguing over who got Grace. Chad just sat there looking slightly put out but seemed to realize that Grace was Mom and closer to both girls than he was because she was able to understand both of them better. After dinner, Timber was still arguing with Emily. In the end, Emily won which meant that Chad was going to be walking Timber to school. Timber settled into her defeat and went upstairs to take a shower. Once she was ready for bed, she made sure she had everything on the list the school had sent the week before. She double-checked that her new yellow, mint, and coral school supplies were packed neatly before she curled up in her bed with the picture of her parents.

"I start school tomorrow," she said to the picture. "I have a new teacher this year. I'm sure they'll be nice like Mrs. Gibney but I don't know if I'll like fifth grade as much as I liked fourth grade. Xianna said that the fifth graders have a special place to play during recess that is off-limits to the third and fourth graders. I guess that'll be alright. I know you would like Xianna, Mom. Her hair is so long it would take you forever to braid it."

Timber wondered if Xianna or any of her friends would be in her class this year. She looked away from the photo and stared out the window at the full moon. She knew she would not be getting much sleep since she would be getting up in just a few hours to eat the large chunks of fresh meat that Chad and Grace would set out for her before they went to bed. She sighed and turned her attention back to the photo.

"Emily is going to be up really early tomorrow so I should try and get some sleep. Good night, Mom. Good night, Dad. I love you." Timber got up and put the photo back into her dresser drawer. She Turned, stretched, and crawled into her bed. It was too warm for covers so she spread herself on top of her blankets and forced herself to clear her mind so she could sleep.

At midnight, just like every full moon, Timber woke up craving meat. She jumped quietly out of her bed and walked silently down the hallway. Her paws never made a sound as she crept down the stairs. She lowered her body and went into stalking mode. Grace and Chad always hid her meat in different places every month and covered the scent so her instincts were satisfied with a hunt. Timber spent thirty minutes sniffing and searching. She found it under the couch hidden in a mound of bay leaves. She pulled it out with her paw and began ripping apart the huge chunk of raw rump roast. It took ten minutes for her to completely devour all five pounds of meat, but when she was finished she felt more like herself and walked back upstairs, leaving the plate and the bay leaves where they were. She crawled into bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.