Somewhere

Chapter Fourteen

I woke up with a pounding headache that forced my eyes shut.

Rain still pelted me through the leaves of trees above me. I didn't care. I could easily fall back asleep, no matter how many times the rain hit my eyelids. The sound of the rain acted as the perfect white noise.

A howl ripped through the sky and it sounded much closer than the last time. I'd say it inspired me to rise to my hands and knees, grunting as much as I needed. Once my nausea faded, I peeked through one eye.

That house still stood.

"So," I grunted and held the tree, yanking myself to my feet. "I'm not hallucinating." That was a good sign. My breath was labored like I didn't just stand, but like I just ran a marathon. On my first step, I cursed. The pain from ankle ripped up my leg and I nearly tipped over again. I cursed again and then, again. Not because it helped the pain, but it let loose some of my aggression and that made my soul feel better.

I hobbled to the house, realizing my least favorite ankle wasn't broken. At least underneath the house's awning, he was safe from the rain. The doorknob was locked, and I fell against the door, a breath from giving up. Gathering up my strength, I walked back into the rain, grabbed the biggest rock and chucked it at the window by the door. I reached around the brand-new hole and unlocked the door.

I snorted, "to think the Boy-Scouts kicked me out for being too rowdy. I'm downright resourceful."

Letting myself inside, I rubbed my tickled nose. The amount of accumulated dust could make the entire town sneeze. I left the door open to let in some fresh air and the smell of rain.

Ghosts infested the house. White sheets draped over every piece of furniture. Everything was frozen in time from when they were abandoned. I was drawn to something tall against the wall, yanking the sheet down and revealing an antique grandfather clock. It looked heavy enough to fall and kill me, hand carved and its ornate detail painted over with gold. The clock seemed to still be ticking and a chill ran through me.

I tried a light switch just out of curiosity and like that, a chandelier exploded in golden light. The light forced its way through the layers of dust and cobwebs.

Taking a chance, I cleared the sheet off something tall in the corner and it was an old coat rack just like I thought, and I hung Cooper's coat. I threw off my sweater, seeing a big ugly red stain in my plaid thermal sleeve.

"Great," I muttered and carefully, rolled up my sleeve to find a gash that matched my scars. If I was surrounded by the oldest sheets known to mankind, maybe I'd have something to wrap it. My clothes were out too, covered in mud and dirt.

Outside, I heard a stick crack. My back straightened, but only my heart moved. In fact, it raced. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I leaned towards the door. I felt the gust of wind first and heard it's growl second. I tensed up, falling against the wall and taking the coat rack with me as a full-fledged wolf jumped through the door. It lunged at me like it busted through that door just to find me and I must have been crazy because I kicked the monster right in the face, my heel shoved into its eye without a second thought.

The wolf bowed its head, stumbling back and when he looked up, mouth frothing, my heart sank. I had just made it madder. Quickly, I hurried to my feet and grabbed the coat rack. I strained to pick it up, but it was all I had. Just to show I meant business, I took a swing at the beast. It dodged and I swung again wildly. The wolf grabbed the rack by its teeth and this time, yanked me. I fell flat on my stomach, slamming my nose into the ground because all I need was to break my nose and make it even bigger.

"I've heard about you. Sam Rivera."

The wolf spoke.

Well. It was less like speaking, but it was as if an echo poured from another room like it spoke from a corner of my brain. I shivered as it went on, "I can smell that Blackwood Alpha all over you... but there's something else." The wolf approached, sniffing my bleeding arm. I stiffened, sucking in my lip. My breath labored like he was strangling me. "Something else. Just as he said."