Longing to be Human

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter 22

Dear nobody, yesterday was probably the scariest day of my life and if not, it was in the top five. I faced a shadow hound face to face and lived to tell about it. Henry told me that the hound was trained not to kill and wouldn't have ended my life. In theory, I was in no danger, but that didn't make it any less terrifying while it was happening.

He also told me that shadow hounds are susceptible to light, seeing as though that they are nocturnal creatures. It won't kill them, as the one in the basement is now fine that Henry turned the light out, only blind them and cause discomfort. Later today, Henry is supposed to be coming to Cody's house to tell me more about my trade, which as of now I still don't know.

"Hey Randy?" Andi asked, making me look up from my writing. She sat on a branch of the tree in the backyard while I lay on my stomach on the grass not far away.

"Yeah?" I responded, putting down my pen and propping my head up with my hand. Evenings on Kiosk Kion were mild and relaxing, almost felt like fall on earth. The wind blew through the leaves of the tree above me, causing them to give a gentle rustle.

She jumped down from the branch and sat cross-legged, beside me. "In the few days that you've been here, I notice you do a lot of writing. Why's that?" she intrigued, leaning over and trying to read what I had written.

After everything I had been through, from my father betraying me to being locked in a cell, I refused to trust anyone with my life. The book that lay before me was my life. "It's nothing," I commented, closing the journal and sliding it under me. I couldn't trust anyone.

"I understand. You've been though a lot- Dad told me." Smiling, she slipped two pieces of candy from her coat pocket. "Here, my friend at school gave me a whole handful of these." Andi handed me both of the candies that I happily accepted with an open hand.

The look in her eyes wasn't one of betrayal or sinister origin. Instead, it was sincere and caring. Reminded me a lot of Rachel. "Thanks," I mumbled, eating one of the candies and pocketing the other for later. Something wanted me to trust her.

"So, where's your dog-thing?"

"Inside. He's asleep on the couch."

"Oh, okay," she said. I could tell she wanted to talk to me but didn't know what to say. I decided to help.

"How was school?" I asked, thinking of the questions that my mother would ask me after a long day at school.

She laughed. "Weirder then ever. My friends and I got in trouble for being disruptive in class."

"What did you guys do?"

"Play hangman. Apparently," she rolled her eyes as any typical teenage girl would do, "it's considered a violent reference because it has the word hang in it. Stupid." Sighing, she leaned back against the tree and scowled. "I have never understood school rules and never will."

"Sounds like my brother. He was always getting detention for drawing on the sides of his pages." The more I talked to Andi, the more I trusted her.

"Hey Randy!" Henry shouted, walking through the gate that lead into the backyard where we were. He took a seat beside Andi and me on the grass. "Ready to talk about your trade?"

I gave a nod, sitting upright at this point.

"As you saw yesterday, the shadow hounds are very fearsome creatures. Very few people can face one of those eye to eye and not faint at the sight," he said, looking over some paperwork on a clipboard. "You did very well. In fact, you have the capacity to be a hound hunter. I think-"

"Are you kidding me?!" Andi interrupted, her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth a straight line. "A baby hound could rip him to shreds!"

"Andi, he-"

"I don't care if he is part wolf-kin! He's not a monster. Look at him!" She pointed at me as she caught her breath. "He's not his brother." Standing up, she began to walk away. Before she had entered into the house, she turned. "Don't treat him like he is." With that she stormed into the house, furious and boiling with anger. The door slammed behind her.

I looked to Henry, who acted as though nothing had happened. "As I was saying," he said, continuing where he had left off, "I think the wolf-kin in you makes you bolder around them. Your brother is a hunter." He smiled. "You wanna see him again?"

"You mean Number Eighty-One?" I asked. Half of me wanted to see him, but the other half was annoyed by him.

"Yup. He's had that trade ever since he was your age. So what do you say?"

Suddenly, I didn't trust Henry as much as I did before. Not after the reaction that Andi had when she found out about the hound hunting thing. Something was fishy, if you asked me. "Ask me tomorrow," I said, wanting to ask Andi more about the hound hunting.

"Alright." Henry stood to his feet. "I'll be back in the morning for an answer. See ya, Pup," he said, rubbing my head playfully before he walked away. After he had left, I went inside the house to find Andi.

I found her, sitting on the couch, Leif in her arms drinking from a bottle. His eyes were closed as he purred softly. She looked up at me.

"Dad said since you were talking to Henry I could feed him. Hope you aren't mad."

I shook my head and sat beside her. "Nah. It's fine. I wanna talk to you about the hound hunter thing...."

Angrily, Andi sighed deeply. "It's wrong. They are trying to make you into a weapon."

"Huh?" I tilted my head to one side.

"Anything that can kill a shadow hound is a monster. The one that Henry has in the school- Yes, I've seen it- is only half-grown."

I gulped nervously.

"Plus, that one is trained not to kill humans. An adult shadow hound would rip you in half before you could blink." She adjusted the bottle for Leif. "Your brother can rip the jaw off of it with his bear hands."

"Wha..." I said in disbelief. "How do you know?"

"I've seen him do it. You don't wanna be like him." Her eyes were filled with fear. "He used to look like you until they started treating him like the animal that is in him."

"He did?"

"Yeah. My dad used to work with him a lot, so I know him pretty well," she added. "He's become a monster now. Don't do it, unless you wanna become like him."

Lowering my head, I mumbled, "But I already am a monster..."

"No you're not!" she snapped, raising her voice sharply. "Just like the smart people say that heroes aren't born- they are made; monsters aren't born, they are made. Make your choice, do you want to become a monster?"

Shaking my head, I knew my decision for the following day.