Bloodfang

Hiding the Truth

Ricky

After he finished his lunch, Ricky went back down stairs to check on the wolf once more. The wolf continued to sleep deeply. Taking advantage of his slumber, Ricky quietly sat down beside him and began stroking his soft black fur. Long moments passed as Ricky simply enjoyed the pleasure of the warm sleeping form, marveling that he had been given this opportunity. Further marveling at the entire situation and his role in it. Had he really removed a bullet from a wild wolf's shoulder? Was he really sitting in a basement with a sleeping wolf? Ricky was in awe of himself. He, the king of nerves, the ruler of anxiety, the emperor of fear had done those things and was sitting here calmly, alive and able to tell the tale.

The wolf suddenly twitched. Ricky whipped his head around to look towards the wolf's face. Was he awake? The wolf's eyes remained closed and Ricky let out a sigh of relief and put a hand to his still pounding heart. Obviously, Ricky thought, he was not as brave as he would have liked to think.

Ricky sat quietly, unmoving, no longer petting the sleeping animal as he waited to see if the wolf would move again. When Ricky was sure that the wolf still slept, he rechecked his wound. As Ricky pulled the fur away from the wound he was amazed at how small it now looked. It was like it was shrinking, Ricky thought in confusion.

He stood up, brushing absentmindedly at the dirt on his shorts as stared down at the wolf in thought. Had is eyes played tricks on him earlier and the wound was not as bad as he had thought? But if that were the case then where had the blood come from? Confused, Ricky quietly made his way back up the stairs. He wanted to do some research on gun wounds and the healing process. He had a few questions about his patient.

When he reached the kitchen, Ricky snatched up his tablet and continued on, making his way to the living room to sit down with a plop onto the sofa. Long moments later he was engrossed in the details of gunshot wounds and the healing process.

Ricky grew a little concerned when he read that the gunshot wound to the shoulder could take three to six months to heal based on the health and age of the individual shot. Ricky frowned, not liking that answer one bit. There was no way the wolf could stay here for three months undetected, not to mention, Ricky would be gone in two.

Before Ricky could continue thinking about his dilemma, he was interrupted by the sound of a vehicle rumbling up the driveway. Ricky recognized the grumbling sound of his Uncle Steve's truck. He was home!

"Uncle Steve!" Ricky half gasped, half whispered, feeling a surge of adrenaline surge through him. 'What was he going to do? Should he tell his uncle about the wolf?' But in the next breath he quickly shook his head no. He could just imagine how that conversation would go.

"Hey Uncle Steve how was your day? Mine was great. A wounded and very wild wolf broke into your basement and I performed surgery on him, all the while hoping that it wouldn't wake up and attack me!" No. Most likely the only way that conversation would end would be a one way plane ticket for him back to New York. Ricky did not want to take that chance.

Ricky barely managed to calm himself down. He knew panicking would not do him any good right now. He needed to keep his wits about him. He would do his best to act normal and keep his mouth shut about anything wolf-related. If his uncle did not know anything then he would not have to ask anything and Ricky would not have to lie or worse tell the truth. Subterfuge was not Ricky's strong suit. Usually what Ricky thought Ricky said, sometimes to the point of being blunt, but this time, Ricky promised himself, this time he would not be obvious and fess all. He would do it for the wolf. He would do it for himself. He wanted to stay in Colorado. His staying highly depended at what Ricky did.

Ricky quickly deleted the websites from his tablet and mentally checked the kitchen and the basement. Everything was fine as far as he could remember except of course, for the sleeping wolf lying on the basement floor. That would be a bit difficult to explain. Ricky gulped. Acting normal, when things were anything but, was going to be a bit difficult.