How To Be Human

How To Know Your Creatures

Chapter 16 : How To Know Your Creatures

I was too numb to ask where we were going. It all went by in a haze. I was the reason Joel got shot. If I was more aware of what was going on, he wouldn’t of died. It wouldn’t of been my fault, and we all would’ve been okay. There would be nothing wrong and I wouldn’t have this ball of guilt in my gut.

Warren’s been silent, too. I don’t know how close they were, but to me, they looked like brothers. But Warren’s dealt with dead before. He must have, he’s been alive much longer than the trees outside. He must’ve dealt with family dying. Friends, and maybe even girlfriends or wives.

Wife. Did Warren ever get married? Did he have girlfriends? I realized I didn’t know much about the man sitting next to me. I barely saw the surface of him. How deep did the ocean go with him? I don’t know if he wanted me to find out.

The silence that was being absorbed was filled with tension. He was blaming me for Joel getting shot, I just know it. “Look,” I sighed, turning towards him in the car. He kept his arm on the wheel, not sparing a glance at me. “I’m sorry…I know I was the reason Joel got shot. He saved my life and I couldn’t even thank him. If I had just looked where I was going…maybe he would be alive.” My voice cracked on the last part of the sentence, but I ignored it.

Warren glanced at me, long and hard. It made me want to squirm under his penetrating gaze. He finally looked back to the road and I sighed again, turning away from him. “What is wrong with you?”

I blinked. That was the least reaction I thought I was going to get. “Um…excuse me?”

“Do you really blame yourself for Joel’s death?” He asked hardly, throwing me another look.

“Well…I - uh…kind of. If I just saw that werewolf - ”

“No,” Warren cut me off. “Joel jumped in front of you willingly. There was nothing you could’ve done, do you understand me?”

I nodded, even though I didn’t want to. “Yeah. Okay.” Warren sighed, mostly because he knew I didn’t believe him. To get us off the depressing topic, I changed the subject. “Where are we going?”

“Far away from where we are now,” Warren said. “I think Ryan knows by now that something’s keeping me in New York, so he’ll increase some of his guys to stand ground. We’re going to the country side of New York.” For some reason, a giggle popped out of my mouth. Warren raised an eyebrow, questioning my sanity. “Something funny?”

“You. In the country-side.”

Warren gnashed his teeth together. “Yeah, really funny. Laugh it up, kid.”

I sniffed in. It felt good to smile. “I grew up in the country. I lived with my mom, she was always working. I was left home all day with nothing to do. So I had to entertain myself. I’d go outside and play with the horses and cows that roamed around.”

Warren was actually a very good listener. “What about your dad?”