Chapter Ten
“Run!” Gwen screamed.
She and Ginny tore through the trees. Branches slapped against their skin, leaving tears that slowly began to bleed. They were both barefoot and in the clothes they wore to bed, and each rock or branch under their feet felt like a needle piercing their skin. Gwen was in tears from the pain, but she couldn’t let herself slow down, not now. If she stopped, she was a goner.
She sucked in a lungful of air and put on a burst of speed, trying to put some distance between them. Ginny was right on her heels, her arms pumping by her sides. Gwen was huffing and puffing, and sweat dripped down her chest and forehead, dampening her skin. She got a painful stitch in her side, and she gasped for air. Each step was a struggle, but she forced herself forward, slowing down despite her best efforts.
Ginny easily overtook her, disappearing into the trees ahead of them. Gwen screamed her name, begging her to wait, but she watched Ginny’s back get farther and farther away until she was gone. The forest seemed to swallow her up, leaving Gwen alone in the darkness with only the full moon to guide her way. She took another deep breath, trying to gather the energy to catch up with Ginny. They couldn’t get separated, not now, not when they were in so much danger.
Gwen stumbled into a clearing in the trees and spun, looking for any sign of where Ginny might have gone. She looked back at the way she had just come, and even though she couldn’t see them, she could hear their feet pounding the ground and their harsh breathing as they chased after her. It wouldn’t be long before they caught up to her, and if that happened, there was no way she was going to be able to escape. At least not in one piece.
Footsteps alerted her to a presence behind her, and she spun. Ginny stumbled out of the trees, bleeding from several bite wounds on her arms and legs. Blood flowed freely down her body in streams, staining her clothes and the ground beneath her. Gwen stared at her in horror, completely transfixed and rooted to the spot. Ginny made her way clumsily across the clearing, collapsing to the ground mere feet away.
Gwen rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside Ginny. The ground was damp beneath her knees, and she tried not to notice the blood seeping out of the dirt as it stained her skin. Her hands found the worst of the wounds, and she tried to apply as much pressure as she could, but there were far too many of them. Even if she stopped the bleeding from the worst ones, the others would leak as much of Ginny’s life as them.
“Ginny! What do I do?” she asked, her voice high and hysterical, echoing through the empty woods.
Ginny turned tired eyes on her, and Gwen felt her throat constrict as she realized just how deadly Ginny’s condition was. “Run,” she said, her voice hoarse and quiet, as if she had no energy left at all. Gwen had to lean in closer to hear what she was saying, and when the words finally sunk in, Gwen felt her heart break in her chest.
“I can’t leave you!”
Ginny closed her eyes, her breathing going shallow, so light and feathery that Gwen wouldn’t have even known she was still alive if she weren’t so close. Gwen didn’t know what to do now. She couldn’t leave Ginny to her fate, and she couldn’t carry her from the woods. The house was too far away and help wasn’t going to arrive anytime soon. She was up a creek without a paddle, and there weren’t many options left to her.
She turned and looked over her shoulder as the wolves burst into the clearing, skidding to a halt and tearing up the earth with their nails. The largest was a brown wolf that was front and center, and his brown eyes were fixed solely on her. It was as if they could see into her very soul, taking in everything that was Gwen. She felt herself being drawn to the brown wolf, like a moth to a flame, and she was powerless to stop it.
She was frozen in fear, shivering on the ground beside a dying Ginny, unable to find the courage to act or even move. For a split second, Gabe flashed through her mind. He wasn’t any braver than her, and he had somehow mustered the courage to protect her, no matter the cost. If he could put aside his fear for someone he loved, then Gwen could do it, too.
She closed her eyes, breaking the spell the brown wolf held over her, and she got to her feet, putting herself between Ginny and the pack in front of her. When she opened her eyes, she found herself facing more than a dozen wolves, and her knees went weak, threatening to give out beneath her. But she straightened her back, refusing to show them any fear or weakness. If she was going to go, she was going to go out with a fight. She was a warrior, not a coward, and she would make sure they knew it before the night was done.
She braced herself for an attack that never came. The wolves remained in their places, staring her down and making her nervous. It almost looked like they were all waiting for something to happen, but Gwen had no idea what it could have been. Even though they were capable hunters, they were still mindless beasts, incapable of any kind of rational thought. What could they possibly have been waiting for? Perhaps a signal from the alpha?
She watched the brown wolf, refusing to take her eyes off of him for even a second. He was the one that was going to give the order. If she could intimidate him enough, he might flee, giving Gwen a chance to get Ginny home.
Gwen froze as the sound of growling reached her ears and her shoulders slumped. Slowly, she turned on her heels, looking into the eyes of a small gray wolf. Ginny was nowhere to be found, but the wolf was in her place—a wolf with dark blue eyes. Eyes that Gwen had looked into for years. Eyes that she could never mistake as those of a wild animal. She couldn’t explain it, but she was staring into Ginny’s eyes. It was a harsher, more violent version of them, but they were Ginny’s all the same.
“Ginny—”
Her muscles bunched as she lunged, taking Gwen down to the ground. Before she could scream, fangs were embedded in her face. She fought and screamed, but the wolf was an anchor on her chest, keeping her pinned to the ground and unable to fight for long. Blood poured from her wounds, staining the ground beneath her. She grew weaker and weaker until she lay still. The last of her life slowly poured from her.
“Ginny…”
Gwen sat bolt upright, gasping for air. Sticky sweat coated her skin, making her nightshirt cling to her. She plucked at it, trying to fan herself until she was cool. Her heart hammered away in her chest, making Gwen realize just how real the dream had felt. She checked herself over for any injuries, and was thankful when she found herself to be in one piece. Even though it had just been a nightmare, it had all felt so real, like it was something that could have actually happened.
She leaned back against the headboard, trying to calm herself. It took awhile, but eventually her heart slowed to its normal rate, and her breathing became less harsh and more even. The effects of the nightmare began to fade, and Gwen was left feeling confused and scared, a combination she didn’t like. She wanted to reach out and wake Ginny so she could talk about her fears, but she remembered that Ginny was gone for the second time. She glanced over at the empty bed next to hers and found she couldn’t take her eyes off of it.
Where are you, Ginny?
Gwen dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, starting a hot shower to wash away the sweat and lingering fear. She was in there for so long Gabe started pounding on the door, telling her there were others who wanted to use the bathroom sometime that day. She pulled on her clothes with steady hands, but one look in the mirror and she knew her calm exterior was nothing more than a mask. And it was a poor one at that. Gabe would take one look at her and know that something was wrong.
She exited the bathroom, darting around Gabe in an attempt to get away without having to talk about it. She just wanted to forget the nightmare like she had the last one, and talking about it was not going to help. Gabe was startled but she was already down the stairs before he could call out to her, asking her what was wrong.
She slid into her chair and stared at all of the food on the table. Her stomach twisted and she felt like she might be sick if she forced herself to eat anything. Her stomach growled, but
she tried her best to ignore it. When her mother glanced disapprovingly at her empty plate, Gwen grabbed a banana and slowly began to eat, sipping at a glass of orange juice. She didn’t think she would be able to keep anything else down right now.
The mood at the table was stifling. Her grandma’s funeral years ago had been more cheerful and warm. Grant and Geoffrey were glaring at each other across the table, and Gwen was reminded of two young siblings stuck in a time out after fighting, unable to do anything except stick their tongues out at each other. Gwen knew they both wanted to be out looking for Ginny, but it had started to rain while she was in the shower, and there would be no trail for them to follow. She doubted even the police search dogs would be able to track her.
I’ll bet the police don’t even know she’s missing again. I doubt anyone bothered to tell them if they didn’t bother to take Ginny to the hospital for her wounds.
Gwen excused herself from the table and went back up to Ginny’s room, taking another piece of fruit with her when her mother gave her another disapproving glance. She set the orange off to the side of the desk and logged into Ginny’s fake email account, looking to see if she’d gotten any kind of response from her mystery contact. When she checked the inbox and found it was still empty, her heart sank a little, and she wondered why they hadn’t messaged her back. Either they weren’t a very good friend, or someone really had had something to do with Ginny’s first disappearance.
Everyone was so sure it was drug related though. Was there really another person involved?
She thought about the conversation between the adults she’d overheard, about how Ginny had gotten caught up in their problems. Now that Ginny was gone again, she found herself wondering what those problems were. What could have been a serious enough problem that it would carry on to their children? Gwen’s earlier thoughts that maybe they had gotten involved with some dangerous people in their younger years didn’t seem so far-fetched.
She stared at the computer screen for a moment, as if willing some message to appear in Ginny’s inbox. She was about to log out when she noticed that even though the inbox was empty, the sent folder wasn’t. She clicked it, her heartbeat quickening. Did Ginny get in touch with her secret contact and forget to delete the message she sent?
The message loaded, and she began to read.
Sky, I need to see you. We HAVE to talk! He’s not going to let me go without a fight, and me being here puts Gwen at risk. I can’t let anything happen to her. Please meet me at midnight in our usual spot. – Ginny
Gwen reread the message over and over again, until the words began to blur on the screen and she felt her eyes start to burn. She blinked rapidly, trying not to grow impatient with herself. She didn’t know why she had so much trouble with computer screens where other dyslexic kids didn’t seem to. She knew she exhibited a few of the criteria, but this one in particular seemed to be such a more extreme hindrance than what she had been told to expect. Sometimes she really hated how technological the world was because it seemed like she could never escape from the technology that gave her problems.
Briefly, Gwen considered sending the anonymous contact another message. She could do it, write something out real quick and hit send. It couldn’t really hurt, could it? Either they saw it and responded and gave her information she didn’t have yet, or they ignored it and she was still in the same spot she was in now. Even if she didn’t really gain anything from it, she didn’t have anything to lose, either. What the hell, she thought, cracking her fingers and leaning over the keyboard.
I need your help. Ginny is gone again and I need help finding her. I know you were supposed to meet with her at midnight last night, but I don’t know where. Please, any information you could give us would really help. Did you two meet up or did she get lost? We’re desperate for any information. Please. – Gwen
Before she could chicken out, she hit send and logged out. She stared at the blank computer screen for a minute, wondering if she was even doing any good. It seemed like nothing was going right, and nothing anybody could do was helping Ginny. She was in danger once again, and Gwen wondered if anybody downstairs had her best interests at heart or if they were too busy hating each other to even care. If Ginny had been her daughter, she would have been out in those woods day and night searching for her, and nothing would have gotten in the way of that. Least of all a silly grudge between her and Gabe.
Instead of sitting around for a reply she had a strong feeling she wasn’t going to get, Gwen laced up her boots and knocked on Gabe’s door. He opened it, still looking a little annoyed from having to take a cold shower earlier. When he saw she was ready to go, his eyebrow lifted, and he waited for her to say something.
“I need a ride into town,” she said quietly, making sure her voice didn’t carry down the stairs. “I want to head to the library and continue that research you were doing. I don’t think looking for Ginny is going to help right now,” she admitted, inwardly cringing at the thought. “She clearly doesn’t wanna be found, and searching won’t change that. I messaged her mystery contact again, and unless they answer, it’s useless. Our time is better spent elsewhere.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that,” he said, his lips turning down into a frown. “If you think searching is useless—”
“I do,” she interrupted quickly.
“Then I guess I can take you into town,” he said. “Even if we can’t find Ginny, we can still find some answers we’ve been waiting for. And who knows, those answers might somehow help us find Ginny in the long run. I guess it’s better than sitting here and doing nothing. Let me get dressed real quick and I’ll be right downstairs.”
Gwen headed into the kitchen to wait for him. She froze in the entryway as four pairs of eyes turned towards her, and she realized she must have just interrupted a top secret conversation. She narrowed her eyes, staring them all down one at a time, silently daring any of them to lie to her face about what they were talking about. When she got to her father, he alone refused to look away from her in shame, and his eyes narrowed a fraction, just as hers had. She might have laughed if she weren’t so furious.
Maybe we’re more alike than I thought.
“Gabe and I are heading out for the day,” she said, making sure they all saw her drop the untouched orange back into the bowl of fruit on the table. Her mother made a disapproving noise in the back of her throat, but Gwen made a point of ignoring her. She grabbed Ginny’s car keys from the hook where they always rested, and she walked out of the kitchen without another word. She didn’t even have to see her mother’s face to know she wanted to argue that they should stay home, and knowing that she and Gabe were going to leave regardless of what their mother said made her feel a little better.