*****
Gwen walked down the darkened road, shivering and pulling her sweater tighter around her. Even though it was the middle of the summer, she felt chilled to the bone, like she would never be warm again. Wispy fog rolled over the road from the woods, clinging to her skin and clothes and obscuring the road beneath her feet. She shuffled nervously, looking around to get her bearings. She had no idea where she was, but she knew she shouldn’t have been there. It wasn’t safe.
A branch snapped nearby, and Gwen whirled, dropping her bag. Her heart hammered in her chest and she had a lump in her throat that made it impossible to scream. Her eyes searched the trees on either side of the road, but the fog blocked her vision, making it impossible to tell if she was alone and imagining things, or if there was something out there…watching her every move.
She listened, but the silence of the woods was too overwhelming. Goosebumps broke out over her skin and she shivered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms, trying to bring some warmth back to her body. It was the middle of summer and yet she was shivering and her teeth were chattering so badly her jaw was starting to ache. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew something was very wrong.
She stopped as the sound of rustling reached her ears. It was coming from behind her, on the opposite side of the road, from just within the woods. A cold sweat broke out over her forehead and a shiver went up her spine, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn around and look. She knew now that she wasn’t alone out in the night, and more importantly, she knew she was going to die. She could feel it in her soul—a crushing, overwhelming ache in her chest that told her this was it. Her final moments.
When the growling started, she became paralyzed, fear rooting her to the spot. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ease her fears. When she finally found the strength to turn around, her eyes met a pair of dark brown colored ones that had a scream building in the back of her throat. Before she could open her mouth, the wolf was on her, knocking her to the ground and sinking his fangs into her, tearing away chunks of flesh while she screamed and flailed and tried her hardest to fight the monster off.
Gwen’s eyes snapped open as she sat bolt upright in bed, a scream lodged in the back of her throat, just like in the dream. Frantically she scrambled around the darkened room for a weapon she could use to defend herself. Her hands clenched a thick book, and she violently swung it around her bed. As the fog from her dream lifted, Gwen felt herself begin to calm down. Her room came into focus and she realized she wasn’t out near the woods—she was safe and sound in her bed.
Her heart pounded in her chest like the beat of a drum, and she leaned back against her pillow, gasping for air. It was all so real, she thought, placing her hand on her chest. It was rising and falling rapidly, but it began to slow down as the minutes wore on. Her eyes roamed over the ceiling above her bed, and she refused to let her eyes slide over to the window on the other side of the room like they so desperately wanted to. She wanted to stare out that window and reassure herself there was nothing for her to worry about.
But she was terrified of what she might find staring back at her through the darkness.
It wouldn’t be the first time she’d seen a wolf outside of her window, and she figured it wouldn’t be the last. Geoffrey had told her the wolves in this area were notorious for being overly aggressive, and it seemed like he was right. They had no problems coming up to people in the woods or walking onto someone’s property like they owned the place. There was no telling how bold they might become while she was in Brighton.
When her breathing finally slowed and her chest felt like it was no longer going to explode, she glanced over at the alarm clock on Ginny’s dresser and realized it was nearly time to get up for the day. It looks like I won’t be getting anymore sleep today. Not that it would have been possible anyways after a nightmare like that…
She forced herself to get out of bed and shower, hoping to sneak in and out of the bathroom before anyone else was up. She knew Gabe and her mother would hog all of the hot water if she didn’t. Luckily, it appeared she was the only one up at the moment and she had the bathroom to herself. She lingered under the hot water, trying to wash the cold sweat from her skin. Finally, she jumped out and dried off, dressing for the day in shorts and a t-shirt. Before going to bed last night, Gabe had told her the police called to inform them they were no longer allowed to search the woods after what happened with the wolf.
Gwen had been outraged, but even if she couldn’t help look for her cousin, she could still do something useful with her time. She had called Tiffany and asked her to have brunch, partly because the two of them used to be good friends and she thought they should stick together at a time like this, but mostly because she wanted to see if any of Tiffany’s story or attitude changed. She didn’t suspect Ginny’s best friend had anything to do with her disappearance, but she knew that sometimes it was one of the most unlikely suspects.
She headed downstairs and found her aunt Sandra at the stove cooking sausage links and pancakes. Gwen sat in a chair and stared at the far wall, trying not to dwell on the nightmare she’d had. Even after a relaxing shower, she could still feel the sticky, cold sweat on her skin, clinging to her just like the remnants of her nightmare. She tried her best to shake it off, but even by the time her family joined her for breakfast, she was still visibly shaken. Even though she tried her best to hide it, she knew Gabe could tell that something was bothering her from the moment he sat down, even though he looked tired and unhappy.
“What’s with you?” he asked, tearing into a stack of pancakes while Gwen’s food sat untouched.
“I had a nightmare last night, a really bad one,” she admitted, looking down at her plate. She fiddled with her thumbs, wondering how much she should admit. “In it, I was eaten alive by a wolf out in the woods. It all felt so real to me. And it doesn’t help that there’s always a wolf outside my window, watching me and the house.” She glanced up and noticed that everyone at the table had frozen. Her father looked like he’d just seen a ghost. Even Gabe looked up from his food long enough to notice the shift in attitude at the table.
“What’s wrong?” Gwen asked, looking between her father and Geoffrey. Grant looked shocked while Geoffrey looked concerned. When they glanced at one another, Gwen got the feeling there was something she was missing, some obvious bit of information she was supposed to get. When nobody answered her, she scowled. “Dad, what’s wrong?”
He shook his head and his face became a blank slate. The shock was gone and replaced by a carefree look that had Gwen more than a little annoyed. “Nothing’s wrong, Honey. It was just a dream.”
“You’re lying,” she accused. Gabe’s eyes widened a little at her boldness, and he eagerly waited for their father to say something. “Gabe and I aren’t stupid. We know that you’ve all been keeping something from us since the moment we arrived in Brighton—before, actually. Ever since we got the phone call that Ginny was missing, you’ve been acting weird. You’ve been angry and sullen and closed off. What aren’t you telling us?”
“Gwen, leave it alone,” her father warned.
“No,” she said belligerently. “You look like you just saw a ghost. What aren’t you telling me and Gabe? We’re a part of this family and we deserve to know what’s going on. It obviously has something to do with Ginny being missing and you keeping secrets from us isn’t fair.”
“Dammit I said leave it alone!” her father shouted, slamming his fists down on the kitchen table.
Gwen shrank back away from the table, wounded by the tone in her father’s voice. “Don’t speak to her that way!” Gabe shouted, getting to his feet. His eyes were narrowed and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides as he stared down their father from across the table. “You have no right to talk to her that way just because she called you out on your bullshit secret keeping. She’s right; we deserve to know what’s going on in this family.”
Surprisingly, Grant w
as the first one to look away, hanging his head in shame. “Gwen, I’m sorry I yelled, but you’re meddling in things that you shouldn’t.”
Gwen bit her lip to keep from crying. Her father had always had a temper, but he’d never spoken to her that way before, not even when she had disobeyed him. His words pierced her skin like barbs, and she felt her eyes start to tear up. “You know, it’s not really an apology if you try to explain away what you said.” She got up from the table and left the room. She heard the jingle of car keys and knew that Gabe was following her. She was grateful for his calming presence at her back as they walked out to Ginny’s car.
Without a word, he started the car and backed out of the driveway, shaking his head as they eased onto the road. They were both quiet on the way into town, and Gwen kept catching him glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes. His glances were all brief, but she caught the concern in his expression. She was touched that Gabe cared so much about her, but she didn’t want him to get into an accident because he kept taking his eyes off the road for even a split second to check on her.
“I’m fine, Gabe,” she reassured him, turning to look at him finally. “I’ll get over it, honestly. We’ve both seen Dad’s temper get pretty bad in the past, and this is nothing new.”
“But it is,” Gabe said quietly. “It’s like he’s been a different person lately. Something is really getting to him, and I’m sure Ginny is only a part of it. You’re right; he’s keeping something from us and it’s not fair. Even if they think we’re too young to be involved, they should still tell us if we’re in danger like Ginny.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe they’re being selfish and keeping secrets at a time like this.”
“They’ll never open up to us,” Gwen said sadly. “It looks like we’ll have to figure out what it is on our own and confront them when we have the truth. Even then they might not ever admit to anything. Unless we find Ginny and she tells us what she knows, we might always be left wondering what’s really going on.”
“Its bullshit,” Gabe muttered angrily, his hands clenching the steering wheel. “I can’t believe our family is keeping secrets from us at a time like this. I’m honestly starting to think you’re not really paranoid. Whatever secret they’re keeping from us, it’s huge. Like life changing.” He sighed, relaxing his grip on the wheel. “And to be honest, that scares me. What are we getting ourselves into?”
“I don’t know,” Gwen admitted. “But I plan on finding out. I’m having brunch with Tiffany today, and I’m gonna question her again, just to make sure her story doesn’t change at all. Maybe she knows something but isn’t aware of it, like some off-handed comment Ginny made that she didn’t think about at the time. I need you drop me off at the coffee shop in town now.”
As he pulled into the coffee shop parking lot a few minutes later, he looked over at her. “Good luck in there. Hopefully Tiffany isn’t keeping anything from us, but you’re right to be wary of her. Promise me something, okay?”
“Anything.”
“Wait for me here when you’re done. Don’t go anywhere by yourself, please. It’s not safe out there.”
Gwen nodded. “I know.” She got out of the car, closing the door and heading inside the coffee shop to wait for Tiffany.