Chapter 6
I didn’t say much during the ride to Wolf’s Point. I wanted so much for William to be there, but at the same time I hoped he wouldn’t show up. Luna, on the other hand, had taken control of the stereo and was happily singing at the top of her lungs to a new Smashing Pumpkins’ song I was hearing for the first time. I kept giving her a sidelong glance.
“What?” She tried shouting over the music while looking at me questioningly. Her whole face lit up with the prettiest smile. Her smooth complexion reminded me of melted caramel. She was such a free spirit. Nothing seemed to phase her, except…Elise. But that was totally understandable. I didn’t even know the girl and she managed to push me over the edge within like five seconds of opening her mouth. I can’t remember ever getting that angry before.
Actually, since moving to Alaska, I’d been noticing things about me that were changing. Luna and I hadn’t really talked about what happened per se, except when half of the senior class congratulated me in the parking lot.
“Nothing,” I shouted back, shaking my head. “Just—” I was still shouting when Luna quickly turned down the stereo. “Nervous.”
“Why are you screaming,” she said and we both laughed heartily.
Luna guided me off the road and down a long gravel path. It suddenly grew as black as night. Thick masses of trees so tall I couldn’t see past the tops overlapping each other on both sides, blocking out the sky somewhere beyond.
We drove at least a mile or two before the trees finally parted to reveal a huge opening in front of a cave. There must have been fifty or sixty vehicles parked in no certain order. Kids were scattered all over the place in small groups. Some hung out on truck tailgates, some had already paired up and were busy fogging up car windows, and others, more serious about the art of the bonfire, gathered firewood, placing it atop an already impressive stack.
Jack, I was told his name by Luna, was the unofficial D.J. Dressed totally in black, with guy liner to match, he had the trunk lifted on his brand new red Audi A-8, showing off a trunk with two massive bass thumpers and a dozen other smaller speakers. Radioactive, by Kings of Leon blared from his stereo and echoed through the trees and into the cave. I must say, I did like his taste in music.
I was moving around slowly, taking it all in, when Luna pulled me toward the cave. “Come on, Gen. You’ve got to see this.”
We stepped around a group of kids that had been blocking my view of the cave. I recognized them from one of the lunch room tables we had eaten at.
“Gen, you remember Nathan, Darcy, Samuel, and Katy, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Hi.” I waved and then realized I so must have looked like a dork. After we brushed past them, the cave opened up into this humongous room with a high ceiling. The light from the flames danced off small crystals embedded in the walls, which gave the whole room a glowing sparkle. It was so mesmerizing and beautiful I could hardly take my eyes off of it.
Several other kids from school sat around a small fire talking and laughing with someone a bit older than everyone else. She was dressed in Eskimo garb. When we got closer, I was shocked to find it was Miss Baylor.
“Hello girls,” she said, smiling at us. “Are you going to be around later for the telling of the Legend of the Adlet royalty and the blood moon?”
I shot Luna a puzzled look and shrugged my shoulders. Luna quickly spoke up and told her we would be there.
“What was that all about?” I whispered as we walked to the opposite side of the cave.
“She’s a Shaman’s daughter.” Luna spoke as if it was something we talked about all the time.
“And? What is that supposed to mean?” I felt like I had to pry the words from her.
“She believes in the supernatural. The legend tells about the coming of a wolf princess, and how she will unite all the people.”
“All what people?” I wanted to say but didn’t. I was just as confused as I was when I saw Miss Baylor. “Let’s go back outside.” I nudged her back toward the opening.
We circled the whole place but I didn’t find William. Maybe he had decided not to come after all. I was completely bummed. Luna and some friends were heading into the woods and she asked if I wanted to go along. I was a good bit behind everyone else and called for Luna to wait up when I stopped to get a pebble out of my boot. I guess she didn’t hear me, because when I ran to catch up I came to a fork in the path and no one was in sight. I played the eeny-meeny-miney-moe game and the path on the left side won.
The deeper into the woods I walked, the darker it grew. Finally, it was too dark to see and I took that as my cue to turn around. However, I promptly discovered it was easier said than done. What I thought was taking me back out was only taking me deeper into infinite darkness. I stopped in the middle of the path and swallowed hard. My heart raced and fell at the same time when it hit me—I was completely alone.
I flipped open my phone to text Luna. “Shit!” I paced around, waving my phone in the air. “No signal…that’s just great.” Okay, I thought as I looked around me. I was, maybe for the first time in my life, lost.
I started to slip my phone back into my pocket when I remembered it had a built-in light for taking pictures at night. So, my three hundred dollar phone was now a flashlight—and a real crappy one at that. The light barely illuminated the ground a few feet out, but it was way better than no light at all in the dark abyss of the woods.
I stopped and listened, trying to hear Luna and her friends or at the very least which direction the music was coming from, but sounds bounced off the trees making it seem like the music and voices were coming from everywhere. The darkness blanketed everything around me, making me feel like I was the only person in all of Alaska.
Suddenly, it was as if all the typical noises of the woods at night were amplified. I felt eyes on me, sending cold chills up my spine. My pulse started to climb. I turned slowly in a circle, shining my light toward the darkness, and froze when my light hit across what appeared to be red fur through the trees beside me.
“Oh God!” I threw my hand over my mouth after it dawned on me that this was all very much like the reoccurring nightmares I’d been having. Hot tears filled my eyes and I tried blinking them away so I could see. My fight or flight reflexes obviously weren’t up to par, because I just stood perfectly still waiting for a rabid creature to leap out of the bushes and kill me.
I shook violently and held my breath after hearing what sounded like a low growl. I knew if it was an animal, I would never escape with my life. I shined my light at the ground until I found a large rock, which I picked up and then ran.
When I thought that maybe I’d out ran it or scared it away, which both were highly doubtful, I stopped. I quietly stood still for a minute, and listened. I heard the sounds of dead twigs snapping under the weight of something stepping on them and it was growing louder. I slowly stepped backwards until I bumped into a tree. I laughed nervously at myself, but even that was short lived when I heard a series of low throaty growls coming from somewhere close by. I was too scared to scream although I tried, but my voice was void of any sound.
I slowly shined my light around until I saw it. A huge wolf-like creature with his head lowered a bit, but staring me in the eyes. I watched helplessly as it inched its way closer. It had bared its teeth, snarling, revealing fangs dripping with saliva in anticipation of the kill. Just as it crouched its front legs low, readying itself to pounce, another larger one leaped at it from the side, taking it to the ground. They were rolling around, teeth locked onto each other
As I turned to run, I tripped over a tree root and felt something rough scratch across my face, and then I heard a ferocious howl. I scrambled to my feet, and kept going. I wasn’t about to stick around and wait for the victor to claim its prize—me. While running, I still heard the growling and other noises like ripping flesh and bones cracking. All of a sudden, there was this ear piercing series of yelps and cries. I couldn’t see what it was still out there, but I just
knew the fight had been over me. One animal had maimed or killed the other, and now was going to take his reward…me.