Page 11

He keeps moving, stepping through the bodies.

Anguish crawls into my throat. “If you leave me behind, I’ll kill you!”

Just then, I hear shouting from the mansion. They’re coming. They’re coming for me, for him.

My lips quiver in fear as I look back at the wolf, only to realize that he is standing beside me now. How did he—How did he move so fast?

Using his teeth, he lifts me by the collar of my shirt and tosses me into the air. I let out a short scream before landing on his back, the wind getting knocked out of me.

He grunts and begins to run. Instinctively, my fingers curl into his fur, and I hold on for dear life.

I don’t know where he is headed, but I’m going to count one win at a time.

He is so fast that I have to bury my face in his fur to prevent myself from getting lashed by the wind. My head is also aching so badly that I feel like I want to pass out now.

I can hear the wolves chasing after us, and I squeeze my eyes shut. The longer we run, the fainter the howls and snarls become. I finally muster the courage to look up. We are still on the plains, but our enemy is far behind us. He managed to outrun them! I look around and see the outlines of a barrier in the distance. As we get closer, I recognize what kind it is, and dread consumes me.

“You have to jump over it,” I tell him hoarsely. “It’s an electric fence. You—Oh, no!”

The fence is very high. As we approach it, its height is more than obvious. There is no way even this wolf will be able to clear it.

He picks up his pace, and my stomach twists. Surely he’s not planning to—He cannot make that leap!

He goes flying into the air, and I hug his body, readying myself for the worst electric shock in the world. Death by frying. That’s one way to go, I guess.

Then I feel a thud, and my eyes fly open.

We made it.

We made it?

I look over my shoulder, my heart in my throat.

We actually made it.

I see trees on the horizon. The wolf is heading toward them.

Good. But we are not out of danger yet. We still have to run a lot farther to put enough distance between that mansion and us. I hope the wolf has the strength to do so.

My own strength is fading fast. Even just holding on is becoming a problem. I rest my head on his neck and close myeyes. I hope I don’t pass out and fall off. I hope he doesn’t leave me behind if I do.

My grip on his fur is weakening.

The rustling around me tells me that we have reached the woods. The wolf keeps going, and I feel a pang of guilt. He must be tired by now. There’s no one coming after us anymore, but I’m not stupid enough to believe that they’ve given up.

My head is throbbing. I’m beginning to lose focus now.

All the willpower in the world won’t let me hold on any longer. I feel my fingers loosen their grip, and then I’m falling. The world is going dark around me, and I can’t speak. My tongue is thick in my mouth.

My shoulders hit the ground first, and I plunge into complete darkness.

I’ve always likedthe sound of rain. I find it comforting. When I was young, my mother would tell me that the rain washed away all the evils in the world. It was a new beginning for everyone.

Even nowadays, when I hear raindrops hitting my bedroom window as I lie there with my eyes closed, the rhythm is soothing. In moments like those, I like to pull my blanket over my head and drift off to nature’s music.

It’s raining right now. I can hear the sounds against the glass.

Only it’s harsher.