Page 9

Hana

TWO DAYS UNTIL THE FULL MOON.

T he sun is starting to brighten the horizon when I wake.

Unlike the night before, I wasn’t plagued by any nightmares or wildly erotic dreams. In fact, I didn’t dream at all.

I dress and pack up my sleeping bag while Amber and Mateo are still waking up.

We don’t bother building up the cold fire, so we eat a quick breakfast of granola and the last of the fruit we brought.

The forest is quiet this early, the sky speckled with stars fading quickly with the rising sun. None of us speak much as we load up our gear and start the hike south, back to where we snuck into the park.

The farther we move away from our camp, the more everything that happened the night before starts to seem like an overreaction.

“What’s so funny?” Amber asks when I can’t hold back a giggle.

I glance over at her with a smirk. “We probably interrupted an animal dragging that deer through our campsite,” I admit, doing a terrible job of holding back more giggles. “But your knee jerk reaction was assuming it was a crazy stalker serial killer.”

Amber wrinkles her nose, and her cheeks turn pink with embarrassment.

“It seems silly now, doesn’t it?” She sniggers and then grows serious. “It didn’t help that I’ve been feeling like something’s been watching us ever since we stepped foot in these woods.”

My breath catches and my blood turns cold at hearing her admission. Especially since it aligns so closely to what I’ve been feeling too. Before I have a chance to say anything, Mateo lets out a mournful sigh, clearly irritated at cutting our camping trip short.

“We still have two days before classes start again. Now what are we going to do?”

“We’ll think of something,” Amber says in a low, sultry voice leaning against him.

I roll my eyes when Mateo wraps an arm around her and nuzzles the ticklish side of her throat. Amber lets out a screech and pushes him away with a laugh.

We’re making good time, and my mood is lightening along with the rising sun. We’ve been hiking for about an hour when we decide to stop to rest. A fallen log makes a convenient bench, and Mateo hands out the last of the breakfast burritos we made for the trip.

We’re laughing and joking as we eat, sitting in a row on the fallen log.

I push my shoulder into Mateo when he teases me, which shoves him into Amber.

In retaliation, he reaches around me and grabs my shoulders.

I let out a loud shriek when he pulls me backward, like he’s going to let me fall off the log.

He’s pulling me upright again when a massive red wolf comes crashing through the bushes and skids to a stop less than a dozen feet away. Head dropped low, bright yellow eyes watching as a steady growl fills the silence around us.

Oh shit!

I know what to do if I run into a bear, but what is the protocol for coming face-to-face with a pissed off wolf?

“Amber?” I whisper, without taking my eyes from the snarling beast. “I thought you said there weren’t any wolves in these mountains?”

“Yeah…” she whispers back. “…I was wrong.”

No one moves. We don’t dare, especially the way its nose is wrinkled, and its lips are pulled back to show off white fangs. Beside me, Mateo shifts his weight, and the wolfs eyes flit to him, snarling even louder and snapping its sharp teeth. Then, without any warning, it lunges.

My heart freezes solid in my chest, and I jolt back at the same time my arm shoots out, but I can’t stop myself from toppling backward off the log. After that, everything happens in slow motion.

The wolf hits Mateo, throwing him backward where it snarls and snaps its teeth inches from his face.

Amber screams and I’m scrambling to find my feet.

Mateo cries out, his hands buried in the wolf’s fur using all his strength to hold him back from mauling his face.

My hand closes around a fallen branch and I come up swinging.

It’s almost too heavy for me to lift, but adrenaline, and seeing the wolfs jaws so close to Mateo’s face lends me strength.

I squeeze my eyes shut and swing like I’m going for a home run.

The branch connects with the side of the wolfs head and I feel the jounce all the way up to my shoulder. The wolf lets out a yelp and staggers back.

“Come on. Come on! We gotta go!” Amber gasps, rushing to Mateo’s side, pulling him to his feet.

The wolf shakes his head and when it realizes its prey is getting away, it comes at us again. Nose wrinkled and growling, its teeth and gums on display, I stupidly step between it and my friends.

“Go! Get!” I shout, swinging the branch back and forth.

“Hana, let’s go!” Amber yells at me.

I take a step back as the wolf lunges at us again.

With a scream, I swing the branch with everything I have, but I miss when it darts to the side going straight for Amber.

She and Mateo turn and run, but the wolf is faster.

Her scream will echo in my ears forever as I watch helplessly as the wolf sinks its teeth into the back of her thigh.

Blood blooms around the bite, soaking through the thick denim as Mateo turns and kicks at the wolfs head. It works, and it lets her go, but only long enough to change direction and go for him again.

Lifting the branch over my head, I bring it down across the top of the wolf’s head with a battle cry. “Amber, get your fucking gun!”

“I can’t!” she shouts back. “It’s in my backpack.”

I want to berate her for insisting on keeping it in her backpack, instead of on her fucking hip where she could reach it, but the wolf turns away from Mateo to come after me.

Its bright yellow eyes flash in the sunlight as it stalks toward me, head low, teeth stained red with my best friend’s blood.

“Run!” I shout, chancing a glance at where Mateo is helping Amber as she hops toward the trees. “Go! Get help!”

Amber turns from Mateo to me and shakes her head. “No, we are not leaving you.”

I catch Mateo’s eyes, begging him to get away while they have the chance. “Fucking go !!”

He gives me the smallest nod and pulls Amber toward the trees.

“No! We can’t leave her!” Amber pleads, digging her heels into the ground, only to cry out in pain as her injured leg buckles. “Stop… don’t!” she sobs, reaching out to me as Mateo lifts her over his shoulder and runs.

I’m holding the branch against my shoulder like a bat, keeping watch over the wolf, who is no longer interested in my friends, now watching me intently.

“Be a good boy and don’t come any closer.” My voice quivers as my hands tighten around the rough bark.

The wolf is no longer snarling as it twists his head to the side, as if my words puzzle him. Then he drops his head low again and takes a step toward me. Lifting the branch, I throw it as hard as I can. I don’t wait to see how good my aim is, before turning to run after my friends.

But before I can make it to the trees the wolf darts in front of me, cutting off my escape.

Spinning on my heel, I change direction and keep running. When I haven’t heard any signs of the wolf chasing me for a minute, I chance a look behind me to discover he’s not there.

Worry creeps up my spine at where he went. What if he went after my friends again?

Bracing my hands on my knees, I give myself a moment to catch my breath before heading back the way I came.

I don’t make it far before the wolf jumps out to block my path again.

The hair down his back stands straight up while he snarls and growls at me, forcing me in the opposite direction once more.

It’s fine, I tell myself, even though it’s not! I’ll double back farther ahead and meet up with Amber and Mateo back at the gate where we parked.

It feels like I’ve been running forever as I focus on staying ahead of the wolf.

When I’m sure I’ve lost it this time, I circle back the way I came.

Keeping my steps light and my breathing shallow, I almost make it all the way back to the fallen log when the wolf appears in front of me and cuts me off once more .

I let out an infuriated wail and start over.

We do this dance over and over as he forces me farther and farther away from the direction my friends disappeared in.

Soon my steps start flagging, my lungs burning with each breath.

Tears burn the backs of my eyes as I realize I’m not going to be able to outrun this wolf.

A small clearing opens ahead where an old beech with low limbs appears like a gift.

Praying it’s sturdy enough to hold my weight and that wolves can’t climb; I change direction and head straight toward it.

Grabbing the lowest branch, my arms shake as I use the last of my energy to throw my leg up and over so I can shimmy up into the tree.

A low growl from below makes me pause. The wolf is back, and he’s staring up at me. When he jumps up to brace his paws against the thick trunk, I climb higher. Eventually, he drops back down, but keeps his golden eyes fixed on me.

Halfway up the tree I find a sturdy branch with enough of a natural curve that I can sit comfortably on it. My breaths are coming in sharp pants and my hands and legs start to shake from fatigue and adrenaline. Tears spill down my cheeks as I collapse against the thick trunk.

Meanwhile, the wolf paces around the base of the tree, staring up at me with his creepy yellow eyes.

“Leave me alone!” I shout down at him.

He pauses long enough to chuff, then keeps circling.

I tell myself I just have to wait him out, then I’ll meet back up with Amber and Mateo. More tears fall from my eyes when I think of how the wolf attacked and hurt them.

I slide my hand to my back pocket. I need to send Amber a text.

I need to know she’s okay and to tell her, at least for the moment, I’m safe.

My stomach drops when I slide my fingers into the empty pocket.

Reaching behind me to the other side, I discover that pocket is empty, too.

My hands go to my hips and then my jacket pockets as my blood rushes cold through my veins.

My phone is gone. I must have lost it while I was being chased.

A sorrowful whine squeezes through my throat, and I squeeze my eyes shut. I’m well and truly fucked until this wolf decides to go track something else.

Turning my head to the side, I glare down at where he has parked himself on his haunches and stares up at me. It’s probably my imagination, but he looks smug. Like he’s perfectly happy about treeing me and has no intention of letting me down anytime soon.

I narrow my eyes at the wolf, wishing I had Amber’s gun. “Goddamn you,” I grit through my clenched teeth. “You… you fucking dog!”

The wolf’s ears flatten against its head, and it growls up at me. As if it can understand me and has the audacity to be offended at being called something as lowly as a dog.

More tears pool in my eyes and I turn away to curl up against the tree trunk. While I’m stuck here, I might as well get some rest.