• Chapter 3

    “What do you mean?” I asked my voice just above a whisper. Now I’m sad to admit, but this was freaking me out, how did he know about stuff I did today? Was he spying on me? Did poppa know?
    “Don’t be afraid of your poppa finding out, he’s smart but he probably won’t ever figure out unless someone tells him or he sees us.” He chuckled, “Better watch out for your sister though, she’s a smart cookie and already knows something’s up.”
    I was suddenly furious with him, “Listen Boy.” I spat, “You should just stop because you don’t know about what I’m like or who will find out what. You could be totally off kilter about what you BELIEVE I’m doing in my spare time and whatnot. You take care of YOUR life and I’ll take care of MINE.I don’t need a lousy farmhand telling me what to do and who to watch out for!” I quickly turned and ran out of the barn.
    I was shaking by the time I was hidden safely in my room. How DID he know all of this? Did he really have the same condition as me? If so, how?
    I tried to occupy my fleeing thoughts by reading, but all the words blurred together on the page. My mind kept turning to Georgie.
    Looking outside I could see the moon. I sighed quietly, I was never going to get any sleep, so why try at all?
    I threw my feet over the side of the bed and slipped on my boots. I tried to be as quiet as possible as I headed down the stairs and out the door.
    As soon as I stepped out of the cozy house a cold wind wrapped around me, making a shiver shake me. I let out a sneeze and whipped my nose with the back of my hand. I watched the lighting bugs flicker messages to each other in the darkness.
    “You’ll catch a cold if you stand there too long.” I turned quickly to see it was, who else, Georgie standing there.
    I shied away from him, “I want to be alone.” I looked over at him, half expecting him to say something smart back to me, but he didn’t he just stared out into the distance.
    “Are you sure?” he asked quietly, still looking out into the endless stretch of night.
    I hesitated, now that he asked me that question point-blank I wasn’t sure if I actually DID want his company or not. “Will you explain to me all you know?” I asked. Innocent enough, right?
    I heard him chuckle, “Your quite the mystery girl aren’t you? I never quite know what you’re going to say next. Sure, lets go.”
    We threaded in and out, around and though the forest. I followed Georgie’s lead as he led me around. Did I really want to know all of this? Did I want to hear what he had to say about me, and about my life? I could turn back now, couldn’t I?
    I heard howling in the distance, I knew it was Brooke and the pups because of the smaller howls sliding up and down the scale, harmonizing with each other in a way most beautiful.
    I paused to listen to the beautiful song when I heard something that chilled me through and through, it couldn’t be! I shot a desperate look towards Georgie, and like an unspoken pact, we took off running through the forest like gazelles. Only one thing was opposite of us, we were running towards the gunshots, not away.


    Chapter 4

    We ran as fast as possible to the sound of the gunshot, I had tears running down my face, afraid I would come too late. If you have ever lost someone close to you, or knew you might, you know exactly the feeling I had laid on my heart at the moment of the shot. If you have not, you cannot begin to IMAGINE the pain and hurt you have, it’s like someone put a blindfold on you, and all you could see was that person. Or in this case, that animal.
    I was so consumed with thoughts of Brooke and the pups, along with being blinded with tears, that I caught my foot in a root. I fell, twisting my ankle almost halfway around. Even though the pain seized up through my ankle and leg, I tried to get up to run anyways, but my foot was stuck.
    “May! Stay there, I’ll help you up.” Georgie’s voice was comforting, but I wouldn’t let myself be helped when a wolf could be dying.
    “No.” I barked, “I trust you know what you’re doing when it comes to animals, wolves in particular.” I didn’t let him intrude, and continued on, “I trust you Georgie, GO. Save them, do all you must, please, I’m counting on you and your wits.” I forced a smile.
    I dug at the mud around my foot, wiping the tears with my muddy hand once and a while so I could see. I hoped they were all OK… Georgie included, he may be totally hard-headed, but he did have his strong points.
    To occupy my mind I started listing the good things about Georgie out loud.
    “Georgie cares about others more then himself. He is mysterious but sometimes that’s a good thing. He can turn any situation into a good thing. Some of the things he says could be directed as mean, but he always means them in a good way…” I carried on like that for as long as possible, trying to be as clever and quick-witted as possible with some of them.
    Finally I got my foot out, but when I stood up I had pain run up it again like little lightning bolts. I leaned onto a tree trunk and tried to regain my breath, it seemed like just standing was hard.
    My mind was numb as I stumbled slowly through the forest. Then suddenly, I felt myself falling. I had millions of thoughts run through my head, but the only thing I could think of was the wolves. My last conscious thought was about Georgie… It had been a while since he left, was he OK? …Did he die?