I took a slow, deep breath as I raised the handgun into position. I felt my back muscles clenching, making me wince and needing to shift the weapon in my hands. I needed a run. The stress of Carrey and my mother had put me off being able to run as a wolf. My mind couldn't release the human problems and enjoy the time.
"What're you doing out here, being a scarecrow?"
I glanced over my shoulder to Kurtis walking down the patio stairs. I lowered the gun, shrugging.
"I feel weird about not being at the meeting with Carrey and Daniel. I like knowing what's going on, even if I'm standing outside and eavesdropping."
Kurtis wrapped his arm over my shoulder, rubbing his hand over my bicep.
"Aaron didn't go either if that makes you feel any better. I don't think he's sulking with a weapon though," I snorted at his observation, "have you called them?"
"No. Charlie wouldn't be happy if I interrupted his meeting by checking up on them."
"Not even a call to your lover?"
I glared at Kurtis, shoving him off me, "no, I have not called James."
"Well, they left a couple hours ago so they should be home soon," Kurtis said, "were you getting in some target practices? I didn't hear the gun going off."
"I started to, but then I started thinking, which led to worrying. I've only been out here for like five minutes."
"Want to go for a run instead? We can stay out until your father and the others come back."
I softly smiled at Kurtis. I could tell he was genuinely trying to help. He had better social skills than most of the Pack, but he wasn't often the one to do the more sympathetic help. His style was usually training or eating.
"That sounds like a good idea."
Not going far into the woods, I stripped of my clothes, hiding my gun underneath. No need for a rabbit come along and accidently shoot his friends. That would be a crappy plot for a children's movie. I laid on my back, my spine cracking against the hard surface. Closing my eyes and spreading my limbs, I began to take deep and meditative breaths. My body needed to go through the transition, so it didn't take long for the painful muscle spasms to begin.
Trotting out of my spot, Kurtis was rolling around on the ground waiting for me. I snorted to draw his attention. Kurtis huffed, readying himself to pounce and I matched his position. I dug my nails into the dirt, ready for action. Kurtis did the same. He leapt forward and I threw my body to the side. The human in my head laughed at the sound of Kurtis stumbling, having to catch up to me. It wasn't a new tactic. I'm sure it was the first one I learned years ago and yet it worked every time. Weaving around trees and bushes, I ran towards the farthest edge of Talia Grove. It was a run that went by much quicker than it would've if I was on two legs. The ragged wooden fences came into view, and I felt disappointed. I didn't want to turn back. I wanted to just keep running straight ahead. Ignoring the bark Kurtis let out, I leapt over the fence, continuing through the woods sitting between our property and the main road. I felt a nip on the back of my heel. Kurtis caught up to me, most likely in a panic that I'd left the property. It wasn't a hard nip though, so I knew I wasn't being scolded. It was my turn to be 'it'. I dug my heels into the ground, forcing myself to a stop. Looking back, Kurtis was already running to my right, heading towards the side road that led back to the driveway. Kurtis was quickly losing his lead. He was older, but I knew I was faster.
A breeze ran across my face, bringing with it a heavy smell. We both slowed; heads swivelling around. My eyes began to burn as the air became smoky. Kurtis let out a cough, rubbing his nose against his front leg. Confusion filled my brain. There weren't forest fires around here. Nothing was dry enough to do that, especially at this time of year. It didn't smell like wood burning anyways. I paced forward a few steps, but Kurtis put his body in front of mine. He pushed me back roughly. He was right. We weren't exactly able to safely check out whatever was on fire, what with our physical bodies.
Kurtis and I stumbled out of the woods, humans once again. The air had begun to feel different closer to the house, as I began coughing. Aaron sat on top of the island, a bag of chips in his hand. His mouth hung open with some half-eaten chips as we slammed the glass door shut behind us.
"You guys smell weird, where were you?" he asked.
"There's a fire at the edge of the woods," I told him, putting the gun in the band of my jeans.
Aaron dropped the bag and followed us through the house. I grabbed my car keys off the wall hook.
"Call the fire department," I said, running down the porch steps. Silently, Aaron and Kurtis got into my car with me.
At the end of the driveway, we were hit by a thickening wall of smoke. I sped along the road, high beams on until the flames in the treeline came into view. A wrecked car caught my eye. The grass at the edge of the road was shredded and from the bark missing on the trees, it seemed the car lost control. I couldn't see the source of the flames, but they moved closer to the car's body.
"There's people in the car," Kurtis said, pointing from the backseat. Stopping my car at the side of the road, we got out and covered our mouths. The car was covered in a lot of damage. I didn't know much about cars, but the damage looked more than what a few trees bumping into the sides could do. It looked like it was used for derbies. I pressed my hands against the window, doing my best to see inside. I scrubbed the ash off the window and rubbing the tears from my eyes as I checked in the car again.
"That's Charlie," I yelled, yanking on the handle. His eyes were closed, mouth hung open. I banged on the window with my first, still trying to open the door. The face in the passenger's seat caused my panic rise.
"Kurtis, Brandon is on the other side!" I finally registered the door was locked. The flames at the car's front finally reached the fender. I pulled out my gun but jumped when the entire hood went up in flames. Watching the flames, I used the handle of my gun to smash in the window. Knocking out the extra glass, I unlocked the door.
"What just happened?" Kurtis shouted.
"The hood caught fire. I think it was covered in gas," I said between coughs. My chest was spasming so aggressively, I thought I was going to throw up. Reaching across my father, I unlocked the passenger's door. Pressing the button on my father's seatbelt, I awkwardly put my arms around him and began to yank.
"Ashlyn, move."
Aaron took my spot and with a loud groan, he pulled an unconscious Charlie out of the car. In the distance, I could hear sirens coming closer.
"Take him," Aaron barked at me as he ran around to the other side to help Kurtis with Brandon.
I wrapped my arms under Charlie's armpits, starting to drag him as best I could. My shoes had poor grip on the ground as I continued to slip while pulling my father's body away from the flames. Closer to the car, I rested him down and checked for any major wounds. Other than burns, bruises, and a large cut on his face, Charlie seemed fine. What drew my attention was the patches of hair growing quickly through his skin. His hands were morphing too. His body was trying to fight the injuries and infections by turning into a wolf. His body had gone through too much trauma to complete the change.
"We've got to get them out of here. We can't explain these fur spots to the fire department."
Opening the back door, I began to pull Charlie towards the car. Aaron jogged up and helped me getting Charlie to awkwardly sit in the back. On the other side, Kurtis did the same with Brandon. There was no room left.
"You drive them up to the house. I think Tyler is still at the house. Put the car in the garage in case the fire department come up to the house. The windows are already staining. I'm going to walk back," I spoke quickly, tossing the keys to Aaron. Turning to the car as I started walking away, it was completely engulfed. The seats were burning, and the smell of gas got significantly worse. Starting to jog away from the accident, I stopped and looking back at the destruction. James was not in the car. How had Brandon and my father been in an accident without James? Where was he? I swore, pressing my hands to my eyelids. The smoke was stinging my eyes to the point I could barely keep them open. Swearing more, I ran to the trunk which was the least burning portion of the car. I prayed as I pressed the release button on the trunk. Like it was luck, the lid swung open, and a ploom of smoke hit me in the face. I let out a loud string of curse words in between stomach turning coughs. Turning and bending over, I began gagging, waving my hand in front of my face to clear the smoke. Useless. Through the smoke, the flashing lights of the fire department got closer. Now able to see inside the trunk, I saw it was empty. James was no where. Knowing if the fire department saw me, I'd get stuck here, I went into the woods. The short wooden fence marking the property's boarder wasn't too far. Trying to breath through my lung spasming, I tried to call James on my phone. My head was pounding. I needed to get clear of the smoke, but already knew I'd feel the burning in my throat for days.
I halted to a stop, pulling my phone away from my ear. Over the firefighters' voices and sirens in the distance, the faint sound of my ringtone on James' phone rose above. Spinning around, I did my best to find where it was coming from. Following the sound, I got closer to the rotting fence of the property, confused. Did James get out of the car and start trying to get back to the house for help? My heart was pounding out of fear over top of it working against the smoke.
Turning my head back and for, I spotted something on the other side of a bush. Ending the call, I ran at full speed. James lay face down in the bush. Bending down, I put my fingers to his neck, praying I would find a pulse. I began to fall towards the ground, thinking I might've blacked out for a second. The wind shifted, smoke now blowing harshly into my face. I let out a relieved sigh at the light tapping against my fingertips. The sigh was a bad idea. My lungs filled with smoke faster than I expected. Grunting, I flipped James on to his back. Putting his face between my hands, I saw that his wounds were on par with my father's. My stomach turned over as I continued to do my best to calm my breathing. Doing my best to place James' head on the ground, I shifted on all fours and my stomach emptied. Brushing the back of my hand against my mouth, I saw the wooden property fence and decided my best chance to get James out of the smoke was to drag him over before hoisting him onto my shoulders. Painfully, I took a deep breath, wrapping my arms under James' armpits. Internally I began swearing at James, complaining about his weight. The wind hadn't given up and after my next cough, I tasted blood. My swearing turned to the fire department, wondering if they had done anything to the fire yet, as the smoke was still thick.
Dropping James' back against the fence, I took a step back before bending over again to throw up. Aggressively I wiped my face with my hands, getting rid of the tears streaming down my face. Grabbing my phone, I called Tyler. Listening to the ringing, I coughed into my elbow. Pulling it away, my previous guess had been right. There were blood specks on my skin. I groaned angerly, putting my phone in my back pocket. My throat burned from the release of frustration.
"I guess I'm going to have to try this," I said to myself. After laying James down again, I jumped over the fence myself. Bending down, I began coughing but it was different this time. I dropped to my knees, feeling lightheaded. I began seeing everything in sequences. A splatter of blood and bile hit my shoe. My phone began ringing. Moving to get it from my pocket, my sight went black. My body hit the ground, hard. I groaned at the pain, but I wasn't sure if the sound past my lips.