Joeys POV
My eyes had zoomed in on the ever entertaining event that was occurring before me, a tiny brown ant danced around a lone piece of grass, small droplets of dew were still clinging to the stock and the ant moved in a series of left and right dodges, climbing its way to the top. My breathing had become shallow, almost non existent, and my vision wavered from blurry to clear. A string of thoughts clouded my brain.
The what ifs? What if I'd taken a different route, what if I'd stayed home, what if I hadn't run from the wolf. Each of my regrettable actions had built up to this tragedy. The worst part, it was all my fault.
Why was I so stupid? That was definitely the question of the week.
The pain I'd been feeling was gone. My body had turned numb, the cold settling into my bones. I was done for. The only bit of feeling left was in my face and that too was slowly disappearing.
I'd never realized dying would bring my focus to my stepmom, but with every minute of my wavering life, I couldn't seem to get her off my mind. What was she doing? What would she think? How would she feel? Relief at the prospect of my absence? Regret for always disliking me? Our relationship was rocky but that's usually the way it goes when one mom is replaced with another.
I shook away the obsessive thought... I was only making myself angry. In fact, I'd noticed I was quickly being sucked into a whirlwind of negative memories. Did I really want to die unhappy? I closed my eyes but the thoughts pushed harder.
My relationship with my dad was considered average. At one point, maybe great. But my birth moms death had taken a toll on the both of us.
Again, I rid myself of the poor memories and turned my attention to the present.
A chill ran through my spine, where's the wolf? How I hadn't worried about that sooner was beyond my grasp. The thing had eaten a chunk of my body and I'd completely forgotten that it could easily come back to eat the rest. Why had it not taken me out? Maybe I did more damage to it than I realized, good. A wave of pride hit me and just as quickly disappeared. Feeling prideful in this state was not easy.
A tingle ran up my leg and I shivered fiercely. Tilting my head to look down was impossible. The sun shone brightly down on me and I could only guess it was somewhere around noon. So much for college... All those days of hard work for what? Schooling would mean nothing now. And my recent love connection? Gone, done, dead. I wouldn't be seeing anyone again. The thought brought a fresh wave of tears to my eyes.
I'd never see my friends... my family... or even my dog... And worse, I'd left so many unresolved problems at home. Then again, when you were dead you didn't get to care. A laugh tried to slip out of my mouth but it came out as a gurgle instead. Fire shot through my lungs, making my nerves feel like they were getting their own personal sauna, each and every one of them. A burning sensation bit at my skin and then something wet plopped down my chin and the metallic taste of blood was strong in my mouth. I gagged and more blood squeezed out of my lips.
I jerked forward, eyes popping open, and was finally greeted by darkness.
Unknown POV
They wouldn't be able to spot the girl in this thicket. The humans didn't have the best sight and even if they had, the brush covered her well and a helicopter would be too far up to see anything. He was okay, there was nothing for him to worry about and yet his senses stayed alert, warning him that he needed to be cautious. He tuned his ears in towards the noise trying to catch any hint that it was headed this way but got nothing, that must be a good sign. They had no reason to look over here. That's all he needed, for the humans to find the girl leading to the trackers finding him and then his ass... Well... It wouldn't be his anymore. They'd be on him like flies to rot and he couldn't survive another bout of the cage.
A slight moan, broke through his thoughts bringing his attention back over to the girl. Her face tensed with pain. She was attractive even looking like someone had beaten her to a pulp... That only meant one thing, he needed to get laid. The fact that those fuckers had secluded him, forced him to be alone for so long with no female company, with no real company at all. It made him angry and hungry... Hungry for two things, more food and sex. He glared down at the soft dirt, cursing the men that had done this to him.
The sound of gagging had him snapping his attention back to the girl, she spasmed and he watched as blood slid down her jaw.
Finally, he thought.
Being the dick he was, he felt relieved, it'd taken far too long for her to die and he needed to go. All this waiting was just creating tension in him. Her body heaved and angled forwards, something cracked and she went limp, the smell of death was heavy in the air and yet, another scent edged it. His stare didn't waver from her figure. The slight smell that tickled his nostrils was enough to have him waiting.
It couldn't be, it was impossible.
Yet the faintest of heart beats still pitter pattered beneath her chest like a dying butterfly, and the smell... It was a smell he would be able to recognize anywhere, the smell of the change taking place.
The smell of survival.
His heart picked up, he couldn't believe it. Out of all females, she'd survived the infection? The young, thin, helpless girl? It was almost comical. Maybe he was imagining the scent, a female hadn't survived the bite in over forty years. He clenched his fists, breathing in deeply. He didn't have that strong of an imagination, the scent was real and something inside of him awakened.
Her arm twitched and then her frame straightened, he stepped back in surprise, not fully registering what was happening until her eyes snapped open and a scream bled from her mouth. She saw nothing, it was obvious that pain blinded her vision. Pupils dilated until her eyes turned black.
His lower jaw dropped, eyes widening to their maximum width. He couldn't do anything but stare as she twisted left and right in agony.
This was the beginning, she was changing.