AARON.
Helena went berserk.
One moment she was savoring my pancakes, pretending they weren't as good as I knew, a few seconds later she went pale, her heart rate fluctuating and her palms sweaty, and the next, she was yelling like her insides were being pulled out. Then, she broke down into silent sobs, which shook her throughout her body.
Alarms rang in my head continuously. I reached out to hold her, and she buried her head in my chest, crying her eyes out. Seeing her like this, something stabbed my heart and twisted. Whoever it was on the phone, they didn't leave good news. She kept repeating one name…Veronica.
"Shh…shh.." I tried soothing her nerves as I rubbed my hands on her back. She cried for a solid 10 minutes, non stop. Soon, her sobs slowly quieted down, and she withdrew from my chest, apologizing for ruining my shirt.
"Don't worry about it. Do you still wanna go to work?" I asked, examining her features.
She shook her head. "I'll call in sick. I need to get to Hulvey." She whispered, sniffling.
"Why?"
"My…Veronica, my best friend, just got into an accident. She's in critical condition and I…." Her voice broke. Her face was red and puffy from all the crying, and her hair fell in scattered strands on her face. She was in pain. I wanted to get rid of that pain, and make sure she'd never feel like that again. Seeing her hurt….made me hurt.
"It's okay. Would you like me and Luna to come with you?" It was an oddball question, but I wasn't ready to stay here for as long as God knows when. Not to mention with Luna.
Luckily, Helena accepted.
For the next two hours, she was numb, looking like she was in a trance-like state. I cleared the dishes, had my bath and went outside to call out to Luna.
Helena went to take another shower, hoping to at least look better than she did. I didn't care, she was beautiful however.
It'd been two hours, and she was still hunting. I glanced at Helena, who was still seated in the living room, staring at the floor with no apparent expression. Luna howled back within seconds, and I saw her emerge from the woods with a large sack of meat, and a few scratches to the face.
Impressive.
"You better have a good reason for cutting my trip short. I usually spend up to 5 hours out there. And I haven't even gotten half of what I want yet." She whined.
"Wow I'm sorry for cutting your trip short because I didn't want you to come home and not find anyone." My voice dripped with sarcasm. She shot me a look.
"Where's Helena?"
"She's inside, don't worry. But we have a...problem." She hurried past me.
"Her best friend got into an accident this morning and she wants to leave immediately. Wanna come with?" I said as we got to the front door. She groaned, exhaled, glanced at Helena inside, and said, "Fine."
Later, me, Helena and Luna set out on the road. Turns out Luna had a pretty good truck, and all we needed to do was get it some gas. I wondered how long she'd been with the humans. Helena roared the truck's engine to life and began the drive. despite Luna's and my inquiries to make sure she was fit to do it.
I exchanged worried glances with Luna. My senses were on high alert, and my muscles ready to spring into action, just in case.
This was gonna be a long drive.
HELENA.
My knuckles were white as I gripped the steering wheel, trembling. Clouds had gathered in the sky, and the weather was overcast, matching my mood.
Just great.
Soon, it began to pour. It wasn't too heavy, but the patter of rain on the windshield reminded me of tiny heartbeats. I shuddered. My thoughts were jumbled with various scenarios, all filled with fear and hope.
"Just keep driving, we'll get there soon." Aaron said beside me, his voice calm but firm. I could feel the strength emanating from him, and it was enough to keep me steady. I nodded and exhaled.
Henley was notorious for thick forests and mountain paths, but this…this was just ridiculous. There were trees and shrubs everywhere. And I mean everywhere. It took me a while to make out the paths that connected Henley with the town closest to Hulvey, but I did.
I felt a chill, not from the cold, but from the strange eerie silence that enveloped us as I drove. I glanced in the rear view mirror. Luna caught my glance, and nodded reassuringly. She patted my shoulder gently, "Just focus on the road, Helena. Deep breaths." Her voice was soothing. It was the first time I'd seen her so calm, it was amusing, yet extremely helpful.
The rain slowly faded, but the dark overcast remained. It was gonna rain again. The eerie feeling returned. Suddenly, a deer darted across the road. I gasped, slamming the brakes. The car skidded to a halt, and the deer vanished into the underbrush. My heart pounded painfully in my chest, and adrenaline surged through my veins. Aaron and Luna seemed unfazed.
"Did you guys sense that before it came??" I questioned, a little annoyed that they couldn't warn me. They looked at themselves, but didn't say anything.
Humph.
I swerved back on the road, with a little trepidation. My mind drifted to Veronica again, possible images flashing through my head. Please let her be fine. I prayed silently.
Like I predicted, thunder boomed in the distance and a second round of downpour ensued. The road became a slippery challenge, and I strained to see through the rain. I got anxious again, my grip tightening around the wheel.
"You know, this reminds me of the time I got caught in a forest fire with Simone." Aaron said softly, staring straight outside.
"Simone? You mean Terry's sister? You were there with her?" Luna's voice followed. I glanced at both of them.
"Yes, Terry's sister. How did you…know her?" He questioned.
"Simone was…my best friend. Back then anyways, not until she betrayed me." Luna said, her voice betraying a hint of emotion.
"Oh." Aaron said.
"I'm sorry about that Luna." I said, trying to ease the tension.
"Nah it's fine. It was a long time ago, and I don't usually hold grudges." She shrugged.
"Aaron, what happened during the forest fire?" I was too curious not to find out.
"Well, we were supposed to find a group of cubs that got lost in the woods that morning. It was me, Simone, Richard and Drako. Someone lit up a fire in the bushes. It was the dry season, so the leaves caught easily. It felt deliberate, because the fire surrounded only me and Simone. Anyways, at some point, we were trying to navigate through the fire, and Simone got separated from me. I was frantic, a little scared that I wouldn't find her early enough. I had to morph into my werewolf form. I howled, and she howled back, indicating that she was okay. I got to her and we found our way out of the fire."
Wow.
"That must have been scary." I muttered.
"It was a close call, but we made it." He shrugged.
"Let's not forget who actually brought you two to safety." Luna said, her voice holding a bit of mischief.
"Oh come on, you weren't even there." Aaron retorted.
"Simone told me enough." Luna crossed her arms.
"If it wasn't for my highly trained sense of direction, we would probably still be wandering around that forest."
"Highly trained sense of direction that almost got you killed twice." Luna scoffed.
"Those were my curiosity playing out. And you don't have to rub it in my face every time!" Aaron whined.
I smiled at their bickering. Luna looked far older than Aaron, but their relationship was more of brother-sister. "You two are something else." I couldn't help but say.
"I just wanted to keep things interesting." Aaron defended himself.
"You're laughing too, that's good." Luna remarked.
This is the distraction I needed. The rain had slowed down to a drizzle, and the road ahead became clearer. I could see the little lights that decorated the signboard: Welcome to Hulvey. I swallowed.
A weird wave of nostalgia washed over me. I drove straight to the hospital, ignoring anything else."Helena?" I heard Luna call softly. "Are you okay?" I nodded, unsure of my own feelings.
We got down and walked inside. The hospital was large, and countless people moved around, attending to one large risk of the other. I froze, lost in the maze of humans. Suddenly, a nurse approached us.
"Are you here for Veronica George?" She said, probably recognizing my pale face.
"Yes, please." She nodded and led us into the ICU.
"Miss Veronica is stable, but she's still unconscious. She keeps repeating a name though, Helena. Is anyone of you two named Helena?" She explained.
"Yeah, I am." I admitted.