The Amazing Wolf Boy

Part 25 - Beaten

A groan escaped me as I glanced around at the closing half-moon of football thugs. My heart rate shot from zero to a hundred in about a second. I placed the snow globe on the ground and stood over it, hoping I could protect it.

Eff rushed me, swinging the two-by-four like a baseball bat. I took the blow on my arm and struck out with my fist, aiming for his nose. I clipped another kid instead.

The guy next in line socked me in the jaw, and I staggered. I took a punch to the ribs. Then a roundhouse that snapped my head back. An arc of blood shot out.

Someone gave an appreciative, “Yeah.”

I stiff-armed him in the throat. Someone else clobbered my ear. Knuckles caught me square in the mouth, and I swear every tooth loosened. It felt unreal, like I was watching a movie. But unlike the movies, these guys didn’t take turns. They crowded me, each getting their licks in.

I held my own for a while. But a hard punch to my brow caused my vision to flash. I nearly fell. Another punch and another burst of light. I looked up, gasping for fresh air, aware of blood streaming from my nose. Above the heads and flying fists, I saw Eff’s two-by-four swing as if he intended to brain me. I raised my arm to deflect the blow and heard something crack. I didn’t think it was the wood.

I dropped to my knees. Apparently, this put my face out of the comfortable range for punching, so they started kicking. Thuds came from all directions. I rolled on my side, arms over my head and knees to my chest. After a while, it didn’t hurt anymore.

Their kicks tapered to a distant pummeling.

Someone said, “Knock it off, Eff. You’re going to kill him.”

And just like that, the beating stopped. I didn’t move. I felt a terrible wrongness in my body.

“I got an idea,” a voice said.

Someone fumbled with my zipper. This alarmed me more than getting beat up, but there wasn’t a thing I could do to stop them. They yanked off my pants and shirt, and then dragged me to the wall.

“Here. Pose him with this. Fairies.”

“Perfect,” Eff said.

Something cool and smooth was shoved into my arms. Brittany’s snow globe.

Oh, God.

I tried so hard to open my eyes. I wanted to glare at them, wanted to tell them to back off. But my face felt thick and wet. My mouth wouldn’t work.

Someone snickered, and then the globe went away. The plastic bag rustled.

“Here, let me package this back up for you,” Eff said. “Oops.”

I heard the bag fall, heard the globe pop as it struck the ground.

Laughter surrounded me. High-fives all around. Then tires screeched nearby. I smelled exhaust.

Hands lifted me, tossed me through the air. I landed on something cold and rough. A truck bed. They were taking me away. For the first time, I was afraid they intended to murder me.

For the first time, I wished to become a wolf. I imagined their faces when they came around the pickup to find a full-grown wolf in the back. I tried to shift, delved deep down inside, even though it wasn’t the full moon, wasn’t even full dark. The bouncing of the truck threw off my concentration. All I could do was to wait for the end.

I must have blacked out, because the next thing I knew, water poured over my body. Wind gusted, and I swayed gently.

Swayed?

The sensation jerked me awake. I was cold and in more pain than I ever imagined. My arms stretched over my head. I tried to move and swayed again. I opened one eye to a slit and looked around. Darkness. Nighttime. It was raining.

I was just thinking how unusual it was to rain at night in South Florida when lightning struck nearby. Thunder reverberated in my chest.

I wanted to run, needed to get out of there, needed to find shelter. My legs moved, but my arms wouldn’t. With my swollen eye, I peered upward and saw knots binding my wrists. I was strung between two trees.

Dear God. I was in the trees during a storm.

Lightning flashed again. I thrashed in spite of the pain. The ropes held.

“Help,” I cried, but my lips were so smashed they wouldn’t let the word out.

Thunder boomed. The clouds pulsed with electricity. In the light, I made out a house and a yard. With a sick dawning, I realized I was at Brittany’s. They’d hoisted me until I was even with her bedroom window. She only needed to glance outside to see my broken and bloodied body.

I didn’t want her to find me like this. I struggled with new vigor, trying to pull my rain-slicked hands free. A grinding sensation in my left forearm stopped me. I remembered breaking my arm under the blows from Eff’s two-by-four.

I stilled. I wasn’t getting out of this. The driving rain buffeted my body. Lightning flared all around. I smelled it in the air. I started to bawl like a baby, but the tears stung my eyes and my ribs grated every time I took a breath. Instead, I made myself small so the storm wouldn’t find me.