The Wolf

Ch. 32: Making Plans

~Nico~

Darkness engulfs me. It's swirling and thick with a cold ominous feeling to it. It wraps cold tendrils of fear around my heart and sucks me into its freezing embrace. Where am I? I wonder. What happened? How did I get here? The more I try and think, the harder it is to come up with an answer. My head seems to be filling up with icy water and thinking is becoming fuzzy.

"Nico," A smooth voice says. It sounds as though they're far away, lost in the depths of this swirling world. "It's good to see you again, it's been quite a while since the last time we've met."

"Nyx..." I say aloud, the realization comes slowly, like dripping honey or trickling water.

"That's right, you remembered me." A tinkling laugh resounds through the darkness. I try looking around for the source, but I can't move my head as the dark holds it in place.

"What do you want from me?" I ask, my own voice sounds muffled in my ears.

"Oh, I don't really want anything. Maybe just to test you again, see how much you can handle once more."

My lips have become numb and they stumble over the words as I try and spit them out. "Why? Why are you doing this to me? Leave me alone!"

My desperate pleas are ignored as Nyx laughs them off, her voice fading away. All around me the darkness changes into light and a scene that I've never seen before.

Alex is standing at the altar with Kayla while they say their vows. I can't look away or even blink as they seal it with a kiss. The image changes and suddenly I'm in a quaint little house with pale blue walls, one of my favorite colors. Two kids run through a doorway squealing with delight. Both look like mini versions of Alex. I blanche. Kayla runs into the room after them, laughing. Alex opens the front door as his children rush into his arms, the four of them a big happy family.

Tears stream down my face as my chest constricts so painfully that I can't even breathe. The scene changes once again. This time, the sky is fiery red as ash and smoke pollute the air. It smells like blood and the sound of battle can be heard from all directions. I see wolves pouncing on wolves, tripping over the corpses of their fallen brethren. Golden fur flashes in my peripheral vision, I turn to see Alex locked in a deadly battle. At his feet, Dominic and Blake lay dead, blood pooling around their cold bodies. I choke back a sob and scream with no sound as I watch the battle unfold.

I don't have to wait long as the enemy wolf sinks its sharp fangs into Alex's neck and rips out his throat. Blood spurts violently from the wound. I try to run over to him, to stop the bleeding, to do anything to try and save him. I scream out his name, but no sound comes out. The scene shifts.

This time I'm back in the shack. The smell of blood is so pungent that I can taste it on my tongue. Silver tools lay on the cart, covered in dried blood. I see myself hanging from the wall once again, covered in wounds. The Nico on the wall looks up into my eyes. As soon as our eyes connect, I'm in his place, hanging from the wall. The cold silver knife digs itself into my side, followed by searing pain and my vision turns white.

I sit up, gasping for air. My skin is soaked with sweat and my body is trembling uncontrollably. The images I saw are burned into the back of my eyes, so everytime I blink they replay in a macabre movie. The room is enveloped in complete darkness and it suffocates me. It's like I woke up from that nightmare just to find that it's not over yet. I stumble out of my bed, the blankets tangling my legs as I reach out for the light switch.

Once the lights pop on, relief floods my mind and body and I collapse onto the floor, exhausted. The dark turquoise walls fill my vision and everything comes back to me. I'm home, in my own bedroom. I cast that spell last night and passed out. With shaky knees, I force myself to stand up. I walk over to my dresser and stare at the many pictures of Alex and I. What I would do to go back to those times. But looking at them fills me with dread and a bitter aftertaste after that dream.

Behind my blackout curtains, that are also blue, I see a hint of sunlight peeking out. I gasp and rush over to them. What time is it? Am I late for school? I push aside the curtain and peer outside. The sun is just peeking over the horizon creating a gold band of sunlight with pink and blue skies. Clouds are flooding the atmosphere, warning the world below of incoming snow. The sight of such a beautiful scene fills me with disbelief. How can something so beautiful exist when I'm suffering so much? I feel as though the skies should be black and a storm should be raging.

I strip out of my sweaty clothes and throw them into the hamper behind the door. On the edge of my bed is some folded up clothes. They're about my size, a little larger though. They must belong to Luca. All of the clothes in my closet don't fit anymore for obvious reasons, so this will have to do.