Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 36: Confrontation

I ran the entire way back to the village.  Over the entire twenty miles, I did not allow my body to stop.  I alternated between a light jog and a hard, ground-covering sprint, but I never slowed to a walk.  No matter how much I wanted to.

Isaac had one thing right.  Even after the sun had gone down, I had no trouble finding my way.  I could see almost as well at night as I could during the day.  Imagine the effect of a full moon in a cloudless sky and magnify it about three times.  That’s how the forest looked to me.

As I ran, clashing thoughts and emotions swirled through my mind.  So many things had happened today.  I had gone from panic to anger.  Anxiety to relief.  Amazement to fear to frustration, all within the span of about twelve hours.

Panic when I had woken up this morning, certain I was going to be tossed out of the school.  (thank goodness that had turned out okay).  Anger when I confronted Lucas.  Anxiety when I thought I was about to lose Jewel’s friendship.  Relief when I realized that I wasn’t.  Amazement when I was coasting through the sky on the back of a huge dragon.  Fear as I listened to Isaac’s story and realized the same thing could have easily happened to me.  And frustration when Isaac flat-out refused to hear my side of things.

Seriously, if I went through one more dramatic mood shift before this day was up, I would be in danger of going stark raving mad.

I caught a glimpse of Isaac every once in a while, circling far above my head.  My vision was so sharp that I could see his scales glittering faintly in the moonlight.

I understood why he was punishing me like this.  If what he said was true, and I had been on the verge of seriously hurting Jewel, then I a twenty-mile run through the woods was probably more than justified.  If anything, he was going easy on me.  The thought of what could have happened, the physical damage I could inflict on another person without even trying, was enough to make me feel physically sick.

But, at the same time, couldn’t he have listened to me?  This situation with Lucas was getting out of hand.  And, combined with my lack of control over the angry, powerful creature lurking inside me, it was a recipe for disaster.

And this wasn’t just about me, either.  According to Jewel and Danielle, Lucas had been causing problems around here for years.  Stalking one girl after another and mistreating the unlucky few who were gullible enough to fall into his trap.  This couldn’t continue.  Something needed to be done about this.

I made  a decision right then and there.  While my feet pounded the earth and branches swayed eerily above my head, casting dark, moving shadows across the trail.  First thing tomorrow I would hunt down Isaac.  Or Deanna.  Or Shane.  And I would tell them everything.  No matter how embarrassing.  No matter how ashamed I was of my actions.

I don’t know how long I ran for.  It must have been hours.  Hours of nothing but trees and darkness and silence.  I lost track of Isaac’s position in the sky.  I lost all sense of where I was or how I had gotten there.  I could only think about the mindless activity of endlessly placing one foot in front of the other.

Even for a shifter, twenty miles is a long way.  It took ages, but fatigue eventually began to settle in.  My pace slowed.  I struggled to lift my feet and stumbled over roots and stones.  I was breathing hard.  A sheen of sweat coated my body.  I had almost forgotten when it felt like to be this tired.

By the time I got back to the village, I was about ready to collapse in bed and sleep for ten hours straight.  I stopped right at the entrance to the school and placed my hand against the wall, head down, lungs heaving.  Even my wildcat sagged with exhaustion.