I Run With Wolves

Chapter One

Ren

I opened my eyes; all I could see was green everywhere. Lush green bushes, leaves, and moss completely overtook the clearing I was in. There was a small gurgling stream in the middle of the forest. A large, gray rock stood by the stream, covered in emerald green moss. I walked over and felt it; sponge-like in texture and very clean and soft. I knelt down in the grass and inspected the stream. It glistened a clear blue and you could see all the shiny little pebbles at the bottom. The stream sloped ever so slightly, so that meant it was running down the mountain. ‘Finally; fresh, clean water,’ I thought to myself.

As I knelt down on the bed of soft earth, I bent over the stream, dipping my hands in. I washed the all grime off and splashed some of the cool, crisp water on my face and neck before dipping my head down to meet my hands as they brought some of the fresh water to my parched lips.

I smiled to myself as the cool water ran down my dry throat; it felt so good. I had been walking around in the woods for six days with nothing but some small snacks to eat, and I was almost out. I sat down on the top of the large rock, which was fortunately sitting in a patch of sunlight, to relax.

Memories and flashbacks flitted through my mind as the sounds of the woods surrounded and relaxed me.

"Mom, I'm going out with Kati, so I'll probably be back around ten, okay?"

I grabbed my purse and walked out the front door, not waiting for her response. I made a dash for my car - a gorgeous special edition corvette ZO6. It was pure white with two small blood-red stripes by each front tire; I absolutely loved it.

I tossed my purse in the passenger seat, put the key in the ignition, and blasted country music from my new radio system I’d had installed in the car.

As I rolled down the long driveway, I thought about Mom; she had been slowly taking away my life. It’s not like I had much of one to begin with, but that was beside the point. I stopped the car, not wanting to accidentally crash into anyone in my unfocused state.

Mom always argued with my decisions, and dad backed her up. On the rare occasions I got to hang out with Katizara (and I do mean rare), we could only hang out for a couple of hours. When we were younger, we used to hang out all the time; we’d have play-dates, hang-outs, sleepovers, forts, spend hours talking about boys; the list could’ve gone on forever. Nowadays we only saw each other at school, and that was about the full extent of it.

I sighed heavily, put my hands on the wheel and pulled back onto the road, heading to Kati’s house.

*****

"Rennan," my parents greeted me as I walked through the front door.

Shoot; they must be ticked. They knew I hated being called by my full name; I almost always went by Ren. "What's up?" I asked suspiciously, putting my keys down on the little table near the front door.

"You're late; we said to be home by ten pm," my mother announced.

I looked at the clock. "It's only nine forty-five!" I exclaimed. "Jeez; if it's that big of a deal, I'll come home earlier next time." I rolled my eyes and shrugged my coat off. When I put it up on the coat rack, my father spoke.

"You won't have to worry about that," my father spoke confidently, “because there won't be a next time." His voice was firm, finality evident.

"What?” I exclaimed. “What do you mean 'there won't be a next time'?" I shouted, baffled. "Are you saying I can't hang out with Kati anymore? She's the only friend I have left, thanks to you two!" They were taken aback at my sudden outburst; I usually never spoke to them like that.

"No." The way my dad said it, I immediately knew that was the end of the conversation; there would be no point in arguing, because no matter what I said or did, I would lose.

I stormed upstairs to my bedroom, stomped around, slammed my door shut, and then stomped around some more. At that point, I made my last decision, too; I was leaving; tonight. "I'll just take a bag of stuff, my car, and I-" I broke off, realizing something. "Shoot! I can't take my car," I whispered to myself. "Mom and dad can track it, even if I get new plates." One of the agreements when my parents had bought me that shiny, glossy, beautiful beast for a birthday gift was that a tracking device needed to be installed so that they could make sure I never went anywhere they didn’t like; they were a bit over-the-top when it came to a lot of things. I sighed.

"I’ll have to go on foot then," I whispered softly to myself. I needed to kill time before I knew my parents would go to sleep; I took a hot shower and got changed into fresh clothes. I put a few extra pairs of clothes in a backpack, along with some toiletries and other necessities. I also tossed the small stash of snack food I kept hidden in my room into the backpack as well; I had no idea where I would be going, and I needed to ensure I was as prepared as possible – for anything.

I put on some comfortable sneakers, closed the backpack, and just for extra measure locked it with a combination lock; you never knew when something like that would come in handy.

I had successfully killed two hours of time, and was fairly certain my parents would be asleep, so, quietly, I snuck downstairs and out the front door, grabbing my car keys and the spare key to my car on my way out; I didn't trust anyone with my baby but me. I knew I couldn't drive her, but if I couldn't, then nobody else could, either - especially since my keys were specifically designed for me. I grinned at my small victory.

Shutting the front door as quietly as I could, I snuck outside, practically hugging the outside wall of the house and staying in the deepest shadows so that just in case mom or dad decided to look out their window, they wouldn't see me. I snuck silently over to my car; my baby. Softly, I trailed my hand along its snow white hood, then knelt down and kissed it. "I'll miss you, beautiful," I whispered softly. "Maybe one day I'll get you back."

I walked into the dark woods behind my house without a single glance back.

I sighed happily; the warm sun felt amazing on my back. Exhaustion settled in and I curled up in the warm rays of the sun. Lying down on top of the massive moss-covered rock, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. The last thing I heard was the gentle gurgling of the stream as I was enveloped by dreams.