1943

Chapter Three: Fake

Our plan was foolproof.

All I could do though in the meantime was lay in bed that night, thinking about how I was getting married to my best friend all so we didn't have to bother with our parents anymore.

We didn't want the rules or expectations. We just wanted to be young and wild and free. We were twenty year olds that didn't want to be harassed about needing to settle down, but just wanted to adventure and live our lives.

It was why I opened the window at midnight when I heard Max throwing pebbles at it again as he usually did.

I held my cardigan closed as Max whispered loudly to me from the grass below. The world was dark and sleeping, yet Max wanted to adventure.

"I need out of the house. My mothers gonna kill me if I don't move out soon."

I quickly changed and managed to sneak out the window, having max help me down the trellis that I climbed down to get to the grass.

I never had many friends before. Not even when I was little did my brothers or anyone want to play with me.

But Max sat in the drivers seat of his family truck, smiling and driving to find us somewhere we could get something to eat.

I knew marrying him even if we only were best friends was the only way I would have him forever.

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You would think that birds would easily fall out of the sky. They were so small and round that it didn't make sense to me how they could fly so quickly.

They scattered so fast when startled, it made me wonder if that was their top speed or if they could even fly faster. I wondered just then if I really would be having a chance at flying a plane through those same skies.

The birds only scattered when Augustus and I were just coming back from trying to find the wolves den. We had horrible attacks on our cattle. We always had a problem with wolves in our area.

We saw all those little birds fly and flap madly away as three mothers screams rang through the air. Our two brothers were rushing to bear the barn from the porch where our mother and Mrs Hoffman and Mrs Buchanan were standing, shaking in fright.

We only saw the timber wolf growling and snarling as Oliver yelled at me while we sprinted over on the poor growing grass.

"Take the shot!"

Phoebe was covered in blood, trapped under the wolf as she had her arm under its throat, pushing up as hard as she could to get it off of herself.

Phoebe wasn't screaming or crying or begging for help.

She kept saying one thing over and over.

"I'm fine."

As the wolf went limp next to her, she still laid in the dewy grass. It was as if she couldn't move or maybe the blood splattered across her light green dress or her matching hair ribbon might stain if she made a false step.

"What the hell happened?" Pops hollered out, jogging over with Frank and mr Buchanan following.

"That wolf. It came after Phoebe."