In the Eyes of the Wolf

Chapter 17

"Alright so far?" Farley asked as the bus started to make the noise again.

I blinked a few times, my eyes started to feel a little bit uncomfortable. My hand was tapping my leg constantly. I hummed slightly and turned to the window, but I couldn't see anything outside. "Are we moving?"

"Yup," he answered. "We're reaching the end of the trees now."

I'm going further than I have ever been before. It was tricky to believe it without my feet feeling the gravel, but we were moving. The vibrations underneath me were unlike anything I could describe.

"It's strange, I don't feel like I'm moving." I wasn't turning to look at him, I was trying my hardest to make sense of the very thin trickles of light which came and went. I couldn't tell if it was my mind creating an image for me, or if it was actual light which was passing by.

"We are, trust me."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to trust Farley, but I didn't have any choice right now. I was stupid for going with them, but I could also be considered stupid for staying in the house where I was trapped.

"Can we take him to town?" Rowan's voice made me jump; it was right next to my ear. "Sorry."

"We'll take him another time if he wants," Farley responded, his breath tickling my cheek. "Not tonight, we'll just go straight home."

I couldn't stop myself from being excited about this, seeing another building and what another person considers to be a home. Along the journey, there were a few literal bumps in the road, causing me to jump and lean towards Farley. Every time I did this, he chuckled and told me I was alright. I felt like a scared child, but I was a scared child.

"Our stop is next," Farley informed me. He leaned away and a familiar dinging noise came from the front of the bus. After a few moments, I was told to stand up and gently tugged towards the door.

"Big step," Iris told me whilst still holding onto my arm. I had the feeling she'd done this sort of thing before. "Thank you."

I didn't like how I was feeling at the moment, the floor under my feet was moving. I had to jump up and down a few times to get grounded again.

"Oh, I hate that." Rowan laughed. "You get that sometimes when you come out of a lift too, like you're still going up and down and up and down."

That made me feel a little bit better, it was a normal sensation. I'm not so sure about trying a 'lift' anytime soon. It took a few minutes for me to stop feeling like I was walking on water.

Iris had joined her brother again so that Farley and I could walk side-by-side. I didn't know why it felt awkward, it might've just been my crippling anxiety when it comes to being in new places or meeting new people. The awkwardness might've just been something I imagined. That was another anxiety of mine, my own imagination fooling me.

There were so many new noises outside of the forest. The things which I've been told are cars, made a noise very unlike the ones Alder used. There were a lot more people around, from children to elderly men who said hello to us as we walked past. I thought it was strange to talk to anyone who passed, surely, they were strangers. But Farley told me that's just how things were done around here. People talked to each other and helped others out. I had met more new people today than I had known last month.

"We'll go ahead and tell Caspian we have a visitor," Rowan told us. "He probably won't be too happy, so best let Iris do it."

"Be careful," Farley replied. The two started to run down the street, the sound of their shoes hitting the floor rhythmically. "I hope he's not too mad at me."

"Why would he be mad at you?" I asked in a small voice. My confidence had been lost for quite a while. "Did you talk to him about me?" That was the only logical thing I could think of at the moment.

"I did."

I stopped walking and turned to him fully. "What did you say?" I had to know if what Cedar said was true. Even thought it was a large leap to the conclusion that Caspian would know.

"He thinks he knows who you are." I didn't know what he meant, but it intrigued me. "He had a photo album."

"A what?"

He paused for a few moments, making me wish to see his expression. "A photo album...is an album of photos." He started to laugh. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to explain these things. A photo is like saving an image or moment. You use a camera, which has a screen on it, and it takes a photo of what's in front of it."

I was clueless, but a faint memory of small hands picking up a frame entered my mind, a photo frame. The scene inside of that must be a photo. I used to imagine that I could step into the photo frame, growing very frustrated that I never achieved it.

"A photo album is a book full of photos," Farley continued. "He showed me a photo of two people that looked like you. I'm assuming that they're your parents."

My mouth went dry, I hadn't had a drink in a while, but that wasn't the reason. This man could possibly know something about my parents. He could possibly tell me if I've been lied to or not.

"Are you okay with coming still?" He nudged my arm. "I know it could be a bit shocking, I really should've told you sooner."

I shook my head and smiled. "No, it's fine. Really, I feel like I should be doing this." That was a bit of a lie, I didn't know how I felt. I was doing it no matter what happens. It was far too late for either of us to back out now.

"We're here." I hadn't even noticed that we were walking again. The sound of a gate closing made me jump; a barking came from not far away, along with the sound of a radio. Farley led me up a path, we had to go single file due to the narrowness, but I managed not to completely topple into the hedge which was on my right.

He opened the door and helped me up the two stairs leading into the house. The sun's warm rays were blocked, so I assumed it was a fairly big house. I could also hear neighbours, so I wasn't sure if the entire building was theirs. The passage was a little cramped, an ottoman wasn't too far away from the stairs. I was shuffled around, feeling very in the way, as Farley opened and closed a box.

"Could you take your shoes off please?" Farley asked politely. "Just cause we've been in the forest."

I nodded and quickly slipped my shoes off. I bent down to pick them up, but my hand brushed Farley's. The tips of my ears started to burn as I quickly stood back up. "You know, I'm not totally useless." I attempted to hide how flustered I was. I should be used to doing things like that by now.

"I know you can, but it's just easier if I put them in the shoe box," Farley replied with a brighter voice. "Anyway, I can hear them in the living room."

I was fidgeting with my fingers when my wrist was pulled. I held back a scared whine. Time to meet even more new people.

Question of the day! -Wow I hope that I can come up with these for the entire story-

Do you guys like going on buses?

I quite enjoy it when it's not crowded- but if it's cramped than it's a totally different experience. And of course, the window seat is a deal-breaker