Wolf Hunt

Chapter one: Deer Skull

I awoke suddenly to an alarm mimicking the sound of a laser gun. Reaching towards the phone turned upside down on the nightstand. I sighed contently as the sound quit, and rested my head against the cotton white pillows once more and closed my eyes. I had nearly fallen back to sleep when suddenly I sat up, pushing my covers off in one quick movement. I had remembered the reason for waking up so early. I quickly moved my closet where I pulled out a pair of work-out shorts, and a worn out T-shirt. I pulled on a pair of socks and quickly left my ever messy room to stealthily run down the hallway and down the steep staircase. I had made it halfway down, when I tripped on the smooth wood and skidded the last few steps down. I stood up, ignoring the pain as I grabbed the running shoes at the backdoor and closed the door behind me. I looked around, observing the area. What was usually a busy ranch, was a ghost town at morning. Thick fog rolled across the ground, casting the building into dark giants that seemed to sway with the light breeze. The most I could see was a well worn out trail and with my head turned down, I followed it. I left behind footprints, small compared to the large work boots and paw prints of canines, though I could no dogs.

I stopped, once I heard someone calling my name. "Jules- over here." I tilted my head, seeing a blurred figure leaning against something. As I moved closer, the person came into view and I recognized her. Gwin, along with many others, lived on this ranch to form a sort of small town outside of the neighboring one where the other kids and I went to. Despite being in the same grade, Gwin looked several years my senior with long legs and a fit frame compared to my compact build. A track star and softball player. She was leaning against the fence that acted as the ranch's perimeter. She uncrossed her arms and smiled at me. Her sharp blue eyes scrunched up as she spoke."Few minutes late, but we'll catch up." She pushed off the fence and made a steady stride parallel to the barrier. I hurriedly caught up to her, and glanced at her from the corners of my eyes. "So, where are we going?" I asked. She smiled and pulled her frizzly blue hair back with a hairband. She brushed a few short strands from her face. "There's a nice trail I found that circles through the woods. We should be able to job the entire thing before the morning's over." I could feel my heart drop a little at this but kept a brave face. "Great!" I chirped and we stopped coming to the gate that led off the property and into a small clearing that separated us from the dark woods ahead. Gwin started a loose jog, her thick hair bouncing behind her. I trailed after, trying to keep pace. The ranch quickly disappeared behind us as we ran deeper into the forest.

The trail was nothing more than a narrow dirt trail with long stalks of grass flattened down from earlier uses. Gwin, of course, was having no trouble running this path. I expected that she had gone through the area before and probably memorized every pebble. I, despite not running very much, was doing alright. It was in my blood you could say, to have long stamina. The trees began to blur together as our running pace sped up. I kept my eyes on the back of Gwin's head, needing to focus on something. A sudden turn caused my to skid and ended up kicking a bunch of dirt. As we ran deeper, the sound of water grew louder. The trees thinned out a little and the familiar oaks turned to tall aspens as we trotted upon a wide creek flowing past us. Gwin stopped and sat down on a flat rock that over cropped a shallow area. I leaned over, resting my elbows on my knees. I would be sore tomorrow. I looked up at her, then at the water. I moved slowly to the edge to look into the clear current. A few small minnows swam away from my shadow and I was able to see a faint reflection. Dark olive skin, pale green eyes, dark curled hair, a slightly unturned nose. I looked very much different from her. Gwin who seemed to be the embodiment of a goddess, who all the girls wanted to be, and all the boys wanted to be with. I blinked and averted my eyes when she looked at me. I'm not saying I'm ugly. I'm just not what most people look for in a girl. I stepped away from the creek and sat down on the edge of the rock and looked around. The trees swayed to a light breeze and light filtered through the leaves. The sun had risen quite a bit since I had first woken up. I jumped slightly feeling her hand on mine as she spoke. "Ready for tomorrow?" She turned to look at me, her bright blue eyes staring intently. "Uh.. I don't know." I shrugged, remembering the full moon tomorrow. A ceremony for us  when the Alpha's oldest kid reached about 15 or 16, and their training for the Alpha position begins. Everyone had a role, including me. "It's not like I'm going to be the center of attention or anything." I added. "Yeah, it's going to be hard for Ailani and Tate." Gwin said, a distant look in her eyes. I nodded in agreement. It isn't easy being the offspring of the two most respected members. I felt glad that I wasn't in that position of stress. Gwin stood up and grabbed my hands, pulling me to my feet. Without saying anything, we jogged back along the path leaving the bubbling creek behind.

We didn't follow the same trail as before, but a similar one that circled back to the original one. This one had large rocks and boulders scattered around covered with moss. Faint shafts of sunlight filtered through onto the layered ground. I stopped suddenly, my eyes wide. It took several seconds before Gwin halted the job, turning to look at me. "Why did you sto-" she suddenly lost her voice as she walked over to where I was, in a daze. She followed my gaze, and our eyes rested on a wild site. Hanging from a moss covered branch was a skull. Small hooked antlers told us that it belonged to a deer. The bottom jaw hung down at an unnatural angle, tied to the skull with ragged rope. The skull as a whole was cleaned, a near pure white colour. The eye sockets stared gruesomely at us with a blank stare. "l-lets leave." I mustered after a few moments. She nodded and we quickly ran off, much quicker than we had been before. The skull's stare followed after us. The hair on the back of my neck rose, and I felt as if something was watching us run away. I didn't want to come back this way ever again.

Finally making it out of the woods, I leaned over to rest my elbows on my knees. Adrenaline was just beginning to loose it's wild hold on me, and the image of the deer skull was still burned into my mind. One glance at Gwin told me that the same happened to her. She looked at me with her wide blue eyes, an almost scared expression on her face. "What was that all about!?"She cried out, staring at the trail, the faint light now giving the path a dark shadowed look. I looked at her, trying to keep my calm though the shakiness in my voice gave me away. "I-I don't know..." I panted, straightening myself. "But we should hurry back home." She gave a curt nod and I fell into pace with her. We unlocked the gate and entered the ranch, now bustling with activity as farmhands started the daily routines. A few waved or shouted "Hey!" As we passed by. We stopped, coming to a house similar in structure to my own, with the exception of being painted much better with fresh colors. Gwin ran up the steps, and opened the door. She gave one last weak wave to me and disappeared into the house. I stood there, frozen, for a few moments. I slowly turned away my body moving stiffly as I made my way towards my own familiar home, of natural stained oak and red wood. I swung the door open and the wire-cut door slammed shut after me.