Ruby Shadows

Spill

A harsh tunnel of cold air assaulted the exposed skin on my arms. Shivers traveled down my back as I moved off the wall on the outside of the prison. Three cigarettes lay at my feet and another dangled between my teeth. I hated leaving L behind in that cell but there wasn't much I could do to help her; she injured Allison and refused to explain her actions. Not an ounce of remorse in her words, only sheer excitement for the pain she caused. Something I'd only seen with lonely Lycans alone in the wild, trained by their will to survive and kill anything that moved. But an emaciated girl wanted by the Council? The idea made my head throb, with cigarettes being the only suppressor of the incessant drumming in my skull. It pounded behind my eyes and clouded my vision with white flashes.

In my head, a two-man war raged. I wanted nothing more than to believe L but she injured Allison, almost killed her with nothing more than sheer willpower and the silver cell bars separating the two girls. Whether I wanted to believe it or not, L was dangerous. Something called me to her, to touch her and understand the pain she'd been through but a bloody wall of silver kept us apart. That and my brother's influence. Betraying my family wasn't something I wanted to do, and taking the side of an escaped convict over my own brother would only lead to disaster.

The wind ceased, and the thrumming in my head started to calm as my fourth cigarette began its quick burnout. I tossed the spent cigarette onto the small graveyard at my feet and pushed my heel into the dirt to smother the last embers. I pushed off from the wall and made my way to the medical center away from the prison, away from the whimpering fugitive with scars telling a thousand stories. I couldn't stand to look back because I knew if I did my hands would be wrapped with second-degree burns.

Dim light posts led the way down the cobblestone road. At the end of the path, an enormous building blanched the otherwise dark woodlands. Two wings stretched out of the main building like the wings of a bird. Scattered lights lit up rooms across the front of the building. People hung at the entrance, some on their phones and others isolated with masks over their faces. I approached the emergency department and kept my gaze on the emergency doors, refusing to falter even the slightest. As Emerald's future leader, I held a position of power but I was still approachable. Whether friends from school or adults I grew up with, none had any problem catching my shoulder with conversation. I needed to find Allison and the others. I needed L to be right, for her story to be true. At least then I'd be able to let her go knowing she wouldn't do any further harm to Emerald or any other packs in the area.

I hesitated, standing just far enough away from the doors to not trigger the automation. I hadn't heard from Damien or Dean regarding Allison's condition but I had my suspicions. The side of her face was in shreds the last I saw it, and I knew it would scar. Silver wounds always did.

The waiting room was quiet. A few visitors were scattered across the large room. TV's played the latest football game, the volume low. Nurses sat at their station, heads buried in their work on the computer screens. At my entrance, their heads snapped to attention but as their gazes set on my appearance, their shoulders fell. I wasn't ill or injured. They nodded at me, a sign of respect toward my family. They went on with their business while I cut through the open waiting room without a single glance thrown my way. I stepped up to the counter and leaned my forearms against the cool granite. An older nurse peered up from her work, her eyes focusing through thick glasses before she jumped up from her seat and bowed her head softly in my direction. She meant well, and I knew if I were my father and she hadn't shown respect his condition would've convinced him she was an enemy. And for that, I was thankful, that I was myself and didn't have the same ailment as him. It would kill him one day – unless someone finished him off before his disease rotted his brain completely. A sliver of me prayed for the former. Watching him suffer over the last few years were difficult. Knowing my dad would never look at me the same again put a strain on my heart. My relationship with my dad was complicated but I still hated watching his agonizing deterioration.