Jeremy found her in the forest, bloody and huddled in a grove of rather intimidatingly large trees. Tears pulled down, the remnants of makeup as they fell. Blood dribbled past her lips, dark and thick. His eyes scanned her for injury. Her tiny nude form in front of him showed ribs and a stomach swollen in starvation. No wounds though. Nothing visible through the dirt.
He tried to help her. She shunned human contact. Broken whispers slipped past her lips with the slow drying blood. She started coughing, bloody chunks spewing from from her mouth. She fell on him then, forgetting the fear she seemed to have for him. Sobs shook her violently, whimpers streaming from her. Jeremy picked her up as he would a child, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He suddenly regretted jogging without a jacket as her shaking continued. As he walked back home she began to scream into his neck. She screamed the whole way home.
***
Erika was cold. The wind blew through her like it would the branches of the trees around her. She clung to the only warmth near her; a man not far from her own height with blond hair and face that had never seen hate. She regretted thinking of the warmth she could have had. Perhaps she was stupid. More likely she was mad. The man's hazel eyes filled with inexperience met hers.
Erika realised she was screaming. She didn't stop. She should. It would call to them the same as any howl. Maybe a dark part if her wanted to be found. A part that was sicker than the rest. She clutched onto the man with dear life. But what could he do, she was already doomed.
Finally Erika stopped screaming when they came to a house. It was modern with large windows and glass doors. Behind the white building Erika could see the ocean. The beach had been so far away from them, hours of driving in fact. Hope bloomed in her chest along with a deep ache.
A woman met them at the door. Erika stared in wonder and the curly haired woman with a kind smile. She fussed around her saying words that barely registered to the young girl. The man and woman conversed in low serious tones that put her on edge. "Here drink this" a glass was placed in her hands. She looked up at the woman, sniffing the water before putting the glass to her lips. "My names Bethany and this is my husband Jeremy, we're going to help you alright"
She stared up at them, eyes wide with fear. She's free. She was free but they'll take her back. She tried to scurry back succeeding only into curling in a ball on the couch. Not the escape she had planned. "Please" the word was a whimper on her lips. "Please no."
The two exchanged glances. "We're not going to hurt you, we just want to help." Help. She said it like a cure but help meant pain. It always meant pain. She whimpered again.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Jeremy spoke for the first time. He had a kind voice Erika decided.
"Promise?" she wasn't sure they heard her but with a nod of his head he echoed.
"Promise"
YOU ARE READING
The Wolves Are Out To Play
Werewolf"Do you believe in soul mates, little lamb?" his face held a grin as he spoke, wolfish even in human skin. Past his lips were pointed teeth. His red brown hair was a mess. "I did once" she spoke despite everything in her screaming not to. She couldn...
