First, I felt a forceful jolt hit me. That got me stumbling. Then a glow form my hands pursed with a shocking vibration. I could feel the twenty one pair of eyes look in anticipation. It pursed purple like the purple wall sister Lisa had disappeared into that other day in the church library.
That wall appeared again and Sister Lisa appeared from it. "It's time" she said. Everyone knew that it was time. We didnt know what that meant or maybe it was just me. She grabbed my hand and the hand of Eli. She instructed everyone "help each other". We were supposed to form a chain that would start from her and end to her.
No matter what, do not let go. If you do let go, you will be wondering in the portal forever she warned. That made me squeeze her hand tight afraid of my hands letting lose.
The air was visibly thick. It was chocking and squeezing me to fall down. If I were to fall down, I would let go and I will be lost forever. And probably so will everyone so I had to hold myself.
Sister Lisa mummered something and I felt my body being sucked out of my own skin and my body block pary into fine particle until they reconnected and I found myself stumbling forwards. Towards a river with stars shinning as the sun was peeping. With sea monster daring me to dive in and live a life of freedom where death would sing and dance with my free mind. Where the sea monsters will pull me to the bottom where they will be no sunlight.
I didnt notice that I was walking towards the waters until a hand pulled me out of my reverie.
A call of the wild, calling to fly or dive and die crooned a voice behind me.
What was that I asked after finally gotten myself together. My eyes were unto the fist of seas staring at me. Daring me yet again to swim deep in.
"Thabo that is a lake that calls upon those passing by to sink them forever until their bones turned into nothing but sand said Sister Lisa. A call of the wild, calling to fly or dive and die sister Lisa repeated. You had said that earlier or was that part of the lakes tricks. I did she simply answered.
The water might have diamonds because it shone brighter than the sun. The water had me mesmerized that I forgot the main part of all this. We had managed to free form the orphanage. I was actually in a place that didnt have air that felt like a cage. I was free. I hoped I was. I was sure I was.
Sister Lisa turned around as if make sure everyone was there and in one piece. The place was different than the orphanage. The air was even outraged. The trees had thorns. The bushes were beautiful but there was something about them screamed DEADLY. There were no animals not even birds. Just angry roaring was the wind. And wolves.
"We have to move" said Sister Lisa in a hurry. No one questions her. Not even Joshua, who didnt bother to hide his fear.
It would be sad to finally be away from the orphanage, only feasted by a pack of wild beasts. I had to hold to hope even if the situation was absolutely hopeless.
We walked on the bushes. It wasnt like we had any other choice. There were no roads or trails just glass and more glass no one had ever set foot on the ground.
The journey was on warriors although we weren't any way near solders but I like to consider it that way. Since we took only a park of bread and a bottle of water each and two outfits. That meant we weren't going to be wondering the forest f unending wandering forever. Soon we would have to reach our destination.
Sister Lisa gracefully stopped, her right hand raised. Signaling us to stop. No one knew what happing but everyone know when one stands rigid, hair on the neck visibly up, shaking hands. Those actions meant fear of something awfully alarming. So we stood rigid too and listened to the wind unfold. The wolves howl from the far and voices, hushed voices get closer. The air went from cold to ice cold. What was coming that made even the unbreakable Sister Lisa petrified. Definitely something that was going to eat us.
Her hand was still in the air. It made a fist. This was to tell us stop, to stand down, and to stop moving. We already had done all those things so we were supposed to stop breathing. Elis eyes were wide and focused on Sister Lisas hand.
Kumbu seemed to be less afraid from some reasons I didn't know but maybe she was just good at hiding her feelings about the whole of this. Tama together with Mwayi seemed to have pissed on their selves while Joshua wanted to look brave but his shiny eyes gave him away. Tiya had a determined look like that of a fighter.
Then the grass just a couple of steps ahead of us started to make sounds that were and the voices were just ahead of us. Whatever was going to happen, I was not going to give my killer an easy process of killing me. I was going to put one hell of a mean fight.
Sister Lisa dropped his hands. At least that was a good sign. That meant we weren't going to die at that moment. It all had been a test of some sort. If it were test then I had failed miserably. The winner would be Tiya and maybe Eli kind of.
Sister Lisa's hands reached rested beside her dress and dipped it into the layers of her dress and a blade was pulled out. We weren't out of danger. With the reflection of the lake of stars and the sun, the knife blinded my eyes from it twilight that shone on the edges of the blade.
Another boy among our group did the same. Silently pulling out a knife from the back of his pants. How was he walking with those sharp knife on their bodies.
I hadn't realize I was supposed to take knives because Tama was also touching something from the inside pockets of her pants. Clearly I was there by mistake. I wasn't supposed to be part of the murder games. I was simply a young girl with problems of seeing creatures and dreaming both at night and at day. On second thought, i saw that Tits had taken not a knife but her phone out.
Form the cover of eyes, Eli tried to bend heading towards his boots. Probably to get his on weapon. 'Would it be a knife or a blade too or a gun or something too foreign for the tongue to pronounce' I asked myself. We didnt have a chance to know what he help because his feet moved. He must have stepped on a tree. Twigged the tree, the wind most have gotten angrier and the voiced closer.
I turned back to where we had come from, hoping to find the purple thingy that sister Lisa had called a portal. It was gone. There were just sand like someone had attempted to sweep the sand off in a beach or waves of wind that had brushed off the ground in circles.
The wolves also were coming closer. I could hear wild footsteps calling me to join the hunt. I didnt understand why we weren't running. That would have been my first respond not standing and waiting to be eaten by wild dogs or werewolves.
But I didnt have it in me to run because on my left was the lake that had promised to give me freedom in exchange of my life, on my left there were tree with thorn where no path could be seen, on my right there was the lake again and in front of me, there was also wild beast calling upon me probably in exchange of my fresh too.
Sister Lisa squeezed the knife tight until her hands were white and all blood was gone. She took one step back while one feet was still planted unto the ground. Knees bent. She was ready. I hoped she was because although most of the warriors were ready but I was a wreck. She rolled and turned it into her hands and waited.
Eli had collected his staff I didnt recognized. Whether it was a knife or not, at least he had something to reduce the nerves. Something to give out the a sense of protection and safety.
~*~
Then there was silence.
They were playing with us. I could feel them behind the trees. Not the wolves but those with the whispers but the wolves were getting closer.
Beside the tree a man came out followed by another man and woman with clothes that were in shreds. Were they baggers? Baggers kill, I have heard twice or more. They had knifes and their fingers had blood on them.
Sister Lisas hands that was holding the knife twitched. She turned the knife around and faced it to our visitors in front of us and took it back to where it had been taken form the back of the layers of her dress and then bowed down.
A ground people wearing the same clothes that had been beaten and torn down to even call them clothes. Some were even almost necked, some were absolutely unclothed.
I was clearly missing something.
Sister Lisas head was still laying low, her eyes looking at the ground like it was the most interesting thing.
The man that had appeared first, his alert eyes searched among our group, Eli shouted a Hie to the man who didn't give any notice to Eli. The mans eyes landed on me, with a smile he nodded to the woman beside her.
"We were sent by Clara Brown" sister Lisa said after raising her head in a quiet voice that I didnt even recognize. This time the woman did the staring. She didn't smile. I wasnt expecting a smile. They were probably going to kill us!
"That's her?" asked the man gesturing his head at me "Clara's famous daughter?" I felt like waving my hand. "She does look like her" said the woman with a frown.
"We need shelter and first thing tomorrow we will leave" said sister. She took a step towards them and the woman snarled and then Sister Lisa raised her hands up. Stand down Esther backed the man.
I had to close my eyes to protect them from the group of naked people in front of me. Like on the queue, Sister Lisa cleared her thought and the group of people vanished and wolves stood in their place in a blink of an eye.
Breath.
Breath.
Breath. I shouted at myself, to hold on to the breath that seemed getting extinct. I had to stay calm. I felt my body shut down.
I fell down.
~*~
I let my eye lids open and the light knocked me off. Slightly taking in gradually the blinding light. The window was opposite the bed I was in and let all the air in the room that made me shiver. A figure shifted right beside the window. I hadn't noticed it. I didn't notice you are awake said a voice.
The figure had turned out to be Joshua. It was a shocking visual revelation. And he seemed edgy.
I had been away for a while clearly and had missed a lot.
"Hi" started Joshua hugging himself like he was trying to comfort himself. "Hi" I answered. It was probably a good sign that my voice didn't came out a bit raucous than I anticipated.
That was a good sign. Meanwhile, Joshua was not squeezing himself too tight. He let out a distorted cry and fled out of the room. Well that wasn't weird at all I said to no one in particular.
The room wasn't a hospital or a nurses office or anything of sort. It was a plain room with old portrait of wolves howling on a fool. There was one painting that was different. It wasnt a wolf but a woman wearing blown dress. She was extremely beautiful with alert eyes. She held a baby in her hands.
Her eyes stared at the silent baby with alert watchful eyes like she was waiting for something to come out of the baby. Something breathe taking. Maybe the baby itself was what she thought was breath taking.
"This was her room" startled by the voice I rapidly looked at the source of the voice. "Clara Brown's" continued the lady that I met earlier. I dont know if it was yesterday because I didnt know how long I had been unconscious. She was the lady who we met by the lake, she had stood with the man that seemed to be leader of the group of wolves. I had forgotten about them. Wolves to be the source of my nerve cracking ability.
"She was a beauty" she got me out of my reverie. "Your mom" she breathed. I didn't like the way she said was. Sister Lisa said she was away only for a very long time but that didn't mean she was dead.
"You look just like her. Only if you just come back since you are here and everything would be less difficult" she said. "I thought you and your kind wanted to kill her and me why would she come back. For you finish what you started?" I asked a little infuriated on my side.
Anger getting out of my tiny hands. "You dont know everything" she warned. It seemed that was walking thin line. Someone appeared on the door.
It was Joshua. "Hey" he greeted and I just stared at him intensely. what was it with him with his hi and heys. He poured out whispering to the womans ear. She looked up to Joshua and nodded and she left and that was it.
"Joshua, I am part of whatever is going on so you better speak the hell up" I nearly screamed and Joshua flinched. Okay I didn't just nearly shout but I totally made a scream of it.
"The alpha was looking for you, you have already fainted twice for the last few weeks plus yesterday after seeing a wolve he posed and stared at me with a sneer so if I had tell you that they are werewolves and she is a gamma and the alpha is looking for her I was afraid that this time you would finally die. Although I cant lie that sounds delightful but you are needed in this mission"
"Wow! Thanks for caring I smiled making sure that every detail of my disgust and sarcasm was poured out of my tongue.
"On a serious note, how are you" he said. I groaned and went out of the door. It wasn't a building or anything, just a nhouse surround by other houses.
I stared at the busy road.
My imaginations of people of the north appeared more savage than what I was seeing there in plain sight. I thought they would just strip necked and turn into savage old werewolves and just split down humans into two equal parts with their sharp animistic fingers or each other but it seemed like with love. But then these same people were the ones who tried to kill my mother and myself.
Their smile were not to be trusted.
A bush of kids were playing ball on the road and the dirty ball fell on a bucket of that a slender woman twisting her hips like there no bones had carried onto her heard.
The sudden appearance of the ball in the open bucket on the head must had shocked her. And hips swayed a little further and fail down together with bucket. With gold eyes, she stared at the giggling kids that were running away.
The broken bucked in pieces lay angrily on the sandy road with sprinkled on the sand giving out a smell of petrichor. Her nose flared and started following the kids, a hand stopped her. The hand that had stopped her must have been mesmerizing. The owner of the hand bent down and started to collect the broken bucket.
The reason was unknown to me especially the use of the broken bucket, it was a mystery to me. But I stood and watched Joshua who was in the room earlier smile at her flirtatiously while collecting the useless broken pieces of the bucket.
His smile seemed to be contagious because her gold subdued and returned to normal shed of brown and she smile back with sharp teeth.
"Hey" he greeted. So much for greetings today I thought. "I am Joshua" said Joshua.
"Everyone knows who you are. I am Grace" she smiled even wider holding out a hand for a hand shake. Joshua took the hand slowly with so much gracefulness, afraid it might break perhaps. He brought it unto his mouth and placed a faint kiss. She seemed to glow and the smile was getting hugger with a shed of red in her both cheeks.
"Nice to meet you Grace" he purred. Those two were making me nauseous. He was good and she was a gone a girl. Her eyes seemed to be in love. Love was in the air. "Let me help you" he said bending down on his knees. Was he going to propose? Joshua was the next level of madness.
I saw him continue to collect the broken plastic pieces laid unevenly on the g ground. It alright its useless anyways she said holding his hand away from the broken pieces. I was pretty sure she wanted to be the one be collected.
They stared at each other for a while until I decided that I had had enough for the day and left those laughing at something that Joshua had said. They were making me oddly woozy.
There was a bench, I saw Sister Lisa. I had the urge to go and hug her but decided against it after seeing her talking to someone was supposedly to be the so called alpha.
He seemed alpha material. He looked bad ass and he wasn't smiling throughout the conversation although Sister Lisa had smiled here and there.
From Sister Lisa's stories, for one to be an alpha, he had to have defeated or even in some rare cases kill the alpha of a pack. So they had to be though, I guess.
I need to find my friends but I didnt know where to look. I couldnt see any of my fellows form the orphanage. Joshua didnt count.
Sister Lisa might have seen me because she waved her towards me gesturing to come over. I walked there and smile at her and the alpha decided to smile at that very moment.
It was better when he didnt smile, his canines sparkled delighted to see a possible probably. They seemed to be sharp enough to sink inside my bones.
"You look just like her" he said, sister Lisa beamed. There seemed to be something, something intimate going on between the two. It was hard to tell from the serious look of the alpha or maybe it was only up on Sister Lisa's side only.
"Thabo, this is Alpha Vincent, he is your uncle".
Shock must have been visual on my face. "Please dont faint again. You are bit heavy" said alpha Vincent. I attempted a smile that only came out to be a nervous faint chuckle.
"I became the alpha after he died since there was no heir said alpha Vincent." It sounded like bragging. Either he was bragging about his brother's (that is my fathers) death or he was bragging out being an alpha. Either I guess I was in a way the real alpha.
"So I am the alpha" after that was said I heard the loudest roar in the universe. I took a step back and Sister Lisa held me. "Vincent" sister Lisa said. There was caution in her voice and there was a warning in it wrapped around the silent delicate calling of the alpha's name. His eyes had turned the brightest gold staring at me. After his name had been called he looked up and by the time he stared back at him his eyes were back to normal.
Sister Lisa came and stood beside me and said, "I think you should speak less" and I returned her with my award winning smile and to the alpha.
"That won't be so difficult" I responded with a naughty smile.