After an hour or so I finally get off the ground. The sky has turned dark now and I can barely see my hand in front of my face and its really cold. I look up at the sky and see there's no moon tonight but the stars are shining pretty bright.
I turn and sluggishly walk to the truck. I don't want to leave, I've lived here for four years now, almost five, and it was just so I could runaway and go into hiding?
I get in Payge's truck and drive myself to the place I've grown to call home, the only real home I've ever been in. And I screwed it up.
I park in the drive way and walk inside. I take a seat on the couch and put my head in my hands as I sigh in frustration.
"Where'd you go?" someone cuts into my thoughts. I look up to see Deb. I take a shaky breath and stand up.
"Come here," I say. She stands up and I pull her into a hug and I start trembling but I hold back the tears. I don't cry.
"Are you okay?" she asks me.
"I screwed up, mom," I squeak.
"Oh sweetheart," she says into my chest.
"Dan says I have to leave," I whisper and I feel hot tears start to fall down my cheeks. I thought I forgot how to cry a long time ago. "Is there something wrong with me?"
"Siva, listen to me. I want you to listen to Alpha, for your safety. Leave and avoid all Alpha's, there's more to this than you think. Just listen to me," she almost begs.
I take a step back and look at her with hurt. "I ask what's wrong with me and you tell me to leave? You know what, never mind. I'm leaving tonight, he wants me gone by tomorrow afternoon but I don't want to take any chances," I say then turn and jog up stairs to my room. I wipe the tears off my face as I walk into my room. I grab my back pack and dump out my school stuff and start filling it up with some of my things, just the stuff I need like clothes and toiletries. I finish packing and zip up my back pack.
"Hey, where were you?" I hear a sleepy Payge ask me. I look up to see him in the door way and he's half asleep with his clothes messed up slightly. I plop on my bed and lay back across it.
"Just town," I mumble.
"Are you leaving?" he asks as he sits next to me and yawns.
"I don't want to but yes," I answer.
"Take my truck," he says. I look up at him.
"What?"
"Take my truck. You need it more than I do and you use it more than I do. Just don't wreck it," he says.
"Thanks," I say. I get up and grab my back pack and mumble a good bye to him and I walk down stairs to see Deb on the couch crying. I walk to the front door and put my hand on the knob but I stop for a second.
"I love you," I say to her and she lets out a sob. I squeeze my eyes shut and keep the tears back. I quickly walk out the door and get in the truck. I start it up and reluctantly drive away. Where should I even go? I have to leave town but I've never even been to any other part of America, I've never left Northern California.
I get on the high way and head East, not really caring which way I go.
I walk out of a gas station a week later with a drink in my hand. I ended up in Las Vegas and I'm not sure how I haven't run out of money yet. I take a step onto the assfault on my way to my truck but someone grabs my arm roughly and pulls me into the alley between the gas station and some other building. I shouldn't have been walking so close to the alley way, sometimes I'm so stupid.
"What's a pretty boy like you doing out here?" a guy with tan skin and baggy black jeans asks. "Come on, tell us," he says, referring to his friends who are standing around us. The guy pulls out a knife and holds it to my neck.
"I don't have anything, I swear," I blurt nervously.
"You sure 'bout that?" he asks. I nod and the guy presses the knife to my neck more. He takes the knife away then punches me in the stomach, making me hunch over then he punches me in the eye.
He lets go of me and I fall over. His buddies and him start kicking me and beating the shit out of me.
They stop beating me and start going through my pockets. "Siva Greene, thank you for making this fairly easy," one of them says after looking at my I.D. He pulls out his knife again and crouches down in front of me. "Now you won't be able to say a word," he says darkly then he cuts my throat and I feel the hot liquid of my blood seep out.
Honestly, truly honestly, I'm happy about this. This past week I've wanted to die more than ever and this may be a terrible way to die but at least I'm getting what I want.
"Sir?" I hear someone say. Of course, never will I be able to have what I want. "Sir, can you open your eyes?" a man says. I slowly lift up my heavy eyelids and the man has a worried but relieved look.
He pulls a cell phone from his pocket and dials something and he starts talking into it. I feel myself start to shake and I'm suddenly cold. How have I not died yet? My throat is fucking cut. I don't want to die in front of this guy though, that'd be terrible for his sake.
"Don't worry, an ambulance and the police are on the way," he says to me as he puts his phone away. I feel my eyes start to drift shut. How am I going to afford this? Then everything is dark.
My eyes open slowly and I look around to see some E.M.T.'s and some doctors and nurses. I'm on a gurny and their wheeling me through the hall. I accidentally let out a whimper when I turn my head and pain shoots through my neck.
"Sir, its okay. You'll be fine. Stay calm and don't move," one of the doctors says. I whisper something but no body hears me over the doctors barking orders and stuff.
The gurny turns and they take me into a room. The E.M.T.'s lift me and put me on a bed and I let out a groan. Every movement hurts so much.
They put a mask on me and I black out again.
I don't really remember any other time I was under anesthesia for surgery but this time, I'm watching the doctors work on me. Not like, I'm awake for the surgery, because I'm not. I'm standing in the door way of the hospital room and I'm watching the doctors fix up my neck and they put a cast on my arm.
I walk over and see myself with my eyes shut and there's one of those pump things in my mouth and a nurse is squeezing it then releasing, making sure I'm breathing.
I wake up to an ache running through my entire body. I try to let out a groan but my throat hurts and I'm completely unable to speak. I open my eyes and see a nurse sitting on a chair, reading a magazine.
"How you feelin'?" he asks me, not looking up from his magazine.
I open my mouth to speak but I can't make a sound. The nurse puts his magazine down.
"Oh right, sorry. Here," he says as he hands me a notepad and a pen. I wright down the word water although, I'm not sure that's quite what it looks like because my left arm is broken so I'm writing with my right hand.
I show him the sloppy writing and he squints his eyes then he realizes what it says. He grabs the cup of water thats on a table and he hands it to me. I nod in thanks and take it. I drink it all in what seems like two gulps.
"Better?" he asks. I nod. "You need anything, just catch my attention," he says then he sits down and goes back to his magazine. Did they put him in charge of me or something? I guess so.
I shrug as I sit up. My back and stomach ache and I'm starting to get a migraine. My arm is kind of sore but the most painful injury I have is from my throat. I put my hand on my neck and I notice a bandage where the cut is.
I grab my pen and throw it at the nurse guy. It hits him in the head.
"Ow, I was hopping you'd bang on the side table or something, not throw a pen at me," he complains. I roll my eyes and he hands me the pen. I quickly write on the notepad.
"Are you even going to tell me you hane?" he reads out loud. I roll my eyes and try to fix the writing. "Name?" he asks when he reads it again. "Oh, I'm Zack. I'm kind of new here so they had me watch you. Said you need a bit of super vision. You know, since you can't really make noise if you need something," he explains. I nod in response. "Um, whats your name? You had no I.D. and no one knows who you are," he asks. I look down at the notepad in my lap, should I answer his question? Should I tell him I'm a runaway and I have no where to go? An idea comes to mind.
'How am I paying this bill? I have no money.' I write on the notepad. He chuckles slightly.
"This is a free clinic. Anyway, are you gonna tell me your name?" he asks and I shake my head. I don't want to be forced to go back. Or arrested for running away, if that's illegal. I'm not sure. "Fine, maybe just your first name?" I shake my head again. I don't know if I can trust this guy with anything.
It's been a couple days now and I'm being released from the hospital. I can talk now but not very loud and if I talk too much it hurts. I don't think the people at the hospital realize I don't have anything but I leave anyway.
I have no money so I'm forced to beg.
I walk a couple blocks to the Strip. I get to Fremont Street and sit down on the cement and I start asking people for spare change.
"Excuse me, do you by any chance have some spare change?" I ask a couple. The man glares at me but the girl stops and tugs on his arm.
"Come on, we gotta help the poor kid," she says to him.
"Just keep walking, Sandy," he says to her. I put a hand on my throat and talk.
"Please, I just got out of the hospital," I say, my voice being really scratchy.
"Yeah, I'm sure it was because you over dosed," he says then he laughs at his own lame joke. "Come on, Sandy," he says as he starts walking again. The girl, Sandy, pulls something out of her pocket and tosses it to the ground in front of me. I look at it and realize its a twenty dollar bill. I mouth thank you to her and she waves a little then goes back to her date or whatever with that guy.
I pocket the cash and ask a couple more people who just toss me coins, some of them ones. None give me as much as Sandy did though. She was nice.
When it gets dark and all the drunk people start coming around, I decide to try and find a place to stay.
I got fifty dollars, mostly in change, but its something. I don't think there's a place here that would let me sleep for the night for fifty dollars. Maybe one of the motels would?
I get up from my spot and start walking toward the end of Fremont Street. A guy that's obviously drunk walks past me but stops in front of me and throws up. Luckily, I step back before he could get any on me. Its so gross though, it almost makes me feel like I'm going to puke but I walk past him and avoid throwing up the little bit of food I have in my stomach.
I walk off Fremont and go a couple of blocks. A homeless man stops me and asks for spare change.
"I'm in the same situation as you, man," I say and he nods. With a small wave of his hat, he lets me keep walking. I walk about another block when I finally spot a motel that looks pretty cheap. I start heading over to it.
"Hey, that's the kid from earlier," I hear a girls voice. I turn around and see a café that has a place where you can sit outside and I see Sandy and that guy from earlier sitting at one of the tables.
I wave shyly with a small smile on my face then cross the road to the motel. I walk into the lobby and walk over to the clerk.
"Could I just have a place to sleep for fifty dollars?" I ask quietly.
"Free," the man says. I look away from my hands and look up at the man. He has almost elf like features. Pale skin, platinum blonde hair, slightly pointed ears, light blue eyes.
"Huh?" I say with confusion.
"You can stay for free. Your a werewolf and your kind is very welcomed," he explains. My eyes go wide with shock.
"How did you know? Have you been following me!" I almost shout but my voice randomly gives out and my throat is starting to hurt.
"I'm an elf, I have special senses that help me know when one is a supernatural being and I can even tell that you were turned, not born," he explains.
"Impressive," I whisper.
"Anyway, here's your key. You can stay for as long as a week, for free. If you wish to stay longer you have to pay. Sorry, Alpha," he says. I furrow my brows in confusion.
"I'm not an Alpha," I whisper, still not being able to talk. "You must have the whole werewolf system confused," I ignore the comment though and I grab the key. "Thanks for your kindness," I say then walk out of the lobby. I quickly get to my room and lock the door behind me.
I lay down on the soft bed and kick off my shoes and I pull off my shirt. I pull the blanket over me and fall asleep almost instantly.
"What are you doing?" I hear someone whisper.
"Something fun," a woman's voice whispers back.
"What the hell, Sandy," a guys voice whispers. I open my eyes into small slits and see Sandy and the guy she was with.
"Shut up, Travis, your going to wake him up," Sandy whispers. I see Sandy whispering at the door. I think the guy, who I now know is Travis, is outside. I look up at my hands and realize their hand cuffed to the bed posts and my ankles are cuffed to the bottom posts.
"What the hell is going on?" I whisper groggily. Sandy looks over at me and it isn't until now that I realize she's only in a bra and under wear. What the fuck?
"Don't worry, Siva," she says. My eyes go wide with fear.
"What? H-how do you know my name?" I ask.
"All the Alphas know who you are. By the way, Alpha Jack does not like other Alphas on his territory so I'm going to punish you," she says. She walks closer to me, swinging her hips. I tug on the cuffs on my wrists but they don't budge.
Sandy comes up to me and runs a finger down my bare chest. A cold chill of disgust runs down my spine. Its not that she's not pretty, in fact, she's hot. But I'm trying to get my life back on track and I honestly don't have time for this. I need to try and figure out how to make more money and I'm just barely out of the hospital and I just can't deal with this. I need to get out of here!
She climbs on top of me and starts kissing my neck and chest.
"I'm only seventeen," I say.
"It doesn't matter," she says, slightly out of breath. She moves up and she puts her lips on mine. I turn my head, refusing to let her kiss me. I keep pulling on the cuffs but they don't budge.
"Baby, don't be like that. Let's have some fun," she says. She moves her hands down and she unzips my jeans and starts taking them off. Suddenly a chill runs down my spine, followed by pain. I clench my jaw tight to keep from screaming. I feel all my muscles tense like they do when I'm about to shift. Is it even still dark outside?
"Oh, I like when you tense like that," she purrs. I close my eyes and take a breath. The pain leaves me, telling me I'm going to shift in a minute. Sandy keeps her lips on my chest then she reaches down and starts to pull off my boxers. Suddenly the worst pain ever comes to me, even worse than my first shift.
I let out a loud scream then it turns to a howl and the cuffs break and next thing I know, I'm on top of Sandy, on the ground, growling in her face with my teeth bared.
"How the fuck did you do that?" she asks. I snap in her face then get off her. I'm still exhausted. I lay down on the ground and roll onto my side as I pant. How do the wolves here stand this heat!
"Siva, get up and run East. Please," I hear a man whisper to me. I look around but don't see anyone. I stand up and just then, Travis kicks down the door. I quickly grab my pants off the bed and bolt out the door.
I'm sure it looks weird to see a wolf in Las Vegas but I can run fast. I just need to get out of town, go East.
After a couple hours of running, I'm completely exhausted and I feel like I can't move another inch. But I keep running. I think I'm in Utah now because I'm in a heavily wooded area now. I run down to the high way that's near by. I run along the high way and see a sign.
'Welcome to Cedar City' it says. I've never even heard of this place, but I keep going.
A couple more hours later and I'm now in Colorado. I told you I run fast. Its much colder here than in Las Vegas and I'm loving it. I used to hate the cold but now I love it. I just cannot stand the heat any more.
I stop in the woods and shift back to my human form. I'm still in my boxers and I pull on my jeans. If only I had a shirt but it doesn't matter. I'm still really sweaty and hot from running so long and I swear I've lost twenty pounds, or gained it in muscle. I doubt it.
I walk toward the town and I come to a small shop with a bunch of others around. I'm on a main street. I look around and I don't see anyone around so I walk to the store. The door is propped open so I sneak in and swipe a shirt from a rack. I take all the tags off and pull it on so I'm not walking around half naked.
I sneak back out of the store and straighten up.
Where should I go now? Maybe I can get a hotel room, or I can camp out in the woods. I could really use a car though. I only have fifty dollars, though. Maybe I can steal one.
I walk over to the parking lot and I pick out a nice car. I walk over and peek inside the window to see its unlocked. Sweet! I open it and I look inside the center console then the glove compartment and I find a spare key. Whoever's car this is, they aren't very smart.
I start up the car and drive away.
I go to a hotel and park the car. The hotel has a sign that specifies the price and its way above my range. I decide its late and I can't run any longer so I just lift up the center console and lay across the bench seat and fall asleep.