Chapter 19: Crimson Tide
I was alone.
Trapped in the house, I could not escape. The doors and windows were locked. Everything was gone, save for my box, which sat alone in the middle of the living room on the stained wood flooring. I couldn't open it. I didn't have the key.
So, I cried.
There was no echo in the house, nor were there any other signs of life. This place I'd known since my childhood was no longer welcoming. These walls were unfamiliar. There were no pictures or trinkets, small knickknacks that my mom had insisted on keeping within the home.
The only thing left was the creepy owl clock that rested on the mantle above the fireplace. It seemed to stare straight at me, large, glass eyes unblinking as it kept the record of time, just as it had done since the day it was created.
The ticking echoed in my mind, sounding much louder than it truly was. I was scared. I was alone. I was bleeding.
The red seemed to seep into the floorboards, spreading throughout the room until the entire area smelled of iron and salt. Wrapping my arms around myself, I sat there, unblinking with my box in my lap, staring at the impenetrable object.
I wanted my pictures of my family. With slippery, crimson fingers, I fumbled with the latch once more to no avail. The memories eluded me.
A pale hand covered my own, and I trailed my gaze up the appendage and fixated them on a pair of bright blue eyes.
Airi smiled sadly, kneeling on the floor in front of me. She was dressed in jeans and a white blouse, an equally white ribbon tied in her dark black hair.
I told her that my blood would ruin her clothes, but she shook her head and told me it didn't matter.
She removed the box from my lap, setting it carefully on the floor beside her, and pulled me into her arms, curling up on the floor with me. I didn't remove my head from her shoulder, only allowed her to hold onto me. She was shaking.
I told her I was scared. She said she was, too.
My eyes trailed up to the mantle, to the owl that was keeping a silent vigil. The ticking had stopped.
The light was bright. Too bright. It didn't make sense, and it hurt my eyes. But then again, everything hurt, especially my left shoulder.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't look away. I couldn't even blink. I was frozen, caught in a moment too painful, too real to escape. Was this what death felt like? But there was supposed to be no pain in death. You weren't supposed to feel. So, I figured I wasn't dead.
But I wished I were.
The light went off, and I was engulfed in darkness once more. I sighed in relief. Maybe now I had passed on. Was I going to Paradise?
If I could conjure up my own form of Paradise, I wanted to go back to my house, the one I remembered, not the one I had just dreamed of. I missed my own bed, the couch in the living room, even the squeaky floorboards on the stairs.
My exhausted brain couldn't fully begin to comprehend what I had seen at the moment. My dreams were anything but random, and if I had one so strikingly vivid, it had to have meant something. But what?
"Have they received the results of the blood test yet? I think he's starting to come around."
I stiffened at the voice, releasing a small whine of pain.
"They should be here any minute." A different voice replied, a cold, hard male voice that sent a shiver of terror down my spine. Where was I? The last thing I remembered was running from Sasha in the woods. The rest was a blank slate. I wondered if my memory block was a blessing in disguise. Did I really want to know where I was? "I still think we should kill him before he wakes up completely. The shot to his shoulder did nothing but shock him into unconsciousness."
I was shot? It all began to come back slowly, and I was starting to feel more awake.
When my eyes focused, I realized I was inside a cage. The thick metal bars terrified me, because I'd always had problems with being confined in tight spaces. The room I was in was dark, but I could see light from underneath a closed door across the room. I was itching for my freedom, but I couldn't do anything locked inside this cage.
Two shadowy figures were standing together in a corner a few feet away from me, and I knew they must have been the ones that had spoken. A small growl escaped me, but neither turned to look. Perhaps they hadn't heard.
"I can't believe that idiot missed his heart." The cold voice said again. "He knows there's no room for error in situations like these."
"Jones said the wolf was blending in with the mud at the creek. He couldn't get a good visual on him."
"Seems like he can't get a good visual on anything these days. But, hey, can you believe that Quent Yaiden guy? What right did he have, coming in and bitching about shooting when there were people in the area?"
"He was looking for that kid, the one from Fairfield that got abducted a few weeks ago. That's the whole reason we went out into the woods, because that dog of his caught the kid's scent. If the boy dies, he doesn't get paid."
It no longer fazed me when I heard others talking about my disappearance. They didn't understand why I'd left, and they weren't worth my time anyway. It did give me some sense of satisfaction that they had no idea that the boy they were talking about was also the wolf in the cage before them.
But the feeling was short-lived, and as my shoulder throbbed with pain once more, I began to feel a little apprehensive. How was I going to get out of here? What was it that these people were going to do with me?
I didn't know what had happened to the others, if they knew what had become of me. Did they think I was dead? I wanted to be back with them badly, but I told myself that if they'd gotten away, I would be fine. As long as the others were safe, I had something to fight to get back to. I'd find a way out of this place.
Ignoring my aching body, I began to push myself into a sitting position. I kept my left leg elevated off the ground, because even though I had a high tolerance for pain, it still hurt a lot. The pain could've been crippling, and I saw white spots in my vision.
Pushing myself up on three legs, I gingerly put my injured paw down as well. It buckled underneath me instantly, and I fell with a yelp, smacking hard into the cold metal of the cage.
The man with the cruel voice laughed, and I glared over at his form, baring my teeth and releasing a weak snarl. "Shut up, you mutt." He snapped, kicking viciously at my cage.
"Oh, you better hope I never get out of this cage." I seethed, abandoning my attempts to stand.
That had been humiliating to say the least. I wasn't particularly violent, but in that moment, all I wanted was to sink my teeth into that guy's throat and never let go. I recoiled slightly at the thought, my head lowering in shame. How could I ever think about killing a person? Being a wolf was doing things to my mind that weren't exactly welcome. Would it always be like this?
"Just leave it alone." The other man said, and I decided I liked him, if only a little bit. His voice sounded warm, and he wasn't as malicious as his companion. "I'm not going to be help you if it attacks."
Cruel-Voice scoffed, and I caught a flash of dark hazel eyes. He stared down at me with nothing but hate, and I shrunk back in my metal prison, desperate to escape. "Yeah, right." He said dismissively. "This thing's a shrimp compared to the others we've seen. It'll go down in five seconds."
"You're such an ass." The other man sighed, and I lay there, eyes fixated firmly on the door in front of me. Sooner or later, they were going to unlock the cage, whether to kill me or move me to a new location, it didn't matter. The second I was able, I was going to make a run for it.
My ear twitched as a faint noise came from down the hall, and I slowly lowered my head to rest on the bottom of the cage as it got louder and louder, eventually stopping outside the door, causing a shadow to block some of the light.
The door opened with a bang and a man in a button-up shirt and slacks stepped into the room, turning on the light. He was carrying a clipboard, and for some reason the sight of it made my stomach churn uneasily. I blinked a few times to refocus my vision as the men started to talk amongst themselves.
"Why were the lights off?" The newcomer questioned, though he didn't sound particularly interested in their answer.
"It was bothering the wolf, I think." The nicer man explained, glancing over at me. I held his gaze, hoping that he would see the human in me. My ears lowered in disappointment when he looked away again. "He kept whimpering."
Cruel-Voice rolled his eyes while the newcomer inspected his clipboard, a slight frown on his face. "So, did the blood sample come back yet?"
"Yes. The blood we found on the wolf's body is that of the missing teen from Fairfield, Toboe Asher. Quent Yaiden's dog was following the boy's scent, and it led them into the woods earlier. We can only assume that this wolf here had a run in with the boy and the unthinkable happened."
A sense of melancholy fell upon the room, and I had to clench my teeth to keep from crying out in frustration. Of course the blood they'd found in my fur was mine! I was Toboe Asher, couldn't these morons see that? I knew I was being irrational. There was no way these men could have possibly known that the wolf before them was the missing teenager they were discussing.
As I noticed the looks the three of them were now sending my way, I felt a small twinge of fear. If they thought I was a wolf that had killed a human, they were going to get rid of me. That was how these things worked. An animal couldn't attack a human without paying the ultimate price.
"What's gonna happen to him?" Cruel-Voice demanded, jerking his head in my direction.
I listened closely as the man with the clipboard answered. "They've already decided to put him down. He's young, maybe two years old at the most, but they're certain he harmed the boy. They didn't find Toboe's body, so they're going to perform an autopsy, see if there's anything in this wolf's stomach that will shed some light on this situation."
Oh, God. With a cold feeling in my heart, I realized that they had every intention of killing me. I might have survived being shot, but euthanasia was something I couldn't escape from.
"What are you going to tell the police down in Fairfield?" The nice man inquired. "The boy's family?"
"Toboe Asher is most likely dead. There was too much blood in the wolf's fur. Even if he did manage to get away, he's probably died of blood loss by now."
"Well, don't you think the dog would've found his body?"
"That's the thing. She's the best of the best, but once she hit the creek, she lost the scent. It's puzzling to say the least. All we can do now is put this fellow down before he hurts someone else."
"Good riddance." Cruel-Voice grumbled. "One less menace to the world."
I let loose a small growl, a feeling of nausea coming over me. That guy had been right. I had lost too much blood, and I was starting to feel the effects. I didn't want to die, not now when I had so much to do. Everyone was counting on me to help save the world, to succeed where we'd failed the first time.
My mom was waiting for me to come back, Hiro, and Kato, and Airi too. I felt an overwhelming urge to see them once more, and I thought that desperation kept me from passing out completely.
"You can't kill me!" I cried, trying to struggle to my paws once more. They had to understand that this was a mistake! "I didn't kill Toboe, I am Toboe." The three men looked at me with looks that exhibited pity, annoyance, and resignation. I bared my teeth in frustration, leaning heavily against the bars on the side of the cage. "You'll mess everything up if you put me down!"
"He probably has a disease." The man with the clipboard said dismissively. "Maybe rabies. Come on. They'll be in with the serum in a few moments. We're wanted at headquarters to discuss the missing boy with Quent Yaiden."
"No, wait!" I cried as they all turned to leave, heading for the door at a pace much too fast for my liking. "Don't leave! You have to let me out!"
But my cries fell on deaf ears, and as quickly as the men had appeared, they were gone, turning off the light as they went, their footsteps echoing in the silent hallways outside.
A whine escaped me, and just like in my dream, I felt terribly alone and frightened. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. I'd come too far just to allow a little needle to stop me. But it wasn't the needle that frightened me. It was what was inside it that had the power to break me.
I threw myself against the side of the cage, baring my teeth as pain flooded my body. But I ignored it and rammed into the bars again and again, not stopping until my injured leg received the brunt of the bars' strength.
The pain-filled cry I emitted hurt even my own ears, and I wondered just how far it had carried. Stumbling back in the cage, I crouched low, eyes screwed shut as I tried to battle through the pain. I didn't know if there was still a bullet in my body, but it sure hurt like there was.
I released a shaky breath, and as the oxygen left my body, so did whatever fight had been left within me. I sunk down slowly, my back to the door as I tried to ignore the fact that my imminent death was fast approaching.
There was nothing I could do. I was injured and weak, unsure of this new body even if I had spent a few days in it already. I still couldn't even control my own tail.
When the stinging in my shoulder became nearly unbearable, I craned my neck to get a better look at it. Through the gloom, I could see the slight discoloration in my fur where it was darker around the wound. I wondered how the idiots who'd taken samples of blood from my fur hadn't noticed that it was actually coming from me.
I leaned forward slightly, sniffing at the wound carefully. The scent of iron made my head spin, reminding me of how I'd sat in my dream with that exact smell surrounding me on all sides, prepared to swallow me whole or drive me to the brink of insanity, perhaps both.
But my reaction now wasn't the same as it had been then. My nose twitched in interest, and I found myself leaning forward more until the tip of my nose was just barely touching my shoulder. Hesitantly, I licked at the wound, not expecting the fine tremble that worked its way through my body at my first real taste of blood.
I'd been extremely careful not to come into contact with the stuff, even when I killed squirrels for practice in the woods, and I felt disgusted that the taste of my own blood pulled such a reaction from me. I had to admit that it didn't taste as repulsive as I'd imagined, and the burning in my shoulder had ceased when I'd licked it, if only for a moment. But I couldn't bring myself to do it again and turned my head away, resting it on my paws instead.
I didn't know how long I was alone. The minutes seemed to pass by so slowly, my heart pounding almost painfully in my chest as I listened carefully to the sounds outside the room, waiting for the footsteps that signaled the approach of that dreaded syringe.
I wondered if death would be quick. Even if I'd experienced it before, I didn't remember it. I would've laughed if I were emotionally able. A bullet had done me in the first time around. I'd managed to escape with my life the second time, but that didn't really matter, now did it?
I hoped the others would take care of Snow, and if they didn't want to, they would at least take her back to Fairfield and give her to my mom. She was and always would be my best friend, no matter who I'd been in my previous life. I didn't wish she were with me, because that wasn't something I would wish upon anybody, no matter how much I longed for their presence.
I longed for my mom and my brothers and sister. I wanted my mom to sing to me in these last moments like she had when I was younger, when she tucked me in at night. I wanted Hiro to tell me to stop being a baby, that dying wasn't as terrifying as living in a world as terrible as this one. Kato wouldn't say anything, if he were here. He had been the stoic one. Out of the four of us, he'd always been the one that kept his cool in most situations, even if he was quicker to anger than Hiro.
I couldn't image what Airi would do. She was harder to predict than my brothers, always changing, just like the seasons. I yearned for the days I could hardly remember, back when I was younger and she would let me hold her hand when we went to the store or the park. I didn't know what she would do if she was here, but I did know that I would be comforted by her presence alone.
When the door opened, I didn't move. I only closed my eyes and waited for that sharp pain of the needle. I couldn't stop my body from tensing, even though I knew it would only make the initial injection more painful. Years of visits to the doctor's office told me that much.
The pain in my shoulder flared, but I ignored it. Blood was rushing in my ears, making it nearly impossible to hear, but I felt the vibrations of the footsteps moving closer to me. This was it.
But nothing happened. Slowly, my heart rate began to decrease, and the roaring in my ears died away. But I didn't dare more or open my eyes.
"You were a hard nut to crack, you know that, kid?"
My eyes shot open. I recognized that voice. I'd heard it over the television dozens of times in the past few weeks.
Quent Yaiden looked even more intimidating in person, with small, dark eyes and a hard jaw. He was easily six-feet tall, maybe even taller than Tsume when he was human.
At his side was the black lab that had sort of put me in this situation, brown eyes alert and curious. I stared at the both of them, more so at Quent than Sasha. I was afraid to speak. It seemed to me that he knew who I really was. But that didn't make sense, and I blamed my thoughts on my terror-induced state.
"You don't have to be afraid." I jumped slightly when Sasha spoke, moving forward slightly so she was only a few inches away from my cage. "We're here to help you, not harm you."
I couldn't contain my growl. "You chased me into the woods and got me shot. How was that helping me?"
"No one told you to run." She retorted, tail lashing through the air with annoyance. "Didn't you hear me calling for you?"
I felt extremely confused, but then my eyes widened in realization. I hadn't heard her calling out for me to stop. Before I got shot, I couldn't speak to animals at all. But I heard everything she was saying now perfectly. What had changed? A part of me wondered if it was the blood I'd tasted, if it had awakened the dormant wolf within me even further. I was going to have to ask Kiba later. If I ever saw him again, that is.
"No, I didn't hear you." I said uncertainly, pushing myself into a sitting position slowly, bowing my head so it didn't touch the top of the cage. "I – This is the first time I've ever spoken to an animal."
Sasha didn't seem surprised, only looked up at Quent. "I think he's okay to leave. We have to remove the bullet anyhow."
To my utter shock, Quent nodded, like he'd understood exactly what she'd said. "We don't have much time." He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. "I only managed to sidetrack those moron police long enough to get him out of here before they show up with the serum."
And before I knew what was happening, the retired police officer was unlocking my cage and opening the door. He reached in to grab the fur at the back of my neck to start pulling me out, and something clicked inside me.
His scent. It was everywhere.
I leaned forward slightly, sniffing at the air. There was a scent in the wind, one that I recognized, but I couldn't quite remember what or whom it belonged to.
I desperately wished it were Kiba's, although I knew it wasn't. We'd spent so long searching for him. I just wanted him safely back with us.
Hige glanced back at me irritably from where he sat in the snow, tugging restlessly at his collar. I ignored him in favor of trying to determine where the peculiar smell was coming from. It had gained my complete attention.
"What is it?" Tsume asked, hands in his pockets as he turned to see why I had stopped.
"I'm not sure." I replied, my eyes narrowing in thought at I stared through the falling snow. We'd been out here for so long in search of Kiba. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. "I smell a familiar scent."
"A familiar scent?" Tsume echoed incredulously as I bounded down the icy rocks, finally managing to pinpoint where the smell was coming from.
As I slid down the embankment, I spotted a body in the snow, and as I drew closer, I realized it was that man. The one who had tried to kill me so long ago, on the day I'd met Tsume. I felt no hostility as I knelt beside the unconscious human in the snow, reaching out with my hand to touch him, to see if he was okay, but I held back. I knew he didn't like wolves.
"It's him again." Tsume said from behind me, his voice holding a hint of distaste.
"His body's almost frozen." I said, gathering the nerve to touch the unconscious man's shoulder. It was true. I'd never felt anyone so cold before, except for Granny a few hours after she'd died.
"Just leave him." That was Hige. He'd obviously stopped wallowing in self-pity and had come over to investigate. I was overjoyed that he seemed to be feeling better, but I couldn't help but frown. "It's what he deserves."
I turned to look up at him, taking in the indifferent look on his face. "How could you say that knowing how important he is to Blue? If we don't do something he's going to die!"
Hige stared at me for a moment, face impassive, before turning away with a snort. I turned back to Pops, a certain sadness taking over me when I thought about the blue-eyed wolf dog.
"We couldn't do anything to save Blue either, remember?" I couldn't help but say it. I'd never been especially good at keeping my thoughts to myself. I knew we all felt guilty that Blue had been left behind, back in Jaguara's Keep. I didn't know what had happened to her, but as of now, it was all I could do to not assume the worst.
A low growl sounded from behind me, and suddenly Hige had me by the front of my shirt, brown eyes blazing with pain and rage as he reared his right arm back and punched me in the face.
I landed on the ground beside Pops' body with a pained grunt, the skin on my face stinging from both the cold and the force of Hige's punch. I scrambled backwards in the snow as Hige advanced once more, his eyes wild with anger and a raw pain I'd never seen him express before, but Tsume lunged forward and grabbed his collar before he could so much as take a step, jerking him back.
"Would you stop it?" Tsume snapped, yanking on Hige's collar once more for good measure before letting go completely. "Don't take it out on him."
As I pushed myself into a sitting position, gingerly cupping my cheek in my palm, I wasn't angry with Hige for hitting me. He'd been holding his sadness and anger at losing Blue and Kiba in for some time now. If lashing out at me helped him sort through whatever it was he was feeling, I would endure it.
"It didn't hurt too bad." I whispered when I saw the guilt appear on Hige's face, even though I could already feel the heat rising in my hand. There was surely going to be a bruise.
My words only made the look increase in intensity, but Hige clenched his jaw once more and turned to glare at Tsume. "We're looking for Kiba, right?" Tsume said nothing, only stared at him with a look I'd seen him give Kiba many times, usually when he thought he was out of his mind. "Then let's go."
And with that, Hige turned and walked away, hands stuffed in the pockets of his sweatshirt as he trudged through the snow, head bowed in a silent display of grief.
I pushed myself to my feet as Tsume watched him leave before turning to address me. "Toboe?"
"Why don't you go on ahead?" I said timidly, shifting my gaze to Pops once more. "I'll catch up with you."
"Don't come crying to me when he wakes up and shoots you!" Hige called over his shoulder, already starting to disappear over the snow-encrusted hill.
I tried not to flinch, because ever since my first encounter with Pops and Blue, being shot was my worst fear. But Hige didn't know that, so I couldn't blame him for bringing it up.
"Hey," Tsume said, carefully watching my face for any kind of reaction, "don't get too involved. He's a human, after all."
"Just go on." I urged, turning my back on him. They didn't understand what humans meant to me any more than they had on the day I'd first met them. I didn't really think they ever would. That's why I had liked Blue so much. She understood.
I didn't move until the sounds of Tsume and Hige's footsteps had faded into the distance, and even then I waited a few moments longer, just observing Pops. Then I shifted and crept forward on all fours, being careful not to approach too quickly in case I startled him into consciousness.
I lay down next to Pops slowly, heating him with my body, the cold snow seeping into my fur and chilling me almost to the bone, but I ignored my discomfort, because it was nothing compared to how Pops must've been feeling. I wondered if the cold reached him in his sleep. I certainly hoped not, and I pressed closer, just in case.
Suddenly, his arm moved, wrapping itself around my back. I recoiled in surprise when he started to groan but tried not to make a sound. Hige's words echoed in my mind, and I eyed the gun lying in the snow before me warily. Maybe I should've hid it before attempting something this bold.
"Oh, Blue – " I froze. Quent was speaking, still very much asleep yet somehow making his thoughts known. Did he really think I was Blue? "There you are, my good girl. Blue." He brought his other arm up to wrap around my body as well, hugging me close. I felt terrible for intruding on such a moment of weakness, but I knew it couldn't be helped. I just rested my head beside his and let him bask in the moment where he was reunited with her, even if it was a false dream. I hoped one day it would become reality. "I'm so sorry."
I blinked in surprise. I'd spent a lot of time with Blue, talked to her in ways I hadn't with Kiba or Hige or even Tsume. I knew she loved Pops a lot, but one of the things she'd said she detested about him was that he never apologized for anything.
Pops's eyes opened suddenly, and he looked straight at me, but somehow I knew that my face wasn't the one he was seeing. "Russe." He moaned pathetically, and I felt a tug at my heart.
Russe had been Blue's owner, Pops's son. She'd told me once that I looked a bit like him when I was human. I'd never been more sorry in my entire life. Pops clutched me even tighter, tears beginning to spill out of the corners of his eyes. On impulse, I leaned forward and licked them away, the salt tasting almost foreign on my tongue.
Alone in the snow with Pops, I felt sadder than I'd been in a very long time. He'd lost everything, his home, his family, and now Blue.
Before the moment I saw him cry, I viewed him as a bitter man that only cared about seeking out his revenge on wolves. But as he clung to me in the sheer cold, his tears dampening my fur at an alarming rate, I realized just how wrong we'd all been about him.
When I blinked next I was out of the cage, hoisted up in Quent Yaiden's arms as he carried me out of the dark room, Sasha in tow. "Pops." I whispered uncertainly, my head rested neatly in the crook of his arm.
His stride faltered slightly, but he didn't stop moving. "Haven't been called that in a long while." His gruff voice said from above.
I blinked lethargically, my eyes trained lazily on Sasha who was walking beside Quent, staring up at me with caring eyes. "How can you – "
"How can I understand you?" He interrupted me, glancing down a hall warily before turning the corner. The smell of the outdoors was overwhelming at best, and I itched to be out in the night air. My fur was practically prickling with want. "They inject us with wolf blood at the WRA. Donated, of course. There's something about it that allows humans to speak to animals. Comes in handy in situations like these."
I heaved a giant sigh, too tired to worry over how he'd basically just told me he worked for the Wolf Recovery Association and had all along. It didn't make sense, but then again nothing really did anymore. I was going to have to learn to take things as they were before I eventually died of shock instead of a lethal injection.
And then suddenly the cool air of the building was gone, replaced with the warmth of the night air, muggy with the promise of rain. I lifted my gaze to the sky, taking in the full moon. On nights like these, Hige was at his best, joking and playing like the wolf I knew he really was. I wanted to see him so badly right then, Tsume, Kiba, Snow, and Chezam too.
"Sasha, have you been able to locate the others?" Quent said after a few minutes of walking.
"Their scent was stale when I checked the creek." Sasha's voice replied, and I realized I liked the sound of it. It was warm and smooth and deep, almost soothing my exhausted mind to the point where I thought I would fall asleep listening to it. "I howled but didn't receive a response. The youngsters didn't listen when I called for them to stop either. There's no excuse for it, unlike in Toboe's case. They should be reprimanded."
Quent chuckled. "I'll leave that to you, old girl."
Listening to the two exchange dialogue so easily, I couldn't help but feel intimidated. These two were so comfortable with each other, something I'd only experienced with Snow. Never had I seen a human and an animal so close.
I couldn't help but wonder what exactly they were going to do with me now that they'd liberated me from my death prison. Were they still taking me home? Would they bring me to the others? I didn't know what their role was in this situation, and I was desperate to find out. But first, I needed to figure out where they were taking me.
When the abandoned building first came into view, I didn't know what to think. I was appreciative, because I didn't exactly want to be around humans at the moment, yet I was also terrified, because they could kill me just as easily as those men could have.
But Quent carried me into the building silently, Sasha closing the door with her head behind him, and set me down on a bed of blankets that seemed odd in such a desolate place. The rafters above me were old, termite-worn, and littered with cobwebs. The sound of scuffling sounded from somewhere – everywhere, really – and my stomach growled loudly when I realized they were most likely rats.
Quent lit a lantern in the middle of the room, taking off his long coat and throwing it to the floor, rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. Sasha grabbed the coat in her jaws and carried it over to the door, placing her front paws on the wall and standing tall on her back ones as she somehow maneuvered it onto an ancient-looking hook on the wall.
I watched in fascination. "Cool trick."
She turned to regard with me with brown eyes hardened from the weight of her job, yet softened with age. "You learn a thing or two under the instruction of a mess of a human like Quent." She replied, trotting over to sit beside me. "I've been hanging up his coats for nearly eight years."
Quent snorted, digging around in a black bag with his back to us. For some reason, I was worried he was going to pull out a gun. "How does his wound look, Sasha?"
I whined as the older dog leaned down to sniff at my shoulder, licking it experimentally just as I had done.
"It's not infected, thank goodness. The bullet that idiot of a man shot only grazed his shoulder bone, I think. You'll need to use hydrogen peroxide, maybe apply some Neosporin as well." She replied, eyes darkening with worry for a moment before she met my gaze and realized just how terrified and confused I felt. "You'll be fine, I promise. You'll be back with your buddies in no time, little one."
"What's going on?" I asked, starting to feel alert enough to voice all my questions. "What happened?"
"You mean at the creek?" Sasha inquired as Quent moved towards us with a roll of bandages, a dark brown bottle, and a small pink one, kneeling down on the floor before me. "Well, when I caught up with you, you were rolling around in the mud trying to mask your scent, I presume. It was a nice trick, but my nose is sharper than that, even if I'm not as young as I used to be. But before Quent showed up, one of the resident policemen here took aim at you and fired. But like I said, the bullet only grazed your shoulder. Your little camouflage stunt worked well in your favor."
"If it only grazed me, why'd I pass out?" I asked, yelping as Quent began to dab at my shoulder wound with a cotton ball doused in what I assumed was hydrogen peroxide.
Sasha crouched down near my head, her tail thumping on the floor as she leaned forward to rasp her tongue over my ear soothingly. I felt my own tail hit the floor in response, and this time I welcomed the unplanned movement.
"I shot you with a tranquilizer." Quent answered for her this time, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he worked on treating my wound. "I figured knocking you out would make the others assume you were dead. They're paranoid when it comes to injuries of any kind in this time."
I didn't say anything for a moment, only watched as Sasha looked at Quent with a look in her eyes that vaguely resembled annoyance. As I pieced together what he'd just said, I started to feel angry.
"Wait, you planned for this to happen?" I demanded. "You wanted them to think I was dead? Why?"
"Because I've been chasing after you for weeks now, Toboe." Quent said, sounding extremely irritated. "You getting shot was never the plan, but I guess it worked well in our favor."
"What he means to say is that we had to get you away from your friends briefly." Sasha cut in. "They don't exactly trust the WRA, and we never would've been able to talk with you if they were around."
"I can see why they don't trust them." I said, my voice sounding harsher than I intended. I blamed it on pain and exhaustion.
They didn't say anything, and the silence in the small building went undisturbed apart from my occasional pain-filled yelps as Quent continued to treat my wound. Eventually, he was pleased with the way it looked and wrapped the gauze around the top of my leg, pinning it together with a safety pin. I was lucky the bullet had grazed just below the joint, otherwise it would've been difficult to dress the injury.
"Contrary to whatever Kiba, Hige, and Tsume want to believe," Quent said once he'd pulled away, fixing me with a hard look, "we're not out to get them."
"Okay, I'm confused." I said, starting to get to my paws, but Sasha placed her paw on my side and held me down, giving me a warning growl that I dared not ignore. "I thought you were following us to take me back home, not talk to me about WRA matters."
"I've been a member of the WRA since I was your age, kid." Quent said. "Being a police officer was just a side job. When Katoba contacted me and said we had a runaway Wolf of Legend on our hands, it was my job to track you down before someone else did."
"Officer Katoba's a part of the WRA, too?" I asked. It was surprising to say the least.
The man had been Airi's parole officer since the day she'd started getting into trouble. I respected him for trying to keep my sister on the straight and narrow, and now that I knew how involved he was with the wolves, that respect had only multiplied.
Quent nodded, looking a bit reminiscent. "He and I trained together. But that's neither here nor there. There is a reason we've been so relentless in locating you, Toboe."
"Do you remember?" I interrupted him, anxiously awaiting his answer. His reaction when I'd called him Pops was a good enough answer, but I wanted to know if I'd just imagined it. "Do you remember how it was… before?"
The older man looked down at me, almost looking sad for a moment. I thought back to how he'd looked in my memory, lost and fragile out in the snowstorm. I didn't remember how he'd gotten out there, but it would eventually come in time.
"Yes, I remember." He said eventually. "It's part of the reason why they sent me after you and not someone else. I knew you before, and I spent a good amount of time tracking you. I knew how the four of you moved and operated. Nothing's changed, really."
I heard what he didn't say. I'd gathered enough to know that Blue was a desired aspect to our lives. Even if I didn't know much about her, I kept finding myself longing for her presence. I knew from that single memory alone that Blue had meant a lot to Quent Yaiden. It probably hurt him just as much as it did Hige that she wasn't around.
"They knew you were a wolf from the moment you were born, you know." Quent said suddenly, seemingly drifting to a random topic. "The doctors at the hospital in Fairfield are trained to look for signs. Babies that are born healthy but don't cry are normally wolves. You and your sister have been heavily monitored since the day you were born."
I stared up at him in shock, because there was no way he'd said what I thought he had. Airi was a wolf, too? "Your neighbor, Mrs. Pennon, was assigned to watch over the both of you as you grew up and look for signs that your dormant wolf sides were resurfacing." He continued, leaving me with little time to come to terms with it. "Airi started getting aggressive when she started sixth grade, and she's been under heavy surveillance ever since. You on the other hand showed no signs of unlocking your true form. It wasn't until you ran away that we even considered the possibility that you knew more than you were letting on."
"I didn't know a thing until a few days ago." I said lowly, my eyes beginning to droop as Sasha continued to lick me in a soothing manner. I was going to fall asleep any second if she didn't stop, but I couldn't bring myself to move.
Quent nodded, pulling his bag closer to his side as he began to dig through it. "But as I was saying before, the main reason we've been trailing you was to give you this."
I forced my eyes to open fully to see just what I was being presented with. It was just a small, white bottle. It looked like medicine, but that didn't make much sense. Why would he be giving me medicine?
I jolted in place, instantly awake. "Hige!"
Quent nodded, and Sasha ceased in her licking, looking rather somber. "I can only imagine how bad he's gotten since you left Fairfield." Sasha said softly. "It's been at least six months since he last took it."
"It's called Risperdal Levodopa." Quent added, eyeing the bottle with distaste. "A counteractive drug that treats his Parkinson's as well as keep his hallucinations and memories in check. I brought it with me because you won't be able to continue with your mission if Hige shuts down along the way."
"Shuts down?" I echoed, my voice trembling. "What does that mean?"
"Don't worry about that now." Sasha said gently. "You'll never see it happen so long as you take Hige this medicine."
"He won't do it." I said urgently. I'd loathed the medication after I learned what it did to Hige, but now it seemed to be the only thing that would save his sanity. No amount of prodding I did would make him think otherwise. "He's too proud to do it, and Kiba doesn't like him taking it. He won't do anything without Kiba's consent."
Quent scoffed, tossing the pill bottle back into his bag unceremoniously, making me wince. "Kiba is detrimental to Hige's health. Sure, he helps him through the attacks, but pretty soon they'll get so violent that even Tsume won't be able to get through to him. Taking him out of Fairfield was both the best and worst thing they could've done. In Fairfield, there are people who are advocating for his death, yet they have the medicines to keep him as healthy and safe as possible. Out here, he's under more stress and anything can set him off, but he's also not under pressure like he is in the city."
"You seem to know a lot about him."
"Protecting the four of you has been my job since the day Kiba was born." Quent told me. "I know everything there is to know."
That didn't sound as creepy to me as I thought it should have. In fact, I trusted him more now that he'd told me all this. He'd lived through everything we had. He understood what it was like to be reborn and have to figure out who you were, something I was still trying to find out.
"Our time here is running out, Toboe." Sasha said. "You need to get back to the others before they get too far away to hear your howl."
I lowered my eyes. "I can't howl."
She looked startled. "What do you mean?"
"Kiba said I couldn't howl if I'm not in touch with my wolf side. I've tried before and… well, it isn't pretty."
Sasha looked to Quent for confirmation, and he nodded, looking thoughtful.
"Well, we'll just have to help you with that." He said eventually, gathering his things and hefting the bag over his shoulder, turning to the door and grabbing his coat. "Sasha, help Toboe up. We're going to the park."
The walk to the park was by far one of the most painful things I'd ever lived through. The bullet had clipped bone even if it hadn't lodged itself into my leg. Sasha reminded me that if I kept walking on it, it would be just as effective as going through physical therapy as a human. I just couldn't exert myself too much.
The trip took longer than necessary, what with my slow, limping gate, but eventually the swing sets in the park came into view. I was panting heavily when Quent finally stopped walking, setting down his bag and turning to face us. "Alright, Sasha. You're up."
Sasha woofed softly under her breath, looking at me with dark eyes that twinkled in the moonlight. "Alright, Toboe, sit down."
And I did so without question, grateful for the chance to rest. I hoped I wouldn't be like this for long. It would be such an inconvenience to us if I couldn't travel more than a few miles a day without the car. "Take a deep breath, and close your eyes." The black lab instructed, and again, I listened obediently.
My ears twitched as I took in the sounds around me, from the locusts in the trees to the frogs croaking in the creek deeper in the woods. The dull throb in my leg was an ever-present nuisance in my mind, but I tried to fight through it.
"Now think about what you love most."
I opened my eyes. "What?"
Sasha reached up to scratch at her collar with her hind leg vigorously, which was the first animalistic gesture she'd made all night. "I don't think you're in touch with what you really are yet. If you think about all the things you love, the things you'll do anything to protect, I think you should be able to pull a howl out. Just try it."
I nodded, taking another deep breath and closing my eyes. Where to start? I had so many people in my life that I cared for, that I was saving the world for.
My mother, for starters. She never knew about what I was, and I hoped with everything I had that she would still love me once this was over, once I told her what I was.
Hiro and Kato needed a chance to get better, which was another reason why I was doing this. The both of them were capable of so much more than what they had become, and when I went home – if I went home – I was going to say so, even if I got shoved into the fireplace again.
I had to get back to the others, not just because I missed being in their presence, but so I could give Hige his medicine. There was no doubt in my mind he wouldn't be able to hang on much longer without it, and I was going to make him and Kiba see reason with a little help from Sasha and Quent.
Snow… well, I loved her for obvious reasons. My best friend, my confidant, my pet. She was the most valuable thing I possessed, and the sorrow that overcame me when I was in the cage at the thought of never seeing her again seemed so unjustified now. I would always find my way back to her, to all of them.
I felt a pang in my chest as I thought about Airi. Did my sister know about what we were? I hadn't asked Quent when he'd told me, but I was curious.
How would she take it, knowing that she was actually a completely different species if you looked underneath her human appearance? Her sudden change in attitude once she'd hit adolescence made so much more sense now, though I wished she were just as she'd been when we were kids, all happy smiles and giggles.
I thought about my dream, how she'd been there for me when I was alone in our house. I was desperate to get back to her, to tell her how much I loved her, even if she punched me for saying so.
They all needed to know how I felt about them, even if they had made my life a living hell for the past couple of years. I loved them all. I was doing this for them.
And all the emotions from the past couple hours just burst inside me, and before I knew what was going on, a howl pierced the night air.
It was by far the saddest, loneliest thing I'd ever heard in my life, and I knew without a doubt that it was mine. It was like a part of myself that I knew and understood thoroughly, and I was practically mesmerized by the sound.
It seemed to explain my entire personality in one single, never-ending note, how alone I'd been in the years I'd spent in Fairfield and how much I'd missed this side of myself, even if I couldn't remember it.
And with the moon as my witness, I accepted it. I wanted to be that wolf from the legend. I wanted to be able to run through the trees for hours on end, to hunt and kill and not be disgusted by the taste of blood. I admitted in that howl that being a human wasn't all it was cracked up to be. There was so much to worry about, jobs, money, annoying social groups at school.
There was still a social hierarchy within the life of a wolf, but it wasn't as tense or forced. We were a family, Kiba, Hige, Tsume and I. We always had been, even when we were apart, and we always would be, and I refused to let that go.
I didn't stop until I'd run out of breath, still tired from my walk over here. Sasha looked awe-struck and a little sad, turning to share a look with Quent. I stared at the grass beneath my paws with buzzing eyes, listening and hoping, praying that I would receive an answer. The locusts had fallen silent in the woods, as had the frogs, and I wondered if it was because of me.
Then, in the distance, a single howl sounded, and it wasn't my echo.
I got to my paws hastily, unable to keep still. With a happy yip, I realized I recognized that howl, even if I'd never heard it before.
It was strong and proud, just like its owner, yet had an air of gentleness that only a few others aside from myself ever heard. Two more howls joined Tsume's, one rich and collected while the other was light and heavy at the same time, a baritone of pain and happiness that I instinctively knew Hige had never had before, yet it seemed to fit him nevertheless.
I tipped my head back and howled again, letting them know that I was indeed still alive and was waiting for them to come get me. I was practically shaking on my paws with the urgency I now felt.
I thought they arrived rather quickly for having sounded so far away. Hige appeared first, a giant ball of fur that burst from the trees like a bear on the warpath, amber eyes bright as he tore across the clearing towards me.
I didn't even have a chance to take one step forward before he was barreling into me, pushing me down onto the grass with a force that nearly knocked the breath right out of me.
"Toboe, you're alive!" He cried, his voice sounding so wrecked and joyful that I probably would've cried if I were able.
"Of course I'm alive." I said, rolling away from him playfully and jumping to my paws before crouching down, letting loose a playful growl. "A silly little bullet isn't going to take me down so easily."
Hige looked about ready to burst, bumping his head into my side as I jumped around him, the pain in my leg forgotten. I was suddenly reminded of how Toboe had greeted me when I went to Paradise to reunite with him. It had been a little bit like this. And I was even happier at that realization, because it made me feel all the more closer to him.
I turned back to the trees, waiting for Tsume and Kiba to make an appearance, but they were already there, watching the two of us silently. They were far more composed than Hige was, observing me quietly as if they couldn't really believe I was there.
I dropped to the ground completely, startling Hige a bit at my sudden display of submission. I didn't really know what I was doing. I just let my instincts do the talking, because I'd been fighting against them for far too long.
Hige seemed to understand what was going on, for he backed away slowly, head and tail low although I knew he was still giddy with excitement. I stayed still as Kiba moved forward first, just as the pack leader should, yellow eyes sharp as he stood over me. I was all too happy to stay completely still as Kiba sniffed at me curiously, mostly at my wounded shoulder.
"They could've killed you." He said lowly.
I nodded, lowering my eyes to his mud-stained paws. "I know, and I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect everyone."
Kiba huffed, pressing his nose to my shoulder briefly before pulling away, eyes shining with relief. "You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know."
Hige huffed from behind me, and I felt a grin coming on, even if I couldn't express it in this body. Instead, I finally stood up, pushing my head into Kiba's chest with just enough force to make him stumble back a bit.
He returned the gesture almost as enthusiastically as Hige had, butting his head into mine and circling around my body critically, probably looking for more wounds that weren't as obvious to him. I grew anxious as Tsume remained silent, moving closer but never saying anything.
"Sorry I tricked you." I said rather pathetically.
His ear twitched. "Just don't do it again."
I inwardly relaxed, hearing everything that he wouldn't allow himself to say. My second near-death experience had rattled everyone, but I could see how bothered Tsume still was by the entire thing. I felt guilty for putting them through so much, but some good had come out of it.
"What happened?" Hige asked me, pushing his nose into my cheek to grab my attention. "How did you – what happened?"
"I got shot." I breathed, watching as they all tensed up, reliving a memory that I still couldn't recall. "But it wasn't too bad, just a scratch."
"Then why did you look so dead?"
"Quent shot me with a tranquilizer." I said uneasily, unsure of how they would receive this news. "But he rescued me from being euthanized, you guys."
The three of them turned their attention to Quent and Sasha, who had gone unnoticed in the time they'd been here. Sasha's eyes flashed dangerously as Tsume growled low in his throat, and she let loose a growl of her own, hackles high as she positioned herself between us and Quent, ready to defend him with her life.
I barely stifled a distressed whine as I watched. I didn't want to watch them fight, not when Quent and Sasha had rescued me from being killed and treated my wound.
"She taught me how to find my howl." I said urgently, hoping to lessen the hostility some. "Without her, I never would've been able to call for you guys."
Tsume stopped growling, as did Sasha a moment later, but no one moved. They didn't know the whole story like I did. Quent and Kiba stared one another down for what seemed like an eternity before Kiba spoke.
"So, you work for the WRA?" Somehow he'd been able to piece together what I hadn't.
Quent nodded. "I've been your guardian of some sorts for years now, always in the shadows."
Kiba's tail lashed through the air. "I saw you on the streets on the day we heard Cheza's voice. You didn't seem to recognize me back then."
"I was undercover. Your brother was rather clear with his instructions, Kiba."
I inwardly winced, because Dante was a touchy subject for Kiba and Hige. Quent wasn't helping his case by bringing him up. And why were they all acting like this? Hadn't Quent been an ally of ours before? I remembered how hostile Hige had been in my memory, but hadn't things changed? Or was it just because of his association with the WRA? Did their hatred for the organization really stretch that far?
Kiba considered Quent's words for a few more moments, eyes still narrowed in hostility. "Thank you for helping Toboe when I couldn't." He said eventually, his stiff posture loosening.
Quent and Sasha relaxed as well. "It was my pleasure." Quent replied sincerely.
Tsume huffed, standing at his full height. "It's your fault Toboe died in the first place."
I froze, having forgotten the circumstances under which I'd been shot. Quent was the man I'd died protecting. I still didn't understand my reasoning, whether it had been for Blue or my own connection with the man, but I didn't really care.
"I don't regret it." I said softly when anger and guilt flashed across Quent's face. "I'd gladly do it again."
Hige pressed against my side, a comforting presence in the tense moment. At that point, all I wanted was to go to sleep.
Tsume glanced back at me over his shoulder, his eyes unreadable, before turning back to face Quent.
"Look," Quent said eventually, running a hand over his face in exasperation, "I didn't come here to fight with you two. I'm only making a delivery."
"What kind of delivery?" Hige inquired, and I pulled away from him, staring up at his face.
"Your medicine." I said slowly, watching as Hige's eyes widened a fraction. The fear I saw in them was impossible to ignore. "Hige, I know you – "
"Can we not talk about this now?" He cut me off, backing away from me a bit. "I'm happy for a change."
I bit my tongue, instantly regretting it when my sharp teeth pierced the flesh. Well, that was one tick I was going to have to get over soon.
"And Toboe's shoulder will need to be tended to everyday for the next week or so." Quent said, gesturing to the black bag on the ground. "Everything you need is in there."
Kiba nodded slowly, looking slightly suspicious but not voicing it. "Alright."
"And here." Quent said, fishing around in the pocket of his jacket and pulling out a set of keys. "It was Dante's understanding that you found Cheza. He said you'll be needing a bigger car if you want to get around, plus the police know what your old one looks like. It's in the hotel parking lot. It's safe to go get it by now."
"Great." Hige muttered. "A present from Dante. I just hope it isn't a pedophile van."
Kiba turned into a human and walked toward Quent, followed closely by Tsume, and I took measurements of the man's height. Quent and Tsume were about the same height, just as I'd predicted.
Sasha stood rigid as they came closer, but at the signal from Quent, she fell back without protest. Tsume took the keys while Kiba grabbed the bag, offering Quent his hand.
After a moment, the older human shook it. "I'll try and keep the police force off your guys' tail." He said, moving past Kiba and Tsume with Sasha at his heels. "Just try to not get yourselves killed."
Sasha gave me a warm look as she passed. "Don't stay away from Fairfield too long, Toboe. Your family misses you."
I leaned forward and touched my nose to hers. " Thank you, Sasha."
She nodded, turning a hardened gaze to Hige. "Take care of yourself, don't do anything moronic, and make sure Toboe doesn't get hurt again, understood?"
Hige chuckled, licking her ear in the same way she had done to me back at the abandoned building. "Yes, Mom."
"Mom?" I echoed as Quent and Sasha walked away.
Hige watched them leave, his eyes mostly on Sasha. "She was kind of like a surrogate mother to me when I first got to the WRA. She was the only one that would put up with my outbursts aside from Kiba."
I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. I could picture Sasha being that motherly figure to Hige. She had a sense of humor but was still professional in every sense of the word. She could certainly be that rock Hige needed.
"I'm so glad you're okay." Hige breathed eventually, turning to look at me once more. "I thought you were – It was terrible. Snow was devastated."
"I can imagine." I said sadly, itching to get back to her so she would know I was okay. "Where is she?"
"She stayed up in the hills with Cheza." Kiba replied as he and Tsume moved closer to us. "Hige, you and Toboe stay here. Tsume and I are going to go see what's up with this new car situation."
"Dante probably put a tracker in it." Tsume said, and I noticed the bags under his eyes for the first time that night. I wondered if I had caused that.
"Fine, we'll stay put." Hige said as they started to move away. "It's not like we have anywhere to go."
I huffed, butting my head into Hige once more in jest, still elated that I was with them once more. Now that I had accepted who I was – or at least I hoped I had – did that mean I could change into a human again?
I wanted to test it out, but I was far too comfortable in my own fur at the moment. Maybe I'd turn human tomorrow.
"Toboe."
I froze, as did Hige, but Kiba and Tsume kept walking as if nothing had happened. Cheza was only speaking to the two of us.
"What is it, Cheza?" Hige whispered.
"This One found Blue."
Hige was racing across the clearing so quickly it took me a moment to realize he'd moved. I called his name as I ran after him, into the trees and undergrowth, dodging this way and that as I struggled to keep up with him, the pain in my shoulder flaring to nearly intolerable levels.
"Please." I heard Hige say from ahead of me, a never-ending mantra of hope that I prayed was well earned.
Cheza had no reason to lie, but for Hige's sake, I really hoped she had found our missing pack member. I wasn't sure what to think of this new development. One minute I was being prepped for death, and the next Cheza qas saying she found Blue. It seemed so random to me, but I wasn't going to question it. I would never question anything that made Hige so happy.
Hige skidded to a halt all of a sudden, and I almost ran straight into him. Peering around Hige's frozen form, I gazed into the clearing with wide eyes.
Cheza was standing in the middle of the grass, and with her was a girl I'd never seen before. She had a striking resemblance to Airi, with long back hair and blue eyes. She looked to be maybe my age and was wearing a black jacket over a maroon wife-beater and a black ruffled skirt that stopped a few inches above the knee. She had on a pair of black combat boots that looked like something Airi would wear, and a ribbon that resembled her shirt was tied in her hair like a headband.
Cheza turned to face us, as did the girl, and I watched in fascination as her eyes widened at the sight of us.
"Blue." Hige whispered hoarsely.
The girl's eyes filled with tears, and she ran across the clearing toward us, her feet hardly making a sound as she moved. I watched her approach, excited for Hige's sake, because I knew he'd missed Blue more than all of us combined. This could very well be the cure to his illness that we'd been waiting for.
But the girl didn't stop when she reached Hige, and I could only yelp in surprise as she fell to her knees in front of me and threw her arms around my neck, burying her face in my fur.
I blinked in confusion, meeting Hige's shocked gaze over the girl's shoulder. "Um, Blue?" I tested the name out, just to see if she remembered. "Are you okay?"
The girl pulled away, her bright blue eyes wide with happiness, sadness, anger, and urgency. "What?" She said, tilting her head in a manner I found both foreign and familiar. "Don't you recognize me, Toboe? It's me, Snow."
A.N. Okay, I promise this will be the last cliffhanger of this story (let's see how long that'll last.) I think I kept Blue's identity a secret long enough. Did anyone see that coming? I know most you thought it was Airi. Thanks to everyone that reviewed!