The Timber Effect

by Jacklyn Reynolds

  "So what happened?"

  "We fought. It turns out that he was a werewolf and he was responsible for the death of my parents. He was trying to kill me."

  "Are you alright?"

  "I'm not dead am I?" stated Timber. "Aunt Grace and Emily came through the door and Greg went for them. I - I tried to kill him."

  "You what?"

  "I tried to kill him," said Timber. "He wouldn't die. Aiyanna finished him off in the end."

  What she had done finally sunk in as she heard the words escape from her mouth. She began to shake and cry and Xianna held her tightly. Timber saw the fear on Xianna's face as she took in the fact that her best friend had almost committed murder.

  "Xianna, you don't have to be my friend anymore if you don't want to," said Timber. "I'll understand."

  "What are you talking about?" asked Xianna looking at Timber as though she had lost her mind. "I'm not going anywhere."

  "But, if Haven is losing control of the borders being my friend isn't safe anymore," said Timber urgently. "My parents got me out of Haven but it seems that Haven has found me."

  "Again, I'm not going anywhere," said Xianna. "You're my best friend and I love you."

  "Thank you, Xianna." Timber ran her hand through her hair. "So, do you want to help me get my mind off of all of this and get some wedding planning done?"

  "Sounds perfect."

  Timber and Xianna sat on the bed with Timber's laptop, looking at bridal bouquets and picking out music for the reception. They dug through Timber's immense music library and picked out a wide variety from George Strait to Eminem to Guns N' Roses. They sat together for an hour until Xianna had to leave for work.

  "Do you want me to walk you to your car?" asked Timber.

  "I'm alright," said Xianna. "I'll see you tomorrow. Try to be there for the whole day, okay?"

  Timber laughed.

  "I'll try."

  Xianna left the room and a minute later she heard the front door open and close. Timber just closed her laptop when she heard Xianna scream. Timber bolted out of her room and down the stairs as fast as she could go. She threw open the front door to find Xianna fighting against her father, who was trying to pull her into his car. Timber made a move but then she spotted Henry, who was only a few feet away. Henry went up behind Mr. Greydlan and...

  CRACK!

  Henry struck Mr. Greydlan with such force that he let go of Xianna and flew ten feet into the side of his car, leaving a large dent in the process. The back passenger door folded in half from the impact and Mr. Greydlan fell to the sidewalk in a heap. Xianna ran straight to Timber who held her protectively in her arms. Timber looked away from Xianna and up at Henry. His face was twisted with rage as he lifted Xianna's father off of the ground and if he were only a featherweight and threw him on the grass.

  "Don't you ever come anywhere near her again," growled Henry.

  Timber had never seen Henry in a real temper before. The look on his face was worse than it had been when he fought with Greg. His anger frightened her and she understood then what made him a good soldier. Henry knelt over Mr. Greydlan with his hand covering his throat.

  "If you do, I will personally see to it that you permanently lose the ability to walk. Am I clear?"

  Mr. Greydlan nodded soundlessly and stumbled to his feet. He got into his severely dented car and sped away. As soon as he was out of sight, Henry looked at Timber and Xianna only to find Xianna looking at Henry with wide, fearful eyes. Henry sat down on the grass with his arm resting on his raised knee. He covered his face with his hand and exhaled heavily.

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper," sighed Henry.

  "That - you - I - " stuttered Xianna. "Thank you."

  "You didn't have to," said Timber. "I could have -"

  "I know, but I lost control," said Henry, sounding upset with himself. "I didn't want him to hurt you."

  "Why?" asked Xianna. "I'm not Timber."

  "You're her best friend," said Henry. "She loves you. I care about you too because, in a way, you're an extension of Timber. I also consider you to be my friend."

  "I'm glad you're with Timber," said Xianna. "You're perfect for each other." Timber and Henry looked at each other and smiled. Then Timber squeezed Xianna tightly. "I wonder," Xianna added, "what you would do if someone did that to Timber."

  "Firstly, I don't think any normal person could pick Timber up off the ground. She'd tear them to shreds. If Timber was unable to defend herself, whoever attacked her wouldn't survive. I doubt I could hold myself back if something happened to her."

  "Wait, that was holding back?" asked Xianna and Henry nodded.

  "You weren't that angry when you were fighting Greg," Timber pointed out."I was prepared," said Henry. "I've fought other werewolves before. I also had time to gain control of myself. Though, to be honest, if he didn't keep healing, I would have killed him after he threw you. I spent enough time as a soldier to do it easily. With Xianna's father, I knew what he wanted and I was not going to let it happen. He's human though, and that means his life is not mine to take."

  "Thank you, Henry," said Xianna.

  "Xia, don't you have to get to work?" asked Timber.

  "Oh my God!" cried Xianna. She leaped to her feet and ran to her car without saying goodbye. Timber held Henry's hand as Xianna rounded the corner.

  "Thank you for saving Xianna," said Timber

  ."You're welcome."

  "You know, you couldn't have done that if you were purely human," Timber pointed out.

  "You're still against me becoming fully human again aren't you."

  "I'm asking you to weigh the pros and cons," said Timber. "Who's going to open the pickle jar for me if you're a human?" she added teasingly. Henry laughed heartily.

  "I guess you're going to go hungry."

  Timber grinned.

  "No, I won't. I'm an excellent hunter."

  Henry was sitting in his favorite reclining chair in his small living room. He was enjoying his quiet Friday night alone with a classic, black and white horror movie and a bowl of apple and cranberry salad when he heard someone banging frantically on his front door. He jumped slightly at the noise, but when he paused the movie, he heard a soft, panicked voice sobbing his name.

  "Timber?" said Henry to himself.

  He turned off the movie, put his salad aside, got up and opened the door. He was alarmed to see Timber looking completely frazzled and frightened. Her mascara and eyeliner were running, her eyes were bloodshot and her whole body was trembling and sweaty. She was hunched over as though she were in pain and her breathing was erratic.

  "Timber? What's wrong?"

  Timber didn't say a word. Instead, she collapsed into him, sobbing desperately. Henry was terrified. He had never seen Timber like this. She smelled strongly of blood and smoke. As he helped her to the couch, he saw a large amount of blood on her hands and arms. He sat her down on the couch and went to get a warm wet rag to clean the blood off of her hands. Henry sat down beside her and gave her the rag. She cleaned her skin and put the rag on the coffee table.

  "What happened, Timber?"

  "I got into a huge fight with Emily," said Timber. Despite her body shaking so badly, her voice was quite steady. "We were all having dinner and talking about Emily's plans for the summer after our wedding. She wants to go with her friend to San Francisco for a few days. Somehow the conversation changed and Uncle Chad said that when he was gone, he wanted Aunt Grace to start dating again. Emily wasn't happy. She said that Aunt Grace would be betraying Uncle Chad. Aunt Grace started crying and Uncle Chad got quiet. I reminded Emily that if that is what Uncle Chad and Aunt Grace wanted, then that was okay. Emily started yelling at me. She was saying things like 'You don't care; they're not your parents'."

  "Why would she say something like that?" asked Henry.

  Henry had known Timber's cousin as long as he had known his fiancé. Emily had always viewed Timber as a big sister and she knew that Timber viewed her as a little s
ister. Grace and Chad had been a second set of parents to Timber so Henry was in complete disbelief at Emily's remark.

  "I have no idea what happened," said Timber, pushing her hair back. "Aunt Grace and Uncle Chad left the room in tears and Emily kept shouting at me for an hour. Then she picked up my phone and threw my phone against the wall when I told her that Aunt Grace should be allowed to start over with someone new if Uncle Chad was okay with it."

  "I thought I heard arguing. But dinner at your aunt's house is always at six," said Henry. "It's after eleven. Why are you still so upset?"

  "Grace got a call from the hospital an hour and a half after the fight started," said Timber. "She's Xianna's emergency contact. Xianna was rushed to the emergency room. Her father got to her again while Orion and his fiancé were at work. It's worse this time. There are so many broken bones."

  "Will she be okay?" asked Henry quickly.

  "Once she gets out of surgery," said Timber.

  Her face fell into her hands. Henry had never felt so helpless.

  "Ashley is there now," said Timber. "Gina and Kendra could only stay long enough to see if she would live then their parents took them home. She's in surgery as we speak."

  "What did the doctors say?" asked Henry.

  "There was some internal bleeding; she has a moderate concussion and seven broken bones. Her face is almost unrecognizable." Timber's voice quivered. "I was so angry. I lost control of myself."

  "What did you do?" asked Henry sternly. Timber rarely lost control but she had come over with blood on her hands. When Timber didn't reply, Henry raised his voice. "What the hell did you do, Timber?"

  "I went full wolf."

  "What?"

  Henry had no idea what to do. Timber going full wolf wasn't as bad as Henry losing control but Timber was a trained killer. Henry had seen her skill when she fought Greg and the Vanquisher and it had been years since she had been in any sort of combat training. If she was as dangerous as she was with incomplete training, Henry hated to think about what she would be capable of had she been able to finish. The last time Timber lost control, she almost tore Greg's arm off completely. Whatever she did, it was not going to be good. Henry braced himself.

  "I heard the police say that her attacker had escaped. I went to her little studio behind her brother's house as a wolf. I got the scent I needed to confirm it was her father who attacked her and I tracked him down."

  "What did you do, Timber?" demanded Henry. His heart was racing. The last time Timber attacked Xianna's father, she broke his bone in half with her jaw. What had she done this time? "Answer me, dammit!"

  "I didn't kill him if that's what you're thinking," said Timber. "I immobilized him. I left him where I found him and ran back to Xianna's. I barked until I got the attention of the police investigators and led them to him. I left after they cuffed him. He was holding Xianna's necklace. It was enough."

  "It's about time," said Henry. "He should've been arrested a long time ago."

  Henry looked at his fiancé. She was physically, emotionally and mentally drained. Henry's heart ached for her. He told her to stay put and he went into the kitchen. He poured her a glass of water, brought the glass over, and handed it to her. She stood up to take it and walked over to the front window. She took a sip of water, and then set the glass on the window sill.

  "Do you want me to go with you tomorrow to see Xianna?" asked Henry.

  Timber looked at him with her eyes still shining with tears and nodded. Henry approached cautiously and wrapped her up in his arms. They stood for a few minutes in each other's embrace until Timber began to sink to the floor. She had relaxed in her exhaustion to the point that she had fallen asleep and slipped into her real form. Henry smiled at the silver-colored wolf on the floor and knelt to lift her. Despite Timber weighing two hundred pounds as a wolf, Henry could lift her with ease. He retained much of his werewolf strength in human form even though it was two weeks from the full moon. He set her down gently on the couch and covered her with a blanket. Henry's phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. Chad was calling.

  "Hello," said Henry.

  "Have you seen Timber?" said the panicked voice on the other end of the line. "She took off and we don't know where she went! We thought she needed to let off some steam but she's been gone for two hours!"

  "She's with me," said Henry. "She's been here for about twenty minutes. She told me about Xianna and the fight with Emily. She's asleep on my couch now."

  "Thank goodness she's okay," said Chad with relief. "Timber is with Henry, Honey. She's alright." Henry heard Grace sob with relief. "I'm going to take her to see Xianna tomorrow," he said.

  "Thank you, Henry," said Chad. "See you soon."

  Chad hung up the phone and Henry sat down in his recliner. As he looked over at Timber, he couldn't help but wonder what she meant when she said she had immobilized Xianna's father.

  The next morning was an early one for a Saturday. Henry was woken up before the sun to the smell of eggs, bacon, and hash browns on the stove, and blueberry waffles in the toaster. He got up out of bed and realized that he had fallen asleep fully dressed and with his shoes on. He grunted when he saw a tear in the sheets where his feet went. He shook his head and went into the kitchen.

  Timber looked like she only got a couple of hours of sleep. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was having a difficult time standing steady. From the sound of her breathing, her nose was clogged and she couldn't smell him. Henry kept his distance. He didn't want to scare her. When Timber was under a great deal of strain, she became more wolf than human no matter what form she was in and Henry knew that she would be on edge and jumpy. The consequences of approaching her before she saw him would not play out well in Henry's favor, despite his swift reflexes.

  Henry watched her start to set the table. She was stiff as she bent over. Henry couldn't watch her struggle. He walked up slowly and sighed in relief when she saw him. Timber gave him a small smile and went and grabbed the eggs and hash browns while Henry grabbed the bacon and waffles. They put everything on the table and started fixing their plates.

  "How are you feeling?" asked Henry.

  "A little better," replied Timber. "Thank you for letting me stay last night."

  "You're welcome," said Henry. "Your uncle called me looking for you just after you fell asleep. They know you're with me. So, I don't mean to sound selfish but I missed waking up to your cooking." Timber smiled. "Something has bothered me all night, though." Henry put his fork down. "What did you mean when you said you immobilized Mr. Greydlan?"

  Timber put down her glass of milk and looked ashamed.

  "I didn't mean to do so much damage," she said. "The only thing left untouched was his face and neck."

  "But you didn't kill him?" asked Henry with urgency.

  "No, he was alive when I left," said Timber. "He was swearing loudly when they loaded him on the stretcher too. All I did was break both his arms and legs and tear some skin apart which is where the blood came from. I made sure he couldn't stand up and get away."

  "As long as you didn't kill him," said Henry with relief. He leaned back into his chair. "I guess if he does die, Xianna won't be upset."

  "She won't," said Timber. "It would be an infection or suicide that kills him. Not blood loss. I didn't do that much damage. My biggest concern now besides Xianna is Emily. What if we don't make up?"

  "You will. Don't worry," said Henry. "You guys have fought before and made up."

  "It's hard to get what she said out of my mind," said Timber. "I'm going to give her space, let her calm down and see if she comes to me."

  "I think that's best. When do you want to go see Xianna?"

  "I need a nap after breakfast so maybe nine?" suggested Timber.

  "That sounds good. I need to change the oil in my car before we go. That'll give me time to do it. Though, I need to get a new one. My engine is starting to go out. I've had to fix it so many times it's ridiculous. I'll be sad to pa
rt with it, though. That was my first car."

  "You got it in Haven?"

  "No, right after I left. I learned to drive while in Haven but I used one of their old cars that were picky about how you shifted gears."

  Timber looked at Henry with both amusement and disbelief.

  "Who taught you to drive?" asked Timber.

  "A man from the government," said Henry. "I had to pass more than the driving test to get my license as I am a werewolf."

  "The government likes to get involved with things don't they?" said Timber with slight irritation.

  "Well, as the school in Haven is funded by the government, yes. It's the only thing about Haven the government is involved in because they provide specially trained teachers but Lord Frost oversees all of the curricula. He has some pull in the US government regarding his land and the people he is responsible for, students included. He took the land before it was part of the country so, officially, Haven could be considered as a separate country. Lord Frost agreed to work with the government so long as his land remains his and he has ultimate say. I had to register as a free werewolf as soon as I left Haven. I think in the last few years since your aunt's medicine was distributed, only eight or nine of us were permitted to leave out of the few hundred that live in Haven now."

  "Well I'm glad you are here," said Timber.

  "Me too," said Henry. "I'll clean up. You can go ahead and take a nap in my bed if you want. It's more comfortable than the couch." Timber giggled. "What?"

  "I've never slept in your bed before," said Timber.

  "I know but I might accidentally wake you up while I work on my car. It's quieter in the bedroom."

  "Alright," said Timber.

  She yawned and got up. She kissed Henry and then disappeared into the hallway. Henry began cleaning up breakfast. There was no leftover food so all Henry had to do was rinse everything before putting it into the old dishwasher. He crept up the hallway slowly and found Timber passed out in her wolf form, stretched out and taking up the whole bed. On the chair in the corner, Henry found his set of torn up jeans and an old shirt so he could change the oil in his car. Smiling at the thoughtfulness of his fiancé and briefly wondering how Timber found his clothes in the messy closet, (though he realized afterward that Timber could smell the oil and grease his washing machine couldn't get out), Henry changed into his ratted clothes and walked as quietly through the hall as he could.