Captive Wolf

by Kyrii Rayne

"Hey," he whispered.

  "Don't make me get up yet," she groaned.

  "I know you hate waking up this early, Allyson, but come on it's not that bad. We can still make it a good morning."

  Her lips curled down into a frown and her eyes welled up with tears so fast he thought she might actually start crying on demand.

  "Aww, come on, Allyson. Don't make me feel guilty for waking you up."

  She lay still and grabbed the corner of the afghan to pull up over her nose. Garrett smiled and leaned in closer.

  "The store is going to open in a few minutes. Would you like to stop to get coffee on the way?"

  "I think it's imperative that we do."

  Garrett chuckled and shook his head. "Imperative?"

  Allyson smiled and yanked more of the afghan out of Garrett's grip.

  "Absolutely," she said.

  He stood and grabbed the remote to the television.

  "All right. I'll make sure we stop to get some coffee on the way. You make sure you have clothes on."

  Allyson took in a deep breath. The television flipped from one station to another. Each station sounded for less than a second before Garrett pressed the button and flipped again.

  "August Parry carried three people--."

  One station in particular rang out.

  "Wait, go back," said Allyson.

  Garrett checked the remote and flipped back to the channel that had caught her attention.

  "Authorities are still investigating the cause of the inferno. Early data suggests it started as an electrical fire in the apartment building's laundry room. But authorities are not discounting the possibility of arson. If you're just joining us, nine people are dead and more than 50 others are left homeless after the Whispering Oaks Luxury Home apartments went up in flames early this morning. August Parry, shown here carrying three residents out of the smoke, is being called a hero."

  "I know that guy," Allyson said.

  She grabbed the remote from Garrett and turned the volume up.

  "What guy? August Parry?"

  "Yeah. We went to high school together."

  "And now he's a hero. That's great."

  "That's... weird." Allyson whispered.

  "How so?"

  "August was always a coward. I mean, a coward. He always ran away from everything."

  "Well, maybe he grew up."

  "Maybe," Allyson whispered. She squinted at the television, unsure of whether to accept the information being broadcast.

  "You think it's something else?"

  Allyson shook her head as if to dismiss her doubts by force. "I don't know. August was one of the sweetest guys. You know, quiet, reserved, the type of guy all of the girls ignored. It's just such a change in personality, I find it hard to--."

  "You think what? You think he's a wolf?"

  Allyson glared at August's smiling face on the television set.

  "I don't know," she whispered.

  Chapter Two

  "Are you sure you want to do this?" Garrett asked Allyson.

  She sat in the passenger's side of his pickup truck, gnawing on her fingernail and staring at the front doors of the hospital.

  "I don't know," she said. "They probably won't give me any information anyway. I quit this place months ago."

  "Yeah, but you still have friends in there, right?" Garrett said. "So you can still walk in there without issue. If they can give you information then great. If not, no big deal, we'll just find another way to get it. Are you sure this is where they brought the survivors of the fire?"

  "That's what they said on the news."

  "Okay, then. Go on."

  Garrett smiled at Allyson.

  "You aren't coming in with me?"

  "Nah. They might give you information; they know you and they trust you. But they will definitely not give any information if they see me in there with you. I'll just remind them that you don't work there anymore."

  Allyson nodded and stared back at the front doors.

  "All right. Well, here goes nothing."

  She hopped out of the truck and straightened out her top, adjusting her collar and taking a deep breath.

  Pull yourself together, Allyson, she told herself. You can do this.

  After her short, but seemingly effective, pep talk, Allyson walked into the emergency room of her old hospital and glanced around. The waiting room was filled with patients reeking of infection. She grimaced and held her breath to keep from puking right there in the hallway.

  "Allyson!" Claire called her name from behind the admittance desk. "What are you doing here?"

  "Hi, Claire," Allyson smiled. "I just thought I would come by and see how you were all doing."

  "Oh man, we are swamped. Did you hear about that fire?"

  "Fire?" Allyson feigned ignorance.

  "Yeah, come on back I'll tell you all about it."

  Claire reached over to unlock the door.

  Allyson didn't know much about Claire from her years before working as a nurse, but she imagined Claire must have been a beauty queen.

  Her hair was always done perfectly, her make up was always caked on, and her dresses were always much more form fitting and revealing than those worn by most women her age. The red hair dye teamed up with the fluorescent lights to make her look more wrinkled than she probably was. And she still wore the latest trendy perfumes aimed at the teenage market.

  But Claire was also one of the nicest people Allyson had ever met. And one of the most talkative.

  "So, get this, right. Apartment building goes up in flames. All real fast too. They think it started down in the basement. Somewhere near the laundry room or something. And before anyone even knows it's there, the whole building is smoking and burning. Two hundred and thirty-one people. Most of them get out just fine. But there are a few apartments, the ones closest to the laundry room in the basement, where the people are trapped."

  Claire flung a curtain open to reveal a young girl waiting patiently to be seen. Ash marks covered her face and arms, and she smelled of smoke and melted plastic. But a smile sat plastered across her face. "Hi."

  "Hi Sam," said Claire. "This is Samantha Woodrow. Her apartment was the one directly above the laundry room. Sam, this is Allyson. She used to work here. Tell her what you told me."

  "Oh, it was awful. I was watching television, just minding my own business, you know? And the next thing I knew, the whole apartment shook and there was a loud bang. Then, flames everywhere. I thought I was a goner. Everywhere I tried to run was more flames."

  "That sounds awful," said Allyson. "How did you get out of there without a scratch?"

  "I owe my life to that man. August Parry. Superman. That's what I call him anyway. He barged into the apartment and grabbed me. Carried me in his arms right out of the flames and outside. When we got to the fire trucks, that's when I noticed he was carrying the two women who live next door to me."

  "August Parry? Did Augy live in the building?"

  "Augy? You know him?"

  "I went to high school with him," Allyson said. Her eyes darted around from one ash mark to another on Samantha. No scratches, no blood. Not even one bruise. Just soot and ash left behind from the smoke and a few singed hairs along her forearms, probably from trying to cover her face.

  "Oh my God, you went to high school with him? Kate! Hey Kate, check this out. She went to high school with the man who saved our lives."

  A hand curled around the other curtain and shoved it over.

  "Get out. Are you serious?" A small, blonde girl yelled. Her brown eyes darted between Allyson and Claire and back to Allyson again. "One of you? Were you friends with him? Was he always a hero or did he, like, grow into it?" The girl pelted out one question after another faster than Allyson could finish processing.

  "Um," Allyson mumbled. "He was always nice. We've kind of grown apart since then."

  "Oh," Kate's eyes dropped in disappointment and she jerked the curtain closed again.

  Claire chuckled an
d shook her head as she checked over Samantha one last time.

  "Anyway, that's what most of the people in the building are calling him right now: Superman. I can't believe you went to high school with him. He really is just the sweetest guy. You know, most guys would be milking for the attention, you know? But not this guy. He's shy, just trying to stay out of the spotlight. Almost like he doesn't want to be famous."

  "He's here?"

  "Oh yeah, he's here. I'm not supposed to tell anyone though. Privacy thing, you know? He didn't want the reporters and everyone hounding him, I guess. But he's here. Come on, I'll take you to him. Let's get you some scrubs. You're not working anywhere right now, right? You still have your license and everything. I can just sign to give you privileges here for the day. That way you can see him."

  Claire walked just as fast as she talked. She pulled a pair of scrubs down from the carts and thrust them into Allyson's arms before Allyson had a chance to protest. Then she moved on to the next subject and before Allyson knew what was happening, she was being ushered into a lounge where she could change into her scrubs before being brought over and presented to August Parry.

  After giving Allyson a couple minutes to get dressed, Claire grabbed her by the hand and dragged her down the hall to one of the more private rooms. The smile on her face stretched the lines surrounding her mouth almost into nonexistence. Allyson cracked the door open and peeked in.

  "Hello?" a man's voice called out from the dark room.

  Claire reached around Allyson and pushed the door open, flipping on the light and sauntering in.

  "Hi, Mr. Parry. How are you feeling this morning?"

  "I keep telling you I'm fine," he said. His bright smile and perfectly straight teeth threw Allyson.

  "Well, we still need to check you out," Claire said. She motioned for Allyson to join them in the room and closed the door behind her. "Most of it is precautionary, but it's important."

  He cocked his eyebrow and smiled.

  "You okay?" he asked Allyson after catching her staring at him.

  "I'm sorry," she said as she shook her head to break her glare. "I just... it's just that... you look so different."

  "Different than what?"

  "Than in high school."

  He let out a jovial yell. "Another Garfield High School survivor?"

  Claire's pager started vibrating at that moment. She glanced down to check the number then rolled her eyes.

  "Ugh, Allyson. Things have definitely not been the same since you quit. I really wish you had stayed. At least until they could have figured out how to clone me. Oh well, my time's up. I've got to run. I will check on you later this afternoon, okay Mr. Parry?"

  "I told you, call me August."

  Claire smiled and ran out of the room. Allyson squinted her eyes and smirked.

  "Do you remember me?"

  "Not really. I mean, no offense or anything, but Garfield High was a pretty big school."

  "You've changed a lot."

  "Ha!" he laughed. "Isn't that the part we all look forward to the most? Coming through the awkward phase of high school unscathed and changing?"

  Allyson shook her head and cocked an eyebrow.

  "I guess," she said. "High school can be pretty rough. So what are you up to now? Are you going to the reunion next year?"

  August took in a deep breath as if to laugh again, but cut himself short. He smiled and started gathering his things together.

  "So, I'm sorry I don't remember you from back in high school. Did we have a class together?"

  "A few, actually," Allyson said as she pulled a chair up closer to the bed. "Let's see, we were in geometry together. And Spanish class during sophomore year. Oh, and you sat behind my in Homeroom."

  August stared at his fingers as they fidgeted across his lap.

  "Oh my God, Homeroom. I hated Homeroom."

  "Yeah. Same here."

  "I do remember you now. You were there the day that D&D came after me."

  "Yeah, Donna got caught cheating in English class and she blamed you, so Dave said he was going to beat you up for it."

  August smirked. His gaze never left his lap.

  "It wasn't English class, it was for a report for history class. And she didn't get caught cheating, even though she was. We had an agreement, I would help Donna with some of her schoolwork, and Dave would help keep some of the other jocks off my back. She told me she needed a paper on the reformation, so that's what I wrote. But then after she turned it in, she failed the assignment. It turned out she needed a paper on the Catholic Counter Reformation, instead. But she blamed me and told me I wrote the wrong paper on purpose." He glanced up and smiled at Allyson. "You were the one who stood up for me."

  "I didn't. Not really."

  "You tripped Dave when he was coming at me to hit me."

  "Well, if we're being honest here, that was an accident," Allyson gulped down her nervous breath. "I mean, I wanted to say something, but Donna ran the spirit club and I was trying to try out for the cheerleading squad."

  August chuckled and propped his hands behind his head. "So it was an accident? All this time I thought you saved my life."

  Allyson giggled and shook her head. "I mean, yes, Sure. I saved your life. I was just, um. I was just--."

  He laughed again and nudged Allyson's arm with his fist.

  "It's fine," he said. "Don't worry about it. So what brought you here, anyway? I mean the nurse said you used to work here. So you don't anymore? Why are you here? Are you hurt, too?"

  "Oh no, nothing like that. I just saw what happened on the news and so I wanted to come and check up on you and make sure you were okay. And since I used to work here, they just let me in."

  "Oh, I see. Well, as you can see, I'm just fine."

  "Yeah. That's great. I'm sorry to bother you."

  He smiled and shook his head. "It's no bother. But, Allyson, look." Guilt waved over his face. His cheeks pinked up and his fingers fidgeted faster than before. "Listen. I don't know how to say this, and I don't want you to ask me a bunch of questions or anything. Chances are I won't be able to answer them. But you should think about leaving town soon."

  "Leaving town?"

  "Today, even."

  "What?"

  "That's it. Just… leave town."

  Allyson blinked a few times. Her mind raced with more questions than she could sort through. As if to settled his point, August pulled the hospital blanket up around his chin and rolled over. She took the hint and walked out of the room.

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