by Lewis, D. C.
Without another word, the troop turned to head back to camp, Pete lugging his five-pound prize over his shoulder, talking excitedly with Alan who was also well aware of the shrimp eating process. It was getting a little dark as they made their way back to their temporary lodging. The sun was so efficiently covered by a group of clouds caused the area to be cast with a hazy golden glow, similar to the lighting of false dawn. It was an eerie sight, one that Kiera couldn't help but feel foreshadowed something evil in the future.
When back at camp, Pete busied himself with preparing the water to boil the shrimp, dumping in a packet of Old Bay Seasoning to give them a good flavor. Everybody else just lounged around, talking and relaxing, waiting for their seafood feast.
Hilary announced that she had met someone at one of her support groups and they had been talking almost every night since their first meeting.
"It is the first time I have been open about my sexuality to someone I have been attracted to," she told the group. "It was terrifying at first, but it also felt so liberating to be able to finally express myself."
Her friends, who had been her only support system over most of the last year, were all very excited for her, and they bombarded her with questions that she happily answered, even when Pete asked if they had slept together. He did receive a look of disapproval from Lara, Lyndsey, and Kiera.
Many asked when the group would get to meet the lucky lady and Hilary promised that as soon as she figured out just what the relationship was going to be, she would introduce her to them.
Unable to resist, and wanting to pay Pete back for the sex comment, Kiera turned her attention to Lyndsey.
"So, Lyndsey, anybody special in your life?" she asked.
Even the forest seemed to get quiet when Kiera completed her question. Pete's face blanched and drained of blood, even his sunburned skin turned a shade of white. Lyndsey looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, unsure which way to run, her eyes darting from side to side as her brain raced to come up with a believable answer. Kiera didn't particularly like putting her tiny friend on the spot but it was really the only the way to pay Pete back for his silly inquiry. Looking in every direction except Pete's, and Pete acting as if he were occupied boiling the shrimp, she was left completely hung out to dry and on her own. Lyndsey cleared her throat, more in an effort to stall and collect her thoughts than any real physical need.
"No, nobody has caught my interest," she said a little too quickly, the words falling over one another like toppled dominoes. Anyone who didn't already know about Lyndsey and Pete would have suspected that Lyndsey had someone in her life by the way she was talking. "I mean, you know, so many guys out there, so many to choose from, and most of the time they don't want to commit for whatever reason."
Kiera watched as Pete briefly closed his eyes and exhaled slowly and that gave Kiera insight she hadn't had before. The reason that Pete and Lyndsey hadn't come out with their relationship to their friends was because of him. She surmised that Pete was having problems making a formal commitment to Lyndsey and that was what was prompting all the secrecy and sneaking around. Knowing Pete the way she did, it didn't surprise her. He had always been standoffish about relationships, stating that he saw himself as the "eternal bachelor." Apparently this attitude was a sore spot for the two and in order to spare them any more discomfort, Kiera changed the subject.
"Is dinner gonna be ready anytime in this century?" she asked Pete, sparing Lyndsey any further explanation.
"As a matter of fact," Pete began, clearing his throat this time to collect his own thoughts, "it is done now, but the first person to ask is the last to get served," he said with a grin.
"Well that's interesting," came Kiera's reply, "because the person that boils the shrimp has to sleep outside, the odor from cooking you understand."
The grin on Pete's face disappeared instantly as he faced back towards the spot, stirring slowly, and grumbling. Alan burst out in laughter, thankful to be excluded for once from Kiera's quick wit. The boys were just having no luck. Lyndsey leaned her head forward as her hair fell down to mask her face but from her body movements it was obvious she was giggling. Kiera knew her comment wouldn't really have any effect on Pete's commitment issues but she figured that if it made Lyndsey laugh, it was the least she could do.
When Pete made the announcement to come get it, everybody found the plates they had used for breakfast and waited as Pete piled the pink crustaceans high on each tin platter. Lara wasn't quite prepared for this and looked in horror at the whole shrimp staring with beady eyes right back at her. They looked the same as they did before they went into the pot, just with a sunburn like the people who were going to eat them.
"I thought you were going to clean them," she gasped at Pete, who was already sitting down, tearing the head off his first one.
"I did," he said before he bit down on the white meat.
"No you didn't!" Lara screamed, "Mine still has its heads and legs!"
"You asked me if I was going to clean them, which I did, I washed them off and got all the dirt and other stuff off them, so they are clean. You never said anything about peeling them. That is the fun part of eating boiled shrimp, it's a 'hands on' meal."
A look of confusion spread over Lara's face. She understood what Pete had said but was trying to fully process what she had to do.
"I have to peel them?" she asked sheepishly.
Lyndsey, who was familiar with the process and was happily chowing down, took her plate and sat down next to Lara.
"Here, let me show you," she said, picking up a particularly large shrimp off her plate, pinching off the head and tail, scooping out the succulent meat, and plopping it into her mouth. "It's just that easy."
It was apparent that Lara wasn't every excited about the prospect of having to peel the heads, tails, and legs off her dinner before she ate it. But after a little coaxing from Lyndsey and a rumbling stomach demanding food, Lara got over her immediate revulsion. She hesitantly went through the process on her own, alternating between complaining that she thought this was disgusting and squealing when she ripped the head off.
The first one she peeled took a solid five minutes. She gave up multiple times and just swore that she would rather starve. After the first one, her apprehension lessened and towards the end of dinner, she was peeling shrimp like an old pro, as fast as the rest of her group, peeling and eating, a pile of husks collecting next to her. She was quite disappointed when none was left, going and checking her friends' plates, wanting to shuck one last more.
"Can we do this again tomorrow night?" she asked excitedly, displaying a completely different behavior from just forty five minutes prior. It reminded Kiera that things were constantly changing, though she suppressed the thought. Her whole argument about free will played in her mind. She realized she was no closer to figuring out what she truly believed and banished the thought from her mind before it could take root.
Collecting all the shrimp husks and throwing them into the fire to watch them shrivel and pop in the heat, everyone cleaned up their area before they sat back to relax around the blossoming blaze that was the center of their camp. Nobody spoke, just sat, enjoying the sounds of the night and the cool breeze blowing towards the waterway. The sun had finally gone to sleep, making way for its sister the moon who bathed the campsite in her lunar light, colors becoming indistinguishable as if the light were sucking the hues from the earth and its surroundings.
The six friends had broken up into smaller groups, all talking about different things. Kiera kept to herself, enjoying the babbling coming from her comrades, watching the firelight cast flickering shadows on the side of the tent, an impromptu puppet show that mesmerized the silent young Lycoan. Turning her head to look at her friends and tell them about the show occurring on the tent side, something in the dark of the surrounding forest caught her eye.
It wasn't on the ground, rather, high up in the broad branches of a tree, a quick reflection, light
from the moon bouncing off something shiny. What it could be, Kiera had no idea. Straining her eyes to their maximum, trying to pierce the darkness, Kiera made out a large shape standing on the branch. A shape that had no natural reason for being there.
Her heart started to pound harder and sweat formed on her brow. Then the shape moved, raising its head, two evil eyes reflecting the light, sparkling like two stars that had fallen to earth. Eyes of a creature that should not be here. Kiera's breath stopped. Somehow Larissa had managed to elude her mother's packmates and find her. Larissa had come to finish the job she started.
While the exterior of Kiera was calm and collected, her interior was in full panic mode. The behavior of the creature in the trees showed that it didn't realize that Kiera had detected its presence. It made no attempt to move or further conceal itself, simply lowering its head once more to hide the large orbs that had been looking at her. Kiera realized that she must make a decision and quickly.
At this point she was certain that Larissa would have no compunction about revealing herself to everyone at Kiera's campsite. Horrible visions, of her friends being torn limb from limb by a rampaging Lycoan intent on revenge, danced through her head. She thought of her loved ones bereft of their lives, of Pete and Lyndsey losing the opportunity to take their relationship any further.
Cursing herself, Kiera wished she would have just cancelled this trip, called if off for another time. Once more her stubbornness had gotten her into trouble but this time her friends' lives were on the line as well.
"I need to get out of here," she thought.
With herself gone, there would be no reason for Larissa to harm her friends - at least she hoped that was the case. Still, she figured her friends had a better chance without her around. It was worth sacrificing herself to keep them safe. Besides, what would she do if she stayed? Protect them? "Change"? She didn't even know how she "changed" the first time, much less how to do it when she wanted. She also doubted that she would do it even if she did know how, exposing her friends to the secret she had held so close to her heart all these years.
Yes, fleeing was the better plan on many different levels. Something for everyone. Now only to find a good enough excuse, one that would be believable. It couldn't be that she was feeling unwell, though that was her first inclination. Her friends would insist that she go lie down. And if she wanted to go home, somebody would then insist on escorting her.
No, she needed a reason to go back home that had nothing to do with her feeling sick. It would have to be something involving Katrina, something that couldn't wait until tomorrow morning and was important enough for Kiera to leave this evening, this very second. An issue with home. Yes, that would work. What if the water heater in the house burst? What if that water heater sat directly above Kiera's bedroom and her lifelong possessions were in danger of being ruined? Yes, that would do the trick, her friends would totally understand her need to rush home.
The question was, do water heaters go in attics?
Kiera had no clue and she was concerned that someone, particularly Pete, would see through her attempt at deceit and would wreck the whole thing.
"Oh boy," Kiera stated in a startled tone, her hands digging into her pants pocket.
"What's wrong?" Lara asks, concern evident in her voice.
"Somebody's calling me and since pretty much everybody I talk to is seated around this fire, it only leaves one person," she explained as she extracted her phone and looked down at it, her face being illuminated by its blue light. "Sometimes I hate being right," she said as she held the phone to her ear to begin her mock conversation with her mother who wasn't on the other end. "Hello," she began, talking to a dead phone. "What?!" she exclaimed, putting all her theatrics into the statement. Standing up she started to pace around the camp, talking animatedly with her hands. "When?" she asked as she continued to pace, acting as if her mother were actually on the other line answering the question.
Kiera made sure that her voice sounded desperate when she spoke again. "How much has gotten ruined?" Once again waiting for the reply that didn't exist. "I'll be right there," she says as she pretended to hang up her phone and march directly into the large tent.
"What's wrong?" came Lara's concerned voice, unsettled by the conversation Kiera just had with her mother.
Taking a deep breath, Kiera prepared to bring her lie to life. "The hot water heater that is in our attic, that sits directly above my bedroom is leaking. Mother believes it is going to burst soon and I need to get home to move my stuff before it all gets destroyed."
The silence seemed to drag out forever when she finished talking. She just knew that her friends had seen through her lie.
"I don't understand," Pete started, "why the hell so many builders put the water heaters in the attic. Common sense alone would tell you to put it in the basement or ground floor at least."
Kiera silently released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Yeah, well it's a mess and I need to head home to deal with it," she said.
"Hold up and I'll walk with you," Lara offered.
Kiera hadn't anticipated this though she should have. An escort would undermine the reason she was leaving in the first place.
"No, you stay here, you have a hard enough time finding your way in the daylight, much less the nighttime. I can't be worrying about you wandering in the wilderness all by yourself," she said as she laid an affectionate hand on her friend's shoulder. "Besides, I'll be back tomorrow morning, you won't even miss me."
Lara wasn't happy with the response but she realized that Kiera wouldn’t be swayed once she had made up her mind, so embracing her blonde friend she whispered "Be careful" in her ear before letting go.
"Aren't I always?" she replied.
Turning to the rest of her friends, her attention went directly to the boys. "Now, then," she started, "I expect you two to do your share while I am gone. Keep the fire stoked and escort the ladies to the bathroom if they need to go. And please, try not to get too drunk."
"We'll try not to," Alan said, with a grin on his face that stated louder than words that they wouldn't try too hard.
"Men!” Kiera said in an exasperated tone. "OK then, see you in the morning," and she passed from the light into the dark. Within seconds, no human eyes would have been able to make out her form walking down the two-mile path towards the parking lot and her car.
As soon as she was a goodly distance from the campsite, she released her restraints on her senses, straining to catch any sight, sound, or smell of her enemy, feeling her body tense with the effort. Pulling her phone out of her back pocket, she sent a text to her mother “I’m in trouble”, hoping that Katrina could send help, fearing that if she did, it would be too late.
She still wasn't sure what she was going to do if attacked. For once, she wished the voice inside her head would talk to her, if only to make her feel that she wasn't by herself. Yet it was as silent as it had been since she was attacked.
The further she walked, the more paranoid she became. With every rustling in the bushes, she imagined Larissa charging towards her. With every smell she thought she picked up a scent dream that didn't exist.
Kiera contemplated calling Brandon but didn't want to draw attention to herself. Then she realized that if a Lycoan were stalking her, she already had its full attention and talking on the phone wouldn't change that. She wondered if talking over the phone might make Larissa wary to attack. She doubted it but she had nothing to lose so she pulled her phone back out and punched the button to speed dial Brandon's number. Holding the phone to her ear, she kept chanting "Please answer" over and over again under her breath. With every ring, Kiera's anxiety increased. With every ring she knew he wasn't going to answer, and then finally she got the dreaded voicemail. Disgusted, she hung the phone up and contemplated throwing it against the nearest tree, but regained her temper and slid it back into her pocket.
Her fears started playing on her paranoia. More than once she saw a large sh
ape sitting behind a tree that froze her in her tracks, but which proved to be nothing more than a bush that had been allowed to grow wild, its leaves untouched by shears, pruners, or any other device used to trim down its untamed growth.
Each time she saw a firefly she thought it was an eye reflecting the light of the moon, every shadow an attacker, every noise caused her to jump in fright, even the sound of a frog croaking.
It felt like she had been walking for an eternity when she finally made it back to her vehicle. Her shirt was drenched in sweat, not from physical exertion but the mental stress of the journey. Looking at her cell phone's clock, she saw it had taken her an hour to walk what should have taken her thirty minutes.
Thirty
The drive home wasn't pleasurable even in her new ride. Kiera wondered if she did the right thing by leaving her friends at the campsite. Trying to convince herself that they surely would be in less danger without her there, still she couldn't help worrying about their wellbeing. They were defenseless against an attack by a Lycoan. Would Larissa take it that far? But then Kiera wondered what she would do if she had stayed and Larissa had in fact attacked. Would she have thrown away all she had worked for so long and "change" in front of her friends? Would she even know how to?
The only time she had "changed" had been while she was on the brink of death and her Lycoan side had taken over. She wasn't even sure how she did it, being almost entirely unconscious at the time.
The real question that was bugging her was why Larissa hadn't attacked her as she walked back to the parking lot. A better opportunity could not have presented itself - Kiera in the dark, alone, unprotected. Anticipating an attack that never came had made it the longest walk ever. By the time she got into her car, cranked it up, and was on the road, she was completely exhausted, not from the physical, but from the mental strain of trying to predict when the attack would come, being startled at every sound that disturbed the quiet of the night, and worrying about what she was going to do if she was attacked. She believed that the waiting was more torturous than an actual physical altercation.