She looked so sad. Brandon felt for her. He too lost his best friend. That gave him and Sasha something in common. Besides, they were both walkers now. They had each other, but as for Rachel, she didn’t have anyone. She was alone. “We know your pain Rachel. We’re here for you if you need us.” He smiled with a soft look. “If there’s anything you need, we’ll be there—always.”
Rachel put her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. They felt too heavy to have to keep them controlled. In fact, they almost felt like they were about to fall off. “Thanks. I’ll make it.” She turned to her front door. She looked at it when several loud knocks came to it just as she blinked.
The sounds caused everyone to jump.
Rachel called, “Who is it?”
“New York State Police,” a solemn male voice answered her.
She turned around, and instantly noticed that both Brandon and Sasha were gone. How they moved so fast no longer felt like a surprise. Only the fact that they were gone was all that seemed to matter. With it all, she took a deep breath as she walked to the door and opened it up.
“Rachel Garland?” A male New York State Trooper, wearing a light gray shirt and a cowboy style hat that looked slightly tipped towards her, stood at her door with an all too serious look on his face. He looked young. He also looked somewhat confused.
Rachel nodded. “What can I do for you now?” She still felt overly tired. As far as she knew about everything, she talked herself to exhaustion. She had nothing else left to say to them. She told her story, and that was that.
“Miss Garland, I’m sorry to disturb you. I know that it’s been a long day, but I need to ask you some more things about James Walls.” The young trooper nodded slightly. The confusion she saw on his face multiplied somewhat as he did it. He too looked tired.
Rachel nodded. “Come in.” What was the point for him to stand outside? Sasha and Brandon weren’t there for him to see them, and besides, what more did she have to loose. If he wanted to ask her more questions about Jimmy, she had nothing else left to say about it anyway. If he wanted to hear it all over again, she wouldn’t be able to stop him.
The young trooper stepped inside. He turned to her when he was close to the front of the bed. “Have you seen him, Miss Garland?” he asked.
She closed the door. Hearing what she just did made her turn confused all too quickly. “Seen him? That’s not very funny.” She crossed her arms over her chest. She was in no mood to hear what she just did. All she could feel was every bit of the hurt she had for him, deep within her heart. Why would he say such a thing? How could he? How dare he do this to her?
The trooper bowed his head. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but…” He removed his hat. His neatly combed brown hair looked somewhat flattened by it. He kept his head down as he continued. “It seems that we made a mistake.” He couldn’t think of any other way to say it. How they did what they did, blazed over his mind like a heat wave causing someone to sweat. He didn’t blame her for her reaction. He would have done the same thing.
“A mistake?” She uncrossed her arms. Something didn’t feel right. Actually, everything felt wrong. More importantly, everything felt right. She couldn’t place it, but she could see that small thing in this young trooper’s face. “What is it?” she heard herself ask.
He lifted his head. With the hat off, he looked younger than what he did with it on. “Apparently, James Walls is missing. The funeral director that took him in said that he—um,” he paused with a slight chuckle coming out just after it. If he wasn’t told what he was, by his boss Lieutenant Davies, he wouldn’t have believed it, thinking that he was just being played, but the fact that it was Davies, being as straight-laced as he was, he didn’t play games, so he knew it had to be true. When the chuckle faded, he finished what he came there to say. “He said that he got up from the table and walked out.” His eyes spoke volumes. He looked beyond confused. He looked almost ashamed.
Hearing his voice and seeing the look in his eyes, she knew he told her the truth. If what he said was real, and she didn’t doubt that now, than that meant that Jimmy was still alive. He did exactly what the trooper said he did—he woke up in the morgue, and left. Realizing that, she answered him with a simple bow of the head. “How could this happen?” She felt like sitting. She felt like dancing. It was a weird mix of feelings. She didn’t know which one to take. She had no idea what to think.
The trooper studied her face, and easily saw that she looked shocked. He understood that. She also looked confused. He knew that one too. She also looked excited. That too, he understood entirely. Seeing her reaction, he knew that he had to explain further. “The director said that while he was examining him, he sat up. He didn’t remember anything after that, being that he passed out. When he came to, James Walls was gone. He then called us.”
Her eyes went straight to his.
“He left the mortuary with only this left from him.” The trooper lifted his right hand up, and in it, he carried a small plastic bag. The top of the bag looked sealed with some type of a yellow tape. At the bottom of the clear bag, a brass colored, what looked like a bullet, was there. It even sparkled some.
She could have sworn that it winked at her. She saw the bullet, and her mind flared. “It’s not silver?”
“Excuse me?” The trooper looked at the bag. It was a simple bullet. It was a simple design. Nothing was special about it—nothing at all.
She shook her head. “Nothing.” She looked to the room to her left. She saw the door to the bathroom, and noticed it closed. She then turned around, almost spinning to the door behind her. She had to think. She had to take in the facts. He was alive. He was well. He was fine.
“Ma’am?” The trooper lowered his arm back to his side. He didn’t know what she was thinking about at that moment, but he had a good idea of what it was. Other than her excitement for her friend being alive, he also knew that she looked tired and that it was probably best for him to leave her alone for a while. He had to give her the time to adjust to the news. They had to give her time for that thought. “If you see him, please let him know that we’re going to need to speak to him as soon as possible?” He put his hat back on. He made sure that it was firmly on his head, before he turned. “It’s very important that we find him and talk to him.”
She said nothing. She couldn’t. Only Jimmy was now on her thoughts.
The trooper said nothing else. He passed her by and went back to the door. He let himself out quietly.
She barely even heard him leave.
With the trooper gone, Brandon and Sasha left the bathroom and stepped back out into the main room.
“Rachel?” Sasha said first.
“He’s alive.” Rachel spun around. The thought started to sink in. It made sense. He was wounded in the chest—yes—but the bullet wasn‘t silver. Now knowing that, with a normal bullet, he had to have the time to heal. That explained why it looked like he was dead. Knowing that, she breathed. She finally exhaled. She finally brought her mind back from the brink.
Sasha felt beyond excited. She felt relieved. She also felt justified in a way. No one could have ever killed Kalima. Somehow, she always knew that. He was the strongest of all of them. He was the most powerful of all of the wolves. He was the first of his kind.
Brandon felt the same. “We have to find him. Where do you think he’ll be?” He looked at Rachel but he meant his questions for Sasha. He couldn’t bring his mind back long enough to think fully. Knowing that his friend was alive, he couldn’t wait to see him again.
Sasha watched Rachel’s face. She saw the love for Jimmy oozing from her soul. Hearing what Brandon asked, she turned from that look to him. “He’ll find us.” She smiled. She continued to relax.
“How do you know he’ll do that?” Brandon couldn’t get the smile off his face. He felt like dancing. He felt beyond wonderful to be alive, or—whatever he was now.
Sasha stared at Rachel as she answered him. “Because, that
’s what I would do.”
Brandon nodded. Of course, he will. “What do we do now?” He continued his line of questions without any real thoughts in his head.
“We should leave the area. We have to go back to the city.” It was the only idea that came to Sasha’s head. It made sense. He would find them there. He would look for them there. This place was crawling with humans that were now looking for him. The area wouldn’t be safe. Knowing that, she knew he would head back to the city. He would go home. It was the best place to start.
Brandon nodded. “Rachel?” He kept his eyes on her.
Rachel matched his stare. She brought her thoughts together. Now that Jimmy was fine, she had to think of what to do next. The only thing that came to her was a simple one. It would mean the world to him—she felt sure of it. “I have to destroy that damn drug. I have to go back to Redford Forge and get everything about it and burn it. I have to gather all of it, and just destroy it. I have to get everything.” She felt determined. She felt justified, and that told her that she was on the right track. She had to do it. There was no other choice about it anymore.
Sasha nodded. She agreed. “Jimmy will come to us, Rachel. When he does, we’ll let you know.” She smiled.
Rachel returned the smile. “Thank you.”
Sasha nodded. “We should go. Leave out the back window in case that cop is still out front.” She looked to Brandon.
He agreed with a nod.
Rachel looked back to the front door. For a moment, she hoped that at any moment he was going to come walking through it and be with her again. The feeling felt so strong that she almost thought it was real. She could almost feel him there now with her. She could almost feel him coming. When she saw just the door, she sighed. He will come. She just had to wait for him to do it. She would do that until the end of time, if she had to. She couldn’t wait. With Gary gone, they had nothing left to fear. They could work on being together. They could work on what he was. She knew that he now accepted the wolf, but she still didn’t care anymore. It didn’t matter. She accepted him for everything he was.
She turned back to the center of the room, and saw that Brandon and Sasha were already gone. They left quietly. They left fast. Feeling alone, she walked over to the bed and sat down at the foot of it with an overheated heart. She let her mind flare back to him. She let her thoughts move onto his face. She could see him standing there in front of her with a smile on his face. She wallowed in the memory. She let it consume her. She let him consume her. It was then that she decided to stay right there for a few days. She would stay there in Old Forge, and there she would wait. If he came, then all would be right. She didn’t think he would though. The police were looking for him. They were determined to find him. He would know that, so she knew he wouldn’t come, but still, she had to stay—just to be sure. If he didn’t come, then she would leave and make her way back to Redford Forge. She would do what she told Sasha she would do. The drug needed to be destroyed. It had to be wiped out. There was no need for it anymore.
She looked to the door, watched it, and waited. She sat there for so long, she lost track of time. Slowly, the night ended, it turned into dawn, and then, and only then, did she finally move.
My Journal
I left the funeral home as fast as I could. I’d never seen a grown man pass out in front of me like that before. I felt bad for him, but then again, I didn’t. I just knew that I had to get out of there. I had to leave the area. I had to run. With everything that happened, I knew they would be trying to find me. I couldn’t take the chance. It’s not every day that someone that was supposed to be dead would just get up and leave the morgue. Of course, they would want to know why. They would want to know more about everything. I don’t blame them really. I just can’t give them the chance to try to do it.
I left back for the mountains, and made my way back to the city. I went back home. I went back to New York. It seemed like the best place to go. I could blend in there. I could get lost within the crowd. It’s an old feeling, wanting to go there. It’s an old reason. It’s one, I’m taking again.
Over the last few days, I’ve spent every minute thinking about Gary. The memory of the attack in the park was still there, but it had already started to fade. In a way, I think Kalima knew it was Gary all along. I think that’s why he was constantly having the dream. He was trying to tell me. He was trying to show me. Knowing that, it makes me respect him more. Even with this, I know that Kalima still hates what he did, but now he seems to be more at ease with all of it. He understands the pain that he caused. He understands why Gary did what he felt that he had to do. He understands him in a way that I don’t think anyone else would have. He understands everything. With it all, I now understand him as well. It completes us. It made us whole.
It’s funny how things changed. It’s weird how things came to be what they are now. I’ve come to love my friend. I’ve come to love the wolf inside me. With that alone, I’ve made the decision that I was struggling to make.
I know now that I can’t hurt him. I can’t bring myself to end Kalima. He’s content with me, as much as I am with him. He’s a part of me now. Together, we can do anything. To lose him would be like losing a friend. It would be like killing myself. Knowing that, I could never end him as I was going to do. It just feels wrong. Hell, it feels almost like murder to destroy him. I couldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t do that to me.
During the last few days, I’ve also thought a lot about Rachel. I wanted to go and see her again before I left Old Forge. I almost did, but knowing that the police were looking for me, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Besides that, knowing all that I know now, it wouldn’t have been such a good idea. With everything that happened, I know now she will never let me go. I know she will always put herself ahead of me. I know she will always risk her own life for mine. Quite frankly, I could never let her do that. I can’t do that to her. I can’t do that to me. So, I stayed away. I left the area quickly. Besides, I know where to find her if I need to see her again. I know that she’ll be waiting for me. I’ll always know where she is.
So, I’ve made it back to New York. I’m back in the city that for so long now, I‘ve always called home. I’m back where I belong. With all that’s been done, I now know who I am. I now know how to feel. I now know where I’m going. I now know what I’m going to do. I’m going to live. I’m going to be free. I’m going to survive. I have changed a lot since I became what I am. I know I’m the very same person that I was always meant to be.
I know who I am now.
I know what I am.
My name is Jimmy Walls—and I am—a werewolf.
The Story continues with The Wanderer Awakens…
A Werewolf's Saga Books 1, 2, & 3 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets) Page 81