by Amy McClung
There was very little light coming in and the walls felt like they were closing in around me. Small spaces have never been a problem for me before but I was beginning to understand what claustrophobia feels like. My breathing was becoming rapid, fear rose up inside me and I felt like I was trapped with no way out. I curled up in the sleeping bag and cried. This is the most terrified I have felt in my life. Quinn would never leave me here like this, whether I attacked someone or not. He may have closed me in but he would have stayed with me, he would have risked his own life to make sure I was safe, I knew that for certain. Something must have happened to him. I had to force myself to eat a granola bar to keep up my strength then I went to sleep, hopeful that when I woke up, this would have been a dream and Quinn would be holding me. No such luck. I woke up a few hours later and checked my phone, it was now at 25% power. I hit send on my text again and ended up with the same error message. I drank a bottle of water and then tried standing up. My shoulder was still so tender, it seemed to be getting worse instead of better. I made my way to the cave entrance and tried to move some rocks again. I was able to get one loose enough to see some light outside. Oh thank God! I started screaming for help as I kept trying to get more rocks loose. There was just enough visibility to know it was daylight, but I couldn’t make out anything else. My eyes were so attuned to the darkness that it was hard to focus with the amount of light coming in the small opening.
I screamed for help until my throat became raw and my voice was barely audible. No one answered, I never heard more than the rustle of leaves in the wind. I stayed beside the hole until the sun set just cherishing the light as long as I could. I crawled back to my sleeping bag and curled up inside it shaking, terrified of what was going to happen to me. I’m not sure how I managed to sleep that night unless it was just from the exhaustion of screaming my head off. When I woke up I could see light shining in through the cracks and knew it was daylight again. Eating a granola bar for breakfast and sipping the last of my water I pulled myself up and dragged myself to the opening again. I felt so weak, like the way you feel when you have the flu. It was a struggle just to lift my head, let alone stand up. I only just got onto my knees when I tried to yell out and scarcely any noise came from my throat and it was so raw. I kept shrieking over and over again, calling out names and for help.
I stopped when I thought I heard someone calling out to me. Just then I knew I heard my name. It was a man’s voice it had to be Mitchell because it didn’t sound like Quinn. “Help me! Please, I’m trapped in here!” I kept screeching. The rocks started to move and more light began radiating in. I’m saved, oh thank God, I am saved. My eyes needed to adjust to the light, I could see a shape and I saw a hand reach out to me so I took it and they helped me through the open space. The rocks scraped my sore arm and I let out an agonizing scream. The man got me out of the cave and pulled me into his arms hugging me and telling me everything was going to be fine, I was safe. I wrapped my arms around him and thanked him repeatedly. Once my vision had cleared, I looked up at him. I pushed myself back out of his arms and my hand immediately went up to cover my mouth that was open in shock. “Will!” I exclaimed as I threw my left arm around him and hugged him close to me. “I thought you were dead, we all did, how is this possible?” I asked him. He smiled and said, “I thought I was dead too it took me a little longer to heal so I couldn’t make my way back to you guys, but I am here now. Who locked you in there?” I shrugged my shoulders and screamed at the pain, I have got to be more careful with that arm.
Will removed the bandage to check out my sore and it looked horrible, it was purple and bloody and looked like it had infection in it. He had a backpack and he unzipped it and pulled out some alcohol and more bandages. Next, he picked up a stick and told me to bite down on it while he cleaned the wound. I put the stick in my mouth and as soon as he poured the alcohol on the wound I bit down so hard that I bit the stick in half and screamed in anguish. He kept apologizing as he bandaged me up but I knew that he did what he had to do. When it was all done he grabbed a t-shirt from his bag and gave it to me to put on, since at this point I was still in just a sheet. “Why are you carrying all this stuff and how did you know where I was?” I questioned him curiously. “This was one of the bags I had in the cave during our shifting together, I used it he last few days as well during this past cycle. I started keeping bandages on hand just in case, I am still new at this and my bullet wound took longer to heal than most of my other injuries have before. I didn’t know you were here until I heard you calling out and I recognized your voice. I was camped out not to far from here for the last few days and ironically, was headed to see you and let you know I was alive,” he explained. Then he helped me up and picked me up into his arms to carry me, I draped my arms around his neck and lay my head against his shoulder.
We made it to my car which was still parked where we left it. That was not a good sign. I started to feel that panic inside again. Will got me to the car, opened the door and placed me in the back seat. “Lay down and rest, I am going to take you home,” he advised me. As he drove I closed my eyes and tried to replay the last few hours to see if I missed anything. I must have really gotten lost in thought because we made it to my house in minutes it seemed but the waterfall is at least an hour drive. Will carried me inside, my parents weren’t home so he took me up the stairs and laid me in the bed. Tucking me in, he kissed my head and told me to get some rest. I was in so much pain and so exhausted that it wasn’t hard to take his advice.
Chapter Fifteen
When I awoke the next morning my body was telling me to stay in bed and rest some more but my heart and head were screaming to look for Quinn. Something was wrong, I should have heard from him by now. First thing I did was grab a shower, it had been at least 4 days since I had one and I was hoping it would help clear my head. It felt wonderful to be under the hot water, I could have stayed in there forever but when I opened my eyes and saw the glass door and the four walls so close to me I began to feel closed in and it was becoming hard to breathe. My hands frantically reached for the door and I jumped out of the shower to catch my breath and I didn’t dry my feet off which caused me to slip and fall on the floor. My head bumped hard against the tile floor of the bathroom and I saw stars. As if things could get any worse for me. The towel I had pulled from the closet was just barely out of reach so I scooted myself over to the sink and grabbed it. Everything seemed to be going wrong, my life was so happy and now it felt like nothing could go right. Emotions took over and I leaned up against the sink and started bawling my eyes out. “Quinn, where are you?” I choked out. My mom knocked on the bathroom door to check on me and tell me I was going to be late for school.
Arriving at school I ran to the first place I could think of to look for him. Quinn wasn’t at his locker but I knew he didn’t keep it locked so I opened it up, it was empty. My chest was starting to hurt. Next I tried Jackie’s locker, hers was unlocked as well but was full of all her things. Well I don’t know if that is a good sign or a bad sign. Heading to class I opened the door hoping to see one of them in there but the only one in there was Will and he was sitting in Quinn’s seat. He smiled at me and waved so I went to sit by him. He leaned over and kissed me on the mouth and I jerked back. What the…? I wasn’t able to respond because Mr. Carter started teaching. We were definitely having a talk after class though.
Class seemed to last for ages, Mr. Carter called roll but he didn’t even say Quinn’s name. He did mention Jackie’s and then said he remembered that she called in sick. I pulled out my phone and texted Quinn. I am really starting to worry about you, please get in touch with me and let me know what is going on. I am at school, I Love you—Parker. My phone beeped a minute later with an error message that stated that the call failed, number could not accept texts. It was all I could do to fight back fear now, I started rocking back and forth in my seat and watching the clock anxious for the class to be over. I had to get out of school and find Quinn, Jackie and
Mitchell because something was very wrong here.
Finally the bell rang and I took off out of the class like a bat out of hell. Will was calling after me but I ignored him, I would deal with that kiss thing later. I left school grounds and headed straight for Quinn’s house. When I got there it looked abandoned, the windows were boarded up and there were cobwebs on the porch. The door was open so I stepped inside. The place looked like it hadn’t been lived in for years, what is going on here? There was nothing here that even belonged to Quinn, how can that be? I couldn’t have been in that cave more than a couple of days based on the amount of food I had left. A sick feeling crept over me, a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach.
This time I texted Jackie Hey girl, heard you were sick, is that just wolf talk? Get back with me, I can’t find Quinn—Parker. My phone beeps a minute later, before looking I closed my eyes and begged that it was a reply and not another error. Looking at the phone I was relieved, it was a response from Jackie. I have some kind of stomach bug, don’t know what you mean by wolf talk…are you feeling ok? And who is Quinn?—Jackie. I texted back, that’s not funny Jackie, I am really worried about him, is he with Mitchell?—Parker. Another reply from Jackie came through, Mitchell is out of town with his parents for Thanksgiving, I’ve never heard him mention anyone named Quinn, what is up with you Parker?—Jackie. I couldn’t catch my breath. I sat down on the floor and was rocking back and forth as I panicked. I don’t understand any of this, Quinn was real I know he was. There is no way I imagined the last couple of months. How hard did I hit my head this morning, maybe it was like in a movie and I hit it so hard that I am in a dream state right now and in a few hours I will wake up and Quinn will have been sitting next to me holding my hand the whole time.
Getting in my car I went back to our waterfall to see if I could find any clues. I stepped inside the cave and found all my stuff including the sleeping bag that I shared with Quinn during the day. I picked it up and sniffed it…NO…I only smelled my scent. That can’t be happening. Grabbing everything together I ran out of the cave and threw myself on the ground at the base of the fall. I didn’t even know about this waterfall before I met Quinn which means he is real. I know he is real, I couldn’t hurt this much if he wasn’t…right? Please let him be ok, please don’t let me lose him. My phone rang and it was Will, I ignored it, I can’t talk to him right now.
It hit me all of a sudden, Quinn had been in my car and I remembered he put the blanket and picnic stuff in the trunk the last time we were here. Standing up I practically tripped over my own feet trying to run to the car. Fumbling with my keys I tried to open the trunk. I dropped the keys on the ground and took a deep breath, stopped and picked them up and then took a few more deep breaths to calm myself as I put them in the trunk lock. One more deep breath, I closed my eyes and lifted the trunk. Opening my eyes I looked and there was the blanket and the picnic basket. I didn’t imagine it…he is real! I lifted the blanket and breathed in the scent, his was still there. I smiled and looked upward to the sky, thank you. There were still more answers to find though, so I headed back home.
One problem that I can’t explain is Jackie acted like she never heard of Quinn. I don’t know what to make of that. Pulling into my driveway a car pulled in right behind me. In the rearview mirror I noticed it was Will in the driver’s seat. We both stepped out of our cars and walked toward each other “I’ve been calling you, why haven’t you answered. I have been worried about you since you ran out of school in such a rush.” He said as he put his arm on me and kissed my cheek. I placed my hands on his chest and shoved him away from me. “Why do you keep kissing me?” I demanded. He looked a bit hurt when he said, “That’s usually what people dating do…isn’t it?” Ok, now I am really confused. “Dating? Since when are we dating?” I asked. “Uh…For at least a month now, since you found me on the road hurt and we bonded over the fact we are both wolves…” he started to say but I cut him off, “Wait that was months ago, I’ve been dating Quinn since before I met you and then you died…or so we all thought…until you saved me from the cave where I had been trapped.” Now Will had a confused look on his face, “First, who is Quinn, second, I never died, and third what cave…the one under the waterfall…our cave?” I smacked him across the face, “that will never be OUR cave, that is mine and Quinn’s cave! I don’t know what you are trying to pull Will Carpenter but I won’t listen to this crap!” I stormed off into the house and slammed the door behind me. Looking out the window I saw him get in the car and drive off, I picked up the phone to call Jackie.
I demanded she tell me where Quinn and Mitchell were and she repeated the same story as before that she didn’t know a Quinn and that Mitchell was out of town with his parents. I started yelling at her to tell me the truth and she got angry back saying I had gone crazy and that Will was telling me the truth and that I needed to quit smoking whatever drugs I had because they were messing with my mind. Hanging up on her I grabbed my keys off the counter and headed out the door. Things were getting better between the four of us and I didn’t understand why she was reverting back to the angry person she has been the last few weeks. I headed straight for Mitchell’s house. There were no cars in the driveway but I knocked and rang the doorbell repeatedly. I walked around to the back of the house and found the hidden key for the back door. I let myself in.
For Mitchell’s 16th birthday I helped Jackie sneak in to his house and decorate his room up as a surprise. This is how I knew where the hide-a-key was and the layout of his house. Sneaking up to Mitchell’s room I found that his luggage was still there in the closet and it didn’t look like he’d been home in a while. I started going through his desk looking for any clues and I found a piece of paper with a number on it…Quinn’s phone number! Clutching it to my chest I dialed Mitchell’s number, no answer. Something happened to both Quinn and Mitchell and someone has brainwashed Jackie and Will. That was the only answer I could come up with to explain all the craziness going on. All of a sudden a memory hit me, I grabbed at my right shoulder and there was no bandage and no sore there anymore. It was infected yesterday, how can it be gone now? Something really strange is going on and I am the only one who can find out what it is. I can’t trust Jackie or Will because they may have been brainwashed somehow. Now I feel like it is me who watches too many soap operas.
Will called my phone and left a message when I didn’t answer. His message said, “Look Parker, I am not sure what is going on with you right now, but I care a lot about you and we need to work through this. You can explain to me who this Quinn is and maybe we can work it out if you still care about me too the way you used to at least. Anyway, just call me.” His message sounded like he wanted to say more but didn’t know how to word it. I feel bad that I smacked him, if he was brainwashed than it’s not his fault that he thinks we are a couple. I guess for now I will have to play along with him and Jackie so they don’t try to put me in the loony bin. Now I have to come up with a convincing story as to why I have acted so weird the last two days.
First things first, I called Will. “Hey Will, look I am sorry about earlier, I don’t know what came over me. If you still want to see me, meet me at the park in a half hour. Quinn is nobody important I’ve realized. I just want to be with you. I’m sorry about slapping you that was uncalled for.” I had to leave that as a message, can’t really blame him for not answering. Couldn’t exactly act like I made Quinn up, otherwise they will really think I am nuts. So instead, I will act like there was a chance for me to cheat on him but then I realized he means too much to me. Going along with the craziness was the only way I could find out the truth it seemed.
Will was there when I got to the park, and he had flowers. He was smiling at me as I was walking up, and I felt guilty going along with this because he looked truly sincere. He handed me the bouquet of daisies. Taking them from him, I smiled and sniffed them. “Why are you giving me flowers? I am the one who has groveling to do,” I said to him and then stood on my tiptoes and gav
e him a quick kiss. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him for a longer kiss. Oh brother, this was too weird, like making out with a brother. Yuck. Pulling away I faked a giggle and said, “easy there stud-muffin.” He laughed and then reached down and took my hand and then led me over to the picnic table. It was best to get this part over with so I started to explain, “Look about what happened before. Quinn means nothing to me. I thought at one time he did, but he ended up being a jerk and in turn I feel like a jerk for falling for it and in the long run hurting you.” As I said this I put on the saddest face I could as I took my hand and caressed his face lovingly. He looked back at me the same way Quinn does, with actual love in his eyes. This threw me for a loop and I pulled away from him abruptly and turned my face to look away. He reached out and touched my arm, “What’s wrong sweetheart?” Before thinking I snapped, “Don’t call me that!” And then with some quick thinking and without looking at him I lied and said, “I’m sorry, I just don’t feel like I deserve to be your sweetheart. I just feel so bad about what happened earlier is all. I’m really sorry.” I brought my hands up to my face to cover it as though I was truly devastated, but mostly it was so he couldn’t see I wasn’t. I poked at my eyes a bit to make them water and then turned to face him again. He had a concerned look on his face, “don’t cry, I’m not mad, I promise.” He put his arms around me and hugged me tight, the only thing I could do was look up at the sky and wish this hug was over already.