by Abby Tyson
Baxter didn't move, his eyes revealing a struggle that Savi wanted to believe was for her benefit. She met his gaze, searching for the sweet, carefree man she'd met in the parking lot of the convenience mart.
Marcia, standing beside the trap door, said, "I'll just take a peek."
His eyes flickered toward Marcia, but Baxter stayed where he was. Reaching for Savi, he said, "Let's get you cleaned up, kid."
"Get the hatch, Tiny," Top snapped.
"Don't --" Baxter cut himself off. Savi couldn't see Top's face, but whatever defiance was rising inside Baxter deflated as he stared at Top behind her. With one last defeated look at Savi, he walked over and opened the trap door for Marcia.
"Jameson?" Marcia called.
Baxter started climbing down. "He's out on the floor," he said. "There's a heck of a mess down here."
Marcia glared at Savi. "What did you do to him?"
"Me?" Savi cried. Top's grip tightened on her arms, cautioning her to calm down, but she couldn't stop the fury from boiling over.
"You left me down there at the mercy of a psycho who thinks he's a wolf! Because you made him one!" she shouted. "He uncuffed me from the bed and hunted me in the pitch dark. He freaking bit my arm and clawed my face, and I'm the one who did something to him?"
"Hey now," Top said.
"Put her in the van," Marcia said dismissively. Turning to Baxter, who was still standing halfway down the ladder, studying Savi, she said, "Move along."
Top shoved Savi through the door and to a white utility van parked at the mouth of the dirt road with its back doors open. Both Gabes stood beside it.
"Grab the ties," said Top. "You help me hold her down."
One-handed Gabe jumped in the van while the other helped pin her to its floor. Top pressed down on her arms, his face hovering upside down above her.
"I wouldn't wanna go where you're going," Top said, wearing a cruel smile. "But I sure as hell am glad I'm bringing you there."
After zip-tying her ankles and wrists, they slid her across the floor of the van and used more zip-ties to fasten her hands and feet to the bottom of an empty metal rack that was bolted to the van. Even though she had been wishing for this fate back in the basement with Jameson, now that she was here, panic was digging its sharp claws into her stomach.
"Where are you taking me?" she cried, her words scraping at her sore throat.
Hopping out of the van, Top said, "Make yourself comfortable, it's a long drive." The spotlight on the side of the barn illuminated the Gabes, already walking back to Marcia's room. Top's face was hidden in shadow as he turned back to her to close the van doors. Leaning toward her and speaking in a voice too soft for the Gabes to hear, he said, "And who knows how many pitstops I'll make before we get there." He slammed the doors shut.
Instead of pondering his meaning, which Savi was certain held nothing good for her, she strained against the thin plastic zip ties, but only succeeded in making the ones around her wrists painfully tight. She hated the thought of asking Top to redo them, but there was no way she'd make it down the driveway, let alone wherever he was taking her, with the hard plastic biting into her flesh.
Shouts sounded from outside, then yips and howls.
Are they bringing wolves too? Savi wondered.
Wolves snarling. People screaming.
Something was wrong.
Savi jumped at a loud bang against the van doors, and cringed when screams and growls revealed it as a man being attacked. There was no way to know who it was. Savi prayed it wasn't Marley, then reminded herself that after what she'd done, there was no way he would be coming back for her.
The driver's door opened. Through the metal mesh partition that separated the cab from the cargo hold, Savi could see Top jump in and yank the door shut behind him.
Something -- it sounded like a rabid wolf -- crashed against his door. "Ha ha!" he shouted in triumph. "See you in hell!"
"What's going on?" she rasped.
"Shut it," he said, starting the engine and putting the gear in drive.
The passenger's side door opened.
"Perhaps," said a child's voice, with a gravity that was very unchildlike.
It took Savi a second to realize Nissa was responding to Top's exclamation from before. She tried calling to Nissa, but her voice was gone.
Top slammed on the gas, but not before the silver wolf jumped into the cab. Gone was the weak, broken wolf in a cage. The wolf's silver fur glimmered with a brilliance that couldn't be attributed to the measly van dome light. Even snarling at Top, its menacing teeth bared, it was the most dazzlingly beautiful creature Savi had ever seen.
Reaching behind the seat, Top said, "I know where she is! I'll help you!" Before he could find whatever defense he was searching for, the wolf was on him. It clamped down on his neck, and Top's cries morphed into a wet gurgling sound that Savi desperately wished she could block out.
The van lurched forward, skidding and barrelling down the dirt road as Top, now silent and still, lay the full weight of his thick leg on the gas pedal. The silver wolf didn't give her even a glance as it jumped out the passenger door.
"Help!" Savi screamed, painfully forcing the sound through her jagged throat. Clutching the base of the rack, she braced herself for the inevitable crash.
Her eyes popped open at the sound of her name. Someone was calling to her. She lifted her head, incredulous.
"Savi!"
It is him! He came back!
"Mar--"
The deafening sound of shattering glass cut her joyful cry short. Her head slammed against the metal bar, as the van came to a violent stop. The smell of gas and burnt rubber enveloped her, making already painful breaths torturous. The van may have stopped moving, but everything around Savi was spinning. A high-pitched buzzing, like a mosquito, hummed in her ears, blocking out all other sound.
Her throat burned. Her dry mouth filled with a disgusting taste. The walls around her came in and out of focus as she fell deeper into the silent chasm of herself.
Worlds away, someone was speaking to her. Savi couldn't make out the words, but like a gentle hand the voice caught her, raising her back up to the cliff's edge. Gradually she became aware of her surroundings, the pebbles poking at her back, the cool air on her skin. But it was the face -- his face -- that she focused on. Marley stared down at her with a fear and tenderness that made the ache in Savi's heart more cutting than all of the other pains vying for her attention.
"Are you okay?" Marley asked.
Savi didn't want to talk. She knew when she spoke the spell would be over, and he would go back to hating her.
Tears tickled her ears as they dripped onto the dirt road. Smiling weakly, she whispered, "Do I look okay?"
A relieved laugh fell out of Marley's mouth and landed in Savi's. Her body protested, but the silent laughter felt so good after all that had happened, she wouldn't have stopped it if she could.
Marley tried to help her up, but Savi put a hand on his chest to stop him.
"They tricked me," she croaked, "into helping them get the wolf. They said --"
"Nissa told us," he said. "She said the agreement you made included Dad, but they were lying."
He pulled her slowly to her feet. In one efficient movement, he slipped his arm around her waist and brought her arm across his shoulders. She caught a whiff of something sour. It matched the taste in her mouth.
"Did I..." Looking down at her shirt, Savi saw a smattering of wet spots on her shoulder.
"I'm just glad it's not blood," he said grimly.
Despite his forgiving words, Savi's embarrassment clenched her stomach, reactivating her nausea. She may have tingled at Marley's touch earlier that evening, but now she couldn't wait to put space between them. If everything around her weren't wobbling so much, she would have pulled away from him right then.
"Water?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.
Sitting her back down, Marley pulled a canteen from his backpack. Holding it just a
bove, but not touching, her lips, Savi poured in the refreshing and healing water, soothing her swollen throat.
As they started back, she could just make out Ren's silhouette standing beside a car, the glaring barn spotlight shining behind him. The silver wolf was easy to spot in the moonlight, leaping and playing with Nissa in the clearing. There was no sign of Marcia or her crew.
"What happened?" Savi asked. "Where is everybody?"
Marley smiled down at her. "We took a page from your book. We let all the wolves out and they herded almost everyone into the barn."
"Almost everyone?"
Keeping his eyes on the road, Marley said, "One of the Gabes didn't make it -- the one with only one hand."
"Neither did Top," she said.
"Yeah, I saw." Marley sounded a little queasy himself.
Trying to block out the memory of Top's death, Savi asked, "You released all of the wolves? Even Hettie?"
"There were a few Nissa couldn't talk to. I don't know what Hettie looks like. Some of the wolves are still guarding the doors."
"Talk to? Nissa can talk to wolves?"
Marley gave a short, derisive laugh. "Yeah."
His odd reaction didn't register with Savi, who had just noticed that Marley was limping.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, halting her steps.
"It's nothing. I'll be fine tomorrow," he said. Savi stepped back, taking in his one-sleeved shirt, torn lip, and bloody pant leg for the first time.
"What happened to you?"
"Just got a little roughed up getting the silver wolf."
He pulled her back against him and started walking at a quicker pace. As they neared the parking lot, Gabe's bloody body came into view on the ground where the van had been. Turning from the gruesome sight, Savi saw a couple of wolves pacing in front of the door leading to Marcia's apartment.
Ren, with Marley's missing sleeve tied around his arm, shouted, "Nissa! Come on! Savi's here. We've got to go."
Marley tried to lower Savi into the white car next to Ren, but she pushed back against the door frame.
"I need to see if Hettie is still here," she said.
"If she's still here that means Nissa can't control her," Ren said. "We've got to go. Now."
"I'm not leaving her here," Savi said with equal authority.
"Even if she is here," said Marley, "we have no darts left. We have no way of moving her safely."
Savi's tears rose too easily. Keeping her voice steady, she repeated, "I am not leaving her here." She started toward the barn on her own, but the ground tipped to the side.
"Woah," Marley said, catching her before she fell. "Don't push yourself too hard."
Her retort died in her throat as she became aware of his body against hers. His breath brushed her lips, and she could almost imagine it was his mouth touching her so softly.
What is wrong with me? Savi thought. I almost just died, and I'm still getting all hot and bothered about a guy who made it clear he's not interested? A guy who basically called me fat?
As he helped steady her, Savi worked within herself to seal all of the fissures in her defenses that Marley had caused.
"Nissa!" Ren yelled.
"We're coming, we're coming," Nissa sang as the two bounded toward the car.
"Come on," Marley said, taking Savi around the waist again and speedwalking to the side door that led to the cage room.
"Brother!"
"We'll be right there," Marley yelled over his shoulder.
The cavernous space, normally filled with riotous barks and howls, was disconcertingly quiet. All but a handful of the cages were empty. By the door that led to Marcia's apartment lay three wolves that lifted their heads at Savi and Marley's entrance, but remained where they were.
There was no sign of Hettie's red and tan streaked fur, and two of the wolves were dark gray, so Savi wasn't sure which one, if either, was Colby. Savi had so forcibly blocked out the memory of Tara and Eric's transformations that she couldn't remember what their wolves even looked like.
"She's not here," Savi said, stepping away from Marley and propping herself up on an empty cage. Her failure carved at her insides, scraping her empty.
Hollow.
She almost laughed.
Why couldn't I just alter like Hettie? Like everyone else? None of this would have happened. I would be happy in our fake little werewolf world, and Hettie would be safe.
Marley moved beside her. "She'll be fine," he said softly.
"How will I find her tomorrow?"
"She'll probably wake up with a bunch of werewolves in the woods and get a ride home."
With everything that had happened since, Savi hadn't had time to process her argument with Hettie earlier that evening, but one thing was clear: she had underestimated Hettie for most of their friendship. Hettie was smarter and stronger than Savi had realized. As long as she wasn't caged and at the mercy of Marcia, she would find a way home.
"Let's go!" Ren shouted from afar.
"Come on," Marley said gently, taking Savi's hand and letting her lean on him once again as they made their way back to the car. Nissa and the wolf were still outside, looking like any other happy kid and her dog. Savi smiled at the jubilant pair, grateful that at least something had gone right.
A crash of broken glass pierced the clearing.
"No!" Nissa screamed, racing to the wolf, its silver body lying motionless on the grass.
It took the second gunshot for Savi to understand what had happened. Marley started running, and it was all she could do to keep her feet moving as he practically dragged her to the car amid even more shots.
Someone else was screaming. Marcia. She was standing in the doorway shouting at Gabe, who was running at them, gun in hand. The two guard wolves lay on the ground behind him.
"Get in!" Ren hissed, hiding behind the open door of the car. "Keep your heads down!" he yelled.
Savi crawled along the floor, crouching behind the front passenger's seat just as a bullet struck the window above her, raining broken glass down on her.
"We can't leave Nissa!" she yelled.
Ren was in the driver's seat but leaning sideways over the console. He turned the car on and slammed on the gas. "We're not," he said.
Cracks exploded across the windshield as more gunshots struck the car. Ren veered towards Gabe, who had the gun trained on them. Gabe leapt out of the way.
"Marley!" Ren shouted. "Open your door!"
The sight of the dark grass zipping by outside Marley's door made Savi's stomach churn. She closed her eyes, but that only amplified the sensation of her capsizing stomach.
The car lurched to a stop.
"Nissa!" both brothers cried.
Nissa didn't even look up. Wailing, she hugged the wolf, its fluffy, silver fur nearly hiding the girl's small body.
"You get the wolf," Marley shouted, and jumped out of the car.
For a terrifying instant Savi thought Marley was talking to her, but Ren instantly followed his brother. Within seconds Marley lay across the backseat, holding a sobbing Nissa in his arms, and the silver wolf lay on the floor.
Just as Ren got back in the car, Gabe jumped across the hood, aiming the gun at Ren.
"Brother!" Marley cried, jumping into the front seat.
Ren swerved, flipping on the windshield washer fluid. Marley fell sideways into the passenger's seat. Gabe threw the gun away but hung onto the car, kicking a hole in the already broken glass. Grabbing Gabe's boot, Marley jammed his leg hard against the jagged edge of the hole. Gabe cried out in pain -- the only sound Savi had heard the mysterious twins make -- and lost his grip. Marley shoved Gabe's leg back through the hole and he slid off.
Not until Ren circled back and pulled onto the dirt road did Savi cautiously get up onto the backseat. Using her sneaker to brush off as much of the glass as she could, she pressed herself against the door, careful not to disturb Nissa. The little girl was sprawled across the seat, her hand resting on the wolf, gently rubbing her t
humb back and forth between its ears.
The headlights fell on Marcia, standing beside the open driver's side door of the van. She didn't bother trying to move out of their way as the car raced past, but she did turn to watch them, locking eyes with Savi. The anguish on Marcia's face struck Savi to her core. The reminder that Marcia had brought this all on herself was of little comfort, knowing that -- while she may not agree with the method -- Savi did agree with Marcia on one thing: her cause, saving humanity from itself, truly was unimpeachable.
Savi was still watching Marcia through the bullet ridden rear windshield when a dark shape emerged from the woods across the narrow road from the van. Just before the car turned a corner, putting the barn and its horrors behind them, the shadow stepped into the moonlight. A wolf, its head close to the ground, crept toward Marcia.
Chapter Thirty-One
It was still well before dawn when Ren parked the shattered car in the most remote and unlit corner of the apartment complex parking lot. Nissa had made it clear she wanted as few people present as possible when the silver wolf was buried, so as she and Ren walked into the dark woods, Savi and Marley went silently up to his apartment. A drunk couple stepped out of a blaring party and gave them a stunned look before bursting into laughter and going on their way. Savi looked down at her clothes, noticing the streaks and blotches of dried blood, sweat, and dirt. Marley wasn't much better off, and she realized how lucky they were not to have run into anyone else on their way up.
Marley dropped his backpack by the door and went straight to the bathroom to wash his hands. Savi started to follow him, but changed her mind and went to the kitchen sink instead. A door closed in the hallway. Both Marley's room and the bathroom were empty, so she knocked gently on Warren's door.
"Do you mind if I take a shower?" she asked.
No answer.
"Marley?"
"That's fine," came his choked response.
Savi was going to ask if she could borrow a shirt of his, but decided not to bother him. She went in his room and opened one of the trunks, hoping his shirts would be easily accessible. The sweet scent of cedar brought with it the memory of Marley offering his shirt to her in the stall, but Savi brushed it aside with little effort.