by J. Axbridge
A large, angry gray wolf now stood on Arthur as he fought for his life mustering all his human strength possible. He held the beast’s throat at bay, keeping its snapping jaws only inches from him with a sudden surge in strength we never knew he was capable of. With its drool dripping onto Arthur’s face, I didn’t pause to save my brother and swung at the creature with my aluminum softball bat as hard as I could.
Striking the wolf squarely on the back with a loud thud, I had used all my strength and knew the wolf would crumple in pain or at the least take off running. The large raggedy wolf didn’t budge though, instead it jerked its head towards me, made an annoyed growl showing it’s sharp teeth dripping with froth, as if saying, “You’re next”, then returned to its savage attack on my brother.
Then without warning a second wolf, leaner and even more muscular than the first, flew out of a canopy of black smoke, crashing into the large raggedy wolf and sending him flying off Arthur. It then furiously jumped upon the raggedy wolf grabbing its neck in its powerful jaws and tossing it away like a ragdoll. In a howl of pain the raggedy wolf took off, scampering around debris and disappearing in the distance behind smoldering fires and drifts of thick gray smoke. For the briefest moment it seemed we were safe.
Arthur clambered shakily to his feet, his heart pumping hard. He looked in shock before finally coming too and yanked out his silver hunting knife then stood in front of me for my protection. It was very brave of my brother to protect us, but we were in this fight together so I stepped up next to him holding my aluminum bat ready to swing again. Caelyn, Victoria and Ethan slid in behind the two of us horrorstruck, not knowing what they should do as the lean, muscular wolf stared at us momentarily in sort of a query. It began tilting its head left then right as if it was logically thinking. My only thought was that it was trying to decide which one of us to eat first.
Then before our eyes the wolf that had just saved Arthur’s life, stopped staring and with a slight growl transformed with pops, cracks and a strange zipping noise into a high school aged boy in a really skin tight track suit that meticulously defined his wide muscular upper body and pretty much everything else too. Although I tried to stay calm and collected, I couldn’t help but blush. Unfortunately the werewolf boy noticed it too because staring at me, he cracked a smile.
Chapter 8 - The Savior
Adelaide
“It’s . . . It’s you – No Freaking Way!” I stuttered in shocked realization.
“Of course it’s me, who else would it be?”
“I mean, you’re Jax . . . Jax Morgan from Lyall High?” I said, instantly forgetting that this boy that I adored deeply in high school was actually some sort of sexy, furry mutant.
“Please, don’t be scared; I’m only trying to help,” Jax said hurriedly, spying the area around us as his smile faded. “We didn’t know there were any humans around these parts still. As far as we knew, this was a dead area . . .,” he said, now suspiciously looking over each one of us before pausing in thought. “Wait . . . How do you know my name?”
“Oh . . . well, we actually go to the same school . . . or did I mean, before all this happened,” I motioned around the area, nervously smiling while feeling awkward and embarrassed realizing Jax didn’t know who the hell I was. Of course I’d looked better and probably smelled better too, so maybe that was it.
“I can’t say I remember meeting you, what’s your name again?”
“Actually I didn’t tell you my name yet, and we’ve never formally met. Maybe kind of once I guess, in grade school. But we went to a large school so . . .” I stammered, my voice trailing off as my face began heating up.
“YOU’RE A WEREWOLF!” Victoria cried out breaking the awkward silence, “I mean, A REAL LIVING, BREATHING WEREWOLF. HE CHANGED!” Victoria pointed at Jax, “YOU CHANGED! I SAW YOU CHANGE!”
“Yes I did.” Jax laughed at my sister’s enthusiasm and wonderment.
“And . . . So are you a bad werewolf? Are you going to, eat us?” Caelyn jumped in on the questioning, seemingly more curious than afraid of Jax Morgan. Whereas myself, I still wasn’t sure what the hell was going on and was being cautious still gripping my bat tight in case I had to use it.
“Yes I am a werewolf and no I’m not going to eat you . . . Not without my barbecue sauce.” Jax laughed when the twins stepped back with fear in their eyes. “I’m joking girls, but I don’t have time for details. Trust me, I’m with the good guys and that’s all you really need to know for now; we’ll have time for this talk later,” Jax said turning back to Arthur and I.
“Anyway,” I spoke up as Jax’s cobalt blue eyes stared at me a little too wondrously, “I’m Addie and these are my brothers, Arthur and Ethan and my over curious twin sisters Victoria and Caelyn.”
“Wait, that’s it. . . I do remember you! The last time I saw you, you were beating up your locker on the day the storms hit,” Jax said, and gave me the twitched smile again, the one I loved so much. “Well it’s nice to finally formally meet you Miss Addie, unfortunately this is not the best timing,” Jax turned to Arthur and paused before extending his hand. “It’s Arthur, correct?” Jax said, “I believe I do know you, we’ve talked a few times in the weight room during your football practices if I’m not mistaken.”
“Yeah we’ve met. Nice to see you again, I think? And thanks for the help by the way,” Arthur replied, shaking Jax’s strong hand hesitantly. “Although I think I could have taken that wolf thing if I had a few more seconds.”
“Maybe, but I’m happy we didn’t have to find out today.” Jax tried to sound positive but I could see it in his eyes that he didn’t believe Arthur would have survived.
“So,” I started, redirecting the conversation back to me, “Now that we know who everyone is, what did you mean when you said we were in a ‘dead area’?” I asked, my embarrassment and fear replaced by a sudden thirst for knowledge and survival. “We’re very much alive, hasn’t anyone been searching for survivors?”
“Survivors . . .,” Jax mockingly laughed, “What are those? It’s been four weeks since the storms started and anyone who’d survived was already safe or in hiding. Plus there weren’t many survivors to begin with and definitely not enough to send out search parties, not in this area at least. It was everyone for themselves for a while,” Jax reminisced. “Listen, it’s not safe out here, and actually . . . it’s not safe anywhere if you’re pure human.” With concern Jax glanced around the area yet again then back to me. “I can’t believe you five made it through the storm alive and barely a scratch to boot. As far as we knew most every human was wiped out except for a few pockets out east . . . That’s the rumor going around anyway and information is kind of limited without phones or the internet. It’s back to letter writing and simple gossip.”
“Wait — humans were wiped out? I don’t believe that one bit, because we survived and if we survived, others must have too. I’ve never been that lucky.” I said.
“Hold up, you’re telling us that we’re the only ones to survive in this whole neighborhood?” Arthur said quizzically, “That can’t be true? Come on; tell us what’s really going on here. Is this some sort of big government cover-up?”
“Government cover-up? I don’t think so, and it’s not just this neighborhood; you’re the only human survivors we’ve seen for miles. That’s exactly what’s going on. Just look around, there’s nothing left, not a single house! It’s all ashes and destruction! This place looks like hell or at least what I imagine hell to look like. How could normal, everyday humans ever survive this carnage,” Jax waved his hands around. “They can’t or at least I thought they couldn’t until now.”
“Seems you made it through OK,” I folded my arms. Clearly he wasn’t telling us everything and I wasn’t going to stand for it, werewolf or not he had questions to answer.
“You’re right, many werewolves did make it through just fine and as funny as it may sound; they’re now having meetings about how to handle this new world role we’ve been th
rust into. Which includes what to do with the humans who’ve luckily survived,” Jax said before his face turned a shade more serious. “You five must be careful. Not all werewolves are partial to humans as you saw earlier; some would rather rid the earth of them now that the werewolves have the upper hand. But my family has always been friends with humans and my parents will surely help the five of you if they can. You’re just lucky I found you when I did.”
“Well that’s a relief,” Arthur quipped. “But how come so many werewolves survived the showers and not us, humans?”
Jax sighed, his patience obviously waning, “OK I’ll tell you but we don’t have much time. It’ll be dark soon.” He looked around again, this time more irritated and then continued in a quieter voice. “When the meteorites hit, the weak and unprepared were simply wiped out, mostly humans of course – Sorry.”
“Really?” I leaned to one side, my arms folded in disbelief.
“It’s true . . . the strongest creatures survived the destruction and craziness that ensued. Werewolves of course, having superior strength, speed and better healing powers than humans made it through easier. Unfortunately some other unsightly creatures or so I’ve been told, survived the storms also but I’ve yet to encounter anyone or anything else except stray animals, my fellow werewolves and now you five,” Jax said, nodding his head assuredly.
“Well, where are you —” I began to ask where he was living when he cut me off.
“No more questions! “We have to get you five to safety! We can talk later, and since the sun is about to set the best thing would be to go back to your . . . wait . . .” Jax stopped in mid sentence, confused. “Where did you five come from anyway? There are no homes left around here.”
“No homes?” Victoria and Caelyn turned and pointed together.
“Look, our home is still standing. How could you miss it, it’s like the only thing above ground,” Caelyn pointed to make sure Jax knew exactly where to look.
Jax peered into the distance and sure enough through the smoke the shape of our home slowly took form. “That makes no sense; I swear there were no houses left around here? Guess someone missed it,” Jax shrugged his shoulders. “In any case, you five better get back there for safety before it gets dark.”
Caelyn was curious now, as was Victoria and Ethan who no longer hid behind Arthur and me.
“Excuse me, but what are we supposed to do at home?” Caelyn asked. “Our parents aren’t there and we’ll be all alone again. We could be attacked? We need protection.”
“My dad has friends in high places within the werewolf community. I’ll tell him about you five and I’m sure he’ll help. And I’ll have a couple of friends walk this area tonight to make sure no wandering werewolves come near your place. My dad and I will be back the next sun, and also —”
“Stop right there,” finally it was my turn to interrupt him mid-sentence; I was tired of being the one who was talked over.
“The ‘next . . . sun’, I finger quoted in irritation, “Is that tomorrow in werewolf talk?” I was trying to wrap my brain around this new information concerning werewolves and danger but still didn’t quite believe it all and was becoming quickly agitated.
“Haven’t you noticed when the sun rises and sets?” Jax looked at us in disbelief, “Things have changed, and the world has changed. As I’ve heard it, large meteorites hit all around the world causing the earth’s rotation to somehow speed up which basically shortened our days. The 24 hour day we were used to has essentially been split in half. We have two rising suns and two periods of darkness in one 24 hour period. Each full day is only twelve hours long now. Crazy, right!”
Jax saw confusion flood our faces and that we had no idea what in the world he was talking about so again he explained, this time his voice raised in frustration. “LISTEN, I’M NO SCIENTIST BUT . . . BECAUSE SOME HUGE METEROITES OR ASTEROIDS,” Jax over exaggerated his hand movements, “HIT THE EARTH REALLY HARD, THEY MADE IT SPIN FASTER. . .” Jax took a deep breath, and then continued a bit calmer, “I guess we could have just made shorter days but even werewolves need more than six hours sleep at a time . . . Anyway, what we call first darkness starts from around midnight to around six am. From six am to noon it’s called first sun. Then the second darkness comes at noon until six pm. After six pm is when it gets light again and we call it second sun. Get it? First Sun, Second Sun, First Darkness, Second Darkness, it’s actually pretty simple and works. Think of the positives, now we can have two breakfasts per day, that’s a plus in my book, I love pancakes and eggs with a side of bacon.” Jax rubbed his muscular stomach.
“Are you for real?” I asked, and then turned to Arthur. “Even if everything he’s said is true, there was no way we could have known, we were in the basement for so long.” Arthur just shrugged his shoulders so I turned back to Jax, “OK, although this may be a crazy dream, we’ll take advice from a so-called ‘werewolf’ and head home,” I said, still not one hundred percent sure about Jax and his information. “We better get going then. I don’t want to face another crazy werewolf man thing in the dark or light for that matter whether I’m dreaming or not. And you better not be lying to us Mr. Jax Morgan,” I said staring straight into his cobalt eyes. The same eyes I used to daydream about daily at school.
“Your eyes,’’ Jax stared back at me questioning. “They’re two different colors.”
“And . . . ? That just explains how you missed our house Mr. Observant,” I placed my hands on my hips. Although this seemingly was the end of the world, it was still a secret I had wanted to keep from Jax and it irritated me that he’d seen them.
“Sorry . . . , they’re nice! Pretty cool actually; there’s just something familiar about them . . . Honestly, I really do like them,” Jax said, turning a shade of red . . . “I’ll be back for your five tomorrow with help then.”
“Just please show up Jax,” I replied with a gentler tone to my voice and actually smiled as I thought about how it would have been if we’d had the chance to go to Prom together. At least Bethany Blake is out of the picture now. That’s one positive. I thought before continuing, “Come on; let’s get back home for the night guys.”
The five of us picked up the little gear we had and began trekking home.
“HEY ADDIE,” Jax called as we were walking away. “Be careful and stay safe, we will be there tomorrow . . . I Promise!
Yeah, I know all about promises. I thought, and then waved to Jax before turning and walking off with my brothers and sisters through the smoke and out of sight.
Chapter 9 - The Helpful Ones
Adelaide
My heart skipped a beat when I heard the hollow knocks I’d been waiting for all night rap on our basement door.
“Addie, are you down there?” Jax’s strong voice silently rang out.
“We’re here,” I answered back in the same quiet tone as Jax, my heart pounding. “Is it safe for us to come up?”
“No . . . , it’s better if we come down. Stay there!” The basement door creaked open before I heard two pair of heavy footsteps coming down the staircase to help us.
Entering the basement, Jax promptly introduced his father; Mr. Randolph Morgan as the group of us just stared at his large frame awestruck. He was a big man yet had a kind and gentle face very similar to Jax’s except for the aged wrinkles near his eyes as he squinted in our dimly lit basement hideout.
“So you’re the five!” Randolph Morgan said with curiosity to his voice, his eyebrows slowly rising as he looked us over carefully. “Well, don’t be afraid, I’m only here to help,” his tone was more casual now as he sat down on a dusty bar stool not to seem too overbearing. “My son Jax here, who you apparently know from school has said he explained a few things to you about this new world we’re living in. I must honestly say humans are the minority now; there are not many of you left alive, especially in these parts. It was simply survival of the fittest when the meteorites were destroying earth and; well...I guess its evolution to put it blunt
ly.
“We, the werewolves that is, took cover quickly; we could sense a strong danger looming and moved into places that humans never even knew existed deep within the earth and that’s how many of us and our families survived,” Mr. Morgan said as he seemingly replayed the horrible storm in his mind. “You five are fortunate to be alive, and in one piece. I don’t know how it happened but it did and it’s a miracle. But if you want to stay alive in this new world from this moment on, we’ll have to figure your situation out ASAP.”
“Mr. Morgan, it’s obvious we can’t stay down here from what you and Jax have told us, so what can we do? We’re just kids.” I said worriedly. “Where can we go? You mentioned something about other humans, right? Can’t we stay with them? At least until we find our parents. That seems like the most logical and safest plan so far. Maybe it’s the only plan?”
Mr. Morgan paused, leaning his chin on his right hand in concentrated thought. “I have an idea that may just work,” he slapped his knees with both hands and stood up causing the chair to squeak with relief from his weight. “We’ll start with sneaking you out of this place during the first darkness tomorrow and bring you to our home. From there we will find a way to get you across the waters to meet up with the other humans who are already heading east. We’ll have to prepare right away though and then move fast to catch them.”
“Have you personally met any of these humans? Are they nice?” I asked with concern.
“No dear, I haven’t. But we have reliable information from others that say there is a group of them currently camped out on the opposite side of the waters and they don’t look like trouble. That’s the best information we have right now and the best shot at getting you five out of this area and to a safer place for the time being.”