by Reed, Zoe
“Woo-wee, this is a big boy Camille. Nicely done,” Carter praised as they carried the now human body down the stairs. Seeing the boy’s face for the first time I froze. “Do you know him?”
I nodded. “From high school.”
I’d never talked to the guy, but he played on the football team, and I’d passed him in the hallways multiple times. That’s why I’d recognized his scent. I gulped back the nausea that started to cripple my stomach. While I never liked killing, with assholes like Jonathan the guilt subsided quickly. This kid didn’t need to be here. As far as I knew, he didn’t deserve this.
“Why do you think they Changed him?” Niko asked to whoever would answer him.
“Probably to carry on the business after these goons moved on,” Will explained, pointing to Luther and Charles’s bodies.
“Do you need any help?” I asked. I didn’t want to lend a hand getting rid of the bodies, but I felt I had to offer since everyone else was busy doing something.
I saw Carter look over at Sky, who was shaking her head at him. “No that’s okay. How about you find us some clothes?”
I nodded and made my way back into the house. I remembered there being a dresser in the first room that I’d checked, and thanked my lucky stars that someone had lived here, because there was no way in hell I was putting on any of those rotten werewolves’ clothes. Rummaging through the drawers I didn’t find any girl’s clothing, but pulled on some men’s basketball shorts and a tank top and grabbed some more jeans and shorts, and a shirt for Sky. Once I got outside I tossed everyone the clothes and sat on the porch to rest.
My leg was severely bruised, my back was scraped and I had a deep cut down the side of my stomach. The others had scrapes and bruises but not like mine. Kyla was going to flip out and all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep for a week. I leaned against the porch railing as David came out of the house with two shovels and a large hunting knife. Sighing in disgust I got up and went back into the house. I knew all of this had to be done, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see it.
I lay on the couch and stretched, wincing as the movement pulled at the wound in my stomach. I relaxed and laid an arm across my face to block the light from my eyes, and had almost fallen asleep when I shot up, cursing myself for nearly forgetting. The cut in my stomach was deep, and there’s no way that I hadn’t bled on the floor. I got up from the couch and made my way upstairs to see how much blood there was. There wasn’t too much, a few big splatters here and there, and most all of it was mine.
That still didn’t stop the sight from being gut wrenching. I angrily clenched my fist, wishing it didn’t bother me as much as it did. Luna shared my disgust for extreme violence, and while we simply realized it was a part of life, most other werewolves cherished the rough style of living. Any abhorrence by our aggressive nature was seen as a weakness, so I adapted to the best of my abilities.
After five minutes of searching I finally found a bucket and some bleach, and after filling the bucket I dragged it upstairs with some rags. Getting down on my hands and knees I scoured the entire room, wiping up as much as I could with a dry hand towel. I then carried the bucket to the far corner of the room, and after dunking another towel in the bleach-water I wiped the wood floor of the entire room. Once I was done I sat outside the door of the room and leaned against the wall while I waited for it to dry.
Five minutes later when the floor was dry, I studied each bit of it to make sure there was none I had missed. I sighed as I noticed a dark spot in one corner and grabbed the rag to wipe. I scrubbed and lifted the cloth to see it hadn’t disappeared. So I scrubbed harder and longer, but it still didn’t go anywhere. I growled angrily as I put all my weight on the rag and buffed at the floor. Rage started to boil over as the longer I cleaned the more the spot seemed to stand out.
“Camille.” I hadn’t even heard Sky come in until she grabbed my shoulder. “Camille, it’s paint.”
Still outright pissed, I stood up and threw the bloodied rag at the wall, causing it to make a light blood stain on the cream paint.
“Goddammit!” I practically snarled at the spot as I hit it, sending my fist straight through the drywall. Sky stood there silently and let me fume. “I’m sick of this! We’ve been playing these games for over a month and Jonathan isn’t even here. It should have been him I sunk my teeth into. Not some fucking kid. Did you know that guy was a junior? Not even eighteen yet. I’m going to kill him. It should’ve been him.”
Sky picked up the rags and the bucket and moved them next to the door. “Camille, they wouldn’t have Changed him if he hadn’t volunteered himself. Did you think about that? I’m not saying he deserved it, but this wasn’t just Jonathan’s fault. You did what you had to do.”
“I know.” I took a deep breath and tried to bring my temper under control. “But what if I’d known him? What if he’d been a friend of mine? Would I have had the balls to go through with it?”
“I don’t know, kiddo,” Sky shrugged honestly. “But you can’t get pissed off about what ifs. You did the right thing.”
I sighed, still upset, and picked up the rags and bucket. I followed Sky downstairs where we threw the rags along with the dead werewolves’ clothes into the fireplace.
“Hey, you guys can go ahead and drive their truck back to the house,” David told us as he lit the fireplace and sat on the couch. “Will, Carter and I are going to stay in case Jonathan shows up, and then we’ll run back.”
I gave a sigh of relief as I took one last look around the house. Aside from the hole I’d put in the wall, nothing looked out of place. Luther and Charles had done us the favor of packing up what little property they had and already put it in the truck. I followed Sky and Niko out of the house and hopped into the truck with them. As I leaned my head against the window it didn’t take long for me to doze off, and we were home before I realized it.
Kyla was already jumping off the porch when I opened the car door. She had been running to hug me, but stopped short when she saw my shirt. Apparently my cut had continued bleeding and I hadn’t noticed it, so it now stained the front of my shirt. She looked at me disappointedly, a protective scowl crossing her face.
“Turn.” She swirled her finger in a circle, motioning for me to spin around so she could look me over for wounds. As I turned the road rash on my back was visible as it stemmed over my shoulder. Kyla whined. “Camille. How come Sky and Niko look decent, but you come home with scrapes everywhere?”
Sky laughed loudly as she passed us and walked toward the house. “You’re in trouble now little sis.”
I glared at her before turning a fond smile toward Kyla. “I’m okay. Just might need a couple stitches is all. How’s Julian?”
She sighed to relieve the stress of my injuries, and then grabbed my hand and led me into the house. “He’s doing a little better. No broken bones, but he’s been through a lot, physically and emotionally. He was conscious long enough to tell us how they kept him alive just to suck the adrenaline out of him. Hence the bruises and needle marks.” I shook my head disgustedly. “How’d it go? You get everyone?”
As we walked into the living room I just nodded, reluctant to go into detail about what had happened. Julian was lying on the couch, sleeping. My dad had managed to stick him with an IV that he hung from a standing lamp. How and where he got the IV was beyond me, but I was glad he had enough resources to take care of Julian.
“Hey.” He smiled at me when he saw me walk in with Kyla.
“Can I tear you away for a minute for some medical attention?” I asked him, smiling warmly at Julian who had woken and weakly looked up to see who’d walked in.
My dad nodded while he patted Julian gently on the shoulder, and followed us into the kitchen. I lay over the kitchen table, wincing as I carefully put pressure on the scrape across my back, and lifted my shirt over my ribs so my dad could look at it.
“Oof.” He winced sympathetically as he sat in a chair next to me, and then rummaged through some
medical supplies he had in a red briefcase-like container. “How’d that happen?”
“A fight,” was all I answered, and sensing my tone he let it drop at that.
“And your back?” he asked in a soft, fatherly voice as he pulled out a surgical needle and threaded it with black medical thread.
I winced as he pushed in the first stitch with a pair of forceps, but then couldn’t help but laugh. “Crossing the highway. Cracked the windshield of a damn Prius.”
My dad found it as amusing as I did, but Kyla, who was now leaning against the kitchen counter, didn’t seem to think it was funny. “How do your siblings come back with minor bruises and you nearly get yourself killed?”
“I live life on the edge,” I joked lightly. I could understand why she was worried, but as far as I was concerned I’d gotten back in one piece. Stitches and a scrape were nothing that wouldn’t heal. What I really wanted was for everyone to lighten up so I could forget about it.
My dad hid a smirk from Kyla as he scolded me and tied up the last stitch in my side. “Kyla was really worried about you. Remember, this is all new to her.”
I smiled apologetically at Kyla, and once my dad finished sat up. “Thanks Dad.” He patted me on the leg and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Kyla. “Were you really that worried about me?”
“Yes. And for good cause too!” The concern still hadn’t faded from her face, and her eyes kept darting from around the room to my bloodstained shirt.
“Come on, I need to change.” I held out my hand for her to grab, and when she did I stood and started to lead her up the stairs.
When we got to my bedroom I stripped off the borrowed clothes, replacing them with only a big t-shirt and pair of shorts, and lay down on my bed. Kyla lay down beside me, and since she couldn’t wrap her arm around my stomach settled for resting it across my hips.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
Lifting my head to see her face, I caressed her cheek and kissed her tenderly on the lips. “I’m fine. See, I can still make out just fine. What else do you need me for?”
“I need you,” she told me seriously, emphasizing the word ‘you’.
She scanned my face to make sure she was being taken seriously, and to show her I understood, I pulled her back for a longer, deeper kiss. After a few moments I playfully tickled at her ribs, sending her rolling to the other side of the bed with a surprised shriek.
Kyla laughed happily as she resumed her position next to me. “Next time could you try to come back to me in better condition? I can’t even hug you right.”
“I promise I’ll do my best,” I said while crossing my heart with my finger.
She smiled and kissed me on the cheek, then grew more serious. “So how’d it really go? You didn’t seem too happy when you got back.”
I contemplated whether or not I wanted her to know. The last time she heard I’d killed someone she didn’t take it too well. This was different though, and if I trusted Kyla with my secret then I could trust her enough to talk to her about these things. “Um, we got Luther and Charles, but Jonathan wasn’t there. And someone we didn’t expect was.”
“That’s how you got cut, on your stomach?” Kyla asked, to which I nodded. “Who was it?”
I sighed heavily. “Some guy from our high school. He was your grade. They turned him and he attacked me, so I, you know–”
She nodded understandingly, squeezing my hip for extra comfort. “You can’t blame yourself for that. It was you or him, and I’m glad it wasn’t you.”
“Yeah, me too.” She was right. If I didn’t do what I’d done, I wouldn’t have made it back. I yawned as I stretched an arm around the amazing girl next to me. “I’m exhausted.”
Kyla gave a simple nod while mirroring my yawn, and laid her head down so we could sleep. The ravenous growling of my stomach woke me a few hours later. As Kyla stirred next to me I realized the growling was louder than I thought.
“I put the pancakes in the microwave for you,” she smiled at hearing my stomach and stretched.
I grinned, giving her a huge peck on the cheek. “You’re the best.”
I hopped off the bed and pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt. Excited to finally eat I hurried down the stairs, exaggeratedly jumped off the last few and skipped into the kitchen.
“Hey, Luna,” I greeted my sister as I made my way to the microwave.
Luna looked up from a large plate of ham and mashed potatoes to smile at me. “Hey, where’s Kyla?”
“Sleeping,” I told her, pointing upstairs. I opened the microwave and grinned when I saw my pancakes still sitting there. After hitting the one-minute button I sat next to Luna.
“You seem chipper, considering today,” she noted with a hint of curiosity.
“Sleep works wonders.” I winked, and when the beeping went off to let me know my food was done I got up to get it, and then sat back down.
“Well I can see you’re physically fine, but that’s not what I meant. Niko told me about that guy from our school.” Luna shoved a bite of potato into her mouth and waited patiently for me to chew and swallow my own food.
I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. “I’m going to try not to let myself stay too upset about it. I talked to Kyla a little bit and she was,” I paused thoughtfully as I searched for the right word, “Gentle about it.”
“I talked to her about it too the other day, after you told her about that rancher. She didn’t realize that you’re really sensitive about this kind of stuff.” Luna stabbed a piece of my pancakes with her fork and shoved it into her mouth.
“Marshmallow?” I smiled, and a giggle from Luna confirmed the origins of the nickname. “The others aren’t back yet?”
She shook her head. “It’s only six. I’m sure they’ll be back pretty soon though.”
Just then Julian lumbered in from the living room and sat at the table. Luna greeted him excitedly.
“Hey, Julian. You look good,” I said happily, getting greeted back by a loud stomach rumbling. “Can I make you something to eat?”
He nodded, and gave a thankful smile while I got up to make him a plate of leftover ham and potatoes. “Did you get them all? Is it done?”
I set the plate in front of him and resumed my seat at the other end of the table. “Luther and Charles were no problem, and I assume you know about the kid, we got him too. Jonathan wasn’t there though.”
Julian stopped wolfing down his food and his eyes filled with hate, lips turned down in disgust. “That bastard. How a kid gets to be so screwed up–” He shook his head in pity. “Let me tell you something, he’s the brains behind this whole thing. He’s smart and ruthless. Worst of all he’s unpredictable. That kid is unstable.”
I opened my mouth to ask exactly what he meant, but then decided better of it and just sat back to let him return to eating. I wondered if the others had caught him yet, but that was unlikely. They’d been gone too long, and all of our scents surrounded the house. Jonathan would pick it up and know better than to return. I hoped now that he had nothing left, he’d disappear and we’d never see him again.
Kyla came down the stairs yawning then, and after sitting in the chair next to me, leaned her head on my shoulder tiredly. “I should probably go home tonight. My parents don’t like it when I’m gone too long.”
I nodded in understanding as I bit in to my last bite of food. “Okay, I’ll take you now.”
I stood up and stretched, wincing as I again forgot about my wounds. Kyla followed me out to the car and once inside continued to rest her head on my shoulder. I drove with one hand, the other I placed in Kyla’s lap where she played mindlessly with my fingers.
“Why so tired?” I asked after a minute of silence.
“It’s hard work worrying about you all the time,” she teased with a smirk. “I haven’t been sleeping well. I keep having bad dreams all the time.”
“What happens in your dreams?” I turned the music down so I could better hear her
soft, tired voice.
Kyla sighed a heavy, disconcerting sigh. “I can never remember after I wake up, but once I’m awake I still feel scared. It’s like being scared of the dark, when you know there really isn’t anything to be afraid of, but you’re scared anyway. Do werewolves have bad dreams?”
I couldn’t help but smile. I felt bad that she was having nightmares, but this innocent, vulnerable version of Kyla was kind of cute. “Yeah, we have bad dreams too. You just have to remember it’s not real.”
She nodded and fell silent for the rest of the ride back to her house. When I pulled into her driveway, she sighed in obvious unwillingness to leave. “You can’t stay the night tonight, can you?”
“I should stay home in case anything comes up.” I frowned at having to put down the hint of hope in her voice, but I pulled her in for a kiss. “Or you know, we could just stay in here.”
I could feel her mouth turn up in a smile in the middle of our kiss as she laughed. “As tempting as that sounds, I think my parents would notice a strange car parked in the driveway, and you wouldn’t be the most welcomed guest after they came out to investigate.”
“Good point,” I laughed, giving her another kiss.
When we pulled away, I caught her gaze, and as usual, I couldn’t help but stare into those entrancing green eyes. The brunette had been so amazing, so accepting, and I didn’t think I could ever express how grateful I was for that.
After almost a minute of it, Kyla smiled shyly and waved a hand to get my attention as she giggled. “Why are you staring so much?”
“I’m in love with you,” I admitted it before I could stop myself.
It wasn’t that it wasn’t true, but I’d wanted to wait at least a little bit longer before I told her. Now by the look on Kyla’s face, I really wished I’d waited. A poorly hidden shock widened her eyes, and they darted around, looking everywhere but at me. In the light of the dashboard I could see the girl’s cheeks darken with an uncomfortable blush. I’d seen this exact look before, and after hearing these exact words. It was the same look as the night I’d heard her phone conversation with Aaron, and he’d told her he loved her.