Wolves among men by penelope sweet Page A

afraid. I couldn’t explain why but its eyes were kind. I
almost sensed that it was worried for me. Its face inched closer as
I winced, waiting for it to kill me to but it just sniffed. A
whimper escaped its throat.
     
    “ Pl... please,” I begged
in barely more than a whisper “I- I don’t….I don’t want to d-
di-die.” I stuttered in fear and in pain. I knew it was pointless.
I was going to die here, this monster was going to kill me and
there was nothing I could do about it. To my surprise it just took
another sniff of the air, threw its head back and howled. It
sounded like it was sad or maybe in pain, I couldn’t really tell. I
heard sirens from a distance. Thank you God someone had called the
police. They would come, they would kill this beast and everything
would be okay.
     
    The creature sniffed my
wound and looked back up at me. My mind blanked and all I could
hear was, You are dying. It wasn’t my thought. It was a woman’s
voice, a caring voice. I shook my head. I didn’t have time to make
sense of it. She was right. I was going to die.
     
    “ I can save you,” I heard
the voice again. I was confused but nothing tonight made much sense
so what was the difference
     
    “ I-I-I... D-d-don’t-” was
all I could muster. Before I could finish the thought another
searing pain swept through me and I heard a crunch as I felt my
shoulder rip from my body. I screamed and tried to pull away but it
was pointless, I didn’t have the strength.
     
    The creature howled and
ran down the alley leaving me there alone as the sirens grew closer
with each second. Blood pooled around me and I felt reality slip
from my eyes as I heard the ambulance stop and the doors open
loudly.
     

     
    I shot awake quickly as a scream
escaped my chest. My pulse raced, my breath was deep and it took a
moment before I could register where I was. The room was lit by the
sunlight that beamed in from the large double windows to the right
of me and the sound of a T.V quietly played in the background. I
sat up on the bed and rubbed my hands over my eyes. Cordillia
looked over at me from the other bed and to my surprise she was
calm.
     
    “ Had another dream about
the attack?” she asked. I had forgotten that this wasn’t the first
time I woke up screaming. Ever since that night, the nightmares
became a normal occurrence. I nodded and took a moment before
shaking myself awake. I leaned over the side of the bed and quietly
grabbed my bag from the floor. I shuffled around until I found my
wallet, pulled out a twenty and handed it to Cordillia.
     
    “ I need some time alone.”
I tried my best to muster a smile for her. “Why don’t you go have
some fun?” Her eyes lit up as she took the bill from my fingers and
jumped up from the bed.
     
    “ You don’t have to ask me
twice.” She smirked as she turned off the TV. I laid back down as
she began to make her way out of the room. “You know,” She stopped
as she gripped the doors metal handle and turned to me. “They’re
just dreams, Ethan.” I nodded. “But I guess now I know how you
feel.” She met my eyes and nodded her head lightly before waving
goodbye, pulling the door open and leaving my with my thoughts as
it clicked shut behind her.

Chapter Nine
     
     
     
     
    I had forgotten the voice that had
spoken so sweetly in my mind that night or perhaps it was never
there. I couldn’t really know for sure. The only thing I could be
sure of was that I wanted so desperately to understand why. Why did
it seem that everything that night lined up to make me what I am
now? Why couldn’t I just leave Cordillia in California where they
belonged?
     
    That monster had taken everything from
me and just like it I had taken everything from Cordillia. The hate
in me grew and I cursed myself for doing this to her. I had taken
her chance to go to school, her chance for a normal life. Now as it
stood, I could never be sure she was safe. How could she protect
herself from something like