Chapter 3: The Little Woods
My entire body began to be covered in scrapes and bruises as I squished myself among the extremely dense, thick, and rough trees of the woods. Even though it had to be about eight in the morning, I could barely see in front of me due to the engulfing evergreen darkness. The earth was matted with large, smooth leaves and branches. I thought I was going insane since I literally flipped every time I heard a branch snap in the distance. Could it be that someone was following me? Could it be that something was following me? I swore to myself I heard monstrous breathing, but I could not pin point where the horrible sounds were coming from. Hours and hours passed and my body wanted to turn back. I swear it did, but my soul kept dragging it along the floor. I was lost—at least I felt I was—and I was most definitely scared.
I felt the piercing eyes on me again. They had been on me since I had entered Wisconsin. I just knew it. Spinning frantically on the spot, I saw nothing but the dark columns, which were the shadows of the freakishly large foliage. Then, I spotted it. Some sort of four-legged creature was darting in and out of the trees. At its sight, I backed off and tripped over some unearthed roots. I scuffled along the ground awaiting my utter annihilation and shut my eyes tight. My body felt the thing bore down upon my chest and for a second I thought I was dead. Opening my eyes, I saw myself looking into very human eyes—except they were a glowing yellow.
The creature was an unusually large gray wolf. Even with its numerous teeth jut out, it appeared oh too docile. From as far as I could tell, the wolf was female and I didn’t dare move any further to investigate past this observation. It simply rested on top of me like I was a pedestal of some sort. She kept moving her mouth—almost as if she had something to say to me. The whole scenario was really quite absurd. Based on a sudden whim, she leaped off of me, but stayed very close. I think she liked me and I found her to be majestic since most people never even approached me. Yes, I am bloody crazy.
I sat down on the foot of an extremely gnarled tree and watched her. She was so darn beautiful. An urge slowly spread through my body and I began to spill my entire life story to the wolf! It felt crazy and right at the same time. I felt so odd. My voice must have soothed her though because she eventually trotted back up to me and laid her large head on top of my leg. As I spoke on, she even let me pet her. She was supposed to be a wild wolf and yet, she was acting like a housebroken dog. After I had had my fair share of ranting and complaining about how much my life sucked, I urged her to share her story. I told you I was crazy, but I just felt she had something to say to me. Otherwise, why had she been following me around? Why?
She simply stared into my eyes with her yellow, human eyes and waited. I looked at the old watch hanging on my wrist and saw that it was five in the morning. Damn my parents were probably dying of worry at this very moment and here I was at the peak of insanity talking to a gorgeous wolf. I got up and began looking for a way out of the mess of trees I had lost myself in. The wolf seemed upset. Actually, she had grown upset after I had finished my story. She was definitely not an ordinary wolf. Maybe she hadn’t liked the ending in which I had claimed I had nothing really to live for. Did she think I was just being the average, complaining, self-absorbed teen? After realizing I was attributing thoughts to a wolf, I shouted out into the open, “She’s a freaking wolf. She has no thoughts. She’s supposed to want to kill me.” I then turned to where she was growling relentlessly and asked, “What the hell is wrong with you? Act like a damn wolf!” Did I ever mention how much I was lacking in common sense? Have you ever heard the saying: “Ask and it shall be done.” Well, I asked and the wolf did.
She lunged at me and dug her teeth deep into the fragile skin surrounding my neck. Then, she began darting in and out of the trees as fast as she had come. I groaned in astonishment and felt the blood seeping out from the wound in my neck. Yet, her bite had not even hurt—it had simply occurred. Stopping the flow of blood with my hand, I began chasing after her aimlessly. She needed to be calmed down. I wanted her to realize my guilt. Yes, I felt sympathy for a wolf. I told you I was crazy. Maybe I had needed a psychoanalyst.
The wolf led me right out of the woods and near the edge of the lake. After that, I lost track of her. I had no idea where she could have disappeared off to—no idea whatsoever. At the brim of the lake, I dropped down to my knees and cleaned the bite out by splashing some water onto it. The area surrounding the wound had no feeling at all. It was like I had no neck. I didn’t really care though. I cared more about the mysterious wolf.
Without the wolf, I don’t think I would have even made it out of the woods. Having nothing better to do at this point, I found my way home. It was near seven AM now and the thought of my family pounded and resonated throughout my head. I rushed into the house and started to leap up the staircase and into my room, but my parents and sister cut this quest short. Immediately, my mother bellowed, “WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU. YOU’VE BEEN MISSING THE WHOLE DAMN DAY. DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT THIS FAMILY? WE BOUGHT YOU A CELL PHONE FOR A REASON, BUT NO YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN PHONES SO YOU REFUSE TO CARRY IT AROUND. WE’VE BEEN WORRIED SICK THE WHOLE FREAKING DAY AND YOU DECIDE TO SHOW UP AT SEVEN IN THE MORNING. I WOULD HAVE NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS HAVE EXPECTED THIS OF YOU ECHO. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?”
I definitely had no words to respond to that outburst so instead I stared stupidly at the lot standing there. My parents’ angered faces along with my sister’s amazed one hung before me. Behind them stood a pair of indifferent cops waiting to be acknowledged. My father noticed my train of sight and laughed, “Well, officers thank you so much for your time and patience. The boy is obviously safe and sound. We’ve just moved here and I suppose he was out late having fun with some new friends he’s made. Aren’t I right Echo?”
The cops shuffled closer to me and stared at my neck cautiously. To my father, one of them refuted, “Night of innocent fun you say? Your boy here has a large bite embedded into the skin of this neck. I can’t really see it that well due to the lack of light in this house. You guys really need to get the electricity up and running in this place. Anyways, where the hell did he get that from?” My family automatically peered down at me also. I almost couldn’t stand their horrified glances and felt my stomach pang with an uneasy feeling.
I nervously cried, “It’s nothing. Dad’s right. I was just out with a few kids I met in town and totally lost track of time. Really. Officers, there’s nothing to inquire about.”
Before anyone could respond, my sister saved my neck by putting into words an extremely idiotic and superficial thought of hers. “Oh my god, who gave you that hickey. Gosh, Echo, I never knew you had it in you to attract anyone of the opposite sex—or any sex for that matter. Who knew?” Everyone in the room started blurting out with sheer amusement and laughter. It kind of pissed me off a little. Why couldn’t a nerd get a girl? Due to the engulfing dark nature of the house, everyone believed Brittany’s suggestion. I kind of found it hilarious. The brilliant police officers drove away from our house still laughing and my parents—seeing I was utterly embarrassed—went to take a nap. After pestering me for a little while, my sister followed in suit.
I was completely exhausted and as soon as I entered my room, I gratefully spread across my bed. The wolf found its way into my thoughts and suddenly bared her teeth. My mind immediately crossed over to her memory—the bite. At this point, I was beginning to freak out. My neck felt paralyzed. Was it paralyzed? Did I have rabies or something? I really wanted to express my fears to my parents, but I just didn’t want to tell them about my idiotic venture. I really didn’t. Instead, I just stayed put and grabbed a couple of Twinkies from my bedside table. Their sugary goodness eventually led me into a trance or half-sleep where the memory of the wolf dwindled before me. If only I had made more sense of the situation at that time I could have grasped the reality of my situation much quicker. Rabies would come to be the least of my worries.
Chapter 4: Echo’s Metamorphosis
