Hidden in Sheridan (Tainted Series: Book 1)

Moon: WAXING CRESCENT

Sterling - The cold snap rolled in late last night and the instant she smelled snow, my mother had retrieved the boots from the garage. Now they line the back room leading out past the washer and dryer.

No one in this house likes boots; however, they are necessary when going about town, or to school. The cool breeze rustles in through the open door, moving the coats hanging over stuffed hooks above said boots.

“I love a good spring snow.” My mother sighs, sipping her cup of warm herbal tea by the counter. Her tea’s always smell like medicine to me, but I know better than to say anything against her precious homemade herbal remedies. She would only proceed in explaining to me, that it had the nutrients I need to live in an omnivore world. Then she’d try to feed it to me.

Always best to not give her that opportunity.

“I don’t want to go to school today,” I sigh.

“I know you’d rather run through the snow.” She says resting her hand on my mess of sandy brown hair, ruffling it slightly. “But you also have to graduate.”

I grumble again. Modern life is a pain. School, higher education, my ancestors never had to worry about such things. They were all content with the family business. Then the government got involved and made it one of the largest National Parks in the country. So, taking over the ‘family business’ now requires a master’s degree in environmental science. At sixteen I could legally be hired and at least help my dad. However, my father won’t allow it. Not until I graduate from high school with a well thought out five year plan.

Shoving my Trigonometry book deep into my backpack, I prepare for school, only to pause at the sound of heavy breathing as a familiar two legged human stumbles through the open back door.

“Hey man!” Levi says through labored breaths. His boots are tied tightly to his feet but he’s not wearing snow clothes. Just the usual sneakers he always wears because all other shoes weigh him down to much. Which leaves his jeans soaking wet almost as high as his knees. He’s wearing a long sleeve shirt baring our blue and yellow school colors and an extra hooded sweatshirt clinched in his fist. Heat raises off him changing to light blankets of steam the instant it connects with the icy air.

A bit stunned, I struggle to find my voice, “W-What are you doing here?”

“I came to pick you up for school.”

I look him over again because something isn’t right.

“Where’s Wendy?” I ask.

“She’s …” Levi gestures behind him then hesitates. He scratches the back of his head and turns in a circle, nervously chuckling as he realizes something ridiculous. “Wendy’s at home. I guess. I guess I - I ran here.”

I jump to my feet. My chair scraping against the floor boards at my sudden movement. “You ran all the way here?”

“Yeah,” Levi stomps his feet to get the snow off before stepping farther into the kitchen. He greets my mother casually before explaining. “I remember going out to get in the car but instead I just kept running. The snow felt so good. There are spots where it’s already three feet deep. It didn’t start snowing until midnight last night so that much snow fell in six hours. It’s soft too, so hard to run through because you sink right in, but it feels great.”

I don’t speak for a moment. Instead I listen to Levi’s breathing go from rapid panting to normal breaths in a matter of moments but his heart rate raps at high speed inside his chest, keeping his body temperature high, “What is wrong with you?” I finally ask.

“What do you mean?”

“You complain about running on flat paved surfaces. So running in the snow should be horrible for you.”

“I’ve always loved the snow.”

“Yes, but only when you’re on a snowboard.”

“Shut up. Let’s go to school.”

“I don’t have a car.”

He pauses, “Oh yeah,”

My mother calls for our attention and motions to the puddles forming beneath Levi on her tile floor.

“I’m really sorry,” Levi says. She tosses him a towel and he catches it with ease. Then he drops to all fours to buff it dry.

With a hint of laughter in her voice, my mom asks, “How many miles is it from our house to yours?”

“It’s six miles,” I say, my voice dark with the worry I feel building in mybones. This isn’t as amusing as Levi seems to think, it’s - weird and not the good kind. “Six miles from his house to our door.” I repeat.

“Really? It’s that far?” Levi chokes, his heart skips a beat and then continues at its abnormal pace.

“You must be in better shape than Sterling led me to believe,” Mom giggles. “How’s your side, pup? Sterling told me you got bit by a dog a few days ago.”

“It’s fine,” Levi says still with more enthusiasm than a non-caffeinated Levi should have. I can’t help but feel that something is about to go very wrong. “Actually the bite’s gone. I woke up this morning, and it was completely gone. I felt strong. Mom left before I woke up so I couldn’t tell her the good news.”

It is good news. More so, it’s impossible news. Both mom and I froze and a shiver ran between my shoulders.

My mother presses the palms of her hands together, the tips of her fingers touch her lips lightly, “What do you mean gone, Sweetie?” She slowly asks.

Levi pulls up his shirt for the vet and shows her his perfect skin. No cuts. No scars. No bruises. It looks as if nothing has ever happened to that warm dark chocolate skin.

“At first I thought it was impossible but then I figured, maybe it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought it was.” Levi explains, still smiling.

“Or as bad as the hospital thought it was?” She questions her hands now poking around the previous injury.

I’m about to lose my mind,

“Dude, that was gooey just yesterday. I mean you showed it to me yesterday morning and I could have sworn it was infected.”

“You said it looked fine,” Levi mocks.

“Do you have a picture?” Mom asks and Levi pulls out his phone, scrolls through his photos until he finds the right one. The moment he does his own expression finally shift to concern. “Uh … I guess … I’d forgotten.”

He holds out the phone for us to see. I shuffle to stand beside my mother and together, we peer at the photo. The picture showed what I remembered. White puss around the puncture wounds. Red and purple bruising around them as well. There was even a rash from the athletic tape Levi had used to keep the bandage on.

Yet looking back at Levi’s side his skin is a bit dry and in need of some lotion but otherwise perfect.

“Mom?” I whisper.

“Missing one day of school won’t hurt either of you.” She responds, her posture changing as she navigates Levi’s cellphone. Her hand moves quickly, attaching the photo of the wound to an email, addressing it to herself, before hitting send. “Here’s your phone, dear. Why don’t you stay here today? Maybe you two can go out and play in the snow.”

Levi sniffs the air suddenly. “Sounds good to me! Do I smell bacon? I think I smell bacon.” Mom and I exchange glances while Levi starts sniffing around the kitchen.

“Mom, is my friend broken?” I ask keeping my voice at hushed whisper.

Levi manages to find the plate of bacon at the same time little Cody bounds into the kitchen. Cody is six years old. He’s tall for his age and has a long mane of black hair. His super blue eyes are sprinkled with gold, and he’s young enough he hasn’t accepted sharing as a common practice.

Seconds after Levi picks up the plate, Cody snatches it away. Sticking his tongue out in triumph Cody dives with it under the table.

Six foot tall Levi gasps for a second before he drops to all fours to chase down the little thief.

Thought after thought runs through my mind about the night Levi was bit. The wolf had looked like a regular omega, lost the mountains. Perhaps it wasn’t as scraggly as it should have been. Its coloring was healthy, so it probably wasn’t weary for food. Hunger is the only reason a wolf would attack, unless it wasn’t only a wolf.

I shake the idea from my head. I would have known if it wasn’t just a wolf. There is always something different about our kind. In wolf form we look exactly like a true wolf, but the smells from our time in human form always linger. Or, an extra intelligence hides in our expression because the remains of human mannerisms always sit on the tip of our form. It’s a hazard from shifting between shapes so frequently.

Closing my eyes, I press my pointer finger and thumb to the bridge of my nose, trying to remember the wolf I saw that night. Mom takes me by the arm and urgently pulls me through the swinging door into the dining room. With so many thoughts running through my mind the change of scenery doesn’t register.

The dinning room is occupied by my nieces, nephews, and two of my older cousins. The young ones fight over food around the table shouting and laughing. It’s normal at our house, but at the moment it feels more stifling than usual.

Acting unbothered by the noise, my mom turns back to me. Her arms folded and eyebrows down, her stare is enough to startle me back to reality.

“You said you saw the wolf, are you sure it was a Wolf?”

My mouth opens to respond but I don’t have an answer, instead, “Even if it wasn’t, how could Levi’s bite disappear? Any bite. I bit that man when I was in the fifth grade, do you remember?”

Mom nods, her eyes searching the air between us for her own logical thought.

“He bled for days, and he still has that scar. So how is it that this wolf or whatever … ”

“It’s very peculiar.” Her words were calm and deliberate. She wasn’t going to jump to any irrational thoughts, unlike her son. “But to be clear, that is all that’s strange, right? It’s not like there’s anything else out of the ordinary about Levi since then.”

“He just ran six miles in the snow to get here, mom. He’s all sorts of weird.”

Her mouth opens to speak but no words come out, I feel the weight of her speechlessness building in my chest. Then all was interrupted.

The swinging door burst open. Levi runs in, laughing playfully, Cody hot on his heels. He taunts Cody with the plate of bacon, a spark of mischief in his eyes, and the spring in back legs, just like a wolf cub.

My tense fingers lace through my hair and a flood of memories suddenly rush to the front of my mind: Levi spotting the book from across the arena. His new found obsession of meat. And, whenever Levi playfully nudged or hit back, it left bruises. Levi is bigger than me, but he doesn’t work out. So, why?

A growl changes behind us, from playful to irritated. It naturally rolls out of little Cody’s throat. Teeth bare he lunges forward on all fours, snapping at Levi. But Levi’s reflexes prove more than the boy anticipated.

With a jump and a twist, bacon plate still in hand, Levi vaulted through the air, twisting his body and landing with both feet on top of the large dinning table, facing Cody, bacon plate still intact.

Eyes wide, I look back at my mother and breathe, “Someone turned my friend into a werewolf.”

CHAPTER END