Hunting You, Hunting Me (Watty Awards 2012)

Chapter 11

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All Rights Reserved © 2012

Chapter 11

RECAP:

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you are about to die. But in the few seconds that I wait patiently for death, I do not see my life rewind before my eyes. I do not see my wolf running through the forest, or the moment that I shifted into my wolf for the first time, nor my 16th birthday that took place two years ago. I do not see high school, or any significant event in my life.  Maybe because my mind is focused on only one thought: Billy will kill Estela right after he kills me. And it is my entire fault. I hear the rifle cocking and close my eyes. And then I hear a loud cracking sound.

Unknown POV

Resigned to my fate, I wait for the bullet to pierce my brown fur and lodge itself into my body. Expecting immense pain along with the coppery smell of blood to fill my nostrils, I am surprised when nothing happens. Am I dead already? Did it happen so fast that I didn’t even feel it? Maybe I was a good person after all, I must have done something right to be granted a pain-free death? Wait! Did Estela die too?  

Willing my eyes to open, I can see the muddy muzzle of the rifle still pointed in my face. Hesitating, I slowly lift up my head. My gaze hits Billy’s face just in time to see his eyes roll to the back of his skull. Blood drips down his nostrils and his knees buckle. Billy’s body crumples to the ground, revealing a wide-eyed Estela standing over him, a shovel in her shaking hands.

My wolf howls with happiness. I am alive, Estela is alive and that b*stard Billy is dead! I know this because I can hear only two heartbeats, both pounding unusually loud and fast- Estela’s and my own.  My heart swells with pride. She saved my life. Sweet, timid Estela saved my life! But before I can do a happy dance, she points the shovel at me and flails it around in front of my face.

“Shoo! Shoo! Go away…” she whisper-yells as if I am an annoying fly. My heart dips a little. She doesn’t know who I am. To her I am nothing more than a wild animal. If only she knew…

I lower my head and retreat into the forest, showing Estela that I mean no harm. I am not sure she realizes the symbolism, because she is too busy freaking out. I take up vigil from a distant bush, and although I am too far away for her to see me, my werewolf abilities allow me to see and hear her clearly.

**

Estela POV

Nothing in my life has prepared me for this, for killing another human being.

I am in shock and I am devastated. I drop the shovel from my hands and notice that they are still shaking. I clasp my palms together but my attempt to stop the shakes is futile. I am baffled when my palms turn a ghostly white and look up to see that the once multicoloured forest is now black and white. What the f*ck? Opening and closing my eyes several times does not help. I seem to be in some sort of a daze and everything appears so still and silent around me that I am convinced that I have also gone deaf. What happened to the chirping birds and the rustling leaves?  Moving my right hand to my ear I flick my nails together to create a tapping sound. But I can only hear one sound, the sound of silence.

A frown makes its way onto my face as I try a few more tricks. Nothing works. Sitting down on the ground, I pull my knees to my chest and rock back and forth. Not feeling any improvement, I put my head on my knees and shut my eyes. My heart is beating so fast that I fear it may jump out of my chest and run away in the same direction as my vision and hearing.  I have to pull it together. I force myself to breath deeply.  Breathe, Estela! You are alive. It’s going to be okay.

With each breath and what seems like eternity, my body seems to get better. But, I fear that my mind shall never recover. My heartbeat slows down enough and soon after, the hearing returns. My vision takes longer and I sit patiently until it decides to come back. When I am composed, I lift myself up off the ground and pour myself a stiff drink of Gatorade.  Popping some chewing gum in my mouth, I begin to chew in earnest hoping that it will wipe away the acrid taste of murder.

Eventually, I can see the shafts of sunlight break through the dense leaves. My eyes follow the beams and settle on the moss covered tree trunks that sparkle with the sunlight. I notice the little beetles as they navigate across the coarse bark avoiding the streams of tree sap that have escaped.  It completely slips my attention that my vision has come back, a million times improved than before. I don’t know how I do the things that I am about to do next. Mrs. Kemp, my biology teacher would probably attribute it to autonomic stress response- or fight or flight. A few days from now, when I look back to this moment, I will know that she was wrong.

I walk over to where Billy lies. I bend down and empty out his pockets. My breath hitches at the sight of the iPhone that is now in my hands. I slide the screen lock and notice that the battery is at 93%. Unfortunately, there are no bars. Scowling, I set the phone on silent and then put it alongside my backpack.

Making my way over to where Billy had opened the duffel bag, I peek inside. There are two sets of gloves and an extra shovel. I empty out the contents of the bag into the grave, save for a pair of gloves, which I keep for myself along with the empty duffel bag. I feel like I’m in an Xbox game, killing and stealing bounty so that I can move to the next level to save the princess. Only in this case, the princess is me.

A glance at Billy’s shoes is enough to tell me that his feet are too big. I take his sneakers off and throw them into the grave. I unbuckle his belt and pull off his pants, both of which I set aside. For a second I debate about his T-shirt, but it is drenched in sweat so I decide to let him keep it. I drag Billy to the grave and push him on top of the corpse that is already in there. Shovelling the dirt back in, I pack it tightly.  I set about to collect some dead leaves and twigs and when I have enough, I scatter them over the grave. Not the best camouflage job but it will have to do.

Closing my eyes and bowing my head I whisper a short prayer for Billy, a longer prayer for the girl and an even longer prayer for myself. I figure that I am going to need it. Having neither the energy nor the time to deal with the guilt and remorse that is knocking on my mind’s door, I push them aside and carry on.

I pull my dress up and tuck it under my chin before putting on Billy’s pants and tightening the belt around my waist. Using the scissors in my Swiss army knife to cut off the extra length, I roll up the cuffs slightly. I drop the iPhone into the pocket of the pant and sling my backpack over my shoulders. I am in a hurry to get away from here, away from the evidence of my cold-blooded actions.

Sighing, I pick up the shovel and the rifle and walk over to the duffel bag. I put the shovel inside the bag and sling it on my left shoulder. I decide to use the rifle as a walking stick. Reminding myself that I have to be extra careful not to blow my own feet off, I turn around to make sure I have left nothing behind.

My feet follow in the direction of the boys. To be aware of their location at all times would give me a tremendous advantage. And a tremendous advantage is just what I need because I have decided that I am going to play their game. With determination, a growing hunger for vengeance and a hint of humor, I throw my hands up in the air and declare, “May the odds be forever in my favor!”

I am no longer going to hide. I am going to seek. And who knows? I may even win.

***

A/N: Please comment, vote, fan if you want more chapters!!! : ) This story has fallen from number 21 in Mystery/Suspense to number 45 so please show some love! Thank you!