Wolv

13 - The wolv

I couldn't clear my vision this time. I shook my head vigorously, squinted my eyes, and rubbed them with my hands, but to no avail. All I could see was blinding white. I stumbled forward, trying to feel my way to something familiar. I felt cold rock and damp moss beneath my hands; nothing else.

My eyes suddenly began to burn. It felt like someone was cutting my eyes in two, and I screamed out in pain. The pain dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, and my vision flicked back into existence. Everything looked much sharper than before, and I held my hands back up to my eyes, wiping them.

My heart began to beat rapidly, and my vision began to fade again. I fought it back, but the wave of white came over me powerfully, knocking me back. I felt like the ocean that I had been holding back for so long was about to break free, and sweep me away. I writhed on the ground, trying desperately to hold back the change, trying to fight back the waves.

I felt a presence near me, and I sat up, momentarily forgetting the pain. I looked around, my eyes searching the landscape around me. A twig snapped and the brush rustled behind me. I whipped my head around.

The wolf stood in the trees, watching me with his steady, unblinking gaze. He lifted his head towards the midnight sky and howled softly. I clawed the rocks, pulling myself forward. The wolf lowered its head, and looked back at me victoriously.

"Welcome home."

I snapped up in my tent as I heard the quiet howl drift across the lake. The sun blazed through my tent, blinding me. He's out there. He's waiting for me. I shut my eyes and began feeling for the zipper on the door. I opened my eyes, but I still couldn't see anything. Wait a minute... I rubbed my eyes, but I couldn't even see my hands in front of me. It wasn't the sun blinding me; my vision had gone white during my sleep!

Oh crap, crap crap crap.... my mind raced as I tried to focus my eyes, desperately trying to see something, anything. My hands found the zipper and I unzipped the canvas flap and crawled outside. The air felt cold and damp against me, and I sat down on the ground, trying to clear my head. Please don't do this. I don't want to do this! Just let me be free, just a little bit longer! My breathing became shallow again, and the more I tried to focus, the faster my heart raced. My spine burned, and it felt like it was pushing against itself inside me, lengthening itself. No, not here. I'm barely even inside the park! I'm not far enough!! My joints began to ache, then burn inside me. It's happening!

I reached into my pocket, fumbling for the needle that Trish had given to me. My fingers found it, and I drew it out of my pocket only to drop it on the ground; my hands were shaking so bad. I began feeling around me for it, and my heart pounded even harder. My bones burned with every passing second. For a moment, I could feel the teeth in my arm once again, injecting me with white hot acid and burning me from the inside out.

I felt something prick on my finger, and I closed my hand around the syringe. I flicked the plastic cap off, then brought it up and thrust it down into my leg, pushing the plunger down as fast as I could. Wait. With my heart rate, adrenaline is the last thing I need. What am I doing?!?  I suddenly feared that I had just accelerated the change by injecting myself with a stimulant. What if Trish had lied to me? What if the adrenaline only made things worse? How could I be so stupid!?!

Something flicked out of the corner of my eye, and I looked to my left. My vision began to fade from white, and I began to take in my surroundings. A sliver of the moon hung overhead in the midst of the night sky. It wasn't anywhere near morning!

I stood up shakily as my heart began to calm. It worked. It actually worked! I smiled to myself and laughed. I was okay! I could think clearly once more. I looked down at the needle in my hands, and my exuberance quickly faded. I only had one shot of that. I recalled Trish's words: "It'll clear your head for about a day." I looked out across the lake, illuminated faintly by the moon's rays. I have one day to make it to Brad Lake.