🐺Wolf Creek:Volume One🐺

Chapter Nineteen: The First Confession

          The football game was roaring in every possible way. People cheered, yelled, talked, laughed, and climbed up and down the bleachers. I flipped my fur-rimmed hood up and pulled my thick green coat tighter around me. In the swarm of football fans I was able to spot Theo as he carefully climbed the stairs. Bless him-he was the only one not scrambling back and forth over the seats. Theo plopped down next to me with a hot dog, drinks, and the slice of pizza I requested before stuffing the pizza money I had given him into my coat pocket. I snatched it back out and tried to stuff it in his hood, but leaned away from me with a grin.

          "Absolutely not!" I laughed.

          "Don't you dare-I'll run!" Theo threatened as he playfully swatted my hand away and handed me my pizza and a drink. I narrowed my eyes and put the money back in my pocket-making a silent vow to pay him back. Most likely by sneaking it into his car later. The crowd erupted in cheers as the quarterback made the winning move. Theo shouted happily, and nearly knocked my pizza out of my hand as he pumped his fist up in the air. I caught it, and we stared wide eyed at each other before bursting into hearty laughter.

          Everyone began to collect their things and rush towards the parking lot. Theo grabbed my hand and began to scurry down the stairs, and together we sprinted to the car as we laughed. We had to hurry if we didn't want to be stuck waiting for traffic to die down. The parking lot was swamped with high school students. We practically dove into the car and slammed the doors. I sat the pizza on the dash and rubbed my cold hands vigorously as Theo hurried and started his newly-fixed car. He had somehow wolfed his hot dog without choking when we running.

          We inched the car our of the parking lot to avoid hitting anyone. I scarfed my pizza down as we made our way to the center so that I wouldn't have to mess with it when we got there. Theo and I chattered and laughed as we drove through the dark. The town was busy with football traffic, but Theo seemed to maneuver it expertly. In no time we were crunching the gravel in the center's drive. Theo parked right in front of the door once again.

          "You don't have to go in." Theo offered.

          "Oh, no! I'll be fine. I was caught off guard the first time, but now I know what to expect." I shrugged off his comment in an attempt to put him at ease. He nodded with a small smile before hurrying out through the cold to unlock the door. I waited until he opened the front door before getting out and making a beeline indoors. We slammed the door like we were being chased. I supposed we were-by the chill.

          I stayed put as Theo went to work preparing the animal's food dishes. I noticed he did the badgers first this time, putting the dish right against the door and pushing it as he opened the slot. That way there wasn't an opening for the badgers to wedge themselves through. I stared at the medicine door. Theo glanced at me as he worked on the other dishes, but did a double take after the second glance. He was finished, and I was still staring at it.

          "Whatcha thinkin' about?" He asked.

          "Could...could we go in?"

          "I don't see why you would want to go in there."

          "Just out of curiosity. It's not like I'll mess anything up."

          "I don't think you'd mess anything up, Kelsey." Theo laughed, but I saw him anxiously rub his neck as he pulled out the keys. I waited patiently as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. It swung open slowly, and creaked as if it hadn't been opened in a while. Had they been keeping the medicine in the shelves outside? Theo flicked on the light before dramatically bowing and gesturing for me to go in. I tried to muster a giggle, but I was so nervous that I only managed a silent grin.

          I looked around cautiously. My muscles were tense as I practically tip toed to the center of the room. It was the exact same room I had dove into in my nightmare. I stopped and thought on that for a moment. I kept calling it a nightmare, but at this point I didn't believe it was a nightmare at all. It was a memory.

"Are you satisfied?" Theo finally asked. It was getting late, and I couldn't spot anything that might be of use. I nodded and turned to leave. Something familiar caught my eye. My head snapped somewhat downwards where a drawer was tucked into the desk. It was the same label from the syringes on my camera. I bent down to observe it, and reached up to brush my fingertips over the handle.

          "Kelsey," Theo breathed, "what are you doing?"

          "Just looking. I won't touch anything." I answered.

          "You already are." Theo remarked. His voice was laced with a serious tone. My fingers closed around the cool metal, and I pulled it open. Theo let out what seemed like a distressed hum. I froze as I stared into the drawer. It was empty. My shoulders sank.

          "Why do I get the feeling that you were looking for something specific?" Theo interrogated. He was beginning to sound agitated now. I closed the drawer and stood up. This job was one of the most important things in Theo's life. I was being a terrible friend by risking his job like this.

          "It doesn't matter." I murmured. I turned to look at Theo with apologetic eyes. He didn't look angry, but I could tell that I was stressing him out. With one last look at the drawer I turned and walked out of the office. I could hear Theo's footsteps as he silently followed me out to the car.

          The drive home was silent, and there was a sort of tension in the air. I hadn't told Theo as much as I should have, and I...well, I should have. He was staring forward at the road without looking or even glancing at me. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I needed to tell him.

          "Theo...you were right. I went into the medicine office looking for something." I spoke. Theo didn't say anything for another couple of minutes. The only sound was the hum of the car's engine as the car drove on. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in impatient thought.

          "Why didn't you tell me?" He questioned.

          "I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure of what exactly I might find." I said after giving the question a moment of thought. Theo glanced at me. He raised his eyebrows as if expecting a more detailed answer. My breathing grew shorter as I formed my next sentences carefully.

          "I found something on my old camera that had to do with the medicine that was being given to the wolves that were here before I went into my coma. Whatever it was, I don't think I was supposed to see it. I think that's why I was in that coma. I don't think I really crashed. I think...I think someone tried to kill me." I admitted.

          Screeeeeeech! Gravel crunched into the tired as Theo slammed on the brakes. I let out a yelp of pain as the seat belt dug into my shoulder and stomach. The force of the stop caused my chin to hit my chest before my head snapped up and collided with the headrest of my seat. My eyes were wide with fear. I knew Theo would be concerned with my conclusion, but I hadn't expected a reaction like this! Yet when I turned to Theo in alarm he wasn't looking at me. He was staring at the road in shock. I looked over the dashboard and out the window at the road before us. What I saw next caused my blood to run cold and a loud gasp to escape my mouth.