Phoenix's Wolf

Chapter 8

Phoenix groaned as she began to wake up. Her head was killing her and there was never ending humming noise. She slowly sits up from where she is lying on the ground inside what appears to be a little room. She can see a gap around the door, where light is seeping through. She gingerly moves closer to the window to see if she can see through it. She can barely make out another room when she is startled by a shadow that approaches the door.

She scoots backwards across the floor of her cell as the lock is turned and the door swings open.

“Oh, good, you are awake. Now we can begin,” a man’s voice said, as he steps across the room towards Phoenix. He bends down and grabs her arm roughly. He yanks her to her feet and practically drags her into the other room. Once there, he forces her into a chair.

Phoenix blinks quickly as her eyes adjust to the sudden bright light. When her vision clears, she gasps at what she sees. Mr. Cameron, her old math teacher from last school year, is sitting across from her.

“Mr. Cameron, what is going on? Where am I?” Phoenix asked, fear thick in her voice as she looks around at the room she was in now. She saw three other doors in the room besides the one that she had been led through. She thought she heard crying, but she couldn’t be sure.

“I will be the one asking the questions, beast,” Mr. Cameron said, roughly. Phoenix was caught of guard by the venom she heard almost dripping from his words. He had always been so nice to her, one of her favorite teachers from last year.

“What?” Phoenix asked, shocked. She slowly became aware of the fact that she could not feel her wolf in her mind. It was oddly very quiet. She tentatively reached out to Jakon, but her attempt just ended in a searing pain stinging behind her eyes.

“I see you are discovering the type of trouble that you are in,” Mr. Cameron said, grinning maliciously at the sight of her grimace. “I am not in the mood to be playing games with you today. Where is your pack’s den?”

“What? What are you talking about?” Phoenix asked, her level of fear nearing that of almost complete panic. But she fought hard to keep it from her face.

“Do not play dumb, Phoenix. I know what you and your family are. Filthy beasts that need to be dealt with so that this town can be safe once again.” Mr. Cameron put a folder containing pictures in front of her. “We thought that your kind had moved on, but recent attacks have proven to us that they are still on the prowl. So, I ask again, where is your den?”

Phoenix opened the folder, glancing at the first picture. She slammed the folder closed, what she saw causing her to almost loose the contents of her stomach on the floor.

“Don’t give me that act. I know it was one of your kind that did this to this poor hiker in the forest. The police have ruled it a tragic hiking accident and saying that this person was just mauled by a bear. But I know better. I have seen this type of attack before and I have seen firsthand what beast would leave those type of wounds,” Mr. Cameron said, opening the folder again and laying the pictures in front of her one by one. There were at least ten pictures and each one was of a different person.

“What are you talking about, Mr. Cameron? Why am I here? What kind are you talking about? I am scared and I just want to go home,” Phoenix said, fear making her voice quiver. “Why are you showing me these pictures of bear attacks?”

“You know exactly what I am talking about, Phoenix. I know what you are, your little fainting spell at school proved it,” Mr. Cameron said, disgust in his voice.

“My fainting spell? I never faint. I think I just had an allergic reaction to something either in that piece of candy or maybe something that it came in contact with,” Phoenix said.

“Yeah, Verbain. Werewolf poison. I laced all the candy in all the candy dishes that I could get access to in the school. After I found out about Helen, I knew there had to be more of you. I never would have thought that one of my star students from last year would be a disgusting Werewolf, but I guess it just goes to show that you can never judge a book by it’s cover,” Mr. Cameron said, standing and beginning to pace the room. Phoenix heard the crying sound again. She couldn’t help but rack her brain on if there were any others missing from the pack compound.

“Werewolf Poison? What are you talking about, Mr. Cameron? Werewolves aren’t real. They are fantastical beasts that can be found in books. I have a slight allergy to some tree nuts that will cause me to lose consciousness if I eat them. It is on my school 504 form. You know this,” Phoenix almost pleaded, watching him carefully.

“Lies!” Mr. Cameron yelled, stopping suddenly and punching the table, sending all the pictures scattering to the floor. Phoenix jumped from the chair and backed away from him. She stood, pressing herself as hard as she could to the wall as he continued, “Sit back down. You can go home if you would just cooperate and tell me where your den is. I can help you cure your sickness, but I fear the rest of your pack may be too far gone.”

“I am not going to tell you where to find any of my family or friends. You have lost your mind, Mr. Cameron. Why are you really doing this? What is going on?” Phoenix asked, trying to take a few calming breaths. She needed to get a grip on her fear. It wasn’t going to do her any good. “Werewolves are not real,” she continued, quietly.

“Sit down, Phoenix. Let me show you something,” Mr. Cameron said, calmly. Phoenix slowly stepped back up to her chair as Mr. Cameron pulled his laptop out of a bag that had been sitting on the floor on the other side of the table. She sat down, her eyes never leaving Mr. Cameron. He turned the screen to her as a slideshow of pictures started to play. These pictures were from a game camera.

Phoenix watched in shock as a hiker was attacked by what started off as a man and ended as a Wolf. The Wolf made direct eye contact with the camera with the hiker hanging from its mouth. The next picture it is all gone except for the leg. The pictures were taken in night vision so Phoenix could not quite make out who it was in the pictures before the Shift, but she was almost certain that it was a rogue Wolf.

“Now, still want to play dumb, Phoenix?” Mr. Cameron asked, watching her face closely. Another malicious grin appeared on his face.

“They really are real?” Phoenix asked, faking shock for all that she was worth.

“Stop with the act, Phoenix. We both know that you are one of these beasts,” Mr. Cameron started, the frustration in his voice rising to anger. Just then his phone rang and he stepped away to answer it. He talked in a hushed voice.

Phoenix took this time to really look around the room and try to figure which door was the way out. She had to get out of here and warn her parents. How is this happening? Why is this happening now? She thought to herself. She tried to keep her breathing even so that she didn’t hyperventilate.

“Well, it appears that this will have to wait. But, I really want you to think about everything, Phoenix. I want you to decide if this is something that is really worth losing your life over. Because if you don’t tell me what I want to know, then you will end up just like Helen, understand?” Mr. Cameron said, walking over to her and grabbing her by the arm roughly. He dragged her to the door of the little room that she had come out of and shoved her through it so hard that she fell to the floor. “I will be back tomorrow to continue our little chat.”

With that he shut the door to her cell, leaving her in the dark once again. Phoenix pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She rested her head on them and fought back tears. What am I going to do?

Everything I tell you. Jakon sent to her, catching her off guard and causing her to jump.