Life for sale?
1277 Words
A month went by and I actually became part of the pack. We started hunting together and they showed me how to stay alive. In the beginning, we went deeper and deeper into the forest to follow or prey but now it seems that they preferred the edge of the forest more. We passed the spot where my mother died. It was weird to see that there was no evidence left of what happened there. The hunters probably took the body and the rain flushed away the rest. I sniffed the ground, hoping for a trace of her scent but it was long gone. The alpha female came closer and pushed me softly with her shoulder. She tried to cheer me up when noticing my disconsolate mood. She then walked back to her male, only to bite him playfully in his neck. This made me smile. The male growled back and took a step back. He then crouched and jumped his females back. This resulted in a big lick from the female. He stepped off her and shook his fur before walking on. The rest of the pack followed and so did I after I turned around for one last glance. Rain dripped softly on my fur causing me to shake it. One thing I learned while living outside was my hatred for rain. It was cold and wet and it almost froze me to death. Well, I might be overreacting a bit but still, it was very unpleasant. I followed the pack until a scent froze me in my steps. I looked to my right to see my old house! And the wolves were walking right at it. The alpha male walked up the porch first before choosing the right spot for a quick nap. The female sniffed the air and sat down satisfied. I on the other hand did not know what to do. What if the hunters found us? Would they think we are shapeshifters? Would they kill the wolves even though they are normal animals? I bet they would, just to be sure. I was torn between to options. The first one was to warn the wolves and tell them to keep on walking. The second choice was to stay here for a bit longer. This would provide me some time to check the house and sniff their scents again because the memory of it seemed to fade more every day. I chose the second option and used all of my senses to make sure that there was no one around. I then shifted back into my human form for the first time in more than a month. I closed my eyes and felt so excruciating pain as my cells, muscles, and bones began to reform again. I thought my mother said it wouldn’t hurt that much? Could it be because of the inhuman style of living the last month? My eyes opened the second the pain disappeared. I looked dirty. My whole body was covered in dirt and I immediately noticed how the shapes of my body changed as well. I lost some weight and gained some more muscles which I didn’t mind. My hand touched the cold doorknob and a shiver ran through me because of the cold contact. The door opened with a crackle as I pushed it open. I was quite dark here so I searched for the light switch in the hall. I knew what happened that night but the sight of the room still gave me the creeps. Just like my mother's body, my father was missing as well. The only difference was the blood spatters which were scattered all over the living room floor. Nobody bothered to clean that up. It already surprised me that they never burned this place down to the ground immediately. I walked over to the couch and sniffed one of the pillows. It was my father's favorite reading place. It smelled like his cologne and it made me give a sad smile to no one In particular. I stepped over some broken glass and found a picture frame smashed into pieces. I wiped off the glass and turned the picture around so I could look at it. It was a picture of the three of us. The picture was taken in the garden two months before my first shift. A droplet of water fell on the picture telling me I was crying. I wiped the tears away before placing the picture back on the table where it belonged. The bedrooms were exactly as they were left. The beds were unmade, and some pieces of clothing were still lying on the ground. A layer of dust was formed on the dresser and shelves all telling the story of abandonment. I walked over to the kitchen to see a mess. A bowl with what would have been cookie mix was trashed all over the floor in little pieces. Some dough was dried on the floor serving as food for the rat in front of me. It noticed me and ran away through a hole in the back door making me sigh. I reached out to grab some shards when my eyes were pulled to some shimmering of silver. It was covered in dough so I walked over to the sink to clean it. I could’ve facepalmed myself when I noticed there was no water. Of course, they shut off the water, I mean they didn’t burn the house down but shutting off water and electricity…. yeah, that seems to be worth all of the trouble. I scratched some of the dough off to reveal my mothers’ necklace, making me gasp in surprise. She lost it during the fight. But how? She had that thing for years, never taking it off for even a second. And the lock seems to be in a good shape as well. I closed my fist and started walking outside when the sound of an approaching car hit my ears. The car was still far away so there was still some time to change back into my wolf spirit. I picked the necklace up in my mouth before stepping down the porch. The other wolves raised their heads and walked eventually to me. Anger took a hold on me when I realized something I did not see before. There was a big for sale sign in the garden. Like what? They are trying to sell my house. The car finally arrived at the house, stopping just before the porch showing an elder man with a younger couple. “As you can see, the house itself is not in a bad state. I think you guys could be happy here. Well as long as you forget about the previous owners of course” laugh the elder man. The younger man wrapped an arm around the female and kissed her on her head making me growl out loud. This caused the newcomers to look in our direction. I took a step closer to them, showing my teeth while still growling. The other wolves followed my lead and it even woke op the alpha male who was still sleeping before. He came down the steps to stand on my right. The female walked up to my left telling them to back away now which they luckily did. They jumped back into the car with scared look plastered on their faces. I took one more jump in their direction before the car began to roar in sound. It was put in reverse before they drove away backward. The alpha female howled before starting the next walk of the day, away from my previous house
- Writer
