Chapter Eight
1069 Words
I'm finished.
I am dead before I even try to fight.
Mountain lions are our biggest enemies. Everyone knows that.
I glance at the exit, considering my options for escape only to see there are none. I'm much slower that an obviously grown up lion.They know that too. That's when the two of them ask.
“Are you okay, girl? Do you want us to call someone?”
“I…”
They look concerned.
“I… You will not fight me?”
“Fight you?”
The man asks and the blond girl glances at him and shrugs.
“Are you sure you’re all right? You’re not on some kind of drugs, are you?”
“No, I… no?”
What drugs?
“Then why would you think I would fight you?”
The older man asks.
Because this is what they’ve been telling us, I think, that if you meet a species other than a bear - such as a lion, or any big animal not from around, they will challenge you. At least that’s how it is in our lands. That’s what we’ve been training for. Peace at home is maintained because we only have the wolf packs and the bears. But we've lived together with them for ages, and fights happen only if outsiders show up.
I am silent, and the man shakes his head.
“You’re not from here, I see. Look, I’m guessing you’re from the North?"
“Is it that obvious” I blurt out and he laughs. The girls laughs too.
“Chill, girl, “ she says, “The Capital is different, we’re not some barbarians, no one will jump on you for being the wrong species. “
“No?”
I look at them incredulous. Then I take a better look at her, my heart calming gradually down. This doesn't seem like a trap and they have no reason to lie to me.
She’s not human, but she’s not a wolf either. I realize as I finally get better sense of her above my thundering heart.
She's a ...
A hybrid.
what
I've never met a hybrid before. I also thought they were frowned upon everywhere. There are so many things I thought were not the way they turned out to be that I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I am gaping at them, when the man pays for his food and cigarettes and heads towards the exit.
“You need a ride?”
He’s talking to me.
“Uh…”
I step nervously from one foot to the other.
“Miss?”
he asks again. “If you need a ride I can take you somewhere. There’re no busses passing besides the one you got off from just now. “
“How… how do you know I came by bus?”
He lifts an eyebrow.
“You smell like it.” then he points at my backpack. “ Where are you headed to?”
“Lunar Crest. “
I say and he laughs.
“Oh, yeah? Working there as staff?”
“No, I’ll be studying there. “
He is staring at me, an expression blank.
“Yeah. Sure. “
He says, “Anyway, let me give you a ride, otherwise you’ll have to sleep on the streets. Nothing will pass by and there are no motels near. But from what I see, you haven’t shifted yet. How old are you?”
“17.”
I say quietly and he shakes his head.
“It's not that dangerous around here, but you never know. You won't make it by yourself, especially if you don't shift yet. Let’s go.”
I glance at the girl and she waves at the guy.
“Bye, Chris. I’ll see you later. “
“Yeah,” he nods and opens the door for me “You coming, wolf girl?”
***
I’ m riding the pick up truck of a complete stranger, who’s also a mountain lion.
He still hasn’t ripped me to pieces, but I still sit unmoving while he drives.
It’s one of those moments where you’re either making a huge mistake- the biggest in your life, imagining yourself being chopped to pieces, or it's just unnecessary fear and later you think back on the time and realize you’ve been overthinking.
Chris talks about his kids, how he’s never been to the North, asking me what in the world I’ll be doing at the Academy.
“Study there?”
He exclaims, “I thought you applied for kitchen staff. “
I laugh. I would have assumed the same.
“No, I… I got a scholarship.”
He whistles.
“You must be damn smart. And you said your family is not royals or something. “
I shake my head.
“Good luck, kid, “ he says after a quiet pause, “it aint easy there. I hope you get used to it. “
“Yeah, “ I nod, “I hope so too. “
***
I was the only one who arrived without her parents. But all four of us coming here and mom and Travis and Brandon seeing me off would have been too expensive.
The woman at the registration gave me an up and down look and a few passers by looked at me and made a face as I was walking towards my room. Many of the students here are my age- the ones that are freshmen. We still haven't transformed.
But many are wolves already. Even I can sense how strong and intimidating many of the older ones are.
We’re put in rooms for two, and they said my roommate will be arriving later, as her mother is in the Congress and there’s some campaign she needs to attend to with her daughter.
“Oh, great. “
My mom called, then Miley. I didn't have lunch and skipped dinner.
"It is actually a damn beautiful place."
I think as I lay my bed., taking a look around this big, new and nice room. Everything is great, smelling like expensive wood and lemon laundry detergent.
Why do I feel so alone, then...
***
We sometimes feel like this is how we're going to feel forever.- Alone. Bad. Abandoned. Overall, all those things that make you feel empty. Carved out.
And then it begins.
It's the first day.
And everything changes in a way I never thought possible.
- Writer
