The Wisteria Alpha

10 years ago Lotus      I could smell the smoke as my mother guided me to the back door of our home. Mom had pulled my sisters and I out of our beds and had asked us to get dressed quickly. My twin sisters were crying, letting giant tear drops fall from their eyes. “Mama what’s happening?” Lily asked, while she pulled on her hoodie. “Shh, babies don’t cry. Mama really needs your help. Do you think you can help me?” mom asked as she kneeled down and grabbed the girls’ shoulders. The twins nodded and started to wipe away their tears. Mom smiled, “Perfect babies, mama needs you to listen very carefully,” she said as she made eye contact with me then looked back at the girls. “Ok, when I open this door, you’re going to see and hear a lot of terrifying things. I need you to stay focused on me. Just run as fast as you can, and block everything else out.” “Why? What are we gonna see?” Lila asked.                Mom started to shake her head and touched Lila’s cheek to wipe a tear away. “I need you to look only at me ok? Just me.” We nodded. Mom smiled her breathtaking smile and nodded her head. She stood up, grabbed Lily’s hand and I grabbed Lila’s. My heart started to pound in my chest. Mom took a deep breath and opened the door. The smell of smoke is heavy, and the smell of blood. It smelled like there was a lot of it. Mom looked back at me, and I saw her panic. She turned her head back to the entrance and started running.        Mom said that what we would see would be terrifying, I think she was trying to sugar coat it. Our territory was a beautiful stretch of forested acres. Our village had over 20 cottages that our members lived in, a two story pack house where we gathered, and tiny stores and boutiques that were spread around the territory. We had everything you could ever need. Everything was on fire. The forest, the houses, the people, our people. Their screams were deafening and chilled me to the bone. There were people running and screaming trying to evacuate the buildings. Some were covered in flames, while others tried to shift into their wolves to heal their wounds. I could see some of the wolves who were unable to get out of their collapsing homes, their howls filled with pain.                     I stood there frozen as I watched the chaos. I could see my  mom calling me, telling me to run but I can't hear her words over the cries and the buildings collapsing. I'm so overwhelmed; I want to scream and vomit at the same time. I'm starting to panic, my breaths coming in faster until I start to gasp for air. The smoke is so heavy now that it's stinging my eyes. I feel a tug on my hand and I look down. Lila is crying with her eyes slammed shut and trying to cover her ears with her free hand. I close my eyes and try to calm down, Lila is depending on me. I open my eyes and start running towards mom. She turns, leading the way.       I have to keep Lila close and maneuver her over trees and bodies. It's hard to see mom with all the smoke and flames, and she didn't tell us where we were going. A very deep roar from the woods breaks through the loud atmosphere. FATHER! The sound stops mom in her tracks , allowing me to catch up with her. Mom looks back to where the howl came from and now has tears flowing down her beautiful face.  Mom looks devastated, she's openly sobbing. I've never seen my mother cry like this. What did father’s howl mean? Another roar erupts, but this time it's not father, it's a howl I've never heard before and it made my arms rise with goose bumps. Mom lets out a blood curdling scream, making me jump back. She's sobbing and clutching her head. "Mom we have to leave" I said, her eyes snapping up to mine. She picks up Lily and starts running. I put Lila on my back and chased after her. Now she's going even faster than before, I can only see her brown curly hair in the distance.      "Mom! Mom! Please slow down, we can't keep up!" I shout out to her. But the figure of her head just continues to get further away. My legs are killing me and Lila's hands are clamped so tightly around my neck that I'm starting to struggle harder for air. The smoke is burning my eyes and lungs and I'm just gulping it in, making my lungs burn even more. Another roar sounds off and this time it's closer. My feet move faster than they've ever moved in my twelve years of life. I'm jumping over people and dodging falling branches, my arms aching under the weight of my sister. I'm starting to lose my grip and still cannot see mother. My vision is getting worse as the smoke makes my eyes water and I'm running blindly in random directions. Lila is whimpering in my ear as she holds on tighter.       I start to trip, falling on my hands and knees. I can't see anything, I can hear everything. Mother, please come back. "Lotus please get up." Lila whimpers. I have to get up, I need to get up. I start to raise one leg and hiss at the pain, while I look down at my knee that is scrapped and bloodied. I stand up and winch at pain from my other knee knowing the marks are identical. I examine my hands noticing a thick twig that is ebbed about 2 inches into my palm. I have to pull it out if I'm to hold Lila properly. I grabbed the tip of the twig and gasped. The small movement causes so much pain it feels like my hand is going to fall off. I grit my teeth, get a firm hold on the twig and yank it from my hand. I want to scream and double over from the agony. But I don't want to scare Lila anymore then she already is so held in my scream, my body shaking from the pain.        I reposition Lila and start running again. I can hear my name being called and I know its mother. I start heading towards her voice, my steps once again picking up their pace. "Watch out!" Lila screams, pointing ahead of us. I look up to see Mrs. Peterson, the librarian, jump out of the third story window of the library, engulfed in flames. I don't even stop running. I just side step as her body slams to the ground with a sickening crack.     I kept running towards my mom. I can see her now, frantically waving to me while the tears on her face make muddy tracks from the ashes. My mom nodded when we were all together again and continued on our way to what I now see as the pack church. Mom pushed through the doors and hurried us down the pews. She led us to a door at the back and opened it. She ushered us inside and locked the door behind her. The corridor was dark and dusty.       "Mom where are we going?" I asked. "Somewhere safe ." She replied,  leading us down. I put Lila down and she reached out for Lily's hand. The corridor was deep and winding, it seemed to go on for forever. "We're here," mom said. She let go of Lily's hand and pushed on the wall. The wall started to move back and fresh air came in, the moon light shining through the cracks. Lily and Lila stepped through and my mother pushed me out. The three of us huddled together waiting for mom to return.       We heard some rustling and she stepped out with one large duffel bag. "Girls, I need you to listen to me. This is where we end our journey together." Fat tears continued to drop from her hazel eyes. "What do you mean?" "You're not coming with us?" The twins shouted. Mom just shook her head and smiled. "No babies. I can't come with you." The twins are wailing now and shaking their heads. "Mom," I said as I stepped forward. That's when I heard yelling and footsteps in the distance. Mom looked behind her and growled. "Girls, we are out of time," She looked back at us.       She grabbed the twins and pulled them into a hug. "Mama loves you with all her heart. Listen to your sister and never forget that daddy and I love you."  The girls are clinging to her neck while the footsteps are getting closer. She gave the girls a kiss each and pushed them away. She stood, pulling me into a hug. " Mom" I croaked, tears threatening to fall.  "Shh shh, baby it's ok. It's ok. I love you. Please take care of your sisters. You're all they have left." She pulled back and tried to wipe her tears. "You are their future and the future of our people. Do not forget who you are or where you come from. Live and be the extraordinary women I know all of you will be." Mom says kissing us each one last time.         She steps away from us and pulls out a small corked bottle. She opened it, splashing its contents on us while chanting words I don't understand.  "This is a cloaking spell your god mother made for you. There are some more in the bag." She pointed,"there aren't a lot so only use them when absolutely necessary. There are instructions and necessities in there too. I don't have time to explain. So take the bag and your sisters. Run." I grabbed Lila's hand again and picked up the bag. We started to run. The trees were zooming past us as we made our way towards the mountains. Our footsteps crunching on the fresh snow. I didn’t even realize it's been snowing this whole time.        We ran up a hill, stopping to catch our breaths. I looked back to where mom was. Even in the distance I could still see her smiling at us. Snow was starting to collect on her hair. She turned her back to us and shifted. Four wolves came out of the entrance and circled mom. She lifted her head and howled. A howl filled with love and pain. The wolves attacked her all at once. I can barely see her now as the chunky snowflakes fell on my face. Lila pulls on my hand and looks up at me.  "Let's go." I said and we started running again, the smell of burning hair and flesh still fresh in the air.